under our noses

I went out for a walk along the river the other day with my camera. Usually when I take my camera I have my long zoom lens in case I see birds worth taking a picture of.

This time I really couldn't be bothered with the weight so I took along my macro lens.
I've taken it out before but most of the time it stays in my bag as my view is almost always a wide one.
This time though I made myself look down and it's amazing the things you see. Things not normally noticed. Things like this shield bug or stink bug as it's known outside Britain.
These are some of my first attempts at macro photography. With some practice I'm sure I can get better!

So, here's another one I took today of blue tailed damselflies.

spring

What signifies the start of Spring for you?
I suppose there are many things which signal that the winter has moved on and summer is just over the horizon. New growth on the trees, birds gathering nest material or the return of ospreys from Africa.
These and more tell me that the season has turned but one thing more than any. Hearing the first cuckoo.
So, I guess that today, I can say spring has sprung.

mink spotted again

I took myself down to the Kelvin with my camera (yes, I finally got a new camera - an EOS 40D with 100-400 lens) and a tripod to try to make something of the dry weather we've been having the last few days. The weather was a bit more overcast than we've enjoyed during the week but that's just typical.
I was hoping to get some pictures of kingfishers but it wasn't to be. I did see some. In fact one flew right behind me. It was only a couple of feet from my legs.
And yes, I did have the camera facing the other way at the time!
What I did see was a mink, so here's a few shots.

a promise to myself

For the last year or so I've been blogging on two fronts.
My other blog "ranting n raving" has received the majority of my attention in that time but I have now made a decision to change that. Reading newspapers, watching TV news as well as wildlife programs, about the difficulties the world is facing, has reinforced my interest in nature and made me more determined that I should be recording my commune with our natural world. I had toyed with the idea of setting up a web-site dedicated to my photography.
I may yet do that but meanwhile I will concentrate on posting here.
Not that I'm taking many photographs at the moment. I don't have a camera!
It's a long story, involving upgrading my camera body in order to get better lenses. To do that I sold my old camera and lenses as a kit and shopped around for the best deals on the equipment I wanted. Then an order form went missing and that delayed the arrival of the new camera body. So now I've got the lens and other accessories but no body. Frustrating to say the least.
So anyway, I have promised myself to get out and about as much as possible starting this winter and will endeavour to record the things I see here.
Please check back.

nature's way

I had a chat with one of the rangers at The David Marshall Lodge in the Trossachs this afternoon.
We were discussing a close-circuit recording of a pine marten and got on to talking about the prevalence of red and grey squirrels in that area.
He had been speaking to locals who have noticed a marked decrease in the numbers of grey squirrels in recent years. There have also been reports of red squirrels appearing in gardens after an absence of over twenty years.
This has been happening at the same time as there has been an increase in the number of pine martens sighted.
We conjectured that it could be, that the martens are preying on the grey squirrels as they are larger and easier to catch than the red.
If this is the case, is it not a beautiful example of nature healing the harm we have done to her?

worrying (2)

On a three hour cycle this afternoon I saw ONE butterfly. a peacock. There were plenty of dragonflies and other insects but the obvious lack of butterflies is worrying.

peacock butterfly

worrying

On my recent trip to the north coast of Scotland I stayed a couple of nights in Durness.
I decided not to take the ferry and then mini-bus trip out to Cape Wrath. This was mainly because I had been washed out of the camp site at six in the morning following thity-six hours solid rain and was wet and miserable.

After reading this BBC report I don't think the trip would have been wasted but it may have been disappointing.
I did come across a field of potatos which had obvious signs of blight. That is mainly to do with all the wet weather the country has been getting and should fix its self next season. I guess that only time will tell if the decline in breeding birds will reverse its self soon too.
I hope so.

This seems to be post about things missed.
Just after I drove through Elphin on the road north from Ullapool I saw Knockan Crag at the side of the road. I didn't realise the significance until I stopped in a lay-by and read the illustrated sign which explained the geology of that particular spot.
That was when I read about this and wished I had called in to Knockan Crag and thus been able to follow the entire trail.
Something for my next trip.