WHAT'S BUZZING OR FLYING NEAR YOU 2019

Not seen many swallows this year, is this just me?

 

No, we haven't got many, we used to have thousands but no we only have about 20, big drop in numbers, the phone isn't the same with out them!!!

 

Great Blue Heron, hiding in plain sight.

 

I don't have Swallows here but usually House Martins. I saw a couple early in the season but nothing since.

 

Juvenile Siskin with parent.

 

@strongylodon

Meadow Pippit?

Juvenile? (as I don't seem to notice them until it's time for what I asssume to be fledglings about flying in small groups)

 

Greenshank, moulting into winter plumage.

 

A walk round Lochore Meadows recently and managed to catch this bee in flight :rasp:

 

This arrived last Sunday whilst we were away and has shown an keen interest in my patio tomatoes and we have had to put up a barricade to keep him off. He woke me at 4.03 this morning. He was up on the ridge tiles "honking " like a Canada goose - his way of greeting the dawn I suppose.
He got a hose pipe shower yesterday and then a jet spray which seems to put him off for today but I think he'll come back. It's a communal garden with a lot of elderly folk here so it's not suitable for him here.
What can we do please?

 

Really bad photo (but the gravel is sharply in focus!!):rasp:

A butterfly was caught in the lounge. I took a quick photo before setting her free.... some sort of fritillary?

 

Possibly Queen of Spain Fritilary @Sian in Belgium.

 

That's a Peahen @Jenny namaste and if they have a mind to they can be quite destructive around gardens. Perhaps a phone call to your local RSPCA would be an idea as they may know who owns it. If not there's a possibility they'll remove it.

 

I don`t get much birdlife in my garden apart from very occasional Tits, Blackbirds, Starlings, Sparrows, Jackdaws and Pigeons so I was very surprised to see this Goldfinch feeding on the dandelion seed heads.

 

Distant Whimbrel, a few have arrived around here earlier than usual as they gradually make their way back to Africa for the winter and only pass through here on migration.
Often mistaken for a Curlew as they are similar in appearance but a slimmer bird with a shorter less curved bill.

 

House Martins rebuilding their nests with beaks full of mud.