A walk around the patch

A walk around the local area came across some more Bee Orchids some not looking their best probably the heavy rains taking there toll ,but there where one or two just coming through , plenty of damsels again and a couple of Meadow Browns soon they will be everywhere or will they this year .

 Bee Orchid just coming through

 I have enlarged this one ,I crept up on this Common Blue Damselfly till I realised  it was captured by a Spider  which you can just see it's legs

 Another Yellow ladybird

 Common Spotted Orchid

Meadow Brown will they be common this year ?

Sunny Days

A sunny day looking for Dragonflies and Butterflies Meadow Browns and Ringlets in huge numbers along with Common Blue , only Damselflies on the pool, and a single Speckled Wood  was a new record, found another 20 or so spikes of Bee Orchids , I wonder if it is a good year for this species, Common Spotted Orchids also in good numbers.

 Small Skipper ?

 Ringlet

 Common Blue

 Bee Orchid

 Bee Orchid in the tall grass, nice healthy tall specimens

 Azure damselflies the dominant species but also , Blue-tailed  & Large red

Meadow Browns in the hundreds these two coupled in mating

White Letter Day..............19-7-10

Monday I went over to Thornley Woods area to look for White Letter Hairstreak, parking near the centre I headed off it was overcast with periods of sun but on the whole not looking good ,plenty of Meadow Browns on the wing but most looking very worn .

Eventually located two feeding on nettle, they where not what I expected I thought I would see them flitting around and trace where they land as with most Butterflies but these just seem to disappear when they fly ,luckily they seem to feed for ages on the same flower head and I could even get my macro camera close without problem (but unfortunately lost the lot as the card will not open ).

Headed off to the pool nearby but only Common Blue Damsels around did get close photos of Commas but also lost,the rain started and just made it back to the car gave it 40mins or so then headed out again but it was by now dull.

Called in at Holywell as it was still early afternoon, Greenshank dropped in ,Common Sandpiper an assortment of Gulls and 70+ Lapwings also 1 Common Tern took some digi of the Greenshank but all lost also, gutted about the White Letter Hairstreak shots looked like some of the best Butterfly shots I have taken so far, as I do not have a macro lens for my 50D.

Dragons at Last 17-6-10

What a fab day Thursday was weather wise anyway, eventually caught up with some dragonflies as opposed to damselflies ,in the form of two Four spot chasers & Two Emperors it took ages to get some photosLarge red damselflies in tandem
Four Spot chaser
Four Spot Chaser
First Meadow Brown of the year I think ?
This Emperor flew back and forwards in font of me just teasing me, when it suddenly stopped ,swung around to drop onto a Butterfly which it took into the vegetation to eat, it dropped what was left (wings) and took off, I looked for the bits but with no luck.

I think I have deleted some better shots of this ,while in the field, something I don't normally do but every spare card I had was full because some idiot had not cleared them, will have to try and rescue them .
Emperor at rest with an Azure which tried to land on its wing,just shows how big they are as Azures seem large when thats all you have to look at. Still have not got my Dragonfly Blog online yet, will probably start with some shots of these Dragons.
Nice show of Common Spotted Orchid

A few days up the coast 8/10-7-09

8/10/-7-09 Spent a few days up the coast near Beadnel tried a couple of seawatches from Dunstanburgh Castle,the first evening I just took the scope its a bit of a trek but certainly a dramatic setting ,350 Kittiwakes & 165 Gannets + 4 Little Gulls North in 1 1/2 hours a lot of birds came past fairly close only 11 Manx but giving good views , as did the single Velvet Scoter & single Bonxie followed by another then 3 one coming right overhead, the usual phrase went through my mind "wish I had brought the camera", I did on the second night but not much moving then.
9-7-09 A walk along through Embleton to Newton Pool those steps up to the hide always give the sense of the un -expected you just never know what your going to open the shutters onto, alas today not much on show , so after awhile it was back along the coast via the beach, later I walked back to Dunstanburgh (30 min walk) with scope tripod and camera for an evening watch but only a single Bonxie, Gannets 200 hr, 4 manx, 3 Bar Tailed Godwits, but I still enjoyed it , by early evening not a sole around, I went around to the Rumbling Churn the cove at the base of the castle and just took in the scene the waves crashing on the rocks and the constant noise of Seabirds ,with mostly Razorbills coming at time overhead I slept well that night especially after a bottle of wine , I set the bat detector up outside but it missed a Pip as it came overhead, battery dead was the answer !!!
10-7-09 A day at the Long Nanny was fantastic it was glorious weather I spent a couple of hours at the watch point , the warden was busy so I could not get any info as to numbers of Little Tern & Arctic Tern I could only pick out half a dozen or so Littles although the heat haze did not help, Pyramidal orchids out in mass, as where Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Small Heath & Wall Brown, hundreds of Burnett Moths, a small colony of Sand Martins it was along walk back to Beadnell after the heat of the day, which I ended with a short spell seawatching from a point on the edge of the village again birds coming close to shore at times with Auks in the hundreds more Manx this evening with 100 in 30 mins.
It just goes to show you do not have to go far for something different, the walk from Beadnell to the Long Nanny there along the beach and back via the dunes was the first time I have done this, get out there and enjoy it for yourself.............. The Rumbling Churn

Razorbill and Guillemot

Vole on the path

Common Blues out in very good numbers

and as Usual loads of Burnett's

I took this not just for the sign but the plant at the base

Just coming into flower I presume

The view from the Wardens hut

The Posing Perch !!!!!!

They fight constantly but only very briefly climbing all the time till they just drift off

More Dragonflies 30-06-09

This is 2" long , wing cases on the top & the jaw that shoots out is just below the eyes,with the exit hole just before the wings

Another run around the ponds looking for Dragonflies found 6 Emperors, 3 Four Spot Chasers, and only one Common Darter , 8 Painted ladies,3 Red Admirals, numerous Ringlets and Meadow Browns, I found a few Exuviae, the case left behind when Dragonflies emerge from their larval stage ,one which I think is from an Emperor was too far out, but having stepped in "something " earlier I decided to wade in and get it new trainers or not Ringlet more and more every day

Ruddy Darter

Female Emperor egg laying , I have seen this many times the eggs are not visible in these shots , they look like small yellow flat discs. Here being mobbed they kept grabbing at the wings from behind

Coming in from behind to grab the wing

I found this case, fairly sure its from a flown Emperor

This is another from a Damselfly possibly, difficult to get a size as they are always out of reach

Four Spot Chaser

Another Four Spot Chaser