Monday,15th June
Spent a little time looking round the garden for Day Flying Moths and spotted Pyrausta aurata (Mint Moth) and this lovely Silver-ground Carpet which is a new species for the garden.
I am not including moth trapping sessions for 30 Days Wild as I would be doing this anyway but I just had to post a picture of this gorgeous Maiden's Blush (a new species for the garden) and a change from the drab brown noctuids I mainly trap!
Tuesday - Time spent watching clouds in the sky
and releasing a Tree Bumble Bee which had somehow found its way indoors.
Wednesday
I love the smell of the garden after it has been raining so I went a walk round after the rain finally stopped.
There was a beautiful sunset that evening.
Thursday - We spent the day at Coughton Court so I looked for dragon and damselflies around the river and lake - Common Blue Damselfly was the only species seen. No photos it was too far away I am afraid.
Friday - I put up a miniature insect hotel in the garden.
Saturday - more rain in the morning so when it finally stopped I wandered round the garden taking photos of flowers with raindrops.
Sunday
Last year I found a beautiful urban wildflower meadow which some of you may remember. I returned to the area and was really pleased to see that there is a meadow there again this year - dominated by Ox-eye Daisies.
We then drove on to an urban office building where I know Peregrine Falcons have nested on and off for years and yes, they were still there. This looks like a youngster to me.
Would just add that we were a very long way from the nest which was on the top floor of the building and the photos were taken with the Canon Bridge on full zoom.
Monday
It was supposed to be a good night to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). I looked for ages in vain - like the rest of the country the skies were cloudy :(
Tuesday
D and I were in Stratford for the day visiting some more of the Shakespeare Houses (will do a post soon) - we spent a few minutes by the river watching the Mute Swans and Mallard - no photos (the batteries on both cameras had gone completely flat by this time!).
I did spend some time last night looking for caterpillars in the garden nettle patch.
I couldn't find any but there were signs of leaf miners.
Today, Wednesday
B's birthday today so a lunch-time meal at The Bear, Berkswell. Watched Swallows feeding young in a nest built in the porch of the pub.
Honeysuckle is flowering in the garden and I am just about to go and see if its attracting any moths. (The scent from the flowers is amazing!).
Super photos Ragged Robin you've done great 30DaysWild activities there, nice one.
ReplyDeleteIan Doyle - Thanks so much Ian for your lovely comment :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely list of things. The peregrine is beautiful. I've never seen one close up before, only flying at a distance across a field.
ReplyDeleteLove that urban wildflower meadow Robin...we need more of the same m'thinks
ReplyDeleteCountryside Tales - Thanks very much CT :) Believe me the peregrine was a very long way away!
ReplyDeleteJohn Wooldridge - Thanks John and yes I quite agree that we need meadows like that absolutely everywhere and a cessation of mowing grass verges!
Two outstanding images - the Juvenile Peregrine and the meadow, particularly the meadow.
ReplyDeleteHi RR - I'm having a job trying to catch up with everyone's blogs, so I may not get to your previous posts. The SX50 was worth it for the distant juvenile peregrine! Fantastic to see it. Love that wildflower meadow, it's absolutely glorious. It's not really hard to do something to do with nature everyday, but I guess it's harder finding the time to document it at this time of year! :-)
ReplyDeleteToffeeapple - So sorry for late publication of your comment - we've been away for a week on the Isle of Wight and I couldn't remember my password to access my blog :( Thanks so much for your lovely comment :) The meadow was a beautiful sight :)
ReplyDeleteMillymollymandy - Hi again and apologies again for late publication of your comment - we've been away! Thanks so much re: your comments. My son was really chuffed with the peregrine photo :) Please don't worry about earlier posts. I'll catch up on your latest post as soon as I can. A few days away and its impossible to catch up with everything! Hope you are feeling ok.
Nicely done! I love your investigative powers. Leaf miners for an example. Nice find with the Peregrine Falcon. That is such a cool bird. My favorite shots are of all the wildflowers in the field.
ReplyDeletePS. So sorry I haven't followed up on your blog recently. We've been on the road too much last month and I leave again this week for southern Mexico for two weeks. It's a crazy time of year. Fun! But crazy. However, I have my coffee and will be catching up today:)
Chris Rohrer - Thanks so much Chris - the wildflower meadow was beautiful :)
ReplyDeletePlease don't worry about not visiting so much recently. I know from your blog how hectic your life is at the minute!! Just got back from a week's holiday myself and despair at ever catching up with all the blog posts I have missed! I can't even find time to add my own posts of the holiday!!!
Enjoy Mexico - can't wait to see your photos and hear all about it :)