A WEEKS WORTH OF PICTURES

   With my long lens out of action at the moment this week I've concentrated on smaller subjects starting with my garden where the frogs have been active and the spawn has started to appear. Below are a couple of pictures of one of the frogs having a rest in the weed keeping its eyes on me.

   Moving on to SWT North cove reserve today a variety of beetles were seen along with many butterflies including Peacocks, Small Tortoishell, Comma and Brimstone. Also in evidence were an abundance of bees and the first Bee-flies of the year but no sign of any snakes as yet. Pictured below is first, a Bloody -nosed beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa), secondly an Oieceoptoma thoraccicum beetle which is very distinctive with its orange head and then a heavily cropped photo of a Bee-fly. The Bloody nosed beetle is a very large flightless insect so called because of its ability to ooze blood from its mouth when threatened which is usually enough to deter predators.

   Finally for this post a picture of a drake Pintail taken at a farm pond in Aldeby in South Norfolk in the warm afternoon sunlight.