Monday 27 June 2016

I was able to run the moth trap again last night and this morning there was a good selection of species including a foxglove pug - a new species for the garden. In fact it is not possible to distinguish between a foxglove pug and a toadflax pug on purely visual characteristics, but we don't have any toadflax or similar plants nearby whereas we do have a lot of foxglove. This probably wouldn't get past a county recorder in the UK, but I'm fairly confident on this ID.

There was a geometrid in the trap that was unfamiliar and I thought I'd be able to come back to that one once I'd recorded everything else in the trap. Unfortunately, it flew off before I got a chance.

I did get a better photo of a shaded fan-foot moth. These rarely visit light traps and this one was particularly amenable to being photographed. 

Later in the day, we had visits from a juvenile great spotted woodpecker and a large flock of noisy long-tailed tits today. The long-tailed tit flock seemed to consist of a large number of fledglings.

I spent a bit of time today filling in a few other insect species I've not previously paid much attention to, namely snails. I've added the banded grove snail and the common chrysalis snail to our species list.

Foxglove Pug moth, Christophstal June 2016

Foxglove Pug moth, Christophstal June 2016

Shaded fan-foot moth, Christophstal June 2016

Shaded fan-foot moth, Christophstal June 2016

Juvenile great spotted woodpecker, Christophstal June 2016

Juvenile great spotted woodpecker, Christophstal June 2016

Long-tailed tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Long-tailed tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Banded grove snail, Christophstal June 2016

Banded grove snail, Christophstal June 2016

Common chrysalis snail, Christophstal June 2016

Common chrysalis snail, Christophstal June 2016

Sunday 26 June 2016
Grey heron, Christophstal June 2016

Grey heron, Christophstal June 2016

Common butterbur leaves, Christophstal June 2016

Common butterbur leaves, Christophstal June 2016

Common butterbur leaves, Christophstal June 2016

Common butterbur leaves, Christophstal June 2016

Aruncus dioicus, Christophstal June 2016

Aruncus dioicus, Christophstal June 2016

Lesser butterfly orchid, Christophstal June 2016

Lesser butterfly orchid, Christophstal June 2016

Lesser butterfly orchid, Christophstal June 2016

Lesser butterfly orchid, Christophstal June 2016

Roman snails, Christophstal June 2016

Roman snails, Christophstal June 2016

Striped shieldbugs, Christophstal June 2016

Striped shieldbugs, Christophstal June 2016

English stonecrop and biting stonecrop, Christophstal June 2016

English stonecrop and biting stonecrop, Christophstal June 2016

Dianthus, Christophstal June 2016

Dianthus, Christophstal June 2016

Buzzard with dangly leg, Christophstal June 2016

Buzzard with dangly leg, Christophstal June 2016

Jay with mohican, Christophstal June 2016

Jay with mohican, Christophstal June 2016

Blue tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Blue tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

This heron was trying to land in the tree where the crows have been nesting. They weren't having any of it and he was chased away immediately.

Early this afternoon, we went down the valley as I wanted to take some photos of the Aruncus dioicus that is flowering nicely at the moment. We stopped off on the way to photograph the common butterbur leaves, which are spectacularly huge.

Further on, we finally rediscovered the lesser butterfly orchids we first saw a couple of years ago and haven't seen since. There were seven flower heads up there now.

On the way home, we saw these mating roman snails.

Beside the Forbach, we came across a pearl-bordered fritillary and these striped shieldbugs, which we've previously only seen in Klosterreichenbach.

These stonecrops are doing well this year - the rain has really brought them out.

We were surprised to see a few dianthus flowers beside the road.

Towards the evening, I spent some time watching the birds and got another chance to photograph the buzzard with the dangly leg.

There are a lot of jays mid-moult at the moment. This one looked like he had a mohican.

I've included yet another picture of a blue tit fledgling as I was impressed by both his bright blue legs and his iridescent blue tail feathers.

Today we noticed that the blackbirds were no longer flying in and out of the field maple beside the patio. I had a look at the nest in there and the two young birds I'd seen on Friday were gone. Hopefully they fledged, but we missed it.

Saturday 25 June 2016

I've been trying to take a decent photo of a chiffchaff on the rare occasions that I actually see as well as hear one. My camera seems to struggle with their lack of features as the photos I get are invariably not quite in focus. The photo here is the best I've managed yet.

There was a slug festival under one of the bird feeders today. I can count 21 slugs in this photo.

Chiffchaff, Christophstal June 2016

Chiffchaff, Christophstal June 2016

Slugfest, Christophstal June 2016

Slugfest, Christophstal June 2016

Thursday 23 June 2016
Blue tit fledgling being fed, Christophstal June 2016

Blue tit fledgling being fed, Christophstal June 2016

Red-legged ground beetle, Carabus cancellatus, Christophstal June 2016

Red-legged ground beetle, Carabus cancellatus, Christophstal June 2016

It was dry overnight last night for the first time in two months so I ran the moth trap. I put it up by the sheds so as not to disturb the blackbirds nesting beside the patio. There were 29 species in the trap this morning, but no new species.

The warmer weather has brought out a few butterflies. There were a few black-veined whites and some common blues about.

There are still a lot of blue tit and great tit fledglings coming to the feeders too.

In the afternoon, this beautiful bronze beetle ran across the patio. I managed to get some photos, but he was really quite speedy. This species, the red-legged ground beetle, Carabus cancellatus, is known for being a fast moving beetle.

Wednesday 22 June 2016

We've not seen many red-backed shrikes this year and we've seen none since the beginning of June. Today there was a female down by the pond catching dragonflies, but she was only around for a short while.

Female Red-backed shrike, Christophstal June 2016

Female Red-backed shrike, Christophstal June 2016

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Today I saw what seemed to be a really large swift flying with the other swifts. On examination of the photos this becomes our 78th bird species seen from the garden; a hobby.

Hobby, Christophstal June 2016

Hobby, Christophstal June 2016

Sunday 19 June 2016
Blackbird with food for the nest, Christophstal June 2016

Blackbird with food for the nest, Christophstal June 2016

Bullfinch

Bullfinch "Spartacus", Christophstal June 2016

First thing this morning, we went for a run in Tonbach. It actually didn't rain! We saw lots of winged broom and a new plant for us; Crimson Clover - which as the name suggests is a fantastic crimson-coloured clover.

I spent the afternoon watching fledglings and adult birds collecting food for their nests. This blackbird's choice of food isn't everyone's cup-of-tea, but I'm sure it goes down well back at the nest.

This bullfinch has been coming to the garden with his partner for a few months. We've called him Spartacus in honour of his dimple. As you can see, he enjoys his food.

Saturday 18 June 2016

I had to strim the paths again today. The rain makes everything grow quickly.

We walked up to town this morning and saw this large weevil on the Steige. I've identified it as Liparus germanus. It feeds on common butterbur of which there are some large patches in the forest.

A family of great spotted woodpeckers visited today. I got some really poor photos of the adult female and this, even poorer, photo of the fledgling.

In the last couple of weeks, I've noticed a buzzard flying around with a leg dangling down. I saw him again today, but he was already off down the valley when I got my camera. Nevertheless, you can see the problem leg.

<em>Liparus germanus</em>, Christophstal June 2016

Liparus germanus, Christophstal June 2016

Great spotted woodpecker fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Great spotted woodpecker fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Buzzard with gammy leg, Christophstal June 2016

Buzzard with gammy leg, Christophstal June 2016

Friday 17 June 2016
Red deer, Christophstal June 2016

Red deer, Christophstal June 2016

Red deer, Christophstal June 2016

Red deer, Christophstal June 2016

Too many mushrooms, Christophstal June 2016

Too many mushrooms, Christophstal June 2016

We've seen a young red deer around the valley a few times this week. They're usually shot as soon as they get too close to the town. Here, he/she is right over the other side of the valley. There's also an even younger deer in the deerpark. I'm not sure if it's safer there. As the deerpark is owned by the town, I presume this one could end up "in the pot" for some bigwig's banquet.

The wet weather has meant that lots of fungi has sprouted. These mushrooms on a tree stump are a bit too much to be honest.

There is also lots of slime mould on the driveway. I haven't taken a photo of that as I was still retching from the photo of the mushrooms.

Thursday 16 June 2016

There were a lot of great tit fledglings at the feeders today. Here are some photos of one of them perched on the gutters of our shed.

Great tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Great tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Great tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Great tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Wednesday 15 June 2016
Colorado beetle, Christophstal June 2016

Colorado beetle, Christophstal June 2016

Perennial cornflower, Christophstal June 2016

Perennial cornflower, Christophstal June 2016

Black redstart fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Black redstart fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

We saw this colorado beetle sitting on stinging nettle beside the road just outside our house today. In Britain, we'd have had to call the department of agriculture as this is a reportable species. Here it is like the Japanese Knotweed - they've given up trying to control it.

There's a nice patch of perennial cornflower up towards the Finkenberg which we haven't seen before.

Towards dusk, we saw that the black redstarts that had been nesting in the roof of the house, had fledged. Here's a photo of one of them sitting in the birch.

Sunday 12 June 2016

The awful weather continues.....

We had a rare visit from a hawfinch today and he allowed me to take some photos.

The kestrel was in his usual place at the top of the tree but was eventually chased off by a jay.

This blue tit looked cheerful despite being soaked.

I managed to get a half-decent photo of a house martin in flight, probably as I was trying a new autofocus setting on my camera.

One of my lettuce shark moths emerged this morning. I collected about six caterpillars back in September, but most of them were parasitized. I didn't count the parasites that emerged so I'm not sure if there will be any more moths from my batch this year.

The emperor moth caterpillars from the eggs laid in May are now on their final instar and are really fat.

During a brief lull in the rain, we walked up to our meadow. We've seen the cows just down the valley, so they will probably be here in a few days and we wanted one last look before all the wild flowers are lost. We were happy to see that the helleborine we saw last year is back. This year we've put a fence around it, so hopefully it won't be eaten.

Hawfinch, Christophstal June 2016

Hawfinch, Christophstal June 2016

Hawfinch, Christophstal June 2016

Hawfinch, Christophstal June 2016

Kestrel, Christophstal June 2016

Kestrel, Christophstal June 2016

Wet blue tit, Christophstal June 2016

Wet blue tit, Christophstal June 2016

House martin, Christophstal June 2016

House martin, Christophstal June 2016

Lettuce shark moth, Christophstal June 2016

Lettuce shark moth, Christophstal June 2016

Emperor moth caterpillar final instar, Christophstal June 2016

Emperor moth caterpillar final instar, Christophstal June 2016

Broad-leaved helleborine, Christophstal June 2016

Broad-leaved helleborine, Christophstal June 2016

Saturday 11 June 2016
Great tit adult with fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Great tit adult with fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Great tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

Great tit fledgling, Christophstal June 2016

The weather has been awful all this week with torrential rain every day. On the plus side, it has been mild.

We've definitely lost the blue tits that were nesting in our bird box, but to compensate, the blackbirds nesting in the field maple are still there and we've got some black redstarts nesting under the gutters at the front of the house.

Today we saw another fledgling. An adult great tit was collecting sunflower seeds from our table, shelling them and then feeding them to the youngster shown in the photos.

Tuesday 7 June 2016

I've heard a garden warbler in or near the garden a few times. I rarely see the bird that goes with the song. I got a really poor photo last year. Today, after much searching, I found this one in a nearby tree and got some better photos and a short video.

Garden warbler, Christophstal June 2016

Garden warbler, Christophstal June 2016

Garden warbler, Christophstal June 2016

Garden warbler, Christophstal June 2016

Monday 6 June 2016
Grizzled skipper, Christophstal June 2016

Grizzled skipper, Christophstal June 2016

<em>Carpocoris sp</em>. shield bug, Christophstal June 2016

Carpocoris sp. shield bug, Christophstal June 2016

Eyed hawk-moth, ex larva, Christophstal June 2016

Eyed hawk-moth, ex larva, Christophstal June 2016

Eyed hawk-moth caterpillar, Christophstal September 2015

Eyed hawk-moth caterpillar, Christophstal September 2015

The sun was out today and there were a fair number of butterflies flying around including this grizzled skipper.

While watching the butterflies, I noticed this bright orange and red shield bug. After a bit of research, I would guess that it is a member of the Carpocoris family, possibly C.purpureipennis. It's almost impossible to get a definitive ID from a live specimen.

Back in September last year, I collected a caterpillar from down by the pond and speculated that it was probably an eyed hawk-moth. Today, an eyed hawk-moth did indeed emerge. Unfortunately it was late in the day that I got some time to photograph it, so the light was already fading. I really wanted to get him to show his hindwing eyespots, but I didn't want to stress him too much either. The result was this rather fuzzy photo, which was the best I could manage. I've included a photo of the caterpillar from last year.

Saturday 4 June 2016
Star-of-Bethlehem, Christophstal June 2016

Star-of-Bethlehem, Christophstal June 2016

Sooty Copper butterfly, Christophstal June 2016

Sooty Copper butterfly, Christophstal June 2016

Pygmy Owl, Christophstal June 2016

Pygmy Owl, Christophstal June 2016

Pygmy Owl, Christophstal June 2016

Pygmy Owl, Christophstal June 2016

Black Redstarts, Christophstal June 2016

Black Redstarts, Christophstal June 2016

Female blackcap, Christophstal June 2016

Female blackcap, Christophstal June 2016

Hawthorn blossom, Christophstal June 2016

Hawthorn blossom, Christophstal June 2016

The weather didn't look promising first thing this morning. It was raining really heavily and the forecast was for a lot more.

However, around 14:00, it brightened up and stopped raining.

I did some strimming as the recent warm, wet weather has made everything grow really quickly. The grass I strimmed last week was already in need of another trim.

I think it is fair to say that we've researched the plants on our little pieces of land quite thoroughly, so I was quite surprised to see something interesting flowering in our triangle of land just above the house. It turned out to be Star-of-Bethlehem, a perennial. It must have been there for some time, but we obviously missed it for the past three years.

While I was taking the photo of this new flower, we saw this recently emerged sooty copper butterfly hanging from some sorrel.

We spent a couple of hours watching the birds from the top floor of the house. We were pleased to welcome our 77th garden bird species today. This pygmy owl was accompanied by a small group of angry great tits who eventually chased him off. It was lovely to see this bird in the garden in daytime, but of course the real reason he was there was that he was hunting fledglings.

Shortly afterwards we saw these two black redstarts. It looks like a juvenile and an adult. It's nice to see that some species are breeding successfully. The blue tits in our bird box seem to have disappeared.

We haven't seen any blackcaps for a few days although we've heard them singing nearby. Today there was a male and a female in the beech opposite the house.

Finally, today I thought I'd post a photo of the hawthorn blossom. We thought the rain had trashed it, but today when the sun came out, it looked really nice. And it smells fantastic too.