Wednesday 28 June 2017
Black redstart fledgling, Christophstal June 2017

Black redstart fledgling, Christophstal June 2017

Green sandpiper (trust me!), Christophstal June 2017

Green sandpiper (trust me!), Christophstal June 2017

This black redstart fledgling was looking very unhappy on our garden table today.

For the last couple of years we've seen a green sandpiper down by the pond. For some reason, they only come once and we don't see them again until a year later. Today I saw one but he flew off before I could get a photo. Well, I did get a photo, but it's pretty poor. You can just about see what it is anyway.

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Earlier in the week, I'd had a go at straightening the bird table which had started to lean. I'd packed the base with stones, but for the last two days, in the morning the stones had all been dug out. I presumed a fox was visiting overnight and digging to get to the fallen peanuts.

This afternoon, this little fella was sitting under the bird table.

After it got dark, I saw two fox cubs and a stoat around the bird table and a bat was circling the house.

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Fox cub, Christophstal June 2017

Friday 23 June 2017

Both the male and female red-backed shrikes were hunting from the hawthorn this afternoon. They've clearly abandoned the nest, but it was a relief to see that they are OK.

Wednesday 21 June 2017

I'd seen the male red-backed shrike yesterday morning but I noticed that he wasn't around in the afternoon - which was unusual as he's been staying close to the nest.

Today it became apparent that the nest has been raided. Both red-backed shrikes were conspicious by their absence today. We can't work out what has happened.

Tuesday 20 June 2017
Lobster moth, Christophstal June 2017

Lobster moth, Christophstal June 2017

Dark swordgrass moth, Christophstal June 2017

Dark swordgrass moth, Christophstal June 2017

Large nutmeg moth, Christophstal June 2017

Large nutmeg moth, Christophstal June 2017

Athripsodes bilineatus, Christophstal June 2017

Athripsodes bilineatus, Christophstal June 2017

Last night was a perfect night to run the moth trap, warm and dry. This morning it was heaving. There were three new macro moth species for the garden: a Lobster Moth, a Dark Swordgrass and a Large Nutmeg. Last night I told Christine which moths I'd like to see in the trap this morning and the lobster moth was one of them!

I thought I'd got an interesting micro moth too, but this turned out to be quite a common caddis fly: Athripsodes bilineatus.

Sunday 18 June 2017

The male red-backed shrike caught an interesting looking caterpillar in this photo. I can't identify it unfortunately.

A small group of starlings have been visiting the garden quite regularly this year. This one was in a group that looked like they'd just taken a bath somewhere.

In the afternoon, the sun came out and it was a really pleasant day. The front garden is alive with insects at the moment. This heath fritillary was nice to see.

There are lots of damselflies and other pond insects flying about. On closer examination, most of the damselflies are white-legged damselflies. I did also see a large red damselfly and a male broad-bodied chaser - to go with the female I saw earlier this week.

Our thistle garden is coming along nicely. I'll put up a photo of the whole thing later this week but for now, here is one of the thistles.

Red-backed shrike with caterpillar, Christophstal June 2017

Red-backed shrike with caterpillar, Christophstal June 2017

Starling, Christophstal June 2017

Starling, Christophstal June 2017

Heath fritillary, Christophstal June 2017

Heath fritillary, Christophstal June 2017

White-legged damselflies, Christophstal June 2017

White-legged damselflies, Christophstal June 2017

Male white-legged damselfly, Christophstal June 2017

Male white-legged damselfly, Christophstal June 2017

Male broad-bodied chaser, Christophstal June 2017

Male broad-bodied chaser, Christophstal June 2017

Large red damselfly, Christophstal June 2017

Large red damselfly, Christophstal June 2017

Thistle, Christophstal June 2017

Thistle, Christophstal June 2017

Saturday 17 June 2017
Red-backed shrike female on nest, Christophstal June 2017

Red-backed shrike female on nest, Christophstal June 2017

Red-backed shrike standing sentinel, Christophstal June 2017

Red-backed shrike standing sentinel, Christophstal June 2017

<em>Nemophora degeerella</em>, Christophstal June 2017

Nemophora degeerella, Christophstal June 2017

I finally spotted where the red-backed shrikes are nesting. It is only a few metres from our kitchen. The female can just about be seen sitting on the nest in this photo - I'm fighting the urge to trim the tree a bit to give me a better view. The male has a favourite perch in on some dead twigs on the hawthorn. From there he has been chasing away nearly every bird that comes near - including fairly safe birds like blue tits and chaffinches. He's also been regularly feeding the female at the nest.

I noticed this long horn moth on the field maple beside the terrace. I initially hoped it was Adela croesella, but I now think it's just a boring old Nemophora degeerella. It was nice to get a photo in the sun which really brings out the metallic colours of this moth.

Friday 16 June 2017

A buzzard was collecting nesting material across the valley this morning.

While eating my breakfast I spotted something moving on the patio. I initially thought it was a large fly. When I looked closer I could see there were 100s of small froglets all crossing the patio from right to left. The ruler shows how small they were - that's a centimetre scale!

Later on, we had to get the car out of the driveway and it took us a long time to get all the froglets out of the way first.

Buzzard with nesting material, Christophstal June 2017

Buzzard with nesting material, Christophstal June 2017

Froglet, Christophstal June 2017

Froglet, Christophstal June 2017

Froglet, Christophstal June 2017

Froglet, Christophstal June 2017

Froglet, Christophstal June 2017

Froglet, Christophstal June 2017

Sunday 11 June 2017
A large wainscot, but not a Large Wainscot, Christophstal June 2017

A large wainscot, but not a Large Wainscot, Christophstal June 2017

Blue tansy, Christophstal June 2017

Blue tansy, Christophstal June 2017

Red kite, Christophstal June 2017

Red kite, Christophstal June 2017

Red kite, Christophstal June 2017

Red kite, Christophstal June 2017

Female broad-bodied chaser, Christophstal June 2017

Female broad-bodied chaser, Christophstal June 2017

Male red-backed shrike, Christophstal June 2017

Male red-backed shrike, Christophstal June 2017

I ran my new actinic moth trap last night for the first time. Although it was a full moon, it was quite a good night. I had a new species for the garden: a large wainscot. ** Update ** In fact this can't have been a large wainscot as those are only seen August-October. It must have been a particularly large common or smoky wainscot.

We also spotted a new plant in the garden - blue tansy. We're not quite sure how it got here.

There were a few red kites and buzzards around today. Presumably, now that the cows have trampled the grass down, they can find food a bit easier. This red kite appears to be carrying a mouse.

This female broad-bodied chaser was in the front garden today.

The red-backed shrikes keep getting closer to the house!

Saturday 10 June 2017

We just spent another week back in the UK - which is why the diary has been quiet.

We were pleased to find that the red-backed shrikes are still around - indeed they seem to be nesting really close to the house, possibly in the hawthorn or in the bird-cherry. They seem to be staying close to the house all the time which makes photographing them really easy.

I saw a few wall brown butterflies today.

We haven't see any coal tits for a few weeks. This is consistent with previous years. Today I saw this coal tit in the distance - so maybe they're returning.

The ferns in our back garden have quite a few of these galls. I'll have to research these to see what is causing them.

Wall brown, Christophstal June 2017

Wall brown, Christophstal June 2017

Coal tit, Christophstal June 2017

Coal tit, Christophstal June 2017

Fern gall, Christophstal June 2017

Fern gall, Christophstal June 2017

Saturday 3 June 2017

The cows came this evening. This is much earlier than in previous years. It'll be interesting to see what, if any, difference it will make to the birds and insects we see.