Late summer butterflies

Here is a butterfly I saw this week but haven't seen very often before - a small copper (Lycaena phlaeas).  It has a wonderful metallic sheen in the wings that is better in real life than it shows here.

This is a wall (Lasiommata megera) which I see less often these days.  It used to be a common visitor to my garden.

The speckled wood (Pararge aegeria), on the other hand is much more common than it used to be only a few years ago and is now one of our commonest butterflies.

A few from the garden this week .  A red admiral (Vanessa atalanta).

A comma (Polygonia c-album).

And a small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae).

There have also been peacocks in the garden but I haven't seen a painted lady this year.

A handy helicopter landing pad

This chap landed on my hand as I was climbing the gate.  When I was over I held out my hand and he landed on it again.  I was carrying a camera with a 300mm lens and was unable to take a photo so I went back to the car for a 100mm macro lens.  I went back to the gate and as soon as I held out my hand he landed again.  Whether it was because my hands were warm and the weather was cool I don't know but he was very happy to perch there until I moved on.

Bath time for the kingfisher

One photo I haven't yet taken is a good shot of a kingfisher diving in to catch a fish.  This youngster was bathing rather than fishing but she did give me some practice.  The main problem (apart from my slow reactions and poor reflexes) was that she was on a low stick and was jumping into the water on the far side away from me, so most of the time she was obscured.  These were the best I could manage.

As you can see she was doing a belly flop with her wings outstretched to wet her feathers, not a streamlined fishing dive.  When she got out each time she spent some time preening but taking photos of a kingfisher on a stick is fairly easy.

Next time I have the chance I shall concentrate on the diving shots but don't hold your breath.

A prince in disguise

These days I see fewer frogs in the garden than I used to but I don't know if that is because I am less observant, or they keep a lower profile, or because there are fewer.  I am always pleased to see one and had a chance to take a few photos this morning.

The photos above used flash.  These two are in natural light with a slight adjustment to the white balance as the frog was in shade.  I think I prefer the flash.

Black-winged kingfisher

It is amazing how much colour variation there is in kingfishers, all depending on the light.  This young female was already waiting when I got to the hide just after sunrise.  The sun was very low and the rays were very oblique.  I was very struck by the colour of her wings - through the viewfinder they were almost black.

Although we see it as a turquoise and orange bird a kingfisher's head, back and wing feathers are really brown and the colours we see are a product of semi-iridescence.  Its orange feathers do contain orange pigment granules but vertebrates are generally unable to produce blue pigment.  The variations on blue that we see are produced entirely by interaction between the wavelength of the light and the microstructure of the feathers.

Here is the same bird a little while later - the sun was higher and had moved round a bit.

Here she is a bit later still.

Compare these photos with one from a year ago when the low early morning sun was directly behind me.  This chap looks green.

Incidentally I haven't discovered a new species and there isn't really a black-winged kingfisher but in other parts of the world you can find a black-billed kingfisher and a brown-winged kingfisher.

A mud-coloured bird in the mud

This young water rail is one of two that have been very visible in front of the hide recently.  It is much bolder than the adults, probably through lack of experience, so it is just as well that it has such good camouflage.  It also doesn't mind getting its feet muddy.