100 Days of Nature: Days 1 to 28!

28 days ago, @BBCSpringwatch on Twitter set the challenge of photographing nature for 100 days. So I decided to take up the challenge. After 28 days, it occured to me that I should be placing these photos on my blog. So here they come.

Day 1: A hoverfly, Volucella bombylans, that mimics a bumblebee. This is the first time I've seen this species. It was on a Buddleja bush near my home in Stevenage.

Day 2: A juvenile Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, on the bird feeder in my front garden.

Day 3: A Lesser Water Boatman, Corixa punctata, in a pond at Heartwood Forest, Sandridge.

Day 4: A Beech, Fagus sylvatica, near Nettleden, Hertfordshire.

Day 5: A Wood Avens, Geum urbanum, in my front garden.

Day 6: A Common Blue Damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum, at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage.

Day 7: A Riband Wave, Idaea aversata, in my house.

Day 8: A Wild Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum, at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage.

Day 9: A fungus on an English Oak, at Gunnels Wood, Stevenage.

Day 10: A Comma, Polygonia c-album, at St Leonard's Church, Sandridge.

Day 11: A Great Mullein, Verbascum thapsus, near Luton Airport.

Day 12: Greenbottles, Lucilia sp., at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage.

Day 13: A Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia, at Six Hills Common, Stevenage.

Day 14: A White-lipped Snail, Cepaea hortensis, at Great Ashby District Park, near Stevenage.

Day 15: A Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage.

Day 16: A bug at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage.

Day 17: Hawthorn berries, Crataegus monogyna, near Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire.

Day 18: Sawfly larvae, in Sandridge, Hertfordshire.

Day 19: A grasshopper, at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage.

Day 20: A Pill Woodlouse, Armadillidium vulgare, at Great Ashby District Park, near Stevenage. My first ever photo of a crustacean.

Day 21: A moth at Great Ashby District Park, near Stevenage.

Day 22: A female Wood Duck, Aix sponsa, at Barclay Park, Hoddesdon. The first time I've seen this bird.

Day 23: A male tachinind fly, Phasia hemiptera, at Great Ashby District Park, near Stevenage. Another first for me.

Day 24: A Damson, Prunus domestica subsp. insititia, near Rushden.

Day 25: A Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria, at Jersey Farm, Sandridge.

Day 26: A Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae, near my home in Stevenage.

Day 27: A small earthworm at Great Ashby District Park, near Stevenage.

Day 28: A bug, Corizus hyoscyami, at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage.

Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

Jay (Garrulus glandarius), a photo by Peter aka anemoneprojectors on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I was photographing some Speedwells in District Park, Great Ashby, Hertfordshire, on 26 May 2013, when I got up to look at a Scorpion Fly. As I stood up, I saw this Jay (Garrulus glandarius) and then spent a good six minutes photographing it. I was so pleased to get a shot of a Jay because I think they tend to be quite shy. My book says they're "wary" and they are more often heard than seen. I was surprised by how close I could get.

Peacock (Inachis io)

Peacock (Inachis io) ×2, a photo by anemoneprojectors (through the backlog) on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
These two Peacocks (Inachis io) were seen by me in District Park, Great Ashby, Hertfordshire, on 2 May 2013. One was chasing the other quite a lot and for a lot of the time they were just settled together like this. One seems well past its best and I actually wondered if it was making an attempt to mate before it dies, but it turns out they are probably both males and were being territorial.

Muntjac Deer (Muntiacus reevesi)

Muntjac Deer (Muntiacus reevesi), a photo by anemoneprojectors (through the backlog) on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I spotted this Muntjac Deer (Muntiacus reevesi) on 3 May 2013. It was a big surprise because it was on a bridleway in a mostly built-up area, with houses on one side and industrial units on the other, just a bunch of trees and wild flowers on either side of the bridleway. I turned a corner onto the bridleway and it was standing there. It looked at me and stayed still, while I did the same and slowly got my camera. I was able to get this shot and one other before it casually walked into the trees and out of view.