This and that . . .

We appear to be having a steadier run of broadband (2 days of it now) so I will risk trying to post regularly again.

We had a little visitor the other night - well, not so little actually, as he was quite a good size with a hearty appetite:

Honey, just approaching, didn't know quite what to make of him! Now I know why there is always a clean bowl in the morning - and I thought it was a combination of stray cat/jackdaws/foxes . . .

I was delighted to find two Comma butterflies in the garden yesterday, squeaky-clean and probably newly-hatched, and luckily staying around long enough for me to find my camera. Butterflies this summer have been a fairly rare occurrence. There weren't many last summer, which was hardly surprising because of it being so wet and cold, and so I suppose very few butterflies actually got to breed. I have seen no Tortoiseshells at all, only 2 or 3 Peacocks, but regularly see one or two Meadow Browns, Speckled Woods and something which is probably a Grayling.

The scalloped wing edges of the Comma readily identify it. We never see them in large numbers in any summer, but this year even two are a bonus.


Finally, a beautifully-made bird's nest which had been blown out f probably the big oak tree dwn our hill. There was a flat bottom to the nest and a little scoop where it would have tucked against the trunk, but I'm not sure what bird made it. Perhaps a chaffinch? Suggestions?

Dragonflies and Bumblebees

Here is an excellent link if you wish to identify the bumblebees in your garden: http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/#

I've had a LOT this year - sadly, replacing the honey bee, but hopefully that will make a come-back. I have a lot to learn about bumble bees as I only recognize three types . . .

And here's one for Dragonflies:
http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/

These two Dragonflies hatched in my garden - one yesterday and one prior to that. Odd they both chose the same spot to emerge. There are a couple more in that pond and at least one in the main pond, but not ready yet. I think mine is a Golden Ringed Dragonfly. I think . . .

I'm back - but where to start? Pond Life in May

I did take some nature notes whilst I was "away", so I will write them up as they occurred. Today is jottings about the wildlife pond from the last week of May.

Broad-bodied chasers - male


And below, the female



Blue damselfly below



Another baking hot day. Too hot for me, especially as I wasn't up particularly early and so lost the hours when I often garden pre-breakfast. One of the earliest tadpoles in the wildlife pond has back legs, front legs, a distinctly froggy shape and will soon lose his tail. Several others have sprouted back legs. I couldn't help but think how strange that must feel, to be a little barrel blob with a tail and to suddenly grow extra bits. I wonder how much they have to compensate with their tail when they are swimming once they have legs? Or how about swimming along with a glorious tail one day, and then it begins to wither and drops off! In our main pond, I saw a grown-up bronzey-coloured frog, one of several who I believe live around the "island" that was once a tub of marginal plants that have now colonized through their container and taken over that corner of the pond. Both ponds were heaving with damselflies - red, blue and a ruddy-brown. I was amazed when I looked closely to see that the red ones have shining ruby-red eyes, and when I got a blue to stay still long enough, they have electric blue eyes to match their body, with a black stripe above them a bit like a mask. The browny ones have browny eyes. One sex has the bright colouring (male one presumes), whilst the other sex is darker and their quieter clours mirror the display of the other, with only thin bands of bright colour. When they mate, I presume it is the male! - places the tip of its body behind the female's head, and I believe the sperm sac is passed to the female in this manner. They often stay joined like this when they fly around and then the female can be seen dipping her ovipositor into the pond to lay eggs against the vegetation. The male is - of necessity - in a polt upright position when this happens and to be honest, looks a proper prat! Sometimes you see them totally joined up (this is called the "copulation wheel") and I saw one couple like this today resting on vegetation, although they can apparently fly like this. They all (Dragonflies and Damselflies) belong to the family of Odonata, but their Latin names don't exactly trip off the tongue - the Blue Damselfly is Enallagma cyathigerum and the Large Red Damselfly is Pyrrohosoma nymphula. We'll stick to red or blue damselflies then . . .

Whilst honey bees are not common in my garden this year, their place has more than been taken by the little buff tailed bumble bee, Bombus lucorum, but there is also a much larger buff tailed bumble bee - I wonder if this could be the cuckoo bee, Psithyrus barbutellus. She lays her eggs in the nest of the bumblebee Bombus hortorum.

Here is an excellent link to a bumble bee site, and if my brain wasn't quite so scrambled, I would put more notes from it on here, but you will have to look for yourself as I slept very badly last night!

Now I have the internet back, I will check out the ramblings above and correct/improve upon them. My little books on the subject don't have much detail and only the very commonest species.

Hoping to be back today

I know this as 'Fox and Cubs' and saw it growing first alongside the - then abandoned - Swanage to Corfe railway line . . .


Many, many apologies but I have had dreadful phone line problems - changing provider and a phone line that has Had It . . . I have been taking notes over the 3 weeks I had no broadband, so I will post them up later on today, or whenever broadband comes back properly (this is just a "blip").

Wild Aquilegias . . . and the Council's verge-scalping habit

I thought I'd carry on the trend, having done cultivated Aquilegias over on Codlins and Cream this weekend. These photos were taken early Saturday morning, when the soft but relentless rain from the previous night had spoiled some of the petals of the pale flowers. Along some of the local lanes, these are a common flower. On others they are nowhere to be seen.

We have some of the palest pink ones up by our field gate (on our hedgerow). We have had as many as 14 plants, but are down to about 4 again, partly because Next Door WILL insist n driving farm vehicles which are to wide down our narrow lane and gouging chunks out of the banks (always the chunks with Aquilegia growing on them). Secondly, if the gritting guys come along in the winter, and with hundreds of yards of bank to chose from, they ALWAYS chuck the grit and salt on - you've guessed it - some of my Aquilegias. Finally, the Council contractors WILL insist on cutting the banks before they can set seed (they probably do it early to eradicate that peril of narrow country lanes, Cow Parsley - I mean, if your vision is impeded, you might have to slow down - heaven forbid!) I see that this year they have been cutting the verges along the A40 with their profusion of white, pink and red Valerian and millions of Ox-Eye Daisies in mid-May. Last year they were an absolute picture - this year - scalped. "They" get earlier and earlier too . . . "They" don't seem to realize that the beauty of the Welsh countryside and wild flowers are part of the attraction to holiday-makers and some inhabitants, but "they" just want everywhere looking like a tidy back lawn - a pox on them. It must cost an arm and a blardy leg too - the number of vehicles with flashing signs involved to say grass cutting is in progress, all for one little man with a strimmer!



Isn't this such a pretty Midnight Purple? Or should that be Aubergine?


They come in such pretty colours - I love the Crushed Raspberry . . .

and the Faded Crushed Raspberry . . .

And the Deep Lilacy-Purple.

These look almost black from a distance.

And of course white. "My" wild Aquilegias, on the top bank of our field, are the palest of pale pinks. I've taken photos tonight so will share them tomorrow.

Habitat: walls . . .

A brief posting as I am off to view a Nursery in Swansea later on (particularly for her Collection of Aquilegias). So just a make-weight post today.

I took these photos at Grosmont Castle recently, on my way home from Herefordshire. It was covered in wild wallflowers, which had colonized every nook and cranny and made it look SO pretty.

Some plants will grow anywhere. Above and below, wallflowers have colonized cracks in the walls at Grosmont Castle, on the Welsh borders beyond Abergavenny. There were some small seedlings growing in cracks in the wall base, so I pocketed 4 and they are growing on nicely.

Below - Navelwort just coming into flower. Also at Grosmont Castle.

Newt-watching and the Phantom Sheepdog Trials bird again

Poor photo of the big baddy dragonfly larva at the bottom of the wildlife pond.


I am hoping that this video I recorded last night of that strange whistling bird will load and be properly functional. Bill Oddie, if you are reading this, please tell me what it is, as the lack of identification is driving me nuts! I was speaking to a neighbour last night, whose garden backs on to woodland, and she said they hear it a lot too, so it is obviously a fairly common bird. Drat - it won't load as I have to try and change the format somehow . . .

I have listened to all the possible birds on the two Sunday Telegraph CDs of birdsong I have. I have listened to even more candidates via the excellent RSPB bird song identification site (still no joy), and I really have NO idea what it could be. The upside of this is I want a video camera when we downsize!

Most evenings at dusk, when there is less glare on the water of my little wildlife pond, I watch the wildlife in it. Dusk is when the newts (Palmate I think - the common-as-muck sort anyway) come out to play. I have seen as many as 5 together, including a Big Boss newt who is obviously the male of the species as he has a pair of rather obvious - and bright yellow! - b*lls! I have found baby newts all over the place - one - a tasteful baby-poo brown with a yellow stripe down its back - was between the earth and the wall when I was gardening the other day. Sometimes in autumn they will march under our front door (there's a draughty gap!) and along the hallway and we will find dessicated little corpses in shoes or overlooked corners. The tadpoles are VERY wary and seem to live on their nerves. If you throw a shadow across the pond there is a scurry of little bodies hurtling for cover. The newts sometimes tease them by suddenly appearing in their midst and looking threatening, but their real enemies are the Dragonfly larva, which casually snooze amongst the tadpoles (who seem to live in total ignorant bliss) and then - when they feel peckish - will suddenly leap into action and the nearest tadpole will be the next meal, to be sucked grey and discarded. Nor are the newts safe from the dragonfly larva - we once found a very pregnant - and nearly dead - female with a dragonfly larva clamped to her side, where the blood had been sucked into a huge "bruise".

I am so glad that I decided to start this blog because in doing so it has given me more reason to stop, look, listen and really OBSERVE wildlife.

Above: Pied Wagtails on our bridge. A few weeks ago I was watching the courtship display of a pair in the forecourt of the garage at Whitemill. He thought he was a very splendid jack-the-lad, and was wooing his lady by running very fast in front of her. Then he would check to see if she was interested (she looked bored rigid to be honest!) and then he would run past her again, little legs twinkling. Eventually she deigned to notice him and moved a little nearer, but boy, he had to run his legs off to get her attention!