a rare privilege

We occasionally see a flash of brown and yellow through the trees and hedges in the garden as a sparrowhawk swoops down on a sparrow or goldfinch but never before have I seen one sat so close to the house, posing for a photograph, and in the pouring rain.

autumn colour

the artful poser

hovering

A souther hawker dragonfly. These dragonflies are very territorial, and will often hover around an intruder, providing a rare opportunity to photograph a dragonfly in flight. Meanwhile a male moorhen is tiptoe-ing across the lily pads. We have been cut off from the internet for the last 7 days and Spot is most unimpressed!

feersum beestie v2

Another caterpillar, this time of the elephant hawk moth, trying to find a safe place in the grass and leaves. When disturbed this enormous caterpillar rears its head and waves about in an attempt to look sinister. Its head is actually much smaller than it looks, and it retreats into the bulge on top of which are the two large simulated eyes.

feersum beastie

This is the caterpillar of the pale tussock moth (see link for earlier post showing the moth). The colours are striking and serve to warn predators that they are distasteful to eat. At this time of the year they are about to spin strong double shelled cocoons and then hibernate over winter before emrging as adult moths in May and June. There is always something new to see!

wild life

On Penny's Piece this morning