Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

Lovely damselfly picture - I think it's an immature female Common Blue, taking on her colour from tail to tip.

I'm amazed you spotted her mixed in with that camouflaged body  

Thanks for the ID, AR. I actually thought it was a dragonfly - shows what I know  

She was flying around me before she landed on the brambles, that's the only way I spotted her.

I'm going to be controversial (again!) and say I think it is a dragonfly. Position of wings at rest is the biggest clue.

I think it's a Hawker, though which one is more difficult. Given the location, maybe  a Common Hawker: see below.

https://www.bbowt.org.uk/blog/kate-titford/how-tell-difference-between-dragonflies-and-damselflies

Edit: Yes, it rained!

LessImpecunious

Thanks for links to Buster Crabbe all...have to confess my Flash Gordon comment was a poor attempt at humour, though I'd never heard of the other one... Not as poor as my attempt to sneak under the radar with poorly-coded comment on the off-topic topic which cannot be named, as I see I have been named AND shamed (and emailed with an off-track explanation of removal) - unless it's only me that can see the red warning in my part-removed post

Prob best to stick to lurking, and maybe posting the odd pic, encouraged by Dusty's kind words on my hornet effort - am patrolling the area regularly in the hope of getting a better shot, but the hornet moves very fast!

twopenny

Persevere Imp. 
I have a photo of 7 damsel flies over a river on my wall. No one appreciates it except me but I spent the best part of an hour getting that shot and am really chuffed. I was determined   

Mostly massive clouds with spells of light rain. Neither one thing or another. 
And not what was predicted.

YoungBlueEyes

I've had a look back and it's not just you that can see "Removed by forum team" Less. I was expecting the last few pages to be gutted tbh....

I'll park my erse firmly on the fence and say - I like your critter picture pp, and is the first one a shield bug? I've different ones of them in my garden time to time, but I've not been so close to a critterfly. Aren't they pretty  

I'll admit, the Flash Gordon quip went straight over my head but mean exoskeleton made me chuckle   

OT a nice morning here, the sun rose but no real effort in it. More heat coming in the forecast they all reckon. I'll bet that's right too cos himselfs taken another week off work so we can get the bladdy patio finished. It will therefore be round-the-clock scorchio and no breeze at all for a bit of relief. I'll take better pics of my jades later, it was wet and miserable and kinda dark-ish all day yesterday.

My cyclamen are still living, and still no blackies. If you're reading this, St Fiacre, I'll swop you the plants for my birds back. Thank you please!

YoungBlueEyes

Would you put your 7 damsel flies pic up 2p? That many in one photo must be quite special I'd have thought...?

ArbitraryRandom

Dustyevsky said:

pink_poppy said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

Lovely damselfly picture - I think it's an immature female Common Blue, taking on her colour from tail to tip.

I'm amazed you spotted her mixed in with that camouflaged body  

Thanks for the ID, AR. I actually thought it was a dragonfly - shows what I know  

She was flying around me before she landed on the brambles, that's the only way I spotted her.

I'm going to be controversial (again!) and say I think it is a dragonfly. Position of wings at rest is the biggest clue.

I think it's a Hawker, though which one is more difficult. Given the location, maybe  a Common Hawker: see below.

https://www.bbowt.org.uk/blog/kate-titford/how-tell-difference-between-dragonflies-and-damselflies

Edit: Yes, it rained!

Taking a second look, I'd agree with that  

(Allowing that if it's just settled or thought Poppy was a bird then wings aren't definitive) I thought the abdomen was very narrow in comparison to the thorax (I think of dragonflies as short and stubby - like me ) but that could just be the angle of the shot. 

Here's a good picture of a juvenile common hawker for comparison: https://sussexdragonflies.org.uk/accountImgs/Migrant-Hawker-young-male-SL1.jpg

YoungBlueEyes

Gawd look at those wings! Nature is truly a marvel  

Farway

Blimey, looked away & fifteen new posts appeared.

twopenny said:

Persevere Imp. 
I have a photo of 7 damsel flies over a river on my wall. No one appreciates it except me but I spent the best part of an hour getting that shot and am really chuffed. I was determined   

That is determination, but lightweight compared to one photographer I read about, trying to get some eagle feeding its chick, took three years , the first two were tempting the eagle to come close to his food bait, of course this was hanging off a cliff etc. 

We'll appreciate your pic 'cos we've all been there in some way, I spent some time this morning waiting for "my" butterfly to open its wings, of course when it did it flew off

Up to water the volunteer pots first thing, despite all the rain. 

The trip was also a check of how my petrol in a diesel dilution is doing, at least the car is still starting and running OK, I thought I heard an odd noise once but could be just vivid imagination

The Shasta daises up there look like they are sending up secondary shoots, maybe fresh flowers if weather holds

The bay tree that I planted years ago for the kitchen, just a little window sill sized one from somewhere like Wilko is now a monster, plenty of room for it and lots of flower buds ready, should be ideal for late insects

Here's my butterfly taken this morning, on the buddleia I planted on spare ground near my garage block, and now bashing my car. You can now see why I am leaving its haircut for a bit longer

pink_poppy

Yip, yet another shield bug, YBE  

Ah, so it was a dragonfly. It was a big booger (I'm always a bit freaked out by things like that so my hands were shaking a bit when I took the photo).

My blackbirds have disappeared too I'm sure they'll be back though. In the meantime I've got blue, great and coal twits, robins and chaffinches still feeding on the second lot of half coconuts I made.

I had the same problem trying to take a pic of a butterfly, Farway. I did eventually manage to get a couple with wings open - I'll post a pic when I'm on my phone.

Another warm and sunny day here, with even higher temps forecast for next week - shame it wasn't like this for the school holidays...

pink_poppy

While I remember...


Not my garden and I don’t know the name of the plant, but I bet someone on here will know