Sunday afternoon in the sun

The Safari was garden-bound almost all day but got out for a couple of hours late on.

Pottering around in the garden we found the solitary bee has started a new brood tube in a hole in the fence rather than the bee hotel.

Nearby was on of our many Ox-eye Daisies.

The Goldfish were active in the warm sunshine - they were lucky they couldn't feel the bitter wind. 

Our safari out late afternoon had orchids on the menu.

The Bee Orchids aren't quite out yet - we could only find two, this was the smaller but easier to access of them.

Down on the nature reserve there's an unprecedented number of Marsh Orchids, over 170 now!

 OK so they're some of the most common orchids there are but aren't they stunners!

We went ot have a look over the water and heard a Lesser Whitethroat singing on the short walk. About 30 odd Swifts were scything over the mere easily the most we've seen this year and we've still not seen one at Base Camp.

There was something very unusual on the grass - an Oystercatcher feeding away totally unphased by people and dogs! how bonkers, we've seen them on there when it's been really quiet in the winter but not like this on a busy weekend.

A very pleasurable couple of hours mooch and meander and we saw our first Common Blue butterfly, briefly, and a mature Blue Tailed Damselfly, again only briefly.

Where to next? Patch 2 again in the morning.

In the meantime let is know who's sneaking through the fence in your outback.