meantime , will have to make do with another species that does exactly the same usually , but 
today stayed around feeding on the peanuts , and a Greenfinch , having gorged itself once , was waiting to get back on the feeder for seconds .Lunchtime promised better to come , but by the time I reached Fackenden Down , the cloud had rolled in again , and a cool NW breeze was blowing along the slope , not good conditions for reptiles . And so it proved , with just two Slow Worms and two Common Lizards being recorded
on the site and in the surrounding area , one of the Common Lizards having lost it's tail at some time , and looking strange with two legs in the ring of it's body . Butterflies did just as badly , 
with just 6 recorded from 4 species . The only shot was this male Large White , nectaring on one of the few remaining Black Knapweed flowers still in flower . Birds recorded were mainly Corvids , with about 10 Magpies being the most numerous . I did see two Sparrowhawks that 
looked as if they were practising food exchanges , until a couple of the local Carrion Crows decided to have a go at them . They won that one , but were immediately set upon by 6 Magpies , and were obviously outnumbered and driven off , the Magpies seemed to cheer loudly as they went .Not much colour on the slope now , but standing out in patches are the fruits of the Wild
Privet , looking not unlike the fruits of the Buckthorn .Even the Grasshopper numbers have crashed , but I did find a female Dark Bush Cricket ,
identified by the ovipositor at the end of her abdomen . And finally , a green caterpillar , about 
4cms. long , with a yellow collar , that I thought would make it easy to identify . I've looked at pages and pages of images , but haven't ID'd it yet . Any ideas ?A big thank you to Steve/Kingsdowner , for his identification , Green Silver Lines , even down to the red anal prolegs . Cheers Steve .
sunshine , I set off around the reserve , and almost immediately found a Peacock butterfly , 
of that . From the legs back , it looked like a 
that was , was Goat's Rue-
was a very good crop of Rose Hips , that should satisfy the hunger of the Winter Thrushes , when they arrive . Butterflies were very few , with 8 specimens from 6 species being recorded . 
Most were ragged to say the least , but this Small Copper was very dapper indeed . 
within 15 
interest was a Forest Bug-
it was sealed at the top , I assume that she had already laid her eggs . Looking like a hot air balloon , and suspended by a 
of an over mature Common Darter , resting on Bracken , Difficult to say whether a male or female , as they both go a dark beige/brown colour at this time . Next stop was right on the road crossing on the Common , where I first saw a Wasp Spider egg sack , two years ago . An old sack was found , but nothing fresh , until I came across another female , and from the size of her , she 
had not yet laid her eggs , and having made her web across a small track , enabled a full on shot . Also in the shot is the 
the entrance . After a sort while , this enormous specimen , much bigger than any I have seen there , appeared at the entrance , I think it may be one of the future Queens , but cannot be sure . Shortly afterwards , the workers started taking an interest in me , so I backed off , in big strides . A little later , I spent quite some time trying to photograph a female Ichneumon type fly , without success , because she just would not keep still . Walking through the Heather on 
heathland area , I was surprised to disturb yet another Clouded Yellow . This must be my 14/16
find and identify , Small 
and Black 
found , a female , was egg laying as if there was no tomorrow , flitting from here to there , laying , then resting , before starting to lay again . She seemed not to notice me following her , and after several attempts , managed to get a shot of her in the act , the tip of her abdomen depositing 
next year's generation . I found several of the eggs after she had moved on , tiny little specks of white against the green leaf . Eventually she disappeared , probably having layed all her eggs , and hopefully to get a rest . The other species recorded were Speckled Wood , Meadow Brown , Large White and Comma . The rising temperature encouraged the Odonata to emerge . Just two 
species were recorded , 3 Migrant Hawkers , all males , one of them showing the damage 
inflicted when two males clash in mid air over territory , but it made no difference to his flying ability , as they were still squabbling , even though there wasn't a female present . The Common Darters were much much more numerous , with 35/50 recorded , and the majority were either mating or egg laying in tandem . One particular spot seemed to be very popular , as I found 
three pairs in 'the ring' , within 25 cms. of each other , top right , bottom left and just right 
Brown Hawker , and this male Southern Hawker , which gave me a good looking over , even attempting to snatch a yellow logo from my camera bag . I didn't go down to the bottom pond as tree surgeons were working down there , and the Mandarins would have made themselves scarce . Walking back to the car , what looked like a leaf , blowing on the ground , on closer 
inspection turned out to be a moth , lying on it's back , with a Common Wasp looking as if it was eating it . If it was , I know it happens in nature , but I like moths better than Wasps , so i flicked it off with a stick , and turned the moth over . It turned out to be a male , identified by the 
feathery antennae , but that is as far as I have got . But I do know a man who might be able to help !
him in my 'holding pot' , a plastic jar that I think held nuts and raisins originally , whilst we sorted things out . The light in the shot is natural sunlight , I never use flash on these animals . 
He had a good weight , and I 'posted' him back into his home , none the worse for wear . I was hoping to find some interesting fungi today , especially in the damper area where we found him , but very little was about . I did find one specimen of one the lower classes of fungi , 
class , but there are a few , like this 
this Hunting type Spider , sat on top , a female , carrying her egg sack with her . It wasn't till the second site that the only Adder , a female was found under 
pose for a few shots , she was sharing with two immature Grass Snakes . One shot off straight away , but the other stayed to be included in the shot . On this second site , we trebled our Dormouse numbers , when we found a female and a juvenile . The picture is of the juvenile , a 
male weighing in at just 6.5 grammes , he will need to feed up now to get a good hibernation weight . Under 
constant call from this juvenile Great Crested Grebe , hastened my decision to look for wildlife elsewhere . Two species of butterfly were recorded towards the end of the visit , when the sun appeared again , 6 Comma and 3 Small White .
Argus and a couple of Silver Y day flying moths . I had to lift a few tins , but only found 3 Slow 
Worms , a single Common Lizard and an immature , female Adder . More butterfly species were recorded , with Small Copper , Brimstone , Meadow Brown , Large White and Comma going into the book .
identified as 
heavy rain on Friday night . Several more Small Coppers were recorded , this one 
male Adder was found on this site . Taking both sites together , 11 species of butterfly and 4 Silver Y moths were , surprisingly recorded , 
Spider-Araneus diadematus , but a flash of yellow on one , had me taking a closer look . My near three year wait was over , it was a female Wasp Spider . The last time I saw an adult of the 
species , I had 10 females in two patches of Bramble at Spring Park Pond . I have found egg sacks , mainly when working on the Common during the Winter . Strange thing is thou , I have never found an egg sack that looked as if young had emerged from it , they have all looked as if they were still sealed , as the female would do . I had a good look around the area , but did not find any others , but I will keep an eye on this one , would be great to get her egg laying . Chuffed with the find , I headed off to check a previous find , the Hornet nest . All seemed quiet from a distance , but as I drew closer , that was not the case . Whereas on the last
visit , the entrance just looked like a hole in the moss and Heather roots , now the paper type material of the nest can be seen , extending right to the mouth of the entrance , and I would swear that the Hornets were even bigger than last time , four seen here , three heading out and 
one in . I had the feeling of being watched on the heathland area , the watcher turned out to be a cock Pheasant , and he was watching a female . No sign of Brimstones today , but the Buckthorn , 
on which the females laid their eggs and the caterpillars fed , are now looking Autumnal , and their berries turning black . On one of the Heather patches , I found a Common Lizard , one of 
three recorded on site , enjoying the sunshine . Just two butterflies were recorded on site , a 
Small White and this Comma .
cooler temperatures needed . Two species that I did find were Hypholoma sublateritium-
Brickcap and Calocera viscosa , both found on moss covered tree stumps . The only other interest found was this male Dark Bush-Cricket , identified by the saddle on the back and no 
ovipositor , which seemed to be having a Darcey Bussell moment .
