A stormy exit...

Time for a little update on the blue tits that have been using a nest-box in the garden. When we left them in my last update, they were all doing well and seemed close to being about ready to leave the nest.

As it happened, they were very close to leaving. In fact it was just the next day, I was watching the box and saw signs of the first one appearing at the entrance hole...

 It wasn't long before the temptation to leave became too strong, and out it came into the big, bad world: well, my garden at least...

 Followed quite soon after by most of the others...

Finally, tempted by the parents, who sat outside the nest calling and offering food should the youngsters emerge to get it, the last of the brood exited the nest box...

They hung around the garden for a while and I managed some phone pictures...

And so I can report that this year, the story had a happy ending: well, not exactly! You see they could not have picked a worse weather day to fledge. I guess they must have been out of the box for no more than a couple of hours, when the heavens opened and we had a downpour, followed by thunderstorms through the night. I did spot some of them in a neighbour's garden the next day and so I am hoping that they got through okay.

At least my efforts to protect them from the cats worked out and they had the best possible chance of survival. I shall clean the box and prepare it for next year.

Here's a short video to end this update: I apologise for the horrible shaking, I was trying to hand-hold my 400mm lens at full zoom...

A dozen species on one walk..it must be spring...

Warning! This post contains several short videos and if you only view the e.mail version you will not see them-you need to go online and view the original.

Last October I came across a huge, plump, gravid female vapourer moth in the garden. She produced eggs on a honeysuckle bush leaf. Before autumn arrived and they all fell to the ground, I collected and over-wintered them in a suitable spot.

I made sure they were kept fairly chilled, sprayed them occasionally with tepid water and then waited and hoped that they would survive what turned out to be a reasonably mild winter. 

I've been checking daily for any developments and today when I looked in on them, there were three of the tiniest larvae I have ever seen crawling around. I know that vapourer larvae will feed on most broad-leaved trees and also I remembered finding caterpillars on willow previously and thought that might be a safe bet as a food plant. They now have a nice supply as well as a few rose leaves, another place I have found them in the past-hopefully they will take to one or the other.

I guess the larvae are about 2mm at present and I am keen to see and learn how they develop having only ever found final instar larvae before. It will be great to witness the change in appearance at each moult and I already know the final stage before pupation will look very different to this little hairy beast.

In the garden, the blue tits that I hoped were nest building in one of the boxes have been busy visiting the box and even hopping in and out of it, one has been doing a lot of beak-wiping on the perch too. However, I haven't yet seen it taking in nesting materials, so I am not sure if it's going to happen at this stage.

Could it possibly be that this feline presence is putting them off?

Kent is looking fantastic right now

And in my local woods-'Comfort's wood' things are hotting up nicely. Although most of the trees here are around 20 years old, there is an area of ancient woodland as well and so I can never be sure quite what I might find. I have already turned up several notable species and the commoner invertebrate numbers seem to increase year on year.

Below is a selection of photographs taken on a recent walk around the woods. These were all taken on one visit...

I was pleased to find the tiny leafhopper (1st photo line 3) which I think is Javasella pellucida. 

There are plenty of butterflies around too...

And a couple of contrasting views of a hazel leaf-roller weevil I spotted on a different day...

I guess about 100 old fashioned yards from the house, there is a small stream and here I saw another interesting creature that I have neither seen before, or have much knowledge of...

And a short video of this creature...

You're going to know what this is (if you don't already) and I can only suggest that I think it must be a freshwater leech. It isn't like any I have seen before but can't think what else it could be.

This is more like the leeches I am used to seeing-these were in my little pond in the garden...

Well that just about wraps up another update-my final offering is this tiny rove beetle that I photographed on grass a few days ago...

Until the next time...