Hairy-footed Flower Bee

Plenty of insects in the garden today supervising the tidying, pruning, digging, planting and mowing. This pulmonaria was a magnet for bees, especially the Hairy-footed Flower Bee. Male and female look quite different with the latter being largely black, unlike the colourful males.

Hairy-Footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes
Female

Male

The same plant was popular with Bee-flies as well.

Bee-fly Bombylius major

A huge queen wasp:

Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris, queen

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Head and Shoulders

Some bird closeups from a day in the garden.

Woodpigeon Columba palumbus

Dunnock Prunella modularis

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Spring morning, Elton

A very fine morning with a few butterflies, frogs in ampelexus, one or two Swallows and a lot of Treecreeper song around the village. The winter thrushes of a couple of days ago had gone and were replaced by singing Chiffchaffs. A pair of Grey Wagtails was active around the mill.

Treecreeper Certhia familiaris and Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

Treecreeper Certhia familiaris

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Wheatear

My first of the year at Ferry Meadows this evening.

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Coypu

Introduced into France for their fur in the 19th century these are now an established part of the Provencale fauna. Ragondin in French and not popular with our fabulous host at Mas des Demoiselles due to their rather ratty looks (and French name), I reckon these are pretty cool and not difficult to see here at the Parc Ornithologique in the Carmargue. This family party of an adult with at least three young were feeding close to one of the paths and, although wary, would approach quite close. The adult was not very tolerant of the young when they approached though.

Coypu Myocastor coypus

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Common Terns

My first bona fide local summer migrants of the year. Note the bird on the right with the rather dark bill (a winter plumage feature) is ringed but I can't read the ring.

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Black-winged Stilts

Another blast from the Carmargue the weekend before last.

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Share and share alike

Taken in the gloom at 3200 ISO. The Bank Voles love the fat ball feeder as much as the Long-tailed Tits.

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

European Green Lizard

More action from the Carmargue a week ago. It was warm enough one afternoon for these to be active at the Parc Ornithologique.

European green lizard, Lacerta viridis

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

It's Officially Spring

First Bee-fly of the year in the garden on this sunny but still rather chilly day. Always think this cracking little bee-mimic is one of the first real signs of spring. Also had a Pipistrelle at Tansor in the evening.

Bee-fly Bombylius major

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Cattle Egret

Another Carmargue favourite. This bird in full breeding plumage at a nest site seems to have a bit of a problem with the neighbours.

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Pretty Flamingo

Here are some portraits of this emblematic bird of the Carmargue taken during a short visit to the region.

Posing:

Some feeding:

A bit of preening:

Scratching:

Stretching:

And in the air:

Some even wearing jewellery:

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Little Gull, Dog in an Doublet

One of two 'good' birds in the Peterborough area today. Unfortunately the Sandwich Tern was taking a break from Ferry Meadows when I called in there but this smart Little Gull showed very well at the Dog in a Doublet sluice on the Nene.

Canon Powershot SX50

Captain Beaky

May have posted about this bird before. It has now survived for much longer than you might expect. I don't have exactly when we first saw it but I have another photo from May last year when it was also in this adult female plumage. I suspect without easy access to food in a garden such a bird wouldn't last long.

Blackbird Turdus merula with deformed/damaged bill

Morocco Wildlife

Back in Morocco for more of a sight-seeing expedition. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Aït Benhaddou, the dunes of the Erg Chebbi, the Todra Gorge and the Falls of Ouzoud were on the itinerary.

First was the ksars of Aït Benhaddou. The Hoopoe showed opposite the hotel at dawn but disappeared before I could get any closer for a decent shot. House Buntings were frequent on the trip and the Galerida larks provided the usual identification headaches. Lesser Kestrels around the top of the site were perhaps a bit of surprise so early in the year.

Hoopoe Upupa epops

House Bunting Emberiza sahari

Crested Lark Galerida cristata

Heading south of Ouarzazate this eagle was my first Moroccan tick of the trip.

Bonelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata

After a fairly uneventful drive along the southern desert road we reached the Auberge Yasmina at the Erg Chebbi where Desert Sparrow failed to show for us but the camel ride and night in the dunes was magnificent.

The moths were encountered fairly frequently at dawn and dusk. The birds were mainly the familiar desert species and were in rather smaller numbers than on previous trips. The desert hyacinth is a spectacular parasitic plant, a type of broomrape.

Striped Hawk-moth Hyles livornica

Bar-tailed Desert Lark Ammomanes cinctura

Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes

Desert Grey Shrike Lanius elegans

Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficollis

Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis

Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus, female

Chafer Beetle

Ant sp.

The tracks of the many Dung Beetles

Desert Hyacinth Cistanche tubulosa

Apple Of Sodom Calotropis procera

Next we headed for the mountains and the dramatic Todra Gorge.

Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucura

House Bunting Emberiza sahari

And finally we crossed the High Atlas via a tortuous minor road to reach the Falls of Ouzoud with its troupe of Barbary Macaques.

Barbary Macaques Macaca sylvanus

African Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs africana