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Broad-bodied Chaser

Birds & Bugs

Anyone who follows me on Flickr would see that i've posted lots of Bug pics lately. Bird photography when done properly, requires a lot of preparation. Whether that be finding breeding territories or searching for feeding grounds ect. It's nice to be able to just photograph whatever is right in-front of me. I love discovering new things, what they're called, what they eat, and their often fascinating life style. I hope my bird fan followers don't get bored of these blog posts. There will be lots more this year i'm sure.  Two Barred Longhorn Beetle, Broad-bodied Chaser, Wasp Beetle, Drinker Moth Caterpillar, Black-and-red Froghopper, Weevil, Dock Bug, Common Ground Hopper, Violet Oil Beetle, Wolf Spider and many more in the last week alone. 

Llandegfedd

Apparently I have been neglecting my Blog! So here is a quick update for May. As many of you already know, I started my new Job at Llandegfedd at the start of May and have been pretty busy as a result. The Job is going great! and it's so good to be close to home and recording wildlife sightings on my patch again. Today was a perfect example of how great it is working on your birding patch as I came across my first Hummingbird Hawkmoth! Not the best photograph as it disappeared just as quick as it appeared alongside a stream feeding on Red Campions. While we're on the flower subject, I've been keeping an eye on the wild flower meadows at Llandegfedd this year as I have some Orchid tours todo in work in June. So far we have a decent show of both Common Spotted Orchid and Southern Marsh Orchid with the meadows being covered in Yellow Rattle and Bird's foot Trefoil. Hopefully this year we'll get a good show of Butterflies but so far the Dragonflies are really showing well, especially the Beautiful Demoiselles at Sor Brook. 

GWT Plant ID Course

A full day at Central Valley Nature Reserve today with GWT to learn more about Plants! An area that I really need work on! I have to admit though, despite coming home having learned quite a bit about plants, I was slightly distracted by the many insects and birds we encountered on our venture into the green. Especially the Dragonflies that were in abundance today in what ended up being a beautiful day! Perhaps a bit too beautiful because I totally underestimated how hot it would be and I must admit, I think I have a bit of sun stroke as I'm red as red can be and ended up sleeping off a terrible migraine for 2 hours when I got home. 

I'm feeling ok now though and have edited a few of my favourite pictures of today. My favourite was in-fact a Bumble Bee Mimic which is actually a Hoverfly! (Volucella bombylans). By far the best Hoverfly mimic I've ever seen. Male Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonfly and Mullein Moth Caterpillar showed very well for the camera too. 

Volucella bombylans Female Bumble Bee Hoverfly

Below is a picture of the happy bunch, great company and all enthusiastic to learn which really helped with my focus. 

Gwent Bugs

This time of year is awesome for insects, and the very reason why we get so many birds migrating here for spring/summer. The shear diversity of insects is key to certain species survival. Drinker Moth Caterpillars are a personal favourite of Cuckoos, so much so that Cuckoo's time their arrival perfectly to indulge on them. Each one of these species below deserve a blog in itself but it's that time of year that I just need to get outside! I hate being sat behind the computer editing photographs at this time of year. There is so much to see and so much more to learn. 

A lot of these species below were taken at a new reserve for me at Henllys bog which is a Gwent Wildlife Trust reserve. Good friend and Spider Expert Mike Kilner showed me around the reserve with a superior knowledge of plants and insects which was really helpful at that reserve! Everywhere you step there is something special..