The latest from Pennington - new formula with added, improved Kingfishers

These are from a few days ago at Pennington.

Good numbers of Lapwing are back after the breeding season when only a few pairs stay. 

Flighty things, sometimes, going up every few minutes, but their acrobatics are fabulous to watch.

They look quite intense when coming at you head on!

A mirrored male Gadwall coming back into Winter/breeding plumage

If the arrival of Swallows heralds Summer, then the return of waterfowl must herald winter and the Teal are already arriving ... this female caught the light in her feathers while preening.

I'd actually gone out because I thought it would be one of the last good insect days. There aren't many flowers left, so the Michaelmas Daisies were absolutely buzzing with critters, mainly Hoverflies, a few late bees and flies and the odd flutterby.

If you're thinking this might be a Footballer (or Sunfly) you'd fail to win the cigar. It's the close relative, Helophilus Trivittatus.

This, however, is a Footballer, Helophilus Pendulus. Feel free to play spot the difference Slight smile

 

And another Hover. As far as I know it doesn't have a common name (Myathropa Florea)

One of the easily identifiable Tachinid flies, Tachina Fera. You've got to love ... well, alright, respect ... something even spikier than Boudicca's chariot!!

Making the most of all this 'food', one of our biggest spiders and a close relative of the Garden Spider, a Four-spotted Orb-weaver. I couldn't make out what it had caught.

"Nobody gives me any mealworms." A contender for 'Saddest Robin 2019'

I already have some others to put up but it might be a couple of days before I work through them - too busy using free time in the sun to take photos and not enough time to process them until the weather deteriorates and I catch up!

  • Thanks all.
    Hazy, I'm sure there must be one or two kingfishers in Cornwall for Jim ... if he has time after hunting down all the other things.
    Gaynor, even in this day and age, I sometimes think Councils cut stuff down just because it is cheaper than sending someone out to prune it every few years. Last year, they ripped out all the hawthorns on waste ground near my house for no good reason that I can see and all the birds just left as there is no longer enough cover left for them. So much for environmentally friendly councils!
    PB, I thought about it but discounted it on the grounds of health safety, in case a large pike leapt up and took the low flying Lapwing!
  • Aw - love the sad robin. And the beautiful shapes of the lapwings. So atmospheric!