Sun bathes the path up to the centre. Wind whistles through the trees. The flowers of heather have started to show their faces to the glow of the day and the cuckoos have all but spat the last of the froghoppers into the forest undergrowth.
Froghopper nymph in its protective froth...not cuckoo spit!
It has been a very interesting season indeed. We have now established that there is a good chance EJ has left for migration much earlier than we could have anticipated. By the estimation of one of our religious volunteers, the earliest she has ever left before was the 10th of August. The last time she was seen was on Friday the 14th of July. There has been no sign of her on the nest and no sign of her fishing in Aviemore either. We have, however, had other osprey gliding past the nest and even heard a sky dance taking place just yesterday. The warm weather and good thermals mean we have seen lots of birds soaring close to the centre and also our juvenile red squirrels siesta in the heat of the mid-day sun.
The lackadaisical feel of the wildlife around the centre has been challenged by the excited stomping of children enjoying the new treasures on the path and taking part in bio blitz yesterday. We have many future taxonomists in our midst. With the season moving along nicely this brings on the arrival of many amazing fungi to our path. Not only have we seen the awesome devils tooth fungi but also some of these miscellaneous mushies.
Bracket fungus (bracketus fungusis) White Mushroom (Blanco mushroomis)
If anyone would like to help me find the real names for these mushrooms, it would be much appreciated!
Our first Moth Monday this week also turned out some interesting species that I have never seen before.
Garden Tiger Moth Articia caja
If you are wanting to come along on Mondays and see what you can ID in our moth trap we will be running it right through to the end of the season, ospreys or no ospreys!