Wild and Wonderful: 2016

Tuesday, 1 November 2016

Sutton Hoo Miscellany - Dragonfly and Caterpillar among the Mounds

David saw this ?Ruddy Darter (see here) yesterday at NT Sutton Hoo: I doubt we will see many more dragons this year.

October has been exceptional, but the low light betrays the fact that the season is turning.

The light also accentuates the mounds. You can just see Tranmer House through the trees.

It has been a stunning autumn for colour.

Thanks again to David for this photo. Is it a Spilosoma/Tigermoth larva? Please leave a comment if you know!

Monday, 31 October 2016

Autumn colour and a Hornet at the RSPB Wildlife Garden in Flatford

Spindle

An array of insect hotels

Fiery autumn shades

A prolific species of Blackfly

European Hornet

Crab apple

RSPB Wildlife Garden, Flatford

Last of the season's caterpillars...

Wonderful leaves...

... in red, green, brown, yellow and gold.

Busy bee

Last time we were here the Nasturtiums were covered in caterpillars. The flowers were still in bloom, but no caterpillars.

Acer (with keys)

Guelder rose berries

It would be a shame to visit the Flatford ...

... without watching the Mute Swans on the Stour.

Monday, 3 October 2016

Gondwanaland...

We 'visited' Gondwanaland last weekend. I always think that words along these lines could be the opening of a novel...

This particular Gondwanaland, however, is only about an hour away from our home. It forms part of the landscape that makes up Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum. I hope my photos demonstrate the reason we try to visit each autumn before the trees lose their leaves.

Claret Ash 'Raywood' (Fraxinus angustifolia)

Claret Ash

Guelder rose berries (I think)

Autumn Crocus

Holly

Edge of the lake

Autumn sunlight

Teasel

Acer

I should know this one...

Acer

A peep through the undergrowth

Mr and Mrs

Cornflower... last hint of summer

Poppy, paving the way for November

Tree Following for October to Early November 2016 (Sightings to Date)

Linked to my Tree Following reports, I am posting my updated list of wildlife sightings 'in, on, under and around' the two trees in my home patch. My trees are a relatively mature Silver Birch and a four year old Ornamental Cherry, barely more than a sapling.

Silver Birch

Ornamental Cherry (planted four years ago)

I am hoping to keep this list updated as I see new species or have cause to comment on ones that are already on the list. I began the list with the help of sites which show pictures of different species, like the one for the RSPB. A certain amount of guesswork was involved, and there are still huge holes in my knowledge, hence the question marks and 'unidentified' entries below. I have now subscribed to iSpot and iRecord, and am very grateful to those who spend time confirming IDs.

Avian sightings

TFb1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
TFb2 Great tit
TFb3 Long-tailed Tit
TFb4 Blackbird
TFb5 Song Thrush
TFb6 Blue tit
TFb7 Robin
TFb8 Magpie
TFb9 Wood Pigeon
TFb10 Dunnock
TFb11 Starling
TFb12 Carrion Crow
TFb13 Goldfinch
TFb14 Jay
TFb15 Green Woodpecker
TFb16 Wren
TFb17 Bullfinch
TFb18 Sparrowhawk
TFb19 Mallard
TFb20 House Sparrow
TFb21 Chaffinch
TFb22 Grey Heron
TFb23 Collared Dove
TFb24 Coal tit

Mammal sightings

TFm1 (?Wood) Mouse
TFm2 Bat ... [first 2015 garden sighting 7 May 2015] [Apr/May 2015]
TFm3 Shrew
TFm4 Grey Squirrel [Jan/Feb 2016] [Feb/Mar 2016] [Mar/Apr 2016] [Jul/Aug 2016]
TFm5 Stoat
TFm6 Hedgehog

Insect sightings

TFi1 Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly [March 2014]
TFi2 Buff-tailed Bumblebee [March 2014] [Jan/Feb 2016] [Mar/Apr 2016]
TFi3 Brimstone Butterfly [April 2014]
TFi4 7-spot Ladybird [April 2014] [Oct 2014] [Apr/May 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015] [Mar/Apr 2016]
TFi5 Skipper Butterfly [July 2014]
TFi6 Meadow Brown Butterfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015]
TFi7 Large White Butterfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2016]
TFi8 14-spot Yellow Ladybirds [July 2014]
TFi9 Small White Butterfly [May 2014] [Apr/May 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015 - caterpillars]
TFi10 Orange tip Butterfly [May 2014]
TFi11 Harlequin ladybird [May 2014] [October 2014] [Sept/Oct 2015]
TFi12 Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) [June 2014] [June/July 2016]
TFi13 Ruby-tail Wasp [June 2014] [May/June 2015] [May/June 2016]
TFi14 Blackfly [June 2014]
TFi15 Marmalade Hoverfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Jul/Aug 2016]
TFi16 Shield bug [July 2014] [Apr/May 2015]
TFi17 Migrant Hawker dragonflies [July 2014]
TFi18 Unidentified Damselfly [August 2014]
TFi19 Comma butterfly [August 2014] [June/July 2016]
TFi20 Red Admiral butterfly [August 2014] [October 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015]
TFi21 Peacock butterfly [August 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Nov/Dec 2015]
TFi22 Green bottle flies [August 2014] [May/June 2015]
TFi23 Ants [August 2014] [Apr/May 2015] [May/June 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015 ] [Jun/July 2016]
TFi24 Squashbug aka Dock Bug, Coreus marginatus [August 2014]
TFi25 Birch Shieldbug (late instar?) [September 2014]
TFi26 Lacewing [October 2014] [Sept/Oct 2015]
TFi27 Cereal Leaf Beetle [Apr/May 2015]
TFi28 Unidentified Moth [Nov/Dec 2014] [Feb/Mar 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015]
[Jan/Feb 2016] [June/July 2016]
TFi29 Rosemary Beetle [[Sept/Oct 2015] [May/June 2016 - four]
TFi30 Hawthorn Shieldbug [May/June 2015]
TFi31 Forest Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes) [Sept/Oct 2015]
TFi32 Early Bumblebee [Mar/Apr 2016]
TFi33 Species of Miridae [Mar/Apr 2016]
TFi34 Cranefly [May/June 2016]
TFi35 Crossocerus, wasps family Crabronidae [May/June 2016]
TFi36 Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis) [May/June 2016]
TFi37 Tree Bumblebee (Bombus (Pyrobombus) hypnorum) [May/June 2016]
TFi38 Moth Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis) [May/June 2016]
TFi39 Gatekeeper Butterfly [Jul/Aug 2016 *New*]
TFi40 Holly Blue Butterfly [Jul/Aug 2016 *New*]
TFi41 Painted Lady [2016] ... And don't forget to watch the programme about this beautiful butterfly!

Molluscs

TFm1 Brown Lipped Snail (Cepaea (Cepaea) nemoralis) [May/June 2016]
TFm2 Field Slug (Deroceras) [May/June 2016]

Arachnids

TFa1 Zebra Spider [Apr/May 2015] [May/June 2015] [Mar/Apr 2016]
TFa2 Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) [May/June 2015]
TFa3 Unidentified spiders

Friday, 9 September 2016

Tree Following for August and Early September 2016

Welcome to my Tree Following post for August and early September 2016.

These tree posts form part of a wider project initiated by Lucy Corrander from the Loose and Leafy blog and continued by Pat at The Squirrelbasket.

I am based in Suffolk, UK, where I have been keeping an eye on a Silver birch, B. pendula. I have added in a small Cherry sapling, Prunus avium Sylvia, for my second tree.

You will find the other Tree Follower links by clicking through to the Mr Linky button here ... so do take the chance to have a look at the new posts!

It has occurred to me for a while that my Tree Following posts are becoming a little unwieldy. I haven't entirely decided to what to do about this yet, but am thinking along the lines of keeping the extensive (and ever growing) list of sightings made so far, 'in, on, under and around' my trees, in a separate post. Please watch this space.

We have had a busy month and I am already running a little behind schedule, so I shall focus on a limited number of sightings.

First and foremost, in another year when butterfly sightings have largely been 'down', I am thrilled to report that we had a new garden record: a Painted Lady landed by the Silver Birch on 13 August.

These are such fine insects, and you can read about their migration here.

While I am on the subject of butterflies, do take a look at the recently released 2015 report for the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme report. There are a few bright patches but the general butterfly trend seems to be a downward one, making it all the more crucial that we plant flowers to provide nectar and preserve existing habitats.

As for the Silver Birch itself, it is scattering vast quantities of seeds to the winds. When the sun is in the right direction, I find myself watching these miniature keys as they flit hither and thither. A number ended up in the rather extensive web of a large spider next to the Cherry Tree. I wished I had had my camera with me at that point so that I could have tried to identify the splendid web-maker.

Silver Birch

This evening at 7pm I watched a fairly large dragonfly (it was too fast for me to see it properly) circling round beneath the foliage of the Silver Birch. It has been a warm day here, with cloud and bright spells, and I can only guess that the dragonfly was hoovering up mouthfuls of small midges or flies that flitted around the lower branches. We occasionally have dragonflies in the garden as we live in close proximity to a local nature reserve with a stream, but I have never seen them here at dusk before.

The small Cherry Tree has continued to grow upwards. Something is still eating its leaves, but the general picture is one of health. It looks as though we might need to trim the Euonymus back again...

Cherry Tree from above

I can hardly believe that the next TF post will be in October, though, having said that, we are already on to our second crop of (wild) Blackberries. The first crop fell victim to the rain and turned mouldy, but the birds and butterflies are thoroughly enjoying the new batch of fruit.