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Pictures for Pam, Day 134: SSC: Hoverfly with Fairy Dust

(+10 insets!) (please view large) :D

I woke up to a very wet day but happily it wasn't raining when I went out on my walk. It's such fun to be outside in the springtime because the birds are so busy! It seems like every tree is a-twitter with birdies, and though I cannot see any nests, I'm sure they are there, hidden in the branches. I was delighted to discover exactly where a pair of nuthatches have theirs--it's in a hollowed spot of trunk near the top of an oak tree just off the road. I saw them leave as a pair and could see where they came from! What fun!

By the way, if you've been keeping up with my bird sightings at the feeders, we've got new species showing up! Finally the lovely Lesser Goldfinches have found the feeders and we're seeing groups of up to 6 visiting! Yesterday I saw a mourning dove moving around under the feeders and when I turned away, Steve laughed out loud and said, "Another mourning dove flew in and crash-landed on the first one…RUDE!" :D I'll show these new bird species as insets below my main presentation.

Today is SATURDAY SELF CHALLENGE!! YES!! *pumps fist in the air* The theme seems to be made exactly for me: "Close Up In Color". OK, I think I can do that! :D Happily, Wednesday was the first day of spring and I went on a photo safari around our property looking for all of the flowers which were in bloom. I managed to find several few new ones and I got some pictures of saxifrage too. (This is a flower I've mentioned but haven't shown any pictures until now.) It's a fairly plain flower but I'm delighted to say that I got some very nice images to share. I also got a much better picture of a flower I'd photographed in the past called Hairy Bittercress.

My main image is a tiny hoverfly (.3"/8.46mm) sitting in a sea of bokeh with just its face in sharp focus. It landed on a stem right next to me as I was photographing a buttercup and wasn't bothered by me at all. This allowed me to take many dozen pictures in various apertures and different angles. In fact, I was the one that left, not him! The thing that sets this little guy apart are those incredible iridescent wings! Aren't they amazing?! This picture is magical to me because the bokeh turned the colors of its wings into fairy dust!

You will find two more angles of this hoverfly as insets but I'm also presenting most of the subjects I photographed on the first day of spring. What fun it was to process them all. It was extremely satisfying to add some better pictures of species I've photographed before. I am not much of a fan of either Saxifrage or Hairy Bittercress but I actually got some attractive images of them--not easy to do, let me tell you! :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show! (I actually had to trim down the number of pictures…far too many so I'll post another set in a few days along with pictures of new flowers I've found since!) :)

Pam, it was easy to know what to search for and I went in figuring there would be plenty of choices--hoverflies are pretty brave little guys and make fantastic subjects because they often just sit there, asking, "Do I look more beautiful from the left, or perhaps from the right? Oh? You'd like an image of me hovering? Why of course, here you go!" :D I picked your beautiful Hoverfly on Bradford Pear Blossom image… what a stunner. The blossoms are right out of Cinderella and that hoverfly is the perfect model! :) I hope you have had a good day my dear!! *BIG HUGS TO YOU*!!!!

Explored on 3/24/19, highest placement, #1.
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48 comments

David G Johnson said:

Another top story there... Janet.. and brilliant pictures.... I do like the 'Mourning dove'...he / she is a real beauty.. must confess to never having seen one.. or even heard of one...
Super work... 'Best wishes' to you.. from David J'..... UK.
5 years ago

William Sutherland said:

Great series!

Admired in:
www.ipernity.com/group/tolerance
5 years ago ( translate )

sasithorn_s said:

Fabulous nature series, Janet! All photos are perfectly captured!
Never knew a hoverfly could be this incredibly beautiful up close:)))
The flowers and birds are also absolutely gorgeous!
5 years ago

sasithorn_s said:

5 years ago ( translate )

Pam J said:

I ABSOLUTRLY LOVE YOUR LITTLE HOVERFLY JANET !
5 years ago ( translate )

Esther said:

What amazing color on its wings! And your focus is spot on!
5 years ago

Mario Vargas said:

awesome
5 years ago ( translate )

Eva Lewitus said:

Such incredible colors, yes! fairy dust!
5 years ago ( translate )

Karen's Place said:

Wow, what a collection of fantastic images. I do love this little guy's amazing wings. I would never guess they could be so pretty. I also love the puffy mourning dove you've captured. We had a pair here the other day too.

Thanks for a fun read and all your enthusiasm for the challenge! :)
5 years ago

Valfal said:

Wow, I expected something great from you, and you did not disappoint! You took a fantastic series, Janet!! I am so glad to see that spring has arrived in your area already (I'm still waiting: yesterday a cold nor'easter passed our way, and the cold is still with us even though we do have bulbs like bluebells and daffodils sprouting out of the ground). :-))
5 years ago

Valfal replied to Valfal:

BW, that mourning dove image is especially fantastic!
5 years ago

Kawasirius said:

Superbe série Janet !
Quel plaisir de lire vos nouvelles le matin ! J'admire vos connaissances en botanique en espèces d'oiseaux et d'insectes. Vous maitrisez parfaitement la faune et la flore ! N'ayant aucune de ces connaissances, je découvre et j'apprends tout au long de vos lignes. Je vous remercie pour cela ! Capturer des sujets est une chose mais les capturer en connaissant ces sujets doit être encore plus passionnant !
Encore une fois, ces photos sont d'une qualité exceptionnelle et vous félicite pour le choix de votre objectif très lumineux et la focale qui se prête à ces brokeh formidables !
Je vous souhaite de passer un bon dimanche Janet !
5 years ago ( translate )

neira-Dan said:

une série à tomber !!
Dommage que les fleurs ne soient en public , certaines auraient pu aller dans mes groupes de botanique avec plaisir
5 years ago ( translate )

Heide said:

A fabulous series of wonderfully focused photos, Janet
I like the softness of the fly with the soft bokeh on the main photo very much.
5 years ago

Eunice Perkins said:

Such gorgeously colourful wingson the hoverfly!! These shots are all lovely!
5 years ago