Ardingly reservoir

We love picnics in our house. As soon as the sun comes out in Spring, the picnic blanket is unearthed and the cool-bag is cleaned out ready for another year. This year they have had plenty of use with the unusually sunny weather we have been enjoying. This morning I threw a few sandwiches together and this afternoon we headed out to Ardingly Reservoir. 

It tends to be a peaceful spot as it is off the beaten track. There is usually a small car-parking charge, but the machine has been broken for months. There is a large hill which seems to have been specifically designed for rolling down. (Tested by the children.) There is also a watersports activity centre which sells cheap ice creams. (Very important!)

After we had eaten our picnic we took ourselves off for a walk. We didn't get very far this time as we got completely distracted by a meadow area which was humming vigorously.

We recently bought DS an inexpensive camera as he has been showing such an interest in wildlife photography, (see post here). It was a kind of un-birthday present; the poor boy's birthday is two days before Christmas and it is a long time between presents. We also feared for my camera's safety as he was hanging out of the window with it! 

There is an amazing amount of insects to be found in a patch of grassland. DS was in his element and got busy with his camera:

 

I am no wildlife expert. I looked at the photo and mumbled "Err, cricket?". Fortunately there is a great website called iSpot which is run by the Open University. If you upload a photo of your sighting someone will usually identify it for you. This evening it took less than an hour for some clever person to identify this as a Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Fortunately this one was a little easier:

 

Even I know a bumblebee when I see one!