The Reserve - Early Mornings

Early sunrise during Summer for me means early starts in the reserve. And there is absolutely no doubt that the first couple of hours of the day is the best time to be in the reserve, especially after a clear night. As the sun rises, the dew covered grass glistens and cobwebs sparkle as the golden light reflects of countless tiny water droplets. As the sun starts its morning climb and the first rays of light illuminate Lambrok Meadow then Kestrel Field, I love to stand in Corn Field and watch the Lone Oak as it soaks up the first rays of the sun. It’s a beautiful sight.

Sunrise is certainly the best time of day to get pictures of the reserve’s invertebrates before they have had chance to warm up and get active, especially the butterflies. Whilst butterfly numbers dropped after the grass was cut, there were still a few to find. So armed with the knowledge of spending hours in the reserve during many early morning sessions, and of course a little bit of luck, I was able to find a beautiful marbled white as it was drying out in the first rays of the morning sun. I have wanted this shot for some time, and I was so excited to capture it in those  first few minutes of gorgeous early morning golden light.

After capturing the butterfly drying out, I went to explore more, but came back to the same location a while later to find that it now had its wings open. And because it still hadn’t fully warmed up, I was able to get close again to capture a lovely frame-filling shot.

Before the grass was cut I had spent time looking for grasshoppers, hoping to capture one on a buttercup. This wasn’t to be, but I did find a couple of ladybirds, something that I have not really photographed before. And within seconds I had forgotten about the grasshoppers and was completely consumed in the tiny world of the ladybird. Once again my job of photographing it was made much easier as it had no intention of running or flying away whilst it waited for the dew to dry from its body.

A gorgeous little 7-Spot Ladybird waiting to dry out.

I almost abandoned one early morning session after my weather app clearly lied to me. It had promised some sunshine for the first couple of hours after sunrise, but instead, the morning brought with it dull, overcast conditions. But I was glad that I ignored the voice in my head telling me to go back to bed, as the two hours I spent in the reserve were thoroughly worth it. My first special invertebrate encounter came when I found some small skippers that hadn’t   risen from their nights roost. Fortunately they were high up on some buttercups that were in the process of going to seed, which meant that I would be able to get pictures with nice clean backgrounds.

The other little gem from the session came when I found my first wasp spider of the year. She was the smallest that I have seen since first discovering them in the reserve a few years ago. She would go on to develop her distinctive yellow, black and white markings as she moults, but despite being immature, she clearly has superb web spinning skills with a lovely stabilimentum spun into the web.

A young female wasp spider, yet to develop her yellow, black and white markings.

The grasshoppers and crickets in the reserve never fail to disappoint from a photography point of view. I find them so fascinating as they grow from their tiny nymph stages through to adulthood, and it’s always a challenge trying to get a picture of them before they jump away.

My final picture is quite symbolic of the reserve this summer. I almost didn’t bother taking it, but as I stood next to the single clover flower that was growing amongst the stubble of the recently cut grass, I realised what it represented. Despite the grass being cut too early (in my opinion) and now absent of the large numbers of invertebrates it was home to only days before, this clover represented the fact that the flowers, grasses and even the invertebrates will return.

There is no doubt that we impact (through many ways) the natural cycle of life in the reserve. But a single clover flower shows that nature does fight back. For me, it shows that there is much more work that needs to be done in the reserve to make it a better habitat for wildlife, but it also shows that there is hope.