On Tuesday night, there was a commotion in the garden:
'A carrion crow was sitting on the outer branches of the ash tree, ducking its head as the parent jackdaws divebombed it. As it flew off, I saw what the crow was carrying - a naked jackdaw chick, yellow beak open. Shortly afterwards, the crow returned and took another, like a baby-carrying stork gone bad.' More...
This morning, I heard another commotion from some Starlings outside. I couldn't see what the fuss was about initially (or the Starlings), but then it became obvious: on the lawn was a crumpled Goldfinch with an adult male Sparrowhawk on top of it.
My initial thought was 'the poor Goldfinch!' At this time of year, it's possible that it's feeding chicks or a mate on a nest. I'd been watching it eat dandelion seeds earlier (much appreciated). And it's very pretty, after all.
So's the Sparrowhawk. The hawk was a stunner: all slate-blue-grey and golden-orange eye, and there are probably white, fluffy Sparrowhawk chicks in a twiggy nest a short distance away.
When I inspected the scene later, all that was left were two secondary feathers, black with a white spot, and some downy feathers rather like the windborne seeds of a dandelion.
male Broad-bodied Chaser - what a beast!
Four-spotted Chaser
Large Red Damselflies. This pair had a lucky escape when the female became entangled in a spider's web, but they made their escape
Soldier Beetle
Song Thrush: the slug destroyer
Goldfinch: the dandelion exterminator
Long-tailed Tit
Large Red Damselflies - much less hassle
Cape daisy (Osteospermum)
Four-spotted Chasers mating (the female was busy ovipositing and the male flew down and chased and grabbed her. She managed to get free)
and ovipositing (egg-laying). These dragonflies fly along the surface and jerkily dip their rear ends below the surface
Large Red Damselfly
This Carrion Crow has learned to catch small fish in the pool
close-up of the female
Some kind of gall thing on an oak
My first damselfly photo of 2008
OK, not a sketch, a photo. But it is a dead Wryneck.
Bluebells
Blossom
Bumblebee on rosemary
Horse-chestnut
Peacock on bluebells
Young oak leaves
Sycamore
I've taken the crumb tray off the bird feeder for now, as it was getting emptied too quickly (Rooks are to blame, I think - they seem to have a penchant for sunflower seeds). Now the male Red-legged Partridge can't work out how to get up there.
