Pretending to be a wasp, Hoverfly (Chrysotoxum elegans)

If there’s one thing we know how to do well in this country it’s the nature documentary – hasn’t BBC Springwatch been great and we’re only into week one. Needless to say, with the beautiful weather we’ve been having and being a bit inspired by Springwatch I ventured out to Queens Park in Bolton during my lunch hour to see what mini beasts I could snap.

Lovely colours on these tiny mating Green Dock Beetles

There were tiny metallic green beetles on all the Dock along the edge of the River Croal which I later learned (by the powers of the internet) were Green Dock Beetle (Gastrophysa viridula). The male above is obscuring an egg laden female but I managed to grab a photo of another that ha shaken off her amorous friends.

Gravid (with eggs) Green Dock Beetle female

You can see just how many eggs she is carrying as her abdomen is so swollen. Sticking with these little green beauties I spotted a cluster of their yellow eggs on the underside of the Dock so I’ll be keeping an eye on these to see when they hatch.

It was also interesting, once I ‘got my eye in’ just how many different species of insect can be seen in a town park. There’s nothing unusual about Queens Park, it has all the usual ponds, trees, grass with a mixture of untended patches but this seems to provide an excellent habitat for all sorts of creatures.

The first photograph is one such. I’m sure we’ve all seen Hoverflies but have we ever actually looked at them? I know I haven’t but after sitting still for a while the one above just came and sat right in front of me – it would have been rude not to photograph him. I’ve checked on the internet and I’m fairly sure it’s a normal Hoverfly (Chrysotoxum elegans) but I’m no insect expert so I’m willing to be corrected. It’s completely harmless unless you’re about the size of an aphid but mimics the markings of a Wasp to try and fool predators into not eating it.

Mating pair of Common Blue Damselflies

And it wouldn’t be much of a photography trip at this time of year without at least one image of these beautiful Common Blue Damselflies (Enallagma cyathigerum). There are more this year than I’ve seen for some time and the larger of the ponds was covered in mated pairs laying the eggs of the next generation.

One thing that was lacking was the usual butterfly suspects but after spotting a patch of nettles that we’re rapidly being demolished I noticed a group of well grown Red Admiral caterpillars munching them down to their flower tops. Hopefully we’ll see the adults later in the year.

It was around this time last year that we had the huge influx of Painted Lady butterflies and although I’ve not seen any yet, hopefully with recent hot spell will convince them to fly North once more.

All of the photo’s we’re taken using the ‘standard’ 18-55mm kit lens that came with the Canon EOS450D and although I’m sure a dedicated macro lens would be sharper and give me more options I’m happy with the results.

No Springwatch till next Monday and more hot weather forecast – looks like i’ll be taking a few more…

Coma Butterfly

As the weather was so good today I thought I’d take my camera out to take a few photographs in Queens Park, Bolton, which is where I can usually be found wandering around during my lunch hour looking at this amazing space right in the middle of town.

I usually approach from the entrance nearest the centre of town which passes through an abundance of Buddleia, these in turn attract a variety of butterflies, one of which was this Comma as well as the usual suspects of Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady and Peacock.

I could quite happily watch these colourful insects all day but I continue on over a small bridge into the bottom area of the park.

The area where I walk is bordered on one side by the River Croal on which many water birds reside, mainly Mallard, Coot and Grey heron On some days, if you’re lucky you can see a couple of Kingfishers flying up and down hunting for fish or maybe a Dipper running up and down the river bank.

During the spring and summer Brown Trout can easily be seen from the many bridges crossing the river, catching flies from the surface or just lazing in the clear water.

Queens Park, Bolton

My path takes me past the two ponds that are stocked by a local angling club and although there was no one on them today it is not unusual to see people fishing here for the large Carp and many Roach that roam these waters.

The ponds carry a healthy population of dragonflies and damselflies but they’re far to quick to get on camera – there seem to be less now that the weather is getting a little colder with only the larger species present today.

In the past couple of years the local council and the angling club have removed some of the trees surrounding the ponds which I’m sure at the time seemed a good idea but looking at it now, all that extra light has encouraged the Duck Weed which covers almost the entire surface of the first pond so I expect they’ll let a few of them grow back.

Small Tortoiseshell

My walk takes me back down the other side of the river to emerge once again at the lower entrance where today there were so many butterflies a lot of them were just basking in the sun on the Cornus which has been planted as part of the landscaping of the Lads and girls club.

It still amazes me the tenacity of the wildlife in this country. There I was, in the middle of town with a major road not 10 feet away when I heard the unmistakable twittering of a flock of Long-tailed tits, they were perched (about a dozen of them) on a tree, growing out of the side of the main road bridge over the river, almost as oblivious of the traffic as the people in the cars were of them.

Walking back through town I passed a major construction site where a new block of offices is going up. The artists impression looks very good and it can only improve the overall appearance of the area in which it is being built as well as attracting new business to the town.

Blue on Blue

Saying that though, the only reason I took this photo was because I liked the blue crane against the blue sky, makes a change from bright red.

I don’t know how high it is but I bet the man in the cab at the top has a fantastic view!