David has spent a couple of nights photographing a fox.  This is a vixen.  She has clearly had cubs but they are yet to show themselves.  More on this project in weeks to come!
David's latest article for Nature TTL has just been published, this is:  'How to Photograph Water Voles'.  To have a look click on this link: https://www.naturettl.com/how-to-photograph-water-voles-in-the-uk/
David has recently returned from a week in Somerset.  One of the targets of his visit was to photograph a white admiral butterfly which you can see below along with a photograph of Shapwick Church looking rather lovely; a pair of blue-tailed damselflies, incredibly numerous on all of the nature reserves on The Levels, and a preening great white egret (it would seem that your feathers have to look worse before they can look better!).
This week has been good weather for moth-trapping: the nights have been mild, calm and often cloudy.  David had a good selection to photogaph and below are two examples.  These are on the left a 'scorched wing moth' and on the right a 'peppered moth', both photographed amongst the oxeye daisies.
David and Sarah have had a couple of weeks away in Sussex, calling in on Hampshire on the way back.  David is writing an article about wildlife in the area and was focussing on butterflies, orchids and birds.  Photos below from top left show: Knepp Estate (re-wilding) where they saw turtle doves, white storks and nightingales; the house and garden of Gilbert White (18th Century naturalist) in Selborne; brimstone butterfly; greater butterfly orchid; cuckoo; burnt orchid; redstart; a view of the Wilmington Long Man (a chalk figure).
Last autumn David installed a huge number of nest boxes around the smallholding.  There are now over sixty.  In a bid to attract some new species he included three boxes designed for great spotted woodpeckers and you'll never guess what happened....a pair moved in!
It's spring and the bluebells are in full flower.  David has been lucky enough to capture a couple of species of wildlife amongst the bluebells on his smallholding in the last few days.  Below are a roe deer and an orange-tip butterfly (male).
David's latest book has just been published.  'Walks in West Cornwall' picks out a selection of walks in the area which are good for wildlife.  These are shorter walks making them accessible to a wider range of people and allowing more time to stand and watch the birds and bees along the way.  Most are focussed on places that you might be visiting anyway but this guide will enable you to get more from your visit. This book is packed with colourful images and has an attractive, lively design, making it a great gift idea. See the books page of this website for more details.  (retail price: £6.99)
David and Sarah have had a week away in Dorset.  One of the reasons for their visit was to see the early spider orchids at Dancing Ledge, near Swanage.  David has written an article for MMM (motorhome magazine) about this trip.  Below are photos of Wareham; Swanage Railway at Corfe Castle; early spider orchids; Foreland Point (Old Harry Rocks).
Spring is definitely in the air with birds claiming nest boxes.  This great tit has claimed a nest box which was being prepared by a nuthatch, hence the mud plastered around the eaves.  Luckily the nuthatch has moved next door to another vacant nest box.  Despite it being spring we are still having frosts, even down here in Cornwall, the photo to the right shows a cowslip in frost.
Moth-trapping season has started again in the Chapman household.  Mild, cloudy calm nights are ideal and though there isn't the volume of moths that might be expected in June it's always interesting to see what is flying around at night.  This is an early thorn moth.
		It isn't just the rabbits that have been getting amorous.  The cock pheasant has been busy trying to impress a selection of females.  Here he uses a few clusters of daffodils to make himself look even more colourful.
This photo demonstrates, in no uncertain terms, why David and Sarah have so much trouble with rabbits in their garden.  They are overrun with them and have to fence off flowerbeds to prevent them being devastated by their furry friends.  Looking on the bright side, there is never a dull moment on the lawn!
Sarah bought some wild tulip bulbs last year, despite David not being convinced by the idea!  This spring they are looking beautiful.  Below are two shots of the same tulip taken a few days apart and from opposite directions.  Both photos were taken with a 300mm lens from a very low angle and with a very wide aperture to blur the background and foreground.
David has some relatively tame pheasants visiting his smallholding at the moment so he is providing some extra seed for them.  If he disturbs them they have two options for getting away: running or flying!
David and Sarah have 'planted' some mistletoe seeds this spring.  To do this you need some ripe berries.  You then squeeze the seed out of the gooey berries and press the seed onto a host tree.  Mistletoe has a lot of hosts with apple being a common one.  This photo shows a mistletoe seed after rain had created droplets of water on the branch.  If you want to see how things develop you'll have to come back!
		This is a photo of a swarm of winter gnats.  David has been seeing a lot of these swarms throughout the winter on his land.  The swarms are formed by male gnats as it is they who fly around waiting for females to come along.  A bit like a group of lekking male grouse, they try to impress a female so they can mate with her.
Maybe it's a sign of spring.  David spotted these earthworms mating on the lawn.  They are hermaphrodites, so they have both male and female organs.  Twice the fun!
		Snowdrops are now fully in flower.  David photographed these from a very low angle.  If you want to see more about snowdrop photography read David's article for the on-line photography magazine, Nature TTL: How to Photograph Snowdrops | Nature TTL
David has been photographing buzzards in his garden, using a very wide-angle lens and a remote release with the camera very close to the buzzard.  There appear to be two buzzards which are tame enough to come into this relatively small space, though they are unpredictable and a little nervous.  Part of his aim has been to show the house in the background but he has also done some close-up shots.  Two photos from his growing catalogue are shown below.
David has been working on filming a buzzard in his garden.  He has been using a wide angle lens on a camera controlled remotely.  He's having trouble getting the right weather for stills but to have a look at a video he has just put together see his facebook page. David Chapman on Facebook
This is a photograph of a nuthatch, but not any nuthatch, this is the first nuthatch that David has photographed on his smallholding in 26 years!  Nuthatches have always nested just half a mile away but have never been regularly spotted by David or Sarah on their smallholding until last autumn when this one took up residence.  David has now installed over 60 nest boxes around the land and provides a permanent supply of seed, fat balls and peanuts; if that isn't enough to tempt this nuthatch to stay and nest then there is no justice!
		You might think this is a perfectly normal blue tit but look more carefully and you will see it is hanging by one leg.  Lots of birds stand on one leg for periods of time so David didn't think this was particularly strange but he followed it and its second leg never materialised.  It might have a secong leg which it cannot use, it might have been born without a leg or it might have lost a leg for some reason but it seems to be a perfectly healthy bird in other respects, in fact its plumage is incredibly beautiful.