Eye-catching colours in the thumbnail transformed into this gorgeous creature crisply captured. Lesley, of course - who else?
I can't help with details of markings but I'll throw in my twopenn'orth in favour of the status quo. If flipped vertically or rotated wouldn't the lighting/shadows look stranger than an 'upside-down' butterfly? (Which is quite a common position in which to find them - but they never stay long enough to be captured by me breathing in their ear :o)

Rob may call them burs but to me they are StickyBuds. We collected them as children and walked around surreptitiously flicking them onto the hairy clothes of the adults. 8-)
Nice cross-lighting, tight sharp focussing of a plant I haven't seen in years.

A Mallard's Dozen! Was this 'Cheeky Chappie' actually male I wonder? ;o) And only six likely to survive - would curiosity kill this 'cat'? :(
A charming picture if capable of showing slight imperfections - its composition and content are more than sufficient for me to say 'Thanks for sharing'.
PS I don't see the 'wing-mirrors' Babelfish has decided exist! ;o)

Hey spiderman! You certainly like your web shots. :o)
I like this one better, the progressive depth of field is good and the beads of dew are lit really well (I'd have called it 'String of Pearls' had it been my shot :o). Pity Septimus himself is lost in darkness but if we could do everything right we wouldn't be here, would we?
Well done, I look forward to seeing other pix from you. Cheers.

Lovely to see such a close-up portrait of this handsome and vain-looking bird. These birds are what spring to mind and remind me of a wonderful visit to the Cape some years ago. The bird life was amazing. I love the preposterous and silly manner they exhibit - if that's not too anthromorphic :o)
(Whew! I nearly referred to it as a 'she' - close call that! 8-)

I love the effects of the dappled lighting, like a pale close aura around the head and spotlighting in the background, tight focussing and what a lovely stance and expression. Superb.

I guess the transfer through scanning of the print has not been kind to an evocative scene well captured and well lit showing the rough surface of the moorland to good effect. Did you consider 'The Long and Winding Road' for a title? (Wrong county, I know!)

Amazing picture, fascinating note(s)- in storyline and information. How do you manage to consider photographic technicalities when you have captured such a wonderful creature? I would be afraid its wing would be damaged if I held it too long - not that I would ever dare to grab one 8-)

Comment is almost superfluous but thanks for sharing.

Better than being there! Having such a good picture to study shows more detail than the eye could unaided catch from the safe distance the bird would maintain. Lovely lighting and the reflection is a wonderful plus. Good note as well. Thanks Lesley.