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Wildflowers on the allotment
On my allotment, I’m allowed to use up to 25% of the space for flowering plants. I’ve not got anywhere near that much space devoted to non-edible flowers, but I do have a small flower section to entice the pollinating insects. As well as the lavender plants, there’s a fennel and some mint growing near the…
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Swiftly Soaring Swifts
Can you spot the Swifts in this photo? They’re that swarm of black blobs in the top right – I couldn’t even consider zooming the camera in on them, as they moved too quickly! I was able to zoom in on the photo itself though. I still don’t see how they manage to fly so quickly,…
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Aerobatics
When I spotted the two birds circling exceptionally high in the sky, I first thought it was two Buzzards, but the one on the bottom right of the photo doesn’t look all that Buzzard-like in this photo. I thought maybe the Buzzard was trying to catch something mid-flight, but I’m wondering now if it was…
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Young Birds
I only had my camera to hand because the blackbirds were heading for berries, but it’s a good job I did, as these small birds suddenly arrived in the garden. They landed on the washing line and started trying to drink the drops of water that’d formed on the line overnight. I was surprised they…
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Sycamore Moth
This moth was actually spotted a couple of days ago, but it’s taken me this long to be able to identify it! Credit for spotting it actually goes to a family member who saw past the amazing camouflage as they walked past the moth on the wall. After a lot of research, I’m pretty sure this…
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Brown Blackcap
Unlike the black ‘cap’ of the male Blackcap, the female actually has a brown cap, which makes it pretty easy to tell them apart. According to the RSPB, they eat berries and insects – this particular bird seemed to be trying to catch some flies on the wing, before heading over to the Berberis bush. I’m…
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Soggy Robin
It’s not just the blackbird that likes to have an enthusiastic wash in the bird bath – the robin is equally keen, although it does prefer to have a wash while it’s raining! I didn’t spot the robin in the bath, but he flew into the Quince to dry off…. judging by how wet he…
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Punkrocker Blackbird?
Ok, so that’s a bit of a strange title for a blog post, but you’ll see what I mean when you get as far as the photos. The blackbirds have decided to take up residence in the garden – whether they’re sitting in the ornamental Quince tree, taking a bath, or eating yet more of…
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Another day, another moth!
I don’t know what the appeal is for a moth to sit in a plant pot or plant tray during daylight hours, but they seem to be popular! Thankfully it was better light than the previous occasion, so I could get a nice clear photo. It’s possible that this is the same moth (or at…
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Woody Woodpecker
Green Woodpeckers have the strangest call of all the birds I’ve heard around here – the RSPB has a really clear audio of that call on their site. Once we heard the Woodpecker, it was clear that it was sitting in the trees…. perfectly hidden from view! As luck would have it, the Green Woodpecker eventually…