Friday at the Flicks - Crowded Bird Bath

It can get very busy when the brat pack arrives, at least a couple of dozen Starlings all wanting a wash and brush up at the same time. There are a lot of youngsters this year, distinguished by their brown feathers. When one has a bath they all get a shower. As always there is plenty of noisy squabbling:



After a good bath which turns the water from clear to a murky brown they spend time preening in the sunshine.

Have a great weekend observing the antics of the wildlife around you.

What the Hard Work is For

They still haven't got round to harvesting the crop growing at the end of my lane so that gave an opportunity to appropriate a stem so I could photograph it.

I couldn't use my usual macro set up as this was far too large to get the whole thing in frame so I changed to a Sigma 28-80mm macro zoom lens used on the macro setting. That turned out to be just right. The stalk was held on a retort stand and clamp in the kitchen. Lighting was part daylight from the window on the left and an LED lamp above and to the right. ISO was wound down to 100 and five focus stacked photos taken.

These were processed in Zerene Stacker to produce:



It was quite a problem to stop the lighter parts being blown out so the above photo had the highlights reduced and the darker areas lightened a bit:



All that was left to do was to get a smoother background. I was going to use Photo Scissors to cut out the subject but it looked like taking well over an hour to tidy things up by hand round all the fiddly bits so I plonked it in Serif Affinity Photo and used a clone brush to copy various bits of the background over the parts I wanted to hide. A quick crop left me with a result I am fairly pleased with. One head of Wheat (I hope):



Another crop grown widely in Lincolnshire is oilseed rape. I was just reading about a local farmer who has beaten the world oilseed rape yield record. I found it an interesting read and the article can be found on the Farmers Weekly site.

Gatekeeper

I try to remember to have the little Nikon in my shirt pocket when I am pottering round the garden. Fortunately I had remembered before I hauled out the garden hose to give my potted plants a good soaking. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small brown flutter land nearby. Several seem to visit but rarely settle. Of course this one landed with wings closed and in a awkward spot to get a clear view without disturbing it:



Then it moved higher up but again with wings closed. At at least the viewing angle was better:



I had expected it to fly away but to my delight it stayed a while and opened it wings so I could take some better shots:





Eventually it moved on but only when the hose spray got too close for comfort. At least it stayed long enough for me to identify it as a Gatekeeper by its colouring and the twin white spots near the front tips of its wings.

Harvest Time

Sunday I thought I could hear farm machinery so under a blazing Sun we went to have a look in the afternoon. Sure enough as we went down one of our favourite lanes I could see signs of activity through the entrance to one field:

 

Sneaking in the entrance there was the combine harvester in the distance making its way slowly towards us:








Just a little bit of video to show the beast at work as it reached the end of the field and turned. Hand held and a some wind noise in the first section:



Looks a lot of investment for something which is used for a short time each year though I believe some farms hire their use. A quick search showed used versions of this combine would cost in excess of $150,000 (in the US) depending on age, condition and extras fitted. When new in 2009 they sold for £150,000+ in the UK.

Monday looking at the fields next to the cricket field there is plenty more which looks ready:

 

It's going to be a busy few days and nights for some.

Monday Mystery - Guess What

Congratulations and the virtual Midmarsh Gold Star go to Adrian, Frank and Glo who identified last week's mystery photo as a close view of a key:

   

My thanks to all who had a go at identifying it.

Now have a go at this week's birds eye view of the mystery object.
Guess What:


Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.
No prizes. Just a well satisfied feeling and maybe a virtual Midmarsh Gold or Silver Star.

First Dragon of the Year

Saturday saw the arrival of the first visiting dragonfly to my garden pond this year.
Looks to me like a female Common Darter.
It spent time making sorties round the pond, always returning to the same place.

 

 

At one point it appeared to be chasing this pair of damsels but gave up when they landed:

 

Returning to its vantage point where it rested watching them:








She stayed a couple of hours before moving on.

One Clean Robin

I am used to seeing Robins visit the bird bath to have a drink but I think this is the first time I have seen one take a bath. By the looks of it I think this is one of this years brood. First it just stood in the middle of the water, then had a little splash about, stood some more, then more bathing and so on: