TroubleField & Ramsdown Visit.

Took another visit to Troublefield a DWT reserve on the 2nd June.  The weather was dry but cold.  I was interested to see the state of the reserve once the flooding had gone.  I have to report that the reserve still has not recovered from both the flooding and more importantly the environmental disaster that hit it last May, when the field was grazed with the flowers the reserve is for in mid-flower.  There is some life – some demoiselles were about in reasonable numbers and a couple of chaser were about.  The only flowers were the odd ragged robin and some buttercups.  I feel this reserve may well need several more year to recover to its best.  The butterfly population that was in abundance last year prior to the grazing is completely wiped out.  I saw not a single one.

I took one image at the location – a shot of a beautiful demoiselle, before heading across the road to Ramsdown in hope of some chasers or larger dragonflies.

Beautiful Demoiselle. Taken on Canon 50D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F7.1 1/160.  Natural Light.

Ramsdown had several airborne dragons, but I was unable to get one to sit still long enough for a photo, I suspect the wind was putting them off posing.  However the Rhododendrons were a source of the following three shots, one of the flowers, an ant that was drinking some water inside and finally a posing dungfly.

Rhododendron.  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 100 F5.6 1/100.  Natural Light, Tripod, quite heavy processing in Topaz Adjust.

Ant drinking in Rhododendron.  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon MPE-65mm.  ISO 100 F11 1/250.  Flash from Canon MT-24ex Twin Flash.

Dungfly on Rhododendron.  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon MPE-65mm.  ISO 100 F11 1/250.  Flash from Canon MT-24ex Twin Flash.

Map of Location

A small DWT wildlife reserve.