PotM Calendar
The Photo of the Month (see gallery) is a year round calendar of selected nature images and stories with contributions from visitors, friends and fellow photographers.
When it comes to nature photography, it's not only those exciting tales of high adventure that often accompany talent and skill for a fabulous result. If a picture is truly worth more than a thousand words then a well-timed shot, or a well framed one, can say just as much about you as a photographer too! So if you'd like to showcase one of your pictures here, free, for one calendar month with a short story on how you managed to come by it, then this page is for you.
June 2022
Elmley Nature Reserve, Isle of Sheppy
Your Events Space
Post your news and messages here!
Every picture tells a story, and every photographer has a story to tell. Care to share?
With six places left for 2022, the PotM Calendar is now closed until June 17th.
To learn more about posting news, comments and events here under a PotM agreement, see our Terms of Use page where you can submit your photo (with story) during the last two weeks of every month.
I was walking alongside one of the ponds in Lea Valley Park
With six places left for 2022, the PotM Calendar is now closed until June 17th.
To learn more about posting news, comments and events here under a PotM agreement, see our Terms of Use page where you can submit your photo (with story) during the last two weeks of every month.
Well-Spotted by by Peter Flectcher
As I was walking to some local shops near the Galliards Estate, I heard a chick calling from one of the lime trees by Jubilee Parl. At first, I looked and looked...
With six places left for 2022, the PotM Calendar is now closed until June 17th.
Special annoucements or simple hellos. Place your message, link, advert or invite here as part of your PotM agreement.
The Partridge Family
by Roger Cox
Between September and January, millions of captive-bred pheasants, quails, grouse and partridges are released into the British countryside – only to be shot dead in the tens of thousands. The upshot to this kind of slaughter is that farmed game birds that manage to dodge a seasonal bullet can have high population densities in the wild, though not all escape the beaters, dogs and guns with a sporting chance.
One unfortunate favourite for the gunsights of a glorious twelve-bore is the red-legged partridge. Originally from the Mediterranean, this lesser-known member of the pheasant family was introduced to Britain from France in the 18th century. Hence its nom de la region, the French partridge.
Since it prefers to nest in flat, lowland open spaces, even those with rabbits, it's fair game too for predators. So to compensate, hens double down by laying one clutch for themselves and the other for their mates to brood separately. It's a gambit that occasionally pays off - though frequently undone by a risky twenty-four day incubation period. However, it's a win-win for all ground-nesting birds at Elmley Nature Reserve. With the absence of guns and only the odd raptor to get alarmed about, this vaunting red-legged male was brave enough to fancy his chances with any number of come-hither hens – and plucky enough to win the attention of a few of them too!