What are the Kingfisher and Grebe Eating?

So delighted that Kingfishers are busy at Paxton diving right in front of one of the hides - we think they are young birds and certainly this bird didn't seem to know quite what to do with the ?water beetle it had caught. The adult Great Crested Grebe caught a very large Tench and took a long while to swallow it and did not look very comfortable with the fish in its crop. 

Thursley Unusual Flora

Unfortunately I didn't take a macro or wide angle lens to Thursley not anticipating such interesting plants including large areas of Sundew complete with a trapped beetle and Lesser Bladderwort, another carnivorous plant, in some ditches. There were many areas of Marsh orchids, Crossleaved Heath (with mystery growths). Mosses and Royal Ferns plus Bracken

Warnham Nature Reserve Surrey

 The 92 acre site, owned and managed by Horsham District Council,  was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1988. It includes a 17 acre millpond, marshes, grassland, reed beds, hedges and woodlands. The site provides a haven for a variety of wildlife with over 400 species of plants, and over 100 species of bird, including a thriving Heronry, wildfowl, and all three species of Woodpecker. Thank you Josh for showing us round the reserve on Friday and pointing out the many interesting insects and birds - here a few favourites with a full ID sheet of the species that I photographed during the day (click to enlarge).

Insect Portraits

A few portraits of some of Trumpington Meadows residents taken on an overcast but relatively bright day.