November Daffodil

It is always interesting to see when these bunch of daffodils will flower, this was taken today.  Last year they flowered at the end of December.  I hope they do not get picked again like they have been in previous years, which is really annoying.

November Daffodil, a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

Wheatear at Lundy Island

We went to Lynton, North Devon for three days, camping, making most of this beautiful, hot, unseasonable weather.  We took a trip to Lundy Island, got a bit carried away with seal spotting at the far end of the island, we (my OH and I) had to make a dash back to catch the boat back to the main land. 

Weatear at Lundy Island, a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

Wild ponies at Lundy Island

Wild ponies at Lundy Island, a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

Brown Hairstreak (female)

Brown Hairstreak (female), a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

We went to Alners Gorse, which is the Butterfly Conservation site. The main star attraction for me was the Brown Hairstreak, my first. This female sat and posed for us:) Saw a few Purple Hairstreaks, also my first. They are not easy to spot and get a good decent shot of them.

Brown Hairstreak (female)

Brown Hairstreak (female), a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

Brown Hairstreak (female)

Brown Hairstreak (female), a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

Silver Washed Fritillary

Silver Washed Fritillary , a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

A beautiful sunny day today, we went to Powerstock nature reserve for a walk and saw a few of these butterflies at the reserve.

Hummingbird Hawk moth on Viper's Bugloss

Hummingbird Hawk moth on Viper's Bugloss (3), a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

This was taken at Dancing Ledge, there was three of the lovely moths. So far I have seen four Hummingbird Hawk moths this year:)

Clouded Yellow butterfly

Clouded Yellow butterfly (2), a photo by Lynmiranda on Flickr.

This is the first time I have seen this butterfly. It is about the size of the Tortoiseshell butterfly and so easy to see when it flutters around.

The Beauty and The Beast

We went on our usual trip to the North, County Durham to stay for a week with my OH's father.  We visited the Teeside Nature Reserve, a very interesting area and gives me hope that nature, given the chance, can win.  The reserve is surrounded by very heavy industry including a nuclear powerstation, and plenty of wildlife are thriving in this area. It is worth a visit, the RSPB Saltholme nature reserve is also in this area, where you can get a nice cup of coffee:-) 

RSPB Saltholme Nature Reserve looking towards part of the heavy industry that surrounds the reserve.


Part of Teeside Nature Reserve with some of the heavy industry surrounding the reserve.


Beautiful orchids, there were loads of these orchids on the reserve, I am not sure what this orchid is.


A flock of Greylag Geese in front of Hartlepool Nuclear powerstation. 


Avocet in one of the lagoons on the Teeside Nature Reserve.  There were also Terns, they were too far away for me to get a good picture of them.


Common seals (I think) on the Tees estuary


A man walking his dog along the beach, walking towards some heaving industry belching out filthy smoke.


Common Blue butterfly, there were plenty of these butterflies on the reserves.