beetle mania

we came across this group of dor beetles on a track in the conifer woods near Carthamartha. There was no obvious evidence of droppings and the beetles seemed to be producing the moist mud balls by themselves. Some beetles had paired off and were burrowing deeper. Very faint stridulations were audible. Is this common behaviour and what were they doing? I have posted these pictures on Wild about Britain where someone will definitely be able to provide an answer. I feel fairly sure they are mating but I have never seen a collection of these beetles like this before (a colony seems to be the correct collective noun).

Marting about

In this picture there are at least seven martins flying around this funny little meadow opposite our paddock. Even though it is a dreary, windy, rainy day there were many more very excited birds darting about. I have no idea what they were hunting but they were protected from the wind and rain by a stand of large sycamores. They are very hard to capture on the move in this sort of light.

Ascendant

There is nothing quite like the sound of a skylark, but even with 20/20 vision, an excellent camera and a telephoto lens they are still difficult to see (top picture) but further digital enlargement makes them a bit clearer . This skylark was singing above a field of miscanthus (elephant grass) that was cropped recently so maybe they can use these otherwise barren fields to nest in.

Martinot line update

So far so good. After some hesitation, the martins have completed one nest and are well on the way to finishing the second nest. It sounds as if a martin is sitting in the nest on the right. The pesky (but much loved and well fed) sparrows have not tried to take over the nest or intimidate the martins yet, but we may have to risk life and limb to extend the Martinot line along to the corner of the eaves because as history shows the enemy can always go round the the undefended corner at the top.

udder joy

So that's what milk is really for.

bullfinch fat ball

who's calling me fat? Female bullfinch and sparrow together. Possibly a young bullfinch as they seem to be breeding nearby.