What's buzzing or flying near you 2023 ?

Peek-a-boo! Great Spotted Woodpecker.

 

A Sandwich Tern fishing.

 

Why's it called that, then?

It seems to've caught a sand eel.

Surely it should have, oh, I don't know, tuna mayo on wholemeal with a litte cracked pepper?

 

Perhaps it comes from Sandwich?

 

Ah, an Earl-y bird from East Kent.

 

Sorry..no photos, but a question. Does anyone have bats roosting on their house/ in their garden?
I've got a dilemma over re-homing the overspill from the colony living under the porch.
Ever since the house was finished, the local bats have roosted in a small gap between a beam and the stone wall. This year, though, there are simply too many to fit so about 15 of them took up residence behind a shutter on the west-facing, rendered wall. Trouble is, we have to close the shutters in the afternoon to keep the house cool. So we put up a deluxe (bought) bat box just above the shutter
They don't seem to like it What to do? Has anyone successfully used bat boxes and could give me some pointers on construction. OH is handy with wood and screws, has every tool known to man, so could soon knock up something which would be more enticing....

 

You can get instructions for making bat boxes online, I made one 5 yrs ago and never seen a bat.

They have them in the local park in a wooded area pretty high up in the trees.
They must work as in the summer they do twilight guided walks to see the bats.

 

We put a bought one up in UK. There were bats, but they didn't choose to roost in the box
Given the tiny gap where they've been roosting here for 14 years, I reckon the boxes are too 'roomy' and probably too smooth inside as well. Oh well....we'll probably put a home-made one up further along under the porch. They can take it or leave it The west-facing wall wouldn't have been very hospitable in winter anyway...

 

Dont they often have different roosts summer and winter?
The box I made was roughed up inside for them to cling to with just a narrow slit for them to crawl in by.

 

No pictures, they don't stay still long enough, but seeing a few dragonflies around the pond now, saw a medium sized red bodied one yesterday and just spotted a bigger brilliant blue one.

As I'm sitting here writing a sparrow hawk has just swooped down on a starling that was on the fat ball feeder.
The starling was knocked to the ground, but got away.
Total silence now, every bird in the area has disappeared.

 

Great Egret and Little Egret.




Male Dunlin in summer plumage.


Female Dunlin.

 

The House Martins are here, no doubt ready to start their migration, and Chaffinches have had a good breeding season this year. There's a couple of dozen around the feeders at the moment.

 

A walk around Portland Bill and had a staring match with one of the Little Owls.

 

That bird is looking slightly shocked, apologetic, and very sorry about whatever it's just done.