Otters

Went to the Barnes Wetland Centre today. Excellent fun. Many, MANY ducks of various shapes and sizes. And three very cheeky otters.

Shiny

Went pond dipping in the sunshine. What better way to spend an afternoon. 

Especially if you've got the help of some boys who don't mind putting their hands 

into water you can't see the bottom of. 

The Wasp's Nest

Small and perfectly formed, unfortunately not in the right place, so we had to remove it. Hard to photograph - but you can just make out the start of the honeycomb shaped structure on the inside. Incredibly light, it's made of chewed up garden furniture. 

The Bee-fly

The Bee-fly (Bombylius major).  

Black and Blue

Striking blue sky and the fierce pale blue-grey of the bird's eye. He was a long way up on an old tree, but still keeping a careful watch on the ground.

Perfection

The Magpie's nest

I found some magpies building what looked like an extremely uncomfortable nest in a hawthorn tree.

 One of the birds was intent on ripping twigs of surrounding hawthorn trees rather than picking up sticks from the ground. He found it a bit of a struggle and had to try quite a few branches before he found one he could snap off.