summer colours

On Rowden lane. Is there a hint of autumn in these colours?

a very shy visitor

Jays may be very noisy birds but they are also generally very shy, and only very occasionally come into our garden (see link). The local magpies were very unhappy about this intruder and tried to chase it off.

 We also spotted this magpie moth yesterday, although its colouration might suggest that leopard moth would be a better description.

disappearing peacock

we are now in butterfly count fortnight, and the butterfly conservation group have reported an "alarming" drop in the number of peacock butterflies. So it was heartening that we saw 5 or 6 individuals this morning, once it had warmed up a bit. The bramble flowers on which a lot of bigger butterflies tend to feed have already come and gone this year, and the knapweed  has not quite come into flower yet so there seems to be a gap in available food for these insects. This butterfly is feeding on a species of thistle.

kings of their castles

a small skipper on a marsh thistle, and (after much discussion about little brown birds) a chiffchaff

in the meadows

soft light and a myriad of spiders' webs filled the meadows early this morning, as did the chattering of a family of long tailed tits enjoying the warmth of the sun

occasional visitors

Another very occasional visitor to the peanuts is this nuthatch, adopting its characteristic upside down feeding posture, much to the surprise of the juvenile blue tit.