Late January Garden, ahead of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch Update of 31 Jan. 2021: I have tried several times to upload my Big Garden Birdwatch results to the RSPB site, but apparently the volume of results has caused a glitch. According to messages on the RSPB England Facebook page, we are invited to keep trying to upload our data, and this can be done right up until 19 February.

I look forward to taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch over the weekend. Long-tailed tits may not gain my highest score, but I expect they will be in the top three. We hardly ever saw these exquisite birds when we lived in South Wales: I wonder whether they have become much more prevalent in recent years. We placed a robin-sized nesting-box of brushwood and a small roosting pouch in the garden today. It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks whether we have any takers.

 

'Our' nettles had a very poor summer season last year, so the ones in the photo above, taken this morning, make we wonder if 2021 will be a better year for them. I would love butterflies to lay their eggs in this corner of the garden.

Sadly this Dockbug has come to grief. I noticed it in the old shallow tray of water we keep out for the birds. On a happier note, I watched a ladybird moving along a branch in the sunshine. I expect it should really be overwintering, but the unexpected warmth had probably lured it out. I also saw what looked like my first bee of 2021. I always look forward to the return of the insects. 

The specks of ice (or hail?) on this leaf caught my eye the other morning. I have greatly enjoyed seeing the icy wonders on BBC Winterwatch this year.

Bank Holiday: Blackberries and a Holly Blue

Yesterday was a 'typical' Bank Holiday Saturday in our neck of the woods. It was dark and blustery all day. Thankfully the weather brightened up considerably for a while this afternoon, though there was a cool north wind by 5pm. We decided to head for what has become our 'usual' spot as we wanted somewhere we could reach fairly quickly before the clouds returned. The blackberries look very mixed, but the good ones would doubtless make a tasty crumble. 

We saw a few white butterflies, largely at a distance, and a single Holly Blue. There was a Dockbug (below) on one of the blackberry leaves. I had not seen these insects on brambles before, but a quick look at Google Images suggests that this is not unusual.

I wonder if others have noticed how early the season seems to be changing. These Hawthorn berries, along with some Rosehips, certainly brightened up the hedgerow. 

As we reached a particularly scrubby area of the path by the railway bridge, my eyes led me to a few strands of Fumitory, a plant I have not seen for a while.

My photos give the appearance that everyone else was down the road at the beach, and they probably were, but we passed a surprising number of people. We pulled up our masks and stepped aside but I wish social distancing was more the norm...

David on the track by the bridge

Dock bugs fighting and mating

I have noticed a number of Dock bugs (Coreus marginatus) on our dock leaves for some days now. I can almost guarantee they will be there when I go and look. This morning, however, I found that there was a tussle going on, presumably because the third insect was trying to remove the second so that it could mate with the first. This all seemed quite brutal to me. I filmed a short video on my camera, but haven't worked out how to upload it. That may not be such a bad thing...