An article in the Guardian today revealed that Natural England granted a license to destroy the nest and eggs if a buzzard, a species protected by law and still recovering from nearly being wiped a few decades ago. And why were they destroyed? To protect some of the millions of non native pheasants that are…
DetailsOn Sunday I popped up to Bonsai Bank at Denge Woods in Kent and found my first ever Duke of Burgandy Butterflies, after failing to find them there last year. This butterfly is one of the fastest declining in the UK, declining 46% in the last 10 years. The small colonies around Denge woods are…
DetailsYesterday I had a walk through Denge Woods and Bonsai bank to look for some butterflies and orchids (more on them later). One bonus of the day was a green tiger beetle that ran across the pathha nd flew off ahead. eventually it sat still long enough for this shot.
DetailsAnother quick one photo post, this time of a yellow wagtail on Elmley Marshes.
There was a press release today saying that there are plans European beavers are to be reintroduced to Wales, returning this native species that was wiped out hunting 400 years ago. There are articles here on the BBC website and this video below, posted by the good folk at Wildwood in Kent. Sadly and predictably,…
DetailsThe Lesser backswimmer Plea minutissima is often overlooked, being quite small (about 3mm long), resembling and often mistaken for a small nymph of the ‘greater’ backswimmer (Notonecta sp.). They are a real pain to photograph, rarely stopping long enough to find such a small creature in the frame, let a alone focus on them! I…
DetailsOn couple of days ago, on a warm morning (before the horrible bitter cold wind returned), one patch of nettles near a large pond was teeming with invertebrates. Among them was my first Azure damselfly of the year. I also saw a number of red damselflies there and throughout the day, with 12+ seen around…
DetailsAnother creature I photographed in my macro session was this Rhingia campestris hoverfly. It has the long ‘nose’ due to its extra long mouthpart which can reach down into flowers to get nector other hoverflies can’t reach. I need to find or think of a common name for this beast to tell the children I…
Details