Reasonable shot of a goldcrest ….

and could this be the rare redpollarder?

This is the longest centipede I have ever seen! On an elder stump …. must have been 50 – 75mm long when stretched out .. and unusual sight  as they’re generally nocturnal

I think I’ll adopt it as my

Signature photo!

and at last a shot of the heron in flight, but almost missed it…

DON’T FORGET  

 – 10 days left to vote for the WWA

on the natwest community awards scheme……

Monday morning: new family makes the overland trip to see the willow sculpture

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year from the Watercress Wildlife Association ………..

and could this be evidence of someone who should have used the main gate ……?

Stick to dry land in the future, even if it is covered with snow !

The swans are back, chasing away allcomers. Even the heron….
.

and the WWA are crowned Water Vole Champions by the Herts and Middx Wildlife Trust……

but just where are they? Answers on a postcard please.

 

25.06.2010

while attempting to photograph these little creatures,
I became a little sidetracked by the banded demoiselles.

When perched on a leaf they obviously present a pretty picture.
In flight their wings seemed to act like helicopter rotors.

That was it, I had to capture one in flight.

here’s one at rest

in flight, look at the helicopter wings!

here, we have a female banded demoiselle.

another variation, here I think we have a ruddy darter.
My trusty nature book leads me to this identification -see bottom of posting.

this is a mystery bug, anyone got any ideas?
There are so many minute creatures whizzing about and they all seen to be tiny,
fast and hard to capture, with a camera, a net may be more successful.

here’s another, sitting on a lily pad -not found it in my book, yet.

my trusty book by the way: the Collins Complete British Wildlife by Paul Sterry.
It’s really useful as identifying photographs convey exactly what one sees in the field.
I found one cheap in a garden centre last year. Have a look for it.