This has been a summer of winners and losers and not just in international sport. The wildlife has responded to the extraordinary weather in its own way. Insects are among the losers not relishing the cold and the wet. And that has affected birds who rely on the source of food. Customer numbers at our feeding station have been consistent throughout the season.
One or two warm days have led to only an occasional appearances of butterflies.
This peacock had sensibly picked out the most favoured part of Blacka, a suntrap beautifully sheltered from west and north winds. Bees did not do badly up here in May and the good crop of bilberry testifies to that. Later all went downhill. Are midges ever anything but winners?
Bracken has also been a winner as has grass, both benefiting from lots of rain.
The bracken here was supposed to be only background to the intended subject - a dragonfly - bringing me to my own failed attempt once again to photograph a dragonfly in flight and declaring me a loser as in previous years.
As well as grass and bracken other winners include ,in a wet year, lichen ........
...... and alder fruit.
They may turn out to be the biggest winners of all. No comfort to the butterflies.
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