GO WILD WITH ERIC PAYLOR

IT appears to have been a good year for Cleveland's insects, which in return must have ensured that the breeding birds had little problem finding food for their chicks.

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One flying insect that keeps being reported regularly this year, particularly on buddleia bushes, is the hummingbird hawkmoth.

I've not been fortunate enough to spot one in my garden during the past couple of months, though I did see one on a sunny day in the garden at The World of James Herriot at Thirsk.

Hummingbird hawkmoths are absolutely mesmerising, because at first glance you believe that you might be looking at a hummingbird, such is the similarity. They fly during daylight hours and are usually seen hovering over flowers, feeding through their long proboscises. If you can get close enough you can actually hear their wings hum.