I see you...

Another hectic but fun day. Pete and I took the dogs out to Castor Hanglands this morning to see the display of marsh orchids. There are thousands of them and they look spectacular - but not so good through the camera. The eye takes in the whole view, whilst the camera only captures a small area and the orchids are not sufficiently dense in any one place to make a visual impact.

We heard a red kite calling, and later saw the pair wheeling around above the ash trees, though, as usual, I wasn't really prepared for them. But when Pete spotted this common lizard basking on a leaf, I actually had the appropriate lens on and by approaching very slowly and gently I managed to get a series of shots.

It definitely knew I was there, but tolerated me as long as I stayed about 1.5m away and didn't make any sudden movements. Rosie nearly frightened it away, but luckily we managed to distract her in time! The original photo had the whole lizard, but the tail was partially obscured by foliage and I decided that this crop provided more detail of its beady eye and amazing feet.

This afternoon Pete and I led a Bug Hunt at King's Dyke Nature reserve. There was a really good turn out, and lots of enthusiastic children and parents had an enjoyable two hours sweep netting and pond dipping. We recorded well over a hundred species of insect - it probably would have been more if there hadn't been a strong wind. I also saw the first bee-orchids of the year.

The week ahead's going to be super busy, with three days out surveying hay meadows and two more exam trips to Cambridge, this time with Ben. I'm afraid comments may almost grind to a halt!