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.

Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata)

Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata), a photo by Peter aka anemoneprojectors on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
This Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata) was in my house (possibly in my bathroom) on 21 August 2013. I rescued it and it landed on a plant in the garden, giving me time to fetch my camera and take photos in the daylight.

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.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), Large White (Pieris brassicae) and Green-veined White (Pieris napi)

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), a photo by Peter aka anemoneprojectors on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
This year I signed up to survey butterflies at two sites in Stevenage for the local council and the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust. These butterflies were seen on one of my sites on 25 May 2013. Above is the Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), which flew into trees where I was able to get this shot.

Here is a Large White (Pieris brassicae) that was feeding on some Hawthorn. I was able to get closer to this one.


And this one is the Green-veined White (Pieris napi).

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), a photo by anemoneprojectors (through the backlog) on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I've had a Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) visiting my garden since February 2013 (at least that's the first time I ever saw it), and it has become a semi-regular visitor. On 16 May 2013, this one was spreading its wings on the fence and also when I saw it on the ground. Someone on Twitter suggested it might be a juvenile.

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.

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.