2nd & 3rd May

 That’s how far I’m behind with my picture editing because those dates are when my wife and I, along with a couple of friends, went to Mount Grace Priory (first eight pictures), Nunnington Hall (next five pictures) and Thorp Perrow (last five pictures). It also shows how sad I am because when people go to places like that, they would probably take pictures of the beautiful landscapes or the buildings however that’s not me I take pictures of the wildlife.

Buff-tailed bumblebee.A member of staff at Mount Grace Priory had hung laminated pictures of Bees from a wall so people could identify what they were looking at. That’s how I identified these Bees.  

Hairy-footed flower bee.

Small Hoverfly.

St Mark’s Fly

Tree bumblebee?

A pair of Grey Wagtail gathering insects at Nunnington Hall kept us entertained for ages.

Common Green Shieldbug.

Pied Wagtail.

Burdon Moor

 Another walk around Burdon Moor on the 1^st (I’m way behind going through all the pictures I have taken lately) produced some canny wildlife.

Whitethroat were showing in good numbers.

This Buzzard was being mobbed by crows.

It landed briefly on a post and looks as though it is eying the sheep up for dinner.

It was chased off again and landed on another post where it is eying me up.

I saw two different male Stonechat.

Male Linnet.

Female Linnet.

Goldfinch gathering something.

Meadow Pipit.

This is not the first sighting of a Swallow for me this year but it is the first rubbish flight shot I’ve got this year.

This Willow Warbler is after a small insect if you look closely, you can just about make out a small black dot.

After it caught the insect, it dropped down into the undergrowth.

Three or four Brown Hare were in the field.

As was this Roe buck.

Two different places

 Work on the last day of April.

Syrphus sp. of Hoverfly.

Platycheirus sp. of Hoverfly.

Eristalis sp. of Hoverfly.

Eristalis in flight.

This Hoverfly has a drop of liquid ready to fall.

Now it’s gone.

A Mining Bee.

A pair of Bugs.

Robin with a caterpillar.

Thrush.

On the first day of May I had a drive up onto the Durham Moors. Unfortunately, I didn’t find very much but it was nice to have a look around.

Male Redstart.

Meadow Pipit.

A slightly different coloured Meadow Pipit.