Oldt1mer - Keith's photos with the keyword: Orange

This fine pair of Oystercatchers – Haematopus ostralegus – had just been mating when I took this shot. The Oystercatcher, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, the Palaearctic Oystercatcher or simply the Oystercatcher, does not eat many oysters preferring cockles, mussels, earthworms etc. probably because they are more available than oysters. Seen at Martin Mere, a picture of them starting to mate can be seen a bit earlier in my photostream. 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 Cinnabar Moth – Tyria jacobaeae – is a small black and red moth which is dependant on the Common Ragwort to survive. This is because it lays its eggs on the lower leaves of the plant and when the caterpillars emerge they eat their way up the plant to the top as you can see here. Poison from the plant helps to protect them from predators as it does the adult moth which can cause a rash if handled. The caterpillars, when mature, leave the plant to spin cocoons in the earth in which they hibernate before emerging in spring/summer as fully grown moths. These were seen at Martin Mere. 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 is the male Northern Shoveler – Spatula clypeata – in its breeding/winter colours. Originally classed as Anas clypeata, a study of DNA sequences caused it to be moved into the Spatula genus. It feeds on aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans and plankton by swinging its bill from side to side and filtering the food through small comb like structures on the edge of its bill. 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.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus – is also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, the Palaearctic Oystercatcher or just the Oystercatcher. Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet, preferring molluscs such as cockles and mussels where available and earthworms and insect larvae when inland but this does change depending on location. It is the national bird of the Faroe Islands. This pair had just flown in, pecked around for a minute then the male decided that he would like a family and went straight to the female and hopped on board. This shot was just before he settled down to business and was taken at Martin Mere Wetlands. I do have further shots of the procedure but I liked this one the best. 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 is the amazing little Yellow Ophion - Ophion scutellaris - an Ichneumon Wasp which emerges early in the spring to find moth or butterfly caterpillars in which to lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will eat the caterpillar from the inside. Adults feed on nectar and pollen. They have no sting but if threatened they will poke with their ovipositor, (which they use to inject eggs), which can cause some discomfort. I have read that this species is nocturnal but I saw this one mid afternoon so it is possibly an early riser ;-) Not the best photo I know but I glimpsed movement, saw the insect, as it landed I grabbed a quick shot and off it went further into the greenery. Seen at Martin Mere Wetlands. 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 is the beautiful Spotted Forest Skink - Sphenomorphus maculatus - also known as the Stream Side Skink or the Maculated Forest Skink, which is commonly found in South and Southeast Asia. Normally nocturnal, it lives in wooded and forested areas near streams and small rivers in lowland and hilly areas, foraging among rocks and vegetation close to the waters edge where it feeds on small insects and invertebrates. This one, however, was seen happily sitting on a rock, in the afternoon, by the side of the footpath through a forest leading to Little Sandy Beach (or Little White Sandy Beach) in Khaolak, Thailand. 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.