Oil Beetle and Heron

Walked to school today and came across these wildlife.

First was an Oil Beetle (Meloe sp.), the second straight day of finding an insect that can potentially harm humans.  When disturbed, they will emit an oily substance from their leg joints and cause skin blister and painful swelling.

You can see the reduced elytra and how they overlap at the base.  They also have non-functional wings so they are pretty much flightless.

There is no antennal crook (see here for example) for this individual, so it's a female.

I only had my point and shoot camera again, but I held a hand lens in front of it to get better macro shots.

The second animal was this Great Blue Heron in the ditch.

Interesting to find wildlife when you are not expecting to.  Or blogging for that matter.