The birds and the bee-flies

The weather has been so wonderful that I've spent the last two days out in the back garden. There are lots of bee-flies around and I even saw two mating. One bee-fly is an odd looking thing, but two look a bit like a bee kebab!

A bee-fly is an odd looking thing, with it's great long proboscis, furry bee
body and log fly legs

Two mating is extra strange though!

The dandelions everywhere seem to have bloomed in the last two days, including the ones in our garden. The butterflies, beetles and flies all love them, so we'll keep them (at least until they've finished flowering). Look closely and they really are very pretty flowers!

 

Brimstone on dandelion

Peacock on dandelion

The garden has been full of butterflies and I saw my first holly blue and orange tip of the year today. In fact I saw 5 male orange tips today, but it could have been the same one that kept coming back!

Holly blue

Holly blue

Brimstone on periwinkle

Whistlejacket, one of our local red kites, has been sitting in the silver birch in the garden a lot recently. Now the leaves and buds are starting to appear it's getting hard to see him very well, although he still whistles a lot, so you know he's out there.

Looking very handsome in the evening sunshine

We've also had a few chiffchaffs in the silver birch and the goldfinches have suddenly become brave and come onto the patio to feed and drink.

Chiffchaff

  

 

Goldfinches

The sparrow family are still 'chapping' a lot and making a racket. They really are very funny!

The blue tits seem to have abandoned their nest on the patio. They were taking lots of nesting material into the box when we went away to the coast, but they haven't been in there since we got back. Not sure what happened while we were away, but they are still a coming to the feeders, so hopefully they're nesting somewhere nearby.

The blackbirds have babies out of the nest and the robins are looking a little worried, so may also have babies out in the garden.

Baby blackbird, with a stubby little tail

The robins are looking a bit worried

The jackdaws have spent most of the afternoon marching up and down the roof. They look like they're on patrol.



Patrolling the rooftop



Jackdaw patrol

The blackcap pair have been around the garden. For a while we only saw the male, but the female has reappeared again.

Male blackcap

What a lovely way to enjoy the sunshine, joined by the newest member of the Bug Mad family...