Two Ambles, One Post

Still ketching up, so time for efficiency!

[ha]

Anyways, so I took an amble up on the South Moor to a nice high point, did some skywatching. Then I was out with the Folks, getting ourselves up to my favourite spot on t'Moor. A disappointing lack of Wheatears aside, it all went quite well [well, apart from all the Horseflies in the Avon valley, but we'll get to that]

Stories in pictures?

Some Flying Things;

Small Heath

Out in big numbers

[I gave up after getting past 40] 

 

Green Hairstreak
 

Visible birds

as well as vocal

Golden-ringed Dragonflies

also very evident

Keeled Skimmers

Beautiful Demoiselles

also frequent in

suitable areas

The Sub,

Nice viewpoint!

Wild Tor

Also quite scenic

More scenery

at Scorhill

I had company, too;

Snipefly

at The Sub

Green Willow Capsid

at Scorhill

More flying things, as the grasses and so on were full of moffs, mostly Silver Y, Brown Silver-lines, and Unidentifiable Micros, but also,

July Belle

Common White Wave

Common Carpet

 

As a reward for surviving the moths, here's something different,

Hedge Bedstraw

Bog Asphodel

Volucella inanis

I [and indeed we] only met hordes later on whilst wandering back down the Avon Valley, also Horseflies [tut]. Them aside, it was all very nice, if a bit blowy up with the Folks [though that was far better than calm weather, which would have been horribly oppressive] and while I didn't see anything better than Buzzard up above, you've got to put the hours in to finally get that Black Stork or flock of Bee-eaters [What? I can hope...   ]

Ahem.

Be Seeing You...

Green Eyes The In Thing This Year

I've not been ignoring the Patch.

Lookit what I found, right Here.

[Ok, over there ::points::]

Jeepers creepers,

willya lookit those peepers!

Green-eyed Flower Bee, Hope's Nose.

And not just one or two, either.

That waist!

The bees that go

"Niiiiiiiiiii!!"

Not only GEFB on display

Marbled White

[or 'Bestest Brown'... ;) ] 

 

Buff-tailed vs Marbled
 

A short fight later,

here's your winner!
 

Basking in glory
 

At least 17 on site,

this one the posiest 

And!

Lightning strikes twice!

June Bug

Burnet Companion

Lots of Plusiine spp.

[It's always a Silver Y...]

Gropper

[the sort without feathers]

Scaeva pyrastri

This Common Mallow is

taller than me.!

Wild Thyme,

extra low-profile version

We ought to have some variety, though so here are;

Young Grey Seal

on the Lead Stone

Stonechat strikes pose

[again!!]

There is more Patch-related to come, but you probably won't like it, on account of Moffs and Magpies.

[Still posting it, though]

Be Seeing You...

Seeking And Finding. Pt.3, Another Poorly-themed Post?

Well, it seems nobody is reading this any more.

After all the fun with thousands of hits from Singapore, it's done the opposite, and now the majority of even my most loyal readers have given up.

[Or maybe bligger has suffered a 'technical issue' with their analytics... Hmm.]

Anyways, regardless of who is and isn't paying attention [After all this little thing has never been about popularity, and do you see even one revenue stream on here? No. Exactly.] I'm carrying on regardless.

And speaking of, getting back to something near the point before we get to the post, it is again a post primarily not about birds.

Yes, I know, but it's that time of year and the weather's sh- no good for seawatching [Tut. Tut I say]

Not that I haven't tried, and even seen something what I did photo and you can see what it is and everything, but we're getting well ahead of ourselves here [VERY unusual for this blog... Ahem.]

So to recap, I've been using my little Summer Recess to go chasing insects, and here are some more. I got the odd half-decent shot again..!

Norfolk Hawker

Oh just look at that...

Slapton and at least 9 males and 2 females seen. [I think Mr. S may recognise this one, look at the claspers!] Wonderful fly right up to you and hovering views, though only one perched somewhere even slightly accessible.

So pretty

I even resorted to trying flight shots, despite my camera being what it is;

Good focus, bad angle

Good angle, bad focus

Arg.

But then, She smiles upon you. 

You see, there are dragons that pose [like male SC] and those that don't. Emperors don't.

"One does as one pleases, peasant."

Hail The Emperor!

Rather fun.

Also,

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Common Blue Damselfly

Black-tailed Skimmer

Lake Pondskater

[more regular-looking],

celebrates birthday!

Common Pondskater

[compare to above]

After filling my boots with cooing over the Green-eyed Glories, I relocated to the beach to have some lunch and do a little seawatching 

 

It was hard yards, I tell you.

Don't know how I coped....

 

[What?]

I got no shearwaters [had been hoping for a passing Balearic], but I did get two of these, one well out and this one, well, lookit;

Adult summer plumage

Mediterranean Gull

Right along the surfline, and if dratted camera had behaved, you'd have been able to see flecks in the frickin' iris [so to speak], but hey. Hit it.

Much easier was this;

"Got any more sammiches?"

Potato Capsid

Pineappleweed

Viper's Bugloss

Yeah, it was a real struggle.

:)

Be Seeing You...