Tiny Mounds at NT Sutton Hoo

We spent a warm afternoon at NT Sutton Hoo, where ...

... the digger wasps were hard at work on the path that leads to the wood. 

Most visitors go to see the Anglo-Saxon mounds and the ship burial site. 

On this occasion, these small mounds became the focus of my visit.  

There were several ladybirds and their larvae (and eggs) 

by the selection of plants that the Anglo-Saxons would have known and used. 

We usually find caterpillars on the Woad, but there were none today.  

Instead, the bees were hard at work on the Weld. 

I shall post the digger wasp pics on to iSpot in the hope that someone can help me get a more accurate ID ...

 

POSTSCRIPT

Two bits of news...

 

1] That the Open University is going to close iSpot later this month - such a shame.  

2] That this species of digger wasp has been identified for me by fellow iSpotters as the Ornate Tailed Digger Wasp (Cerceris rybyensis). Huge thanks to all who have helped me with IDs over many years. 

 
 

Spot the Sutton Hoo Dragon

 

Bluebell season, this afternoon: sunny and a bit blustery at times

A Small White in among the Bluebells

Do you remember 'In and out the dusty Bluebells'?

I played this singing game at Nursery School in Kent in the 1960s - see here for origins.

A good day for grazing

Foy my updated garden species list, see here. 

Down by the River Deben

 

 

Sutton Hoo (installation inspired by helmet)

We have enjoyed some waterside bird-watching recently at NT Sutton Hoo. These are our sightings (and 'listenings') so far. Merlin, the Cornell bird ID app has helped us along the way. We have found the app pretty reliable, though I suspect it is designed for users in the US. The bird recorded as a 'White Wagtail' was probably a Pied Wagtail.

 

 

3 March

• Avocet (a)
  
• Dunnock
  
• Lapwing
• Long-tailed tit
• Oystercatcher (b)
  
• Treecreeper
• Shelduck (c)
  

9 March

• Buzzard
• Curlew (d)
  
• Goldfinch 
• Great spotted woodpecker
  
• Great tit
• Pied/White Wagtail 
• Pheasant
  
• Redshank (e)
  
• Siskin
• Wigeon
• Plus: (a), (b) and (c)
  

17 March

• Blue tit
  
• Chaffinch
• Magpie
  
• Robin
• Plus: (b), (c) and (d)
  

30 March

• Blackbird
• Carrion Crow
  
• Chiffchaff
• Green woodpecker
• Herring gull
  
• Jackdaw
  
• Rook
  
• Skylark (f)
  
• Wren
• Plus: (b) and (c) 

We also saw a Muntjac:

 

The Oystercatchers in the next photo were on this rampike.

 

1 April 

• Black-backed gull
• Canada goose
• Mallard
• Mute swan
• Song thrush
• Teal
• Plus: (b), (c), (e) and (f)
  

 

36 species in total so far since 3 March. Those with a letter, such as (a), have been seen on more than one occasion. 

 

*

There were quite a few ladybirds, mainly but not exclusively 7-spots, on the Sutton Hoo site and a few butterflies: we noticed Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals. We saw a beefly on Saturday, and two shieldbugs this afternoon on the gorse. 

Spot the (Sutton Hoo) Dragon

We returned to NT Sutton Hoo this afternoon and looked in the wood to see how the bluebells are coming along. You can see the green shoots behind Spot the Dragon. Some years we have seen these wonderful flowers attracting Orange-tip butterflies, showing off nature's complementary colours in the best of ways; though I cannot help wondering why there should be such contrast when (surely) camouflage, i.e. a flower and butterfly of the same shade, would afford more protection from predators. 

And by the way, we have at last seen our first butterfly of 2023; a Small Tortoiseshell on 21 March. This seems very late for back in 2004 when we were still living in Swansea, two butterflies alighted on our rockery on a snowy Valentine's Day. I wrote a Haiku to mark the event:

St Valentine’s Day –
butterflies hug the heather,
snow kisses the lawn

Looking across the River Deben to Woodbridge

 

Signs of Spring: Black Lambs at NT Sutton Hoo

We visited these wonderful Hebridean lambs (above and below) at NT Sutton Hoo last weekend when they were a matter of days old. They were gambolling about near the mounds and leaping up in the air. We returned to the site this weekend to see how they were getting on. 

 

The photos above this line were taken eight days ago. The ones below were taken a week later ...

Their shepherd has asked the public to suggest names. Both lambs are females. We sent in our suggestions and it will be interesting to see which names are chosen.

 

 

 

 

Lambs at NT Sutton Hoo, a Late Arrival to Our Feeders ... and Seasonal Signs at SWT Martlesham Wilds

Muntjac at Sutton Hoo (two of three spotted) ...

Lambs! In January! Sheer joy. And lapwings

The wobbly stage ...

Back in the garden ... this semi-regular turned up 24 hours after my count ...

Isn't he handsome?

Time for a bit of argy-bargy. Just look at the barring on the underwing.

Back at Martlesham Wilds ... the Barn Owl's view,

and the view looking in the opposite direction towards the River Deben.

Curlew, but all at quite a distance. Over 15 counted.

The humble, beautiful Daisy.

More snowdrops in Martlesham Churchyard

My first Aconite of 2023 ...

... and my first Crocus.

 

Autumn Sunshine at NT Sutton Hoo

How the season has changed! An abundance of ripe chestnuts

The woods at NT Sutton Hoo, a mix of green and brown

I wonder how many more Darters we will see this year ...

A tiny camouflaged Grasshopper

Spot the Dragon enjoying some mottled sunshine

Looking across the Deben to Woodbridge

 And finally ... 

... we checked the Trailcam today and were delighted to find that the hedgehog had been here on 23 September (and not at 2 or 3 am this time). We stopped putting out the Yora insect-based food a few days ago as it was being snapped up by a cat. But we have replenished the supply tonight; let's hope the hedgehog returns as I suspect its need is greater than the feline's.