It's a mad, sad world we live in.....

   

And I thought shooting driven grouse was bad, watch this if you can/dare, click here for the video  

it's an Elephant hunt from Botswana some years ago where the head of the US National Rifle Association (NRA) and his wife shoot two elephants. Great work from The New Yorker and The Trace for exposing this. 

It's a strange and cruel world we are living in, and I've just heard on the radio that people are ripping out hedges and replacing them with "plastic ones". 

Never mind, they say that the cockroaches will inherit the world, or perhaps they already have in a different form........

Wheatear passage along the coast

   
It was 8 degrees with a NNE wind down the coast when I went looking for white winged gulls at Victoria Park in Arbroath, maybe just a bit late now, none. I moved south to the West Links wondering, could an early Med Gull have arrived, no. I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of Wheatears on the rock armour near the paddling pool though. Unfortunately it soon started to rain so I moved on again to Keptie Pond where only Lesser Black-backed Gulls and male Mallards chasing females provided a bit of entertainment.  

Wheatear, one of at least five passing through north at West Links Arbroath

Just before the rain got a bit heavy

Lesser Black-backed Gull at Keptie Pond in Arbroath. Just stretching the bill a bit, getting it ready to swallow ducklings in the next few weeks!

I could almost see its last meal

Just as I'd stepped out of the car when I got home and I accidentally prevented this male Sparrowhawk from hunting in the garden. I don't usually get a Sparrowhawk at this time of year

A Linnet from the pathway behind Glaxo a few days ago

Common Carder Bee also Glaxo

Red-tailed Bumblebee

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

Inland and in sun

   

Working down from the top, Kinnordy, Lochlee, Backwater Dam, the Lurgies and lastly my garden. It's all been a bit of a march around, just snapping what I could as we went. Many of the photos are from my P1000 which shows but it's useful when subjects are too far away, or I revert to video.

Migrant Hoverfly - Eupeodes corollae as my best guess for ID of this Hoverfly, click here for video 

Woodcock video, click here     Redshank close up video, click here  

Golden Plover video, click here     Greater White-fronted Goose video, click here bill looks very pink, Russian?

Willow Warbler near the Swamp Hide at Loch of Kinnordy

White-fronted Goose at Kinnordy just after it flew in with a small flock of Pink-footed Geese, unfortunately into the sun, and annoyingly they swam to the far side

Reed Bunting at the Swamp Hide

Redshank in front of the Gullery Hide

There were lots of these flying around the willows along the path, I'll try to find an ID, think maybe it's a hoverfly

Pink-footed Geese

Lapwings during a courtship flight

This is a substantial tree, perhaps 12-15 inches in diameter and around 16 metres high. It doesn't have long before it falls

Not my best photo of this Wheatear but got posted because it was quirky

I stumbled on two Treecreepers when looking for a Long-tailed Tit nest near Lochlee, then forgot about the nest!

Pied Wagtail on the graveyard wall at Lochlee

Oystercatcher near Invermark Church

Meadow Pipit with nesting material

Lapwing at the car park

Golden Plover in the field behind the car park

This photo of a Common Sandpiper is almost as big as the actual bird which looks bigger here

Not my choice, but I was encouraged to post it

Although I've seen many white butterflies in my garden recently this Green-veined White at backwater Dam is the first photo 

Queen Wasp on the Gorse at the Lurgies

I put this one in as it showed just how small a Dunlin is 

Chiffchaff still singing at the Lurgies, to no avail so far

The Yellowhammers are getting less wary in my garden, or just more hungry

I'm going with this ID, Migrant Hoverfly - Eupeodes corollae as a best effort (so far)

Tomorrow will BEE a good day

   
A collection of Bees from my front garden, and a useful way to get to know some of my neighbours (I've only lived here for 39 years). 

I think I've got the ID's correct for most but I'm not sure about the last species, and the small size of some seems to indicate workers. There seems to be an overlap and variation, and I thought birds could be difficult!

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen

Chocolate Mining Bee male

Common Carder Bee

Gooden's Nomad Bee

Red-tailed Bumblebee

Red-tailed Bumblebee

White-tailed Bumblebee Queen?

White-tailed Bumblebee worker?

White-tailed Bumblebee worker?

Feral Pigeon launching into my garden