Butterflies at Barton, Cambridgeshire: Brown Argus versus Common Blue

We enjoyed an early morning walk at Barton yesterday and was surprised by the numbers of butterflies active on the flower bank. The Common blues were busy mating and feeding in very large numbers. It was great to see the minute Brown Argus in fair numbers. Always good to confirm the ID from photographs when back.  The Brown Argus lacks any blue scales and has figure of eight spots on the hind wing; also tend to be smaller. Small Coppers and Six-spot Burnet Moths added colour to the banks. A few dragonflies were active and the two Buzzards flew over constantly.

September Dragonflies in Cambridgeshire

A visit to Paxton Pits and Barton Dragonfly Pits yielded a large number of Common Darters, Migrant Hawker, Common Blue Damselflies and Brown Hawker. Also very smart Comma Butterfly.

Autumn at Burwash Farm, Barton

There were a lot of common Darters still laying eggs at the Dragonfly Pools and a very large number of Craneflies. It looks like being a good berry year.

Poppies and Dragons at Burwash Farm Cambridgeshire

Lucky to have caught a bee in flight on my first poppy shot. Lovely display in the fields leading to the dragonfly pools. Plenty of Four-spot chasers, Emperor Dragonflies and Black-Tailed Skimmers. There were also hundreds of small long-legged bright metallic green flies on the mud and some Whirligig beetles on the water surface.

Macro Insects

 Went to Burwash Manor pools to see what Dragonflies were about - the answer was none but some valiant flies and bees were feeding on the flowers despite the wind and cold. There seems to be a plague of Alder Leaf beetles this year. These were taken in Salford at the weekend.

August at Burwash

 Some images from a trip to the Dragonfly pools on a windy day - Emperor Dragonfly, Brown Hawker, Common Darter male and female (into and away from wind). Mating Common Darters - same photo processed with Lightroom only for noise, sharpening etc or using 3rd party plug ins - Focus Fixer, Define and Viveza (lefthand or top). The latter looks more natural without the slight edging.