It certainly says something about my birding when a Starling takes centre stage. I'd spent the morning out on the flatlands, baiting a few spots and doing a bit of birding whilst on my wanderings. Really nice to bump into a few "old school" birding pals who were "twitching" a Ring-necked Duck! How very sad? I didn't, however, seek that American import but, instead, was very happy to espy three, of four, Black-winged Stilts which were present at the location. Adult Mediterranean Gulls, Avocets, Hobby and Sedge Warblers vied for photographic rites, whilst Norfolk Hawkers, Hairy Dragonflies and umpteen other inverts provided constant distractions along the way.
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With my chosen areas given a healthy supply of freebies, I slowly made my way back towards the van. It was a beautiful morning with a scorching sun beaming down, from a cloudless sky, but alleviated by a gentle easterly breeze. Life's very good on days like these! Almost back to the stables, where the van's parked, I spotted a very strange - looking Starling. Camera quickly called into action, I rattled off a series of shots in the hope that I'd be able to confirm my suspicions when I downloaded the images onto my laptop.
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| All dark bill and complete lack of contrast between wing and body colouration, this is a Common Starling and not the exotic cousin I was hoping for. |
Sadly my hunch was mis-guided, at best, and the bird involved nothing more than a leucistic, juv, Common Starling. Still it's these experiences which enhance the learning process, no matter how long you've been involved. Garden mothing has taken on another dimension over these past couple of nights. Green Oak Tortrix and Diamond-backs have occurred in ridiculous numbers. Three to four hundred of each on both nights. Plenty of other moths to provide diversity and garden year ticks, yet micros, geometers and Hawk-moths are conspicuous by their absence. The best moth, by a country mile, last night was a Red-necked Footman which ensured my day started on a natural high!
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| I photographed this moth using a white envelope as the background. In future I might try a blue/grey option to gain a better appreciation of the colours involved. |
My verbascum flowers have now reached 3ft high as they come into flower but over the last week I've been noticing that the leaves are being shredded by something and have been blaming it on slugs. A close inspection yesterday found the culprits are a heavy infestation of caterpillars of the Mullien Moth. It was tempting to remove them all but I've decided to leave them to it, the damage is already done.
ReplyDeleteHi Derek, really nice to hear from you. If gardening is your thing then surely this type of event will be very frustrating. However, if like me, the garden exists to attract wildlife and its' appearance is just a secondary bonus, then the plant damage suggests that you're doing something right? I had a very similar problem last summer when Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillars destroyed a couple of Fuschia plants in my hanging baskets. Flowers or insects, I'm perfectly happy to see both. Hoping all is well at your end? Take care - Dylan
DeleteA large chunk of my front lawns are wildflower meadow, which amuses some passers by. All my largish rear garden is full of shrubs and flowers but all left to become slightly overgrown in order to benefit wildlife.
ReplyDeleteOh for the option of a front garden? Here in darkest Dumpton, off road parking is far more valuable than a wildflower meadow, such is the pressure within the Thanet area for such an asset. Thankfully, my back garden looks out onto Newlands Farm and the majority of the land is owned by Canterbury Cathedral, so a fairly safe bet to avoid development whilst Bev and I remain on the planet? Out the front of our bungalow half a dozen planters, two hanging baskets and a boundary of Red Valerian is as good as I'm able to do under the circumstances. - Dylan
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