As regular readers of this blog know, I've been carrying out butterfly surveys for the last couple of years. This year hasn't been a good year for butterflies, the weather has been consistently too wet and windy for them. Today, the weather was reasonably good, so I was able to carry out a survey in the rewildling fields at Lauriston Farm - the site of Edinburgh's Agro-ecology Project.
There weren't very many butterflies about, but I was delighted to see four Peacocks:
I was also delighted to see over twenty Epistrophe grossulariae hoverflies, which seem to have been the most common hoverfly this year.
Insects, specifically gardening to help insects, are also the focus of this week's post on my Crafty Green Poet Substack.
At one point today, I noticed a Kestrel, hovering over a field, then something caught my eye - a Roe Deer was jumping over a fence and then startled a Grey Heron which flew up and away! Later I saw the Kestrel fly down to a prey animal, though I didn't see whether it was a successful kill or not.
3 comments:
It’s wonderful to hear about your butterfly surveys and the diverse wildlife you encounter at Lauriston Farm. Despite the challenging weather, spotting Peacocks and Epistrophe grossulariae hoverflies must have been a delight. Your observations of the Kestrel, Roe Deer, and Grey Heron add an exciting touch to your day. Keep up the great work with your surveys and gardening efforts!
Hey there! 🌟 I enjoyed reading your post. By the way, I recently wrote about something interesting. Check it out here: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2024/08/many-senior-citizens-still-follow-outdated-aspirin-advice.html. Would love to hear your thoughts!
The Peacock Butterflies are beautiful. They once covered a large Buddleia bush in my parents’ garden; was a fine sight! But alas, as the years passed the butterflies became less and less. We’ve not had that many butterflies in our garden, this year, but I am heartened by the fact that my son in law has made two wildlife ponds this year and apparently there are plenty of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies visiting their garden! 😁
Hi Melody, thanks for visiting. I'll check out your latest post too.
Thanks Sal. It's so sad that butterflies are declining so much in general, but yuour son in law's pond sounds great!
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