Close Up in Majorca - Insects etc

There are not a lot of insects about yet - the weather is unseasonably cool and wet here though not quite as bad as the UK. Bees are the commonest including the Hairy-Footed Flower Bee and other solitary species. Also some hoverflies, grasshoppers and Cockchafers etc

 

Majorca - Tale of Two Ospreys

We watched this first Osprey bring in fish on two separate days. The first fish was very large and ?she took a couple of hours eating it. On the second morning the fish was smaller but she didn't seem to have any appetite despite making room by defecating copiously.  In the after on the second day we watched a different Osprey catch a fish behind a bak of reeds and the carry it off to a suitable perch elsewhere. This second osprey has a radio transmitter on its back. I wonder where it was tagged

S'Albufera Majorca - Home to Orchids, Insects and Rare Birds

We will spend a lot of our week at the Albufera Reserve so I will include a few images in each post to show the variety of wildlife here, rather than a diary of the days. My favourite so far is finding the Mirror Orchid right on the side of the main road and also a very large grasshopper, the Egyptian Grasshopper. Also shown Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Cattle Egret, Audouin's Gull, Purple Gallinule (endangered species) and a grey headed race of the Yellow Wagtail.

Our Base in Majorca for a Week's Bird Watching

When I booked a week here in Majorca with Jet2, I was not expecting quite such a grand hotel - it was chosen for its location - right next to the S'Albufera Nature Reserve (third photo). It is also right on the beach with a very large pool. We had wonderful conditions to fly in going over the mountains (Puis Major), along the Alcudia Bay with Formentor peninsular in the distance and then over the land which at this time is a blaze of colour with wild flowers.

Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire 2

A few colour images from my walk at Fountain's Abbey on Thursday, trying to find a few different views, starting with a Polypody fern and Jelly Ear fungus. The oranges. pinks and reds in the sandstone blocks that comprise the Abbey showed up well in the sunlight.

 

Leicester University Botanic Gardens

After giving a talk to the Friends of the BG, I took a walk round the gardens to see what was in bloom. Here are a few incluidng Fritillarias, Snowflake, Azaleas, Camelias and Hellebores