Before the Rain!

Not very good weather for photography today as its raining hard and very grey, but I did manage to grab a few macro's before the bad weather set in!
Not my best by far, but the colours make up for the poor composition.

Macro

A few macro shots from my garden today. The first one is a pond Skater!

For more detail, click images for larger view.







Rob

New Deer Pics & Video from the Forest of Dean

Well, the fallow deer rut is around the corner and the doe's are already grouping. Counted 19 in two groups on Monday 21st September.
I managed to get some pics of the one group. Here they are...

Click on the images for larger size.


This image has been cropped to highlight the tick on top of her left ear!


Two young doe's having a bit of fun. The dark one is melanistic.

Spotted me! Oh well never mind!

OK, this is not a deer, nor is it in the Forest of Dean! It's a grey heron I photographed on the river Avon earlier this month.

This is a rare treat! A pure white fallow buck, not a true albinistic fallow buck, but impressive none the less. I filmed him on Tuesday 22nd September.

I was quite a way off and I didn't want to scare him away by trying to get closer. 50x optical zoom pulled him in though.

Selective Colour with a Twist!

If you are looking for something different, something to wake you up in the morning, you have found it!

Selective colour with a few surprises along the way.

Enjoy and don't forget to turn the VOLUME UP!

Thanks

Rob

It's all in Your Imagination

Turn the volume up and enjoy!

Insect Invasion

Here is a pic movie I put together showing our insect world, with a few other surprises along the way!

All pics by me except the space, planet and volcanic ones, lol.

Click play below and don't forget to turn the volume up!

Vipera berus (female)

A female I photographed back in 2008.

Adder Extreme Close Up

While out surveying reptiles and amphibians for NARRS (National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme) my nephew Paul and I came across a male adder (Vipera berus). He was out in the open as the temperatures were around 14 degrees, but more importantly, he was getting ready to slough (shed his skin).

When snakes are getting ready to slough, fluid builds up between the new inner and old outer layers of skin to help with the shedding process. When this happens, their eyes turn a milky blue colour and their vision is impaired.

He knew we were there, but because were didn't harm him, he decided to stay put, which was fab news for me as I just happened to have my camcorder handy.

He hisses a couple of times, but that was because my movement was slightly too fast for his liking. I have been monitoring adders and grass snakes for years and know how to act around them, so as not to upset them or disturb them.

You may be surprised at this footage, especially when he kisses the front of my camera, but my point has always been this. Snakes are not monsters, they are beautiful reptiles, which deserve and need our respect and help!

Please Enjoy!

Adder Video Footage

Lovely weather for reptiles today at New Fancy, although too hazy to see the Gos. Saw three male adult adders, a juvenile female adder and a common lizard on the walk up to the viewpoint, see video footage of a male adder at the bottom of this post.



My best encounter of the day was with a Roe Deer Buck in Speech House woods, sorry for the blurry pic, but it was a grab shot, tried getting a little too close! See pic below. Wish I had filmed him now!

Roe Deer Buck

Male Adder Close Up