Jackdaw in the Rain

This fellow and a few of his chums were hanging around in the road when we got back from our Fairhaven/Witchwood walk (see above, hopefully). They hopped on to the wall when I drew up and then flapped lazily off. We get loads of Jackdaws near us a lot of the time whereas round at no 25 half an hour or so away Mum hardly sees any! (Mum says there were two in the garden today and they see quite a lot.)We often see hordes of them wheeling around the local church roof in the evening, and they adorn the ariels and rooves all along our terrace on a regular basis.

Blue Tailed Damselflies 'in cop'

These Blue Tailed Damselflies were mating in the border of Grandma's pond this afternoon - 'in cop' as the naturalist would have it. Apparently during copulation the sperm of rival males is removed. This also occurs with the Dunnock, a mouselike bird of the hedgerow.
I used A Guide to the Dragonflies of Great Britain: Powell (ed Twist), Arlequin Press, 1999 to identify these damselflies and for further information.