MikeOxon

[Wurzel]

I am very envious of your tally reaching three already Mike

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[MikeOxon]

The weather locally was excellent for viewing the eclipse this morning. There was a thin blanket of cloud, acting as a filter, so that it was easy to take photographs. I made an animation of the progress of the eclipse between 9am and 9:45.

Mike

[Goldie M]

Hi! Mike, after seeing your photo I'm a bit ashamed to put my posting up, love the animation Goldie

[MikeOxon]

Nothing wrong with your photos, Goldie - the important thing is to have watched it!

The animation was made by using software called 'Ulead GIF Animator 2.0', which I downloaded from the web. I think it shows well how the moon is moving from right to left across the face of the sun.

Mike

[Pete Eeles]

The weather locally was excellent for viewing the eclipse this morning. There was a thin blanket of cloud, acting as a filter, so that it was easy to take photographs. I made an animation of the progress of the eclipse between 9am and 9:45.

Eclipse_Anim2.gif

Mike

Thanks Mike - nice GIF! The light here went from murky, to even more murky! But sufficient enough for the birds to know the difference - and for us to experience the humbling experience that we live on a mere dot

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

That's an excellent sequence, Mike.

I had hoped that the moon passing the sun would have been visible to the naked eye but the sun remained too bright. Just shows what a difference having good equipment/skills can make.

[Jack Harrison]

Absolutely brilliant Mike,

Today was my 6th partial solar eclipse but have ever seen a total.
Plenty of total lunar eclipses though, Next one September.

Jack

[MikeOxon]

Thank you for the nice comments - I'm pleased you enjoyed the animation

After the eclipse, the clouds swiftly evaporated and a warm Spring day ensued. So, in the afternoon, I paid a visit to my favourite local reserve. The BBOWT reserve at Dry Sandford Pit is very small but contains a remarkable variety of habitats:

The left-hand photo shows the open fen, with the honey-coloured sandstone cliffs from the old quarry, beyond. This is a sun-trap much favoured by butterflies and other insects, while the fen contains several species of orchids and other rare plants. In the past, I have seen Crayfish here but, unfortunately, not for several years now.

The other photo shows the Sandford Brook that flows through the reserve - a haunt of Kingfishers and I once surprised a Heron here. I'm not sure which of us was the more startled, when he suddenly rose into the air - all legs and neck!

Today, I thought I was going to draw a complete blank, butterfly-wise, but, on my third circuit, I spotted a Comma basking rather inconspicuously on the sandstone cliff. As soon as I spotted it, another appeared and they promptly engaged in aerial combat. The first one soon settled again, in a similar place, but was very flighty, being disturbed by every passing insect. Eventually, he rested long enough for my first photo:

Dry Sandford Pit, Oxon - 20th March 2015
Nikon D300s with 300/4 lens + 1.4X TC - 1/1000s@f/6.7 ISO800

I always find that I need to 'get my eye in' at the beginning of each season and also get used to taking close-up photos again. This time, i had forgotten to bring my trusty monopod and was forced into larger apertures than were desirable from a depth-of-field point of view. Later, I decided to remove the 1.4X teleconverter, which improved my success rate as, even in good sunlight, it's hard to keep a 420mm lens steady. I found the other combatant, basking lower down on a flatter area of ground. He showed more 'battle scars' than the first example:

Dry Sandford Pit, Oxon - 20th March 2015
Nikon D300s with 300/4 lens - 1/2000s@f/6.7 ISO800

Mike

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Mike,

Great sequence of the eclipse and nice photos of the Commas

I know what you mean about 'getting your eye in' at the start of the season. For me it is with following of the movement of the butterflies in flight and marking where they settle so that I can sneak up on them.

Cheers,

Neil.

[MikeOxon]

Thanks Neil. I'm hoping that this on/off Spring will settle down soon and then everything will start happening at once! Best to be prepared.

Mike

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Mike,

WOW! That eclipse sequence is terrific. Down here in Sunny (cloudy) Worthing it got noticeably colder, but then again it often does! You were clearly in the right place at the right time, and clearly made the most of the opportunity.

BWs, Neil

[John W]

Hi Mike, fabulous eclipse photos, and nice Commas too.

I saw the eclipse too though cloud in Brighton but the photo I got on my phone left a lot to be desired!

Cheers
John

[Goldie M]

Great Comma's Mike, got my first shots of Butterflies this afternoon in my back Garden, I'm so pleased Goldie

[Wurzel]

Great Commas and ecclipse shots Mike I managed to get some good views using a cardboard tube and also used a pair of welding masks ( literally) but nowt compared to your shots.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[MikeOxon]

After such a warm day on Friday, it was back to cold and dull on Saturday - Spring on hold again!

Definitely no butterflies, so here's another eclipse picture - I rather like the juxtaposition between the sun and the solar panels on a neighbour's roof!

Mike

[Goldie M]

Great photo Mike, It's a lovely day here again hope it is where you are so I'm off again looking for the other early BF, now I've seen some I can't wait to see more (it's an addiction) Goldie

[MikeOxon]

Thank you Goldie, though I feel that the photo only makes sense if you know what's happening!

I was trying to make it look 'different' from a moonlight shot! The camera was really struggling and set an exposure of 1/2,000s@f/8 (ISO160), to cope with the brightness of the sun, even through cloud. I had to lighten the rest of the photo rather a lot and also added a lot of saturation to get the blue-ness back in the sky.

The sun is back again today but the air is still cold. I saw the first Brimstone to visit my garden, but it wasn't stopping for a photo.

Mike

[MikeOxon]

Well over a year has passed since I started this diary on 10th March 2014 but the new season only just seems to have started in earnest, after a somewhat shaky start.

2014 proved an interesting year for me, as I attempted new photographic techniques, such as photographing sparring Speckled Woods, and I also learned to use a Lumix FZ200 camera as a light-weight alternative to my DSLR.

I did say, in my very first entry, that posting yet more photos of well-known butterflies has a declining appeal, so I shall try to avoid simply producing a repeat of last year's diary! Hopefully, I shall have some new experiences during the coming year and look forward to documenting those. At the moment, though, I seem to be going through that re-learning phase that always happens when bright, contrasty sunshine re-appears. I really should have read my own advice from last year - "The bright sun on the rock made exposure difficult, so I was using spot metering for many of my shots, I find that most species are very easily disturbed at this time of year, so I used a telephoto lens rather than attempting to get close enough for macro shots."

Through not taking my own advice, my first crop of photos from Dry Sandford Pit has been disappointing, with very over-exposed shots of a strongly marked Green-veined White and rather routine shots of Brimstone, Comma and Peacock that are virtually indistinguishable from those I took last year. I find it interesting to observe, however, how each new season's butterflies seem to find exactly the same locations along the sandstone cliffs, on which to bask in the Spring sunshine.

Mike

[MikeOxon]

At last! Some really warm, sunny days. Yesterday afternoon (14th April) I took a walk onto the Downs above the village of Aston Upthorpe.

The 'walk in' is along a deeply-rutted track though woodland and, with almost every step, another Peacock rose up from basking on the dry earth of the path. There was still water in the hollows and I spotted this Comma, collecting moisture in one of these damp patches. I like the subtle colouring of the underside, especially those 'mouldy' spots which must be very off-putting to any bird looking for prey.

Aston Upthorpe Down, Oxon - 14th April 2015
Nikon D300s with 300mm lens - 1/500s@f/11 ISO400

Further up, the path opens out onto Downland and here, later in the year is a great spot for many butterfly species. I had hope the first Skippers might be out but not quite yet. A rather wonderful 'secret valley' opens to one side, known locally as the 'Juniper Valley'. The area has notable botanical interest and is also a sun-trap favoured by butterflies and by migrant birds, on passage.

The 'Juniper Valley', Oxon - 14th April 2015
Lumix FZ200 (fl=14mm) - 1/1600s@f/5 ISO160

There were large patches of Bugle in flower and it was not long before I was able to photograph a Brimstone enjoying the nectar. Brimstones and Peacocks were, by far, the most abundant butterflies, with a few Commas mixed in, and I saw just one Small Tortoiseshell.

Aston Upthorpe Down, Oxon - 14th April 2015
Nikon D300s with 300mm lens - 1/250s@f/8 ISO400

The song of Chiffchaffs had accompanied me through the woods and, now, above the open ground, Skylarks were singing, invisibly, from high above. A search with binoculars found one individual and I even managed a distant photo of a bird in full song. I also became aware of some dark coloured birds skulking amongst the the Juniper trees. At last, after some careful stalking, I managed to get a close view of a Ring Ouzel, pausing on its passage to the Northern moors. Out of about 20 shots, this was the only good one as they were keeping in the deep shade, making for difficult exposures against the bright light beyond.

Aston Upthorpe Down, Oxon - 14th April 2015
Nikon D300s with 300mm lens + 1.4X TC - 1/250s@f/5.6 ISO400

I hope that this very enjoyable walk will prove to be the first of many in the coming season.

Mike

[Wurzel]

Great stuff Mike. I haven't seen a Ring Ouzel for a few years now, they're great birds and that shot shows all teh diagnostic features nicely

Have a goodun

Wurzel