Living in Hope.

Hopefully I'll get some birding in tomorrow but according to the forecast I may well be home soon after mid-day.

Meanwhile, what about the Great Tits in Hungary which have taken a liking to hunting, killing, and eating hibernating Pipistrelle Bats in the Bukk Mountains in the NE of the country. Researchers have documented eighteen cases and speculated the birds can hear the bats which - when disturbed - their squeaks are audible to both humans and the birds, but scientists claim they can only hunt the bats when they see them and they have also suggested that bats are a food only as a last resort in harsh winters. An amazing discovery nevertheless.

Bullfinch courtesy of David Cookson.

A Biodiversity Project in Glasgow has discovered that the Bullfinch was just one of 47 bird species which are of conservation concern and were recorded in green spaces in Glasgow showing how valuable such spaces are for birds within the urban environment.

The same project uncovered a butterfly which is gradually  expanding north and what is thought to be the first record of a Comma in Glasgow.

The decline of many British butterflies continues, but amid the decline there was a rare combination of circumstances in 2009 when an estimated one billion Painted Ladies arrived in the UK early in the summer but in the autumn when most migrant species were heading south again newly arrived Clouded Yellow, Large White, and Red Admiral  were recorded in large numbers crossing the south coast.

I have an uncomfortable feeling all the illustrations have been posted on the blog before, still nice to see them again even if they have......the butterflies are mine!