This afternoon, I took a trip to the Hants and IOW Wildlife Trust reserve at Fletchwood meadows.

I was hoping to photograph the Lesser Butterfly Orchids that grow there, but unfortunately there were none to be found. I did however get good views of a Buzzard, Emperor and Golden Ringed Dragonflies, and a Marbled White that I was really surprised about as this is more of a chalk downland species.

On the way back through the woods, I got some really good pictures of a female Roe Deer who just appeared out of a side track and stood there watching me for a while not 10 metres away.

After seeing Jimbo’s Bee Orchid post on EOS forums last night, I thought I’d check out the Hartslock Web Page to see the latest Orchid News.

This indicated that the Bee Orchids were in flower, so I thought I’d take a wander over and see what I could get. Anyway, the reserve is now covered in Common Spotted and Pyrimidal Orchids, which I got some good shots of, but I was lucky enough to find 2 Bee Orchids, one in the middle of the main Orchid Slope, and the other next to the footpath in the first enclosure.

I’m very pleased with the images that I managed to get today, they can be seen on my Hartslock Reserve page here

There were plenty of Small Heath, Meadow Brown and Marbled White butterflies about, and I saw a lone, rather scruffy looking Brown Argus, which is my first for this year.

I was particularly pleased with the shots that I managed to get of the Marbled White, as I managed to get both Open and Closed wing shots.

I also met a rather nice fellow who was looking for the Monkey Orchids, so I had to break the news that they were over, but he did let me know where I could find Lizard Orchids, and its not in Kent :o)

I think I might have over done it with my back a bit, but its not feeling too bad at the moment, so lets hope that it stays that way.

I have been keeping an eye on the courgette patch for the last couple of days, hoping to see the spider with her babies.  Well,  the babies have now hatched, but it appears that I made a wrong identification.

This morning, the spider was standing guard over a web full of spiderlings, meaning that this is in fact a Nursery Web Spider, and not a Wolf Spider as previously thought.

Apparently the Nursery Web spider carries the egg sac in her jaws, meaning that she cannot feed until the babies have hatched, now there’s a devoted mother for you.

I have taken a couple of shots showing the spider standing guard over the web, and I will post these shortly.

Yesterday, my Physiotherapist told me that I need to get out and do more walking to strengthen my back.  I  was even given the green light to get on my bike and go for a ride as long as I kept it short and stayed away from the hills.

Today, I went out for a couple of walks, once in the morning, and once this afternoon, each lasting about 1.5 hours or so.

This afternoon, I went for a wander along the Holy Brook, and was amazed by the number of Banded Demoiselles and Mayflies that were about, though unfortunately I’d made the mistake of wearing a red T-Shirt which meant that I couldn’t get close to anything :o(

I walked as far as the breach in the bank of the Holy Brook, which still hasn’t been repaired, before I came back and headed out across the footpath towards the old railway embankment.

Whilst walking across here, I saw no fewer then 5 Little Egrets, which was a huge surprise.  I knew that they’d got more common, but I never expected to see 5 on my doorstep.

There were also a couple of Kestrels about, and a rather high flying Red Kite, the sightings of which seem to be getting much more frequent over the centre of Reading.

Well, its Alice’s birthday today, and I thought that it would be nice if I surprised her with a birthday meal, so I ploughed through the recipe books, and decided that I’d cook Steamed and Roasted Duck.

I went and got the vegetables and ingredients for the stuffing, but then found that our local butcher (W M Vicars & Son) didn’t have any Duck. I trawled the supermarkets and M & S, and eventually found a whole duck in the Sainsbury’s Central.

So we’re having Melon and Raspberry Sauce followed by Steamed and Roasted Duck and then Chocolate & Vanilla Cheesecake for dessert.

Lets hope I don’t screw it all up.

This morning, whilst inspecting our courgettes, I found what I believe to be a Wolf Spider carrying a huge egg sac.

This individual was very obliging, and I managed to get some shots that I’m very pleased with. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this patch of the garden, as I’d really like to get a shot of this spider carrying her spiderlings on her back.

The photos can be seen in EOS-Forums and in my Insects Gallery

I know its a bit late, but I have to say that whereas I was proud that London was hosting the 2012 Olympics, that has now turned to embarrassment now that I’ve seen the proposed artwork.

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/6718243.stm?dynamic_vote=ON#vote_olympic_logo

Quite frankly its CRAP, the BBC showed a lot of pieces of artwork done by viewers, and quite frankly these were so much better than the official images.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/6719747.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/6722205.stm

The viewers feedback on the BBC website is almost all negative, so I’m obviously not the only one who doesn’t like it, almost 80% of those who voted on the BBC poll voted it as a wooden spoon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2007/06/04/2012_new_logo_feature.shtml

I just think that its a real shame that after winnng the Olympic Bid for 2012, that we get let down by shoddy artwork.

Here’s what Jon Stewart has to say on the matter.

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/?lnk=v&ml_video=88254

Wow, the episode “Blink” was fantastic, proper behind the sofa stuff. Sure there will be quite a few kids out there having nightmares tonight.

The original story from the annual can be found here.

Today, I thought that as my back was now feeling quite strong, that I’d take a trip to Hartslock and take a few photos.

I can’t believe how much the reserve has changed in the last 3 weeks. The Monkey, Lady and Hybrid Orchids on the main orchid slope are now over, and by the looks of the orchid slope, there have been a lot of visitors. There are however plenty of Common Spotted Orchids in flower, and as I was leaving, I noticed a couple of Pyramidal Orchids in flower.

There are plenty of insects about, loads of Meadow Brown and Small Heath butterflies, and I saw my first Marbled Whites of the year in the second and third compartments of the reserve. There were also plenty of mayflies and damselflies, incliuding numerous Banded Demoiselles in the first compartment.

Although I didn’t hurt my back, the walk took its toll, and my back muscles were very tired when I got home, so I think I’ll be taking it easy tomorrow.

My album for this visit to Hartslock, can be found Here.