A Small Dusty Wave

 I very much doubt that when you saw the title of this post  you thought that I was referring to a moth but that is exactly what you have got.

The Small Dusty Wave is a small European moth, varieties of this moth are found across Europe from Moscow in the east to Spain and the Mediterranean, even as far south as Morocco and Tunisia (so it is not limited to Europe). They are quite common in England and Wales, they are found in the east of Scotland only and they are rare in Ireland.

Small and dusty is a good description, this specimen has a wingspan of just 17mm typically they are between 19 -21mm and it would be easy to miss it laying flat against the wall of my house.

It was easy enough to get the shot from above but getting the face on shots was quite tricky simply because it was pressed so flat against the wall it was hard to get a good angle. You can see that I used a very narrow field of view thanks to my Canon 100mm Macro lens.

Creepy Little Fella

Maybe it is unkind to call this cute little bird "creepy" but he is a Tree Creeper so it is an accurate description. I have only photographed one once before and it was a lousy shot, low light, quick moving subject so grainy and blurry. On this particular occasion although the light wasn't great I did manage to get three quick shots. Using a high ISO the pictures are still quite grainy  but with a little bit of work I have been able to reduce some of the "noise" and produce soft but usable images.

He didn't stay still for long and quickly made its way around and up the tree trunk out of sight but it was a genuine thrill to see it and capture these pictures. You have to agree he is pretty cute. You may be able to make out his long claws/toes perfectly adapted to clinging to the bark enabling him to move nimbly and quickly up and down in his search for insects in every crevice. Hie curved beak is also perfectly adapted for the task of winkling out food from the tightest spots.

Froglets

When I started my blog back in September 2014 my first shot was of a small frog that I found on a wonderful trip to the New Forest in Hampshire, one of my favourite places to be.

Today's offering is of two tiny froglets that I spotted on my recent walk around Mere Sands Wood. On a previous walk there had been hundreds of frogs hopping across the paths, risking all to get to the ponds and meres. It was quite a challenge getting around the woods without stepping on one.

On Monday there were fewer frogs but as I had my macro lens attached I was able to get a few shots as you can see above. It was quite tricky to be honest as I had to keep moving my left hand with the frog on it and to hold my camera steady and shoot one handed. 

I hope you will agree that the results are worth it. You can see how tiny the frogs are as they are smaller than the middle section of my index finger and they are really very cute.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

I have been so excited to share some pictures of the beautiful hummingbirds that during the first week of my trip were regular visitors to the garden. 

They were very skittish and incredibly difficult to shoot, possibly wary of my lens which I have decided needs to be camouflaged for wildlife photography (more of that on another day).  Difficult as they were to shoot I think that patience and perseverance paid off. This is definitely one of the better shots but I have some more that I am just as pleased with. I had thought of putting several up today but I want to spread them out so will share some more in the future.

This is a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird, lining up for a feed from the Bee Balm which seemed to be its favourite food source in the garden. I really miss sitting out and watching these little beauties, they were just so mesmerising. They were definitely an item on my bucket list of creatures I have always wanted to see. They didn't disappoint, I hope you agree.