All quiet on the birding front lately, so my attention has wandered towards other subjects, namely, bugs and butterflies.Have spotted several different ladybirds in my own garden, 2-spot, 7-spot, 14 spot (below)...
Also the unwanted but beautiful harlequin..
I have an old holly tree stump in my garden, which has been invaded by aphids, this in turn attracts many ladybirds and hoverflies, mostly Hoverfly-Episyrphus blteatus (marmalade fly)...
Had a lovely walk yesterday with the wife and our friends (Hi Tina and Peter!!) ...
Peter lifted up a sheet of plywood which someone had discarded and I captured the slow worms underneath, a total of 7 seeking shelter from the hot sun...
Peter was acting as my spotter, and he spotted this beautiful banded demoiselle ....
The Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) were happily making hay while the sun shone, precariously hanging from a grass stem....
The black ants were devouring aphids...
Back to birding with a visit to Alverstone hide, a lovely juvenile Robin was visiting the bird table...
Joined by a Great tit...
In the afternoon we drove to Luccombe and found a nice clearing to have our picnic, my attention soon wandered to the many butterflies feeding nearby, including the beautiful comma ...
and one of many Gatekeepers....
Peter lifted up a sheet of plywood which someone had discarded and I captured the slow worms underneath, a total of 7 seeking shelter from the hot sun...
All in all, a lovely day to be outdoors!!
