Autumnal

Saturday was unexpectedly lovely, no birds mind but a lovely day. Here's a very autumn thing, spiders migrating by silk and landing in their thousands or millions, or perhaps these are about to set off.

Loch of Bosquoy, silk

There are still hoverflies in the garden, various Eristalis, mostly pertinax, a few Helophilus pendulus and a few Melanostoma scalare.

Eristalis arbustorum, original image enlarged shows hairs off the arista

I wonder if this is Eristalis nemorum? Can't see the wing stigmata unfortunately, perhaps hidden against the body and it's hard to gauge the thickness of the hind metatarsus.

Not a hoverfly, and rather a beast, pretty horrible when they get in the house Cynomya mortuorum.

Sunday was a beautiful day again, eating breakfast, lunch and tea in the garden (it was dark by supper time).

Broad beans and peas finished and out, broccoli in. The gale the other day ripped the broad beans to pieces but everything else survived, there are still courgettes coming along. Tomatoes nearly done.

I got back from Loch of Bosquoy around midday and before beginning the gardening had a mooch around the back garden trees. I check the trees several times a day in the autumn and spring. Warbler species seen so far on the home patch this year just one, Sedge Warbler, a common breeder. (No Willow Warbler or Chiffchaff.)  A flicker in the rowan, Goldcrest? No, a very nice Yellow-browed Warbler, but what was that next to it? Lesser Whitethroat. Birding is just weird sometimes.

Lesser Whitethroat

A little later there was a Redwing feeding in the whitebeam, and early evening 11 came in to roost and another two flew over.