Autumn Colours

We no longer have the magnificent Ardnamurchan views we lived with for twenty-one years but Suffolk does its best to impress. This was the sunset seen from our back garden a few days ago.

The hedgerows too are at their most colourful with masses of berries, and the fruit trees are laden. We've had to prop up one branch of the pear tree in our allotment and the crabapple at the front of the house is so heavy with fruit that one of its branches has broken, which is a shame as, last winter, its fruit attracted fieldfares and redwings.

Whites and spotted woods are the most common butterflies at this season but we've seen red admirals, peacocks, blues, a small copper, and commas (above). While some butterflies are abundant, it does seem as if the range of species has reduced: we've not seen a single clouded yellow.

I'm now finding the local dragon- and damselflies increasingly interesting, as well as surprisingly abundant. Almost without exception they are difficult to identify with any certainty, and then only if I manage a photograph. For some time I thought this was the relatively common Emerald Damselfly but I now think it may be a much more unusual Willow Emerald. They're the devil to photograph because they're so insubstantial that the automatic focus can't find them.

This is the fearsome Southern Hawker, a large dragonfly which can be quite aggressive even towards a passing human. He's a fine hunter but I do wish he wouldn't snack on the local damselflies particularly as I suspect that his meal is a Willow Emerald.