Autumn Clean

After a couple of dreary, damp days which have given a real feel that Autumn has arrived I decided it was time to clean out the camera nestbox.

First, removed the front panels and disposed of the old nest:



Brushed out as much dust and droppings as possible and then gave it a good spray with Ark-Klens. A good cleanser, disinfectant and deodoriser which is formulated for use in animal housing:

   

The box needed a good dose of cleaning. I have never seen so many small fleas leaping about as there were today after the nest had been removed. Also sprayed the inside of the front panels, left all for a short while then a good wipe down with some kitchen towels. Also cleaned the business end of the b/w camera (the black cylinder above the nesting area) Waited about an hour for things to dry out then re-fixed the front panels.



Looking well weathered now after three years out in all weathers but guaranteed nice and clean inside ready for the next occupant.

Why clean out so long before nesting time? Birds often explore and choose nesting sites in the Autumn and sometimes use nestboxes as roosts to spend cold, damp, windy Winter and early Spring nights.

Later: I see a new dropping in the box so I guess it has already been explored. I would be surprised if  I hadn't been watched while I was cleaning it out! Waiting for a new power supply for the video recorder which will automatically record any activity in it and the Hedgehog House.

That Hedgehog Again

The local hedgehog continues to make nightly visits to the Hedgehog House for free nosh
(crushed unsalted peanuts and dried mealworms):



Jerky movements near the start of the video are caused by the PC dropping frames while it was being recorded!

Macro on Monday - Guess What

Once again congratulations and a virtual gold star to everyone who had a go at identifying last week's mystery photos. Adrian, Sue Garrett, TexWisgirl, Wilma, Ima Burdie and Ragged Robin all identified the macro photos as being feathers. They were found in the garden and probably came from a Wood Pigeon.


      





This time a macro shot of an inanimate object.
I wonder how many will be able to identify this one.

Guess what:


Clue: wet, hard fur.
No prizes, just for fun.
Guesses left in the comments will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Cloudy Day

Yesterday there were plenty of clouds racing across the sky so I set up the Fujifilm IS-1 with the 720nm IR filter and left it taking one photo every 6 seconds until the batteries ran out. Total taken - 910 shots batch converted to greyscale with Irfanview and dropped en masse in trakAxPC, titles and soundtrack added:

CLOUDS

Clouds are very clever things
They aren't held up with hooks or strings
They have no wings to help them fly
They simply hang there in the sky
George Ansell  from Poems for Kids

The setup:
Camera on a sturdy tripod.
Home brew intervalometer powered by 12V battery on the table:

The Frog

By Hilaire Belloc

Be kind and tender to the Frog,

   And do not call him names,

As ‘Slimy skin,’ or ‘Polly-wog,’

   Or likewise ‘Ugly James,’

Or ‘Gape-a-grin,’ or ‘Toad-gone-wrong,’   

   Or ‘Billy Bandy-knees’:

The Frog is justly sensitive

   To epithets like these.

No animal will more repay

   A treatment kind and fair;

At least so lonely people say

Who keep a frog (and, by the way,   

They are extremely rare).

iPhone 4     Camera+ app

 A Frog in his Tea
by Rex Miller
The frog was tired of sitting still
so it jumped from the lawn
to the window sill,
and hopped through the gap
down onto the rug,
then up on the arm and into the mug.

The man looked down to his cup of tea
and saw something swimming
that couldn't get free.
He lifted it carefully and there in his
drink were two blinking eyes
looking up in surprise.

Both being shocked to meet over tea
the frog and the man
swopped smiles of glee.
Lifting him on to his palm he said
"Now that's what I call a mug shot
thank goodness my tea was not hot."

iPhone 4     Camera+ app

I Have a Little Frog
I have a little frog
His name is Tiny Tim,
I put him in the bathtub,
To see if he could swim,
He drank up all the water,
And gobbled up the soap!
And when he tried to talk
He had a BUBBLE in his throat!

Fujifilm IS-1  720nm IR filter

 Came home from a photographically frustrating walk. Didn't take a camera as it looked like rain and saw plenty of dragons and flutters some of which would have paused for the odd portrait. Just about to unlock the back door when what should I see but a fully grown common frog looking for all the world as though it was waiting to be let in. Grabbed a few shots with the iPhone and then went in to fetch the Fujifilm and took a few in IR. Froggy was very obliging and stayed still several times to allow me to get within inches for some close shots.

I Have a Little Frog from CanTeach
A Frog in his Tea from English Poems for Kids

Another Itsy Bitsy Spider

I have been very pleased with the performance of the Raynox DCR-150 (magnification 4.8 diopter) macro add on lens. When I saw a little used DCR-250 (magnification 8 diopter) for sale I grabbed it. This one magnifies even more though takes more patience to get things in focus. A short while after it had arrived I spotted a tiny spider on the lid of a wheelie bin so the lens had its first try out:




I was chuffed with the result considering I was hand holding a weighty 50D with battery pack, 70-200mm lens, LED ring light and the DCR-250. On top of that the spider was moving. I haven't found out yet what spider this is. Size - about 8 to 9mm across the legs.

Where Are They All Going?

We were out a bit earlier this morning for our early morning walkies, about 6.45 a.m. local time. A fairly clear blue sky and was struck by the number of commercial airline con trails I could see. All were heading towards the North Sea and then on to the continent. As well as the number it was noticeable that they were all tending to converge on the same narrow corridor. Though the camera in the iPhone could only see a few I counted thirteen trails, many fairly recent and probably all in the last hour or so.



There is a fascinating site where you can zoom in on any part of the world and see in real time just how many commercial aircraft are up there. If you want to see what is above you now then go to the PlaneFinder site and zoom in on your local area. Link should open in a new window.