#long hoverfly

Long Hoverfly

16th July 2023: Egleton, Rutland Water

Photos taken in this set: 1. Herb-Robert. 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7. Views at this beautiful reserve. 5. Great White Egret, a star bird again this weekend. I still find it quite surreal when we have a run of visiting good habitats for them and they're so commonplace, being a bird that was a real rarity when I first got into birdwatching. They're great to watch too with their larger than life stature and quirky movements. 8. Green Sandpiper, a key bird that we wanted to see at the nature reserves whilst away and it was an honour to see loads of them on lagaoon four. They are such beautiful birds and I really just enjoyed watching them and taking them in. 9. Comma, one of a few wonderful butterflies I enjoyed seeing especially in a blooming patch of meadow. 10. Egyptian Geese, another key Rutland bird, with adorable goslings. The gosling I saw of one at Petersfield Heath Pond earlier in the month was the first Egyptian gosling I'd seen I think but was bigger so it was lovely seeing these little goslings.

26/07/2021-Lakeside and home 

It was fascinating to notice the moth of the moment a Silver Y with so many about lately in the house downstairs before bed last night, a notable first. I took the first three pictures in this photoset of a tree on the street out the back and buddleia and lavender with others in the front garden before going for my lunch time walk with them all delightfully drenched in sunlight once more. I very much much enjoyed taking in the glorious lavender in the garden as well as the buddleia with a bee buzzing around I saw well and photographed on the buddleia which I tweeted on Dans_Pictures tonight having one in my room at one point too. The cameillia bush, one last rose in the big bush out the front which caught my eye yesterday I have loved the dog roses and others on the bush again this year and scarlet pimpernel looked nice in the front garden too and I loved seeing a Small White butterfly here again. 

I reached Lakeside at lunch time, taking in the area around with a brilliant patch of white clovers and looking nice generally especially the flower patch on the way, and walked along the central path between the fenced off nature reserve areas which I took the fourth, fifth and ninth pictures in this photoset of views around. At Lakeside and home today at the height of summer I made the most of how gloriously emerald and full of leaf and flair everything looked. It was an insect fest along these paths too with 9 Gatekeepers, 7 Small White and 6 Meadow Brown in a Big Butterfly Count along here it was wonderful to see the Gatekeeper win its first count of mine in 2021 I’ve had a nice few different winners so far. There were Small Skippers about too and I got stunning views of Black-tailed Skimmer, Emperor again and a male Common Darter dragonfly this scarlet beauty I’d not seen around here so far this year. Great willowherb, ragowort, big bindweed as shown in the seventh picture in this photoset and thistle including spear thistle added some floral flair to the lunch time walk that was mostly very sunny some very colourful flowers. I then delved into hoverflies with a the long hoverfly in the sixth picture in this photoset and a sun fly which I tweeted a picture of both looking divine. With the bee at home I was pleased with the macro pictures I got of these insects today. I’ve been able to take more photos and become more interested in hoverflies and bees since working from home began and the focus of some wildlife watching every day but all of a sudden I found ID a bit easier with the iNaturalist Seek app which has helped me massively with moths the past week since I downloaded it. They are harder to photograph but if this is the next big thing I really start to learn I am as they say, here for it. 

And I was happy to get some great bird moments at the shore of beach lake when I walked down there seeing Black-headed Gulls and Mallards as I had before almost lounging out on a fishing jetty. It was a delightful image and did present a good photo opportunity not only for the birds together but I zoomed into the Black-headed Gulls too the eighth picture in this photoset one I took the Black-headed Gulls have made good subjects with other birds this summer here with the one of one bird at the top of a buoy with Greylag Geese gathering below as if it was making a speech so this was nice to add to it. I made the most of Greylag and Canada Geese again with them probably not at Lakeside often for much longer. I forgot to say that yesterday we got a nice view of the Greylags on my old school and college playing field so they possibly fly between here and Lakeside with the house in between I have seen more and more at home last week of course. Female Blackbird was a great one to see as I left Lakeside. 

I got home and like a great willowherb from behind which I tweeted a picture of a view of the lavender, little bush, camellia and more through the railings in the front garden made a nice subject for a different perspective theme on a photography group we are in on Facebook that does themes. I got some cracking Lesser Black-backed Gull views as I worked today making out their fine markings particularly the slate grey back well. I took the tenth picture in this photoset of a view out the back with distant trees looking nice in the sun this afternoon. This evening between thunderstorms I liked seeing a faint rainbow which I took and tweeted on Dans_Pictures tonight a photo of. I hope you all had a good Monday I did enjoy mine. 

Macro | To hover or not to hover

LG G4 Rated as the Best Camera Phone for Pictures @ Searchy.One Search Description From Photographer if Any: By elkisch Source: 500px.com

Le syrphe porte-plume

Sphaerophoria scripta

Long Hoverfly

Malgré sa ressemblance avec la guêpe, qu'il imite afin de bénéficier de son effet dissuasif, cet insecte européen est une petite mouche inoffensive et même auxiliaire du jardinier, puisque sa larve est prédatrice des ravageurs des cultures. En regardant de plus près, on la distingue facilement de l’hyménoptère par :

Ses gros yeux globuleux

Ses deux ailes contre les quatre de la guêpe

Sa morphologie sans pincement entre le thorax et l'abdomen, qui chez elle est tubulaire.

Son vol stationnaire ou si rapide qu'il la rend à peine perceptible en cas de fuite.

source texte : ecobio2nature

photo 1 : Sphaerophoria scripta par S. Rae (CC-BY)