Orchids in West Cambridgeshire

I visited a local reserve where in previous years there has been a good display of Man Orchids - this year I only found three and they were very small (second image). There were abundant Common Spotted Orchids and Twayblades. At our local reserve again plenty of Common Spotted plus Pyramidal and Bee Orchids. Last two images are of a very fine Knapweed Broomrape which was being visited by large numbers of ants.

Strumpshaw Insects

Although not abundant, we did find a variety of insects at Strumpshaw on Sunday - Cardinal Beetle, Sailor Beetle, Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle, Nettle Weevil, Down-Facing Snipe Fly, Harlequin Ladybirds, Spider -  Xylota cristatus, Long-Jawed Spider, Longhorn Moths, Lacewing

Strumpshaw RSPB Dragons and Butterflies

Yesterday's Nature Group/East Anglia RPS outing to Strumpshaw Fen coincided with the warmest day of the year with max. temperature of 28 degrees so plenty of Dragonfly and Butterfly activities but not much keeping still. We did manage a good range of species including the Scarce Chaser (female and male), Black-tailed Skimmer, Four-Spot Chaser, Red-Eyed Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle, Azure and Variable Damselflies, Brimstone and Swallowtail. We also were shown Norfolk Hawkers in flight but failed to capture an image! (other insects to follow!!)

Gurteen Bay and Cemetery

The rain continued all through Thursday, so we were only able to take short outings onto some of our favourite beaches. Gurteen Bay was a new beach for us with the wonderfully sited small cemetery. tucked between a hillside dotted with cottages and the broad stretches of sand at Gurteen and Dog's Bays. I only took my 50mm macro lens as it has a good hood and is manual so when a couple of Hares appeared fairly close, I could only do a distant shot. Most of the images are panoramas of several vertical shots.

A 'Soft' Day in Roundstone, Ireland

Definitely a 'soft' day (with drizzle interspersed with heavier rain) here in Galway yesterday (and today!). Roundstone harbour with its boats gave a perfect location for photographing in these conditions with the blues and reds showing through  the mist.