For all of you who wondered what happened to last months diary, we are sorry but too many other things were going on and it got overlooked.

I looked out of the window the other day and noticed a small cloud of grey dust where we have had a bonfire. In the middle of this bonfire ash cloud you could just make out that it was Himself the cock pheasant having a dust bath. He must have felt better for it; later he was seen  standing on the top of a large heap of earth. From his perch some two feet above the garden and out it the open he spent time posing and surveying his territory.

Although the Sparrow Hawks do not nest close by any more, we recently heard the cry of the chicks. They get very vocal when near to fledging.
In a nearby field I saw a Buzzard that had caught a rabbit and was on the ground making a meal of the dead animal. 

The (occasionally) bright, warm weather and long days has had an effect on the insects in our garden and it is making them frisky with many species mating and reproducing like mad. The cabbage white butterflies in particular have been laying eggs on the nasturtiums, when they have hatched several of the black and yellow striped caterpillars have been noticed eating the leaves. I watched one of the butterflies fluttering around before alighting underneath a large oval leaf which she gripped with her fore legs. She then curved her abdomen under to lay the egg and stick it to the leaf, straightening out after and then curving again to lay the next egg. This action continued approximately once a second until she had a clutch of some fifty eggs attached to the leaf. Other eggs that had been laid earlier in the week were much larger and a deeper yellow colour. I shall keep a watch to see how long it is before they hatch. So many caterpillars are eaten by the smaller birds that it is a wonder that any butterflies survive at all.

The yellow Buddleia bush is in flower and has attracted Red Admirals, Peacocks, and Painted Ladies. I have also seen plenty of Commas and pretty, small, Wall butterflies. These are bright orange with black eyes. There is activity in the pond also with many tiny newt tadpoles hatching. We have seen lots of tiny frogs in the long wet grass.

As well as various butterflies fluttering about; dragonflies, namely the female Emperor, that is green in colour, has been zooming around. These are large, very aggressive and are powerful fliers, making a buzzing noise as they fly. They are completely harmless to humans but capable of catching other insects on the wing, such is their aerobatic ability. In comparison, the damselflies, (metallic blue male) and metallic green Female) are dainty, much smaller and graceful, and less aggressive.

While I was sitting quietly in the garden under the quince shrubbery, a pair of wrens were noticed hopping through the branches making a meal of any tiny insects they came across. They are delightful little birds with a flicked up tail. Those of us who have been around a little longer than the others will remember the picture of the Wren on the back of the farthing coin. For those of you who have never seen one it equates to round about one eighth of a penny in decimal currency.