Beaulieu Heath

Beaulieu Heath in the New Forest is a good location for dragonflies and heathland wildlife in the summer.  I took a visit there last Sunday and walked from there towards Crockford Stream – though never got as far as the stream on this visit.  Between the two is a pond near a risen mound that is good for observing and if lucky photographing dragonflies.  This was my second visit to this place of the year – last visits shots included some flying Emperors.  This time there were some Emperors still flying about. This time I was fortunate to find a female Keeled Skimmer resting and willing to pose for some macro photographs, including a 3 shot stack.

These are my favourite images of the Skimmer.

This first one is cropped to a more panoramic format.

Keeled Skimmer Panorama Format. Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens. ISO 400 F7.1 1/500 in Natural Light.

Keeled Skimmer Side On.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F5 1/1250 in Natural Light.

These next two images are both up close to it’s head.  The first is a single shot at F8, the latter a 3 shot stack at a wider aperture of F6.3.  I think both work well, and can’t personally choose between them.

Keeled Skimmer Face On.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F8 1/120 in Natural Light.

3 Shot Stack of Keeled Skimmer.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  3 Shots at ISO 400 F6.3 1/320 in Natural Light.]

Moving on down the path, I saw my first Grayling Butterflies (Hipparchia semele) of 2014.  After several attempts at photographing them, I managed to get one at rest long enough for a 5 shot stack.   The only shame was it kept it’s top wing in – when popped up they produce a nice bit of orange colour.

5 Shot Stack of a Grayling.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  5 Shots at ISO 400 F5.6 1/320 in Natural Light.

I also saw lots of Silver-studded blue butterflies and when photographing the top butterfly in this shot, it was briefly joined by another.

Silver-studded Blues on Heather.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F5.6 1/400 in Natural Light.

And finally this I saw this grasshopper in the heather.

Grasshopper in the Heather.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F7.1 1/250 in Natural Light.

Map of Location

Beaulieu Heath Car Park

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