Of birds and bees

And suddenly the wood seems full of dragonflies, on almost every dead twig there is a Common Darter waiting and watching for something nourishing to chase. In one of the glades an Emperor has taken up a territory and gets into squabbles with a bold Comma butterfly, which is also claiming the patch. It surprises me that the dragonfly has not eaten the Comma yet as it looks so much quicker off the mark in their dog-fights.

Further up the track in clear area near the south gate, the Fleabane is in flower and the Common Blues are on the wing, some already looking a bit tatty. This is always an interesting area for different butterflies and the best place for Clouded Yellows, should they turn up. 

The Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals have done their thing now after a very busy flight period this year....I did not see any today. Hopefully they have laid lots of eggs  and next July the woods will be full of them again.

Common Darter

Comma butterfky

Common Blue feeding on Fleabane