For #TitianTuesday, my weekly celebration of the power of #red, here's a Florida beach immeasurably improved by its choice of paint for the lifeguard post....

Welcome @helenbennett.bsky.social, who has chosen #FabulousWaders as her first theme for #BirdoftheDay. When it comes to fabulous wading, it's hard to beat a juvenile White Stork, only recently out of its nest, flaunting its dance steps in the shallows... #photography #birds

For #MacroMonday here's a Marmelade hoverfly that photo-bombed my attempt at an artistic study of a pink begonia. The fly is a harmless pollinator that mimics wasp markings to deter predators...

Welcome @atlanticbirding.bsky.social but shame for making me feel old. My first birds date from (cough) 1986, when I was living in South Africa. In those days I shot Kodak slides, digitalised (badly) decades later. For the #Firsts theme of #BirdoftheDay here's a 40-year-old Scarlet-chested Sunbird!

I've seen a lot of birds in flight over our ponds this month, mostly herons, storks, egrets etc. But for #BestofJuly, today's #BirdoftheDay theme by @robcrank68.bsky.social, here's a trio of Glossy Ibises. First time I've seen them locally. #photography #birds

For #Stunday here's my favourite #butterfly from the past week. I had assumed it was named the Comma because of its unusual curved and scalloped wings. But look closely at that outer wing. There's a small white mark in the shape of a comma. A unique beauty spot for a fascinating insect.

For today's #BlueSkyArtShow I've got something you don't necessarily want to see close up. A tiger's #big tongue...

My BOTD today is a large vulture so here for #SmallBirdSaturday by @janesgallery.bsky.social is the opposite end of the avian scale - an acrobatic Wren daintily perched in a local marsh. #photography #birds

I'm off to the Alps next week hunting for more big birds like this one - an Egyptian vulture in the Gorges of Verdon. I shall be #overtherainbow if I can net another of France's most photogenic raptors. For #BirdoftheDay by @alan678.bsky.social #photography #birds

I almost forgot #Flyday and since we're on the #EgretsandHerons theme for #BirdoftheDay, I'll add one of my favourites - a wind-blown White Egret pulling off the most angelic of landings.... #photography #birds

I can't think of a better week to be honouring #FireHydrantFriday in France. These humble devices - however old and rusted - are playing a vital role in the battle to save property and lives from this terrible scourge of wildfires. Vive la France!

Here he is again, Wrong Way Willie arriving almost too late for the #BirdoftheDay photoshoot. "We told him that @robcrank68.bsky.social wanted #EgretsandHerons today", said Edward Egret, Chief Waterbird Wrangler. "But Willie always goes his own way..." #photography #birds #nonsense

For this week's #PalacesandGardens, here's a rather beautiful memory of #childhood - set on the handle of a hairbrush - displayed among other keepsakes at the Chateau de Serrant in the Loire Valley, France.

A year ago I posted a snap of a newly-hatched pink flamingo taken into care at a bird clinic run by a nearby sanctuary. I went back last week and sure enough... For the #YourChoice theme of #BirdoftheDay by @alan678.bsky.social #photography #birds

My butterfly cup runneth over this summer - so many gorgeous creatures and it sometimes seems they are lining up to be photographed. Here's a Tower of Flowers from last week with a Clouded Yellow on the top floor. #InsectThursday #lepidoptera

A splash of colour in a French van decorated for Bastille Day earlier this month is my entry for today's #WindowsonWednesday #aofoto

I'm sadly lacking in #Multicolour birds for #BirdoftheDay by @robcrank68.bsky.social but I think this Green Heron just about counts, with those yellow facemarks livening up the grey and brown. #photography #birds

For my regular #TitianTuesday meditation on the power of #red here's a Heliconia - aka a False Bird of Paradise plant - caught in a sliver of sunshine.

I've been waiting and waiting for @alan678.bsky.social to come up with a #BirdandBanana theme for #BirdoftheDay but I guess I'll have to make do with #EmeraldBackdrop instead. Here's a Green Honey-Creeper on an emerald bench outside my Trinidad hotel window... #photography #birds

I'm posting too many French herons so here's one from Florida instead: a Tri-colored Heron easily qualifying as #Grey for today's #BirdoftheDay by @robcrank68.bsky.social #photography #birds

This isn't the cleanest of #dragonfly shots, but it's the rarest by far: a female Scarlet laying its eggs by dipping its abdomen in a pond. You can see the ripples and the next egg awaiting release. For #MacroMonday and anyone else who likes driving themselves mad trying to snap flying insects...

For the last day of #MothWeek, here's one of my favourite tiny #moths. The Orchard Ermine has a wingspan the width of your thumb and folds into the merest sliver. It's not rare, just hard to spot unless you disturb one and see where it lands. Onward, moth fans!

I had a good day out at the ponds last week. Cormies, herons and egrets everywhere. Here's one of my favourites - a juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron zipping across the lake. For the #CHE theme of #BirdoftheDay by @alan678.bsky.social #photography #birds

I was headed for one of my prime dragonfly streams yesterday when I disturbed a hidden #moth. Luckily I saw it land and was able to get a clear shot. It's the mostly nocturnal Yellow Shell, a flying jewelbox of intricate patterning. Just in time for #MothWeek.

Phew, @robcrank68.bsky.social, you like making it hard for us... but here's my #OneTwoThreeFour for today's #BirdoftheDay: One Cattle Egret; Two White Pelicans; Three Black-Tailed Godwits; Four White Storks. #Photography #Birds

Damn I was away all day and forgot to post my #LastBird for the alt theme of #BirdoftheDay by @alan678.bsky.social. Yesterday evening we heard then saw a Jay on the hillside above our garden. I just had time to grab a shot before it flew off squawking. #photography #birds

Plenty of lovely entries already for the #EyeoftheWild theme for #BirdoftheDay by @alan678.bsky.social. Here's a (slightly damp) Pink Flamingo in watchful mode. #photography #birds

Here for #Mothweek is a mystery of the insect world. I recently posted a picture of a Six-spot Burnet #moth (left below), named for the number of red spots on each wing. Below right is a Five-spot Burnet, a separate, less common species. I wonder sometimes what Nature was thinking...

For today's #BirdoftheDay by @robcrank68.bsky.social I'm going with the alt theme of #yellow. I spotted this bird in one of our local parks this week, but can't find it in my Bird book. Can anyone help? 😉

I've been digging out my favourite #moths for #MothWeek. Here's a tiny Riband Wave, the most delicately patterned of insects. The macro shot is deceptive - that wingspan is 3cms, not much wider than your thumb. #lepidoptera #insectThursday