I Revisit a Park Just North of the A421

          I headed across the A421 to visit the woods beyond. Once parked, I took the soft case from my LUMIX FZ10002, leaving it behind in the car’s boot, and hung the camera around my neck. On this occasion I am travelling light, very light! Not even my monopod. Locking up the car, I take to the long dark tunnel of trees into the open air beyond, occasionally stopping to capture images along the way that caught my eye.
          Currently, the weather seems somewhat unsettled, and slightly less clearly season defined, but I did find metallic green flies, at least three species of butterflies, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, and some others that I could not immediately identify. Variegated leaf colouring and backlit leaves also attracted my interest, as did a fair number of small, or simply young hoverflies. Beyond the woods, in the open area of the park, the wind had picked up, and despite taking several of the paths in hope of further interest, I was disappointed, as nothing much caught my eye, and therefore my camera — the rest of my walk yielded only fair weather clouds, the green winding paths and one long, lightly leaved and bowing branch framing the curving metalled path.
          I had gained the exercise, enjoyed the fresh air, and was impressed yet again by just how versatile this small camera is and fully justifies my decision to purchase it — it does not replace my more expensive kit, but when travelling light, fully earns its place amongst my heavier and pricier cameras.

Floral Interlude – Marston Moretaine

With some time to kill, and the need to remain close by, I take my camera and wander along the pavement capturing some of the flowers bathed in warm sunshine, that are displayed in many of the front gardens bordering Station Road.

And occasionally I take a closer look in some of the many tubs that add colour to some of the roads that join the main road. I find that among these shots there are often useful backgrounds for creating greetings cards for relatives and friends to carry messages of good wishes for birthdays and other anniversaries.

On this occasion, sadly I found that one of my lenses is in need of a service as the focussing did not work every time , so after only the first couple of shots, I had to return to swap it for another, so sadly that is another bill to pay! I returned to the task in hand and continued up Station Road, looking for suitable shots that could be taken from the pavement.

I also take such opportunities to capture bees, hoverflies and butterflies, but on this occasion I saw no bees or butterflies, and considering the buddies are now in blossom, I am surprised that I only saw a Cabbage White, and only flies and overflies, so this gallery is almost entirely of flowers.

Southill Visit – Millennium Wood

 

Having had the good luck to capture some shots of a woodpecker, albeit at quite a distance, it reminded me that the other location where I had caught sight of one was in a small wood in Southill which though at a greater distance from me, had one distinct advantage as where I had come across it was in a clearing within a clearing atop a mound at the Millennium Wood, so that was where I was headed, and also of note was a small secluded lake nearby. However, that turned out to be a non-starter as it was within private grounds, and clearly defined as such with signs displayed at its high hedge boundary.

Due to my somewhat laggy SatNav on the phone, I also managed to add several miles to the outward journey by passing the junction on the A421, and having to travel to the next one and retrace my path to the earlier junction!

As my visit was at a weekend, I was in luck with parking meaning there was no distance to walk from the car, and anyway I was travelling light with just one camera, the EOS R, and the 24-70mm lens with its macro facility which came into use on a couple of occasions. The Wood is in the midst of adding more trees, and the established ones still had the first leaves of the season so were looking very fresh. It was however very noticeable that there were a preponderance of very insistent flies, something I associate more with hotter climes, and in the time I was there, became very annoying, and considering the small lake was not too distant with a far more suited habitat, I cannot account for why they should be so abundant.

The light was good throughout, and I only encountered three other souls during the time I was there, and the sounds of birdsong was almost constant with one particularly loud and insistent bird giving it its all, though I never caught sight of it! Needless to say on this visit I never heard nor saw a woodpecker, but was treated to the lament: “My toe Hurts Betty” from wood pigeon or pigeons almost as continuously as the unnamed bird I first encountered upon entry. Considering it was a warm Sunday afternoon I was very surprised to find so few visitors to this haven of Peace and freshness, so alive to the sounds of birdsong.

Luton Hoo Walled Garden – the Pollinators

The place was buzzing – and it was not only visitors taking a look around – the flowers were out in all their glory and the pollinators were hard at work, there were three distinct types of bees that I spotted, though I have no doubt there were more than that. There were wasps, there were hoverflies, various flies, and butterflies.

I soon learned that the white butterflies loved the purple flowers, and they spent more time on each flower head than I had generally come to expect, so for a change I was able to focus accurately in the time allowed!

Also there was a pleasant breeze so I was not drenched in sweat as I concentrated on getting the shots. I did have a distraction though somehow a tiny insect had got above the ground glass screen and whilst I was trying to focus on say, a bee, it was gently strolling across my field of view and in focus! I also spotted a melon leaf and flower trying to escape the greenhouse!

A Quiet Corner of Startops

There was little bird activity above the Marsworth reservoir as I walked past several anglers relaxing hopefully beside twin lines by the side of the path from Tringford reservoir. Upon the surface there were the usual mallard, coots, and pigeons overflying. So I walked beyond and turned towards Startops. Spotting a flurry of small birds flitting between the bank-based trees and the bushes at the water’s edge in the corner, I watched for a while standing, then walked slowly towards the steps and sat just below the bank side on the top step, and the birds ignored me.

I stayed shooting either side of my vantage point as sparrows and pied wagtails flitted back and forth, often coming quite close to where I sat, before deciding that maybe I could represent danger and flying back from whence they came or looping out over the water and landing just beyond me on the steep banking. They were feeding well on various fly species, but since I never saw them swallow, I presume these were for their offspring possibly in a nest either in the hawthorn or other trees to my left where the branches offered shelter. I have only rarely seen the pigeons come down to the water’s edge, but one did, and foraged in the same area the wagtails and sparrows were frequenting.

Considering sparrows are now so rarely seen, perhaps the conservationists should study this habitat, as they have been flying across this corner for all the years I have visited these three reservoirs; something must suit them.