It seems amazing that we are well into May and I haven't seen a single butterfly in the garden or managed to photograph one, which normally would have happened weeks ago.
Bees have been a little more obliging and one or two mining bees have started to appear on forget-me-nots. Tree bumblebees have put in a few appearances and also seem to like the pink campions that have appeared from somewhere.
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On the last day of April I went to the Bakethin Reserve at the northern end of Kielder Water in search of mandarin ducks but didn't manage to see any. In fact there wasn't much to see at all apart from some fairly standard issue ducks and a couple of shovelers fighting over a female. Even the osprey landing area was deserted apart from a crow and clearly hadn't been built on.
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| Crow not osprey |
I had a look at the South end of the reservoir and at various points on the River North Tyne, also without success. Maybe the North Tyne at the northern end would have been a better bet.
On a bike trip a week ago, I came across quite a few chocolate mining bees on dandelions. A more recent ride on Sunday in reasonably warm weather yielded a good few orange tips, a peacock and a red admiral, all in flight.
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| Chocolate Mining Bee |
Back in the garden it was pleasing to see a woodpecker on the one peanut feeder I now have out - the first for many a long month.
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| Woodpecker |
Also putting in an appearance has been a small number of nomad bees, as last year. However, I'm not confident on precise identification from the photo and have sought further advice.
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| Nomad Bee |
Laughably, just as I write this an unidentified white butterfly has just flown past...
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