I saw a Gatekeeper on my phlox bloom just now - I've never seen that butterfly in my garden. A beautiful very dark orange.
From never seeing a gatekeeper in my garden, to seeing them twice in one week - amazing. Feeding on camomile this time and seeming sleepy - still enough for me to rush in and get the phone.
Mt pair of buzzards have been busy out and about with their screaming twins.
Since seeing my first song thrush in my garden a couple of weeks ago, I haven't seen one again but have twice heard one banging a snail somewhere nearby. A really nostalgic memory from childhood when almost every garden had a resident thrush.
Early reports from the big butterfly count are that red admirals are having a bumper year - mainly thought to be because they've not been migrating in winter as it's not cold enough here now.
I find that a bit odd. This is what the Met Office have said about last December:
"The first two weeks of December were the coldest start to meteorological winter since 2010"
Any resident Admirals would have needed to survive that!
Agreed @LunarSea It was really cold last December, but that's what they said!
I went out into the back garden this morning and there were some pigeon feathers and down on the grass and no sign of Herman 😱 then I found him down the narrow side pathway waiting by the solid gate … presumably the sparrow hawk (if that’s what it was) didn’t fancy flying into such a confined space … I opened the gate and Herman walked purposefully along the path to the road …
Good luck Herman 🤞
Remember Herman?
He’s back … son walked into his bedroom and suddenly Herman landed on the bedroom windowsill … it’s the window he crashed into and stunned himself … think it was around 10/7. At least he can fly again … and didn’t crash into the glass this time … he’s stopped gazing through the window and flown off into the ash tree.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Out in the garden today there is alot of wildlife to see. The usual garden birds, with a visit from a group of Long Tailed Tits that I haven't seen in some months. Suddenly the butterflies have appeared, Large Whites? ( cabbage?), Red Admiral, and these. Sorry poor pictures, but they were 8 foot up! There is also alot of Ladybirds and Hoverflies, plus this one , something I have never seen in the garden before. ( they probably have been there all along but not seen)
Sorry I forgot to name the butterfly @Fairygirl 😊 I too think some kind of grasshopper, I did save its life as it went into a spiders web, the spider was twice its size, and it jumped out of its reach only to start walking back into danger, so I moved it.😆
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Since seeing my first song thrush in my garden a couple of weeks ago, I haven't seen one again but have twice heard one banging a snail somewhere nearby. A really nostalgic memory from childhood when almost every garden had a resident thrush.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Suddenly the butterflies have appeared, Large Whites? ( cabbage?), Red Admiral, and these. Sorry poor pictures, but they were 8 foot up!
There is also alot of Ladybirds and Hoverflies, plus this one , something I have never seen in the garden before. ( they probably have been there all along but not seen)
Cricket/grasshopper of some kind for the last pic - someone will be able to ID it
I'm always forgetting to add pix on this thread.
Shield bug - he just landed on my hand the other day. Tricky trying to get a decent pic though!
The youngsters were looking a bit dishevelled after a bath in the pond
but they dried out quite well in the sun
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I too think some kind of grasshopper, I did save its life as it went into a spiders web, the spider was twice its size, and it jumped out of its reach only to start walking back into danger, so I moved it.😆