Hornet

The hallway window was buzzing the other day and on investigation we found it was this Hornet. We managed to move it outside using a jam jar and it settled on the patio where we were able to photograph it. In fact the trauma of it all meant that it moved itself to the wall and remained there until it warmed up the next morning.

Hornets have a reputation for being aggressive but they are said to be less so that many other wasp species it is just their noise that makes them appear so. They can be up to 2.5 inches long this one was only around 1.5" so possibly a young one. 

Bee Orchid

Look out for the unmistakable Bee Orchid in grassland over the next few weeks.

Cinnabar Moth

From mid May to early August the colourful Cinnabar moth can be seen on grass and heathland. We spotted some on a visit to Alney Island nature reserve in Gloucester on the flood plain of the Severn.

Summer Solstice

The longest day draws to a close and it was another superb sunny day. The hay is cut and bailed in the fields. Let's hope for lots more sunshine for the rest of the summer!

Pyramid Orchid

Conservation work with controlled grazing has been successful in encouraging the growth of orchids in the limestone grassland of Uley Bury and pyramid orchids are looking their best as we approach mid summer.

Hot air balloons

A nice calm morning brought large numbers of hot air balloons near to our house early this morning. We counted 21 but think we missed some earlier ones.

Elderflower cordial

It's that time of year when the hedges are full of Elderflowers so here we go...

Common Spotted Orchid

Orchids are now flowering in abundance in unimproved calcareous grassland. This is the Common Spotted Orchid so called for the black spots on its  leaves.

Dipper

The Dipper is a delightful little bird which lives near fast flowing shallow streams where  it dives for invertebrates.
It is usually found in upland areas but this stretch of the Frome in Stroud near the Waitrose supermarket is a good place to look for them.

Approaching mid summer

Sorry for the recent lack of posts, we were away enjoying a trip to the Lake District with our local Ramblers group.

We have returned to enjoy the mid summer sun setting over the Severn Vale between the showers.