MikeOxon

[Pauline]

Like you Mike, I have seen very few OT's - none in the garden this year and no eggs on my Garlic Mustard . I've only seen 1 Red Admiral and so far I have seen no Small Copper at all

[MikeOxon]

Thank you for looking in, Pauline. I have had very little to write about in my butterfly diary - most of my outdoor time seems to have been spent in dodging showers and heavier bursts if rain

A walk on Otmoor last week (9th June) in a rare burst of hot sunshine brought a few summery pleasures - a Hobby hawking for insects overhead and a Turtle Dove purring gently in the distance - but very little insect activity, either butterflies or dragonflies. Even along the Roman Road which is a favoured 'sun trap', I only saw a couple of male Orange Tips, restlessly patrolling, and managed a snapshot of a male Large Skipper - my first (and only, so far) this year.

Otmoor (Roman Road), Oxon - 9th June 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 40-150mm lens - 1/800s@f/9 ISO1000

It's wet again today, so I have been 'keeping my hand in' with the camera by photographing flowers - many of them under glass in the greenhouse!

Mike

[MikeOxon]

I have recently spent a few days in Lancashire and took the opportunity for a quick visit to Gait Barrows NNR (15th June), though in less-than-ideal weather conditions! In fact, my drive North along the M6 was one of my worst-ever driving experiences, with torrential rain bringing the motorway to a stand-still on several occasions, when visibility was reduced to nil.

There were some bright intervals between the 'showers' (understatement), while I was on the reserve and I managed to photograph a few Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries:

Gait Barrows NNR - 15th June 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 40-150mm lens - 1/800s@f/8 ISO800

One in particular was very docile and seemed to be trying to dry itself, by repeatedly twisting its head from side to side. My two shots, taken with a macro lens, show the partly furled proboscis and, in the second, what I assume are the two palps, being held out to dry.

Gait Barrows NNR - 15th June 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 60mm macro lens - 1/200s@f/9 ISO800

Gait Barrows NNR - 15th June 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 60mm macro lens - 1/160s@f/9 ISO800

Otherwise, there was very little butterfly activity but I did take the opportunity to add photos of the Northern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella) to my collection. As expected, the flowering period of the Lady's Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium calceolus) was over, but it was good to see several robust plants returned to the wild.

Returning Southwards, I visited the Formby Point NT reserve and was pleased to see that the Red Squirrel population seems to have recovered after the recent bout of squirrel pox. More rain, however, soon forced a retreat to the car.

Mike

[Wurzel]

Great Small Pearls Mike, they really standout in those shots I know what you mean about this weather, it's starting to get just slightly irksome now - it's all the fault of those weather-people again - the minute they say phrases such as "bar-be-que summer" or "we're having a heat wave" you now it's time to buy some waders and start filling sand bags

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[MikeOxon]

Thank you Wurzel. At least the weather conditions made the Pearls a bit more docile than usual, for photography.

Some people seem to be doing surprisingly well with their sightings - Pauline reported 10 species in a single visit to Noar Hill, for example, whereas I have been pleased to see one individual on some trips (never mind multiple species)

Mike

[Goldie M]

Seems like we both picked the wrong time of year for our visits Mike
At least I got to see the Wood White and Silver Studded Blue, like you though that's all I saw.
Glad you got a visit in to see the Red Squirrels at Formby and you got some great shots of the SPBF Goldie

[MikeOxon]

...... and you got some great shots of the SPBF Goldie

Thank you, Goldie - no white ones though

Mike

[MikeOxon]

During our recent visit to Formby Point NT reserve (16th June), we were retreating to the car in the face of one of the frequent showers, when my wife spotted a 'mini beast' on Sorrel plants at the edge of the car-park. The 'weather-resistant' aspect of my Olympus camera and lens proved a valuable asset in this situation.

Whereas I would have recognised the adult insect immediately, I admit that I did not recognise this striking Small Copper larva without help from reference books!

Formby Point NT reserve - 16th June 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm macro lens - 1/200s@f/9 ISO500

I really must broaden my interest, to take such beautiful subjects into my photographic repertoire

Formby Point NT reserve - 16th June 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50mm macro lens - 1/200s@f/8 ISO500

Mike

[Goldie M]

Thanks Mike for pointing me in the direction of the Small Copper I'll make a point of going to Formby now in the future because I don't see them round here now and those were great shot's you took of the Larva.Goldie

[Jack Harrison]

There is a form of Small Copper larva without the pink stripe. Very easy species to breed.

Jack

[MikeOxon]

Hi Goldie, I think you are very lucky to have such a remarkable habitat as the Ainsdale and Formby dunes close at hand! I wish I had realised how special it is, when I was a child living in the area. My wife is very much better than I am at spotting small insects and other secretive wildlife, such as lizards, toads, etc. I think it is a skill you need to acquire in childhood and it then stays with you.

We once went on a 'caterpillar crawl' organised by the Upper Thames BC Branch and it was fascinating to see various 'Whites' caterpillars 'magically' appearing on grass stems at dusk, for their night feed. There is so much activity going on all around us that most of us never see! Some of it is, of course, unwelcome by gardeners, when precious plants are eaten in the night.

Thank you for the additional information, Jack. Perhaps, when I become less mobile, i shall look into ways of bringing wildlife to me, rather than going out into the field.

Mike

[Jack Harrison]

MIKE:....Jack. Perhaps, when I become less mobile, I shall look into ways of bringing wildlife to me, rather than going out into the field.

I can see myself moving in that direction. For example, during the past hour, from my "den, I have watched Sparrows and Chaffinches feeding young and juvenile Starlings now self-feeding.

But I did get out today (my daughter is visiting) and found an excellent potential Small Blue locality (it was too cloudy for butterflies but lots of Kidney Vetch in a very sheltered spot).

The moth trap is in a new part of the garden tonight. I could dream of some immigrants from mainland Europe before tomorrow's vote puts paid (maybe) to Camberwell Beauties, Long-tailed Blues, Death's Head Hawks, etc being allowed to visit these shores.

Jack

[MikeOxon]

Daneway Banks - 1st July 2016

My Leica 100-400 mm zoom lens, which I have been waiting for since March, finally arrived last Tuesday. Within an hour of its arrival, the rain set in, so I had little opportunity to test it 'in the field' on my Olympus E-M1

Of course, a long telephoto zoom, like this, is primarily aimed at long-distance photography and my main intended purpose for it is bird photography. This particular lens, however, also has a remarkably close minimum focus distance - only 1.3 m - so it has potential to be used for 'macro' subjects, such as butterflies and dragonflies. There are difficulties in using such a long focal length at short range: the main one being that depth of field is minute! Using the calculator on the Cambridge in Colour website, indicates that, on my camera, a 400mm lens at f/8 has a depth of field of only about 2 mm when focused at 1.3 m! Care is clearly needed, if using the lens in this mode, but the potential for photographing shy butterflies from a fair distance seems very attractive, if intervening grasses can be kept out of the way!

With these thoughts in mind and a slightly more promising weather-forecast (in my first draft, I actually typed 'water-forecast', which has certainly been the recent experience), I decided to make for Daneway Banks, yesterday (1st July), to give the lens a trial. The outward journey from Oxon was not too promising, with scattered showers along the way, and, on arrival, it was cool and damp but, at least, not actually raining!

Daneway Banks is a wonderful place and looking better than ever, on this latest visit, thanks to management work already undertaken since Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust acquired the site. I took the following panorama from the main entrance gate, half-way up the hill, showing the banks carpeted with Rock Rose, Vetch, Marjoram, and Thyme, as well as plentiful Orchids.

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50 mm lens - 1/640s@f/10 ISO800

Not far from the gate, and visible in the right of the above photo, a new seat depicts the life-cycle of the Large Blue butterfly, so one can top-up on the basics, before exploring further.

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 12-50 mm lens - 1/400s@f/11 ISO800

Once inside the gate, my first butterfly sighting was of a Painted Lady, sheltering from the wind on the damp path. The sky was brightening and, after a few moments, it shook its head a few times and then took off, to disappear rapidly into the distance. I was pleased to manage a single photo:

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 40-150 mm lens - 1/800s@f/8 ISO800

As I walked along the valley between the banks of flowers, I saw lots of Meadow Browns, Ringlets, and Marbled Whites and then, after a couple of hundred metres, my first Large Blue, in flight and actively pursued by a Meadow Brown. I find that these dusky blue butterflies are difficult to follow by eye, when they are skimming over flowers and grasses. They were staying low down, in the face of a stiff breeze, and it was hard to mark where they settled. A big 'plus', however, was that they were tending to rest with their wings spread - behaviour that I have rarely seen on warmer, sunnier days in previous years. I soon caught up with one, low in the grasses :

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 40-150 mm lens - 1/800s@f/9 ISO800

Others were nectaring on the Thyme flowers, giving an opportunity to photograph the undersides, which are much 'plainer' than Common Blues. with no red markings.

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 40-150 mm lens - 1/800s@f/9 ISO800

I decided to try the focus-bracketing capability of my Olympus E-M1 on one example that was hunkered-down deep amongst the grasses. This method did enable me to keep both the head and wings in focus, which would have been extremely difficult to achieve without this ability

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 100-400 mm lens - 1/400s@f/11 ISO800 (stacked)

Moving up the valley, through this botanical paradise, I spent some time photographing a Bee Orchid, using my macro lens. with its automatic focus-stacking capability:

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 60 mm macro lens - 1/400s@f/8 ISO800 (stacked)

When I started to photograph a Large Skipper, a Grasshopper moved into the frame, just as I took the picture:

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 100-400 mm lens - 1/500s@f/10 ISO800

At the top of the reserve, there is a flatter area around a dew pond, well-sprinkled with Thyme, Marjoram and other flowers, in‌cluding Fragrant Orchids, which were attracting several more Large Blues, as well as huge numbers of Marbled Whites and a few Small Tortoiseshells (as usual, click on the image to enlarge):

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Marbled White, Fragrant Orchid, Small Tortoiseshell

It was here that my wife found a very co-operative Large Blue, posing with spread wings. It seemed fairly bomb-proof but decided to move on, just as I was changing to my macro lens. Fortunately, however, I had already been able to take several shots from further away, with my long lens.

Daneway Banks, Glos. - 1st July 2016
Olympus E-M1 with 100-400 mm lens - 1/800s@f/7.1 ISO800

So, after too long a period of feeling house-bound by very poor weather, I was pleased to enjoy an excellent day 'in the field'. I still have a lot to learn about using my new lens but it does seem to be a very versatile piece of equipment

Mike

(edited to reduce excess contrast in first image)

[kevling]

Mike,

Nice Large Blue photos from Daneway Banks. Also like the Painted Lady (although it is so long since I've seen one, I could be forgiven for not knowing what one looks like ).

Regards Kev

[Goldie M]

Hi! Mike, great shots for you on your day out.
I have a Sigma 70- by 300 lens I fit on my Canon, it's great for taking distant Butterflies, I don't have to go into long grass etc, it's also fitted with Micro which I've to use at 300 to 200, I'm still experimenting all the time with it, Goldie

[MikeOxon]

Thank you, Kev and Goldie. I admit that I had begun to despair of seeing many butterflies at all this year, in view of the 'monsoon' weather. I agree about the utility of long lenses, Goldie. Not only do they avoid trampling down the grass but they are far less likely to disturb the butterfly. You do have to be careful about camera shake and depth-of-field issues, though. As I get older, it is nice not to have to bend down so much, either

Mike

[Goldie M]

Hi! Mike, I'm still getting use to the Depth of field, I get it right some time and other times I'm not too good, talk about press on regardless. Goldie

[MikeOxon]

Hi! Mike, I'm still getting use to the Depth of field, I get it right some time and other times I'm not too good, talk about press on regardless. Goldie

Hi Goldie, the main thing is to learn from your mistakes - look at the 'Properties' of your images, to see what settings you used and get to know what works and what doesn't. Soon, you'll develop a 'feel' for the best settings to use in any given situation. If you use 'aperture priority' mode, it's easy to set an appropriate setting for the type of photos that you are taking but don't forget to keep an eye on the shutter speed as well, in case it gets too low. In that case, you have to think about turning up the ISO. Most modern cameras (at least, those with larger sensors, like your Canon) give good image quality up to at least ISO800. With my older Nikons, quality began to fall above ISO400 but, with the Olympus, I get good results up to about ISO1250.

The old pro press photographers are said to have fixed their camera settings with a piece of 'Elastoplast' so they always knew what to expect. It was up to the darkroom boys to sort things out

Mike

[Goldie M]

Thanks Mike for your advice, I've tried various modes on my camera with different results, my camera says ISO 400 is for cloudy sky's yet I've had some good results with that setting in the Sun so I'll just have to keep trying.
I was disappointed today, I saw a Small Tortoiseshell which landed on a Blackberry bush, I used the Micro setting on the 70-300 lens but I didn't change from the P mode so whether that was the reason for slightly blurred wing on the photo I'm not sure the Butterfly certainly didn't move and the rest of the butterfly was okay. I'll have to try the A mode and see what happens. Thanks again Mike Goldie

[Wurzel]

Great shots there Mike I must say that I was impressed with Daneway - the reserve is much more 'user friendly' than its competitors

Have a goodun

Wurzel