Today's post is  a collection of garden insects and a report from my Dartmoor pool.  The Butterfly above is a Gatekeeper - Pyronia tithonus female, a species that we have in the garden every year.  This year I have left a large patch of mint at the bottom of the garden,  it is flowering at the moment and is a big attraction to insects of all sorts including Honey Bees. It was this mint that attracted the interesting fly blogged about yesterday.

Today's trip to the pool was a bonus, I wasn't supposed to be in Devon today but a change of plan gave me the chance to get out there again.  It seemed as though everything was against me when I got there.  The weather was good which is always a plus but as I made my way down the little valley along side the stream, a Sparrowhawk -Accipiter nisus was chasing a Meadow Pipit.  I watched the hunt as they weaved in and out, the hunter chasing the prey and following its every twist and turn before they disappeared around the corner.  Then a few minutes later at the pool, I saw her (yes she was a female) again, very close by, she wasn't too worried about me really but continued on her way. Anyway, that put pay to all of the birds, but if that wasn't enough, a class of 20 kids from an outdoor education course invaded the area!!!! Can you imagine.  So eventually they disappeared and peace and tranquility prevailed.  Thirty minutes later I saw a shape not too far down stream……… it was worth waiting for, there was the Dipper who seams to have taken up residency in the area this last few days.