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David

Butterflies on hemp agrimony flowers

Butterflies on hemp agrimony flowers

The same patch of vegetation overhanging the Exe at Exeter which has already featured in two recent posts for insects it had attracted. Among the other plants, hemp agrimony was flowering, with the flowers attracting three different butterfly species which I could picture without needing to move.

There was a red admiral, a small copper and a hedge brown.

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David

Cormorants resting, Exeter

Cormorants resting, Exeter

Cormorants resting on the buoys marking a weir just downstream of the Quay at Exeter. In the summer, there’s just a handful of them, probably young birds.

Come winter, the same perches are crowded, as can be seen by the markers the birds leave behind.

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David

Comma resting on leaves, Exeter

Comma resting on leaves, Exeter

A comma butterfly which found a resting place on the same patch of riverside leaves by the Exe as the damselflies featured a couple of days ago.

Comma resting on leaves, Exeter
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David

Two bird families on the Exe – short videos

Two bird families near the jetty at Topsham on the River Exe. The black swans, native to Australia, are from a long-established colony at Dawlish along the coast. They may be an adult pair and their cygnets from the previous year, now almost full grown/

The shelduck ducklings were more recently hatched. Unusually, they were being cared for by both parents, and seemed to have established a routine of spending the nights crowded up in a heap just above the high tide mark of the jetty.

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David

Black swans in a landscape, Topsham

Black swans in a landscape, Topsham

The black swan family on the River Exe at Topsham near to low tide. The four are probably an adult pair and two well-grown offspring.

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David

Green and blue: banded demoiselles, Exeter

Green and blue: banded demoiselles

Banded demoiselles resting on leaves by the river at Exeter. The blue ones are male, the green ones female.