Managed to save this guy from getting eaten by the dog

Pterostichus nigrita

Bugs and birds

Not been out much lately to take photos due to suffering from hay fever which is leaving me tired amongst other things. Anyway ventured into the garden today to snap a few shots of the local birds. Also got some shots of various insects whilst trying out my macro lens

Greenfinch

Juv. Goldfinch - I have never seen a juvenile Goldfinch before so this was a real treat to see how much they change from baby to adult. You can just see a glimpse of the beauty he will become by the tail.

Heres a shot of the amazing sunset we had on the midsummers day.

Mosquito - Found this little guy on my shed hanging upside down so I flipped the image.

Hover fly in flight - not a very good shot tbh but was my first attempt
Hover fly drinking nectar
Red mite - not sure what species it is and the blue background is a compost bag

Ant

Woorgreen Lake

Mandarin DucklingHouse Martin

Cuckoo Spit - Froghopper eggs
Common Blue - P.icarus
Broad Bodied Chaser
Common Blue Damselfly

Female Houses sparrow dust bathing

Fledgling Blue tit

Blackbird Bathing with Goldfinches

Nagshead Nature Reserve

Took a trip to Nagshead today. It was very hot and as a consequence there wasn't much about. I did take quite a few photos and had a first. A Pied Flycatcher landed on a branch about 20feet away from me, I wasn't quick enough to get a shot but, maybe next time.

Blue Tit

Song Thrush

A very sick rabbit, I felt very sorry for it as it was looking rather worse for wear. I'm guessing he had myxomatosis, by the look of his face. I still cannot believe that this virus was introduced, even though the rabbit population may be out of control its till not a nice way to die.

Great Tit

I am unsure if this is still a great tit or whether its a coal/marsh tit.

Great Tit

Some kind of Weavil?

A shield bug

I was out early this morning. Set out towards my local lake where I saw these Coots posturing

It soon turned into an all out brawl

At one point a juvenile got involved, ganging up on the other

I met this guy who was very vocal and did a perfect pose in a tree for me, I took a couple of shots but as it was dark in the wood they came out blurry. I tried to set my tripod up but by the time I had he'd moved, I managed to get some shots though they weren't the ones I wanted.

Mallard ducks had congregated on the banks of the lake, warming up in the early morning sunshine

These guys took flight when a fisherman walked behind them

Thought the early morning dew on this cobweb was pretty cool, so tried out my macro lens. You have to click on it and enlarge it to get the best view