Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Birders everywhere seem determined to make it autumn - why wish your life away? It's summer, summer, summer! We haven't had much of one, so let's make the most of it now it's arrived.
The garden has sprung into life with a few more butterflies, a Southern Hawker Dragonfly, and this Ruby-tailed Wasp. It's very tiny and hardly stops moving as it searches the wall for crevices; but the electric colours catch the eye.
This is a solitary predatory wasp, probably one of the Square-headed species.
Yesterday, the settled weather drew us down to Hut Hill. We had a cheeseburger (our first since we were here last year, despite the contemptuous looks of the Muzzy man as one who is thinking "You English! You have such unhealthy eating habits!") and then walked out into the forest on a still, warm evening just made for nightjars.
We had to wait until it was almost dark before one came zinging by; Greger was behind me and said it just cleared my head! It flew back across the track in front of us looking very cuckoo-like, twisting and turning low over the bracken where moths were beginning to rise.
One began to churr very close, and the churring ended in a sort of breathy whistle (first time I've heard this) followed by a wing-clap. But we weren't lucky with woodcocks.
// posted by Christine @ 1:13 AM 
