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Palmate Newt

Macro

Quick Job update for those that might want to know. My new Job at Aden Productions is so far going really well. I've never had so much pride for a Job before. I've met great people so far, and experienced some unforgettable wildlife events that will stick with me for a life time. 

While I still very much so specialise in Birds, this year I'm making use of a new Macro Lens to help me learn more about Uk's invertebrate and flora. As a naturalist, there's always something new to learn and I'm certainly not stopping at just birds. If I do post a pic up of an insect or plant that I've wrongly identified, please tell me as I'm going to put myself out on a limb and try and work some out for myself without exploiting my friends knowledge too much. I feel this is going to be the best way to learn. Taking pictures is a great way to learn, and for me, absolutely crucial. 

Also, if anyone can recommend any field ID books for Bee's, Wasps, Spiders & Moths, I'd appreciate it! My books are far from complete records as I can't seem to find any of these subjects I've taken so far. The Solitary Bee is probably a common species as I had lots of them in my Garden but despite this, I can't seem to find it in any of my wildlife books. The Green Orb-weaver is apparently a difficult one to ID without capturing it so I'll leave that one. You'll notice amongst the photos is a cool looking melanistic Common Lizard! First time for everything. 

Tirpentwys Nature Reserve

If you're lucky to get a space in the now downsized car park, this Nature reserve is well worth a visit. When not used as a pick up point for downhill bikers - (who've created a huge downhill course on the north facing mountain side) - it's quite a peaceful site, rich in flora and fauna. The Common Lizards were showing really well in the closed section of the Car Park in the walls, but you do have to be slow approaching and patient, for they always see you before you see them. Further up the valley the Migrant, Southern and Common Hawkers were putting on a decent show, with lots of newly emerged Palmate Newts exploring their surroundings, possible eyeing up any winter hibernation spots as the colder weather is approaches. 

Despite the breeze, Butterflies were showing well also with Common Blue, Essex Skipper and about 30 Small Coppers (The most I've ever seen). So many that they were squabbling over available flowers. 

Something I wasn't so impressed with was the worrying amounts of Himalayan Balsam. An invasive plant that is spreading like wild fire through our countryside and isn't very easy to get rid of. Our native bees pollenate them rapidly which sounds good but this actually is a bad thing because it detracts the bees from pollenating our native flowers. Between that and the incredible seed dispersing mechanism that the plants have, I can see us having real issues in the future if this isn't dealt with soon.