An Enchanted Place

There were lots of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) flitting back and forth on the tree at the edge of the meadow that holds the peanut feeder while I was sitting on a nearby bench on day 112 of 365 Days Wild. I tried to creep a little closer in order to take some pictures, but only one was brave enough to stay in place to let me get a few shots. In the end I left them in peace to enjoy their nuts.

It’s times like this that I feel like I ought to start taking my DSLR camera, with its long lens, out with me again. My phone might be much easier – and lighter – to deal with, but the quality of picture is massively reduced. I have to be practically on top of the subject to get a decent picture. This isn’t a problem with most insects, but for birds and other types of wildlife, it does tend to be.

The blue tits weren’t the only creatures to catch my attention whilst I was out and about. This Small White butterfly (Pieris rapae) landed on some brambles, that were amazingly still in flower, just as I walked past.

There were also a number of grasshoppers about in the meadow. With the growth now much shorter, it was much harder to get close enough for a photograph without disturbing them than it was earlier in the year. This was the only picture that I managed to get before this one sprang away.

That’s all for today. Have you had any wildlife encounters whilst out and about recently?