Friday at the Flicks - Pollen Beetles + Enterprising Starling

As promised a few days ago here is some video of the Pollen Beetles at work.
They sure do love their pollen:



The soundtrack is 'Hunger After Dinner' from a ProTracker module by Delta X of fraxion.


Sometimes there are darn near fifty Starlings in the trees around my garden. The only feeders they can use are the wire baskets containing a mixture of peanuts and suet pellets. Naturally the pellets disappear first but the birds have to work for them by clinging on the outside and pecking off small pieces. To my astonishment one of this years brood had other ideas. It must have found out by accident that the lid can be lifted to gain access to the inside. As far as I can tell only one bird regularly does this and even though the others can see it they don't seem to have tried copying:



I was worried that it might lose its footing and fall in head first and get stuck. Sorry the end of the video goes out of focus. I forgot that it is better for this sort of video to use manual focus.

Have a great weekend observing the antics of the wildlife around you.

Covenham Reservoir - Part 3 - Last Look Round

One annoying scene -
a pile of mattresses which some IQ zero had decided to dump near the bottom stile.

 

More pleasant was being able to look across the nearby fields and see harvest time had started.





I seemed to spend quite some time dodging the various insects which wanted to use me and the cameras as landing platforms. I still have an itchy lump on the back of my neck where one decided to see what I tasted like.
Unidentified weevil:

 

Most of the visible structure being concrete there is plenty of lichen to break up the monotonous grey.
Caloplaca aurantia?:



There were lots of brown butterflies, some skippers I think, but not one would rest in a place where it was possible to get a photo. The only other colour spotted - a pretty flower.
Birds-foot-trefoil?:

 

At the right time of year there should be some orchids to see but nothing was showing on Sunday:



Disappointingly the bird life was virtually nil. There are usually some gulls and ducks swimming about but not this time. A few gulls flying high up but the highlight for me was a Yellow Wagtail hunting for food just above the lapping water:

 

 

 

On the whole an enjoyable visit. It was nice to get a change of scenery.

Covenham Reservoir - Part 2 - Sailing

At one end of the reservoir is the watersports centre:



People were just beginning to manoeuvre their boats down the slipway:

 

 

Getting ready for an afternoons sailing:

 

Rising well above the height of the reservoir one of many wind generator farms in this part of Lincolnshire can be seen:

 

Along with the occasional solo generator:

 

A bit of video - somewhat jerky in places as it was hand held and I really should have switched off the Nikon's in camera anti shake facility. It's fine for stills but when things are moving across the view in a video it keeps trying to keep what it assumes is the main subject in the same position:



There are quite a few rules for those taking part in activities on the reservoir. Certain places for different activities and a 'forbidden zone' in one corner for wildlife. One main rule is - no one is allowed on the water unless the rescue boat is available and manned:



My one disappointment was a lack of wind surfers. For this spectator they make for more entertainment, especially when they are learning or trying out a new manoeuvre. This is the first time they have been missing when I have visited.

Covenham Reservoir - Part 1 - The Site

 

Covenham Reservoir is a totally man made structure. It measures about 1km by 1km and is a store for water which can be pumped up from the nearby disused Louth Navigation Canal. Most of our water comes from underground aquifers but the level in these can be very low in years with little rain so Covenham Reservoir can act as a reserve supply. As it rises about 20m (60 feet) above the surrounding flat countryside whichever of the two methods of access is chosen it is a steep climb.

Views from the bottom and top of the steps:




The main problems using the steps, apart from their steepness, are the stiles which have to be negotiated top and bottom. Neither are suitable for Penny to jump. They are designed to keep sheep which graze on the grass outside the structure from entering the footpath.

The other way is suitable for cars as there is a watersports centre at the top:
 

 

Once at the top you get the first views of the reservoir:
 



From the footpath you can look down on the car park where I parked the battle wagon:


The only other structure, apart from the watersports centre, is the visible part of the pumping and water treatment centre at the far end:


The reservoir is lined with concrete to stop marginal water plants from growing. By the layers of water weed it is possible to gauge how full, or empty, it is:


Apart from it being a pleasant outing on a hot Summers day there were two reasons to go. One was to see if there was any human activity; sailing or wind surfing. The other was to see what wild birds, if any, were to be spotted. More about those later.

Monday Mystery - Guess What

Unfortunately there are no virtual Midmarsh Star awards this time.
What we had last week was a close shot of a Sunflower in bud:

   

Which is now in full flower:


Here's hoping this week's close view of an everyday object is easier to unlock.
Guess What:


Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.
No prizes.
Just for fun and maybe a virtual Midmarsh Gold or Silver Star.

Bats

Brilliant sunny day today so we had a trip to Covenham Reservoir in the afternoon.
Still sorting the photos and video from that.

When I saw a couple of bats hunting round my garden tonight I tried to get a short piece of video using the Nikon Coolpix S9050 hand held. Not a lot of light about at 9.30 p.m. No sound:

Some you Win, Some you Lose

A 50 / 50 day for photo opportunities yesterday, well one was really a sound recording opportunity.

Last night about twilight time was the first time for at least ten years I had seen a bat hunting round the garden. Years ago I used to have several swooping and diving round the trees every Summer evening. This time there was just the one. I had forgotten just how fast they move. A few years ago I bought a bat detector so I got that out and something to record the sounds but by the time I was ready the bat had moved on. In the past the night visitors have been Pipistrelles. A few years ago I watched how a large moth dodged being caught by a bat. As the bat rushed at the moth it stopped flapping its wings and dropped like a stone. Just a couple of feet but enough so the bat careered past well above the moth.

Also last night could have been an opportunity to photograph a 'Blue Moon'. The second full Moon in one month which only happens every two to three years but every time it showed through the clouds it would disappear as soon as I set the camera up.

During the morning I decided to set up for macro video. I wanted to get some close shots of the Pollen Beetles at work. That worked just fine but the video will have to wait for Friday at the Flicks.

While everything was set up I noticed a small fly which I did manage to photograph:





I don't know what it is and haven't got round to having a search as yet.

My thanks to Adrian (Adrian's Images) for identifying it as a Capsid Bug -  Plagiognathus arbustorum.