With this blog post, which presents some of the highlights that we enjoyed in our garden in July, I am, at last, getting near to being up-to-date with my blog posts. July did turn up some interesting events, so here we go!
Monday, 4th July
Historically, we have had occasional sightings of dragonflies and damselflies in the garden. However, this has only been, maybe, three or four times each year. Since installing a mini-pond just over two years ago, there had been no significant increase in the number of sightings, except for the mass emergence of more than seventy Large Red Damselflies in May and June this year. Any damselfly or dragonfly sighting is, therefore, a source of considerable excitement in the Pegler household!
On this day, we were visited by a female Banded Demoiselle - the first time we have ever seen this species in the garden. It was on the ground near the pond when first spotted. We didn't see it go to the pond, but it may have been at the pond before we spotted it - we can only hope!
 |
Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (female) - garden on 4th July, 2022
|
I have only placed two flowering plants in the mini-pond - one is an iris and the other a lily. After two years, the Iris versicolor has still not flowered, but the lily, Nymphoides peltata, has a long flowering season.
 |
Nymphoides peltata - garden on 4th July, 2022
|
Friday, 8th JulyWe had another damselfly visit this day. This time it was a female Common Blue Damselfly. It was spotted on the edge of the bird bath. This appears to be a teneral female, so not much chance of it having oviposited in the mini-pond!
 |
Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (teneral female) - garden on 8th July, 2022
|
Saturday, 9th JulyA Comma butterfly visited the garden and demonstrated exactly how it got its scientific name.
 |
| Comma (Polygonia c-album) - garden on 9th July, 2022 |
Monday, 11th July
We have done quite well with breeding birds in the garden this year. Juvenile Robins never fail to delight us - they seem to behave like adults from birth!
 |
Robin (Erithacus rubecula) (juvenile) - garden on 11th July, 2022
|
Saturday, 23rd JulyThis was a red-letter day, in that we had two odonata species visit the garden - the first time that we have witnessed more than one visit in a day.
First to arrive was an immaculate immature Migrant Hawker. It hung around (literally!) for a few hours.
 |
Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (immature male) - garden on 23rd July, 2022
|
We also had another female Banded Demoiselle fly in, although it only stayed briefly.
 |
| Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (female) - garden on 23rd July, 2022 |
I also photographed two butterflies that day, including a Comma which was trying to distract me from the Migrant Hawker.
 |
| Comma (Polygonia c-album) - garden on 23rd July, 2022 |
This Gatekeeper was a male, as witnessed by the dark 'sex brand' in the middle of the upper forewing.
 |
Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) (male) - garden on 23rd July, 2022
|
Every summer we get good number of the tiny moth, Pyrausta aurata, in the garden. These are so diminutive, with a wingspan of 15-18mm, that it is easy to overlook them as flies. They are often referred to as 'mint moths' and, indeed, they do seem to like hanging around the garden mint.
 |
| Pyrausta aurata - garden on 23rg July, 2022 |
Monday, 25th July
This rather beautiful moth landed on our kitchen window. It's a micro-moth without a common name.
 |
Anania coronata - garden on 25th July, 2022
|
Tuesday, 26th JulyIt had been many months since we last saw a woodpecker in our garden so we were thrilled when a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker visited this day, and returned several times during the day.
 |
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (juvenile) - garden on 26th July, 2022
|
Red Admiral butterflies were visiting too.
 |
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) - garden on 26th July, 2022
|
That night, the moth trap went out. Considering my equipment is not very sophisticated, a catch of 31 moths of 20 species wasn't too bad. Nothing rare was caught, but here are a few of the more attractive ones.
I find the Yellow Tail to be particularly attractive with its fluffy head and legs.
 |
Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis) - from garden moth trap on 26th July, 2022
|
The Small Magpie is a very common micro-moth but, none-the-less quite appealing in my opinion.
 |
Small Magpie (Anania hortulata) - from garden moth trap on 26th July, 2022
|
The Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing is another common moth. This pale one is a female.
 |
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua fimbriata) (female) - from garden moth trap on 26th July, 2022
|
My final offering is also very common - the Dusky Thorn. I had one in the trap on this night but on 21st August I had seven of them in my trap!
 |
Dusky Thorn (Ennomos fuscantaria) - from garden moth trap on 26th July, 2022
|
This completes my catch up for July. If all goes according to plan, I shall be publishing a blog post featuring August events in about a week's time. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard
Don't know where to start here Richard. But for starters, I'm as green as the female demoiselle about all this excellent wildlife in your garden. Except for the Red Admiral, the Comma, and the Pyrausta aurata - of which we have had one or two lately in our garden - it's a question of 'dream on' about everything else you recorded, and thanks for passing it all on to us.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards....Pete.
I am more than sure that you get visitors to your garden, Pete, that I can only dream about! It's all about geographical location, and the environment.
DeleteWith my very best wishes - - - Richard
Hi its Marc. Very jealous about having Banded Demoiselle in the garden, that's outrageous. Some beautiful photos Richard. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marc. I'm quite surprised, knowing how wonderfully productive your own garden pond is, that Banded Demoiselle is not a species that visits you!
DeleteI now have two locations for Willow Emerald, virtually on my doorstep. They are spreading like wildfire!
Stay safe - - Richard
I guess this goes to prove, Richard, once again, that a garden can be an oasis for wildlife, far more so than many people realize. You have a stunning array of species on display here. Perhaps as the price of fuel becomes prohibitive for many people, and concern about a carbon footprint a factor to be weighed in the balance when travelling, more backyards will be naturalized. One does see it as a bit of a trend here, not yet as a "movement" but it is starting to happen. We have an abundance of insects in our yard, but hardly ever see a dragonfly. Perhaps it's because we don't have a pond, but we do have two bird baths. If I was younger I think I would consider installing an in-ground water facility, but people tell me it's a lot of work to maintain. Yesterday we sat outside with our morning coffee watching a hummingbird zipping in and out of the Rose of Sharon. All the best to you and Lindsay. PS - Miriam got stung by a wasp while weeding. Her hand swelled up pretty badly but she seems to be getting back to normal now - two days later!
ReplyDeleteSadly, David, your suggestion that more gardens will be naturalized does not seem to be applicable to UK. There is a growing trend for people to replace their lawns with plastic grass, and there are now people installing maintenance free plastic hedges and fences and even plastic trees. It's bad enough that people are cutting down trees because they drop leaves and make a mess. Too many Brits want to live in a sterile environment that they can just hoover up or hose down occasionally. We're doomed!!!
DeleteI don't think wildlife ponds require a lot of maintenance if they are well constructed and not under trees. The trick is not to put fish in them if you want to attract wildlife!
So sorry to hear of Miriam's encounter with a wasp, but pleased to know she's getting better. I think that I may have told you this before, but I have never been stung by a bee, and only once been stung by a wasp, luckily, with no complications. It was at Peenemünde in Germany (those German wasps have a reputation for being aggressive!) and you will not be surprised to hear that I was eating an ice cream at the time!
Best wishes to you both - - - Richard
I am left speechless that people would cut down living trees and hedges and replace them with plastic substitutes. The world has gone crazy.
DeleteIt certainly has, David! There is a bit of a groundswell on social media (it does have its uses) against this trend and public figures are starting to get involved, but I fear the 'can't be arsed' brigade will prevail.
DeleteHi Richard! Awesome photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. Have a good week ahead - - - Richard
DeleteHello Richard, :=) First of all I must say that all your photos are exquisite. The two Banded Demoiselle captures are so beautiful, also the pond lily is pretty. The migrant Hawker is very striking, and I love all the moths and butterfly images. You don't often see the white comma mark on the Comma Butterfly so well defined.Lovely captures of the Juvenile Robin, and I'm pleased you had a visit from the Great Spotted Woodpecker. :=)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of this week, and thank you for a most enjoyable post.
All the best Richard.
Thank you for your very kind words, Sonjia. If I can bring you a little pleasure, it has made me feel that this blog post has been worthwhile.
DeleteTake good care. Best wishes - - - Richard
Lovely post, sorry I am not doing a good job of keeping up at the moment. Cheers Diane.
ReplyDeleteNo problem, Diane. I'm fully aware that you have a lot to deal with at the moment. Stay safe - - - Richard
Delete