September 2006
The insects (and arachnids) were the stars of the month again...although I did get a few decent bird pictures so I probably won't have to change the name of the website after all!
female Southern Hawker (Aeschna cyanea) - Burton Marsh, Cheshire
My two favourite photos of the month were this extreme close-up of a roosting dragonfly and a rather prettier than usual red colour variant Araneus quadratus. I love spiders, so I hope any arachnophobes out there will to forgive me for calling them pretty!
female Araneus quadratus - Burton Marsh, Cheshire
Some bird photos will follow (honest!), but first here are some more spiders...
 Araneus diadematus - Burton Marsh, Cheshire |
 female Meta Segmentata - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire |
male Meta Segmentata - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
...and some more insects...
Most of the ivy flowers had withered by the time I got round to thinking of looking for some moths, but there were still a few producing nectar. Unfortunately, nothing particularly interesting was attracted to them and the only moth I saw was a Silver Y. Dead common, but a nice moth none-the-less.
 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) |
 Nettle Tap Moth (Anthophila fabriciana) |
And now for something completely different...At last! Some bird photos...
We had some gorgeous weather towards the end of the month and a couple of Hobbies spent a few days at Inner Marsh Farm massacring the dragonfly population...
Immature Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
Adult Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) eating a dragonfly - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) - Inner Marsh Farm, Cheshire
A mid-month exploratory trip to Point of Air produced nothing more exciting than a couple of Chiffchaffs.
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus colybita) - Point of Ayr, Clwyd
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus colybita) - Point of Ayr, Clwyd
And finally, on one beautiful evening, just before the sun dipped below the horizon, the local Barn Owl started hunting over the fields...
Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - Burton Marsh, Cheshire
Ray Wilson owns the copyright of all images on this site.
They may not be used or copied in any form without prior written permission.
raywilsonphotography@googlemail.com