A Bit of Bully

The bleeding cat woke me up at 04:10 this morning. Half asleep I poked my head out into the barely lit garden and checked the trap expecting it too at least look promising given the conditions when I went to bed. Absolutely crap, almost nothing on it and likely nothing in it. It wasn't light enough to empty it anyway so I left it till 06:30. I was right, it was crap. The only good thing about the trap emptying session was this completely unexpected delight ...

I've not seen a Bullfinch here for months. There are usually two or three knocking about along the embankment through the winter, but none appeared on my feeders or were seen/heard last winter. I certainly don't see them after the early spring. This one was calling from the embankment, and by the time I'd grabbed my camera it was perched on a neighbours tree frustratingly backlit and was just a silhouette. It flew off and I thought that would be it, but it came back about 10mins later and I got a this slightly better effort. No sight or sound of it later in the day though.

Moth-wise the trap was so poor I can't believe it. And annoyingly after a very warm and sultry cloud-covered day it looks like it's clearing up a bit now. But I've got both traps set-up ready to at least better my chances. I potted up one of the Nephrotoma spp. 'Tiger Craneflies' to look at, and the only other thing in the trap I pointed the camera at was this immature Clubonia sp. - completely unidentifiable but quite smart looking for a tiny spider.

This afternoon I went for another mooch along Bramble Walk, the disused railway line near to Cosby. I spent most of time time thrashing hawthorn for very little reward, just lots more of what I'd already seen along there and no nice big longhorns or anything like a Bruchus sp. to look at. I used my net handle as a beating stick, and then put the net on it and swiped at some grasses and low vegetation on the way back. The handle, beating tray and me were absolutely yellow with hawthorn pollen by the time I got back to the walk entrance. I pointed the camera at a few bits, the P600 that is - not confident enough with the new camera to take it out on this walk and waste time trying macro work and knew there would be nothing worthy of the other end of the focal length. I've got a few bits in pots, and will share a few more shots in another post, but here's some hemiptera.

Miris striatus nymph

 

 Red-and-Black Froghopper

Bordered Shieldbug

Really pleased to find this last one, and I'd forgotten how tiny they are after the only other one I've seen last year.

Blackcap giving it some this morning on an open perch

Screwed up this image of a cramp ball .....