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Monday 23 April 2012

River Wansbeck

A walk along theWansbeck near Morpeth ,not expecting too much just an afternoon walk , plenty of Nuthatch calling , a pair of Grey Wagtail on the river and a Grey Heron flew up to the weir ,looking for the Yellow Star of Bethlehem , but they had all gone over you could just see a hint of yellow left on the stems, lots of Butterbur around a plant I avoided as a child as rumours abounded that they where poisonous, also Lords & Ladies pushing through with Violets and  Wood Anenomies , single Orange Tip on the wing and I came across this Bee Fly common and widespread apparently but can't say I have seen it before , this one perhaps looking for the nest of a Mining Bee in which the Bee Fly lays its eggs to feed on the larvae.  
 Nuthatch sitting on recently felled tree those are chippings around it.
 Oragne \Tip
 Butterbur ,quite an intricate flower when you take a close look
 Bee Fly alights on the sandy soil looking for Mining bee Nests
Several or even many names for this plant Lords & ladies being one !

2 comments:

abbey meadows said...

I have seen a couple of Bee flies this Spring Brian but I must have overlooked them in the past as this was the first time I had seen them as well.

Northumbrian Birding said...

I must admit if it had not settled on the earth I would have missed it ,interesting insect.
Brian