Having been to soil hill in the morning I decided to head off towards to Oats Royd this afternoon to explore what is a very different habitat. Once more the first thing I saw was a scorpion fly, which are really nice insects to look at. I really wanted a photo of one showing its "scorpion" tail, but so far none have been willing to sit right.
-Scorpion fly
Once more the most numerous birds not wildfowl in the reserve were the willow warblers, which today I only saw a few. There was also the family of moorhens, Canada geese and mallard, plus a great tit.
-Willow warbler
There were once more numerous damselflies of the common blue, blue tailed and large red, all once more looking rather splendid. There were though fewer exuvia, and still the monster that came out of the dragonfly exuvia I found has still not appeared.
-Large red damselfly
The most curious thing I spotted today was this remarkable spider. When I first saw it I had no idea what it was and thought it might be an elaborate seed, or a curious insect with its heat stuck in something. It is very colourful, but everything about it seems bizarre. I have never seen a spider like it.
-Unusual Spider
I was walking along the track back home when passing a thistle I thought I saw a small clump of dead plant matter pinned to it, and something as I passed it compelled me to have another look at it. It is just as well as it was not a clump of dead material as described above, but a wonderful moth. I have had my dad's book out and believe that it is a Beautiful Golden Y moth, which would be a first for me, but I can not be 100%. Either way it was lovely to see and adds to the appeal that this site has.
-Moth (Beautiful Golden Y?)
