Wed 2009-04-22 
The mallard duckling that Zoe and I saw being attacked by a heron, appears to have survived. I took the above photo this morning on the bank of the large lake near where the attacks took place. The heron was nowhere to be seen.
Tue 2009-04-21 
The Blade Building, Reading, as seen from Upper Redlands Road, with the trees of St Joseph's Convent and the spires of Reading Boys School in the foreground. Photo taken on 2009-04-19.
Mon 2009-04-20 
A holly blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus). Photo taken in Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-04-19.
Sun 2009-04-19 
This morning, Zoe and I saw this grey heron making several attempts to catch the mallard chick shown in this photograph. The male mallard would chase the heron off whenever it came near, but the female and the chick seemed to have no sense of danger and repeatedly swam past the heron as if they didn't notice it. I can now quite understand how initial broods of 11 or more chicks can be whittled down to one or two within just a few days. The Egyptian geese are much better parents: they still have all 9 of their goslings.
Photo taken in by the large lake, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-04-19.
Sat 2009-04-18 
When I first saw this red insect, I had no idea what it was, so I just took a lot of photos, hoping to identify it later when I got back home. My initial guess was that it must be some type of hoverfly but, when I looked closely at the photos, I realized that the antennae were too long for a hoverfly and more like those of a wasp. I searched my pocket guides to insects but to no avail. Then I went to the web and eventually tracked down some pictures (here, here, and here) which allowed me to tentatively identify it as Nomada striata, a species of nomad bee. It didn't seem very active while I was photographing it. When I poked it, it just waved a leg at me. I wonder if it had just emerged and was still drying its wings out.
Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2009-04-18.
