DGPix Wildlife & Nature Photography

Blue Skies Again The weather held today and we had brilliant heat and light for Day 2.  Today was a bug hunt day, with the pond & aquatic insects starting off the day, then the wildflower meadow & grass lands in the afternoon.  The invertebrates didn't let us down all day with all the group getting hoverflies, bees, butterflies, damselflies, diving beetles, backswimmers & grasshoppers throughout the sessions. Pond Invertebrates The pond provides an excellent environment for water based insects and invertebrates - great diving beetles and backswimmers featured heavily in the trays and the guys got some great shots of the backswimmers eyes. Damselflies were aplenty with the azure and blue tailed the most photographed.   Sandra pond dipping for aquatic mini beasts DGPix veteran Rosie snapping by the pond Matthew on the same subject as Rosie Wildfower Meadow The meadow is our go-to place for the macro workshop outdoor session...

Macro Photo Weekend - Day 1 Heatwave? What heatwave? We arrived to find an Amber warning from the Met Office for thunder/lightning and torrential rain with flooding on the roads.  Right in the middle of the biggest heatwave in 30 odd years!  Not great for macro shooting.....BUT, Sandra made good with the moth trap last night, 30+ moths, and we did get 45mins outside before the storm hit. The group got to take some great images of bees on the onion and leek heads, nice big white tailed bees, and some smaller workers, and we released some moths at this point for photographing, and everyone in the group got some great images. Marvellous Moths The moth traps at Oxford Island catch some real beautiful creatures overnight - I've got some lovely images from the releasing of these, elephant hawk, poplar hawk, canary shouldered thorn, and the excellent gold spot. The gold spot is named for the shiny spots on the wing markings, and its a striking creature with a r...

Terns of Blakeney Point Blakeney Point Poking out into the North Sea from the Norfolk coast, this spit of land hosts seabirds, land mammals and the largest grey seal colony in the UK.  Managed by the National Trust, wardens look after the vulnerable ground-nesting birds and many wildflowers that thrive on the shingle, and sandy soil based environment. You can walk a good few miles to the point, but access to the tern colonies is restricted, and the easiest way to see these birds is from the vantage point of a boat - there are a few companies running trips out of Morston Quay, but by far the most knowledgeable and professional outfit is Beans Boats and I take a few trips each year with them for just this purpose. As always, please click the images for a sharper view! Gear From the boat, the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary lens was on my main Canon 7dMk2 for the trip.  There is no room for tripods or any kind of bracing, so all shots had to be handheld...

Avocets on the Salt Marshes Since their return to the UK in the 40's, the Avocet has taken up residence across the country, and has become one of our most iconic wading birds because of this conservation success. With the upturned bill, and the striking black and white plumage of both sexes, this elegant wader is hard to miss out on the scrapes and marshes it calls home. One of these marshes, and a particularly bird rich one, is Cley Marshes up on the north Norfolk coast.  Being the oldest NWT reserve, it is heavily and carefully managed to ensure the breeding population of birds remain, and is a vitally important site for all kinds of nature in the area. The view over Cley marshes to the sea Photographing the Avocets I based this photography session from the hides on the reserve, as they give the best views out on to the scrapes and pools - the paths can afford some views, but the birds are well used to hides and you can get some cracking closeup im...

Raptors on the North Norfolk Coast One of the reasons for our yearly trek to this part of the country is the wildlife that is crammed into such a small area.  The north Norfolk coastline is relatively small stretch of land, but it is a unique mixture of habitat that encourages some of the best birds in the country to establish nest sites, not least of all some of our raptor species. Red Kite Flypast Although we have these kites at home in Northern Ireland (I've snapped them in Co. Down and at my local patch Oxford Island thanks to a successful re-introduction scheme), the coast here is now more and more popular with these graceful big birds of prey. RSPB Titchwell gave us great views of this one one morning, and the current weather makes for a great sky for snapping raptors, if the sun is coming over your shoulder of course. Red Kite against a great blue sky at RSPB Titchwell Marsh The above image was created using the  Canon 7Dmk2  and  Si...

Wood Mouse Encounter Barrow Common is a large undulating patch of predominately grassland and gorse, and is home to a diverse range of wildlife.  Birds I've seen on my visits include yellowhammer, marsh harrier, buzzard and kestrel.  Turtle doves now breed here, but I haven't been lucky enough to see one just yet.  You can also see a loads of butterflies and solitary bees, lizards and lots of small rodents like the wood mouse below. Wood mice are found in woodland, as the name suggests but are also known as field mice and are widespread on grassland and agricultural land.  They are mostly nocturnal but come active an hour or so before sunset.  This mouse I found was a youngster, and really quite friendly, but they are known to be less flighty than most rodents. Juvenile Wood Mouse The above image was created using the Olympus E5 body, still going strong, handheld with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 macro lens, 1/125 , 105mm , ISO125 ...