Gatekeeper Butterfly - July 2019

After spotting my first Gatekeeper Butterfly (Pyronia tithonus) of the season last week in dad's garden, this week there were dozens of them.

In fact, everywhere I turned I seemed to send up a flurry of wing flaps as I disturbed them from their resting place. This one seemed quite nonplussed by my presence though, and ended up posing quite nicely for me.

Speckled Wood Butterfly - July 2019

There were also a few Speckled Wood Butterflies (Pararge aegeria) enjoying the warm conditions, but this one wasn't quite so enthusiastic to pose for me as the Gatekeeper above.

Herring Gull - July 2019

As you can see from the shot of this Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), it was quite a grey summer's day, but remained warm. It was also noisy, with both Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) calling as they communicated in the skies above.

Calling Crow - July 2019

This commotion set off the Carrion Crows (Corvus corone) calling, which added to the volume levels.

Family Meeting - July 2019

A family of Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) also got in on the act, chattering away in the tree tops.

Houseleek Bloom - July 2019

My favourite flower this week turned out to be from a Houseleek (Sempervivum) plant. They are really quite intricate blooms when you get up close to them.

Great Willowherb - July 2019

Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) season had returned, and I'd still class these as wildflowers rather than weeds.

Evening Primrose - July 2019

Another plant sometimes classed as a weed, simply because they freely self-seed, is the Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), but it's another plant I absolutely love to see in the garden.

Convolvulus - July 2019

One plant I'm not so keen on is Bindweed (Convolvulus). While the flowers are pretty enough, as the common name suggests, the stems of the plants wrap around other plants and strangle the life out of them!

Solar Flashes - July 2019

I couldn't resist including another image of Sunflower (Helianthus) 'Solar Flash'. The plants have been outstanding this year, and have produced many more flowers than expected.

Pear - July 2019

Finally, some fruit! The Pear (Pyrus) tree has begun to show its first fruits which should be ready to harvest in a couple of months time.

So this week I went with Gatekeeper Butterfly as my Image of the Week simply because I enjoyed shooting directly into the eyes of the Butterfly...