After a Deluge

One thing almost guaranteed after a heavy downpour/storm is good clear lighting conditions.  This week’s heavy showers have often been followed by sunshine and bright light.  I took advantage of this to watch the butterflies on the Buddleia.  The quickly growing Buddleia in both front and back gardens, if not entirely giving ‘nature a home’, does encourages visits from a wide variety of insects.  This week alone I’ve noted the following butterfly species often in numbers on the Buddleia, or at least passing through the garden……….Small White, Large White, Green Veined White, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma, Speckled Wood and Holly Blue.

After one downpour I took the chance to photograph one of the pristine Peacock Butterflies.  I remember that Rob de Jong, expert lepidopterist who we stayed with in Hungary said that his favourite butterfly was the Peacock, and it is easy to see why this should be the case.

Peacock Butterfly

 

There was plenty of insect life in action after the rain and I watched a spider building a web.  Unfortunately such was its speed of movement it was nearby impossible to photograph in action, although I did try, with very mixed results.  I’m happy though that I can still get excited and enjoy the wildlife in my pocket sized garden despite the attention paid to it by the neighbour’s devil cats.  We all quite rightly get very angry and active when it comes to the destruction of our raptors and /or migrant birds (well, perhaps not active in many cases, but you know what I mean), but it seems to me that the slaughter across the country of our wildlife by domestic cats is often just accepted as one of those things.  Whilst I know some owners take action to try and control this, I would suggest that the vast majority don’t.  Just a thought. 

Whilst not my best side, my reflection can be seen quite clearly in the rain droplets

A spider begins work on a new web.

And the pace soon quickened.

   Happily the Blackcaps that nested in or very near to the garden his year, appear to have survived and now moved on.  Blackcap song and garden visits have been quite regular this spring and summer.

Seeing eye to eye.