Nature Notings...

Today, during my walk with mutt I observed... Iridescent pollen beetles on thistle flowers.

Privet flowers, with their not-so-pleasant distinct aroma, which reminded me of the long summer days playing in my childhood neighbourhood.

Lords and ladies that had gone to seed.

Nice, new, neat future butterfly nurseries.

Butterfly nurseries where the kids had taken over.

And a vivid blue male small damselfly which finally sat still for just long enough to be photographed.


Who says nature isn't interesting?!

Buzzards and Hawks

The morning rain had passed through and the sun had once again put in appearance in the beautiful blue sky, albeit still dotted with the odd fluffy white cloud. The afternoon had finally turned into something nice enough to venture out for a walk with mutt.

No sooner had I got out of the car than I was alerted by the call of a buzzard, in fact, three buzzards jostling with each other high above me. Quickly scanning the sky with my big lens, I was able to grab a couple of shots before they vanished from sight. Moving quickly to a more suitable vantage point at the edge of a stubble field, I hoped they might just venture back into view for a better shot.

I waited but nothing. Not even the 'keee' call but out of the corner of my eye I became aware of something else. Something a lot smaller. Something actually quite substantial for its type though and it was making haste through the stubble. With the big lens on my DSLR, I needed to revert to my G12 and unfortunately had to grapple with a reluctant zip in an attempt to extract it from the small bag I always carry with me. This fumble was taking too long and I was forced to pick up this gallumphing privet hawkmoth caterpillar before it disappeared forever into the leafy field edge.

I knew exactly what the consequences of this action would be - a curled up 'if I stay still that big bird won't get me' pose. The caterpillar should have feared not, as this big bird certainly wasn't going to attempt to eat it and the other big bird wasn't going to get it. Afterall the buzzard had gone and they don't pick off caterpillars as a rule. In fact, all I could hear above me were the last few swallows of summer chattering plans for departure.

Again I found myself waiting, a pastime common for those who enjoy watching nature. This time it was for around twenty guarded minutes. Guarded, as I didn't want mutt haplessly running over the coiled caterpillar thus resetting the 'uncoil timer'

Finally Sphinx ligustri, our largest resident hawkmoth, gathered enough courage to fire up the little engine again and off it motored on its quest to find a safe place to bury itself for the winter, just as I heard a 'keee' overhead.

The Cinnabar Match

Around three weeks ago I expressed my sadness that I no longer saw the caterpillar spectacle I remember from my younger days. Whilst out and about this week, I came across not the nettle/tortoiseshell derby I had hoped for but I was actually equally delighted to see an alternative in a ragwort/cinnabar match.

It is hard not to miss this Wolverhampton Wanderer munching its way through his post-match fast food of choice, leaving the black bio-degradeable food wrappings along the way. Happy to consume the poisonous substances that would cause liver damage in their long faced field sharers, the toxins from their binge builds up inside them, making them the untouchables to all other potential attackers.

Beware though of mistaking this behaviour as the act of a hooligan. Tyria jacobaeae is the most useful friend you could have when it comes to the crowd control of Senecio jacobaea. The need for taking part in this act of control ensures that the stripey youth matures into fine adult-hood, changing his colours of allegiance to red and black in the process - but please don't hold this against him!