Oldt1mer - Keith's photos with the keyword: Eye

The Reed Bunting – Emberiza schoeniclus – is a sparrow sized little bird but slimmer and with a deeply notched tail. The male has a black head which is streaked with white in winter, a white collar and a drooping white moustache whilst the female is streaky brown all over. Found near wetlands with reed beds and scattered bushes they feed on seeds and invertebrates, often invading farmland in winter to feed on seeds. Seen at Pennington Flash. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This sleepy looking Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea - was in fact stood on an island in one of the lakes at Pennington Flash having a snooze in the sunshine but kept waking up to have a quick look round then back to sleep again. The Grey Heron stands up to 1 mtr tall with a wingspan of up to 2 mtrs and eats lots of fish but will also take small birds such as Ducklings and other baby water fowl, voles, frogs and other amphibians, and even rodents which they will search for in fields. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The Common Carder Bee - Bombus pascuorum - is a species of Bumblebee which can be found in most of Europe. They feed on a variety of wild flowers including Knapweed, Nettles, Motherwort, clovers and the Himalayan Balsam which this one can be seen exiting. Himalayan Balsam - Impatiens glandulifera - is actually a variety of the Busy Lizzie but can grow to over six feet high. Introduced as an exotic garden flower they quickly spread and can now be found almost everywhere especially by or near water. Each plant can produce up to 800 seeds which are spread by seed pods which open explosively when ripe and dispersed up to 7m (22ft) away. It is considered an invasive weed. Bees and insects love them because they produce large amounts of nectar. Seen at Pennington Flash, Leigh, Lancashire. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

I think I've said everything about the lovely Robin in previous posts I've made so if you need to know anything, just have a look at them. This one was seen at Pennington Flash, Leigh, Lancashire.

This beautiful little creature is a Banded Demoiselle - Calopteryx splendens - which is a species of Damselfly to be seen flitting around the vegetation near slow running water like streams, rivers and canals and lakes where there is plenty of mud. It is interesting that they are very sensitive to pollution so are a good indication of water quality. This is a male, determined by the black patch on the wing whereas the female has a pale green translucent wing with a small white patch near the tip. They feed on insects which are caught on the wing. This one was seen resting in a reed bed, on the outskirts of Martin Mere Wetlands, Burscough, Lancashire. The out of focus patch of yellow you see is the flower of a yellow Iris which loves to grow in damp and wet soil on the edges of waterways etc. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The Green-Veined White - Pieris napi - is a common butterfly in Britain which can be found in hedgerows, damp meadows, and near ditches, river banks, lakes and ponds, in fact any area which is damp with good vegetation. The 'green veins' (there are great variations in this from green to black) which you can see on the underside of the adults wings are, in fact, an illusion created by a subtle combination of yellow and black scales, this does help us to distinguish it from its cousin the Small White for which it is often mistaken. This one was seen at Pennington Flash, Leigh, Lancashire. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The lovely and very clever Comma - Polygonia c-album - butterfly is also commonly referred to as an 'Anglewing' butterfly because of the angular notches on the edges of the forewing. Clever because, to reduce predation, the larvae mimics a bird dropping whilst the adult, when its wings are folded, looks like a fallen leaf. Common in Europe, North Africa and Asia there are several subspecies and all are strong fliers. This one was seen at Three Sisters, Wigan. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The beautifully marked Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos major - is resident across Eurasia from the UK to Japan and will inhabit any area which is not too cold or dry to have woodland habitat. It eats mainly insects and larvae and will happily visit safe feeders for nuts, seeds and suet (as can be seen here). They will also eat carrion occasionally and will raid the nests of other birds for their eggs and even chicks. This one was seen at Pennington Flash. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.