Thursday 26th. May 2011

Firstly , thanks to Dean/DDD for confirming the moths posted yesterday , even the faded Orange Footman , that I thought wasn't a Footman , but I still cannot edit any posts with Blogger playing up , so this is the only way I can mention them .

With heavy showers being promised , I decided to stay local today . An early morning visit up on the Common , before taking Carol shopping , was my first stop . After two days away , I felt that the Great Spotted Woodpecker young would have already fledged , but hoped that they hadn't . On the way to the nest site , a couple of new , to me , species were found , but proved difficult to photograph in the strong wind . The first was a pair of Green-legged Sawfly/Tenthredo mesomelas , and it wasn't just the legs of this insect that was green , as most of the body was too . Just after I took this shot , the wind blew the pair off the leaf , and they were lost in the vegetation . The second was another of the hoverfly family , this time a male specimen of Eristalis rupium . Reaching the GSW nest site , I was pleased to hear the constant call of the young , and set up the camera and tripod . It wasn't long before the female arrived with food , and a youngster met her at the entrance to grab the meal . I'm still not sure how many young are in the nest , the book says 4-7 eggs are laid , but I don't think there are that many young . But , no matter how many are in there , they are getting more and more confident , wanting to find out what is outside that hole . Quite often , in between adults feeding visits , a youngster would appear at the hole , sometimes rather shyly , and sometimes more bravely , but always making the constant call for more food . I can't think why , but as I took these shots , a fellow blogger came to mind , perhaps it was something to do with the hair style and colouring . The whole parent thing seems to be taking it's toll on the male , as he has even taken to having a nap in between the searches for more food . When both adults were away from the nest , I took advantage to get the camera closer , and it certainly didn't seem to bother this youngster . Whilst watching this morning , neither adult took pooh away from the hole , which makes me think they will definitely not be there on my next visit .

The promised showers did arrive , and after the shopping and lunch , and between a couple of heavy ones , I had a look at the Farm lake . Still plenty of sun , but the wind if anything even more blustery than this morning . The Southern Marsh Orchid has opened now , showing it's beautiful colour . All the insects and Odonata were down in the low vegetation , which was where I found a single Meadow Brown and a single Common Blue . Also in the ground vegetation were hundreds of tiny Toadlets , that must have emerged from the water over the last few days . The female Mallard seems to have lost her one remaining duckling , and is being shadowed by a drake . The Coots seem to be keeping their family safe . A Common Whitethroat was calling from the hedge and further along , a Yellowhammer was singing , but had obviously forgotten the 'and no cheese' bit . The only other interest was the start of flowering of the Greater Knapweed/Centaurea scabiosa , a member of the Daisy family .

Planning an away day tomorrow , but that will be dictated by the weather .