Smardale Butterflies

A lovely sunny day and 13 species of butterfly at Smardale: Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Northern Brown Argus, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Dark Green Fritillary, Large White, Green-veined White, Small Tortoiseshell, Ringlet and Small Heath.

The viaduct.

Speckled Wood.

Meadow Browns.

So nearly a good photo! When you only have time for a quick snap.....

Dark Green Fritillary.

Common Blue.

Common Blue.

Northern Brown Argus.

Northern Brown Argus.

Harebells.

Broad-leaved Helleborine.

Plenty of insects! 

Waitby Marsh Helleborines

Whilst being away, we may have missed some of our local wildlife highlights. The Fly Orchids at Waitby Greenriggs reserve were well over, but we did catch the Marsh Helleborines at their best - just! 

Some dramatic lighting..

The Fragrant Orchids are all coming out...

Meadow Brown Butterflies.

Common Blue Butterflies: male and female.

...and the Marsh Helleborines....

Common Spotted Orchids - with Ladybird! 

A bit of a pilgrimage

Seeing and finding certain plants in flower, as well as other things, marks time. Now the Bog Orchid isn't that spectacular and is tricky to find, so it was lovely to be able to find three flowering specimens locally. 

Needle in a haystack comes to mind!

Bog Orchid.

It was very nice to find that the site, despite the dry spring, was definitely damp! 

Greater Sundew, another nice find.

..and a quick stop off on the way home ..Bird's Nest Orchid.

Leafless and lacking chlorophyll...

Wedholme insects

Home and back to Wedholme. Somehow it's not quite so nice going out in rubbish weather at home!  But we got round Wedholme Flow in the dry and it was nice to see so many insects. The water level was also back up to what it should be.

Plenty of Lapwing circling round...

Dramatic light...

The three heathers: Cross-leaved Heath; Ling (bottom left) and Bell Heather (right).

The Cotton Grass is blown to the four winds.

White-beaked Sedge.

Small Skippers - except top right which is a Large Skipper.

Common Blue Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Red Admiral with Hoverfly.

The vaguely threatening Tachina Fly.

Hoverfly sp.

Black Darter.

Uists field sketches

Needless to say, some field sketching was done while we were away and it was all done outside - apart from the first one of the Cuillins. Conditions were challenging - mainly windy, which had the bonus of no midges! The watercolours are 13cm x 10cm (ish) , unless they aare a double page spread and took about 10 -15 minutes each. How to progree these I'm not sure as I am no watercolourist! 

The Cuillins from the ferry.

Baleshare.

Across the machair...

Across Traigh Ear.

North Uist - inland.

Across Loch Druidibeag.

From Loch Druidibeag to Maoil Diamh.

Loch Altabrug.

View from the bakery carpark on Benbecula!

From Grimsay.

Waves ...

More waves ...

..and more!

In the field...