The birds have flown

In a previous post, I mentioned that a thrush had nested on our ladder - well I was wrong, it turned out to be a blackbird after all!  All three eggs hatched and the three fledglings have now left the nest (and we can use the ladder again!)

6 June 2020

15 June 2020

22 June 2020

Blackbird nestlings 22 June 2020,
the day before they left

We also have seen a woodpigeon nest in the crown of the oak tree.  Not such a neat or successful nest as the blackbird's nest as one egg fell out and broke, but the bird is still sitting.

Is it a bird? Is it a moth?

 A  surprise visitor came to my garden yesterday -  a whirring blur of something grey and orange hovering in front of a flower.  It came back a few more times, and stayed long enough for some photos and a video.  It turned out to be a Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum). Identified with the help of the photos in my insect book,  fortuitously acquired the day before! (Collins Complete Guide to British Insects)

Hummingbird Hawkmoth - you can see its long proboscis (tongue) going into the flower to collect nectar.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on Knautia macedonica

Here is a  short video to give you a better idea of how it looks:  

They are summer visitors and I have never seen one here before, only in France.  I wonder if it came up with the plume of hot air that brought us the really hot weather on 25th June 2020.

The flowers are Macedonian Scabious (Knautia macedonica).  It grows well here - so if any locals would like some seeds, get in touch.

Some Hairy plants

At the moment, there is a striking orange flower blooming. This is Fox-and-cubs (Pilosella aurantica). It has a basal clump of hairy leaves and a cluster of flowers on top of a hairy stem.

Fox-and-cubs flower

Fox-and-cubs hairy stem

It is quite happy in gardens and will spread by sending out runners or fluffy seeds.  It is a wildflower but is attractive enough to be a garden flower, though it needs to be kept in check if you don't want it to spread too far. The buds start off a deep red  before they open.

Fox-and-cubs bud

 There is another pilosella blooming at the moment.  The flower is a lemon yellow colour with red stripes under the petals - Mouse-ear-hawkweed (Pilosella officinarum),  It also has a basal clump of hairy leaves and then a stalk with a single flower. 

Mouse-ear-hawkweed

Mouse-ear-hawkweed, ligule stripes

Mouse-ear-hawkweed, basal leaves

Another flower in my veg patch is more usually found at the edge of fields, Common Hemp-nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit). 

 

Common Hemp-nettle 

It is quite bristly and the stem is slightly swollen beneath each joint.

Common Hemp-nettle, swollen stem

I think it must be sown as a crop as I found a whole field of it at Ballachroan a few years ago:

June is busting out all over...

There is a profusion of flowers at the moment so it is hard to know where to start.  A walk on the golf course had this glorious collection:

Yellow Rattle, Hogweed, Pignut, Wood Geranium and Globeflower

I was on my way to look at the orchids but kept stopping to admire other flowers.  The Globeflower (Trollius europaeus) is like a very posh buttercup with round flowerheads.

Globeflower

Globeflower - looking as if it has no sepals underneath.

The extra "petals" are really yellow sepals which enclose the actual petals inside.   On the track (Walk 4a if you have my book) were lots of Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) which does have sepals - and they are bent back towards the stalk (which is the easiest way to distinguish it from the other common buttercups).

Bulbous Buttercup showing reflexed sepals

On the same track was Alpine Bistort (Persicaria vivipara).  This is a small flower which hedges its bets by producing flowers at the top and little bulbs below (bulbils) so that it can grow from the bulbils if the flowers do not get pollinated and fail to produce seeds.

Alpine Bistort

And finally.... the orchids at last...

Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella)

Greater Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha) in bud

Fragrant-orchid (Gymnadenia borealis)

Wildlife in the garden

This last week has been exciting in my garden.  First, a dragonfly emerged from its larva in my pond, and sat for hours on an iris leaf, giving plenty of time for us to marvel and take photos.  The dragonfly turned out to be a 4-spotted chaser which was not one I had ever seen before.

Dragonfly emerging

Drying out

The empty larva shell

Another dragonfly has been visiting as well - it's a Large Red Damselfly (that's its official name, not just my description!).

Large Red Damselfly

A nest was built on our ladder which is stored hanging horizontally:

We assumed it would be a blackbird as they usually nest somewhere in the garden, but it turned out to be a thrush.

If you spot any wildlife and would like to know what it is or record it, there is a website called ispot.  You can post your photo and usually someone will ID it for you. It can be a plant, insect, animal whatever....

Link

https://www.ispotnature.org/

Bedstraws

There are several bedstraws coming into flower at the moment which all have white flowers. Heath Bedstraw (Galium saxatile) is low growing and will happily grow even in mown grass.  It has small white flowers with 4 petals.  You can see it on Newtonmore golf course alongside Heath Speedwell (Veronica officinalis), and there was plenty of it colonising the bare forestry track near Bridge of Truim.

Heath Bedstraw and Heath Speedwell

Heath Speedwell

Heath Bedstraw

Another Bedstraw is one you probably have in your garden, Galium aparine, which has several common names: Cleavers, Goosegrass, Sticky Willie.  It has rough stems and can scramble up any vegetation nearby.

Cleavers

On Station Road is yet another Bedstraw, Sweet Woodruff, which has probably escaped from the adjoining garden.  When dried, the leaves smell of new mown hay, and used to be put between linen to scent it. That new mown hay smell is due to a compound called coumarin.

Sweet Woodruff

Finally, for now, (there are more Bedstraws that come out later in the season) is Marsh Bedstraw (Galium palustre).  This has 5 petalled flowers and is rather slender and floppy.  It grows in damp places and there is some in the pond on the golf course.  The photo was taken in Kingussie in the woods under Creag Beag.

Marsh Bedstraw flower

Marsh Bedstraw