Mostly Insects

Saturday 26th July 2014
Close up of a Megachile sp. Leaf-cutter - the business end
In the garden, Leaf-cutter Bees (Megachile sp.) have been very active lately, making good use of the 'solitary bee hive' I have provided. These are fascinating insects, cutting neat holes in the leaves of plants (I haven't actually witnessed them doing this) and carrying them back to the nest. Pollen is collected on a mass of hairs on the lower abdomen, and they seem to favour my Dahlias for this.
 
 
 
A Common Darter in the garden was very fresh-looking and allowed close study.

At WWT Slimbridge in the afternoon, the highlights were a female Marsh Harrier and two Redstarts from Holden Tower. I also saw 3+ flyover Yellow Wagtails and a juvenile on the sea wall, and 11 Green Sandpipers and four Avocets were at Robbie Garnett hide. I watched the the Marsh Harrier on The Dumbles for around 15 minutes before it took to the air, eventually heading towards the canal, and being mobbed by a Buzzard and an Avocet along the way.

A couple of garden hoverfly photos:
Episyrphus balteatus, Marmalade Fly
Eupeodes luniger
And finally, a White Adniral photo from Oversley Wood, Warwickshire, on 10th July:

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