Don't panic!

This is a Dark Giant Horsefly we saw in the garden this morning.  It's 25mm long and is the heaviest fly in Europe, but it seemed quite content sunning itself on the wire heron by the pond and then on the greenhouse roof.  Apparently they mainly live on boggy areas and feed on the blood of cattle and ponies, only occasionally biting unfortunate humans.  This is a female as it has gaps between the eyes, whereas in males their eyes touch (I prefer to think the female just has more flashy sunglasses).  
We also saw a pair of Goldfinches feeding on the grass and Knapweed heads in the small uncut area of the meadow - they didn't look in the least threatening!