Project 52 - Weekly Photos by Geoff F - Second Quarter

[Geoff F]

Once again, I will be attempting to post at least one image per week during 2022. No specific subject at the moment although some trends may develop during the year.

Please do not upload your images to this thread; simply due to the thread size, although comments will be fine. However, if you want to try a similar project, you will be encouraged to have a go at creating your own Project 52.


Week 19 - Kingswear Castle with the Excel passing. I was photographing and recording insects on the coast path and looked up as some fishing boats were returning to Dartmouth Harbour.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 200

Also the Nicky V

[Cantab]

Geoff, I've found your "second" quarter thread!
I noted that there's what may be a large concrete gun emplacement to the right of the castle. Is it a gun emplacement from the second world war?

[Geoff F]

Yes, Bruce, there are still a lot of these WW 2 fortifications around. Further to the right, on the headland, there are several larger installations. Dartmouth was considered to be of serious importance, probably due to the naval college being there. And nearby to that structure is a house which was used for agents waiting to be landed on the French coast.

[Geoff F]

Week 20 - Gammon Head. Where I was photographing and recording insects this week



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/320 F11 Iso 320 merge of two bracketed exposures.

[Geoff F]

And a few of the insects from that day. All tricky to photograph

Rose Chafer. They won't stay still and reflection from that shiny surface is always a problem.



Sigma 180 Macro Lens. 1/200 F9 Iso 400 with flash.

Fan-bristled Robberfly. Too far away and I slightly over exposed the shot. I tried to move closer for another go but it was away as soon as I moved. So I did what I could to recover some details during editing.



Another problem shot. An uncommon Groundbug - Trapezonotus ullrichi. About 5 mm and sitting on a white flower. Only managed two quick shots before this one also ran away.

[Geoff F]

Week 21. Looking south from where I was recording insects today. I left home in sunshine and even arrived at this site in partial brightness. Also sunny when I returned home, but when I wanted to take a landscape shot . . .



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/320 F11 Iso 250

And one of the insects, Arge pagana. A species of sawfly.

[Geoff F]

Week 22 - Soar Mill Cove. Where I was recording insects today.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 250. Tried to get the fence running along to towards the sky but I'm not totally happy with the result. Maybe a crop off the right side?

'Not another Sassenach with a camera!'



1/320 F11 Iso 400

And a couple of the insects. Chrysotoxum elegans. An uncommon hoverfly but I manage to find one or two each year around this part of the coast.



Acetropis gimmerthalii a little bug which lives among grass stems.

[Geoff F]

Week 23 - Dormouse Survey. I helped with a survey of dormice nest boxes at a local wildlife reserve today. One of those situations where it is a case of 'I know everything is wrong with this scene but I only have one chance. So just click the shutter and hope for the best.'



Canon 7D with 24-105 lens. 1/250 F5.6 Iso 800



1/125 F5.6 Iso 800.

I did have a flash unit in my bag but these were quick real life action shots with no time to think or make changes. I did a quick assessment of the situation and realised I had to get into a shooting position which would be wrong for the light. No space to move back because I was hemmed in by trees, ferns, brambles and other foliage. So I just increased Iso and opened up the lens a bit, then under exposed by one stop to allow for overly bright highlights and recovered what I could during editing.

About 40 boxes checked with three having old nests and one containing an actual dormouse.

[Cantab]

The second image works particularly well: a good documentary photo.

I looked up dormouse and see that they can hibernate for a good part of the year. Is that what they do in the nesting boxes or are the boxes strictly for raising young mice?

When I saw the up close checking of mice boxes, the question of disease came to mind. In my part of the world one has to be careful of the droppings, etc. of deer mice because of the danger of a hantavirus.

[Geoff F]

Dormice hibernate under leaf litter at the base of trees etc then climb up suitable trees where they make nests under bits of old bark to raise their young. The nest boxes make an ideal alternative.

They are a protected species here so handling, or even disturbing them is controlled. The woman in these photos has a dormice handling licence so the other guy and myself were helpers to find the boxes and undertake repairs to damaged boxes etc.

When an inhabited box is found it is placed in a large bag so the mouse can be located then placed into a small bag for weighing before being returned to its box. The box entrance hole is against the tree. That bit of cloth is blocking the hole so the mouse doesn't run away up the tree while the box is being moved.

[Cantab]

Geoff, thank you for the detailed and fascinating information. My impression is that you're part of what is a lot of natural history research in an attempt to keep track of what is happening with local populations.

Are there any significant declines (or increases) in the bug and mice that you're helping keep track of?

I occasionally see Information about decreases and sometimes increases in bird species populations here in British Columbia. I record most of my bird sightings in eBird and for several years participated in a national bird Feederwatch during the winter months. Both of which provide data which is made available to scientists.

[Geoff F]

It is a rather confused situation, Bruce, with some species increasing while others are in decline. The recent spell of mild winters have favoured those which are on the edge of their range and some others are appearing as an early rush then going quiet around midsummer.

Moths have been very variable with many uncommon species doing well while others which were common are getting hard to find.

It will require regular recording over an extended period before any definite changes become certain.

There are anomalies to consider as a result of more people recording certain species. If straight figures are used, it appears that many species are most active at weekends and during school holidays.

I only record certain species because a lot of wildlife is just too complicated and requires an expert with a microscope. But with the stuff that I do record, in many cases there have been no previous records simply because nobody has previously recorded anything around this area.

[Geoff F]

Week 24 - Willowherb. Still busy photographing and recording local insects but for this week I thought I would have a go with some wildflowers. I'm not sure which willowherb. They are a complicated family but maybe Short-fruited Willowherb?



7D with Sigma 180 Macro Lens. 1/200 F10 Iso 640

Common Centaury



1/160 F11 Iso 320

And an uncommon insect which appears to be increasing. Opilio canestrinii harvestman

[Geoff F]

Week 25 - Frogmore Creek. On my way to a wildlife recording site I was passing this creek.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 200. Merge of 2 bracketed exposures



1/250 F11 Iso 200. Merge of 2 bracketed exposures

[Geoff F]

Week 26 - A grey day in Salcombe Harbour. I was struggling with some macro photography in difficult conditions when I looked up and though this scene was worth shooting. No time for a lens change so I went with my macro lens after turning off the flash and switching to Av mode without readjusting the settings. Not what I would ideally have used but it seems to have worked reasonably well.



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens. 1/1600 F8 Iso 400. By the time I thought about 'better settings' the boats were in a different position so the moment would have been lost.

[billtils]

Not what I would ideally have used but it seems to have worked reasonably well.

Indeed it has.

[Cantab]

Indeed it has.

I agree.

[Cantab]

Geoff, for me, the first Frogmore Creek photo works really well. When I saw it, it immediately created a good feeling. Somewhat more technically, perhaps the slope of the two hills converging downwards near the centre is part of what makes it work. In any event, the end result is a success.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments. I had passed that Frogmore Creek scene a few times and thought about a photo but the sky wasn't quite what I wanted.

And an additional image for Week 26 with my macro lens.



1/640 F11 Iso 320.

Two lifeboats which were on passage to other ports stopped in the harbour for a break.

[Cantab]

Geoff, those are large lifeboats. Are they operated by a private charity (as they used to be, perhaps many years ago)?

Here, the Coast Guard does some (most?) of the marine rescue work but there is also an Auxiliary Coast Guard, which some private boat owners are part of: http://ccga-gcac.ca/ http://ccga-gcac.ca/ (hopefully one of these two insertions of the URL will work.)

P.S. There are also RCAF search and rescue helicopters located at an air force base about a three or four hour drive north from the south end of Vancouver Island: https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/s...ft/ch-149.html .