Cheers Goldie for your kind comments
Cheers Neil for your kind comments and suggestions
David if they're anything like Flamingies they must be fed on somehting really dark - perhaps 85% Chocolate?
Shhh don’t tell the wife!
On Wednesday I’d almost come to terms with being back at work but I couldn’t do anything to stop the itchy feet. In the end I gave up fighting it and worked out that I might be able to squeeze in 15 minutes on the way home. If my wife finds out she is coming after me, so shhhhh!
As I pulled into the lay by the most obvious place to head was the patch of tall yellow flowers (Golden Rod?) right next to the dusty car park area. The tallest flowers seemed to be on the outside of the patch so it formed a natural bowl which meant that to see inside I had to stand on tip toes and peer over the flower tops. Inside was a hive of activity with at least 3 species of bee, 2 Hoverfly as well as a single Meadow Brown and a pair of Red Admiral.
Once I’d found a subject to try and photograph the next problem was how to get close enough to get the shot. If I’d had more time I’d have waited for them to come to me but the clock was ticking on my stolen 15 minutes so I scanned around and noticed that something else had already trampled a low path from one side diagonal across the edge and here the flowers weren’t growing as bunched together. I headed to this and edged my way in, wrapping my feet in amongst the tall stems so as not to knock them flat. I managed t get about a metre in and then the Red Admirals flew. Luckily one lifted right up, circled a couple of times up high and then plonked down right next to me.
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As I extricated myself from the stem jungle I noticed a pair of Small White locked together intimately. So having taken all that effort to get some shots, here was a fantastic opportunity right in front of me, effort free! This close proximity allowed me to compare the sexes. It seemed that one was more yellow than the other and I’m not sure if this is a diagnostic difference that can be used to difference between the sexes or whether it’s just that one was more worn than the other.
Having taken my shots I checked the time and saw that I had about 6 minutes left so I thought I’d just check the main track out. Earlier in the season when the Queen’s Lace and Cow Parsley was in bloom this area was great for Marbled White and Ringlets but now that and they are long gone and I found only one solitary Common Blue. It’s white margins were almost gone and the hind wings had worn through showing the dark spots from below.
Time was almost up but I thought I’d just check the mating pair and they were still at it!
So 16 minutes after arrival I was back in the car, feet no longer itchy and shots in the bag. I don’t know what will happen now so it’s a bit like the start of the season – waiting and seeing what the weather will bring, what will be about only now it’s a case of what still about. Here’s hoping for just a little more time with this seasons butterflies.
Have a goodun
Wurzel