The Great Pretender

I love bees and I get a buzz when I get to photograph them because they're not at all easy subjects.

But this is not a bee, or a wasp it is a hoverfly, one of the 300 species that are native to our country. They don't sting like bees or wasps but they mimic them as a means of defence against predators. They are important pollinators just like bees and just like bees their numbers are declining as a result of the increased use of  pesticides.

Just like bees they are interesting subjects for photography and luckily for me this one sat around long enough to get a few decent shots.

Precious Songbirds

British songbirds are in decline and apparently Canada has a similar problem.

I spotted this little beauty when I stopped off at Silver Islet, it was hoping around in the scrub along the shore, and it had a most beautiful song. I have tried to identify what species it is and hopefully I have been successful. I thought it might be a species of warbler but it's not I wondered if it was a wood thrush but it's not. It is in fact a song sparrow. It certainly isn't the most colourful bird but it really is a cute little character.

In my search to identify it I came across a very short video from Feb 2016 which highlights the decline in songbirds and the first bird in the clip is the song sparrow and although it is only very brief you get to hear a bit of this birds' beautiful song so click on the link and take a few moments to watch.