RSPB Dungeness, Kent

Dungeness is a strange place but yet full of wildlife and also the the first reserve the RSPB opened. Its quite a large area with wetland, shingle and scrub habitat ideal for species like reptiles, waders and migrant birds.

i was mainly after one of these, the wasp spider a non native species that comes in on ships so often found in coastal areas. i'd heard they were on the reserve but never found one until i asked a local birder who told me to look near the ARC hide car park and sure enough found this large female! he also mentioned seeing a sand lizard though i didn't see any.

Hidden in the scrub was the this beauty a hawk moth catapillar.

the hazard of taking images on a bank holiday is lots of people are around so while creeping up on this marsh frog some kids ran over and spooked it!

This common blue butterfly was the highlight of my day with such vibrant colours though tricky to get close to.

RSPB Arne, Dorset

Traveling to Dorset i was in search of britains rarest reptile the Smooth snake and Arne is about the best location in the country to see them. Going around with the wardens to try find one early in the morning but no success with the smooth snakes however...

... we did come across a adder something thats not all that common ar Arne (ironicall smooth snakes are more common there)

suffering from smooth snake blues i went off to the ponds that have a good number of raft spiders one of the largest species in the UK. They can actually catch small fish and frogs.

Walking in the woodland part to one of the hides i came across this common lizard up a tree which i though was rather strange.

One of the young marsh harriers from poole flew by while in the hide which was lovely to see.

On a bit of luck the wardens deceided to go out again on the off chance of finding a smooth snake for a educational show the next day and let me tag along also. The thrid tin we found a glouriuos smooth snake!

i should point out you need a licence to handle or photograph these snakes which i have from previous survey work

Dragonflies at Idle Valley Nature Reserve

Having visited idle only a couple of times this year i was looking forward to seeing what the september sun will bring and it didn't disapoint! which was good for me as i was leading a macro photography workshop looking at butterflies and dragonflies mainly. Walking through the woodland area we saw plenty of speckled wood butterflies suning themselves.

The dragonflies really played ball on this day and with a breezy cool start we found a few basking on the bushes like this male migrant hawker.

some were also feeding with one eating a wasp and this female migrant hawker tucking into a fly.

Me being me i had to grab a wide angle of a dragonfly and got this chaser warming up on a post.

I don't normally take shots on my workshops as i like to have full attention on my clients but with all the dragonflies around i had to take a couple of shots and as you can see everybody got some shots of dragonflies!

BBC Summer of Wildlife & Me

The Summer of Wildlife in a event run by the BBC over the summer of 2013 to help people engage with  wildlife both locally and nationwide. I've been lucky enough to be involved with quite a few TV & Publicity events with them so heres a run down of what i've done and will be doing.

Springwatch

 I filmed as a camera assistant on Springwatch this year which kicked of the summer of wildlife, although my part was small i was very pleased to be able to show of my camera work on a series such as Springwatch and especially freshwater fish a very underrated subject for british televison.

East Midlands Today

As well as the nationwide programmes SOW has been doing more local stories so when East Midlands Today asked me to do a piece with me i thought it would be a great chance to show of Nottinghams diverse wildlife.

In one of the hides at Attenborough Nature Reserve with Presenter Dominic Heale

East Midlands Today Film

Urban Jungle

a TV series covering all regions of England focusing on the urban wildlife of our cities and showing that they are not so devoid of wildlife as we might think. My role was filming some underwater footage and also appearing infront of camera in a photography challenge.

 Got to meet Mark O'Shea a childhood favourite of mine when he featured on his series Big Adventures.

Urban Jungle - East Midlands Film

London Wetland Centre Talk

Speaking on tips and hints for wildlife photography as well as showing of a range of my wetland wildlife photography.

Upcoming Summer of Wildlife Events i'm involved with

17th August - Wollaton Park BBC Summer of Wildlife

31st August - 1st Nottingham Wildlife Photography Group Meeting (Free & All welcome)

14th Sept - Sutton Park, Birmingham BBC Summer of Wildlife Event

22nd Sept - Kedleston Hall Derbyshire Day 

Nottingham Peregrines & Carsington Birding

Going along to the ringing of the Nottingham Trent University Peregrine chicks yesterday was a fantastic experience seeing them up close.

The three chicks are yet to be named but local school children have been putting in suggestions. The chicks parents have nested on the building for a few years now and return to the same box which is under a webcam that can be watched 24/7.

Being careful not to get fingers to close as the chicks were not overly happy with being held!

At the end they are put back and the parents hovering above were constantly calling to them. Peregrines  like to nest on cliff edges so our towns ans cities provide great nesting sites to the point that London, Derby, Norwich and most other cities now have a resident pair.

Shooting straight off the Derbyshire i visited Carsington water a first for me and what a surprise a fantastic site full of wildlife. Owned by seven trent water and with help from partners like the RSPB makes this a truly magical site to visit and take wildlife images.

I've been wanting a shot of a bullfinch for a while now so was pleased to finally get one when it kept coming to the feeder. I have to say by far Carsingtons birdlife is its biggest attraction with a wide range of species for the keen birder to find.

Two gooslings are enjoying the sun shine.

 If your based in Nottingham or just fancy coming along I'm setting up a photography group for talks, trips, tips, exhibitions and competitions.

Website

Grayling & Pike in the Peak District

Grayling other wise known as the lady of the stream are a truly beautiful fish and a member of the trout family. One of the things I've started doing is trying to capture fish behaviour in this case males competing for the prime position and females.

This grayling bumped into the camera a few times! normally they can be quite a shy fish

This male had chased all others away and stayed in this area for a while

Grayling Fighting Video

Not to far away in Cromford Canal there are good numbers of pike

I was a bit unsure what they eat as the only other fish i saw was a brown trout which was actually bigger then the pike and attacked them!

The pike seemed to be gathering for breeding and the pike in the canal also seemed a bit smaller then there river cousins likely because of habitat size and food availability.

Hints -

- Take it slowly the fish are very spooky!
- Visibility is everything and you need it to get the clear shots
- Make sure you wash off after as there are plenty of nasty diseases in rivers like weils disease



www.jackperksphotography.com

Pond Dipping

Pond Dipping is something i used to love as a child (not living anywhere near the sea it was the closet i got to rockpooling) and the sheer wealth of wildlife you can find is quite amazing all these species are from the same pond over two days.

This was the first Great Diving Beetle I've ever caught and is about the size of a 50p quite large for a British beetle, they are top predators in the ponds.

The Spined Loach is only found in five eastern rivers in England one of which the Trent floods into the pond i net so i would assume that's how this one got into there. the little fish often get over looked but without a doubt have the best markings.

This sinister looking creature is a Water Stick Insect which similar to a praying mantis grabs its prey and sucks the life out of it literally.

This is a male Smooth Newt not to be confused with a Great Crested Newt (see video below) they grow the crest in spring then loose it later in the year.

Great Crested Newts

Hints -

- Look for vegetation and over hanging plants as critters will often hide in there

- Be gentle when scooping as you can damage some species 

-  Using a tank to view the species without handling them is a good idea and provides good opportunities for photography.

www.jackperksphotography.com