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I love Damselflies: beautiful, delicate and like all Damselflies, so transient. They grace us with their presence for just a short period of time, allowing us a fleeting glimpse of their ethereal - like beauty. There is a species - Willow Emerald Damselfly – what a lovely name! It began to colonise south eastern England about ten years ago and has spread rapidly and can now be seen, if you are lucky, mainly in Norfolk and Suffolk but also in small numbers in nearby counties. We visited a reserve in North Norfolk called Sculthorpe Moor, a very nicely laid out reserve run by the Hawk and Owl Trust. There were hardly any people there and we were able to wander around at our leisure enjoying the scenery and wildlife. While we were standing beside a damp area near one of the hides we could see a Damselfly moving around. We didn’t know immediately what it was, but it was an Emerald of some sorts. I managed to take a few shots with my little Sigma 150 – 600 that I now carry around with me everywhere and later on after consulting a field guide we could see it was a Willow Emerald!. A new species for us and one which cannot be seen back home yet, and perhaps not at all in our lifetimes. It’s always exiting to see a new species of anything, so it was a nice addition to a pleasant morning out.

Autumn is well and truly underway and now is the time to take a walk in a deciduous woodland. The full spectrum of colours are now on view and it is a truly beautiful scene.



Susan and I have been walking through our local woodland enjoying the spectacle. In addition the recent northerly winds have brought Bramblings to these woodlands and they are feeding on fallen Beech mast. These birds are really attractive especially if they have retained some of their summer plumage.



It’s a pleasure to see them. This past summer has provided a bountiful harvest which will hopefully sustain these birds along with the Chaffinches they associate with for the rest of the winter.

It reminds me of the old joke - 'Hello, RSPB, Jack Snipe speaking'.

Jack Snipe are quite uncommon in the UK but in the autumn but they can be seen in the right habitat, however, they are still difficult to get in front of your lens. They like a bit of cover and they tend to keep close to vegetation. They can be easily overlooked and will only fly if they are virtually trodden on and even then they don’t tend to fly far. There had been a bird reported at Titchwell Marsh, the big showpiece reserve in North Norfolk and I’ve said before I don’t like these big reserves, they are always packed out and they tend to be full of social birders with the hides full of noise with people talking and moving about. That’s fine if you like that, but I’m afraid I don’t so I suppose I’m what’s called an unsociable birder and that’s fine, I’m not criticising anyone – each to his own. Having said that I made my way to one of the big hides early one morning, it was one of the few days when it was raining quite heavily and therefore the hide was very quiet. I was there on my own and I was looking at the vegetation where the Jack Snipe had been seen previously and after about five minutes I could see it. They are quite distinctive and are, in good light, totally different to the Common Snipe.
Principally they have a dark median crown stripe as opposed to the Common Snipe’s cream coloured stripe.



The stripes down their back are more contrasting than the Common Snipe, a rich straw colour.



Their bill is much shorter and is also thicker at the base.



A very good field id is their comical bobbing up and down when feeding, almost as if they are on springs.
I waited paitiently for it to walk into the small gaps in the vegetation, and to be honest there weren’t many of those, so it was a far from ideal situation for a photograph, but I took a few before it disappeared again into deep cover. As people began to arrive and the rain has slackened I made a break for the car park, at least I had seen it.



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No visit to Norfolk for me would be complete without a sighting of a Barn Owl and fortunately these beautiful birds are widespread there. Almost every village has one nearby and I wish it was the same back home but that will never be because of the local farming environment. In north Norfolk I have a location I have been watching for as long as I can remember, and it’s virtually guaranteed to turn up a Barn Owl every evening. After my dalliance with landscape photography we decided to try and see, and hopefully photograph a Barn Owl, and after our first visit to this location we could see what looked like a male bird hunting in a cut field, which is unusual because they usually like rough pasture where mice and voles can try to hide. We found a vantage point where we could see into this field via a gap in the hedge that surrounded it and the next evening we lay in wait for the Owl. As the afternoon progressed and what we call ‘Owl Light’ approached, suddenly there he was, hunting in the same place as previously. I took numerous flight shots as he quartered the field, coming closer, then moving away again. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts you can get plenty of flight shots,






but a shot of an Owl on a post for example is more difficult. They frequently perch but it’s nearly always too far away for a decent shot, but this time it flew closer still and then perched on a nearby fence post.

You can see this is a male bird by the complete lack of any spotting on the breast and flanks and his overall white plumage.



It doesn’t happen for us very often so I gratefully took the shot before it was up and flying again and disappearing out onto the marsh in search of further prey.
Always a nice way to end the day!

Susan and I have just returned home from a couple of weeks in North Norfolk where we enjoyed some glorious autumn weather. We have been birding in Norfolk for over thirty years but we have stayed in a little cottage in Thornham, (now a very up-market coastal village), for about twenty five years, it is owned by a dentist from Sheffield who is a very nice down to earth man and who has a group of loyal customers who have been staying in his house since the beginning. The days were warm and sunny and although rare birds were limited because of the weather patterns, (in the autumn you can’t have rare birds in Norfolk with southerly winds), we nevertheless saw some nice wildlife. We ate out several times, once in our favourite pub, The Gin Trap in the village of Ringstead, where the cuisine is a cut above the usual ‘Pub Grub’ but with fairly reasonable prices and none of the pretentious nonsense of some establishments, the service is quick and the staff friendly. Typically we enjoyed - to start, deep fried mozzarella and pistachio savoury rice balls with a spicy sauce sprinkled with parmesan cheese - for mains, fresh scallops on a bed of linguini pasta with vegetables in a delicious butter sauce - and for pudding, sloe gin crunch with a chocolate mousse, coffee ice cream and caramel sauce – delicious!!
We always drive on the ‘back - road’ from the Gin Trap pub in Ringstead to Thornham and you can stop and view Hares, Partridges and Pheasants in the fields at last light and on this occasion we saw three Barn Owls flying. Further on, as we neared Thornham, a small animal was caught in our headlights in the long grass, we thought it was either a Fox or a Hare but remarkably it was a Muntjac deer, (they are unbelievably small), and we enjoyed a very close encounter as it stared at us, frozen in the lights, then it disappeared safely into the fields. After another 100 yds’ there was something else sat in the middle of the road and as we approached it flew up into the lights - a Tawny Owl, it perched briefly in a small tree before disappearing into the night.
A very nice evening out indeed!

Thornham Quay is now only a shadow of its former self, as indeed are all of North Norfolk’s little harbour villages. Gone are the days when small ships used to navigate these now silted – up creeks, bringing goods into Norfolk from all over the world. As in many situations inevitable economic growth outstripped this mode of transportation and it became unsustainable and incompatible with the needs of modern life and the canals and rivers of the UK subsequently became disused. However, these quaint little places still retain their charm and you can still picture the scene as it was. The quay at Thornham still has its old coal barn and many sets from films have been made there. It is a lovely place early in the morning and also late in the evening, when you can have the place to yourself with only the call of the Redshank and the Curlew for company. Susan and I were there early one morning to photograph the old coal barn and there was no one else around - just as we like it. I looked down into the old creek and I could see a small delicate wader approaching, probing the silt, as it came nearer I could see it was a Spotted Redshank, a delightful little bird. I quickly brought a lens from the boot of the car and took a few frames, a good start.



We then proceeded to take a few shots of the barn from both directions, it really is a very nice spot to spend an hour.

A circular polarizer to cut down glare on the water and diffuse the early morning sun.
Three stop ND graduated filter for exposure compensation.

The old silted - up creek where small ships used to dock.



A circular polarizer to cut down glare on the water.
Two stop ND graduated filter for exposure compensation.

The old coal barn where coal was loaded off boats and stored before distubution all over north Norfolk.

North Norfolk has some quaint little Harbours and two quite near where we stay at Thornham are Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Overy Staithe. Sailing and fishing are a big part of this area’s way of life, sailing is mainly for pleasure but there are still a few boatyards that service the boats and many people still rely on fishing for an income. If you visit these little harbours outside the peak times you can get some nice people - free shots, which I prefer. The bigger harbours like Wells and Blakeney are far too busy for me, some people like to get the Hurly Burly of harbour life in their images, and I fully understand this, but it’s not for me.

All images taken with a circular polarizer to take reflective glare off the water and the boats.
Also varying strength ND graduated filters to compensate the exposure between sky and sea.

Brancaster Staithe Harbour.



Burnham Overy Staithe Harbour.




I slowed down the exposure to about 1 second for this last image to make the water look more dreamy.

It is a lot harder to get a nice sunrise in North Norfolk because of its obvious geographical location. However, we were out pre - dawn one morning, and there is also a blue hour before the sun rises, and as we drove along I suddenly stopped the car and I could see a possible sunrise through some Poplar trees. I quickly set up my kit and just waited for the first dawn light to appear above the horizon.

It was the only real sunrise photograph I attempted.



A two stop ND graduated filter to balance the exposure between sky and land.

After the sun has finally set and all the after glow has disappeared there is a phenomenon called the 'The Blue Hour' and this is so called because of the lovely cold blue light that occcurs just before dusk. It can be very photogenic and when watching sunsets there are three phases - the setting sun - the after glow - and the blue hour. Many people leave after the sun has set but this is a big mistake because what comes after can be and often is worth photographing.

Hunstanton incoming tide during The Blue Hour.



Canon 1D IV
Canon 17-40 f4 lens
Hoya Circular Polarizer to mellow the light on the water.
A one stop ND graduated filter to balance the exposure between sky and sea.
Manfrotto Tripod and Head
Please see equipment reviews.

Thornham high tide during The Blue Hour.



Hoya Circular Polarizer to mellow the light on the water.
A one stop ND graduated filter to balance the exposure between sky and sea.

The unusual layered Carstone and chalk cliffs below the town contain many fossils and are also quite an attraction for visitors.



Circular polarizer to cut down reflective light on the water on the beach.
A one stop ND graduated filter to balance the exposure between beach and sky.

They also provide a nice backdrop in the evening.



Circular polarizer to cut down reflective light on the water on the beach.
A two stop ND graduated filter to balance the exposure between beach and sky.

The town of Hunstanton on the north Norfolk coast is a very popular tourist destination and rightly so, known locally as ‘Sunny Hunny’ it is a very nice place. It has extensive beaches, good chip shops, (fundamental requirement), it is clean and well-kept and has some amusements for the young and also the young at heart. Our main reason for visiting, however, was for the remarkable sunsets over the town’s beach and these sunsets are different every evening. They vary from intense crimson and gold affairs to a subtle diffused yellow and blue and it is a pleasure to spend these evenings looking out to sea.
I attempted to photograph a few of these sunsets by waiting on the beach with an incoming tide. In one area the beach has a pavement of rocks in segments leading down to the sea. I set up here on a few evenings waiting for the sun to set, most people take photographs from the top of the cliffs but I found there was unwanted foreground in my shots from that position. To get a good sunset here the conditions have to be just right, I found a clear blue sky with blazing sun is no good because the sun’s dying rays have nothing to reflect off and also when there is a low band of cloud along the horizon this just blots the sun’s rays out. The best conditions are a light patchy cloud formation from the horizon leading up into the sky above, then the sun’s rays can break through and create lovely sunsets.

The bottom two images below are the 'after glow' after the sun had already set for fifteen minutes.







In all images a circular polarizer was used to dampen down the sun and cut down refections on the water.
Up to five stops of ND graduated filters to balance the exposure between the intense rays of the sun and the beach and sea.

The storms that we had at the back end of last week which were a remnant of the hurricanes that battered the USA have now thankfully blown through and we are now enjoying some lovely weather. Susan and I have been out walking locally over the last two days enjoying these beautiful late summer conditions. Down at Llangors Lake some Butterflies were on the wing and about time because it’s been a pretty poor summer for them.

Principally Small Copper,



and Comma,


were flying and showing in numbers.

Look at the way these Commas blend in to their surroundings,




The Dragonfly population at the lake at this time of year is almost exclusively Migrant Hawkers and these insects like to fly around trees and hedges and unlike other Hawkers they perch in view allowing a chance of a photograph.


Male.


Male and Female.

We had been watching these lovely insects and just enjoying the morning when we could hear some raptor – like calling, and then over the tops of the trees a Hobby flew into view and started hawking the Dragonflies. These lovely birds are a joy to watch and their aerial dexterity is quite amazing and it flew around for a few minutes treating us to a superb flying display as it ate Dragonflies on the wing, then just as quickly it disappeared out of sight.



A fine end to a very pleasant morning.

Overnight this website received its two millionth hit, another huge landmark for me. When I first initiated the website, as somewhere just to show a few images, I could never have imagined it would last this long and have this many hits. It has been responsible for me having images published in four books and numerous other media outlets. My ongoing blog continues to remain popular with visitors and has been for some time a fundamental part of the website, having about as many views as the images. Sometimes there are quiet periods, as there are in every nature watchers life, and when this inevitably happens you have to ‘Dig in’ and persevere and something will come along. This glorious summer is rapidly coming to an end and autumn is showing her face as the trees start to slowly ‘turn’, with Sycamore and Elder already exhibiting their beautiful autumn colours. Wader passage has been under way for some weeks and Ring Ouzels are being seen in a few coastal areas on their southerly back - migration. Similarly a sprinkling of Dotterels will also pass through the Brecon Beacons on their southerly journey.
At home we have had an abundance of runner beans in our garden this year and this week we have been boxing up hundreds of eating and cooking apples from our trees for storage over the autumn - we won’t be buying any apples for a while! Soon Susan and I will be going to visit North Norfolk, my favourite autumn bird – place. When we return our winter visitors will start to appear, Redwings, Fieldfares and hopefully some Grey Shrikes.
In conclusion, I intend to continue with the site for as long as I have the enthusiasm and more importantly the health, (we all want that), so once again I thank everybody who visits this site, (and hopefully enjoys it), and here's to the next million.
Steve.

Autumn Wader passage has begun in earnest over the last few weeks and although we don’t get big movements of Waders in the Beacons there is always a noticeable amount of birds in August and September. On Wednesday of this week there was a report of a Wood Sandpiper about twenty miles away from where I live and although this is a fairly common wader and I have seen large numbers over the years it’s always nice to have one fairly local. I have been very busy over the summer, taking advantage of the dry weather to work on my house and gardens, but now with all that completed I was ready for some birding and I started off by catching up with the local Kingfishers, see previous blogs and in order to stay in the birding groove, (because we are going to Norfolk next month, our favourite Autumn place in the UK - Good birds, early morning walks on lonely pristine beaches and nice pubs, what more could you ask)!! I thought I’d try and get a shot of this Wood Sandpiper. Yesterday when Susan and I arrived at the upland pool where the bird had been spotted I could see that the light was difficult, harsh sunshine from the wrong direction, it was obvious that the evening would have been the best time for a photo but perhaps the bird wouldn’t stay so I took what was on offer.
I was wearing wellingtons, and a good job too because the area around the pool was very muddy. I could see the bird’s favourite feeding spot, a muddy shoreline, and I knew that sooner or later it would return to feed there. I walked into a bed of tall bull rushes and just waited for about twenty minutes and sure enough I could see it appear out of the long vegetation and make its way to that area. I signalled to Susan who was sitting under a tree on a big log that the bird was on its way over and she had good views as it came into view. The light wasn’t ideal but that’s all that was on offer so that’s all there was and I took a few shots and had some excellent views of a nice bird. We left the bird feeding quite contentedly and had a look at some dragonflies on the other side of the pool, then made our way back to the car.

A nice day and a nice bird, as simple as that.

Following on from my morning on the River Usk two days ago I was back up early for one last try at my Kingfisher site. This time I got up 30 minutes earlier to avoid the Kingfishers seeing me. I know they tolerated me on Monday of this week but you never know if they will be spooked, so I wasn’t taking any chances.
I arrived at the site at 05.30 and I was greeted by a beautiful rolling mist on the river, you get this sometimes in the summer. Usually when this happens then there is going to be a fine day and that is what the weather forecast had predicted. This time I got set up underneath the overhanging willows straight away, (see previous blog), the cut willow braches were still there, as expected, and I arranged them around my hide and got undercover. It was just breaking light and I could hear that characteristic ‘Peeping’ that Kingfishers make. Then there was a blue flash as a bird zipped past me going up river.
It was now just a matter of waiting and after about half an hour the Kingfisher came back down river and flew past my perch, but then put the brakes on, did a ‘U’ turn, and then landed right on it. Perfect! – I took a few shots but the light wasn’t really good enough yet. I was confident the bird would come back because one thing I have found is the difficult part is getting them to initially use your perch. Once they have used it they will come back and I knew that they liked this perch in that position because they had used it previously.
As I expected the next time the Kingfisher came back up river it landed on the perch straight away, the light was much brighter so the shots got a little better. Quite quickly now the light began to intensify and when the sun had risen in a cloudless sky there was a beautiful light illuminating my perch.
Kingfishers are very busy birds and they are up and down their territory all day long, there must be a thousand places for them to fish from, especially when the river levels are low. However, they still have their favourites and I have watched them flying to the same spots time and time again and hopefully my perch would be one of those favourites!
I needn’t have worried because a bird landed there again and I shot it in glorious light,







this time it was an adult female, no sign of the juvenile from Monday.
I had taken many shots so I decided, once the Kingfisher had gone out of sight, to rotate my hide ninety degrees to see if any Dippers would show up. I took a few shots of Grey Wagtails as they fed around the hide, they are totally unfazed by people



and then a young Dipper flew in and I added that to my collection but there were no more around.



What happened next perfectly illustrates how fickle this wildlife photography game is: Another birder said to me a few years ago that I was lucky to get some Kingfisher shots I had posted on my website. I didn’t enter into any discussion about how lucky he thought I was – because, if he thought that getting up when it is still dark, carrying heavy kit through soaking wet grass, wading into a river, erecting perches and waiting in a hide for typically three hours is lucky, then our definitions of luck are very different. I have heard a few people say that it’s all luck, some of it is, but most of it is just plain hard work! If you do your homework, prepare properly, be prepared for failure and above all be persistent, then you will get results.
However, I had done the hard work and was just sitting in my hide enjoying a glorious morning, there was nobody around, there never is. Suddenly the Wagtails, the Juv Dipper and two Kingfishers scattered up river – I knew something was there, I thought perhaps a Raptor had flown across but even that doesn’t usually warrant that response. Then I could see something sliding along the shallows, in the undergrowth and tight up against the opposite river bank. I couldn’t get a clear view and I thought it was a mink, there are a few around, but then it disappeared and I thought that was it.
I settled back down to wait, but I sat bolt upright as there was an almighty splash as something rose up out of the river in front of me.



I couldn’t believe it, an Otter, it was now so obvious, I had seen some bubbles earlier on – a tell-tale sign, but I just didn’t think! I have seen these animals near the Kingfisher site a few times and I think I know roughly where their Holt is but I don’t disturb them.
Here’s where the luck comes in, (I’ll admit to this one!), I was facing the right way and I shot it as it rose up out of the water time and time again. I could see it was catching small fish which looked golden coloured with red fins, they looked like Rudd.



The Otter stayed fishing for about ten minutes giving lovely views and allowing me to watch its hunting technique.



Finally it disappeared down river as quickly as it had arrived, I was really pleased to see this charismatic and secretive creature and nothing else could top that so I packed up and left very happy.




For more Otter images please see, Latest Images, Otter - River Usk, Brecon Beacons.

Well I said I wanted more rain, but not all in one day!! And that’s what it felt like yesterday down on the River Usk near Brecon.
I thought I’d have one more visit to the river before the water levels start to rise in the autumn. I had watched the weather forecast for yesterday and it said a few showers passing through, no problem for me, a little rain - so what!
I was up at 05.00 and I was on the river by 06.00 - everything as usual was packed into my car the night before to save time.
I had been watching two Kingfishers for a couple of weeks on a favourable stretch of river, ie slow moving water with overhanging branches. Although there was only a pre – dawn light at this time, as I was erecting my hide on an area of banking a Kingfisher flew past ‘Peeping’ away and flying up river. These birds are always about in semi darkness, they can’t possibly see to fish but that doesn’t stop them from flying around. I had previously identified the exact spot for placing my perch in the river and I walked in until the water was quite high up my wellingtons. I placed my concrete flower pot, (see previous posts re perches), on a level area of river bed and put a perch I had brought with me down into the hole in the middle of the pot. I made my way back onto the exposed area of stones and proceeded to cut a few light Willow branches with my machete. I draped these branches over and around my hide to blend it in to the surroundings. I set my kit up and got under cover and sat there waiting, very soon I could hear a bird nearby but it flew straight past my perch, however, I was still hopeful because I felt it was in a good position. A light drizzle had begun to fall and I thought ‘Here come those predicted showers’. After a while the drizzle started to intensify into heavy rain and the heavy rain then descended into thrashing rain! At one stage I couldn’t see across the river to the other side. My hide is quite waterproof so I was confident of staying dry even in those conditions. After about an hour of monsoon – like weather the rain thankfully began to slacken. Disappointingly the Kingfisher continued to ignore my perch and after two hours I was starting to lose hope. I was looking out of the side flap of my hide and I could see the bird about twenty yards away sitting on the floor in front of a Willow tree preening, then as they do, it took off and flew up river out of sight.
After a quick deliberation I made my mind up to move my hide, (something I never do), but I was exposed to any further weather in my present position and there was no activity around my perch anyway. I quickly got out and retrieved my perch and erected it in the river in front of the willow where I had seen the Kingfisher preening. This didn’t take long because of my flower pot method, there wouldn’t have been time to mess around finding appropriate stones to erect a free standing perch. I moved my hide while still erected underneath the overhanging Willow for more protection from the anticipated weather, the skies did not look promising! I draped my cut branches around the hide as before. I was quite pleased how quickly I had managed to get all my kit undercover – the Kingfisher hadn’t returned back down river - or so I’d thought. Previously the hide was about thirty feet from the perch but now under the willow it was more like forty - but no problem. I was watching two dippers feeding amongst the stones nearby and then they flew and landed right outside the hide no more than a yard away but there was nothing I could do about that. I looked at my perch and I was somewhat taken by surprise to see a Kingfisher sat there looking in my direction. I must have missed it flying back down river, I couldn’t believe how quickly it had taken to the perch. It didn’t seem at all bothered and I started to take a few shots just as the heavy rain came back in, it was lashing down again!
The Kingfisher came back and fore the perch many times and looked quite at home. The other perch position just did not suit it, they can be so fickle. After about an hour the rain was easing off again and the bird had temporarily disappeared so I decided to make a break for it because I had got some half decent shots. However, as I was packing up it started again and because I had to make two trips to the car I had a good soaking, but I just couldn’t stay any longer in case more rain persisted. I may try one more time to see if I can get the Dippers and maybe some more Kingfisher shots.

This week I was on top of Allt yr Esgair, a hill near to where I live. I was looking down at the Usk valley and the state of the land below was startling. Everything was baked dry, it looked like something from another much hotter country and nothing like the Brecon Beacons should resemble. I took a photograph and when I got back home I compared it to a shot I took near to this time last year. The perspective of the 2018 shot is wider because it was taken with a full frame camera but the difference in conditions can be clearly seen. We really do need some sustained rain and quite soon to get the land ‘moving’ again. Also the river Usk is very low and contaminated in places with a horrible green slime, this slime denudes the river of Oxygen and makes things difficult for many small life forms. The river could do with a good scouring out to remove this problem and I hope the thunderstorms forecast for the weekend will do just that!

Here is a Collage of the two images.
I don’t have to say which image is 2018!

Last week I went down into my neighbour’s barley field of about fifteen acres which is quite near my garden and the earth in that field was powder dry. I threw some into the air and it was like dust on the wind, I have never seen such an arid soil around here and I was amazed that the crop was so healthy and even ripening in those conditions, it must be very drought resistant.
Yesterday I took a walk back into the same field; it’s easy to walk into a barley field because although from a distance the crop looks as if it totally covers the ground, in fact it is planted in distinct rows and you can walk in between these rows without disturbing the plants. I walked along the field until I was level with an old Oak tree that has stood in this field for hundreds of years. On the 1841 map of the area where I live this tree is marked, so it must have been quite a significant size then, 177 years ago! This magnificent old Oak has stood like a sentinel, watching the comings and goings of many generations, standing guard over countless crops, good and bad - what tales it could tell. Farming with horse drawn ploughs and labour intensive harvesting - now one machine can plough a field of this size in a morning and harvest it in a day.
As I walked through the field a male pheasant popped his head up to see what was going on and then quickly scuttled away into the sanctuary of the crop. I kneeled down on my padded garden mat, very useful when taking landscape shots, especially on hard or wet ground, I always carry one in my rucksack. I also carry a folded up section of Yoga mat, bought very cheaply from Aldi’s supermarket of all places, useful for putting my camera gear on and keeping it clean. As I kneeled there Swallows were hunting insects low over the crop and they were flying right up to me before veering away at the last second. I like little cameos of wildlife like this they make the day for me.
I took a few shots but I was keeping one eye on the sky in the distance because the clouds were obviously gathering and storms were forecast.



The sky was becoming very threatening, and then as quickly as they had arrived the Swallows disappeared. This is always a sign, they know the weather and sure enough a few large spots of rain began to fall. I quickly got all my kit packed up and ran back towards my house because by now the rain was arriving very quickly. I locked the field gate and jumped over a fence and arrived at my garden just in time because the rain had now began to fall heavily. Any further delay and I would have been soaked. I got indoors with about thirty seconds to spare as all hell broke loose with high winds and thrashing rain. I wasn’t complaining because we really need the rain and I bet the barley field and the old Oak were also glad of it.

Canon 1D iv DSLR
Canon 17-40 f4 Lens
Manfrotto 055 tripod
Manfrotto MHX Pro 3 way head
Circular polarizing filter
1 stop ND graduated filter

I spent a couple of hours just after first light on the River Usk near Brecon earlier this week and I was disappointed to see the water levels so depleted and lacking in Oxygen. Having said this, large numbers of trout were leaping out of the water after insects and there were some sizeable fish on display. However, where the river slows up there is a heavy algae slime deposited all over the river bed, this has been caused by the relentless sunshine we have had over the last couple of months and the river could do with a few days of heavy rain to freshen it up.
This time of the day has always been my favourite on the river, it’s always peaceful and you basically have the river to yourself. There appears to be no evidence yet of any successful breeding by the local Kingfishers but at last they are going back and fore a historical nest site now, so I am in hope. Kingfishers have usually raised and fledged one brood at this time of year and this would be, in previous years, their second brood, but there’s still time.
A few young Dippers and Grey Wagtails are now in evidence and three very noisy young Green Woodpeckers were flying around the tree tops. As usual I was tucked away under some overhanging trees, my favourite spot for observation. Suddenly I could hear a loud peeping and a Common Sandpiper landed nearby.



These lovely little waders like to probe between the small stones, on the now extensive shingle banks, for food. It was unaware of me and I shot a few frames as it went about its business, then suddenly it flew up into the air and disappeared, typical behaviour really. My attention was drawn to a lot of birds consistently perching in one particular area in the tree tops and on closer inspection I could see why. They were attracted to a forty foot wild Cherry tree just back from the banks of the river and at that size it must have been there for many years. This tree is absolutely laden with fruit and the birds will have a real feast over the coming weeks. I wished I could have had a few pounds because they are so delicious. At today’s cherry prices there must be a few hundred pounds worth of fruit that I could see!
I will be going back in a couple of weeks to see if the Kingfishers have any young flying around, I hope so.

I never thought that this spell of weather would continue for this length of time. Susan and I have in the main been out early in the morning and late in the evening because the rest of the day has been really unbearable.
I have been out early walking the local hills and it has been very pleasant being up above all the the heat down below.







We have travelled in many hot countries but it is different when you have this weather at home and you have to work etc. I got up early last Saturday morning after another uncomfortable night and I looked at the small thermometer that Susan keeps in the bedroom and I had to look twice because unbelievably it was reading 27C, no wonder I couldn’t sleep!
We have been out looking for Dragonflies and Damselflies in the mornings but the problem is they don’t start flying until the sun has warmed them up, but by then it’s too hot to photograph them. However, we have had some success because it’s prime time now for these insects to emerge and fly.
On the back end of last week we had been out on Mynydd Illtud, an elevated area near Brecon that contains some large bogs that in turn support good populations of these insects and in particular on a small brook called the Camlais. This meandering little brook drains the bog and then flows down through a forestry and ultimately into the River Usk in the grounds of the 16th century Abercamlais mansion house on the Brecon to Sennybridge road. This Camlais stream is so called because the word Cam, derived originally from the word Gam, means crooked and anybody who had a deformity in those days was labelled ‘Gam’ this has become the word ‘Cam’ used in modern day language. The ‘Lais’ part is a softening of the Welsh word ‘Glais’ meaning brook or stream. So to take it to its conclusion, ‘Abercamlais’ – The mouth of the crooked stream – ‘Aber’ meaning the mouth of in Welsh – Welsh lesson over LOL.

Along this Camlais stream, lovely Golden-ringed Dragonflies have started to fly.




Emperor Dragonflies,



and Broad-bodied Chasers are also on the wing.



Also there are big numbers of Damselflies. It’s a lovely and easily accessible place to see these beautiful insects.

Another evening on our walk back along the stream a bright full moon had risen and as we were quite close to the car I set my landscape kit up and went back to take a photograph of the Beacons in the now rapidly fading light. The moonlight was highlighting an area of cotton grass and a small pool and it made a nice scene. A very fitting end to a glorious evening.