Monday, 18 April 2016

Spring


18th April and spring brings with it a new determination to better record the wild life here at Tyntesfield; all being well there'll be an improvement in frequency, quantity and hopefully quality.

I spent much of the winter waiting for queen bumblebees to emerge after reading Dave Goulson's excellent book 'A Sting In The Tale'. I've been delighted to see them bumbling about, but have so far failed to take a decent picture. Happily, Bluebells are less mobile and now resplendent in Truckle Wood and elsewhere on the estate.


Bluebells in Truckle Wood, Tyntesfield



Wood Anemones in Truckle Wood, Tyntesfield

Blackthorn blossom (blossom before leaves)

Hawthorn leaves (leaves before blossom)

At the start of April I noticed a shrub outside my house swarming with insects enjoying the early food supply from its flowers. These are just a few of the animals observed (the 'just about in-focus' ones). There were many more that evaded my available technology and skills, but I intend to persist and improve.

A Mason Bee I believe - hairier and smaller than a Honey Bee

Honey Bee with loaded pollen sacs

Nectar supping fly (unidentified)

Robber Fly?

Roe deer startled by man taking pictures in a bush

A Bee Fly. About as cuddly as flies get, apart from the spiky proboscis

2015 Kitchen Garden time-lapse

In February 2015 I installed a solar powered time-lapse camera in the kitchen garden at Tyntesfield. Programmed to take 4 pictures a day, it ran until the end of September when the battery ran out of sun and steam.

The first thing I have done is taken out the images obscured by rain or condensation fog. In fact, that's all I've done so far... there are various processing measures I can take to improve the results, but as it involves a fair amount of manual labour I have opted to post the interim 'rough' version, not least so the gardeners and volunteers at Tyntesfield are able to see it.