Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Waiting at Cairns Airport

We are sat waiting for our connection to Townsville here at Cairns Airport, amazing beautiful scenery all around with lush tree filled hills bordering a flat plain. It's hot we are jet lagged......... is that a bird I can see, yes it's a Peaceful Dove - Geopelia placida a very small and very attractive species and my first bird from Australia, probably very common, but to me a little gem!!!!!!  There were two, an obvious pair walking around by the doors to the arrival lounge. Also seen, a Common Myna and 3 Swallow.

Overnight in Singapore

The journey continues, I am currently sat on a British Airways flight on my way from Singapore to Sydney in New South Wales Australia. What a great thrill the last 36 hours have been, so many different sounds and sights.  Singapore is still the wonderful place that I remember with those evocative, tantalising smells still in the air,  not so secret now because I discover that it's the essence of Frangipani that floats on the breeze, both night and day. At first light this morning I went out to walk the hill of Buket Timeh which just happened to be literally on the doorstep of our Condominium accommodation. In fact the jungle hill is now a nature reserve and the Car park could be seen from our sitting room window just feet below. As I drank my first coffee of the day and the tropical day dawned, intriguing bird calls rang out from the tree canopy which was at the same height as our window. Frustratingly the birds hardly showed themselves apart from fleeting glimpses, but they were, never the less interesting. Later as I walked, the calls rang out and I caught glimpses of Common Mynah Birds and a Yellow Vented Bulbul, the main protagonists. The hike up the hill was a torturing ascent and so steep it was impossible to walk down again normally and I resorted to walking backwards like the the locals. It  looked stupid but was safer and not so hard on the knees. Later in the morning we went in to the amazing city, full of of unimaginably rich looking architecture and teeming with human life of all kinds, but sadly very few birds apart from the ubiquitous Common Mynah Birds, Indian House Crows........ 3 in total and a solitary House Sparrow. The water front was devoid of even a seagull.

Towards the end of the afternoon, and now back in Buket Timeh Nature Park, what a treat.... a troop of Monkeys. They were lingering around the cart park amongst the roadside verges, walls and fences, not actually "sponging" food from the visitors but loitering with intent so to speak. I watched and photographed them for 45 minutes and got to know who was who. For example a couple were picking at each other in that mutual grooming way that we are familiar with. This was a true couple, a big burly adult male with a big ugly head and a look even more disdainful and surly than the Railway worker back in Exeter. His "girlfriend" was a pretty young thing who was doing most of the work and every 15 minutes or so he would insist she stopped as he mounted her from behind. This was all so quick I doubt she hardly realised she was being "ravaged", but the obscenity of it was brutal and almost embarrassing just feet away as I was. Several females had young infants feeding as they were held tight and other slightly older "children" played nearby. One male was sporting a severe wound to the face which tracked from the corner of his moth to the ear. The wound was days old, yet to heal but clean looking and it must have been incredibly painful and probably debilitating. I managed some great portraits and the best one is the handsome young animal that had a liking for hibiscus flowers. I hope all my photo opportunities are going to be as good in the next few weeks.

Off to Queensland

Today sees the start of an adventure. We are off to Townsville in Northern Queensland for most of May! I am writing this Blog entry on the train destined for Heathrow, sitting back listening to Mahler and drinking an incredibly over-priced cup of British Rail Coffee at £2.20 a cup, will this win the prize for the most expensive coffee on this world circumnavigation?The plane departs this evening and after 14 hours we will be in sumptuous Singapore for a 36 hour stop over. It doesn't get any better than that, Singapore, one of the most exciting places on God's Earth! This will be my 4th or 5th visit in a lifetime that has given me the opportunity to visit some of the world's most exotic locations. Don't get me wrong, England in springtime is so special, but the chance to visit Northern Queensland presented it's self, and it was too good to pass over. The first impression of Singapore was one I have kept with me for the last 40 years,. As I stepped from the plane, the smell of tropical scents were thick and wet in the air which was as hot as a fan heater, so hot I thought I was feeling the exhaust of the plane's jets. The smells evoked exotic curries and gorgeous unseen flowers with a hint of something undefinable wafting in to the mix. The people were a mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian, colourfully dressed and most, delivering happy, welcoming smiles. Hope it hasn't changed too much since I was last there in 1992. The birding and photography is going to be phenomenal in Australia. There will be some great birds to photograph, even birds that you would probably take for granted will be good for me to see and to share with you. I have packed just about every bit of equipment that I own including a variety of lenses, a macro ring flash (for insects, reptiles etc.), one tripod, a monopod a variety of camouflage clothing and bag hides. I have even included my infra red trigger set-up………(more about that as the trip gets underway). Having said that, my binoculars are still swinging on the chair in the hallway where I left them, lets hope that's all I have forgotten. Townsville is south of Cairns and well north of Brisbane, Autumn is well underway and their winter is just around the corner. The temperature will be a comfortable 24 to 28, just the same as that left behind. As well as birds, I am looking forward to Flying Foxes, Goanas, Wallabies and even the occasional Python, not to mention the Butterflies, Dragonflies and of course Koala bears, and the odd Dingo or two! I don't normally chat about mundane trivia on my Blog but I will make an exception today just to mention the unbelievably surly, sarcastic and rude Railway employee who in spite of wearing a "bib" that proclaimed "Customer Services" on his back, was almost threatening in his manner and demeanour. It's going to be interesting to compare him to others that I meet on my journey to the other side of the world. So far he is winning the prize for the most unhelpful employee with a massive points total of 92. More as the journey develops, I will be updating about the current winner of the the "nastiest" public employee and the most expensive coffee in the world! Winning so far is "Surely Sam" from Exeter St David's…. all the way there in sunny Devon!

Twite West Yorkshire

I find myself here in West Yorkshire and at this time of year, with some unusually great weather as well, it's always a good time to look for Twite that breed on the Penine Moors here abouts.  I usually find one or two, now I know where to look, but today I found a flock of 20 or so.  I managed to get very close by just laying quietly  near to an area that they were feeding and managed the best photos of this species that I have taken. 

Siskin - Carduelis spinus

Chats with the residents of the houses near to Dunsford Woods had given me information that Siskins, both males and females were still visiting bird feeders in their gardens. This was too much to resist and I hatched a plan to get some photographs to prove it. I set up a chair hide this morning close to one of the feeders which hung in a tree.   After only a minute or so, there was a female Siskin. How nice it was to see her because I haven't seen one properly this year, nor last winter for that matter. I struggled at first, to get any kind of shot.  I was positioned beneath and the inevitable shot in to the skyline always makes it hard. As well as that, she was usually behind, and therefore obscured by foliage. A bit of re-jigging was all that was required and and my plan was to concentrate on one particular perch where I guessed that the birds would land prior to moving on to the food.  It worked, and this time a male came in and I took a couple of shots with the camera adjusted to take account of the backlight. It's pretty likely that the birds are breeding nearby which is very good.  It's not that many years ago when that would have been quite a rare event. At this time of the year, in common with every other species, the males are in breeding plumage and very smart with their black cap and bib and canary yellow colouring.  A lovely bird. 

Nomada cuckoo bees

This is not a wasp, it is a Cuckoo Bee of the species Nomada. This is a really fascinating and amazing species of insect. What is so special about this insect  is it's life cycle which rivals anything that might happen in the jungles of the Amazon or the grasslands of the Africa plains. Once you start to delve in to the wonders of nature all around you, and in your own garden, it's just truly amazing what is going on all around you. Please, I beg you......... don't use insecticide in your garden, resist the temptation to use weed killer and look around you!

The story goes like this. At the moment we have solitary Mining Bees in the garden, 3 species at least, but probably more. In the front of the house we have a bit of a flower border, unkempt and a little bit wild and amongst the weeds and bulbs are the burrows of Tawny Mining bees - Andrena fulva. These solitary bees dig burrows where they lay eggs and provide food for their larva. This in it's self is interesting and they are so welcome in the garden. But the story gets even more interesting because, now, on the scene, we have Cuckoo Bees of the species Nomada (pictured above). Each species of cuckoo bee is specific to a particular species of Mining Bee, therefore the species above is parasitic  to just the Tawny Mining Bee.  It gains entrance to the Tawny Bees nest by using chemical camouflage.  Once in the nest, it lays its egg and when it hatches, the newly hatched cuckoo bee larva eats the egg/s of the host species and also the food supply left there by the host.  This behaviour is called kleptoparasitic. To think, all this is going on right under our noses.p>

Pheasants in a Devon Wood

There is not too much to say about Pheasants that most people don't already know. They are very familiar in the British countryside. This Hen Pheasant was in glorious surroundings amongst Blue Bells and wild garlic plants. This is the most beautiful time of year and in the bright sunshine which was "dappling" through the trees and greenery, made her very photogenic. As I took her photo, the male of this obvious breeding pair, showed himself as well as you can see

Trail Camera video

  I have been doing some work with a trail camera this last few days. Basically the camera has an infra-red sensor which then films the animal or bird responsible for passing through the beam.  I had found a road kill rabbit and placed it on a log close to the camera in a wood.  My hope was to film the wildlife that "came to call". Not surprisingly, the first animal filmed was this Grey Squirrel. It's very exciting as you approach the camera to see what you have filmed. 

Tawny Mining Bee - Andrena fulva

This is the second species of solitary Mining Bee that we have had in the garden this year. Earlier on in the month we had Andrena nigroaenea building their "mines" in the back garden by the lawn. Click on the link to read the Blog entry about them and see pictures. At the time, I had misidentified that bee as Andrena fulva which is the species discovered today. The Tawny Mining Bee  is much more numerous and I found at least 10 "mines".  This time they are on the garden at the front of the house. The  bees were  coming and going from their individual holes frequently.  Here (above),  is one emerging from her mine. It was interesting to see them slowing moving to the top of the burrows and waiting until the 'coast was clear" and then quickly flying off. 

Later on in the afternoon I went back to visit my Dippers and had the usual great views but today I concentrated on trying to photograph some of the small warblers that have recently arrived here. Chiffchaffs were singing and calling as well as a glorious singing Blackcap. I did manage a half decent Chiffchaff shot.

Sparrowhawk - Accipiter Nisus

Driving home weary, hungry, dehydrated and in pain with a dodgy back after sitting by the riverbank taking great photos of a smashing pair of breeding Dippers...... I was already more than content. I was dreaming of lunch and coffee and I was mildly interested when, my car disturbed a Carrion Crow feeding on a "flat" pheasant road kill.  I remember saying to myself, "Shame that's not a raptor"., so when I went around the next corner and I saw something dead on the road again......... and this time, no it couldn't be...... was that a Sparrowhawk perched on a kill?  I turned the car around at the next opportunity and as I approached the spot again from the other direction, yes........ it was!  I quickly pulled in to the side of this busy country road and looked at the now forlorn carcass, headless but a fat and appealing Wood Pigeon. I opened my Hatchback, grabbed my camera and sat looking out the back with my Pentax armed and at the ready, and wow, there it was flying in again.  Photos were hurriedly taken and when the inevitable car came, off she flew, a female Sparrowhawk. With 50 shots already in the camera, I backed the car up 20 foot nearer and clambered back in to the back, not easy when your a stiff and "knackered" 60 year old!  It didn't take long aand  she was back again. She flew in, and after a statuesque and imperious pose, she started tucking in, plucking her prize with quick rips of her beak before emerging with blood and flesh.I was in heaven (I'm already in Devon, God's next best thing).  This time when cars came, she didn't budge, they slowed to go around her and when a lorry got too close, tried to carry it off, but no, it was too heavy for her.

Seeing how she was so focused on her meal I backed up even more and now I was only 15 feet from the Pigeon, surely she wouldn't come back again? I was wrong because there she was again, and now she filled the entire view finder, she was almost too close. I got some glorious close up photos of the birds head.

After a while a lorry came around the corner and off she flew, just in time and the unfortunate Pigeon was flattened, not a pretty sight. It didn't put her off though and she still came back to finish.

This time when a big lorry came, she tried to take it away and it broke up and off she went with a sizeable piece of pigeon. She took it off to a more safe perch to finish, and that was the last I saw of her. A memorable 40 minutes had gone by! A little bit about Sparrowhawks. In common with other birds of prey, female Sparrowhawks are larger than the more colourful male which is almost "slate-blue" on the back. It's not unusual for both sexes to have a white patch on the nape, especially young birds. interestingly, young Cuckoos also have this white patch which is thought to deter Sparrowhawks from predating them because they mistake the young cuckoos as young Sparrowhawks. Now, how did that evolve?????

Magallenic Penguin - Spheniscus magellanicus

Here is another "scanned" image of Penguins, this time Maggalenic or Jackass Penguins, taken sometime in the late 1980's. This bird differs in it's breeding habits from the colony breeding Rockhopper. They nest in burrows  deep in to sand dunes. You may  remember the Falkland conflict which must have had some kind of detrimental impact on the wildlife but this species benefited greatly. The Argentinians indiscriminately buried mines in the sand dunes which remained a danger long after the Islands were retaken by the victorious British forces.  These minefields were roped off and the resulting "no-go" areas provided some undisturbed breeding sites where the penguins were left well and truly undisturbed and could therefore flourish.  I well remember this site which was very close to the capital, Port Stanley. It was in a pretty little bay with bright blue sky, equally bright blue surf and pure white sand. I thoroughly enjoyed my visits to the Falkland Islands and it is on my "hit-list" to return sometime in the not too distant future. 

Back to Dippers

I took a short trip to the River this afternoon, there were things I needed to be home for which cut short my fun! I met up with Tom, a regular reader of the blog. He was trying for Dipper photos and was tucked away nicely in a bag hide. It was a decent lesson because I could see him from 100 yards away and it started me thinking about concealment yet again. I think that with lots of species, just breaking up your body shape is sufficient, Kingfishers for example are very easy to hide from, and Dippers too. It's almost a case of the smaller the bird the less necessary good concealment is. Ducks for example, particularly Goosanders on the river are never fooled and paddle away from you to safety, or use the current to just get to a safe distance. I get the impression that they realise that there is something a bit odd about "that shape" and they are risking nothing, least of all their lives. My "gillie" suit is a great piece off kit and allows you to really blend in and hide which is my preferred approach. Tom and I looked at the Dippers nest and it seems that there has been some work on the nest again with leaves  added. This is good news to say the least.  Lets hope that this time the predator keeps away! 

Afterwards,  Tom went back to his "bag" to try for more Dippers, and I sat by my feeding station placed in the woods.  When I had arrived the feeder was empty, so I expected it to be really busy, but this time, not one single bird came down......... very odd! I needed to get home so left before the action began and went past  Tom again who was still sitting patiently, but without success.  We chatted for a short while and the Male Dipper did a fly past.  I was disappointed for Tom but it worked out well for me because, using some real stealth, I got some really good shots on my walk back.  I was a musician in the Royal Marines, but did a little bit of (reluctant) military training.  It didn't actually involve the commando crawl for me but I have seen enough Royal Marine Commandos doing it, so when needs  be I use it. It worked today and I took lots of shots, but hand held it's always a struggle unless the light is really bright and trust me, with Dippers it rarely is.  Featured above are two shots from that mini session.  I know for certain that this is my breeding pair because even though they were 500 yards from the nest, I recognised the female.  She has some small damage, or a growth on her eye lid and I could see it clearly. This is a useful aid to identification. 

Rockhopper Penguin - Eudyptes chrysocome

I had to buy a scanner today for something not associated with birds and wildlife. Now armed with a new toy I have started to scan a few pictures taken on trips from much earlier in my life.  I was very lucky to visit some great places during my time in the Royal Marines Band Service, most I took for granted and didn't really make enough of the opportunities.  This is partly because I didn't own good enough camera equipment, but I do have a few good photos and,  from time to time, over the next few weeks, I am going to post some images that will be of interest.  Some great wildlife opportunities occurred in the Falkland Islands where penguins are such a wonderful breeding species. Our first image is of a couple of Rockhopper Penguins.  I visited a massive  colony of Rockhoppers with a colleague.  It was an impressive sight to see thousands of penguins breeding within inches of each other and to watch them "marching" from the surf  in single file to the colony 100 metres or more in land.  

Blackbird's hatch their eggs

The incubation period for incubating Blackbird  (turdus merula) is published as 13 to 14 days which for a bird of this size is quite a short time. They hatch helpless and blind covered in wispy down. I discovered the nest in my garden about 9 days ago and i t contained 3 eggs,  incubation had already begun. I was expecting chicks any time now and this morning, we had baby Blackbirds. In the photo they look a little bit damp still, when they emerge from the egg they are wet.  The down is yet to fluff up and as the chicks grow they will become increasingly fluffy. The eyes will open and the down will be replaced with feathers. In the next 14 day s they will increase in size and weight by more than 10 fold. I am going to take a photo every day until they fledge and it will be interesting to see how they develop day by day.  Of course, as one of Europe's commonest birds they will have been studied in great detail but it's still going to be a fascinating experience.  

Today, a sample weight of one chick at random was 7.4 grams. 

Marsh Tit

The trees of Dunsford Woods are full of birds , bird song and bird activity but incredibly, even though their calls and songs are almost constant, you can hardly even catch a quick sight of them, and it's extremely frustrating. On a walk last weekend we had noticed how busy the bird feeders were in the garden of a lovely house that borders the wood, my dream house by the way! So I decided to leave a feeder in a small clearing in the wood to see if I could attract some of the Tit species down and hopefully a woodpecker  When I arrived this afternoon, I was really pleased to see that the feeder was empty after only 48 hours.  Success, birds were obviously using it. I positioned myself close by and with the sun to my back, covered myself in gillie suit and cam netting and lay in wait,  It was around 15 minutes before, suddenly a Marsh Tit silently arrived, which was a surprise......... bingo. Eventually I had Blue Tits, Great Tits and a smashing little Coal Tit as well, all in the space of 30 minutes or so. Very satisfying and rewarding and the start of lots more to come.  I feel it will only be a matter of time before I get Nuthatches and Woodpeckers.  

Coal Tit.

Great Tit

American Widgeon - Anas mexicanus

The inclusion of this bird is quite amusing.  I don't want to be too self deprecating, but it makes me realise what a "numpty" I can bee sometimes.  It is also a lesson not to assume anything, and to look more carefully at everything you see. Yesterday I had visited Dawlish Warren in the hope of getting a nice shot of a Little Grebe for my gallery which as you can see be below, on the Blog, was successful.  I had bumped in to one of the Dawlish Birders by the name of Dave, a charming and interesting local expert who had mentioned Sand Lizard to me.  I took his advice and went up on to the dune ridge to see if I could find one or two, but no I didn't. As I looked out to the sea, just off shore there were 4 ducks.  I assumed they were Scoters and I still haven't taken any shots of them for the gallery either so I rushed down to the shore line to grab a photo or two. It was hard and the photos were poor to say the least.  When I got home I had a quick look on the mac and I was even more disappointed when it looked as though they were in fact Widgeon and not Scoter.  I have loads of Widgeon pictures and from much, much closer, I left it at that without bothering to check properly even though one did appear to have quite a white head.  That's where I want my "backside" kicked because at that point I should have looked more carefully.  Anyway, to complete the story, today on the DevonBirds Blog I read that an American Widgeon was one of 4 ducks seen off the point at Dawlish Warren in the afternoon, obviously the birds that I had seen in the morning.  Doh! Well at least I have got some kind of photo and it's one for the gallery after all......................and a lifetime first for me as well!

Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis

When I was growing up in Derbyshire we used to see "Dabchicks" regularly and I suppose they are not that rare here in Devon either. In fact, I know that they are common. Surprisingly I hadn't taken a good photo of them before though. That's probably because they have always been just too distant for an acceptable photo. I went out to Dawlish Warren Nature Reserve this morning with the specific aim of getting a photo to add to my DEVON BIRD GALLERY (have a look here by clicking on the link), there you will find photos of 156 species seen (and photographed) in Devon. Until today Little Grebe wasn't there.  I was chuffed to see this one this morning in bright sunshine, and not too distant either.  I'm sure that with a bit more effort and patience I will be able to get better photos and I will probably give it a try.  

Holly Blue - Celastrina argiolus

It's only just April and already we have had three different species of Butterflies in the garden, Speckled Wood, Red Admirals, and yesterday a female Holly Blue. The latter is pictured above, this is a female. Again, this is a species that we have had in the garden before, in fact they are not in the least bit rare, but they fluctuate from year to year due to a parasitic wasp that lays it's egg on the butterfly pupa. The egg of the wasp hatches and eats the Butterfly caterpillar. What happens then is a proliferation of the wasp but no butterfly caterpillars to lay it's eggs on, and then the Holly Blue is free to increase it's numbers until the cycle is repeated. It looks as though 2011 is going to be a good "Holly Blue" year.

Crab Spider - Misumena vatia

Crab Spiders use stealth to hunt and do not build a web.  Like some kind of "alien" being they have 8 eyes lined up on the top of their heads. Eyesight is important if you need to find your prey  by stealth.  They lay in wait for prey, using camouflage to conceal themselves.  This one was sat in the middle of a garden primrose flower, blending in perfectly. Apparently they can change their colour "chameleon" like to match their surroundings.  This is a female and  have seen them in the garden regularly.  Males are quite different and I have yet to find one. 

Bee Fly - Bombylius major

This is a garden first, the Bee Fly - Bombylius major, the extended proboscis makes them unique amongst British insects and consequently easy to identify. They are apparently quite common but it is a first for me and I am pleased to add it to my garden insect gallery. They use the long proboscis for feeding deep in to flowers to sip nectar. The more you look in the garden, the more interesting it becomes. If you want interesting insects in your garden then don't use insecticide.  They are parasitic and lay their eggs in the nests of solitary bees which explains completely why I saw it around the "mines" of the solitary bees on the edge of the lawn. 

Hairy Footed Flower Bee with extended tongue.

Hairy Footed  Flower Bees are very active in the garden at the moment.  Males and females are totally different in appearance, that is to say they are dimorphic. They are fast flying and hard to photograph.  As they feed, they extend their tongues to probe for nectar in their preferred flowers. They are not Bumble Bees  but solitary bees.  This is a male, they have hairy feet and in the image below you can see these hairy front feet.

I have already said that both sexes are totally different, and the females are almost all black except for golden yellowish hairs on their hind legs. This colour seems to vary and I saw one today that was really brightly coloured but others that hardly any yellow on the legs at all. However, both sexes have the long tongue which is already extended as they "buzz" in to feed.

This image  of a female shows all of the interesting features of this species, long extended tongue, black body and coloured hind leg.

 

Dippers

I have been watching the Dippers locally for the last 6 weeks. I have been  to watch them, to take notes,  and to photograph them most of those 42 days. Eventually I saw them carrying nesting material and then discovered their nest. Building continued  and then eventually, eggs were laid. Incubation began and today went I back  having not been since Saturday. Sadly the nest has been predated, the eggs eaten and smashed. Disaster to say the least and I was filled with despair when I discovered the worst. I wasn't certain that the sitting female was safe but later, to my relief, I saw both birds feeding and took this photograph of the female.  I have been keeping a detailed photographic diary of the event which you can read and see by clicking on the link on the main page of this Blog. You will need a password which you can ask for by emailing me.

Blackbirds nesting in my garden

The Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a member of the thrush family and a very common bird in the UK.  In ecological terms they occupy the same niche in Europe as the American Robin (Turdus migratorious) in the New World.  They are found in a variety of habitats but associated with gardens where they breed regularly, sometimes close to houses and in exposed and unusual places.  At the moment a pair are breeding as near to my patio doors as they could get. They have been sitting for at least 10 days now  so with a usual incubation of around 14 days, it won't be long before we have some newly hatched chicks. Interestingly, I have yet to see the male anywhere near the nest, let alone incubating which is normal, female Blackbirds do all the incubating and brooding. Here she is "doing her stuff". At the moment she hasn't got a care in the world but when the chicks eventually fledge they will have to run the gauntlet of the local domestic cats. Every year the Blackbirds breed and then the local cats pick them off before they have developed the skills needed to escape them. I have lost count of the number of times in the last 25 years that mauled, baby blackbirds have been brought to me by the same neighbour and cat owner who calls herself and animal lover, but thinks it's acceptable to let it happen year after year.

 

Hairy Footed Flower Bee -Anthophora plumipes

Sexual dimorphism is when a male and a female of the same species  have a different appearance. In birds this is usually different colours and patterns of plumage. The Hairy Footed Flower Bee -Anthophora plumipes is also dimorphic, and to my eyes quite dramatically.  I discovered this today when they were visiting flowers in my garden. I have seen the, almost black bee before in the garden, but hadn't realised that males and females differed so remarkably. The male, instead of being black, has a white face and white "hair' on the thorax. The first 2 photos shows a female, note the orange/yellow hairs on the hind legs. The third picture shows the totally different male. In this picture, you can see the hairy feet which gives this  species it's name.

 

Andrena nigroaenea

In my last post I had shown photos of the the nest burrow of  Andrena nigroaenea and promised a photo of the bee as soon as I managed to get one.  It didn't take long  today. As soon as the  sun came out and it warmed up, there were one or two around the burrows on the lawn. It is very exciting to know that this species is in my garden , and probably has  been for years, living ther, unseen and unstudied (at least by me). It is very satisfying to find them and now, to be able to get some great photos as well. This is the same individual and it is a female. I did take another photo of another individual which is smaller, slimmer and a has a richer colour on the thorax........ probably a male.

Some features of the Blog including Galleries and a Devon Dipper Diary.

To visit my Dipper Diary, a detailed account, with pictures of breeding Dippers, then click on the link here DEVON DIPPER DIARY.  You will need a password so please email me to ask for it.
 To see my Galleries  of more than 2000 pictures click here

 

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My day!

I have been keeping this photo for a few days in case I had no bird pics to post and knowing how much people enjoy seeing my pictures I kept it in reserve so to speak. This is the male of the nesting pair from the garden.  They started breeding really early and in fact they were even carrying nesting material way back on Christmas Day. As yet though, no baby birds seen, probably because of the two rogue Magpies who skulk around on a daily basis.

A Blog is an online diary so I suppose it's just OK to let you know what I have been up to today, it's been quite interesting but not particularly fruitful. Yesterday we had found an unfortunate "road kill" pheasant which I picked up and brought home. Why you may ask. Thinking photo opportunities, I thought it would be a good plan to tempt the Maggies down to the carcass and then see how they deal with this sort of thing.  I laid the dead bird out on the lawn and as it was damaged I thought the birds would be in to feed on it quite quickly, but surprisingly  they are more than a little bit suspicious and haven't ventured down yet. so that's that. It's ongoing and we will see what develops over the next few days.

On the lawn we have good signs of Mining Bees, I am yet to get a good photo to confirm species but I suspect, from the very quick glimpse I had that the two holes are made by Tawny Mining Bees - Andrena fulva . You can see from the photo below that they make quite distinctive burrows. 

 Mining Bees are solitary bee species. The females dig the burrows and place pollen at the end before laying an egg. When the egg hatches the larva feeds on the pollen. The bees over-winter at the bottom of the burrow before emerging the following spring. If you are interested in these solitary bees then this is the time that they are the most active.

Dippers feeding Video

I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed with the the poor quality of this video footage. It was filmed in HD and looked good before it was uploaded to "Vimeo",  (the video hosting site). It's not a free service so I need to discover why it is such poor quality. If you just view it in this window, it is not too bad but open it in a large, full screen view and the quality is impaired! To see it larger without affecting it too much, just click on "cmd +"  to increase the size of the browser window to view it larger. Then when you have finished, reduce the size of the browser window again by pressing "cmd -".

 The video shows one of a pair of birds feeding in typical fashion.  Watch carefully and you can actually see the bird under the water and how it uses it's wings to propel it's self. It's quite interesting to see how it swims against the current. The force of the water passing over it forces the bird nearer to the bottom of the stream.  They are looking for the small larva of caddis and mayfly but will eat small snails and dragonfly larva and even small, but very small fish. Dippers are early breeders and they time their breeding to coincide with the best time for their prey. The more rich in water-life a watercourse is, then the earlier in the season Dippers will breed. 

 

Some garden favourites.

This is Coccinella septempunctata............ the Seven Spot Ladybird, the UK's most common ladybird, a beetles of course.  Ladybirds are a familiar and  welcome insect to have in the garden.  They are predators of Aphids so they should be encouraged for that fact alone.  I find the scientific name quite interesting. Coccinella for example is derived from the Italian for crimson and then the word became used to name "our" ladybird. Interestingly, the word has it's origins from the colour carmine, another word for crimson. Cochineal are a beetle species from Central America and  a source of the red food colouring and dye of the same name. Septempunctata is much more obvious, septem means seven and punctata is derived from the latin  "punctat" meaning "marked with pricks or punctures"  which is a reference to the spots of course. You may ask why is September the  9th month and not the 7th. The year way back in history started in March and of course that makes September month number 7, it's as simple as that! 

The Garden Cross Spider Araneus diadematus, one of the most common spiders in the UK and seen from around now up until late Autumn.  At this time of the year they are quite small but you can still see the markings on the abdomen that gives them their name.