Having a butterfly ball

It’s mid July and the strangest of phenomenons has befallen us all, a mini heatwave in the UK. People have gone from moaning about the overlong and severe winter to moaning about the heat and an inability to sleep at night.

I moan too. I moan about the lack of birds about at this time. Sure if you’re in the right place, crowds of waders or seabirds can produce incredible scenes but on my local level, things are pretty quiet. It used to fascinate me when I saw birders turning to the world of butterflies, moths and dragonflies to get their kicks. I didn’t really get it. I tried a few times to get excited by spotting and naming butterflies and moths but the thrill was always short lived.

But I’ve changed. The reason for this is fairly simple and quite obvious (to me). Photography. Just seeing and noting down these creatures wouldn’t be enough for me. I get a kick out of shooting a butterfly as they are so delicate and beautiful and people go Wow! when I show them. But more importantly, this also helps me ID the critter as I’m just below hopeless when it comes to knowing what’s what. And with ID comes understanding and with understanding comes knowledge and ultimately care. So now I care. This new found love will make me care about the habitat for these chaps and help me do something about improving it. Just the plants we put in the garden will do this but don’t ask me which as I haven’t got that far yet.
Speckled Wood
When it comes to habitat, I’m very lucky. I live close to Epping Forest and the Lee Valley Park. I know the Lee Valley Park well and in particular an area known as Cornmill Meadows which is a designated Dragonfly sanctuary


As the sun got up, the temperature rose rapidly. Perfect conditions for the world of bugs to come to life. I had no idea what I was seeing and I would liken it to birdwatching abroad when you see exotic birds and have to ID them 'after the event'. I have also discovered my macro setting on my bog standard digital camera. Bloody useful for these assignments I can tell you.

Banded Demoiselle (male)
Broad-bodied Chaser

Common Blue Damselfly
Ringlet
Large Skipper
Comma
And the closer you get to nature, the closer it will come to you!

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