Migaloo the Magnificent

Jackie accompanied today us to the 2011 Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington (closes March 11). It was as inspiring as ever, and as usual we totally disagreed with the overall winner which was an easy shot of captive oil covered pelicans from a good photojournalism portfolio. There were many more pleasing images of considerable technical difficulty. Some of the best were from the junior sections, including a brilliant macro shot of a longhorn beetle in the under 10s section. My favourite was a white Humpback Whale, Migaloo the Magnificent There was an excellent shot of an Apollo butterfly. Exhibition photos can be seen online:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/onlineGallery.do

When I was 10 years old I used to travel to the Natural History Museum every Saturday and  joined their Young Naturalists Club. Of course I used to dive into the Geology museum annexed to it, and the Science Museum next door. The NHM is totally different now. I asked where I could see butterflies and was advised they only had a few as part of some display. Its all Green, Red, Orange, Blue zones now 

Exhibition Road is now a new style road-pavement

Angmering Woods

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

After lunch we went for a walk in the Angmering Estate Woods. The bluebell leaves are pushing through so there should be another great display soon.

Courting grebes at Pagham

Great crested grebes courting

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

Yesterday morning, Neil, the double glazing specialist, replaced a punctured unit and fixed a couple of other problems, all very effectivley. After he left I headed for Pagham Harbour again as the sun had been shining through a blue sky all day, so the insects should have been rising above the reeds. They were, and the dozen or so birders had been having regular sightings. I managed some and got my best shot so far, though it is pretty poor when compared to professional shots. It about the best I could do with a 300mm lens and fleeting glimpses of the elusive bird. A bonus was seeing these courting Grebes on the lake.

Curlews

Great crested grebes courting

The slideshow has multiple shots of the happy couple performing their ritual courtship.

Little grebe

Little egret

Mallard

Paddyfield warbler on the move

Paddyfield warbler 

Teal

Wigeon