First orchid in flower

Just came across the first orchid that I have spotted because it is in flower rather than by seeing its rosette. A nice precursor of many more I hope.

New Species - Early Bumblebee

Freshly enthusiastic after my Bee course I identified the Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) yesterday. There were a few individuals on some wild raspberry canes. It is one of the ffood sources they favour according to the books.The extent of the second yellow band seemed variable but these were workers rather than males. This is our smallest UK bumblebee.

Scarce bee seen at Wet Meadow

I was on a one day bee course yesterday courtesy of the Wye Valley National Landscape, We spent the afternoon session at Trellech Wet Meadow just a couple of miles from The Beeches. There weren't many bees about but just as we were finishing a scarce bee was found - the Red-shanked Carder Bee (Bombus ruderarius). I'll have to keep my eyes out here - that would be a major addition to our bee list. The photo is from Wikipedia Creative Commons (Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

New Moth Species - White Ermine

I Spotted this moth in the East Field and eventually managed to get a photo which enabled it's identification as White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda).

New Green Winged Orchid site on The Narth

This is one orchid I would love to see here at The Beeches but so far no luck. However it is flowering on a site just outside the village boundary where horses are kept. I think this is the first confirmed record around the village for a couple of decades!

Bulbous Buttercups

Yet another flower in profusion this year - the best buttercup - the Bulbous Buttercup. Good colour contrast with the ubiquitous Bluebells.

Still loads of Fallow Deer around.

This a group finding something tasty on the low stone wall by the house. They do seem a bit random in their eating habits and sometimes just take bites out of whatever they are walking past at the time.