Zonda

[Susie]

Denbies Hillside in Surrey is a great place for Green Hairstreak at the right time of year too and some cracking photos, chaps.

[Zonda]

Cheers both.

[Zonda]

Had a short trip out along the Dorset coast today,,,,initially looking for Clouded Yellows, and finding none. I found a few Small heaths and decided to shoot a few.

[Zonda]

Later ,,, i photographed a Holly blue out on the heath. A good day for me.

[Zonda]

Friday morning, and i'm sitting looking out at the abysmal weather. It should have been fine, and sunny, with a gentle breeze. I should have been at Cheyne Weares on Portland,focusing the trusty 300mm on a certain long-tailed individual. I wonder where this individual is at the moment, under a leaf i hope. I wonder if more than one made landfall. It's a tough life.

[Zonda]

Had a tour around 3 Dorset nature reserves. Morden Bog, Kilwood, and Higher Hyde Heath. Saw Grayling, and got a couple of shots of a heathland Comma. No sign of a Clouded Yellow in these parts.

Just had a look at the exif data for this shot, and it was taken on 25th of Sept last year,,, near Abbotsbury.

[Zonda]

It's time my mum had a ride out, she is largely housebound, tho coping well in her mid 80's. Think i might give her a trip to the Boscombe/Southbourne undercliff later in the week. Ulterior motives,,,, hmmm,,,, maybe.

[Mikhail]

Zonda

In ideal conditions today I walked the Boscombe and Southbourne undercliff and saw NO CLOUDED YELLOWS.


Misha

[Zonda]

Still on CY watch, saw nothing at Portland yesterday, but gorgeous day. Moved along the coast to Abbotsbury, still not much in the way of butterflies. Highlight of day was seeing good numbers of Small heath at NT Cogden on the coast road. Returned home, and there was a pristine Small Copper basking on my front steps. A first for Zonda acres.

[Zonda]

Several pristine Commas at Kingcombe Meadows today.

[Zonda]

Just Looking Back,,,,,

at an eventful season, and sorting through some of my less appealing butterfly shots. This Chalky male has a crumpled wing, which may mean he is freshly emerged, or deformed. I think he's quite fresh, but he has already been pecked (top right). Bird predators perhaps?
DELETED

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Zonda,
He's a freshman alright, but I suspect that's damage from crawling through vegetation, sustained in the first hour after emergence. I do wish they'd be more careful.
Neil

[Zonda]

Thanks for that info Neil, i hadn't realised that after emerging they would then have to crawl awhile, but i see all now.

This is another of my rejects from Alners Gorse. A PH which i thought was gonna be good at the point of shooting, but on viewing large proved to have an unfortunate 'angle of light' problem, and a blurred proboscis.

[Zonda]

A lovely afternoon in south Dorset. Took a trip along the coast road to try out the Sigma 150-500 on the D300s for the first time. Really impressed with the combination for birds. Shooting from the car, because of a pulled knee tendon meant that no really close encounters could be achieved, so some really heavy cropping was necessary. When i can get a little bit closer, should get some great results.

Some really heavy cropping is no exaggeration. This is the original unworked.

[Zonda]

Well, i have been birding, and getting some top shots. Just wanted to wish you all a great Chrimbo and a butterfly rich New year.

[Neil Hulme]

Nice work Zonda - that's a Christmas cracker.
Happy Crimbo, Neil

[Susie]

That's a beauty, Zonda, and season's greetings to you and yours too.

[Lee Hurrell]

Lovely image Zonda, happy holidays to you and your dear ones.

All the best for next year,

Lee

[Jack Harrison]

That’s very good and far better than my Christmas cards. Clever use of PhotoShop I presume?

Goldfinches are certainly spectacular birds with a lovely tinkling song and I can ALMOST understand why in some parts of the world they are kept in cages.

Jack

[Zonda]

Jack said:

That’s very good and far better than my Christmas cards. Clever use of PhotoShop I presume?

Surprisingly only a bit of manip. I had speared an apple on a bare twig, to try and entice the Fieldfares on to my feeding station, and a Goldfinch perched on it. I took the pic, and cloned out the twig.

No,,,, actually what happened was far more surreal. I was taking a picture of an apple on a tree, when a Goldfinch perched on it. The weight of the finch caused the apple to fall off the tree, and i managed (with a headlong dive) to capture the event three milliseconds later. No?

Happy Chrimbo Jack.