Today in pictures

[Ryewolf90]

Bread isn't good for birds, seeds and/or dried mealworms are much better for them.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I bought some meal worms for the birds and they would not eat them.
I get a fruit and nut mix to add to my breakfast cereal and it is always full of big raisins....so I share these with the birds.....maybe that is why they would not eat the meal worms.

[Ryewolf90]

Only some birds will eat dried meal worms - Pied and Grey Wagtails are a few, Magpies, Jackdaws and Crows will also eat them, as do Mistle Thrushes and Blackbirds. I've had all of these visit my yard for the mealworms I put out.

A lot of other bird like seeds, the problem is pigeons also like seeds - and there's a big flock that perch at the end of my street.

[Restless]

you would think they wouldnt eat it if it wasn't good for them

[Margaret Pilkington]

Rob, I guess it is a bit like humans having a Mc Donald's.
Not good for us, but we still munch on them.

[gpick24]

Some interesting info here - https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...aps-for-birds/

Our little visitors love the meal worms, I mix it in with seed (they don`t eat the seed if the meal worms aren`t there).
We also put out suet candles & half coconut filled with fat, the bigger ones like these as well as the small ones.
We also get a couple of cheeky magpies that come down and nick Daisys uneaten dog biscuits.

[Ryewolf90]

A few from yesterdays bug hunt.....

1. Shield Bug - not sure what sort as it isn't fully grown
2. Mason Bee - I think
3. Green Veined White Butterfly

[Ryewolf90]

Some more bugs from Thursday - you might get to see a lot of these over the coming months as it's bug hunting time...

1. Female Scorpion Fly
2. Male Scorpion Fly - that scorpion like stinger is actually it's genitalia...
3. Green Dock Beetles - getting a bit amorous
4. Solider Beetle - alas there are several similar coloured ones, so not sure which one it it...

[Margaret Pilkington]

Well, these are superb pictures....though I have to say that beetles, bugs and creepy things do not really appeal to me.
If I am truthful, they scare me a bit(and not much does).

[Margaret Pilkington]

What DOES impress me though is that you know what these beetly bugs are.

[maxthecollie]

Originally Posted by Ryewolf90

Only some birds will eat dried meal worms - Pied and Grey Wagtails are a few, Magpies, Jackdaws and Crows will also eat them, as do Mistle Thrushes and Blackbirds. I've had all of these visit my yard for the mealworms I put out.

A lot of other bird like seeds, the problem is pigeons also like seeds - and there's a big flock that perch at the end of my street.

Robins love mealworms

[maxthecollie]

We have stopped feeding the birds as we have seen a couple of rats about

[Ryewolf90]

Thanks Margaret, I must admit to finding bugs and beetles fascinating purely because there's such an interesting and varied range of them and unless you look closely you'll often pass them by without noticing.

Almost every time I'm out bug hunting I get people asking what I'm looking for - as I'm usually looking at leaves or under them or in undergrowth - so as I point out things they're usually quite fascinated. Also with my macro setup I'm usually quite close to them - even bees and wasps - when I say close I mean less that 15cm away. In a lot of cases I'm usually crawling around on the floor.

[Ryewolf90]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

What DOES impress me though is that you know what these beetly bugs are.

Often times it's because I've seen them before or they're quite easy to id, often though I do have to post on various macro forums and hope someone else knows what the are.

[Gremlin]

A couple of holiday photos taken in Norway last week, just to see how they are treated by the website after resizing.