Toft Butterflies etc in Flight

As I have a short trip coming up at beginning of July to Kent, hopefully to see some new species of Dragonfly (and lots of different butterflies) thought it time to try and master the various techniques that Olympus offer to catch the insects in flight (subject recognition, procapture etc). Thank goodness that there are plenty of Damselflies, bees and butterflies to practise on in the garden as this is still work in progress. Wonderful to have Marbled White and even a tatty Silver Washed Fritillary in the garden - with half a wing missing, I think it must have just gone with the wind!!

 

Toft Garden Early May

A catch up on the records for the last few days in my garden in Cambridgeshire. Lots of favourite species emerged over the last few days with the very warm weather, including the Speckled Bush Cricket  and also some species still around though past their zenith such as the Ashy Mining Bees. The bee hotels have been busy with the Red Mason Bees bringing in mud to seal their cells. They collect water at the edge of the pond but I am resisting photographing this as I have already got very wet once this year getting too engrossed in the task!! ID sheet at end

 

My Wildlfe Garden April 28th 2026

Each year, I photograph the species in bloom in my Cambridgeshire garden several times during the spring and summer to compare with previous years. Today, I did a quick photoshoot in my garden which is a riot of colours and full of flora and fauna - not my best efforts photographically but demonstrate what I am sure others in this area are finding that the species in bloom are about a month earlier than previous years - Ann Miles Blog: My Wildlife Garden in May. The insects and spiders are also very active in the warm temperatures - I hadn't noticed the Cricket Bat Spider on the Spurge or the Collembolid on the buttercup till I looked at the photos.

Life in the Compost Bin

The wet and warm weather recently has encouraged a mass of slime moulds in my compost bin. I brought in a Ground Ivy plant and a few Silver Birch leaves that are coated in fruiting bodies. I think the two species evident in the third shot are Lamproderma scintillans and Didymium squamulosum which are Barry Webb says are often found in the same habitat at the same time (to be checked).