Blooming Beautiful

Just a quick post to keep the blog active. I have been trying out a photo app on my newly acquired DooGee Note 58 mobile phone and found a water lily which was partly open:



This DooGee may not be as all singing and all dancing as a Samsung Galazy or iPhone 15 but does remarkably well for the princely sum of £99.98. I have had a DooGee tablet for a year and found it to be really reliable, again at the fantastic price of £128. If the weather is kind on Sunday I hope to use the phone to take some video at the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway.

Wren Inspects Nestbox

A Wren has inspected the nestbox two days running.



This is a Birdfy nestbox which has two cameras so I can see birds ariving and leaving as well as any interior activity. It looks as though the Wren removed a dead fly while it was there.

Two Magpies and an Egg

This chicken egg cracked as soon as I put it in a pan to boil. As the contents started to spill out I cooled the egg and put it in the garden to see whether the Magpies would be interested in it. (No sound on this camera)



The Badger seems to have moved on. It hasn't visited for over a week. Its new living area under the shed was invaded by rats. Probably from nearby arable land. The rats have been eliminated but the Badger hasn't returned.

Resident Badger

A few nights ago a Badger visited the garden and decided to stay. It has made its home under a large shed and potters about the garden each night.



The Badger is eating some unsalted peanuts I put in a dish. Not the clearest of videos but the best I have so far.

Blue Tit Checks Nestbox

Latest of several quick visits to the camera nestbox:



So far I haven't seen it go inside.

Wasp? No!

Whilst emptying some bits in one of the wheelie bins I noticed what, at first glance, I thought was a tiny wasp. It wasn't moving so I assumed it had recently died and collected it to put under my LCD Microscope. Read about that here
The wasp like insect was quite small at about 10mm long.



Oh-ho ... what is that extra part jutting out near the lower eye?



Let's turn the insect over and take a closer look ....



That looks to me like the type of proboscis used to puncture skin and have a free drink of my blood. Pretty sure that what I have here is a mosquito though so far I haven't been able to identify which species it is. Any ideas??

Has Summer Arrived?

What a difference a day makes. This morning's picture capture from NOAA 15:



Most of the UK with clear blue skies and 20C already at 9.45 a.m.. Long may it last. BTW. The little yellow cross on the map indicates the position of my aerial.