Painted Ladies and Admirals

   
Despite the strong winds in the last week I still managed a few Butterfly species along with other common insects, some at Montrose Basin and others in gardens in Carnoustie and Arbroath.

In the same timescale I also manged to find the latest Great Egret at Maryton, it was sheltering from the wind behind a large tree out on the Basin mud, also a Water Rail and a Reed Warbler calling in the reedbeds.

Small White Butterfly

Small White

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Small Tortoiseshell

Red Admiral Butterfly

Red Admiral, the Lurgies

Painted Lady Butterfly

Ringlet Butterfly

Meadow Brown Butterfly at the Lurgies

Potato Capsid

Silver Y Moth

Davies Mining Bee Colletes daviesanus

Migrant Hoverfly Eupeodes corollae

Narcissus Bulb Fly Merodon equestris var flavicans

Narcissus Bulb Fly Merodon equestris var flavicans

Narcissus Bulb Fly Merodon equestris var  flavicans mating

Narcissus Bulb Fly Merodon equestris var  flavicans mating

Stripe-winged Drone Fly Eristalis horticola, at Lurgies

Common Sandpipers at the Lurgies

Swifts, Taylor, Jonathon and Apus apus

   

Saturday was for housework, maybe not, do some gardening, naw, let's try the impossible and photograph the very fast Swifts teasing me with irregular flybys from behind neighbours houses. 

While awaiting some Swift action a butterfly, a moth and various Bumblebees made my life more difficult by landing on Olive's flower beds, but only for two seconds at a time.

Back to photographing birds elsewhere I think, and maybe not in flight when the light has gone. Something large that stays still, and in the open, and not far away....

Swift, (Apus apus) one of three visiting my garden and nesting in my roof

Small White Butterfly, which appeared to be searching out leaves on Olive's Nasturtiums to lay it's eggs

Silver Y Moth ( looks newly emerged)

Narcissus Bulb Fly

Chaffinch female

East Haven Webs June, and Arbroath Harbour

   
It was an early morning start for me at East Haven for my monthly Webs survey, the tide was suitable, no free-running dogs flushing the birds, but the predicted sunlight was hidden behind the clouds. As expected at this time of year the only birds seen were immatures, non-breeders and song birds breeding locally. I used the peace to photograph as many of the birds I could despite the light making birds in flight difficult.

Hours after my East Haven visit with the tide fully ebbed, I had a walk around Arbroath Harbour while I waited for Angus Tyres to fit two new tyres. I didn't find a Dipper in the Brothock, but at least one is there going by the droppings on a few stones.

I finished the days photography with a few photos in my garden using a 105mm lens bought late last year for its macro features. 

No videos today...

Grey Heron seen on the beach at East Haven while doing my monthly Webs survey for the BTO

Magpie foraging on the sea weed covered beach

Skylark, a loose estimate of 4 territories in one small field, with a larger field nearby but not readily accessible from the beach due to erosion of the small dunes and collapse of the path

Stock Dove with its partner nearby

Swallow

Goldfinch

Linnet male

Great black-backed Gull at Craigmill mouth, yellow ring X-068, info when I get it

An unexpected visitor to Arbroath Harbour, this Canada Goose flew in near to Danger Point where the fresh water from the Brothock Burn is popular with bathing and preening gulls

Lesser black-backed Gull

A few Starlings foraging around the harbour

Grey Heron fishing in a shady corner at low tide

I think this Rock Pipit is one of the only pairs that remain to nest around the harbour, unlike the numbers seen in winter

Anthomyiidae indet. A small fly species on the cut end of a garden cane

Red Admiral Butterfly, not seen recently because of the windy conditions

Sunning itself on a small "greenhouse"

Honey Bee, a stranger recently

It's not often that a Common Carder Bee stays still enough for a photo, this one was wandering around on the slabs

Despite looking good and not worn, shortly after this photo it keeled over and died