Greenfinches in the garden

Not for the first time this summer have I had a brood of greenfinches at the feeders.
This young bird was fluttering its wings to draw the attention of its parent to provide food.

I've also had over 40 house sparrows daily and every few days the numbers increase with new youngsters arriving. Our neighbours roof has produced 2 broods but others still seem to be fledging.

It's been a great year for breeding birds in Cornwall, due I reckon to an "ordinary" summer of a bit of rain and a bit of sun but no great excesses of either.

Greenfinches

Greenfinches

Greenfinches

Greenfinches

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

The apron strings managed to stretch to the garden today and got a few nice shots of small tortoiseshell butterfly feeding on water mint in my pond.

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

Insects

I spotted over a dozen dark bush crickets this morning in the low vegetation as the sun was warming up.

I also found a long -abdomen wasp that I suspect may be an Ichneumon wasp but I'm not sure.

No doubt someone will put me right!

Ichneumon wasp

Dark bush cricket

Flies

A quick walk with the dogs and I found this pair of flies in the act of creating a new swarm for the summer season.

Flies copulating