Various Sightings and Suffolk Wildlife Trust Nature Summit

I had seen records of the Garden Tiger on the web so I knew the adult moth was on the wing, but I had not expected to encounter this larva on the path at Dunwich Heath last weekend. It hardly seemed real, even when we looked closely. The white hairs seemed so long! 

I was particularly pleased to find it as I have poem in my chapbook (The Holy Place, co-authored with John Dotson) about the metamorphosis of a Tiger moth. 



Not hairs this time, but spines! We went outside two nights ago and were thrilled to hear a munching noise under the Silver Birch tree, and, yes, there was a hedgehog making its way along the back of the fence. We didn't want to disturb it, and in any case, it was not easy to see: the photo above was taken in the dark, hence the 'cropped' appearance! 

Neither hair nor spines this time, but the beautiful scales that make up the wings of the Wall butterfly. I have only seen this species once before. This butterfly was at Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Carlton Marsh reserve near Lowestoft on Saturday.

We also saw our second Common Frog of 2019 on the reserve...

... and I say second because a few days before, we had found our first in our own back garden. It was a first not only of the year but for my home patch species list. Perhaps it likes our all-too-tiny pond!

I mentioned Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT). We are members of the Trust, and I am excited to report that we are off to the SWT Nature Summit later this week. It should be a really interesting evening.