Monday 20 December 2010

Snow



And there has to be a Robin when there is snow. 


And snow there certainly is!!!


This follows weeks of heavy frost.

Monday 6 December 2010

Long-tailed Tits

On an exceptionally frosty morning a flock of Long-tailed Tits passed through the garden.  This is the first time we have seen them here.


The dark (and dirty windows!) reduced the quality of the photos.

Sunday 26 September 2010

Sparrowhawk



This is the second time in recent weeks that a Sparrowhawk has caught a pigeon and plucked it on our lawn leaving piles of feathers to be collected up.

Saturday 14 August 2010

An August visitor



I had a pair of Southern Hawkers in the garden on 6th August.  One of them wouldn't stay still at all but fortunately the other stopped - very briefly - for me.

Friday 30 July 2010

Moths from a moth night

These moths were taken in my moth trap on the night of 26th / 27th June.


Buff Ermine


Dark Arches



Double Square Spot


Dusky Brocade


Flame


Garden Carpet


Gothic


Grey Chi


Heart and Dart


Hebrew Character


Ingrailed clay


Map-winged Swift


Marbled Beauty


Mottled Beauty


Riband Wave



The Uncertain


Willow Beauty

Thursday 29 July 2010

2 spot variant


Tbhis ladybird in the garden is a variant of the Two-spot - Adalia 2-punctata f. annulata.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Lilies - June and July





Chinese Balloon Flower


Opening


Open!

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Lesser Yellow Underwing


The Lesser Yellow Underwing is a very common species in our garden.  This one took refuge in the shed.  While I was rescuing it I decided to try to get a picture or two of its colourful hindwings.

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Annuals



Some of the annuals currently flowering in the garden.


Lobelia


 Mimulus.


Petunia ?


Cosmos ?


Marigolds

Friday 16 April 2010

Hairy Bittercress


Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a common weed of gardens, greenhouses, paths, railways and waste ground. It is a plant ideally constituted to be a weed - it likes disturbed ground and bare soil; it can grow from seed to a plant shedding seeds within three weeks; it has pods that explode sending the seeds a distance from the plant; and the seeds can remain viable within the soil for at least ten years.



I wonder how many gardening years of work are spent getting Hairy Bittercress out of our gardens?

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Early April

Some early April sights:-


Lesser Celandine - a garden variety.


Scilla.

Violets



Cowslips


Weeping Willow


Mount Hood Daffodil


Frogspawn appeared on 9th April.