Dinosaurs and Silver-Washed Fritillaries - a Gamlingay Safari

Our first walk in Gamlingay Woods for a couple of months. We were surprised to find a baby dinosaur in residence, but delighted that there is already a good population of Silver-Washed Fritillaries emerged with the promise of many more to come. Lots of other butterfly species including a Marbled White in the meadow that I never managed to capture. 

 

 

 

Gamlingay Wood Carpetted with Fungi

Gamlingay Woods are so full of fungi at the moment that it is difficult to know which ones to choose to photograph. Here a selection taken with a tilt and shift lens.

Other Insects from Gamlingay Wood

Sugley Wood (adjacent to Gamlingay Wood) was acquired by the Wildlife Trust in 2002 and now has a selection of small trees, trees and meadows. Lots of insect life there including Roessel's Cricket, Gate Keeper, all three species of Skipper and a resting Brown Hawker.

 

In the Spotlight, Gamlingay Woods

A group of CCC members explored Gamlingay Woods yesterday on a very warm and contrasty morning. Our target, the Silver Washed Fritillary, was flying in fair numbers but didn't very often perch for us. However, there were plenty of other butterflies to keep our cameras active, including many Large Whites, and several Peacocks and Brimstones all looking fantastic in the shafts of sunlight. My particular project was to capture butterflies in flight using the Precapture mode on the camera. Limited success as the butterflies quickly moved out of frame. Second post will show some of the other species captured by our cameras. 

Bluebells at Gamlingay Wood

We visited Gamlingay Wood on Friday afternoon (April 19th) and found the display of bluebells just about at its best. For the nature diary, recorded first Red Damselfly (seen in Toft garden on April 22nd) - very early as expected with current hot spell.