Upper Montpelier!

....that's what I tend to call the area around Fairlawn Road and the top of St Andrews Road. Anyway I had a quick look around this morning and heard a Coal Tit singing near Hurlingham Road. A Speckled Wood butterfly was nearby. At the junction of St Andrews Road and Cromwell Road the verge had lots of what I have identified as Beaked Hawksbeard (but hawkweeds are not my speciality) and some Michaelmas Daisies. Halfway down St Andrews Road some Lady's Bedstraw persists on a front lawn - this has been growing at this location for many years but it is otherwise a scarce plant in urban areas, preferring calcareous grassland. One or two Large White were also seen nearby.

Beaked Hawksbeard and hoverfly which I only noticed after looking at the photo! Sadly there's not enough detail to ID the hoverfly!

Lady's Bedstraw

Large White

Michaelmas Daisies

Fairlawn Road

A Leaf-cutter Bee, a Comma, 5 Ringlets, an Xanthogramma and a Helophilus hoverfly and a singing Blackcap were the highlights at Fairlawn Road this morning. At the station there were several Starlings and a few Harvestmen. At St Andrews Road lots of Lady's Bedstraw in flower on someone's lawn - always grows here and very unusual.

Lady's Bedstraw

Harvestman

Leaf-cutter Bee

Ringlet

Xanthogramma

Robin 'ood you believe it?

Bumped into fellow wildlifer Jim this morning and he has sent some fab photos of Robins nesting in his Montpelier garden earlier this month:

15 June, One of the parents keeping the then hatch chicks warm

15th June, Going for food

21st June, The chicks

26th June, One of the first chicks to fledge. There were 4 chicks who successfully fledged.

 Jim also 'shot' this hoverfly which looks like an Eristalis species to me:

Along Fairlawn verge there was a Marmalade Hoverfly, an Xanthogramma hoverfly, a Helophilus hoverfly, a Dark Bush Cricket and a few Harlequin Ladybirds, including a copulating pair - the male 'vibrated' in a, like, totally weird way. Also a Jay and a singing Coal Tit nearby.

Harlequin Ladybirds

Marmalade Hoverfly

St Andrews Road produced a Syrphus hoverfly and some Lady's Bedstraw growing on a lawn - this usually appears every year in one of the gardens and is an unusual plant to see in the middle of urban Bristol rather than a Mendip hillside!

Lady's Bedstraw