Wedge Wood Butterflies

With the sun shining onto the woodland ride, the blossoming briar patch was a great attraction for butterflies. Numerous Gatekeepers flew around the place but then I spotted a couple of  Commas and then there suddenly appeared first one, then two White Admirals.
The Gatekeepers proved to be very territorial, chasing away the other two species. I wished I had with me a film camera to record at slow speed, the incredible aerobatics of these winged insects.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker Incident

Sitting in the lounge I watched, through the mirror, as a greater spotted woodpecker landed on the wall in the front garden. I looked away for a moment and then heard a great crash into the window almost behind me. The bird had flown straight into the glass. It fell to the ground behind a rosemary bush. It was clearly conscious and so I left it where it was to recover. It was half an hour later when I went out again to check on it that it emerged from the shrubbery and flew away, apparently unharmed.

Pied Wagtails Nest

A pair of pied wagtails built a very exposed nest in one of my wood stores at the side of the house. They abandoned this nest but it soon became clear that they were still interested. The continued presence of the birds made me investigate further and discovered a nest in a pile of logs against the house wall.

Now the birds are coming to the nest every few minutes with their beaks crammed full of insects:

The roof of my car has become a favourite stop-over:

The wood pile where the wagtails have hidden their nest.