Spring at Paxton Pits

In the last week, I have heard 3 Nightingales and a Cuckoo at Paxton together with Willow Warbler and lots of Blackcaps so spring is definitely here. While one of the Great Crested Grebes is busy incubating the eggs, the other is out fishing etc and catching surface insects. The Coot is sitting on the nest but its partner still brings in some hefty nest materials! The Cormorants seem addicted to collecting twigs etc to add to their already very large nests.

Toft Insects April 7th

 I am a bit behind with sorting and IDing my photographs of fauna in Toft. These were taken on the 7th April in the garden. I was experimenting with shutterspeeds for flying Hoverflies and found it needs 1/8000th to record at least a blurred wing in the capture. Always rewarding when the camera shows something I didn't notice at the time - eg the ants foraging where the Carder bees were feeding on nectar.  This little bee, a Brassy Lasioglossum, is tiny as can be judged by the hairs on the leaf

Stanwick Lakes April 10th

 Jane had to collect some photographic equipment from Northampton so we took the opportunity to visit Stanwick Lakes expecting lots of birds to photograph and therefore equipped with long lenses rather than macro gear. Birds very sparse but lots of Orange Tip Butterflies, a male Geen-veined White and also several species of Hoverfly. The Orange Tips were displaying and clearly ready for mating. Lots of  Beeflies so experimented with shutterspeeds to freeze the wings (1/2000 and then 1/8000th). Finally the only two birds close enough to photograph Dunnock and Great Crested Grebe.

Trumpington Meadow Insects April 9th

A few insects from yesterday's visit to the meadow at Byron's Pool Car Park in Trumpington.; ID sheet is at the end. It is always a delight and challenge to photograph the ruby-tailed wasps (Chrysis ignata) a parasitoid of Red Mason Bees which are nesting in some rotten tree trunks. Two very small ladybirds were found, a very small weevil and four species of Shield Bug.

Macro Session at Paxton Pits

Ideal weather (warm, sunny and still) yesterday for our macro session at Paxton hunting out the small inhabitants who go unnoticed most of the time. Several new species for me including this Gorse Shieldbug found on the open Redlands area and a nationaly scarce species of leaf bug Raglius alboacuminatus (unfortunately not the best technical image!). It was also good to record the Pantless Darth Vader Spider on the border at the visitor centre - a long name for a very small spider, and a couple of Weevil beetles with their long snouts - Tatianaerhynchites aequatus can compete for length of name versus size of adult.