Mining Bee in the garden

I have been so busy that I just have not been outside to look for wildlife in ages. That all changed the other day when I found a Mining Bee (Andrena carantonica) wandering around the patio looking lost. This is one of those bees that does not participate in any hierarchical hive society though it does live close to others of its own kind. As to what she was doing on my patio, I have no idea!

Red Crested Pochard down at Attenborough Nature Reserve

Another first today. A Red Crested Pochard (Netta rufina) pair down at Attenborough Nature Reserve. I think I have seen the female before and mistook it for a female pochard. This pair were swimming quite close to the visitor centre and so I was able to get in close for a photo. So all in all that makes 109 species of bird that I have seen within the UK. Not a lot by birding standards but a respectable number for someone who isn't a twitcher. My list is below. Note the absence of all birds that require any kind of patience to observe. Such as Warblers. And a little celebration - this is my 100th blog entry!

Barn Owl

Barnacle Goose

Black Grouse

Black headed Gull

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Bullfinch

Buzzard

Canada Goose

Chaffinch

Chough

Coal Tit

Collared Dove

Common Cuckoo

Common Gull

Common Tern

Coot

Cormorant

Crossbill

Crow

Curlew

Dunlin

Dunnock

Egyptian Goose

Eider

Fieldfare

Gadwall

Gannet

Goldcrest

Golden Eagle

Goldeneye

Goldfinch

Goosander

Great Black Backed Gull

Great Crested Grebe

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit

Green Woodpecker

Greenfinch

Grey Heron

Grey Wagtail

Greylag Goose

Guillemot

Hen Harrier

Herring Gull

House Sparrow

Jackdaw

Jay

Kestral

Kingfisher

Kittiwake

Lapwing

Lesser Black Backed Gull

Little Grebe

Little Owl

Long tailed tit

Magpie

Mallard

Mandarin

Mistle Thrush

Moorhen

Mute Swan

Nuthatch

Oystercatcher

Partridge

Peregrine Falcon

Pheasant

Pied Flycatcher

Pied Wagtail

Pintail

Pochard

Ptarmigan

Razorbill

Red Crested Pochard

Red Kite

Redwing

Reed Bunting

Ringed Plover

Robin

Rook

Ruddy Shelduck

Sand Martin

Shag

Shelduck

Shoveler

Siskin

Skylark

Smew

Snipe

Snow Bunting

Song Thrush

Sparrowhawk

Starling

Stonechat

Swallow

Swift

Tawny Owl

Teal

Tree Creeper

Tree Sparrow

Tufted Duck

Water Rail

Wheatear

Whooper swan

Wigeon

Willow Tit

Wood Pigeon

Wren

Yellowhammer

Barnacle geese

Again I spot something interesting whilst only carrying my smaller (and much poorer) camera. The other day we were walking around Carsington Water in Derbyshire when a field of geese caught my eye. The first thing that I noticed was that it contained two different types of Geese. The first looked like normal Canada Geese and the second looked similar but with the black of their necks extending down into a kind of bib (sorry babies on the brain at the moment). They are of course Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis). An unexpected new bird for me.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've hardly been outside in the last three weeks!