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I think this must be the same youngster which has been living along our section of the canal since the winter. This is the first time I've actually caught it with a half decent fish!
We have both roach and rudd in the canal, and I'm not expert enough to tell the difference.
My first Emperor of the year, over the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal. Not the best of shots as I couldn't get close enough, so I'm just posting them as a record.
My first Emperor of the year, over the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal. Not the best of shots as I couldn't get close enough, so I'm just posting them as a record.
To be honest they must have been on the wing for a while to be back on breeding territory, but today was the first day I had personally seen them.
Episyrphus balteatus beside the canal at Bathpool. I've been seeing these for a couple of weeks now, whenever there's some sunshine, but there were many more today.
Drone flies are out in large numbers now.
There was competition for the best sunny spots today, but these three decided to share.
I watched a pair of Goldcrests high in a tree, constantly flitting about as they do, and used the time-honoured 'spray and pray' technique in the hope of catching something worthwhile. When I got the pictures home, there were several like this which showed the *tiny* insects and springtails they were finding. (You might need to zoom in to see it!) I wonder how many of those they have to catch every day just to survive?
It's not uncommon to see birds spread out to catch the sun, and of course reptiles famously do it - but this is the first time I've seen a squirrel sunbathing. It stayed on this spot for several minutes.
A Chiffchaff beside the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal.
There's a certain spot along the canal where we see goldcrests from time to time. Tricky little blighters to photograph, always on the move.
It's so difficult to catch a cormorant with a fish. They pop up to the surface, often some distance away from where they dived, and the fish is swallowed in a second or two - giving very little time to frame a shot, focus and fire the shutter. That's my excuse for this terrible shot.
Roach I think, but others may know better.
Taken with the very long lens setup I was carrying beside the canal at Bathpool, in the hope of spotting a kingfisher - instead I saw my first hairy-footed flower bees of the year. Not an ideal setup for macro but I got a record shot.
I haven't been able to take any shots for the last few days, so here's one more from last week's kingfishers.
What a gorgeous bird, so lucky to have them on my doorstep.
This was a bit of a surprise find on a lunchtime walk along the canal towpath. These are normally seen in the well-known mass emergences in May. According to the references it's not unheard of to see one outside of May, but it's pretty uncommon.
Beside the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal today.
We have a little local hot spot for these.
All the regulars are starting to appear.
The nursery web spider is known for its variable markings, but this is possibly the most colourful I've ever seen. These colours are not 'pumped' in Photoshop, this really is what he looked like.