[joyfull]

saw this yesterday on the underside of a thistle 

[joyfull]

I think it is a tussock moth caterpillar.

[Snoop]

A huge emperor dragonfly with its head stuck through my pea mesh. It caught my attention due to the racket it was making with its wings.

Looked a bit intimidating even to me, so I took a tissue rather than use my bare fingers and pushed its head back the way it had come. Fortunately it worked and off it flew.

[JayG]

I suppose that South Lakes Safari Zoo which we visited on holiday last week only just qualifies as "nature watching", although unlike many zoos many of their animals are allowed to roam free around the park so you get up really close and personal with them! 

As this picture of my friend nearly losing her lunch to a ring-tailed lemur shows, they can get too up close and personal (I'd already lost half my lunch to a particularly persistent marmoset, which is also in the picture!  )

The irony is that there are signs everywhere telling you to not feed or touch the animals, particularly the lemurs - yeah, right! 

[Springlands]

Obviously the lemurs do not know how to read.  Lovely picture JayG.

[snowdrops]

I suppose that South Lakes Safari Zoo which we visited on holiday last week only just qualifies as "nature watching", although unlike many zoos many of their animals are allowed to roam free around the park so you get up really close and personal with them! 

As this picture of my friend nearly losing her lunch to a ring-tailed lemur shows, they can get too up close and personal (I'd already lost half my lunch to a particularly persistent marmoset, which is also in the picture!  )

The irony is that there are signs everywhere telling you to not feed or touch the animals, particularly the lemurs - yeah, right! 

Just as well they roam free or you'd have been locked up 

[JayG]

Just as well they roam free or you'd have been locked up 

Some of my fellow Orangutans are unfortunately quite used to being locked up  - I think at this particular zoo the 'option' if caught feeding the lemurs is being 'requested to leave'! One of the staff did witness the scene captured in the picture and suggested that we try to keep our food out of sight - he didn't offer any suggestions as to how to eat your sandwiches without taking them out of their plastic box though! 

What sanctions the lemurs and marmosets face for trying to steal visitors' food I've no idea (they possibly wouldn't want to leave either!  )

Only the ring-tailed lemurs have the freedom of the whole park - the other species are supposed to be confined in an area where they can intermingle and be fed sliced banana by visitors (at extra cost to the visitors!  ), although we saw several of the staff spending a fun but fruitless couple of hours trying to 'persuade' a black and white one down from the trees with a giant water pistol. 

[devonbarmygardener]

Just seen a hodgepog running around on the grass outside the front of my house!!
So cute!

[Springlands]

Rabbits, rabbits and more rabbits - it's like Watership Down here.

[Madame Cholet]

A swam of bees flew past me at close quaters this week.

[devonbarmygardener]

We keep getting swarms of bees at the hospital - we've had a 'bee man' in three times now to remove them.
Every summer night we get half a dozen plus bees flying in through the windows.

[Snoop]

Praying mantis sitting on the side of a black water butt early this morning, waiting for flies to come to warm themselves in the sun. Spiders and geckos have been known to lurk round the fly traps, catching the unwary. Good luck to them: the more flies they eat, the merrier I am.

[Springlands]

Watched a common seal in the sea this afternoon.

[mumofstig]

watched huge dragonflies at dusk - just before the storm came over - never seen such big ones before 

[Springlands]

Really annoyed this morning. Since I moved to this area 27 years ago I have never seen a hedgehog. I have seen signs of their poo in the garden and heard them snuffling about bot not actually seen on. Then this morning as OH and I were going out for a while I saw one which was obviously road kill. 

On the bright side lots of frogs in the greenhouse and in the garden - just hope that they are eating lots and lots of slugs.