Month: July 2009

  • Nesting woodpigeon

    A woodpigeon spent several hours collecting nest materials from the eucalyptus tree this morning, snapping off single twigs and carrying them away one by one.

  • Swifts

    Group of about 15 swifts spotted mid-morning.

  • Gatekeeper

    Gatekeeper butterfly, Pyronia tithonus, in the garden at lunchtime. It settled on some spurge plants for a few moments but flew off again before I could take a photo. Lots of white butterflies about, and a fairly large moth which I didn’t get a chance to identify.

  • Thirsty gulls and more crickets

    Heavy rain this morning at about 8.45 am. Two juvenile gulls on a nearby roof were throwing their heads back and apparently drinking it – something I’ve never seen before. At the same time a woodpigeon on another roof seemed to be having a bath – cocking up first one wing then the other and…

  • Cricket

    A buzzard was calling at about 11.30 am this morning. Went to the postbox this afternoon and saw some ripe blackberries on a patch of waste ground outside someone’s garden fence. A good crop of rowanberries on all the trees and the lime flowers have set seed. A Green Bush Cricket seems to be living…

  • Four buzzards

    Flying west at about 11.30 am.

  • Peregrine and dragonfly

    A peregrine was flying about and calling near the house all morning – could be a young one turned out by the parents to fend for itself? Emperor dragonfly on garden pond, and a different type of damselfly to the usual ones – black body/blue tail.

  • Heron and gulls

    Strange, prehistoric-sounding noises overhead at about 11.30 am – turned out to be three gulls attacking a very vocal heron. Had a terrific view of the heron diving and striking back at them.