Still here

I went for a long walk down the lane with the dogs on Friday and it was cold and damp, I did not see a single Butterfly and thought that must be it for this year - boy I was so  wrong the next day all of these guys appeared. I am sorry the images are not all to normal standard but this is more of a diary record the types that are still around. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a very faeded and worn out painted lady - it may be over a year old and for such a fragile thing yet it still is managinng to get around and feed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we have another rather tired article - a Cloudy Yellow very bright in colour and hard to photograph, when at rest it very difficult to see an very quick in flight.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoppity, Skippity and Jumpity things

Here are a few shots of the Crickets and Grasshoppers that are currently hopping, skipping and Jumping around the garden.

 

 

 
 

 

Lastly this very wild creature is also often seen skipping and jumping around....

 

 

 

 

Ravenous wee beasties..............

 

 

 

These creatures are new to me but can only be described as ravenous wee beasties. They are called Hornet Robber Flies and catch and eat other small insects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They can be found in the UK as well as here and feed mainly on crickets, dung beetles and flies.
The Cricket below is less than a centimetre long and would be an ideal meal for one of the flies above. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Yet another new wee beasty on me were these tiny little black bees who are part of the miner bee family - they are only about six millimetres long and were emerging and foraging then returning loaded down with pollen.

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can clearly see the feathery legs on the bottom bee who is trying to get out, while the ones returning have very orange legs covered with pollen some arrive with so much they cannot get back in the hole.

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Not a great video but I hope you can get an idea of the size of them.

 

 

 

Lastly here is a Damselfly tucking into another insect - sorry not a perfect shot but I was being bitten all over by other winged creatures feasting on me and only had on shorts and T-shirt so was giving them lots to go at, but as they say one must suffer for one's art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our walk today - Roe Deer and more

Here is a short précis of what we saw on our walk down the lane today.

The first thing we came across were our Swallow pair's new fledglings form their second clutch, these  have obviously chosen to go to the hedge along our agricultural rail line to sit and wait to be fed rather than use the telephone lines in the courtyard.

 

 

You can clearly see the yellow at the mouth and lack of long tail feathers.

 

 

I have watched the feeding for hours but it is done so swiftly that you can't really see what is going on, so I was amazed to see in this shot that the young one almost looks as though it is swallowing the parent - it's head goes so far into the fledgling's mouth to deposit its collection of insects.

 

   

 

 
 
 
 

Then came a quick glimpse of these two: a Red Legged Partridge and then a male Stone Chat.

 

Then just as we were almost home I spotted the ears and horns of this Roe Buck. I waited until it came onto the track and this shot was taken just as he got his bearings, immediately he saw us he ran across the lane and into the maize crop opposite to disappear like a ghost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and there he was gone - I have often seen these creatures around the area but this was my first opportunity to get any shots so I hope you like them............. 

 

IN THE WILDLIFE GARDENS OF LA CHABOTTERIE: Bastille and Butterflies

IN THE WILDLIFE GARDENS OF LA CHABOTTERIE: Bastille and Butterflies: Here are some of the the visitors to our Buddliha. These are often referred to as the butterfly bush for obvious reasons. Most are seen on...

Bastille and Butterflies

Here are some of the the visitors to our Buddliha. These are often referred to as the butterfly bush for obvious reasons. Most are seen on the Buddliha but others were found around the garden........

 

 

 

 

The wonderfully named Brimstone, this is a male of the species has an amazing likeness to a yellow green leaf with the body being it's stem / petiole and even what look like the blades and veins on a real leaf. 

 





Here we have a Grayling feeding on the buddleia, they drop their proboscis into the long slender flowers and suck up the nectar.

 

 

 

This male keeps returning to this one concrete fence post, it gives him a very warm place to rest plus a clear view to spot any passing females.

 

A Large White female. 

 a slow flying Meadow Brown male, they are rather large and very dark when wings are open

 

Here is a Comma female feeding on one of the rather ripe banana we leave out for them to feast on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The one above needs no introduction but the ones below are Common Blues

 

 

 

 

This was a new one to me - it is a Cloudy Yellow

 

 

 

and finally a couple of shots of the Bastille night Fireworks...............

 

 

Here we have the crowd dancing around the DJ stand in the towns Velodrome it is not a doctored shot just a long exposure.