I wasn't that disappointed to learn that Ham Lands is not a land of ham, but a very pleasant area of open flowery, scrubby grassland in south-west London, right by the Thames near Teddington. I went there for a walk with Susan and Paula on Sunday, and took the D700 and the BigMac lens. It was warm and still, and mostly cloudy but with a bit of sun now and then.
We were mainly there to chase butterflies. There were a few Peacocks and a lot of what are now known as 'bastard whites' - unIDed Pieridae which wouldn't settle. One that did was a Green-veined. There were also Orange-tips about. I got no butterfly pics at all, so instead I offer assorted flowers and inverts.
Common Vetch. They were - you know, common.
Wherever grassland met scrubland there was a thick belt of Cow Parsley.
Ribwort Plantain. I didn't flip the pic, it was growing sideways. I appreciated having the extra low-light capability of the D700 compared to the D300, but the full-frame sensor meant it was more difficult to isolate my subject.
Ox-eye Daisy and White Crab Spider, which has caught some hapless little flower-visiting insect.
I had no clue what this fabulous little green critter was when I photographed it. Think I have nailed the ID now as the sawfly
Rhogogaster viridis.
We found a random area of
Phragmites and I eagerly dived in to look for Odonata, but the reeds seemed to be growing out of dry ground. No Odos at all but several of these dainty green-eyed lacewings, which I have IDed as
Chrysopa perla.
While there were no photo-friendly butterflies for me (though Susan had more luck and got some crackers of a posing Peacock), we did meet a couple of day-flying moths. This tiny beauty is Small Yellow Underwing.
And a more familiar old friend, a corking Cinnabar.
Regular readers will know that I like to throw in the odd non-wild creature, so I'll finish today with a pic of Clive, Susan and Paula's gorgeous mini-schnauzer, fetching a stick from the Thames :)
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