Sunday 27 April 2014

Pond dipping with Abingdon Naturalists' Society

Good day out pond dipping with Abingdon Naturalists' Society and expert Dr Jeremy Biggs of the Freshwater Habitats Trust.  My favourite moment of the day was catching a smooth newt.  Great to see so much wildlife on my doorstep.  Enjoyed learning to recognise more bird song.  We heard a reed warbler, song thrush, willow warbler, green woodpecker and much more.

(Taken by Mum)

Water mint (taken by Mum)

(Taken by Mum)

Toad tadpoles

Caddisfly larvae

Great diving beetle larvae

Dragonfly larvae

Caddisfly larvae

Smooth newt

(Taken by Mum)

(Taken by Mum)

Early marsh orchid

Cuckoo flower

Summer snowflake or loddon lily

Dr Jeremy Biggs in action

Water violet

Comparing ramshorn snails (taken by Mum)

Me excited to have caught a smooth newt (taken by Mum)

(Taken by Mum)

My shot of the day!

Friday 25 April 2014

Friendly frogs

Got up close to some Common Frogs.  Look at those eyes!



Bluebells in Hertfordshire

Lovely bluebells at Dockey Wood on the Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire. I was experimenting with different angles so have a range of shots.









Wednesday 16 April 2014

Badgers and field mouse

Great evening out nature watching with Alex.  We saw hares, a field mouse and it was my first ever sighting of badgers.  It was worth standing in a tree for an hour and a half in the dark!  Tricky getting photos as hard to see where to aim but the badgers did not mind the flash.  We saw three in total and also captured some badger photos on my trail cam.





Trail cam 1

Trail cam 1

Trail cam 2 (We are in the tree in the background!)

Sunday 13 April 2014

Radley Lakes with Jo Cartmell

Wow!  Great day out at Radley Lakes with wildlife expert and photographer Jo Cartmell.  I learnt so much about all the insects on my doorstep.  Never knew that there were so many types of bee!  We saw everything from birds to bugs (oil beetle, ashy mining bee, alderfly, brimstone and orange tip butterflies, a bee-fly, ducklings and a chiffchaff!).  Got carried away and took lots of photographs.  Here's a selection:

Oil beetle

Ashy mining bee hole

Ashy mining bee

Alderfly

Ashy mining bee

Alderfly

Native bluebell

Brimstone
Brimstone


Orange tip

Orange tip and friend!

Spanish bluebell

Bee-fly

Alderfly











Chiffchaff

Hoverfly

Cowslip

Cuckoo flower