Garden friends...

Another lovely day to sit around the garden bumping into some of our local wildlife...

This Tree Bumblebee looked about done for, lying moribund on the grass, until i remembered a Twitter tip. I mixed up a little sugar solution and Jane offered it on a tea spoon. It soon perked up and drank a bit. You can see its long tongue taking it in. At this time of year bees can become exhausted carrying pollen back to the hives and often just collapse. This was just enough to get him up and off. After a few dodgy drunk looking spiral flights, off he went.

Eating breakfast outside we were soon joined by this male Blackbird. He has been with us since January at least. He will now even snatch a crumb from our hand but he prefers it left on a hard surface. He and his female are now feeding fledged second brood young ones around the gardens...He must be healthy, because he clears up around the moth trap early in the morning! Plenty of food for the family here...

While pottering about a few garden flowers were photographed, both domestic and wild -

A rose, 2 quid from Wilko's...not bad.

A 2 mtr square patch of un-mown lawn looks like this now - 

Cats-ear

And finally a pair of pink Elephants from last nights moth trap...

Elephant Hawk-moth and Small Elephant Hawk-moth

A Garden tick and a lifer!

Last year I had a brief glimpse of a bumble bee that I fancied may have been Tree Bee, Bombus hypnorum. By the time I grabbed the camera it had gone.

So, while checking the moth trap this morning I was surprised to see this one cuddled into the bottom of an egg tray. They are quite a new arrival up here but Nigel, Tom and Tim have had them in their gardens at Morpeth, Tynemouth and Whitley Bay respectively, so I kind of expected one soon...

This bee was new to the UK in 2001 around the New Forest area, but in recent years its spread has gone on unabated.

A great little creature.