All Things Not Birds

It was a quiet time for birds a few weeks ago, but the weather was lovely and warm and perfect for other things to be on the wing. In particular the butterflies and dragonflies around Lapwing Lane Pool in Chelford. I had more than a dozen species of butterly and 3 or 4 species of dragonfly. They don't always make it easy for you to identify them though, and even harder is trying to get them to stop still where you'd like them to. That said, I had a great couple of hours stretching my patience.

One of my favourites, the Comma butterfly.

And with wings closed, resembling a leaf.

Small Copper. Very small and not easy to photograph.

Speckled Wood

Common Darter Dragonfly

Signs of Winter

 I took an afternoon walk just to get out of the house last weekend. I didn't really know where I was going or what I was going to find. It had rained most of the morning and that hadn't helped my mood. So I ended up at what is becoming one of my favourite local spots. Lapwing Hall Lane in Chelford. There's a really good mix of woodland, scrub, farmland, hedgerow and a very large lake that attracts a good variety, especially in winter.

I could hear Redwings overhead and it wasn't long before I caught a glimpse of a few. They had probably arrived in the week for their winter stay here. I carried on to a wooded area that is very good in the colder months. First bird I could hear was a Bullfinch, followed closely by another Redwing and a Goldcrest. Then I spotted some other birds flitting around. I was delighted to get a small group of Bramblings in my sights. I'd not seen any this year, so was pleased to add them to the year list. Great birds, and I was really pleased to see them here. I was able to stand and watch them for 20 minutes before I'd had my fix and moved on.

Brambling

I continued my walk and leant on a gate to see what was across a stubbly field. I thought I was going to be looking at a large flock of Canada Geese, but it was obvious very quickly that I had a good number of Pink footed Geese in with them.  I'd seen a few large skeins fly over recently, but these were the first of the year that I'd seen down on the ground. Winter has arrived (in bird terms) and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

The Pink footed Geese are the ones with the darker heads, with Canada and Greylag at the back.

Unusually, there were still some signs of the summer months with some butterflies and dragonflies still on the wing. 

Small Copper Butterfly

Comma Butterfly

Butterflies

When the birds are hiding in the trees I find it hard to look for nothing, so I turn my attention to butterflies and insects. At this time of year they are easier to see than most birds.
They're so colourful, but not always easy to capture as they are always on the move.

Gatekeeper

Small Tortoiseshell

Peacock

Comma

Green-veined White