here is a picture of a giant wooden newt near the visitor centre :)
a quick 5 minute walk to a small oval meadowey area that sits next to the path , it is full of wild flowers, thistles ect and being full of insect life the Dragonflies make it their home :D
This is Black Darter country , there are probably about 30-40 of them in this 60 ft x 40 ft area! all different shades of black and orange.as they get older they darken in colour.
and as usual, on my finger :)
among the darters i have seen a few emerald damselflies , here are both male and female as a comparison. Male first.
Female
Most of the flowers have faded now , but in the sunshine a freshly emerged Peacock has been fluttering around , and i have just managed to get a few images :) they really are a stunning species:)
another male black darter
and one last female black darter :)
Time to move on to Rixton clay pits now, i can only spend about an hour shooting these dragons before getting fed up lol but as i get near the visitor centre, by the small pool on a long curved wooden seat i find a few darters sitting in the sun. time to get the mpe -65 macro lens out and try some portraits :)
here is a Black Darter portrait :)
a 10 min drive over to Rixton now, i wont spend too long here , just a quick look around to see what i can find :) walking down the steps i almost tread on a toadlet , mpe time again lol
near to the lake i have just found this flower beetle feeding on a dandelion flower, tiny little things about 5 mm in length , shooting against a bright flower i dial in +2/3 flash exposure compensation to compensate for the bright background.
and a fly:) lol
and a resting Horsefly !
walking down to the lake along a wooden boardwalk , i suddenly spot a large butterfly flitting over the mound and settling on a thistle flower, it appeared to be a Painted Lady. i cant believe it! haven't seen one this year, and only one last year , so i have got to get a shot of this i thought !
after about half an hour chasing this Lady up and down the path and the mound as it fed on thistle flowers i eventually manage to get a few decent images :) Yay!
Beautiful species that are migrants from abroad, some years they are very common, but not this year so i am very lucky so shoot this one:) This is the mound on the right , i must have climbed up and down it about 20 times chasing this one butterfly, think its as tired as i am, as it rests on the wooden boardwalk :)
and off it goes again, Arghhhhh
That was the end of another good trip with numerous species shot , and on way back to car i finish with another Peacock :)
My next trip will be climbing in the lake district, so it will be a nice change from shooting bugs :)
