In The Bush...

It's been a while since I last posted, and even longer since I last took a trip to Bushy Park. I can't believe I'm saying this but the sun was out and it wasn't actually that cold when I decided to take a short trip on Sunday.
I've missed the Red Deer rut for this year, although occasionally the males do have a few fights in December and into January. There were large gathering of females at some of the large mud puddles resulting from recent rain... and I swear I actually saw two females stand on two legs and box each other like kangaroo do! There were also a few males about but no action...

I was very pleased to find a wintering Chiffchaff in amongst the bracken along the canal. It was very tame and at times I thought it might have actually been a rarer winter warbler... but then I realised that I was in the middle of London in Bushy Park, not on a remote island in Orkney!

Mallards were abundant along the main lake as where Black-headed Gulls...

Reflections...

"Yeah that's right, get out of here... there ain't room for the two of us!"

What a grumpy old sod...

I'm sure there will be plenty more seagull antics as the numbers increase in the park, but for now.... happy wildlife watching!

Hardcore Moths

Below are two moths I've found in and around my garden in the last week. These two, like many others, can be found in the coldest months of the year. It makes you wonder how these hardcore animals manage to survive in the freezing temperatures and horrible weather that makes up an unbeatable British forecast!

Male Feathered Thorn... found back on the 10th.

A Rush Veneer, a migrant species that can be found at any time of year... found on my local hill, Stoke's Field last week.

A Special Shrike...

A few weeks ago now I twitched a very rare bird called a Brown Shrike in Staines, just down the road...

You can probably get better shots than this out of a 5 month old baby. I can't give the excuse that my hands were shaking because they weren't. In fact the bird was so unexciting I found myself leaving a few minutes after arriving, looking forward to going home and getting started with some EXTRA FUN Music coursework!!

Skippers...

A post on Skippers...? Bit random I know but whilst I upload Brown Shrike photos (yes, you heard correctly, BROWN SKRIKE PHOTOS!!!!!!!). Here are some shots I've taken this year on skippers, skippers and more skippers. Plus two rare skippers at the end!

Large Skipper...

A Lulworth Skipper, taken on a Dorset headland. It's last stronghold in the UK...

An Essex Skipper...

And the two gems of the butterfly world, Dingy and Grizzled Skipper... both in serious decline and very rare.

Grizzled Skipper...

I don't know 'bout you but I'm all skippered out... think I'm gonna' go and sit down in front of the X-Factor in a minute and swear at those two Irish twins... nah you guys are cool, just a tiny bit out of time!

Some Recent Moths...
As you can see the blog has been full of recent posts... not, so here is a quick update on my recent moth trapping activity in the garden.
I was very pleased to see this Cypress Carpet drop into the garden a couple of weeks ago. A very recent addition to the British list, we can thank our non-native plants for bringing this species to Britain and allowing the species' caterpillar edible footplants...

A Brindled Green Dryobotodes eremita... (with classy camouflage)

The very attractive Light Emerald Campaea margaritata and my finger...

Below is one of my favourite moths, the Centre-barred Sallow Atethmia centrago, never thought I'd find one in my small Surrey garden!

Last but not least, the very wierd and well named Snout Moth Hypena proboscidalis... note the snout like thingy on its head!

Right, thats it for now. It shouldn't be too long before I post again and I've currently got a few posts on the go at the moment (that will obviously get disrupted by coursework!!), so stick around.
Have a good weekend,

Landscapes from the Archive

Just been watching Darren Brown as he tried to control the nation. I didn't get stuck to my seat so decided to post these shots. I took them from a holiday in Wales several years ago of the view out of the B+B. Beautiful isn't it?

Anyone glued to their T.V. screen?

Secret Life of Wasps...

We've all killed them when they've landed on our beer glass or attacked our sandwiches, but the other evening I witnessed wasp behaviour that should be treasured, . A group of 5 or 6 wasps were peacefully drinking with other, out of the garden bird bath. These normally aggressive insects would take it in turns to land on the rim of the bath and take tiny wasp sips before departing to a nearby leaf to dry themselves in the evening sun, I grabbed the macro lens and started shooting. It was actually quite cute to watch and you would never guess that the next day these black and yellow beasts will be carrying out their next attack on the human kind!

New Forest Pics...


Right... I doubt anyone reads this space anymore... but just in case anyone does, here are the New Forest shots I promised.

Spotted Flycatcher...

The track...

A very well camouflaged Mipit...

And now for all the butterflies...
A beautiful Small Copper caught my eye...

My favourite butterfly by far... the Painted Lady posed a side-shot for my camera...

A Speckled Wood...

A Gatekeeper (a bit worn)...

Graylings are brilliant characters to work with, but are very sensitive to any movement. It seems that the Grayling is camoufaged on almost everything it lands on! Including this piece of cow shite...

Finishing off with a few Common Blues...

Right, now I've got the New Forest post off my back I'm finally up to date with posts. I think I'll do a post on wasps next...............

New Forest Butters...

Right... I'm lagging quite a bit here with posts and probably will be for sometime, due to Year 11... the GCSEs year! Here is a slightly brief summary of the New Forest trip I know you have all been dying for...

Day 1- After a Pub lunch, we hired some bikes and set off exploring the New Forest. Its a great way to get close to nature and I was rewarded with a Spotted Flycatcher high in a tree.

Day 2- Look a walk somewhere in the forest. Literally 100s of butterflies of many species including Brown Argus, Small Copper, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Small Skipper and Grayling.

Day 3- Went down to the nearby harbour to look for some waders before heading off for home. Managed to find a few Turnstone, Curlew and Redshank out on the saltmarsh.

PHOTOS WILL COME SOON... I know the post looks horrible without some piccies to go with it. Eugghhh.