Common nature and a rare beetle

[spiralsheep]

Probably Selatosomus aeneus, a rare-ish "click" beetle in metallic turquoise and blue armour.



Holly flowers and bee bum. This is how holly berries happen.



Bluebells and copper beech.



Bracken frond unfurling.



Mallard duck and ducklings.

Comments

[clare_dragonfly]

Lovely photos! And so many ducklings!

[spiralsheep]

Thank you! The photos are an accumulation over a couple of weeks. I think the mallard ducks are running some sort of creche system (I know starlings do this) so those TEN ducklings might be from more than one brood of a similar age.

[redsixwing]

Bee bum!

Bees are the best.

Wow. That's a really coppery copper! Do they stay that color?

Sooo many ducklings!
I think I remember reading that mallards share parenting duties. (I hope so, or there's a very busy mallard hen around here.)

[spiralsheep]

Bee-bum do-bee-do-bee-do bee-bum! /jazz bumble bee

Bees are essential. Without bees we are nothing. :-)

The copper beech leaves begin copper and translucent in spring but, like green beeches, they soon darken and become opaque. In summer they're a magnificent dark shiny red-purple colour like this:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Copper_Beech_Trees_on_Dick%27s_Lane_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2091034.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rape_Field_with_Copper_Beech_tree.JPG

And then they change again for autumn. Stunning. I love the yellow/ emerald/ dark green/ orange/ brown cycle of green beeches too though.

I think that's a mallard creche, yes, with ALL THE DUCKLINGS! :-)

[redsixwing]

Thanks for the photos! Those beeches are really spectacular.

[spiralsheep]

You're welcome. They rly stand out in a landscape of summer green.

[phoenixfire12]

The Bracken frond looks like a cluster of cute fuzzy little caterpillars. :D

[spiralsheep]

I'll never unsee that image now! :-)

[phoenixfire12]

At least it's an image that won't haunt you and scar you for life... unless you have a phobia about caterpillars that is.