Tringford Tiny Wildlife

My first task for this Saturday was to ensure the house was presentable, so before showering, I put on Friday's clothes as what I had to do was going to be sweaty, as the morning was very close, and I was destined to be down on my knees pulling out stubborn small weeds embedded between the stones of crazy paving. A task that was essential if the house viewers were to feel that the rear garden was presentable.

After the shower and in new clean clothes I made for Tringford, so that the couple viewing were free to discuss whatever dastardly deeds they were going to perform on my house were they to consider purchasing. I had previously packed my camera bag with a choice of lenses as I had no clear decision as to what I might be photographing, but I did know from my last visit, that the corner of the field that serves as a car parking area was teeming with life in the long grass. Initially I simply walked around disturbing the grass to see what took flight, without getting out a camera, but it soon became obvious that the field which had now been harvested was still full of life.

I got out the 100mm Canon lens on the 5D MkII and set 1600 ISO as it was not exactly bright with heavy rain-bearing clouds scudding overhead, and set AV mode and f/10, and for the second time that day was back down on my knees, but I have to say, this was a lot more enjoyable than earlier! Even now several hours later as I write this entry, my thumbnails are still painful from tugging at stubborn weeds. I think I referred to these leaping insects as Crickets, but I think in fact they are grasshoppers. The only accurate way I have found of seeing them in the first instance is to disturb the grass, so they jump and then the stems they land on vibrate upon impact and then they become visible, though even then you have to be observant.

Likewise for these tiny frogs that I describe as froglets, I have no idea whether they are simply very young or they are a small species, but both the grasshoppers and froglets are certainly nervous of this lumbering human, and in reality I was being very stealthy and quiet, and banked shots at a distance before moving ever closer. As before, it was not long before the rains came, putting an end to my shooting and as I 'chimped' the shots I had taken, the phone rang and it was the Water Bailiff, who later joined me in the car for a chat. He is a Stamp Collector and so I showed him the sets in the series of 'British Auto Legends' and in particular, the Taxi that had been retouched by my fair hand.

Wendover Woods Trip

I met up with Lizzy and Tim for a walk in the woods. Wendover Woods is a vast tract of Forestry Commission Land that is beautifully organised and maintained. The road is in good condition and it is a fair drive to reach the centre, wending its way through the trees with occasional laybys and some automatic ticket dispensers before you arrive at the car parks, Café and toilets. When we arrived, there were plenty of parking spaces still available.

The café staff are young, numerous, cheerful and helpful, and we dropped in for some drinks before setting off. We strolled in dappled sunlight past the car parks and through a grassy area with several groups setting up gazebos, tents and barbecues, with families playing football and all thoroughly enjoying the warm weather and open spaces.

Soon we took a left through the trees and entered a long winding gravel path with wild flowers, weeds and bushes either side, and it was soon time to take out the camera to record the abundant insect life. The dragonflies like miniature helicopters flew around us at one stage, but never settled in our sight and travelled at incredible speed. I was not lucky enough until much later, to get a shot of one, and even then it was at a distance and incredibly well camouflaged.

There were several different species of butterfly, and some specimens were showing distinct signs of wear on their wings, presumably from the high winds and rain we have experienced of late. There were not too many aphids, but ladybirds abounded as did hoverflies and what seemed like a battle-tank style fly, full of barbs and armour. I am presuming from a slight similarity to the smaller hoverflies that several I shot were female – their eyes were separated in the middle. In one part, there were several crickets and grasshoppers, all congregating on some dry dead leaves.

On our return, the numbers of people had increased substantially. We stopped at the café for a meal of toasted panini, and drinks, before having a last twenty minutes walk in a different area where we larked about testing our balancing skills. Since Lizzy and Tim were planning to watch the Liverpool-Arsenal match on Sky at a pub, we parted and I spent a pleasant last hour at College Lake, where I got shots of a fly becoming supper for a damselfly.