Small Heath.

One of our smallest and an inconspicuous butterfly is the Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) which always settles with its wings closed.

Linking to:
Macro Monday 2
 

Orthetrum coerulescens.

ISO 400: f/10: 1/200 @ 200mm

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens). Images of both a male (above) and female (below) taken during a visit to Thursley Common last month. [Both shot handheld with 70-300mm lens plus 1.4x converter and cropped.]

ISO 200: f/10: 1/320 @ 280mm

You can view more images of this species on my main blog, Wildlife Watching with FAB.

Linking to:
Macro Monday 2
Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) @ image-in-ing

Tenacity.

An overcast and windy morning today so definitely not ideal conditions for seeking out any wildlife around the margins of a local grassy meadow that I discovered on arrival had been mowed a few hours earlier! Unperturbed I wandered until a small blue flutter dropped into the vegetation to ride out the gusty conditions.

A quick search revealed this male Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) gripping on tightly to the dried seed pods of a grass stem. I was amazed at the tenacity of this tiny, flimsy butterfly, as the wind blew the stem and its rider in all directions, often bending to within inches of ground level, thereby posing the 'watcher' with a few challenges including keeping the subject in focus.

  

Both images taken handheld with the 70-300mm lens plus 1.4x converter [ISO 400; f/11: 1/320-1/500 @ 330 & 420mm respectively].

Linking to:

Nature Notes hosted by Michelle:

Through My Lens, a new meme hosted by Mersad.