Martyn Pitt

It was like winter yesterday morning, dark and cold ... in photography parlance the light was pants, especially when I was trying to snap the fast and erratic hirundines Here are a couple of Swallows I managed to get in the gloom

We had around eighty Cormorants at Belvide on Saturday, they started one end and moved along the reservoir "herding" the fish, as soon as one came up with a fish the others would mob it to try and relieve it of it's catch

Steve the one we had stuck around for a while so you may be lucky. One of my favourites, probably because they are not camera shy ... a Ruddy Darter

Lovely shots of the Bees Russell Here is a tricky one to get, a Brown Hawker ... not the easiest to spot when they do decide to stop flying around, and certainly one of the easiest to spook

Yours in an Adult Summer bird, my photo is a juvenile

Steve here you go ... our Sabines Gull, a scarce bird as far inland as Belvide, certainly generated a fair few quid for the club funds this one

We had a Sabines at Belvide a few years back, loads of twitchers turned up for that one

Cheers Steve, always best with a blue sky for the flight shots

Sad news indeed, will be strange not seeing his name against the auction results posting. Rest in peace Joe, condolences to his family and loved ones

Taken back in 2009 whilst up in Galloway on holiday, these were at the Bellymack Hill Farm where they feed the birds, they are tagged as they are part of the release program to reintroduce the birds to the UK

Not something you see too often around here, although sightings are on the increase, I have a few shots somewhere, if I can find one I shall post it

The prehistoric ancestor of the Dragonfly had a wingspan of 3 feet, would loved to have seen one of those ... would have been easier to get a flight shot of it than it's descendent's

Mainly wildlife and nature stuff Manus, and most of my holiday snaps are in focus, I bought my first SLR camera when I was 16 so have had a lot of practice, fair to say I enjoy taking photo's of most things in general. As you asked nicely here is a rather pristine Southern Hawker

Hoverfly versus Bruce Lee Bee ....

Butterflies have been a bit thin on the ground this year, so I was pleased to get this rather splendid Peacock

Here is a scarce one, in decline and protected it is a Garden Tiger Moth., the first record for the reserve. After posing for the obligatory snapshot we moved it off the path into some better cover.

I remember now ... Taormina in Sicily is nice, a current favourite

CeeJay I would agree 100% ... stunning part of Italy

We have several wooden benches dotted around the reserve, every year you can guarantee seeing a Ruddy Darter resting on this one particular bench when the sun has been out to warm it up.

Not too bad Steve thanks, hope yourself and Lou are ok. Hope to get out a bit more in the next few months

Cold, raining and windy ... could only be a typical British Summers day Cuckoo was well concealed today, managed a House Martin after insects just above the surface of the water

Glad that you liked them, not something that you see too often. We could not locate it on Sunday, it could be off fending for itself now it can fly fairly well. With any luck we may have some others, the adult would have laid 10 - 15 eggs in various nests around the reserve.

Cuckoo looks bigger this week, must be all those insects the Reed Warblers are shovelling in ...

If you approach them carefully without any sudden movement you can get pretty close, it helps that I am using either a 300mm or 200-400mm lens which have 5 feet or 6 feet minimum focus distance, this lets me keep just far enough away from the insect to avoid spooking it.

Steve, yonks ago you posted one sideways on, I asked if you had taken it lying down, or if you had fallen over ... and as being six foot nothing ... in my dreams Anyway, have a couple of Southern Hawkers