Amphibian Joy

 

We had both had our suspicions that a frog was living in our mini-pond. I thought I saw small dark head in the middle of the (rather overgrown) oxygenating pondweed last Saturday and David saw something 'flip' the following day. 

We had a colossal thunderstorm with downpour this morning after a long-awaited hour or so of relatively warm sunshine. We took a quick look around the garden this afternoon, just ten minutes ago, and lo and behold, there was the frog! We are so thrilled and excited, the more so since I have been on the look-out for frogspawn for weeks, and have failed to see the slightest sign. 

Two days ago we had three Starlings splashing in our adjoining mini-pond and making quite a to-do. It's lovely to have them but I hope the frog can cope with their capers. 

Watch this space ... and do consider adding a mini-pond if you have an empty corner.

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Postscript: the Fairy Longhorn moths are back ... Imagine having those antennae!

 

 

Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Knettishall Heath Reserve

Having left Thetford behind us (please see previous post), we headed for the wild expanse of Knettishall Heath, which is in the care of Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It is the Trust's largest reserve, and even on a dry Bank Holiday afternoon, we saw very few other people once we left the main car park. We decided to start out on the red rabbit trail...

We passed areas of deciduous trees...

... and areas where there were mainly conifers.

On a cloudy afternoon, a few patches of blue sky were particularly welcome.

There were corrugated iron sheets for reptiles. I wonder who was lurking under this one. Adders are occasionally seen, and there are Grass Snakes, Common Lizards and Slow Worms in the area. We shall have to return on a sunnier day...

This Breckland heath is an ancient landscape: the photos above and below show the bowl barrow tumulus at Hut Hill.

It was too cool for most insects, but there were occasional sheltered spots in dappled sunshine...

... and we noticed this Green-veined White butterfly in just such a spot.

When I was scanning the leaves for ladybirds through my zoom lens, I noticed the creature above (and below). I think it may well be a day-flying Fairy Moth (aka a Green Longhorn).

And yes...

... there was a single ladybird. I am not sure whether it is a Cream-spot or an Orange. The three spots on the wing shown on the right (straddling the top of the elytra) in the photo below could suggest the former, but I have a hunch there is more to it than that! I have yet to log the sighting on the UK Ladybird Survey via iRecord, so watch this space. The ladybird flew up in the air then came back and perched on the leaf.

There is plenty more for us to explore on Knettishall Heath on a future occasion, but by 4 o'clock we felt in need of a cup of tea so we drove to the garden centre at Bressingham. There was plenty of steam in the adjacent gardens.