Oscar writes: I visited Bushy Park for the deer rut for the first time this year, as I had heard that the deer go in the water more than at Richmond Park. Sure enough this turned out to be true, with a large stag spending some time drinking in the early morning sun. I wish…
Category: THE PHOTOGRAPHS: by Tim Melling, Oscar Dewhurst, Paul Leyland, Guy Shorrock, Brian Leecey
Tim Melling – Malachite Kingfisher
Tim writes: What amazing headgear this tiny Malachite Kingfisher has. Looks like it is dressed up for Ascot Ladies’ Day. Malachite Kingfishers are only about two thirds the size of the British Kingfisher but they have much longer crest feathers and have a different shade of blue on their backs. They are common and widespread…
Oscar Dewhurst – Canada Goose
Oscar writes: this was taken earlier in the summer in Richmond Park, when there was a thick layer of mist over the pen ponds. There hadn’t been much deer activity, so I had a look on the ponds for any birds I could photograph before the mist burnt off, and luckily the flock of Canada…
Tim Melling – A Butterfly Mystery
Tim writes: Clouded Yellows (Colias crocea) have a small proportion of females that have a white ground colour instead of yellow, and this form is known as helice. This is one such female but there is a problem, as this isn’t a Clouded Yellow. This is an African Clouded Yellow (Colias electo) photographed in Ethiopia…
Tim Melling – Hawfinches
Tim writes: 2017 has seen a massive influx of Hawfinches into Britain and some have turned up in places that they don’t usually occur, including this one near Barnsley. It was feeding on the seeds of Field Maple. Hawfinches are Britain’s largest breeding finch, but they are also probably our most elusive. They spend…
Tim Melling – Augur Buzzard
Comments Off on Tim Melling – Augur Buzzard
Tim writes: The Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur) is found in upland areas of Ethiopia, plus many areas further south in Africa. It has two colour forms; a pale morph with a white body and underwing coverts, and a black morph like this one. They have an easy-to-recognise shape with bulging wings and a very short rufous…
Tim Melling – Red Admiral
Comments Off on Tim Melling – Red Admiral
Tim writes: It is a myth that the name Red Admiral is a corruption of Red Admirable. The earliest recorded use of Red Admiral was posthumously by Thomas Moffet in 1634 (Moffat died in 1604 so the name must have been in use by the early seventeenth century). The name Admirable was first used…
Oscar Dewhurst – Three Red Deer
Comments Off on Oscar Dewhurst – Three Red Deer
Oscar writes: This is another image from Richmond Park, taken towards the end of September. It had been a cold night, so frost covered the ground, and I saw these three deer standing where I could get the flats in the background. Luckily they all kept the same pose for a while, giving me time…
Tim Melling – Little Owl
Tim writes: Although Little Owls look totally at home in Britain they are a nineteenth century introduction that had never been recorded here historically (not even as bones or fossils). The first attempt at establishing Little Owls in Britain was actually in Yorkshire at Walton Park near Wakefield in 1834 when Charles Waterton released five…
Paul Leyland – Scorpion Fly
Paul writes: It’s always good to find a Scorpion Fly when out looking for insects, I generally see them from around mid-May to mid-July. They’re really strange looking creatures but their appearance and name are deceptive as they are completely harmless, to other insects and humans. The scorpion tale is not a sting but is…