Seasons Greetings

Following this long cold spell and heavy snow I have not been able to get out with my camera to capture the beautiful snow covered landscapes, so I have had to be content with topping up the feeders in my small Suffolk town garden and photographing the birds through the patio doors...

These feeders have seen an abundance of different birds even Long Tailed Tits have been sitting on the snow covered branches of the Hawthorn tree just outside my computer room window, there have been a constant flight of Blue Tits coming to the feeder stuck on the window, I have even noticed two Field Fares finishing of the last of the Hawthorn Berries...

We all must try hard during this cold spell to put out food for all the birds and small creatures at this time of year as it's pitiful to see them with their feathers all puffed out...

May I know take this opportunity to thank Matt for taking me out during this past year without this help I would not have been able to see so much wildlife let alone photograph it....

Finally may I wish you all the best for Christmas and the New Year...

Phil

A Visit to RSPB Minsmere

Whow what a lovely day we have had here in Suffolk, dispite a strong NW wind the sun shone and this made for an enjoyable few hours at the RSPB flagship reserve at Minsmere.

Matt and I were hoping to photograph some of the many stone-chats that had been seen on the reserve during the past few days, I'm sorry to say this was not possible as there were so many off the red & blue waterproof coat brigade with their children and dogs...I don't know why these people come along to a reserve as they made so much noise all the birds decided to hide deep within the bushes (s0 much for humans observing the country-code).....

Putting that to one side we both enjoyed our stroll around Minsmere especially myself as I have not been that well during the past week, I had the unfortunate shock of having to adjust my lifestyle yet again has I had a very staunch warning from my GP following last Sundays kidney problems. It seems as this was caused by my Type2 Diabetes not being controlled and I had not been sticking to my diet....naughty naughty me...I am now taking this very serious as I was told I was heading in the right direction for kidney failure....now that's something I do not want as that would put an end to my nature jollies...

Despite not getting any decent shots of birds Matt and I did spend time on the receding shingle bank & shore line as the light on the crashing waves was very good for photography...

I must say Matt got so engrossed with photographing the waves whilst standing about two feet from the water line with his trusted Nikon and 500mm lens attached to his tripod he forgot to keep an eye out for any large waves...yes you have guessed what happened a large wave crashed on the shingle, the next thing I saw was Matt dancing in the sea trying not to get wet...oh well he did try but he got wet right up-to his crotch....mind you he was very lucky the Nikon and tripod stayed still and no damage was done....well only his pride was dented....

After this we decided to make our way back to the visitor centre for a hot coffee...well I had a coffee but Matt came out with a big chunk of peanut chocolate cake...he's starting his diet tomorrow...I've heard that before as well...

If you wish to visit RSPB Minsmere there is a £5 entry fee for non members also worth a visit is the National Trust Heath at Dunwich which is just a few miles along the coast, here you may get a glimpse of the large herd of Red Deer that frequent the heath....

A visit to Captains Wood Suffolk

Well it's been a month since I last placed a post on this blog, this was because I have not been very well and have not been able to visit any reserves.

So today I was feeling reasonably OK and Matt picked me up and we went of to Captain's Wood in Suffolk for details of this wood please check out the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts website...We were hoping to see some of the many Red Deer that frequent this beautiful ancient woods but alas non were to be seen amongst the Oak and Silver Birches...

However there were a wide range of fungi to photograph, and to photograph these takes a good deal of patience as it's just not having a problem with getting down to their level that causes problems, it's the fact that you have to do so much tidying up around the actual fungi as there is usually odd bit's of leaves, brambles, nettles around the fungi so these have to be removed to get a good shot.

Then after taking the shot it's them time for Matt to help me up from the ground as my back has just about locked up...also having a pint of Aspels cider with our lunch didn't help matters...

As you can imagine this ancient wood was starting to change with the autumn colours now starting to show and with the low sitting sun pushing lovely rays of light in through the branches there was a very enjoyable atmosphere being created with grey squirrels running along the forest floor and the autumnal smells of rotting leaves and bracken it was a very pleasant couple of hours and to think in a few months time the whole woods will have taken on a different appearance...then it will be a different atmosphere all together with different subject matter to photograph....

Fungi in the Woods

What a beautiful late summers day we had here in Suffolk today, this weather was ideal for doing fungi photography so Matt and I went of and visited Bradfield Woods once more, this time we were joined by Heidi another Suffolk Wildlife Trust volunteer photographer. This was Heidi's first outing with us two and she soon found out about our sense of humour and the ice was broken...

On entering the woods we were met by the volunteer warden and after introducing Matt & Heidi to him he told us where there were some good species to photograph...we hadn't got far into the woods and we came across a lovely area of wildflowers, this was really unexpected so this was an added bonus...

Whilst crawling on our hands and knees in the woods photographing the various fungi it was great to hear the bird song and to see several butterflies nectering on various plants...yet again Matt was to be seen munching his way through the abundant blackberries on the bushes....of course there was the occasional spit as some were not that sweet....

We all were engrossed with our surroundings in this ancient wood we had forgot to keep an eye on the time, low and behold it was vastly approaching lunch time so we made our way back to the car park...

Whilst making this journey back we came across a mother & father with two young boys who were enjoying the woods and were learning so much from their parents and this is when it really hit home how the Suffolk Wildlife Trust are doing a great job in saving these important woodland for the future generation and I urge you all to help the Trust to purchase the last remaining private part of the woods, this can be done by going to the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts website link for Bradfield Woods and donate to the Bradfield Woods Appeal.....

Once more Matt & I had a great day & I'm sure Heidi enjoyed her first trip out with us too....

Bradfield Woods

Bradfield woods is a working wood that is unique as it has been under continuous traditional coppice management since 1252, fulfilling local needs for firewood and hazel products. It is one of Britain’s finest ancient woodlands and is a glorious haven for wildlife.

Coppice products from Bradfield Wood are still sold today for thatching and hurdle making. Other products sold from the wood include rustic ash poles for garden structures, bean poles, peas sticks, rotted sawdust soil conditioner and firewood.

After reading the above on the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts Website Matt and I decided to pay this historical wood a visit and with autumn approaching we were hoping to see and photograph some fungi. I'm pleased to say we were not disappointed as we soon saw so many different species and both Matt and I managed to photograph these, one thing that did disappoint us was to see that so many fungi had been destroyed, of course this could only have been caused by senseless idiots kicking them over...what did they achieve from doing that!!!

We spent quite awhile photographing the many dragonflies that were resting on the blackberry bushes...oh those blackberries were so sweet, I'm sure Matt will have a belly ache tonight as he was eating so many...

Whilst taking a slow walk though the woods we were hoping to see one of the many red deer, roe deer or spotted fallow but we were unlucky, perhaps we shall have to arrive at dawn to see these.

If any of you are interested in going to Bradfield Woods (shown as Felshamhall Woods on an OS map) the Grid reference on the OS Landranger 155 map is TL 93581 there is ample parking on-site, Both Matt and I enjoyed our visit so much we are already planning another visit.

A return visit to Redgrave & Lopham Fen

Today Matt and I had a return visit to Redgrave & Lopham Fen, although the weather forecast was intermittent showers and dispite the light not being conducive for photography we decided to give the Fen a look.

On arriving we were welcomed by two friendly volunteers in the visitor centre and seeing it was a bit on the nippy side we decided to have a lovely hot mug of coffee before setting off into the rather windy fen.

It wasn't long before we spotted a Munkjac deer, of course he soon scarpered of into the woods that surrounded this side of the fen, we then came across a very sheltered spot and I soon spotted a red dragonfly in a spiders web, the rush was on to photograph the demise of this insect as it was about to be devoured by a spider...I'm pleased to say Matt got the best shot as all mine suffered from camera shake as I only had a 400 lens attached...(see top of the page for Matt's photograph).

Whilst taking a slow stroll around the fen we saw a kestrel going down for it's prey and on one of the lakes we were lucky to see Kingfisher sitting on a post and a lone Egret unfortunately these were to far away to be photographed.

Another sight to see is the wild ponies that wander the reserve, these have been placed onto the reserve by Suffolk Wildlife Trust to manage the grass etc, whilst we were in one of the wooded areas a small group of these ponies were close by.

By now we were staring to get the lunch box syndrome and we headed back to the Visitor Center for another mug of coffee and an Alder Carr ice-cream, whilst making our way back Matt & I spotted a young Fallow Deer.

Just after this the sky decided to turn a nasty grey colour and just as we sat down to have our coffee the heavens opened and that was the end of our day out on the fen...

Despite not having many photographs that were worth keeping on my return both Matt & I had a very enjoyable day...

Royal Photographic Society Exhibition Acceptance

Although this is not a write up on a visit to a reserve I'm please to announce one of my photographs I have taken whilst on a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve has been selected and accepted for the Royal Photographic Societies 2010 International Projected Image Exhibition.

The photograph that was accepted was "Amber in the Making" as you can imagine I am chuffed to bits as is a very prestigious exhibition and to get an acceptance into the Natural History section is beyond some photographers dreams...

Lackford Lakes

I'm sure some of you must have thought I had disappeared as I have not been writing up my Blog, unfortunately I have not been very well for a while and my Nature Reserve visits had been put on hold...

So today it was back to nature photography although I have had to be very careful as my spinal problem is really limiting what I can do, so it was a visit to Lackford Lakes today to see if I could photograph one of the Kingfishers that frequent this old gravel workings that was taken over by Suffolk Wildlife Trust back in 1976.

I must say as a disabled photographer this site is one of the best I have come across for access as the paths are good for wheelchair uses and the visitor centre has an electric motorised chair that can be used for a small donation. Also there is a wheelchair friendly hide...also on site there is an excellent visitor centre where you can purchase different bird feeders and seed also available are hot and cold drinks as well as the usual nature books etc...

Well I'm pleased to say my companion and I did get to see three kingfishers but I'm sorry to say the quality of my shot was not good enough to display.

Despite my disappointment at the poor shot we got to see several species of damselflies, butterflies and moths so all in all not a bad few hours were had...

If you ever fancy a trip out to Lackford Lakes its just of the A1101 on the Bury St Edmund's to Mildenhall Road Map OS Landranger 155...Grid reference TL 803708.

"Spider Day" at Redgrave & Lopham Fen

Today was a day with a difference as it was an open day organised by Suffolk Wildlife Trust where the main theme was spiders, of course there were other things to look for if you suffer from arachnophobia as there were guided walks around the reserve that took in wildflowers, butterflies and many species of birds.

At the well stocked visitor centre you were greeted by many of the Trust's dedicated volunteers who kindly gave up their time serving refreshments as well as manning the gazebos where you could taste local produced apple juice, various chutneys etc. The Trust also had a very good educational stand where young and the young at heart could learn more about the Fen and the Trusts activities.

The main part and highlight of the day for me was to be shown where the rare Fen Raft Spider was hiding in the various pools that are located in the fen. On hand was Helen Smith who was the expert and she soon told us where to look for this elusive spider, I was amazed to see this spectacular spider for the first time as I have visited the fen so many times before and this was the first time I had ever seen this wonder of nature and to top it off the spider I saw was a female complete with a large egg sac (see photograph at the top of this blog) apparently once hatched this sac would produce 300 off spring.

Once again I was grateful to my buddy Matt who loaned me his massive 500mm lens and converters to obtain the photograph....

I must also say a big thanks to Bev Blackburn and all the Trusts volunteers for making this day a very enjoyable visit and if you would like to know more about the Trust, its work and its open days please check their website http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/

Spouse's Vale & Arger Fen

Today Matt and I went of to Spouse's Vale & Arger Fen, yet another Suffolk Wildlife Trust Reserve, this reserve holds a SSI status and covers approx 19.75 acres it is situated in between the villages of Bures & Assington. Grid Ref: TL 936363

The Vale & Fen is a fascinating mosaic of ancient woodland alongside fen meadow, during our visit today we came across fresh badger droppings (small berries) these proved that juvenile badgers had been present, also seen were various species of butterfly that included Meadow Brown, Comma and Orange Tip. Because of the strong winds neither of us could not get a good photograph of these once they landed.

There was also evidence that foxes had been in the area, so Matt and I will attempt to get their early one morning and try to photograph these wild elusive creatures as they are far more careful than the urban foxes that we see in our towns.

Several wildflowers were in bloom and the Ragwort had several Cinnabar Caterpillars munching on the foliage.

Whilst walking through the woods I came across a feature of nature that was in the early stages of making, that being "Amber in the making" some of you may know that Amber is fossilised tree sap, the process to turn it into a stone for use in jewelry takes millions of years, during the period of the sap being released small flies, mosquitoes and other small insects get trapped in the sap and in time become fossilised within the Amber.

Both Matt and I were able to photograph the start of this process using a tripod, ring flash and a time release so we could get a sharp photograph(see the image at the top of this post...off course both Matt & I will never live long enough to see the whole process through to the end, however it was a great experience to record the start of it....

Once again a great reserve to visit and walk round....

Market Weston Fen

Today we visited Market Weston Fen a SSSI, Natura 2000 site which is managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

With over 250 flowering plants , 20 species of butterfly including the White Admiral and graying. Birds like Snipe, Sedge Warbler breed in the open fen.

So you can see from the description above we were looking to have a good visit. Like yesterday it was a hot and humid day although more cloud cover made the temperature more bearable.

On arrival we followed a well signed circular walk and it wasn't long before we were photographing various species of plants and flowers, this proved to be a rather wet exercise, dispite a long period of no rain the fen proved to live up to it's name, as soon as I knelt down to take a photograph the water rose and made my trousers wet.

Of course there were the usual rabbits darting in and out of the heath area. Yet again there were several dragonflies darting around the various areas of water and just like yesterday I was unable to photograph these as they were too active.

The highlight of our visit was to spot a White Admiral butterfly, this was the first time I had ever seen one and as per usual I was to slow to photograph it, however my photographic buddy Matt was quick of the mark and he managed to capture a record shot of it (see top of this blog)as Matt politely said the photograph is not a prize winner the main thing was to be there to see and record it....

Both Matt and I shall be visiting this beautiful fen again and I can thoroughly recommend it to you all...Grid reference TL987789

Carlton Marshes

Today we visited Carlton Marshes one of Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserves www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org this reserve is part of the Suffolk Broads and today it was extremely hot in fact when we returned back to the car it was 34c.

There was an abundance of dragonflies flying around the various dyke's and trying to photograph one of the various species was very difficult as soon as one landed i set my tripod down and focused the dam thing took of before I could hit the shutter release. My photographic friend and I have a name for this Nikonitus.

The most funniest part of the day was when I placed my foot in a cow pat that was left there by one of the cattle that graze the marshes, I can assure you my photographic buddy really laughed, never mind his turn will come one day.

During our visit to Carlton Marshes we saw Marsh Harrier, Heron, various species of Dragonflies, Reed Warbler, an abundance of Meadow Brown Butterflies.

All in all a very nice few hours spent at this reserve and off course we will be visiting it again later in the year.