August 2019 – Photos by Alison

Once again I have seen many butterflies when I have been out and about. As well as the ones I mentioned last month I have seen a Scotch Argus, a Small Copper and a rare find (for me), a Dark Green Fritillary which I spotted on the Dava Way.

The other exciting event for me is that the Tree Sparrows are once again nesting in the nest box. This will be the third brood in that box. I am assuming that it is the same Tree Sparrows on each occasion but I cannot be certain. How lucky I am to be able to watch them nest building, then watch the parent birds regularly feed the young and then encourage them to fledge! Tree Sparrows are not too common in this area but I often have about thirty in my garden at certain times of the year.

Even if I am not seeing many birds in the garden at this time of the year there are always plenty of insects to see. Grasshoppers are not easy to find to photograph but I found an obliging one. Black Slugs are usually on the ground as you walk along but this one was clinging to a single blade of grass.

The Greylag Geese will soon be moving away from their breeding grounds inland but I was fortunate to find a group near Little Aitnoch which had a Leucisitic Greylag in amongst them.

Finally, at the end of the month, we had a lovely few days at Crianlarich from where we visited Fort William, Oban and Loch Lomond but did not find enough time to go bird watching.