We have had a bit of bird activity in the garden today, mostly House Sparrows but also a young Dunnock has been with us for the second day in a row. A Wren was heard singing, this time in the garden , and Greenfinches came and went. The Collared Doves continue to show, still in the small flock as before and I noticed a degree of territorial behaviour. Perhaps the male will be chasing away his siblings as the week progresses. The Herring Gulls that bred on my neighbours roof have been causing quite a disturbance and this morning at 4.30 they were almost unbearable. As we approach midnight I notice that they are perched on the apex of the roof next door tonight, so we are in for a noisy morning yet again, at first light.

I took another photo of the recently discovered new species of Hoverfly today, Melanostoma mellinum.  This time a female. You can tell male and female Hoverflies by the arrangement of the eyes on the head. If they are on the side then it's a female but fused together indicates a male. This shot was taken with my Tamron 1:1 Macro lens. The insect is in fact very tiny , around 3 mm long. It is perched on a wild flower that I leave to grow around an un-cut area of my lawn next to the pond. This is a great place for insects and frogs etc.
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Melanostoma sp. (scalare or mellinum)Melanostoma sp. (scalare or mellinum)

I took the next photo during the day and when I had a good look it occurred to me that it would make a good quiz question. So here's what we do. Have a good luck at the picture, have guess at an ID and then either email me or comment with your answer and we will see if anyone gets it right.

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Quiz Name this insect
email with your answer.

What is this

4 responses to “Dunnock in the Garden”

  1. The first picture is stunning Charlie! Very impressed that you caught such a small and active creature in a pin sharp image. The way you tell the sex – is that true of all hover flies or just this species? As for the competition picture I can’t guess beyond thinking it’s a butterfly of some kind but I wouldn’t even swear to that…

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  2. Hello,
    Thanks for your very kind comments, I really do appreciate it. The way to sex Hoverflies id true of all species, sometimes they are tiny and it is hard to see but a close look will give it away. As for the Quiz, I will let you know in due course but you are on the right trail!

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  3. Nice macros chas 🙂

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  4. Charlie
    I am guessing a form of a Clouded Yellow butterfly

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