Everything is Permuted

Early autumn (because that's surely where we are now) is proving more than adequate compensation for the gloom of summer. Beautiful, warm weather which looks set to last for at least a few days. Ideal for a trek out to Pulborough Brooks, an RSPB reserve in Sussex.

I'll start with a tiny surprise. As we arrived the visitor centre (where you pay) was all but deserted. The reason, we were told, was that they'd had a bit of excitement. A baby adder had been found inside the centre and had just been released back into the open. Everyone was outside watching. Sure enough the baby adder was still there, settled behind a large flower pot against the side of the building. It was absolutely tiny


After a quick sandwich in the cafe (dodging the inevitable wasps), we headed outside.
A small herd of fallow deer

As we wandered further into the reserve (eyes half on the ground looking for adders, and half looking upward for birds), a large butterfly caught my eye. I rarely see brimstones, but they are spectacular and this one was posing elegantly in the sunshine.
Brimstone

This is the season for fungi, and of several varieties this parasol was the pick (though of course we didn't pick it).
Parasol mushroom

And then it was out to the wetlands, the real reason for visiting Pulborough.
Canada geese and other water fowl and waders

There were more fallow deer, their tails flicking and ears twitching to keep off the flies...
Fallow deer

Among the geese and widgeons, and lone heron, there were numerous lapwings. The distances at Pulborough make it difficult to identify species without a spotting scope until, that is, they take to the air.
Lapwings

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Finally a shot of a much more common bird. A blue tit, busy eating a berry.


Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, except for the adder and the mushroom which were taken with the EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens.

It's not often I've had the need or inclination to take photos at ISO 1250... but an early morning encounter with the local deer was too good to miss. Inevitably the conditions don't make for the best photos (lack of light, wide aperture, slow shutter, and noise/grain), but sometimes it's the subject that matters.

Roe deer (buck)

Two does

The buck

Buck and doe

And three's a crowd

Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens at ISO 1250, aperture f/6.3, slightly under-exposed (between -0.3 and -0.7) and at between 1/200-1/250s shutter speed.

A few shots taken early on Friday morning...












Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.