Katrina wrote: ↑Wed Oct 13, 2021 4:07 pmToday I headed for Herstmonceaux Castle again...
Good choice by the looks of it, Katrina.
By mid-October butterflies are usually starting to favour areas with abundant nectar supplies rather than dispersing through the countryside. Enjoy those Whites while we still have them. By November they'll be gone.
I remember raving about that image at the time, and if you recall I told
you at Herstmonceux, back in October, that it was my choice for shot of the year.
Congratulations from me too, Katrina! That image just sums up the best of a day on chalk downs in the summer and the clouds of butterflies that can still be experienced there. Just the tonic for a grey and dismal December morning as well.
Congratulations Katrina - I think many of us recognised your shot as something special at the time. Some great entries of all different types, but in producing something with such warmth and depth you’ve really captured the essence of many a downland butterfly walk in summer - fabulous.
Benjamin wrote: ↑Fri Dec 17, 2021 5:32 pm
Congratulations Katrina - I think many of us recognised your shot as something special at the time. Some great entries of all different types, but in producing something with such warmth and depth you’ve really captured the essence of many a downland butterfly walk in summer - fabulous.
Thank you. It was the positive comments at the time which made me pick it for the entry to the competition, so thank you to everyone who posted encouraging comments at the time.
bugboy wrote: ↑Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:34 pm
Congratulations Katrina, a really evocative image, well deserved
Thank you Paul, I am still in shock about winning - there was so many pretty perfect entries.
Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:45 am
Congratulations from me too Katrina. Like others I remember seeing this image at the time and thinking how special it
David M wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 6:30 pm
That last image has almost left me speechless, Katrina. Sometimes, it's best to just let the picture tell the story, and the picture needs no words.
The above is what I posted at the time, Katrina, and I am so pleased the image has gone on to receive 1st place and I offer you warmest congratulations.
Nice also to see a winning image be one with a natural background. Last year's had a bit but yours is definitely something the human eye genuinely sees, rather than a photographic contortion of reality.
Today I went round the Arundel WWT. I had not been for a couple of years. They were rounding up birds in one area for health checks and a vaccine.
My favourite thing there though was seeing bees on catkins.
At the end I sat in my car deciding what to do next when I saw my first butterfly of the year a Brimstone. I followed it down the road and found a further 3 flying above the roadside Daffodils.
What a great display of daffs, Katrina, but as Trevor says, how on earth did you manage to track down that Brimstone in the sea of yellow? They are good at disappearing at the best of times, but that one must have thought he was completely invisible!
I saw them flying initially and initially the were ignoring the daffodils. I assumed they wouldn't provide much nectar but I photographed a Brimstone with his proboscis on the top of one and one going into them as well as a large bee so they must provide some.
I have just returned from a trip to Tresco with day trips to St Martin's and Bryher.
I saw Peacocks, Red Admirals, Large Whites, Holly Blues and the Scilly isles subspecies of Speckled Wood.
Also seen were many birds including a Glossy Ibis, Golden Pheasants and swallows.
We also saw caterpillars Grass Edgar and Woolly Bear.
There are red squirrels in the Abbey Gardens. We could also see bats flying at night.
We saw tiger beetles on a beach and oil beetles including one on the house where we were staying.
It's a very spring sight you've caught there - not long now til it really gets going - fingers crossed for next week 
