DGPix Wildlife & Nature Photography

Orchids in the Dunes and a Bonus Holmes Dunes is a reserve nestled away on the north Norfolk coast, boasting many different habitats including sand dune, shingle beach, mud flats and marshland.  It's crammed with all sorts of wildlife not least the natterjack toad, marsh harriers, an array of wading birds, and insects galore. Amongst the abundant insects are the common blue butterfly, dark green fritillary and Roesal's bush cricket. But the most abundant and easily spotted of all nature on the reserve has to be the wildflowers in the dunes and scrapes. The pyramidal orchid   was there in abundance today, with great deep colours: Pyramidal Orchid - Olympus E-5 Body, Sigma 105mm Macro, 1/200s, f/5.6, iso 125 For me though, the standout orchid to see was the bee orchid - a mimic of the wild flower world that attracts male bees to it to mate and ultimately pollinate the plant.  We don't have the species of bee required for this in the UK, so our b

Great Crested Grebe Update I found a great wee spot to keep an eye on a couple of our resident GC grebe families as they raise their young on the lough - its quiet, out of the way and nicely accessible for photographs.  Surrounded by wildflowers, it also makes a superb macro photography spot while you wait! The grebe chicks in this corner of the lough are considerably larger than a family we follow about 1km away; these ones are beyond the risk of being taken by gulls and herons now, at about half the size of the adult. The adults spend a lot of time feeding the young, catching fish and passing them to the chicks, until the chicks eventually learn to catch fish for themselves, which wont be too long by the looks of things: Featured Image Today's featured image is a feeding adult GCG.   Using the central focal point as almost always, the below image was created using the Canon EOS 7DMk2, Sigma 150-600m Contemporary lens, handheld with OS set