Butterfly of the Week

The Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

Although not a very colourful looking butterfly it was thought worthy of mention as the Butterfly of the Week.

If you see a fairly dull brown butterfly anywhere in the UK then its likely to be a Meadow Brown. Its the most common of the browns that you will see in the countryside.

The first two images below are of the female, which for a change is the most colourful of the gender. Usually you will be fortunate to see the Meadow Brown with its wings open as it it tends to pitch in the closed position.



Although a poor shot, this is the male below. As you can see it has a dull brown wing top with one small spot on each leading wing.


This below is a better shot of the underside of a male.


Below is the male and female together. The male is at the top of the photograph and you can see the difference in the under wing markings.

Harvesting Time Again

Its harvesting time again and the first eight images below are of Oilseed Rape being harvested.



Below the Combine Harvester reservoir is being emptied into a waiting trailer. Oilseed are tiny black seeds which from this distance looks like black dust.



The tractor driver is being kept busy towing the full trailer away and returning with an empty one.


As you can see its a very dusty job especially as we have not had much rain recently. The dust being thrown out the rear of the harvester is basically all the stalks of the plant, after the tiny seed has been separated and it has been chopped up. It then becomes mulch and ploughed back in the ground.



To reach this point I travelled this grass track for about half a mile.


A Wheatfield ready for harvesting.


A Barley field that has already been harvested. I look forward to this time as I like shooting fields of bales.


The "Trek" goes anywhere. Needless to say I have fitted it with armoured tyres.




Later the sky changed to two distinct layers of cloud.


A "Fun" shot of a £200,000 green monster.

Red Kite (Juveniles)

Quite often when you are out walking equipped with cameras and binoculars etc you are going to meet a well meaning member of the public. This person will inform you of some bird or other wildlife that they have seen just prior to meeting you. Sometimes the person clearly has little or no knowledge about what they have seen, it often turns out to something quite mundane and you are well aware of this before you proceed any further.

On this occasion at the beginning of the week I met a gentleman that in great detail advised me about two young Red Kites that where observed by him perched on a dead tree. I didn't recognise him as a fellow local birder and I hadn't seen Red Kites in the immediate area very much before, so I was uncertain about this information. He went on to explain the route to where the tree was, which was about a mile away. I was going in that direction anyway so I thanked him and carried on.

On arrival in the area, sure enough there they were, two juvenile Red Kites perched in the tree just like the gentleman explained.

Butterfly of the Week

The Comma (Polygonia c-album) Wingspan 55mm (male) 60mm (female)

The Comma can be seen on the wing throughout the year. It is one of our species that hibernates and emerges in springtime. Another batch emerge in mid summer.

This species is common throughout England and Wales. It frequents woodland and lanes with hedgerows. Thankfully, the Comma is the most rapidly increasing species in the country.


When the wings are folded it looks just like a dead oak leaf which is good for camouflage.

Along by the River (2)

The second post about my walk along the river.

Rivers in the countryside, large or small, are great places to observe plenty of wildlife and nature.



This is some form of drainage lock to relieve flooding.


The Greater Burdock plant. This common plant grows to about 1 metre from July to September.


A local fisherman.


I think these are Greengage plums. They were growing on a tall tree in a hedgerow.



This is a lock used by the narrowboats to travel up river. I am stood on a floating pontoon taking this shot.


This is a view on the other side of the lock.



Another Bumble Bee hanging around.


Foraging on reed grass, it must be a bit sharp on the tongue I should think.


Taking this shot is only to be attempted upwind.



A well worn Common Blue butterfly.

Along by the River (1)

Earlier this week I walked alongside a part of a local river. This is a two part post about my observations.

The walk started on the path on the other side of this river.


Narrow boats regularly use the river.


The reflection in the water is of a small wooden bridge that crosses a small subsidiary of the river.


Three Mute Cygnets with the female. The male was feeding nearby.


I observed a pair of Pied Wagtail attending a nest below a bridge. The first two shots are of the same bird which having served up the meal, returned to this post. The third is the other one of the pair arriving with another meal. Busy birds.




Hazel leaves.


The thistle flowers are gradually dying off.



Green Elderberries.


"I'm rather hungry and too busy to stop and talk."


A female Migrant Hawker sheltering from the sun


Hogweed seeding.


This immature Robin didn't mind being in the sun.