www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thank you Wurzel. I have known Daneway Banks for many years and always find it a 'special' place, and not only for the Large Blue. There are many other wonderful places along the Cotswold 'edge'; an exciting area for naturalists

Try this info Goldie

http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/the- ... explained/

It doesn't explain depth of field but is a good stating point.

Sorry Mike to hijack you diary and feel free to move tnis p;ost to a more appropriate forum.

Jack

BBOWT Bix Reserve, 5th July 2016

I paid a morning visit, today, to the splendid BBOWT reserve, tucked away in a narrow valley at Bix Bottom, near Henley, Oxon.

It was something of a surprise to see that we seem to have flipped from Spring to late-season butterflies almost overnight. Yes, there were plenty of Marbled Whites and a few Large Skippers:
But, overall, the impression was of Meadow Browns, Ringlets, and Speckled Woods. I had hoped for a few large Fritillaries but none on the wing as yet. A mating pair of Meadow Browns posed well for a photo, showing the different colouration of the two sexes:
In a more wooded part of the reserve, Ringlets were taking advantage of the dew on many of the leaves. I have tended to assume butterfly wings are symmetrical but, on this example, there is an extra small eyed-ring on the right fore-wing that is not on the left:
The other woodland butterfly was the Speckled Wood, here in the classic pose within a sunspot, waiting to sally forth, to challenge any intruder:
Mike

Great shots Mike, I find Ringlets very hard to photograph they never keep still long enough and the Meadow brown's seem to hide in the grass all the time

I'd trouble with my 70-300 lens on Monday, it just packed in and stopped working, I thought it was the Camera at first, any way I've been to the Camera shop ( they're very nice and very helpful) he said it was definitely the Lens and not the Camera, ( the Lens was faulty ) I thought I'd just tell you with you having just bought a similar one, I got another one which he said was better and took sharper Pic's, I'll soon find out. I'd had the other lens for about two years, I was just relieved it wasn't the camera.Goldie

Thank you for commenting, Goldie. I'd read your own diary post about your lens and hope that its replacement works well. Sometimes, a new piece of kit can provide inspiration!

Mike

Great shots of the aberrant Ringlet Mike I always check the Ringlets for odd numbers of spots - it's my warm up before the hedge Browns come on the scene

Have a goodun

Wurzel

'Roman Road' Otmoor, Oxon - 6th July 2016

I made another visit to the 'Roman Road' on Otmoor, this afternoon The ground underfoot was much drier than on my last visit and there was plenty of warm sunshine. Nevertheless, there were far fewer butterflies on the wing than I have experienced in previous years.

Most of those seen were Meadow Browns, together with several Ringlets, many of which were unusually small in size. Apart from these, there were just a few Large Skippers and Small Whites.

One aim of my visit to to try out the capabilities of my 100-400mm lens, with its close-focus capability. I found that the long reach of this lens made it relatively easy to take close up views of feeding butterflies without disturbing them in any way. For example, the following photo of a Meadow Brown clearly shows the vestigial front legs that are useless for walking, as well as the details of the proboscis:
The stand-off capability of this lens was even more useful for dragonfly photos, since these insects have superb eyesight that makes them difficult to approach. This colourful insect is a Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum), keeping watch for prey, from its vantage point:
The stand-off capability also makes it possible to frame butterflies that are lurking amongst the grasses and very nervous of close approach, as in the case of this Ringlet:
I bought this lens mainly for bird photography and, although I have not had much practice yet, I was pleased with its ability to capture a Whitethroat (Sylvia communis) as it ranged along a hedgerow, keeping its distance from me:
Mike

The stand-off capability also makes it possible to frame butterflies that are lurking amongst the grasses and very nervous of close approach

I might have missed the details so apologies if I did.

What sort of operating distance can you use?

Jack

Hi Jack. The closest focus distance of the lens is 1.3m (measured from the sensor plane). I guess I was about 2m away, for the butterfly and dragonfly photos. According to the lens specs., the magnification at closest focus is 0.25X. Remembering that the sensor is smaller than a 35mm frame, this is equivalent to 0.5X on a 35mm camera, which was the maximum magnification of my old Tamron macro lens! Put another way, the sensor size is 17.3 mm X 13 mm, so an area of 7cm X 5cm is covered at closest focus. The high image quality provided by the 16MP sensor allows further cropping, to show details such as the head of the Meadow Brown.

Mike

Night Sky - Saturn

Guy Padfield recently posted some night sky photos in his diary, showing, in particular, two planets that are currently very bright in the Southern sky. around midnight. While he drew attention to Mars, which I think is rather like a glowing coal, I have always been fascinated by Saturn, ever since I first saw it though my small birding telescope. No- one could possibly have guessed that an object like this existed until Galileo first looked through his telescope! He was initially puzzled and thought there might be two moons alongside the planet or that it had something like jug handles! It was later (1659) that Huyghens established that there is actually a system of rings around the planet.

If you have a small telescope, I recommend having a look or it's even possible to get a photo if you have a long tele lens. Don't expect too much since, even with my 400 mm lens, the image only covers a few pixels on my sensor, so there's not much detail. It's actually quite bright, so there is no problem from needing long exposures. I just marvel to see such an extraordinary object!
Mike

Bernwood (Oakley Wood), Oxon, 8th July 2016

Having seen reports of Purple Emperor being seen in Bernwood, I planned a visit there this morning. Then, I found the day started very cloudy, with a cool wind, and had second thoughts. Fortunately, the cloud started to break around 11am and the weather forecast suggested the improvement might continue, so I made the short journey to North Oxford and, the sunshine did indeed continue.

There were several hopeful watchers in the car-park but HIM had only been seen briefly at tree-top level, so I decided to walk along the main ride and see what was about. The answer was, rather little, apart from plenty of Ringlets and quite a few Large Skippers - this male showing what big eyes he's got:
I examined the Oak trees around the central cross-roads, in the hope of Purple Hairstreaks but found none, so I continued further along the main ride. At last, I spotted a Silver-washed Fritillary, dashing through the trees along the edge of the ride, but it was definitely not interested in stopping for a photo! The season seems to be running later here than in the Southern woods and I only saw a couple of other SWF during my walk.

We are still in the Vanessid 'lull', so there were no Commas but, then, I spotted a lone White Admiral feeding on Bramble flowers. I was glad of my long lens, since the bramble was on the other side of a deep ditch but at least this butterfly stayed around for a few photos:
So, I ambled slowly back towards the car-park, seeing a few Dragonflies near the pond, including a female Broad-bodied Chaser 'striking' the surface of the water as she deposited her eggs. Plenty more Ringlets and the occasional Marbled White, still looking surprisingly fresh:
Another Large Skipper obligingly posed 'head on' - if only Smessex were so obliging!
When I reached the car-park, I learned that a Purple Emperor had been 'grounded' on the track for about 15 minutes while i was away. Ah well, we can't always be in the right place at the right time

Mike

Return to Bernwood - 11th July 2016

Being retired, I prefer to avoid popular sites at weekends but I have been noting that, over the last few days, at least one Purple Emperor has been seen in the Oakley Wood car-park at around 11am each morning.

Today, therefore, I returned to Bernwood, arriving at about 10:30am, and there, in the middle of the car-park, was a grounded PE!

I immediately stopped and jumped out of the car but the butterfly was skittish and, after moving around a few different spots, it retreated into an adjacent oak tree. It turned out that he was kindly allowing me to park properly and get all my camera gear together, before descending again, onto the path linking the car-park to the main ride. Once landed, he started to draw moisture from a partially-shaded damp spot, amongst the gravel.

I started by taking a series of photos that show the dexterity with which he could manoeuvre his proboscis around the damp patch:
While most people are drawn to the purple upper-surface, the underside of this butterfly is also extremely striking, I spent some time trying to capture this aspect, while experimenting with the close-up capabilities of my long-focus lens. Using a focal length of 400mm (with a field of view equivalent to an 800mm lens on a 35mm camera), I was able to capture detailed views from a 'safe' working distance, not disturbing the butterfly at all. I am still on a 'learning curve' with this lens and now I was having to learn very quickly , aiming to achieve a suitable balance of shutter speed and depth of field!
I was keen to try and capture some 'different' views, concentrating on details, such as the very sturdy proboscis and noting how, when collecting moisture from the ground, the tip is 'turned under' to direct the fluid into the groove that runs along the length of the proboscis. To my great delight, my subject proved very co-operative and soon opened his wings to display the royal purple:
Mike

Well done Mike! Very well done I don't think there are that many folk who have seen them yet this year (let alone down on the ground) given the dreadful weather. Great shots too - very interesting.

Thank you, Pauline. I'm trying to find some new ways of showing features of these butterflies, rather than repeating the 'same old photos' over and over again! Imagination is the limiting factor!

My new lens is great for zooming in from a long 'stand-off' distance. I was delighted to find this PE, after too many rather disappointing trips of late.

Mike

Great shots Mike, I hope I see one soon Goldie

Goldie M wrote: I hope I see one soon Goldie

I hope so too - there's nothing quite like that moment when they open their wings and the brilliant purple sheen catches the light

Bernwood, Oxon - 16th July

I made another visit to Bernwood, yesterday (16th July), this time in the company of my Son and recently-arrived Grandson. Once again it was a warm, sunny afternoon, and a Purple Emperor was flying around the car-park when we arrived. This time, he did not land for a 'portrait session' and we soon set off along the main ride.

As on my other recent visits, butterfly numbers seemed rather low, with Ringlets the only species present in abundance. These had now been joined by some Meadow Browns, which I hadn't seen earlier in the week. This one has a double-pupilled eye-spot:
Large Skippers and Marbled Whites were still to be seen but Silver-washed Fritillaries (SWF) remained few in number. At one point, however, we witnessed a 'mad-cap' chase of three SWF (presumably two males chasing a female) that continued for several minutes around us. Sometimes, they skimmed close by our heads, while at others they rose high over the tree-tops. It was remarkable to watch, and we wondered how long they could keep it up but, eventually, they all disappeared deeper into the forest, so we have no idea of the outcome! I managed to grab a few photos during the chase and made the following triptych:
When we returned to the car-park, a newly-emerged Purple Hairstreak was skimming low over the ground and pausing occasionally in the grass. I was unable to capture any reasonable photos but it was a female and, after a while, it realised its place was up in the trees and so disappeared from view. We witnessed similar behaviour by another individual a little later, as afternoon blended into early evening.

A White Admiral ranged around the oak trees surrounding the car-park and a Comma basked on a leaf, soaking up some late sun and showing off the eponymous 'comma' mark:
Mike

Cracking close ups of His Nibbs Mike If only all retired folk were as considerate as you Mike - round my way it seems that all the retired folk wait until the weekend before doing their food shopping, going to the bank, making inquiries at the library, going to the Post Office etc all activities that I have to try and cram into a Saturday morning as I can't do most of them during the week - oh well one day I might be retired and then I can do exactly the same

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thank you, Wurzel I sometimes forget my age and 'status', and find myself muttering about all these oldies slowing down the bus queue! Thank goodness I became 'computer-literate' early on and can do most chores via the internet, rather than in person

Old Castle Down, Wales - 19th July 2016

My visits to Old Castle Down, near Bridgend in South Wales, have always been somewhat trying; the most recent (19th July) being no exception, because of the weather! I had hoped that it would be a little cooler near the coast but, in this, I was disappointed and, apart from some breeze at times, the Down was furnace-like!

My main aim was to see and photograph the High Brown Fritillaries (HBF) at this site and, in this, I was considerably more successful than on two previous attempts. On previous visits, the HBF had all been found at the Eastern end of the Down, farthest from the lay-by where I parked (SS 898763). So, I decided to tackle the stiff initial climb from the road straight away, rather than expending energy on chasing the Fritillaries that I could see in the surrounding bracken.

There were several more Fritillaries to be seen during the climb, all dashing at high speed over the bracken. At the top, it seemed much quieter but I pressed on along the now-level track to the Eastern edge. When I arrived at the slope above the railway cutting, there were very few butterflies to be seen, apart from some Ringlets lazily wandering around the bank of bramble flowers, along the edge of the woods. Then, two Fritillaries appeared on the brambles, so I made my way down the slope for a closer look. The butterflies promptly disappeared back into the trees and did not re-appear over the next half-hour.

There is a narrow path that runs along the wooded Northern edge of the Down, leading back towards where I had parked, so I followed this, hoping for more butterflies. At this time of year (a little later than my previous visits), the bracken is pretty well-grown, so negotiating the 'path' was not easy at times but it was much more rewarding, in terms of butterflies. Apart from Ringlets, I saw my first few Gatekeepers of this year and then, at last, there was a Fritiillary, nectaring on brambles!

At first, looking through binoculars, I was very confused - was it HBF or Dark Green Fritillary (DGF)?. I kept oscillating between the two, until the reason became clear - one hind-wing was badly damaged, removing most of the all-important red-ringed spots! One remaining spot confirmed High Brown Fritillary:
Photos do not reveal the full story of chasing a butterfly that flits rapidly from one spray of bramble flowers to another, often visiting sprays that are concealed behind nearer vegetation. It needs patience, plus a lot of wasted shots, to get some that show the main features of this butterfly:
Once again, I was very grateful for the long-range capability of my 100-400mm lens, although it cannot solve the problem of intervening vegetation!

Most of my photos were of the damaged individual but I did manage a few of another specimen in much better condition, although it was far less co-operative for photography. My impressions were that HBF were spread widely across the Down and that DGF were much less abundant than on my previous visits. This may be because my visit was about 3 weeks later than in previous years.
By now, with the afternoon merging into early evening but with little drop in temperature, I was feeling thoroughly well-roasted, so decided that it was time to retreat to the air-conditioning of the car, and the journey home along the M4.

Mike