High As A Flag On The 4th of July

Despite the unseasonable weather conditions at the moment I feel as high as the proverbial flag, but they are not exactly helping things here on the farm. However, it did bring a   

TAWNY OWL
into good voice during the night, a Year Tick.

The trap too was reasonably productive with the likes of
BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE,

BUFF ARCHES

and COMMON FOOTMAN all in evidence.

As already mentioned the weather put paid, albeit temporarily,
to the Hay Making with just a couple of hundred bales as the prospect
of rain put the process on hold.

'Birding' remains grim with just a brief stopover for 2
STOCK DOVEs
which seem to be becoming increasingly rare here,

while on the pond the pair of Tufted Ducks are still with us and
GREY HERON
still looms large.

back at the Electric Dustbin
THE SNOUT

DUSKY BROCADE

and SINGLE-DOTTED WAVE
are all expected at this time of year as are

CADDISFLY

In close proximity of the River Stour and a number of ponds it is not 

surprising that literally 'thousands' of these have been caught 

over the past few days.

Slightly more unusual
SANDY CARPET
is a Moth I had not previously seen.

The BIGGEST surprise was a

'Monster from the Deep'

and also another new creature to me,
GREAT DIVING BEETLE

Resorting to the Internet both to identify and find out more about this amazing Insect, this is what was found.

The Great Diving Beetle is a very large diving beetle, that are voracious predators in ponds, feeding on many smaller invertebrates, tadpoles and even small fish. The larvae are large, fearsome-looking beasts, with big biting jaws: they look a bit like pale brown, underwater Devil's Coach Horses. Great Diving Beetles are common in ponds and slow-moving water and can be spotted coming to the surface, pointing the tip of their abdomen out of the water to replenish the air supply stored beneath the wing cases. The larvae use damp soil by the edge of the water to pupate in. The adults are blackish-green in colour, with a yellow border to the thorax and around the wing cases.