July 2023
10th July 2023 - (Monday, Hétfő)
I saw that a thunderstorm was expected this evening and so I made a short trip to the SQ to try to clear some of the road debris from the top irrigation channel. I was on-site from 2015 until 2030. It was strenuous work as the ground was very hard. Just after I started work, I disturbed two green bush-crickets and so, I fitted the long lens to my camera so that I could try to make some identification images. Looking through the camera, I suddenly realised that my 'bush-crickets' were actually baby Green Tree Frogs ! This means that we have been successful with the GTF breeding programme this year, due to our channel delivering the unexpected large amounts of rainwater. I had to use the manual focus setting as the auto focus couldn't find 'the babies' in the poor light conditions. Photo 2 shows the hard soil in the channel after clearance, and photo 3 shows the lush grassy area that the baby frogs were found in. As can be seen, the water coverage in The Bowl is receding, and we really could do with some more substantial rain. Having said that, this has been the best summer season for water life for several years. In recent years, The Bowl has been dry in June and July.
14th July 2023 - (Friday, Péntek)
All to be captioned. Odonata NOT photographed were: Emperor, Lesser Emperor (male), Broad-bodied Chaser (male and female), Clouded Yellow, and a Great Banded Grayling (?). One Fire-bellied Toad piping.