I've got the Common Blues

Common Blue butterfly

and Common Blue Damselfly

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Hurray for the damsels and dragons!

Common Blue Damselflies

Azure Damselflies

Large Red Damselflies

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Four-spotted Chaser

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

River Ivel and Rookery

This morning we walked a short distance along the River Ivel at Biggleswade (or Bugleweed, as it is known if you trust Microsoft Outlook's spellchecker)

Common Blue Damselflies, up to no good

Black-tailed Skimmer

Common Tern

Dog-rose

Small Heath

Then on to Rookery pit

Common Blue (butterfly) on Eggs and Bacon (or Bird's Foot Trefoil)

Hobbies. No Red-footed Falcon(s) for us...

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Summer's here!

Lunchtime today finally felt like summer. The sun was out - for once - and so were the insects. It's about time, too.

(zoomed-in)

Emperor

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Comparison between Small Red-eyed (left) and Red-eyed Damselflies

Red Admiral

Peacock

Migrant Hawker

Common Blue Damselfly

Bumblebees

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Poolside

Common Blue (?) Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

Bees and Foxgloves

Sloe Bug on Globe Thistle

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Butterfly twitching!

My afternoon's work was interrupted (briefly) this afternoon by a phone call informing me there was a Silver-washed Fritillary on a buddleia nearby. I managed to 'connect' with it at the second attempt, but not until after I'd been spotted loitering by the Chief Executive... Just as well I wasn't the only one there.

It was a fantastic butterfly - a big, less-tatty version of a Comma - but it was far too quick on the wing for me to get any photos.

So here's another Painted Lady, instead:


We spent some time looking after work, in case it had hung around, but there was no sign of the fritillary. Still loads of Silver Ys and Painted Ladies, and at least four Hummingbird Hawkmoths.


Well, there were until one of them got caught by a Hornet!


I didn't witness the event itself, but apparently the Hummer was minding its own business, nectaring along with all the other insects when a Hornet came along and grabbed it.

The moth must have received a sting before someone came to its rescue (argue about the ethics of that one, if you like, but it wasn't me!) and, despite the best efforts of those present, it did not recover.

Later, at Grafham Water (for no particular reason)...

Common Blue Damselflies in 'mating wheel'

Cinnabar moth caterpillar on its foodplant, Ragwort

Silver Y moth on Knapweed

Spider on web

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Damselfly sp.

Damselfly - not sure which species... Probably a female or immature Common Blue.

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Saturday morning

*
You can't tell from this rubbish photo, but that's a Wood Sandpiper on the gravel next to the two Little Egrets.

Wow. It's not often that there are two Little Egrets in the PBC area at the same time, let alone two at the same site together. And standing next to a Wood Sand... amazing stuff.

I went to Prior's Fen this morning. It's not something I do very often, but it's been good there for the past week or so. Looking at the weather forecast last night, I decided an early visit would be in order, since a band of rain was due to arrive mid-morning.

I saw one Wood Sandpiper (Brian had two yesterday!), three Greenshanks, one Common and two Green Sandpipers, two Marsh Harriers (one juvenile, one moulting sub-adult male), two Little Egrets, heard a Curlew calling and got some more shots of Common Darters...



After that, I decided that, since I was out and about already, and I was sort of in the general vicinity, I might as well go to Woodwalton Fen before it started raining. So I did.




Common Darter (it's that time of year)

It has to be said that WWF is rubbish for birds at the moment. The place was as quiet as I've ever heard it. Good job there were some nice insects about to make up for lack of bird action.






"...and then I'm going to eat you..."

Female damselfly, Common Blue, I think.


Large Skipper



Like it often seems to when I'm there, the weather took a turn for the worse. Cloud billowed across the sky, the sun went into hiding, it got windier and started raining.


Female Southern Hawker - the Chocolate Lime of the dragonfly world, I think...

I finally got some better pics of Southern Hawker just as it started raining. It, or rather, she, was looking for somewhere to perch. By crawling across the path I managed to get close enough for a few photos.


Ruddy Darter


Spider crocheting a new web


Speckled Wood on a heap of vegetation - perhaps some warmth from the decomposing matter?

*really bad digiscoped photo taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 20-60x eyepiece. The rest just with the mighty Coolpix