April 2023A

insectsandflight.com

all pictures © robin williams

April 2023: wildlife, from the Somerset Levels

April 28th 2023. Perfect again! Once again, I plonked myself down in front of a patch of Pulmonaria (lungwort), hat on in the strong sunshine and waited to see what might happen. Of immediate interest were numbers of worker bumblebees hard at work filling their pollen-baskets.

bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum w

Then followed one of my favourite bees, darting in and out at high speed, coming anf going without warning, the flower bee Anthophora plumipes.

flower bee, Anthophora plumipes f

mining bee, Lasioglossum fratellum f

The final set of specialists were the frantic little bee-flies, present in some numbers at last.

bee-fly, Bombylius major

April 24th 2023 . Another magnificent day out on the terrace. Perfect, sunlit and very little breeze, virtually perfect conditions. I spent a great deal of time outside in the morning and late afternoon. For some while there has been a surprising lack of bumblebees at home. This morning this changed. Bombus pascuorum workers were busy collecting and feeding right in front of the front door, five or six flying at any one time, pollen baskets filling amazingly rapidly, such a joy to see. I slightly re-set the camera to reflect the conditions, cutting the contrast a fraction and adjusting the monitor to suit. The results proved the settings to be optimal. The lens used was the quite literally ancient Sigma 180mm, f5.6 macro lens as an excellent choice. I am sure I have owned this for at least 2o years. I bought it secondhand at that time. It it is clunky but light and the autofocus extremely accurate. I am surprised Sigma have not brought out another to this specification, but modernised. The lens is only 10cm long and weighs 440gms, all by virtue of its f5.6 construction. A great many people use their macro lenses for photographing in that mode only, why m ake a lens offering f2.8, heavy and unwieldy? Many use flash and set the lens/camera at f16 to provide depth of field to suit the subject. I find my lens perfect for insect flight shots, providing I follow the old method of focussing close to a flower or blossom where the insects may be expected to pass by.

bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum w

flower bee, Anthophora plumipes f

hoverfly, Rhingia campestris, on Spanish bluebell

mining bee, Lasioglossum fratellum f

April 22nd 2023. Spent some time on the terrace but with little success. The recent cold has clearly affected the insect population. However, I spotted my first bee-fly hovering in front of of one of the flowers and managed a rapid picture.

bee-fly, Bombylius major

April 15th 2023. A superb morning on the terrace. Spent a long time gazing at the flowers and more than enough looking through the viewfinder.

bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum w

hoverfly, Syritta pipiens f

hoverfly, Rhingia campestris

April 4th 2023. Romey, Fiona and I went down to Catcott Lows for the first time since my operation. It was a glorious day, little wind and crystal clear light. Of special interest, pointed out by Andrew and Alan. was the Garganey drake swimming far off at the back. They are rare small ducks about the size of a teal. One or two appear most Springs but Graham told me there were 6 drakes at one location that week.

Garganey, Anas querquedula m

Greylag goose, Anser anser

Grey heron, Ardea cinerea

Grey heron, Ardea cinerea

Little egret, Egretta garzetta

Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo

Sand martin, Riparia riparia

April 3rd 2023. In the afternoon, it brightened up completely. The breeze dropped down, the sun shone and the time had come for insect photography to start at last. I got out the camera with the ancient Sigma 180 and got to work. Marvellous - I had not lost the touch with this venerable set-up.

bumblebee, Bombus pascorum w

hoverfly, Platycheirus spp.

hoverfly, Melanostoma scalare

Harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis