Most days the Pheasant visits the garden. He always keeps an eye on the kitchen window. If he sees me I can guarantee that within seconds he will be outside the back door waiting for me to scatter some peanuts.
Mrs Great Tit
I have seen the female Great Tit visit the Birdy Bistro a few times. Not only had she lost many head feathers but also many on one side of her face. From the latest nest box views she seems to be growing new feathers so it won't be long before it will be difficult to tell which is which.
Soggy Ladybird
As I was checking for wildlife in and around the pond I saw a tiny ladybird which was struggling on the surface of the water. I managed to fish it out and after photographing this tiny two spot ladybird I set it down in the sunshine to dry out its wings.
A Fuzzy Moth (which turned out to be a Fuzzy Fly)
Was it a bee or was it a moth? It looks like a bee. It's bee size. It behaves like a humming bird. I guess it was a Hummingbird Hawk Moth. I spent ages trying to photograph it. I only had the Lumix with me and that doesn't have manual focus. The moth seemed to be playing games with me. It would often hover a couple of feet from my face as if waiting to be photographed but zoom sideways or backwards as soon as I pressed the shutter. So - the best I managed was this fuzzy photo:
My grateful thanks to Pete Smith and Jan for correcting my erroneous identification. What I had spent about a quarter of an hour trying to photograph was a Bee Fly (Bombylius major). They are amazing in the way they can hover in one place and dart around in any direction in the blink of an eye.
Blackcap
While I was sat in the garden on Monday enjoying the unseasonal 18C sunshine I spotted the Blackcap visit the Birdy Bistro. That may well be the last time I will see it. No sighting at all yesterday.
Beautiful photographs John! And thank you for saving the Ladybird! It's amazing the Pheasant comes for his peanuts, he's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Maree and thanks also for the mention on your blog.
DeleteGreat selection John.
ReplyDeleteI love that Pheasant. Yea, a friend for life if you feed him peanuts :-)
Thank you Keith. I think he may be busy courting at the moment and I need the peanuts for the hedgehogs now.
DeleteIt's a Bee Fly, John!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great photo of your new pal :-) and I love the one of the Blackcap. Well done on rescuing the Ladybird.
Good to see things seem to be happening still with the nest box.
A big 'thank you' Jan for correcting my identification. A fascinating insect whatever we call it ;) Fuzzy Fly will do for me lol.
DeleteHaven't seen Mr Pheasant for a couple of days so maybe he is too busy courting.
Mrs GT was giving the box a good examination again first thing this morning.
Hi john, the "fuzzy moth" (I am so tempted to call them this from now on :-) ) is a Bee Fly, Bombylius major which is a fly that mimics a Bee and has huge proboscis to reach nectar. They are usually one of the first of the spring insects to emerge. There are quite a few about at the moment and are one of my favourites. They are also addictive to try to photograph!
ReplyDeletePete
Brilliant Pete. Many thanks for the true identification from now on I will have to call it a Fuzzy Fly ;) A correction has been added to the text.
DeleteSuper to see the Blackcap John, Ive never seen one so am hoping for a sighting this year. The Bee fly is an interesting one, Linda
ReplyDeleteI was lucky the Blackcap decided to choose my garden for a few days Linda.
DeleteI've only seen a Bee Fly twice and they are fascinating to watch though frustrating to photograph.