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Willrow wrote:The FZ150 handled this Marshie/background shot okay

I think that type of shot is where the compact/bridge cameras really come in to their own I've been finding that the depth of field offered by my FZ200 is far more often an advantage than a disadvantage, when compared with my DSLR.

On the other hand, the DSLR allows much more scope for adjusting exposure in post-processing, when I got it wrong in the first place or where extreme contrasts of light and shade are encountered.

You seem to be making the most of both cameras at present!

Mike

Thanks for the feedback Mike, like you I 'emigrated' from a Nikon D300 to the Panasonic Lumix FZ camera and find the simplicity of using it with a monopod and ballhead an ideal combination for butterflies/dragonflies etc, as I previously mentioned the vari-angle LCD is an absolute must, if my DSLR's had 'vari-angle' I'd be a mightily pleased user (I know Nikon now have a model available!) even allowing for the Nikon kits hefty weight. I even struggled with my Canon S95 pocket camera yesterday to get a good low level shot, I will probably not buy another digicam unless it has a 'vari-angle'...great invention

Here is the image I finally managed to get with the Canon S95 - finally having to sit on the damp ground in the process
Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

It was definitely worth sitting on the damp ground Bill - nice crisp shot with a lovely composition

Great shot Willrow I tend to find that the greater the personal discomfort the better the shot in the end, my wife is stunned how muddy, wet, bruised, stung, cut and torn I end up after a really good days butterflying Always worth it though

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks kindly Wurz ...'no pain no gain eh!

And many thanks also Pauline

Regards,

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

What a busy week or so its been, I'm struggling to keep up with all that's going on, but today there were heavy showers across most of South Wales and so I've taken the time spent indoors to catch up a bit

Last Sunday I had a 'Dragonfly Day' on the beautiful River Wye, near Monmouth looking for Common Club-tail (their not common!) and White-legged Damselfly, on both counts I was successful and had healthy counts but I'm always aware to all the other things that Mother Nature has to offer and she was in generous mood - offering a nice fresh Red Admiral nectaring on bramble on the steep river bank, alas as I put my foot forward to position myself for a better record shot of the insect it went into a hidden divot and I plunged forward towards the deep fast flowing river...phew!!! how I did'nt go headlong in I'll never know and the Monmouth Ladies Rowing Club sailed past me giving wolf whistles (of derision ) the sad people whatever, even in my flailing I got a couple of shots in...one of a butterfly and the other of the sky
Further along the bank I saw several larval webs belonging to Peacock and also a probable final instar of Small Tortoiseshell in the low bankside grasses and undeterred from my earlier near swim I manouvered to get a record photo...


On my bank side journey I had counted several teneral Common Club-tail but I almost trod on one that must have been hardening off it's wings low in the grasses and appeared to be struggling to find a way out of the grassy tangle prior to flight, I vey gently moved the grasses and allowed it to settle onto my hand and waited until it decided to embark on it's maiden flight high into the air above the river, it always thrills me to see these first flights, another one of the few fortunate survivors from the egg stage, lets hope it goes on to maturity and produces it's own generation of Common Club-tail
Further along the bank I came upon a Sawfly that has to rate among the true jewels of the species Tenthredo scrophulariae and this is one of many of it's tribe that produce larvae that can often confuse the new 'moth-er' that tries to identify it's discovered larvae
Back to the butterflies and I was pleased to discover Comma larvae low in the upright grass stems, I can't remember when I last saw this species larvae and as I bent low over the bank crouched forward to get a decent shot I once again heard the Monmouth Ladies Rowing Club's wolf whistles as they rowed back down river...what a crew
To end my day I headed for a lovely Gwent Wildlife Trust reserve called Dixton's Embankment which is sandwiched between the busy A40 (South Wales to Midlands) and the River Wye itself, people pass within metres of it and don't even know it's there...good thing or bad, I wonder The reserve looked charming dressed in it's early summer clothes and many Common Blue danced among the flowers. I cannot recall seeing more Burnet Companion day-flying moths, but this meadow has always been a favourite, as it is for Mother Shipton.
And so ended another adventure, with the early June sunshine helping me enormously

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Great larval images, Bill. Seems like your near-supine moment produced dividends.

Great report Willrow I love seeing Red Admiral shots where they've got their heads down for some serious nectaring I too appreciate the occasional rainy day to catch up, so long as we don't get too many...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Bill,

Great report and photos, I can just picture you being harassed by the 'ladies' of the rowing club

Cheers,

Neil.

David, Wurz and Neil...much appreciate your kind responses, cheers lads

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Lovely reports and photos, Bill. The ladies rowing club seem like a rowdy bunch...

Best wishes,

Lee

Newport Wetlands NNR, Monmouthshire yesterday provided much better weather than I anticipated on leaving home and the grey clouds slowly moved away leaving a pleasant day with the temperature hitting 23c by mid-afternoon yet it was a relatively quiet day butterflywise, with just ten species seen and of those Large Skipper came out top on numbers at a round dozen.
The reserve was built on the old fly-ash tipping area of the Uskmouth Power Station and has since been run jointly between Newport Borough Council and the RSPB, the image below shows the power station in the background.
I can never resist checking among any orchids for something a little out of the usual and among the Bee Orchids I discovered a variant with almost white petals - appreciate anyone confirming an official name (perhaps Mike Oxon?) the photo was not easy to get owing to other orchids being disturbed if I wanted to improve my position and I don't do that, so apologies for image quality
Leaving the orchids I grabbed a few photo's of Drinker (macro moth) larvae, I've got a personal quest to find the longest ever currently the longest I've seen is well over 80mm and the one you see here is approximately 75mm and thats at least 10mm more than what most of the fieldguides say they should be!!!
The Large Skipper were their usual pugnacious selves and I watched the one shown below see off two harmless Five-spot Burnet that dared to enter it's air space, the poor Burnet's must have wondered what hit them and flew away with a few spots (and bumps!) added...poor critters
Not exactly great on the dragonfly side of things yesterday either with only a couple of flighty Emperor Dragonfly and three male Black-tailed Skimmers seen, the show was probably saved by very healthy numbers of Blue-tailed Damselfly that are mentioned as decreasing in numbers in the new BDS Atlas throughout their UK range so this is a positive for the species locally. Many of the Blue-tailed Damselfly were seen paired
Speckled Wood were second in numbers seen with ten, not exactly great numbers considering the fact that I usually count them in considerably more numbers at this location, but what I did see were in lovely nick!!!
Finally the Common Blue and a solitary Brown Argus (Cheers Neil!) put in a belated appearance, surprisingly I saw more females than males of the former with the fairer sex winning out 5 to 4...which is not really fair at all

Other species seen were Brimstone, Large White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Small Heath.

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Hi Bill,
Great report (as always). However, you must recalculate your sex ratio - that's a male Brown Argus (last image).
BWs, Neil

Thank you Neil...I'm glad that you noticed my deliberate mistake .... but if anyone had to find it I'm glad it was you it just could be the medication (mine that is)!!!

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Hi Bill. Love the Clubtail dragon. Still hoping to catch up with them one day. Your Bee Orchid looks like var. chlorantha. We get quite a few of this variety near Beachy Head at Eastbourne. Hope this helps.
Bob.

Many thanks Bob for the confirmation, its much appreciated...you'll notice I had made a tentative ID stab at var. chlorantha on the image file comment....phew I'm glad I did'nt make another 'deliberate mistake' today

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Hi Bill,

Lovely shots Bill, I'd go with Flavescens for the Bee Orchid, the markings are more pronounced than those of Chlorantha which tend to appear smudged I think. Very jealous of that sighting - a rare thing indeed

BWs,

William

Great report Willrow, especially like the Brown Argus Oh to not be stuck at work

Have a goodun

Wurzel

My apologies for the belated response gents.

William wrote: Lovely shots Bill, I'd go with Flavescens for the Bee Orchid, the markings are more pronounced than those of Chlorantha which tend to appear smudged I think. Very jealous of that sighting - a rare thing indeed

I've checked out your ID advice William, I'm delighted to find your var.flavescens recommendation looks pretty good to me I've always said I would never get into orchids, yet I can usually spot something out of the ordinary...and then never take the time to ID them properly I hope you don't think I'm being a rather lazy naturalist...and if you do your probably right

Thanks also to Wurz and may you thoroughly enjoy your sparetime in the field

Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"

Another attempt to catch up with my Personal Diary takes me to Aberbargoed Grasslands NNR, Monmouthshire (Gwent) where a peak count of the Marsh Fritillary hit well over 400, this is most encouraging and the only real downside this year has been irresponsible photographers destroying patches of habitat while lying down and probably rolling around to obtain the 'must have' image Still onto more positive news, as well as the Marshies the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary have also been evident in reasonably good numbers, the Meadow Thistle being their equivalent of the local pub
It's a nice bonus to see Marsh & Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in close proximity to one another and I have sat watching them go about their business on late afternoons over the past couple of weeks and they never cease to entertain me just what is it about our butterflies that induces such a state of peace and wellbeing...is there a better way to relax away from life's stresses
During my searches on the perimeter areas of the core Marshy pasture I came upon only the second recent Monmouthshire record of Anania funebris or the White-spotted Sable to give it it's more recent generic name, last year the reserve also produced the first recent record after many years absence from the county, again courtesy of yours truly with the help of a couple of other UK Butterflyer's - Rosalyn (whose a Real Superstar) and PhilB
The Heath-spotted Orchid are to be seen in excellent numbers and among the many hundreds I saw just a single completely unmarked white one (variant alba).
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary are either hyper-active or nectaring, there just does not seem to be an in-between, but if they do calm down a bit chances are you can get a decent photo or two, below you can some examples.
Many of the Marsh Fritillary are past their best now but there are still some fresh ones for the keen observer to find, and for anyone wanting to see this beautiful and interesting species on traditional unspoiled habitat (at least that's how it should be ) then its still not too late to enjoy a visit to this super reserve
Bill

"When in doubt...venture out"