Observations Of Nature Through The Seasons.

[knocker]

White Wagtail at the King Edward Mine today

[Methuselah]

43 minutes ago, knocker said:

White Wagtail at the King Edward Mine today

Mining for spuds? Is that a Cornish thing, Malcolm?

[knocker]

1 minute ago, Ed Stone said:

Mining for spuds? Is that a Cornish thing, Malcolm?

Well they are nearer the surface Pete, so not so much digging required.

[mushymanrob]

On 01/07/2018 at 11:11, ciel said:

@mushymanrob I think I may have misidentified the butterfly in the pic I posted above. On closer inspection, it looks like the related but more common Sloe Hairstreak, which not found in the UK.

very nice! sorry been away...

[mushymanrob]

had  a humingbird hawk moth yesterday in my garden, first one (seen) since 2006.

[Beverley Lass]

Hi all  :)

A nice little blue butterfly in my garden yesterday.
Reluctant to open its wings ..
Is it a Holly Blue I wonder ?

B. 

[mushymanrob]

11 hours ago, Beverley Lass said:

Hi all 

A nice little blue butterfly in my garden yesterday.
Reluctant to open its wings ..
Is it a Holly Blue I wonder ?

B. 

yes, certainly a holly blue...  they appear to have spread their range northwards over the last 30 years. i recall the first i had in my derby garden, it was noteworthy, but now they are quite common, and ive seen more today then the once abundant small tortoishell.

[knocker]

Common cranes 'here to stay' after recolonising eastern England

Model predicts population of UK’s tallest bird could double within 50 years after its return to the east of England following a 400-year absence

Quote

Common cranes which recolonised eastern England less than 40 years ago after a 400-year absence are now here to stay, research has found.

There could be as many as 275 breeding pairs of the UK’s tallest bird within 50 years, scientists at the University of Exeter, the RSPB and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) predict.

Cranes were lost from the UK as a breeding bird in the 16th century as a result of hunting and the drainage of large areas of wetlands, but some returned to the east of England in 1979.

Conservationists supported the small population, but they breed slowly and their numbers remained low over the next two decades, leaving the population at risk of disappearing again if hit by problems such as disease.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/17/common-cranes-here-to-stay-after-recolonising-eastern-england

[ciel]

A bonny Roe Deer buck surveying the surrounds in evening sunshine earlier this week.  He looks in good condition for the rut, which for Roes takes place mid-July – mid-August.

 

I snapped these cute Red-leg chicks rather hurriedly through a window this morning. 

  

 

 

 

[ciel]

Discovered this in a Lilac bush today - very conveniently constructed next to the wood-store.....now decisions, whether to leave this rather beautiful structure be, or deal with it? Wasps have not been a nuisance here, this year, and I don't generally have a big problem with them around in limited numbers, and they are good pollinators, but....I may still be seeking some advice.

I am presuming the nest is occupied by larvae at present. There are just one or two wasps on the wall of the nest which appear to be guarding the entrance.

 

 

[knocker]

A very poor photo of what I presume is a species of Dragon Fly this morning

[knocker]

I'm told  that it's an Emperor dragonfly laying an egg

[knocker]

Did you see that...................those blasted Swans think they own the lake

[ciel]

The heat has swept this Hummingbird Hawk Moth up north. The first one I've seen in the garden for, I think, 15yrs.

[mushymanrob]

21 hours ago, ciel said:

The heat has swept this Hummingbird Hawk Moth up north. The first one I've seen in the garden for, I think, 15yrs.

excellent pic!

[Beverley Lass]

I found this wee monster on my patio the other day.
An Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar I believe.
The false huge eyes are amazing.  I kindly moved it to my fuschias !
 

I wasn't as scared as this woman .. !!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/6873588/brit-mum-freaks-out-after-finding-this-terrifying-creature-on-her-patio-so-do-you-know-what-it-is/

B.  

[ciel]

Popped into SWT Balgavies this afternoon as I had heard that the two Osprey chicks there, fledged last week. They were making a racket on the nest but apart from a flap or two didn’t emerge. 

One of the adults beside the nest.

A blurry fly past. (I need to get more flight shot practice.)

Woodpecker visiting the squirrel feeder.

 

[knocker]

Rather late in the year for these little fellas

[ciel]

After a scarcity of butterflies earlier in the year, there is now a surfeit - just the usual garden types.

However, while the Green-veined White is fairly common, they are not usually so keen on dry gardens.

Nice to see the Painted Ladies back.

 

I've also noted that although the flowering of some shrubs has been up to a couple of weeks earlier than usual, the actual flowering season has been curtailed, presumably because of the plants transferring their energy into seed production under drought conditions.

[mushymanrob]

On 30/07/2018 at 15:55, Beverley Lass said:

I found this wee monster on my patio the other day.
An Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar I believe.
The false huge eyes are amazing.  I kindly moved it to my fuschias !
 

I wasn't as scared as this woman .. !!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/6873588/brit-mum-freaks-out-after-finding-this-terrifying-creature-on-her-patio-so-do-you-know-what-it-is/

B.  

what a vile creature....

that woman in the article, that is, not the splendid catterpillar.

 

[mushymanrob]

my buddlias are empty.... in full flower but very few butterflies on them

had a painted lady, but the peacocks have gone, and only had 1 red admiral and 1 small tortoishell.

swifts are gone now too... skies empty even in places where there are colonies.  a lot of people deny they are gone, citing sightings... but unless these are stragglers they are usually house martins.

[Beverley Lass]

I did the garden butterfly count and was pleased with sightings numbers.
Lots on the buddlias here.
I saw several Peacocks (6), Red Admirals (2), Painted Ladies (2), Whites (6) Holly Blue (1)
Tortoiseshell (2)  Meadow Brown and most exciting of all a Hummingbird moth .. that was a first
(along with 2 Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillars, as above)  

B.

 

[mushymanrob]

yeah i didnt do the count actually, but had promising numbers earlier in july. peacocks were out early, i had upto about ten. (long garden, lots of buddlias). been good for holly blues, speckled wood, gatekeeper, commas , but the vanesids were poor apart from peacock earlier.  on my facebook today i actually had a 'memory' from 2013 which had a pic of loads of peacocks on by buddlia.

only 1 small tortoishell... shocking... hummingbird hawk moth, 4 painted lady sightings (could be the same one on different days) , only 1 red admiral too.. thats low.  decent numbers of ringlet earlier, several seen every day for about 3 weeks.

30 years ago, holly blue, comma, speckled wood, were scarce visitors to the garden. small tortoishells and peacock were abundant with upto 60 sighted daily. now holly blue, comma, speckled wood are more common then tortoishells and peacocks...

[ciel]

I’ve had an invasion of these pretty Silver Y migrant moths. Counted 6 on the Russian Sage this morning and there were a few more in amongst the Buddleia. It’s been a few years since I have noticed such numbers.

@mushymanrob It's not too late to submit a butterfly count - closes on Sunday.

[Polar Maritime]

Have purchased a wildlife camera recently so will be setting baits this Autumn/Winter and will hopefully snap some elusive critters and birds.