Creatures Great & Small

Ant Lion Larvae - Bawdsey - Suffolk - What a creature!
I found the first Ant Lions at Bawdsey back in 1999!

Chrysoclista linneella - Woodbridge - Suffolk
2nd record for the County! (Phil & Becca)

Tebenna micalis  - Bawdsey Hall - Suffolk
1st for Suffolk & East Anglia! (trapped by Matthew Deans)

A Few New Beasties . . . .

Ant Lion - Bawdsey Suffolk
August 2012

Purple Emperor - Suffolk
August 2012 (our first!)

Small Marbled - Bawdsey Hall - Suffolk
August 2012 (1st for Suffolk!)

Agriphila latistria
One of over 100 new micro moths for us this Summer
Suffolk - August 2012

New Work - Birdfair 2012

First Light

Japanese Cloisonne Style Kingfisher

Some of my latest works . . . .available as limited edition prints

Birdfair 2012 Success

Thank you to all who made 'Rebecca Nason Photography' Art Marquee No 9 such a success and the best year yet at the British Birdwatching Fair last weekend.
My exciting new website is currently being designed and will be launched in October 2012 - encompassing many images seen on my 2012 Birdfair stand. In the meantime if you have any questions, queries or orders please do not hesitate to contact me: rebecca@rebeccanason.com for more information.
Best wishes and thanks
Rebecca ;-)

It has been quite a while since I posted on my blog! I have had a busy late Spring & Summer with various ecological contracts, photography, my sister's great wedding of the century & now preparations for the 2012 Birdfair which is fast approaching. This will be my 7th year as an exhibitor. I will be in the Art Marquee, No 9 - my usual spot - showcasing my latest works & smart new range of greeting cards & prints. I hope to see you there, be sure to stop by & say hello! www.birdfair.org.uk 

Roller Prints Now Available

6x4 high quality matte prints now available of the Albrough  - European Roller
Birdguides Photo of the Week
£3.00 each or both for £5.00 including postage. . . .
rebecca@rebeccanason.com 

A few June Highlights so far . . . . .

Cream Spot Tiger - Woodbridge - 07.06.2012

Nightingale Chick being Ringed - Suffolk 06.12

European Roller - Aldbrough - Yorks - 05.06.12

Small Angle Shades - Woodbridge 07.06.12

European Roller !! - East Yorkshire - Aldbrough

05.06.2012

The cream of nest finding - 2 Nightingale nests found this morning in Suffolk . . . . 

Cream Cracker

Cream Cracker  . . . .

Arriving in Aberdeen after a smooth overnight crossing from Lerwick we had a daunting 12 hour drive ahead of us back to Suffolk. However on news of an adult Cream-coloured Courser showing well  in Herefordshire we decided to make the drive home even longer but hopefully gain a British tick at the same time by diverting further West! The day went to plan and within 6 hours we were stood on Bradnor Hill Golf Course in gorgeous sunshine watching one of the best birds I think I've ever seen! Certainly worth the extra mileage! Surrounded by stunning Herefordshire countryside and in the warmest day for us this year, we watched as the Courser stood loud and proud on the fairway. Alert and bold upright one minute, stooped and running through bracken the next, feeding regularly and occasionally getting too close to a Meadow Pipit nest and getting bombarded from above (the Courser that is...) it showed very well for the hour or so we were there and enabled full-frame scope views throughout. There were not large numbers of birders present, maybe 50 people during our visit though I may have missed a few illusive camouflaged individuals hiding in bracken during my rough count. There were some close encounters of Tornados which powered overhead and although the Courser was not close enough for me to personally get cracking shots before we headed off back to Suffolk I was pleased with one flight shot taken shortly after we arrived onsite. After a much needed early dinner at a local pub with Martin C who we met at the bird after he had travelled down from Glasgow, we headed to Suffolk, arriving back before midnight.

Common Tern Preening - Lerwick - May 2012

A pair of Arctic Tern - Lerwick - May 2012

The best chicks to ring ever! Prehistoric looking Raven chicks at the nest - May 2012

Spring is in the Air

Spring has really kicked in with T shirt weather in Suffolk today. 2012 nest finding has been very successful so far and includes Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Treecreeper, Chaffinch, Wren and Long-tailed Tit, quite a few with eggs already. I really enjoyed photographing a Treecreeper frantically collecting nest material today, the nest is in an old outbuilding. Photo's below also show a stunning complete Long-tailed Tit nest, a pair of Egyptian Geese with young which we noticed along the Deben estuary at Melton this morning and a Hen Harrier which flew past us as we drove towards Bawdsey 2 days ago.

Delighted once again to receive my latest copy of the popular journal 'British Birds' and to see my full frame shot of a Hawfinch I took last Winter on the front cover! ;-)

Winter Woodcock . . .

The chase was on - for the last two days Phil and I have attempted to track down and photograph one of Britain's most iconic bird species in Suffolk - the Woodcock! We searched for Woodcock in open areas of sparse broad-leaved woodland, with the sudden snow fall on Saturday night Woodcock were tamer than usual and not hard to find. Once we found some (8+ in total) it was a case of getting into various freezing cold positions (hoping they didn't fly off as we approached - 70% did) and then waiting silently as they fed and came closer. Of course 75% of shots were of unfavourable light direction, obligatory twigs between me and the bird etc etc the usual stuff, but we were pretty pleased with the 25% achieved - a small selection of which is here. We also scraped areas, removing the snow so the Woodcock could feed more easily, which they did. They consumed large quantities of earthworms and it was a real insight into their feeding behaviour and movements! I've never seen Woodcock so well and indeed it is a dream bird for me and one i've always wanted to photograph so it really was a red letter day!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Last night, after a Winter lacking in the magic white stuff, 6 inches of snow fell on Suffolk! So of course the day involved ringing and photography. Phil spring trapped a Black-headed Gull and Common Gull on our shed roof and then we spent time out locally where I photographed Yellowhammers and a good thrush mix of Song Thrush, Redwing, Blackbird and Fieldfare. The sudden harsh weather conditions forced these birds onto garden berry bushes where they frantically removed hundreds of berries, totally unfazed by humans walking past along the pavements and thankfully - me with my lens! A great snow day!