2020 Project 52 by Geoff F - 3rd Quarter

[Geoff F]

Week 31 - Sheep in the field beside where I was recording wildlife.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens Merge of three bracketed exposures. Middle shot 1/400 F11 Iso 400

'He has a camera so let's mess him about and go into the next field'



1/320 F11 Iso 400. Merge of three conversions from one Raw image.

[Urbanflyer]

One of my favorite animals--nicely done

In the first one, consider cropping out a little of the foreground. In the second consider cloning out the taller brown weed just left of center. Thanks for sharing!

[Geoff F]

With the first image, I originally tried having less foreground; principally to increase the amount of sky. But I thought that put the first sheep too close to the edge and the scene changed towards being a sheep portrait instead of the wider rural scene, with interesting sky, which was my intention.

I did remove some of those dry dock seedheads but yes, one more could also be removed. It is a bit too dominant.

Here are just a couple of the many wildlife shots which I took on that day.

Blushing Bracket Fungi



10 spot Ladybird



Myathropa florea hoverfly

[Cantab]

Geoff, I enjoyed both recent posts. I was surprised to see a ladybird with no red; is that (no red) common in the UK.

I am curious about the relationship between farmers and those, like yourself, doing serious flora and fauna inventory work. Are the farmers okay with people in their fields, off public foot paths?

On the subject of fungi, I recently took photos of a new to me brown bronze fungi in our garden. I'm slow processing and editing photos but plan to post the fungi in due course on CiC.

[Geoff F]

Ladybirds come in many colour forms. Most are red or yellow (including orange) and have spots which are black, or in some cases white. But there are several black species, usually with some red markings.

Most are tolerably consistent in colouring although others, particularly the 10 and 2 spot species can vary considerably in colour and number of spots. In those cases the head markings and leg colours are often the best clues to identification.

There are over 40 species in the UK if you include the 'mini ladybird' species, but most of the time those are overlooked as being one of so many tiny beetles. Around 20 species are relatively common and get regularly recorded.

Landowners vary in their attitudes to having wildlife areas close to their farmland but most reserves originated as poor quality farmland which was sold to the wildlife organisations. Some farmers worry about having nearby safe havens for badgers and foxes while the more progressive individuals are happy to work alongside wildlife.

For example, fox attacks on lambs are a rarity now that most lambs are born in large barns where they remain for the first critical weeks of life.

Ramblers, particularly those with uncontrolled dogs are a different matter and some reserves ban dogs, or at least only allow them on a lead. Every farmer with public paths on their land will have tales about dog attacks, sometimes with the dog owners not even attempting to control their pets. Gates left open etc are another source of irritation.

Personally, I have never had any problems with landowners and in one case I know a local farmer so I can wander freely over his land. Then I send him details and photos of what I have recorded from his farm. A good list of insects proves that he is doing the right things by way of habitat management.

[Cantab]

Geoff, thank you for the very interesting comments, both about ladybirds and farmers.

I'm going to do some digging (metaphorically) to see how many types of ladybirds there are out here on the west coast. It's possible although unlikely that the answer will be different for Vancouver Island than over on the mainland. (There's one type of chickadee, aka tit in the UK, that is common on the mainland but not over here.)

[joebranko]

Love the 'Shady Path' shot.

[Geoff F]

Thanks Joe. I have looked at that shady path area many times but it never seemed to be looking quite right, so I previously just walked on.

Week 32 - Aveton Wood. This is where I was recording wildlife today. I have looked at this scene a few times but decided the conditions weren't right. So this time, with a few nice clouds in the sky, I thought 'This is another of those cases where it won't work but I might as well have a go anyway'.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. Merge of three bracketed exposures with the middle one at 1/250 F11 Iso 400.

[Cantab]

To my mind, you've got a decent shot. There's a wide dynamic range, shiny leaves in bright sun and other trees in significant shade.

The tallest tree looks like it might be a Douglas Fir (not really a fir or a hemlock, hence its Latin name Pseudotsuga menziesii). But I presume you don't have them in the UK.

[Geoff F]

They are European Larch, Bruce.

It was a small plantation but became infected with a fungus so when the Woodland Trust took over the site their first job was to fell most of the trees!

I did look at that scene later in the day when the sun was at a 'better angle' but the sky had become bland by then and without the highlight/shadow contrast the whole view looked rather plain.

Week 33 - Hawthorn at South Milton Reedbed. This is where I was recording wildlife today and another of those impossible to get right photo situations

Hawthorn loaded with berries.



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

[Geoff F]

Week 34 and another scene from that farm beside the wildlife site, where I was recording wildlife last Friday.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/100 F11 Iso 400. The sheep were moving and the farmer was fixing his roof so I had to move quickly while everything was in alignment. Tried some bracketed exposure shots but the sheep were moving to fast for that to work. So this is a merge of two conversions from a single Raw image

[Tom Barry]

Excellent work on all of these.

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Tom.

Week 35 - I'm a friendly fluffy bird and I wouldn't harm your little birds. At least that is the impression being given by this Sparrowhawk in my garden. It seemed to be well fed and wasn't looking to attack anything else; so it just sat there for a while and did a bit of a feather tidy up.

Initially tried shooting through the window glass then managed to quietly open the window, but all handheld shots while standing on tiptoe to avoid some flower obstructions. Very dull day, so considering the far from ideal camera settings on such a big heavy lens I was pleased with the results.



7D with Sigma 150-600 Sport lens 1/320 F6.3 Iso 800



1/320 F7.1 Iso 800



1/250 F7.1 Iso 800

[Cantab]

Great photos of the sparrowhawk. It looks very similar to a Cooper's hawk; I saw one 15 feet or so away from me in our garden yesterday. It was sitting on a fence and didn't seem to be concernd about me or the mobility scooter I was on. But I had no camera!☹️

Congratulations on managing to grab the opportunity for these photos.

[Wavelength]

A set of great images; is it called sparrow hawk because it feed on sparrows or because it is small?

[davidedric]

Because it feeds on sparrows, and other small(ish) birds

It has a much bigger brother called a goshawk (was goose hawk) that is pretty formidable.

Very nice pictures. In my garden they usually just do dive bombing raids and don't hang around.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

A couple of Sparrowhawks occasionally swoop over my garden, and nearby areas (one male and one female) but recently it has been the larger female. I have found one perched on my bird table a few times.

Although they will take small birds I have found their choice of prey is pigeons and as far as I am concerned they can take all those tame pigeons which they want. Racing pigeon type but they never get raced; they just rob all the food which I put out for the truly wild birds.

[Antonio Correia]

I have been missing this forum.
I gave a look at your photos Geoff and I think you dop have nice captures !

Thank you for sharing them !
Cheers !

[Geoff F]

Thanks Antonio.

Week 36. Looks like it will be a poor pumpkin crop this year. A field next to where I was recording wildlife today.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/320 F11 Iso 200.

Last year the farmer had a good crop but these plants have suffered badly from powdery mildew and some are still flowering. There are small pumpkins under the leaves but the crop will need to be harvested in another month and there is no sign of significant rain.

The local cereal farmers have also had poor yields this year.

[Cantab]

The f11 gave you a good DOF, nearby pumpkin leaves and the distant hedgerow. Unfortunately, for the farmer, the powdery mildew is all too clear.

I've seen reports of torrential rain in I believe south Devon but powdery mildew is often linked to excessive heat (in my part of the world or perhaps just stressful growing conditions.