CUCKOO AND A PAPER WASP DISASTER

Look who I saw this afternoon as I came home with the dogs, drenched from a torrential shower whilst wearing what I thought was a waterproof smock thing. It was like wearing tissue paper and I had to get back....glad I did or I wouldn't have seen Young Cuckoo here.

 

Last Thursday, we noticed a football sized paper wasps' nest in OB's play house, or 'den' as he'd rather it was called these days. It was right next to the gate into the garden so potentially really dangerous; we have a friend with an epipen. We had to make the difficult decision to call someone to deal with it. He turned up at 8.00am on Friday morning, stuck something long and nozzley into the nest and ran for it. £30.00 for the privilege. This is what was left on the ceiling after it fell off:

And this is what fell to the floor. Very sad but fascinating to see its structure and the beauty of the paper they make with wood pulp and saliva.

My 50th birthday rose is flowering; it smells divine:

 Woundwort, which I like to cultivate in the garden:

Geranium Splish Splash:

Astrantia Major now in full flower and falling over:

Red Astrantia of some kind....

Sword Thistle:

Heath Spotted Orchid:

Keeled Skimmer female; I was falling off a tussock in the marsh as I took this so it could be better. They're much more difficult to see or capture than the blue males:

Four Spotted Chaser Dragonfly:

Wandering Glider Dragonfly I think - great name:

A new foal, the colour of biscuit, so that's its name. Female I think. 

Tertia scratching her tummy on gorse. This ritual went on for a while:

Diamond:

 Very late lamb born out on the moor:

Calf with mother's nose. I nearly cropped the nose off but thought better of it.

The juvenile Blackbird from the last post:

Stonechat with quarry:

Singing having eaten it:

The Pipit of the post:

We go the Great Ormond Street on Thursday so are travelling up and staying with an old college friend of mine in the Barbican. The dogs are staying with friends on their farm. A long drive but worth it I hope. I'll report once we get back so, until that next time, here are the dogs in show poses, like they'd ever win anything. 

JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

Dartmoor is full of juveniles at the moment, the most delinquent of which are our Sparrow flock. The collective nouns for Sparrows are in fact a Knot, or a Host or even better, a Quarrel. That's definitely what they are.

Someone has their beady eye on the Quarrel:

Other juveniles include......

GS Woodpecker

Stonechats; male......

.........and female:

Dad keeping an eye on them:

Wheatear:

Great Tit:

Jay - I'm very excited about this as it's the first Jay I've ever captured. There's a whole family of them chattering about in the trees around here. The lack of fear of the juvenile made this possible I think. Full zoom obviously:

Meadow Pipits of course:

Blue Tit:

Blackbird. You can't see the speckled breast of youth but I loved the little hint of beak and eye here:

And a couple of mammals. Lamb: 

And Will, the first of this year's foals, already losing his foal fluff and looking like a dark bay:

It is SO hot here today. So much for the shroud of cloud that was forecast. 25 miles from the Met Office and they still get it wrong. So, until next time, have a lovely weekend and here are the dogs wilting in the sun this afternoon.