Night

We have had a nice day here for the first time in ages and I went out into the garden as it got dark. It always amazes me just how strongly scented the plants are at night. My curry plant and wallflowers were particularly fragrant. I also love how well the colours stand out when it is dark too. The fact that there are thought to be about 2500 species of moth in the UK and only 60 species of butterfly suddenly starts to make sense and you realise that the real action happens after you have retired to your cave for the night.

A few weeks ago on the last night of our holiday in Harris, we heard a very strange bird noise. We thought (quite naturally) that it must be some sort of owl but we have since had the noise identified and it is a Snipe. They make the sound with their specially stiffened tail feathers by flying up high then swooping down, causing the air to vibrate the feathers.

If you want to know how freaky that is, listen to the sound here and then check out the view we had while were hearing it.

Spooky!

Our Snipe made a very splendid display so I really hope he found a mate and produced little Snipes.