A sunny day with surprises

ONE of the wonderful things about going out into the countryside to watch wildlife and take pictures is that no two visits are the same and you never know quite what you'll stumble upon.  Often I have a target species in mind but quite often these do not show but others, equally delightful, come to light; today was no exception.

There were no otters or kingfishers, in spite of an impressive level of patience shown on my part (!), but other interesting things were seen on the Somerset Levels:

Swimming grass-snake

Marsh harrier fending off a crow

 

Just as I was about to leave the hide, I realised that the reason that the reed warbler had been moving around in the reeds in front of me, was that it had a nest hidden only a yard or two away.

The reserve is carefully managed to provide ideal habitats for many species.  The white admiral requires spindly honeysuckle on which to lay its eggs in woodlands and woodland rides. The adults drink the honeydew of aphids, or will visit bramble flowers in sunny spots. The adult is usually only alive between mid June to mid August and so it was a real treat to see so many today. Its a real corker...

Other insect highlights included this skipper (below), hoards of damsel and dragonflies of all sizes, and even a comma looking characteristically angular.