Leucozona Lucorum or Volucella Pellucens

So aches and pains still confide me to the house but the garden pond and surrounds are amazing at the moment - this hoverfly flew in today and so with insect book in hand I tried and failed miserably to identify it so you tell me, it looks in pristine condition until you zoom it and then its wings are quite tatty….

Summer days in Northumberland

No not a birding holiday but a lovely week with some of the family in a rented house in the village of Spittal in a superb coastal position overlooking the sea - it was bliss - only a mile from Berwick On Tweed.  When the sun was out we walked firstly on the ancients ramparts of Berwick….

and when the weather wasn’t so good we took to Barter Book Shop in Alnwick, considered to be in the top ten of the world’s most beautiful book shops - it even had its own model railway running above your head….

When the sun came back out it was off to Alnwick gardens..

Of course a day had to be spent on the magnificent Holy Island, so when the tide was out we drove over the causeway….

Maybe not a birding holiday but the Bins were never far away…

The magnificent Lindisfarne Castle..

My niece Alice who we have subsequently renamed the Lindisfarne Goblin!

Both of my nieces the usually very beautiful Charlotte and Alice…

Being so close to the Scottish border we hopped on the train to Edinburgh where the Edinburgh Festival was in full swing..

Charlotte resting..

Time for afternoon tea..

The view from our verandah, a train spotters dream as the East Coast main line ran at the bottom of the garden - it kept my Father entertained for hours.

Charlotte and Alice on Bamburgh beach - Bamburgh Castle in the background..

Charlotte with Granny and Grandad at the stables waiting for Alice to indulge in her passion for horseriding

Alice ready for the off..

When it rained we baked Madeleines - coffee and cake was a big feature of this holiday..

More views from the house…. we can’t recommend Northumberland enough, a beautiful part of the country.

Summer Update

Well as this is the first post in a long while due to bad weather, Wimbledon, Olympics and loads of aches and pains! there’s not much to report however here’s a short video of local Spoonbills and a shot of a Banded Demoiselle which took Wayne by surprise yesterday when he found a small colony less than 3 miles from our house.  So in a blink of an eye I seem to have missed summer, with a hint of autumn in the air and waders already moving back (Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling and 570 Avocets up at Read’s Island yesterday) and dark nights slowly pulling in I fear winters on its way.

Now Who’d have thought it…

..only 6.8% of the UK’s land space is urban, see this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18623096 so why is it that compared to the other 47 countries we have visited, relatively speaking there are no birds here?  This was desperately evident on our recent trip to Estonia where we were tripping over Wood Warblers, Pied Flycatchers, Cuckoos, Wrynecks, Corncrakes etc here you’re lucky now if you hear one cuckoo each spring.  My theory is the over use of pesticides in British farming - everything is sprayed to death with insecticide so no insects no birds - what are your thoughts - please leave a comment.

Olympic Torch comes to Scunthorpe

Now here’s a first, a post that has absolutely nothing to do with Natural History but when the Olympic Torch comes through your home town and passes your parent’s front door then you have to be there!  With no warning given whatsoever that the torch was here I literally had 3 seconds to take this photo so apologies for it being out of focus.

I have never seen so many people on Doncaster Road and I doubt there ever will be again!

Archie Swain (12yrs) was the first torchbearer for the Scunthorpe leg.

My Mother (the silver haired one!)

Radio Humberside!