Late dawn

The Safari was on the North Blackpool Pond Trail at about 6.30 this morning ready to help lead a late Dawn Chorus Walk...tomorrow is International Dawn Chorus Day, not sure how that works in the international bit of the Southern hemisphere, but hey-ho, it was chilly in the wind but not to bad in the lee of the trees.

All the species present were singing, just not all at the same time which is a bit easier for novices to get their ear in unlike the real dawn chorus a coupe of hours earlier when everything is singing at the same time, adds to the overall experience but is hard to differentiate which voice is who's if you're not an ardent bird listener.

Almost straight way we heard an NBPT patch year bird, a Lesser Whitethroat always a nice find. Blackcap and 'ordinary' Whitethroat soon fell too.

When the crew arrived a Reed Bunting was 'zip zip zap zapping' in the nearest bush but we couldn't see it through the fresh new growth.

We walked along the trail listening at various points and having a look see at the other wildlife to be found like the almost open Bluebells and the multitudinous Grey Squirrels.

At the lake at the far end the Heron was almost hidden sat hunkered down on it's nest, a Sparrowhawk was seen carrying nesting material and a Great Crested Grebe provided some glamour. The 'wild-side' of the lake held both Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler if a little confusingly at first it took the three most experienced of us a few minutes of concentrating to work out there were actually two birds present! They took our NBPT list to 59 for the year.

Also at the lake we saw the striking and very impressive wood sculpture for the first time.

There will be another one but not quite the same at our end of the trail shortly - one to look out for in the next few weeks.

We were out a full three enjoyable hours in the end.

After a lush brekkie of toasted crumpets Frank wanted to go out so we took him and saw the bees were out on our neighbours dry stone bank at last. not sure what the larger mining bee is but Gooden's Nomad Bees were also out.

Back at Base Camp a Wren was scuttling around the wood-store like a mouse and giving it plenty of vocal welly. Wifey spotted it disappearing into a defunct' upside-down tomato hanging basket by the garage doors. A sneaky peaky revealed a mossy ball hidden in the depths. Hope it survives there's a nasty looking tear top left that could give in any of the strong winds we get here...

It took a while to get a decent pic of him as being a Wren he just never sat still for a second.

Taken through dirty double glazing at a very acute angle

Not much else happening at Base Camp, a pair of Long Tailed Tits were seen in the front - not seen them round here for a few weeks, and three Swallows (Garden #30) tazzed over northbound.

Where to next? Another early start because the moth trap is out for the first time this year...blimey that's late!!!
In the meantime let us know who's vocal chords are being tested to their limit in your outback .

Still windy but that sunshine is v. nice indeedy

The Safari was out early this morning, as soon as the sun hit our neighbour's dry stone bank along the edge of her garden. Here there is a colony of Mining Bees, perhaps two or more species. However, it was the Gooden's Nomad Bees we were after. Little beauts they are.

The sting could possibly be a tibial spur, couldn't see it on any other pics though...are they 'retractable', lying flat along the tibia at other times? Might have to get more pics tomorrow - there is one shot we haven't managed yet

Struggle a bit with Bumble Bees, this one is Red Tailed Bumble Bee, they never keep still and invariably have their face down in the flower. That combined with black eyes on a black face makes them a tricky subject...must try harder!

The bank has some lovely trailing patches of Wild Thyme which is well liked by the bees.

After a cuppa and a bit of breakfast we attended to the moth trap...but where were the moths? All we got was another Codling Moth and this unIDd midge thingy.

Last night we tried some snaps at the crescent moon. Not particularly happy with the result and we were hoping to catch some of the 'earth-shine that was visible later on. Sadly it drops behind the trees at the end of the garden at about this phenomenon occurs...don't particularly want to cut the trees down just for moon pics but we'll try again tonight to see if we can improve on this one.

Where to next? Perhaps another early safari tomorrow as it's a bit warm during the heat of the day for Frank to be out...he really enjoyed an evening swim in the sea today and we can conform the water was warmer than it was in Greece last week.
In the meantime let us know what's not performing for the lenses in your outback.

Just a quick weather note - yesterday was the hottest 25th May so far; today beat the previous 26th May's best  (2008) by a full 8C...both days sending the digital mercury to 26C...didn't feel like that in the 30mph (50kph) wind...what will tomorrow bring, a drop in the wind would help the invert photography.

Oh; and we had diddy Dunnocks in the garden this arvo - nice!