Late summer scenes…

It was nice and cool overnight with clear skies and calm winds, so most of the big fields were covered by thick blankets of fog this morning, and I couldn’t even see the water where I spotted the flock of spoonbills last weekend, so I had to make do, instead, with what I could find closer to the path.

I saw at least four bouquets of pheasants, and this trio was definitely the boldest.

The others, such as this hen, kept closer to the ground.

This one looks like a young male starting to show red on the side of his face

The morning sun soon warmed things up, however, so the bugs come out, and here’s another map butterfly, looking nice and fresh this time.

It only opened its wings just a bit and for just a moment, so don’t blink.

Here’s a new dragonfly for us, and it looks like a ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum).

Here’s a brand new butterfly for us, a diminutive and shiny small copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Like the map above, it was also shy but did offer a brief glimpse of its dorsal side.

Finally, back to the birds, here’s another European robin granting us a rare audience.

And that’s it, until tomorrow.