Lunchtime ramblings started by the stream where many Three-spined Sticklebacks were darting too and fro. This male, in spawning colours, hung around long enough to have his protrait taken. Despite being only a couple of centimetres long, Sticklebacks were used (in yesteryear) for the production of oil and fish-meal, especially in the White Sea and German haffs.
Moving on to more productive areas, many fine patches of Red Clover are now in flower.
Took this snap of a Green-bottle (or something like that), only to realise that there was a wee spid just near it. The spid has evidently spun a minute web in the hole of the leaf.
Nice Black-tailed Skimmer trying its hardest to put in a spot of sun bathing on what was not a very sunny day.
I then started to look for moths on the various trees - this was prompted by my finding a Small Emerald moth the other day when I didn't have the camera with me.
Upon reaching on of the conifers, my attention was drawn to a few white streaks on the bark - surely the sign of a nest above me somewhere. Looking up - two fine Tawny Owls were looking down at me. Tawny Owls are heard on the site throughout the late winter and Spring nights - this was the first sighting for me.
Also nice that they were by their nest - excellent.
With my 'tree trunk hunting' having been such a success so far, I managed to convince The Good Lady Wiff that a quick post-work walk on the site would be nice. After searching several of the lime trees, this superb Lime Hawk Moth was located hanging on the bark, waiting for night fall.
Close-up the little blighter seemed to be a heck of a lot hairier than myself!
No comments:
Post a Comment