South Stack Beetle Hunt July 5 2012

After leaving the mountain lake above Betws-y- coed i drove across to the isle of Anglesey and towards Hollyhead to the rspb South Stack reserve.   i didn't think it was warm or sunny enough to be able to shoot the huge number of wasp species that are usually present  on the cliff tops , but i should find something to photograph :)

this is South stack lighthouse which i visited in a previous blog  Here

Walking down the path towards the cliff edge , i almost immediately spotted a Rose Chafer beetle feeding on what appeared to be angelica florets. i shot this with natural light.

they really are a stunning colour, shooting anything on a pale or white flower is extremely difficult to get a good exposure , using flash makes it even harder which i found out later in the afternoon.
walking along the main path along the cliff top a huge beetle flew past me, very close! the sound they make is quite loud and i managed to follow it until it landed, it was a Cockchafer about 1.1/4 inch in length , which are often called May bugs :)     late this year with it being such a cold summer presumably.   it landed on a rock that was covered in pale lichen which made it easy to shoot as it was about 2 ft above the path.  these are the images i shot at different magnifications.

            it soon flew off into  heather but i managed one more head on shot .

along the cliff top there is virtually nothing to be seen , very unusual but a few of these tiny green flower beetles, approx 5 mm in length.

and a Digger wasp that didn't want its face photographed   lol

On way back to the car park i found another Rose Chafer , so tried shooting with mpe-65 and flash!  found it very difficult to get good exposure on both beetle and flower. in fact this is the only half decent image i got, you can see the difference in colour to a natural light shot of the beetle

                                                                       mpe-65 full flash

                                                   natural light 100mm macro , much more natural

Then just below the car park i heard a loud buzzing , after a few minutes looking i spotted a Hummingbird Hawkmoth egg laying , i watched in amazement for ages trying to shoot a very fast moving moth lol     here is the best image

i found an egg she had layed and took it home, here is the Caterpillar that hatched and is now in a pupae almost ready to emerge into a beautiful moth.

        That was the end of a long day , not the best for photography but enjoyable all the same :)

                                  tomorrow i will be in the lake district butterfly hunting :)

Beautiful Bee Orchids at RSPB Conwy june 6th 2012

It has been  a few years since i last photographed Bee Orchids, so since the butterfly season is really slow with the weather being so bad a quick decision to visit  RSPB Conwy to see the orchids and the birds:)
Arriving early in the morning , the weather was changeable but the sun was out when i arrived which makes a change this year!  haha
After a quick chat with the very helpful rangers in the visitor centre , i knew exactly where to look for the Bee Orchids. the first spot was just behind the centre on the edge of a field where they had put a sign up :)   in fact i found 5 plants in this spot :)  but only one was good enough to photograph!

A walk around the reserve now, a swan is nesting near to the hide on the first lagoon so that is the first place to start :)  and here she is, what a beauty :)

A walk along the boardwalks through the sedges , loads of sedge warblers were making a lot of noise!  haha , but couldn't get any pics.  but i did find this Drinker moth caterpillar feeding on a sedge stem .

at the end of the boardwalk there is a small pond , hopefully i can find a few damselflies but it is early with the cold weather for them to be emerging.  after a quick search i found one on a wooden handrail of all places , newly emerged this morning as it hasn't coloured up yet.  shot with canon mpe-65 macro lens and focus stacked 3 frames to increase depth of field.

 

After getting these shots it started raining , not much so i carried on towards the next lagoon hide , passing on the way this view. just love the carved wooden lapwings ,  so i had to shoot a real one:)

into the hide , and my lens limitations are proven, the birds are just too far away for my 70-300mm on full frame , will have to crop alot!!!!!!!    so here is a lapwing.

and after trying without any rewards to shoot swallows & swifts in flight , shot these:)

Time to go and find the other Orchids now , which are on the coastal path on way back to the centre via the estuary.  i pause to shoot the local Canadian family :)  so cute!

more rain on its way by the look of it! 

A view looking at Conwy castle, taken right by the Orchids:)

and now for the Orchids ,  with yellow vetch flowers all around i used them as a beautiful background to show off the Bee Orchids :D

I noticed a broad legged leaf beetle on a daisy nearby , so  took a few high magnification portraits , showing all the pollen covering its head!  haha

and then i found a Drinker moth catt on the ground , so again shot with mpe-65 macro lens, 3 frames focus stacked.

I will finish of with my favourite Orchid image of the day , taken when the sun went behind a cloud. which gave much softer light.

Wonderful morning at RSPB Conwy.

images shot with canon 5d2, 100mm & mpe-65 macro lens & 70-300is