An excellent day out on the bikes today.  Heather and I drove down to Alford with the bikes on the carrier.  After a very relaxed coffee in the sun we set of through the lanes of the coastal grazing marsh to the National Trust Property of Gunby Hall.  The hall was closed but it was the gardens we had come to see; and what gardens!!!  After tea and cake we set of to explore.  We were both mightily impressed and loved everything about the grounds and gardens.  Soon it was time to wend our way back through the lanes calling in for the obligatory pint at The Willoughby Arms; well it would be rude not to.

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A Day of Dragonflies and Orchids.

With a brilliant forecast it was too tempting not to get out today.  I was keen to get to Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe NNR to see if the Emperor Dragonflies had emerged yet; as it happened I was too early and will return in a couple of weeks.  I needen't have worried though as there was masses of other wonderful wildlife to enjoy and photograph.  I parked at Rimac and my first port of call was the near pond which was buzzing with four spotted chasers.  I even found one newly emerged from it's larval case or exuvia.  What a magical experience!  Next up was the bee orchids that flower in the dunes near the car park.  Rather early for them really but I was informed that they were already in flower.  I love these flowers, so difficult to see at first but so intricate.  As a large school party turned up I decided to leave the pond to them and wandered down through the dunes to the next pond.  Here there were even more four spots and the air seemed thick with them.  There was a frenzy of rivalry, mid air-copulation and ovipositing.  They perched up well, though, so there were plenty of opportunities for photography.  There were also some hawkers about smaller and less bulky than the the four spots.  They didn't perch at all so there was no opportunity for photography or identification.  Interestingly the water was also alive with good sized roach swimming close to the surface.  A pair of cuckoos were also very active with lots of calling.  An excellent morning.

I decided to drive up into the Wolds to Red Hill for my lunch which I enjoyed before exploring.  Things were much quieter here with only a few butterflies on the wing and flowers seemingly behind.  Butterflies included common blue, small heath and large skipper, all of which I successfully photographed.  I also managed shots of both pyramidal and common spotted orchid.

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Tandem pair of Azure Damselflies ovipositing.

Bee orchid

Bee Orchid

Common Blue Damselfly

Newly emerged four spotted chaser.

Newly emerged four spotted chaser.

All the next images are four spotted chaser.

Southern Marsh Orchid

Common Blue

Common Spotted Orchid.

Large Skipper

Pyramidal Orchid

Small Heath

Lincolnshire Wolds at Red Hill

Lincolnshire Wolds at Red Hill

A Beautiful Evening at Cleethorpes.

We went down to Cleethorpes this evening to take some photographs for my next degree assignment.  I am photographing a project on flotsam and Jetsam on the beach and wanted some evening shots in golden evening light.  I took the opportunity for some landscape shots as well and we finished with fish and chips on Cleethorpes seafront.  Wonderful.

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Dragonfly Fest.

Once the unpacking from last week's trip to North Wales had been completed, tidying up done and lawn cut, I decided to make the most of the beautiful sunny day by grabbing an hour down at Buck Beck Ponds.  I was keen to get to grips with the Broad Bodied Chasers again and, hopefully, photograph the male in full colour.  When the male first emerges it is the same golden bronze colour as the female, but after a few days he changes to a fabulous powder blue with yellow spots on the side; a stunning insect.  As soon as I arrived I could see loads of activity; a male and female broad bodied were copulating in mid air and the female then dipped her abdomen in the water as she flew over the pond surface ovipositing.  When not attending to the female, the male insect spent his time challenging a four spotted chaser for squatting rights on the reed stem that I put in as a perch for them.

A wonderful hour or so of wildlife watching.

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Broad Bodied Chaser, Male

Broad Bodied Chaser, Male

Broad Bodied Chaser, Male

Broad Bodied Chaser, Male

Four Spotted Chaser

Four Spotted Chaser

Four Spotted Chaser

Four Spotted Chaser