Searching Low And High

After a rather trying week, not least from getting baked daily at work, it was finally time on Sunday to go out and have a little fun. So why not try once again to find and even photo some small insects, then yomp up massive chunks of scenery, on a day forecast to be of blazing sunshine and ever-dying winds?


Chorus: "Because he's maaaaaaaaad!!!"


Well, can't really argue with that one.


So, off to a favourite part of a publicised site to look for some rare and indeed protected insects.

Where, in defiance of forecast [oh, who could have seen that coming??], it was both cloudy and windy. The former sort of helped, in, while making hiding odonata very hard to spot, once you did find them they stayed put. Mostly. The latter made stems sway and oh does my pesky autofocus not like that... So much wailing and cursing of Japanese software writers ensued, as did a lack of properly sharp pictures, mostly.

Drat.

But you can still see what it is;

Southern Damselfly

R to L;

'Crown paint' crown mark,

Spear heads,

Mercury mark,

pronotum shape,

bar between eyes

Ah, you think, I did say 'mostly' up there, and this is true. I also, for once, actually found a female! Observe!

They look so cool from the front.

Odonata on show included;

Keeled Skimmer

Large Red Damselfly

Found not a single Small Red - though the wind really wouldn't have helped any show.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

They are such posers.

He sat and waited while I repositioned, even

This moff is gorgeous. 

Not a clue what it is, though!

Green-veined White

Bog Pimpernel

Marsh Lousewort

Lesser Hawkbit

Catsear

Wheatear!

Another

Very vocal fledgeling

English Stonecrop

Ok, you've got this far, time for some scenery;

A fair view

Yeah, there's definitely something going on..

Up up and awaaaaaaaaay

I saw eight aloft!

Eventually I forced myself to stop shooting parascenders and wandered off for another leg stretch up some more scenery;

The Loaf

Not been up there for a few years.

Lots of view

And now... fungi!

Egghead Mottlegill

P. papilionaceous

Some soaring things with feathers would have been nice - aside from the odd Raven and Swift - but hey, you can't have it all. And Vulture Squadron [c'mon, 'twas a sitter] were pretty entertaining. [Especially the one poor chap who had an unfortunate encounter with a large area of Gorse.. ouch. Then he spent a horribly long time untangling his wing before then having to climb back up the tor... ::winces:: But he got off and stayed up eventually! ::cheer:: ]


Coming up, a gratuitous post full of shots of flying machines! [Yes, a fancy windflatable wing is a 'machine']


Until then, I shall

Be Seeing You...