Hi Everyone,
WOW – what a lot is going on now.
Bluebells have been photographed by members, they seem to be adorning the verges as well as the woods this year along with huge clusters of Cowslips.
The tall purple flowers in the meadows are abundant with Cuckoo flower or Meadow flower, it has a few names, and this attracts the butterflies. Wild garlic is in full flower. All these are wild flowers and nature.
This April has seen a lot of frosts and this has greatly affected the Moths, there are only a few about at the moment. I hope for more moths and butterflies in May. The frosts have also affected the trees making the leaves very late. This has made for some truly amazing tree lines where the trees are in emerald green grass. Yet although they have some leaves, they are also showing the veins of the trees and the result is some powerful tree lined landscapes. In fact just the trees themselves have been very artistic and photographic.
I went for a drive in local lanes this morning. I stopped whilst a young solo fox cub old enough and confident to go for a walk. This was a surprise to me – camera not ready!!!!!!
I drove possibly one mile max and watched as two hares played in a meadow and a little further on a buzzard was perched in a tree. I doubt I had gone more that 2 miles from my house. I didn’t take a single image but the glow that I felt from observing nature was uplifting.
It is all out there, we must all just keep looking. It’s in town and in the country, the more time that we take to learn about nature it will help us to find it.
The month of May will be a busy time for taking nature images. Photography opportunities abound for birds, young fox cubs, badgers, butterflies and moths. Basically, it’s full activity.
The Wild Orchids will be showing themselves. I’m sure Beks and I will be posting emails when these orchids are available for being photographed. I know Eves Meadow and Pepper Wood have a wonderful show of early purple. Again pure nature images. Beks is able to walk to a lot more areas where the orchids are so please keep an eye out for Orchid alert emails.
The Mayfly is a amazing insect to capture and will be abundant around the May blossom. The smell from the May blossom is intoxicating.
Many insects and bees will be about. Just sitting around a garden or walking through a wood or settling by a pond, should lead to some amazing nature images.
There are no excuses. This is an amazing month for wildlife, embrace it.
Don’t forget 12th May if you want to fill your portfolio and come to the Cotswold Wildlife Park. All the images will be Nature. Knowledgeable help will be on hand. It may be in the form of a zoo but the animals within it will all be amazing to watch and study. The test will be for you to capture images in which the camera catches not only the true emotions and character of the individual animals but the positioning of your shots to avoid unwanted areas within your images and to catch that ‘decisive moment’, usually by taking time and understanding the animals.
This is a short nature blog but there is lots for you all to do and find.
Good Luck Everyone.
Jenny
