What's buzzing or flying near you 2024 ?

I saw a red kite over the week flying over the garden and a few birds had a bath in my bigger bird bath a day later.
I leave now everything as it is. I saw a robin over the week eating seeds from the echinacea.

 

Lots of cabbage whites flocking here at the mo and just a few brown jobs flitting about. Lots of bees too and, in the pm when it warms up, the wasps get going too.

The birds are coming back and quite a lot of singing going on.

 

We have large numbers of jackdaws here - they often nest in the soffits of properties. A house along the road from me has them every year. I can usually see them dangling from the timber on the roof before wriggling inside - very acrobatic!

 

Great to see some long tails again on the feeders not been around for some time. Male GSW also on the feeders and Green specker calling out in the fields again.

 

With some terrible light todayI managed a couple of shots of a young Velvet Scoter on a gravel pit not far away and very rare to see one inland as it is primarily a sea duck. A rarity in Dorset.




Later this afternoon I had a brief view of a Ring Ouzel feeding up on it's way to North Africa for the Winter.

 

Red-bellied woodpecker.

 

Male Downy woodpecker.

 

Lots of ladybirds flying about the garden today never seen so many. Warm weather perhaps?

 

Just googled it they swarm in October apparently as it gets colder looking for somewhere warm to spend winter.
Never knew that silly me .

 

Yes, some are already in our bathroom in the corner and one is heading up the wall at quite a speed to join them. I presume they are Harlequins as they are assorted colours. We get them every year. It's always on a fine sunny day they start coming in the window. I do shut it if it looks like a swarm.

 

I don't get a lot of lady birds at any time, but I also don't grow lots of plants which attract the greenfly they like to feed on. I occasionally find them tucked in behind the stems of clematis in late winter/early spring though.

Your photos are really stunning @hydrogardener . I always enjoy seeing them

 

Peregrine Falcons, on the cliffs, possibly adult and juvenile.

 

Yes, that's why I don't do anything in the garden and leave every leaf untouched. I found several ladybirds in the leaves of the sunflowers sleeping in February.

While sitting in the garden yesterday, I saw one of the song birds singing on the neighbour's roof and looking around. I thought he might look for a mate for next year?

 

I was sat in my office on my computer yesterday, when I could hear a banging and bumping down below. I just couldn't understand what the noise was and knew something odd was going on.

So I went downstairs and opened the back door to find a buzzard right next to the dining room french window. It took off on seeing me, but I could not see any evidence as to what it was doing. Maybe it could see its reflection and was bashing the window.

Next it'll be in the back door!