Playing catch-up... Flatford Mill

 

We have returned from our Easter travels, and spent this afternoon closer to home at Flatford Mill. It was a rather grey scene, and judging by the size of the puddles, we arrived at a timely moment after a heavy downpour.

The lack of sunshine meant that there were few insects on the wing and no sign of newts in the pond. However, I kept a sharp eye open as we made our way along the towpath, and David took the photo above of what I believe are Green Dock Leaf Beetle (Gastrophysa viridula) eggs.

It was a joy to find Iris ...

... and Prunus in flower in the RSPB Wildlife Garden. I hope there will be butterflies on the wing when we go next time.

Iconic Flatford Mill

More Butterflies at RSPB Flatford Wildlife Garden

Some days ago we paid a return visit to Flatford RSPB Wildlife Garden, hoping that there would be some butterflies about. A couple of male Orange Tips flitted past us almost immediately, followed by a magnificent male Brimstone. 

We always find the bank to the right of the photo (behind the picnic table) a good place for insects, and once again this proved to be the case. 

A female Orange Tip - these proved easier to photograph than their males counterparts.

Sadly we failed to see any Holly Blues. Blue butterflies are among my favourites...

A Peacock in the Ceanothus

A bee on the Alliums.

There were several Cardinal Beetles about, including this one on one of the log piles.

You can see the small white comma on the outer wing above, giving these butterflies their name.

Before heading home, we wandered down to the bridge at Flatford.

Just as we were leaving we noticed this well camouflaged but iridescent beetle (below). We certainly seem to be on the cusp of 'insect season': there were dancing Mayflies in the Flatford garden and we had a Cockchafer banging on our window at home last night. I saw my first 2017 damselfly in the garden yesterday afternoon. Speaking of firsts, it has been lovely to hear the cuckoo on two occasions, but I have yet to see my first bat...

Brown Hawker Dragonfly - Flatford Mill

We saw reasonable numbers of butterflies in the RSPB Wildlife Garden at Flatford when we were doing the Big Butterfly Count, but we were both feeling that dragonflies and damselflies were hard to find when this huge Brown Hawker caught our eye. It is a female, and those bronze wings look stunning when the sun catches them. The male of the species has additional blue markings.

Flatford Mill, Constable's inspiration for The Haywain

Incidentally, if you live within range of the Suffolk coast, you might be interested in one of the Poetry in Aldeburgh events (Saturday 5 November, 10-12 noon), a Poetry and Drawing Workshop. This session will take Constable's landscapes as a starting point (alongside poetry). The leaders hope to include drawing from observation and from the imagination.

Flatford RSPB Wildlife Garden - Birds and Bees (and Biodiversity)

Flatford, on the River Stour

We visited Flatford at the weekend, with its RSPB Wildlife Garden and NT tearoom - not forgetting all the buildings and scenes that are linked to Constable, of course.

We saw these rather attractive bee bungalows ...

... which, as you can see, had already been put ot good use by masonry bees, and had therefore been withdrawn from sale.

It was rather grey, but mild enough (at last) for numerous insects to emerge. I think the butterfly below is a Green-veined White.

It was a joy to see my first damselflies of 2016 ...

They were hiding in the umbelliferous foliage by the riverbank. 

It is always a particular delight to see a Demoiselle - female Banded Demoiselle, in this case.

I have been waiting patiently for my first caterpillar sighting of the year - and here it is, the impressive Drinker-moth larva ...

I saw a couple of Ladybirds mating (for another post, perhaps), and these creatures below ...

It was also the day on which a huge number of Mayfly larvae had hatched, so the short-lived adults were busy leaping up and down in the air and 'making hay' while the sun shone over their short adult lives. 

We kept an eye out for other creatures. There was a nest of Blue tits, but it seemed very much to be the day of the insects. Oh, and I mustn't forget this creature, lurking in the border ...

The photo below shows Willy Lott's cottage and the iconic bridge. It also shows people (like us!) enjoying scones and cream and coffee cake by the Stour.

The wildflowers were magnificent and doubtless a key factor in the biodiversity we observed during the course of a casual afternoon. We also heard our first Cuckoo of the season.

And don't forget, it will be National Insect Week in a month's time ...

Constable Country - RSPB Flatford Wildlife Garden

Flatford Mill, painted by John Constable

We always enjoy a visit to Flatford, with its Constable connotations. The RSPB Wildlife Garden is a particular draw, especially when there are usually butterflies on the wing.

Saturday was a 'reasonable' afternoon by the standards of the summer. We entered the garden and were a bit surprised to see so many autumnal seedheads in August! 

I don't think we managed to spot one butterfly, but the volunteer staff member was very helpful and pointed out some other insects that we might well have missed.

The selection below shows these creatures and also a couple of mini-beasts that we spotted for ourselves.

Camouflaged Shieldbug instar nymph on sage

Not an insect this time, but an as yet unidentified arachnid!

The closest we came to a butterfly! A Mint Moth (thank you, RR, for confirming ID!)

A Willow Emerald damselfly

There were quite a few Bumblebees around

Seasonal Splash: Flatford and Felixstowe, Snow and Sunshine

This post comprises a miscellany of photographs from our weekend. The welcoming sign below greets you as you enter the RSPB Wildlife Garden at Flatford.

As you can see, there was still some snow around on Saturday. There was also quite a lot of frozen water. The Moorhen below was lifting her large yellow feet very gingerly.

I really enjoyed taking the shot below, and watching the play of light on the water, parts of which were frozen over and parts of which were not. I love the reflections and the small trail of bird prints.

The copse below was looking particularly beautiful ...

I wonder whether these tree roots above are always submerged.

The Mallards were skating around a bit at the water's edge!  

The landscape above reminded me so much of my rural Norfolk childhood. This part of Suffolk is definitely more undulating, but I recall those snowy plough lines with much affection. There were several pheasants about.

Cut ... to Felixstowe, and the container port, where we hoped to see some birds in the vicinity of the Bird Observatory at Landguard Fort. It was bitterly cold on Sunday afternoon, and there were few birds to be seen.

We found a short boardwalk, which led us towards this Cormorant. It was too breezy to hold the camera still, but it seems to me that the bird has an unusually white head. The link here (you will need to click and then possibly scroll down a little) is not about Cormorants in Suffolk, but it explains about some of the white markings that can be seen on the heads of these birds.

There were one or two Herring Gulls around on the shingle, among the Pigeons.

And finally (for now), this was a photo I took at Flatford on Saturday of the Barn Owl as it coursed the field in the fading light.

We have occasionally heard owls back home, but to date, this one below is the only one we have actually seen! Its eye sockets contain small solar panels, which shed tiny beams of light on our garden after dark.