100 Days of Nature: Days 29 to 33!

Day 29: A common striped woodlouse, Philoscia muscorum, in Great Ashby District Park, near Stevenage. This is the fourth photo taken on the same log. Unfortunately, the next day I discovered some people had had a party the night before, as there was evidence of a fire, and litter (and clothing) strewn around, and the log was gone - perhaps burnt - which is a real shame as I think ants and other creatures had been nesting inside it.

Day 30: Spearmint, Mentha spicata, in Great Ashby District Park, near Stevenage. I'd not seen this plant before this year, though I was aware of it. It smells amazing and is very popular with flies.

Day 31: A black slug, Arion ater, near Weston Hills, Baldock. This specimen is about 15cm long, probably the largest one I've ever seen.

Day 32: A seven-spot ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata, in Jersey Farm Woodland Park, Sandridge. My first beetle of the project. I've seen very few ladybirds this year.

Day 33: A garden snail, Cornu aspersum, in Sandridge. It was the wettest day of the project, with constant drizzle all day, but I braved the rain and found several active snails climbing the laburnum.

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.

Grass Vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia)

Grass Vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia), a photo by Peter aka anemoneprojectors on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I saw this Grass Vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia) in Shackledell Grassland, Stevenage, on 31 May 2013. I've done some volunteer work in Shackledell in the winter time, and had only heard about the wide range of flowers that grow there, so I decided to pay it a spring-time visit. This is a flower I'd never seen before, but I just thought it was one of the prettiest flowers I've ever seen. In fact, the pea family (Fabaceae), of which this is a member, is my favourite flower family.

Early Forget-me-not (Myosotis ramosissima)

Early Forget-me-not (Myosotis ramosissima)?, a photo by anemoneprojectors (through the backlog) on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I am sure that this is Early Forget-me-not (Myosotis ramosissima). I think Forget-me-nots can be tricky to identify unless you look at the right part of the plant, which I did not do, but I can go back and check. I thought the hairiness of this plant was quite distinctive anyway. I found this on 13 May 2013 in Six Hills Common, Stevenage, while undertaking my butterfly surveys for the council. I still haven't seen any butterflies on this site, but I'm putting that down to the current lack of larger flowers on the site—they will appear soon enough.

Field Pansy (Viola arvensis)

Field Pansy (Viola arvensis), a photo by anemoneprojectors (through the backlog) on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I think the Field Pansy (Viola arvensis) is one of the prettiest flowers I've seen. I first saw one in 2011, and was amazed at how small it was and how delicate it looked. But I knew straight away what it was, because I'd seen pictures in my books. I saw this one on 6 May 2013.