Monday 28 September 2009

Ichneumon wasp

This rather splendid Ichneumon wasp (Pimpla sp) was on our new patio doors

The oviposter is used to lay an egg onto a grub, which is then consumed when the egg hatches. Which may explan it's scientific name 'persuasive burglar'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/3033.shtml
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As always, ID thanks to wild about britain forum - response in a record 60 seconds.

Thursday 24 September 2009

Muntjac

When I started this blog, I set out to photograph three animals:

1. A water vole - As seen in most of the posts on this blog
2. A kingfisher - something I have failed to do this year, all pictures have been utterly miserable.
3. A muntjac deer - And at last I got a picture
Unfortunately, due to a combination of poor light and even poorer photography skills, the picture is rather poor. But as it's only the fifth one I've seen in Abingdon in three years I thought I would stick it on the blog.

Wednesday 9 September 2009

More shrew

I'm not sure if it is the same water shrew (but it is in the same area and I understand they are territorial), but today provided another opportunity to watch it.
This time I took a short film, which shows how fast they can move


Friday 4 September 2009

Water shrew

I've been watching this water shrew swimming in Radley Brook during my lunch breaks for the past week and today was fortunate to get a decent picture.