| The insects (and arachnids) were the stars of the month again...although I did get a few decent bird pictures so I probably won't have to change the name of the website after all! |
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female Southern Hawker (Aeschna cyanea) - Burton Marsh, Cheshire
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My two favourite photos of the month were this extreme close-up of a roosting dragonfly and a rather prettier than usual red colour variant Araneus quadratus. I love spiders, so I hope any arachnophobes out there will to forgive me for calling them pretty!
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female Araneus quadratus - Burton Marsh, Cheshire
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| Some bird photos will follow (honest!), but first here are some more spiders... |
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Araneus diadematus - Burton Marsh, Cheshire
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female Meta Segmentata - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
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male Meta Segmentata - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
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| ...and some more insects... |
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| Most of the ivy flowers had withered by the time I got round to thinking of looking for some moths, but there were still a few producing nectar. Unfortunately, nothing particularly interesting was attracted to them and the only moth I saw was a Silver Y. Dead common, but a nice moth none-the-less. |
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Silver Y (Autographa gamma)
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Nettle Tap Moth (Anthophila fabriciana)
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Burton Marsh, Cheshire
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Burton Marsh, Cheshire
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| And now for something completely different...At last! Some bird photos...
We had some gorgeous weather towards the end of the month and a couple of Hobbies spent a few days at Inner Marsh Farm massacring the dragonfly population...
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Immature Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
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Adult Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) eating a dragonfly - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
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Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
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| A mid-month exploratory trip to Point of Air produced nothing more exciting than a couple of Chiffchaffs. |
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Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus colybita) - Point of Ayr, Clwyd
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| And finally, on one beautiful evening, just before the sun dipped below the horizon, the local Barn Owl started hunting over the fields... |
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Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - Burton Marsh, Cheshire
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