6th May.….Had a nice visit up to Pickering Woods to meet the Duke of Burgundy .. But he was a bit hard to find … A bit like Lord Lucan!! But patience prevails as these butterflies are only small. It was brilliant to find one just resting on a leaf … waiting for some warm sunshine then they are off. Apparently there are only 2 reliable sites for these rare butterflies up here in North Yorkshire and now I’ve visited both sites and been lucky to see them on both occasions .. feel very privileged.
This evening I had a visit to one of the Barn Owl sites I know. But I had to wait nearly 2 hours for the bird to show. However, it was getting dark when the bird showed. Eventually, it began its hunting run near to where I was waiting but the light had nearly gone … So steady hand needed stop heart pounding and keep very still as I had a slow shutter speed to let in the maximum amount of available light. If there was any shake the resulting pictures would be useless because of blurring.
May 10th… Me and the Mrs went to Scampston for a visit today. Unfortunately due to the continuing unsettled weather it has not been a good Spring for dragonflies so there weren’t many on view compared to previous years. However, one of the young Mute Swans was having a real good bath… I thought I would try and increase the shutter speed and tried to catch some of the splashes as the Swan was having such a good time!!
Later that same afternoon I went to a friend’s house, who had told me they had seen a Barn Owl visiting the fields at the back of their property. If I wanted to photograph the owl I was most welcome to visit. So how can you turn an offer like that down?? Apparently the Owl was seen regularly after 6pm …. But when I visited it didn’t hunt the fields until about 7:15. When it did show it came very close and I got some nice shots.
May 18th… At last some decent weather, this afternoon I visited a site for Butterfly Orchid and Fly Orchid close to home…It was a great experience seeing such nice flowers .. and a first for me too, as I have never seen Butterfly Orchid before.
Butterfly Orchid
Fly Orchid
May 19th …… Me and the Mrs drove over to Manchester today, because tomorrow we’re flying off to Bali to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary. My Brother-in-Law is putting us up for the night which is most kind. However, here’s the kicker he has Foxes in the garden and they have cubs!! How bloody good is that!!!
Eventually the cubs showed about 9:20pm, however, the light was very poor – so no action shots were taken. If I had tried, it would have been a waste of time as the quick movements of the cubs could not have been caught sharply. Instead it would have been a blurred mishmash. But it was brilliant to see the cubs playing and squabbling.
Interestingly the Vixen kept her distance from the rough and tumble with her cubs, rather, she sat quietly and was alert at all times.
Tomorrow Bali !!! I’m sure there will be plenty of Wildlife to photograph !!!
