Out and about in June

As the restrictions eased a bit last month I was able to get out to a few local nature reserves, just in time to see a few more dragonflies.  I already posted some photos of a pair of emperors, the most satisfying dragonfly photos I have taken in quite a while.  This was the best of them.

Here is the male on his own, except for an azure damselfly.

Other dragonflies from last month were male broad-bodied chasers,

and four-spotted chasers from Gosforth Nature reserve,

and at Weetslade Country Park the first common darter of the year, this one an immature female.

A few large red damselflies were still about but I expect their season is over by now.

This common blue damselfly's season is over as well.

The emerald damselfly's season is just beginning.  This female is the first I have seen this year.

A couple of interesting day-flying moths, a cinnabar

and a five-spot burnet moth.

At Banks' Pond this year a pair of swans are raising four cygnets, the first successful breeding for a few years.

Canada geese are also there with three goslings but they are harassed a fair bit by the male swan.  It is the first time I had seen both species breed in the same year.

I expect the moorhens have young as well but I haven't seen them yet.

I sometimes see a brown hare near the pond but I rarely get a chance of a photo.

Apart from bees and woodpeckers and foxes I haven't taken many photos at home but here are a few.  I have seen several sets of fledgling wrens in the garden in the past two weeks so they must be having a good year.

Another bee, this one a female Willughby's leafcutter bee.

And a flyover from a buzzard being harassed by a crow.  I have also had swifts, swallows and house martins hunting over the garden.

With the easing of lockdown I shall probably post a bit less frequently here, perhaps twice a week rather than every two days as it has been.  We'll see.