Crane Fly on the Kitchen Window

Spotted a Crane Fly on the outside of the kitchen window. Grabbed the 50D with 70-200 zoom lens + Raynox DCR-250 macro conversion lens to photograph the insect from inside. I only used ambient light which was failing rapidly as flash would just have reflected back from the glass.

Balancing my hand and the lens on a Honeydew melon which brought me to just the right height I took a few shots. The final three I then process in Zerene Stacker and spent a while in Serif Affinity Photo beta to take out about a hundred blemishes from dust on the window which were littering the background:



This is the uncropped view which isn't too bad for hand held without extra lighting and at 7 p.m.. The out of focus green of the lawn made quite a good background.

Bird Table (Toshiba X-Sports)

'Twas a good start to the day, bright though not particularly warm:



I decided to have a session with the Toshiba X-Sports next to the bird table and grab a few still shots as well as movie:



Today, just a few of the still shots, all cropped.

Blackbird:




Starlings:






As before I put my feet up in the Summerhouse and controlled the camera from the iPod Touch while my supervisor did what she does best:



I'll probably put together some of the video clips for Friday at the Flicks.

Insect House

Glorious day yesterday, lots of Sunshine with a pleasant breeze. 

 

 Maximum temperature 21.5C

 

To pass time while I was waiting to go for an ultrasound scan I looked through the latest catalogue from CJ Wildlife. I thought about buying a new insect house to replace one I bought a few years ago but decided to look into building one myself. I gathered a few materials and then had another look at the old one. Though it had deteriorated it wasn't a very big job to repair it. The sides were warped. A couple of L angle brackets soon fixed that. Part of the roof had rotted away. That was quickly replaced and covered with some damp proof barrier to make it more waterproof.

I found a new place to mount it where I could easily keep an eye on any activity as it had previously been mounted out of the way in a too sheltered spot:



The only change I made was to the bottom section which was originally just an empty space with a 'holy' door to close it off. I chopped short lengths of old bamboo and filled the space with those but only to half the depth..



It didn't look as though it had ever been used by bees or lacewings, just the occasional spider, so it will be interesting to see whether a new position will attract any home hunters.

Macro on Monday - Guess What

There were two possibilities for last week's puzzle photo.



My congratulations and the virtual Midmarsh Gold Star go to Ragged Robin who chose the correct one. It was a close crop of a Toad which Penny found in the garden one wet evening.



Virtual Midmarsh Silver Stars go to Adrian, TexWisGirl and Wilma who thought it was a frog. The warty skin was the give away in the photo:

   

On to this week's puzzle picture.
Guess What:


Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They wil be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.
No prizes, just for fun and possibly a virtual Midmarsh Gold or Silver Star.

Fledgling Blackbirds

One fledgling Blackbird has been around for a few days and has now been joined by another. The older one pays regular visits to the bird bath:







Papa gathering seeds to feed the youngsters:







The second fledgling is more timid and tends to stay hidden:

Friday at the Flicks - Showering in the Rain Shower

 

As mentioned earlier in the week here is the video of a Wood Pigeon taking a shower in the pouring rain:



Haven't managed any photos yet but I see the new broods are starting to arrive. I spotted a fledgling Blackbird and probably a fledgling Dunnock being fed in the garden.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

A Pretty Pong

I bought some Stapelia Grandiflora plants which have started to flower:



The flowers are about 50mm across and very prettily patterned:



Unfortunately there is a down side to them which I didn't find out about until later. A strong scent which has been described in many ways. None of them complimentary. It's not known as the Carrion Plant for nothing. In my case I was accusing Penny of having been caught short during the night. Fortunately for her it turned out to be the scent from the flower.