Day 20 #30DaysWild: Update on the Wildflower Seeds provided by Butterfly Conservation (Suffolk)

Back on 4 April, the day we on which we saw the only Comma we have seen in the garden so far, we planted a little pack of wildflower seeds that had arrived with our copy of The Suffolk Argus (vol. 77) from the Suffolk branch of Butterfly Conservation. I am glad to report that the seedlings and young plants survived swarms of blackfly and are just bursting into flower.

The Cornflower above was first to open...

...followed by this daisy-like flower (I must learn what this is)...

... and then finally this Corn marigold.

I so hope that these flowers will indeed attract more butterflies to the garden. It has been windy for much of the day, but I have seen five Meadow Browns, one Large White, one Holly Blue and...

...this beautiful Skipper. We have had Skippers in the garden before, but they are not frequent visitors. I so hope there will be more tomorrow. 

But where are the red butterflies, the Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals? Perhaps we will see more of these when the Buddleia comes into flower. Meanwhile I must update my sightings on the Garden Butterfly Survey. 

Oh, and I must add one final picture. Some of you may have read my post on our Nasturtiums for Dr Miriam Darlington's #30DaysWildCreativity meme for Day 17... well, the first flower opened today as you can see below. I hope it will attract insects. 

P.S. Is this a hoverfly nest in my next post, please?

Butterflies at NT Wicken Fen

We have just returned from a day at NT Wicken Fen, where we were particularly keen to look for butterflies and dragonflies, but I couldn't resist this magnificent cockerel in the grounds of the Fenman's Cottage, which you can see below.

This is the start of the trail... (and as you can see, it was pretty warm, even in the dappled shade)...

 David tried out my pocket field glass on an obliging Skipper...

I particularly like Brimstones, and there were a few of these about...

... and one or two Red Admirals. 

We reckoned this tree was oozing sap or something as there were two flies, the Red Admiral in the photo above and a huge Hornet all in the space of a few centimetres. 

The Brimstones were still there on our way back up the path to the visitors' centre. We also saw one Peacock (which landed on my shirt) and one Holly Blue.

By the early evening, there were plenty of Small Tortoiseshells. I suspect the very warm weather had something to do with this.

It is always a joy to watch the Marsh Harriers, birds that were considered very rare during my teenage years...

 And as for the dragonflies, well, they will have to wait for another post.

Tree Following ~ Silver Birch in July

This post is the fifth in my Tree Following series, part of a wider project run by Lucy Corrander from the Loose and Leafy blog. I am following a Silver Birch in Suffolk, UK. You will find the other Tree Follower links for July 2014 here ... so do take the chance to go on a virtual exploration of the arboreal world!


Diary Entry

Technically this entry should have appeared a month ago, but I had already added my May-June contribution via Mr Linky when the sighting took place, so here it is.

Tuesday 10 June 2014, noon

I was looking out from my window ten minutes ago when a flicker of movement caught my eye from the fir tree adjacent to my Silver Birch. A young Grey Squirrel jumped to the ground and headed towards the trunk of the birch. There was a scuffle in the dense foliage of the Weigela, and a small squirrel head appeared at a height of 150 cm, very close to the coconut feeders that hang from the Silver Birch. I have a feeling the youngster may have lost its balance at that point as it emerged from the base of the shrub and scampered over to the decking. A moment later a Magpie landed just over a metre away. The Grey Squirrel looked small and vulnerable. The bird, however, only had eyes for the feeder, and the youngster hopped safely over to the far side of the garden. I often watch Grey Squirrels from my window as they chase along the tall trees that border the Local Nature Reserve, particularly when the trunks are bare, but I have not seen a Grey Squirrel on our side of the garden fence for some time. I hope this one will return and make it up the trunk of the Silver Birch to the feeders. 

Grey Squirrel (one I took earlier - no camera to hand on 10 June)

* * *

As of 7 July 2014, the squirrel has not been seen again ... yet. The only other animals to report this month are the bats that continue to flit and dive outside my window at dusk.

The Silver Birch is still a mass of green leaves, though shades of brown have crept in among them, reminding me that the longest day is now well and truly behind us. I keep reminding myself that most schools in England have yet to break up for their summer vacation!

The brown shades belong to the female catkins, which are filling out in response to wind pollination. The seeds or 'nutlets' are dispersed on the breeze. Like sycamore keys, the seeds have wings to enable them to travel. One or two have landed on us in the garden.

There are also a few yellow leaves like the one below, suggesting some kind of stress to the tree. I guessed this might be due to drought or mineral imbalance, but it seems from BBC Lancashire's Ask the Gardener programme that it may be due to waterlogged conditions around the roots. Of course, the weather conditions here in Suffolk are very different to those in the north-west, so who knows; but we did have a lot of rain in the county at times last winter.

I was particularly interested to discover that Silver Birch leaves attract aphids, which in turn attract Ladybirds. There is even a species of Silver Birch aphid (Euceraphis betulae). I have not seen any Ladybirds on the tree to date, but I noticed this striking pair on a nettle in the vicinity: 

14-spot yellow ladybirds (small, native species)

When it comes to birds, the garden has been somewhat quieter this month. The Blue tit and Starling families have fledged.

However, the following birds have deigned to put in the odd appearance on the Silver Birch itself or on the feeders that hang from its branches ...

Sightings include ...

• TFb2  Great tit (several frequently on feeder)
• TFb4  Blackbird (one male frequently below feeder, another on the feeder - and a female)
• TFb6  Blue tit (several frequently on feeder)
• TFb7  Robin (one or two appearances, including today)
• TFb8  Magpie (about three frequently dive-bombing feeder)
• TFb9  Wood Pigeon (up to ten perching around the feeder area)
• TFb10 Dunnock (two frequently below feeder)  
• TFb11 Starling (infrequent appearances of up to three birds) 

Previous birds not seen this month (and admittedly I was not at base all the time) ...

• TFb1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 
• TFb3 Long-tailed Tit
• TFb5 Song Thrush 
• TFb12 Carrion Crow (on fence at back of Silver Birch) - first seen on 14 May 2014
• TFb13 Goldfinch

 
On the insect front, this month's sightings include ...

• TFi5 Skipper Butterfly (three, definitely the first time I have seen these in my home patch)
• TFi6 Meadow Brown Butterfly (two, definitely the first time I have seen these in my home patch)
• TFi7 Large White Butterfly (one)
• TFi8 14-spot Yellow Ladybirds (two)
• TFi14 Blackfly (colony) 
• TFi15 Marmalade Hoverfly (one) 
• TFi16 Shield bug (still identifying exact species)

There have also been plenty of moths. Sadly my moth ID skills are sadly lacking. 

TFi5 Skipper butterfly (I'm not sure yet which variety)

TFi15 Marmalade Hoverfly on flowers beneath Silver Birch

Previous sightings around the Silver Birch include ...

• TFi1 Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly [March]
• TFi2 Buff-tailed Bumblebee [March] 
• TFi3 Brimstone Butterfly [April]
• TFi4 7-spot Ladybirds [April]
• TFi9 Small White Butterfly [May]
• TFi10 Orange tip Butterfly [May]
• TFi11 Harlequin ladybird [May]
• TFi12 Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) [June] 
• TFi13 Ruby-tail Wasp [June]   

Of course it is often hard to tell whether the flora and fauna that I spot in, on, around or under the Silver Birch - or on the feeders that hang from its branches - are there specifically on account of the tree.

Next month will be August: where is the year going? But July is always a good month for growth and wildlife, so I shall keep my eyes and ears open meanwhile, as I continue to follow the Silver Birch. Thank you for calling by ... and for those of you who have been reading my posts on Skye and Mull, there will be a few more coming soon. 


MY PREVIOUS TREE FOLLOWING POSTS

• May to June 2014
• April to May 2014
• March to April 2014
• February to March 2014

Big Butterfly Count ~ at Sutton Hoo

I undertook the Big Butterfly Count at Sutton Hoo over the weekend. You give yourself 15 minutes and chart the maximum number of a species you see at any one time.

The photos immediately above and below show a (male) Gatekeeper, aka the Hedge Brown. This is not a large butterfly. I always look for the two little white spots on the forewing!

Total: 3

The butterfly below, a Small Heath, was not surprisingly very small!  

Total: 6

 You can see how dry the heathland is at Sutton Hoo at present.

This next butterfly (below) is a slightly ragged male Meadow Brown. 

Total: 8

And finally ... this lovely little creature below is (I believe) a Small Skipper.

Total: 2

Butterflies and Moths ~ Burnet Moth at Carlton Marshes

My apologies for flitting about all over the place with my posts at the moment! I am interspersing my Scottish holiday photos with the wildlife I see around me here in Suffolk. It is proving to be a wonderful time for new sightings, not to mention warm sunshine (understatement!).

The Suffolk Wildlife Trust site at Carlton Marshes proved to be a good place for Burnet Moth sightings. We always used to enjoy seeing these dazzling creatures on the cliffs in Cardiganshire, so we are pleased to have found a more local habitat now that we live in East Anglia.

Unlike the Cinnabar Moth (another striking red species) which flies by night, the Six-Spot Burnet Moth is a day-flying insect. It does not always have six spots - I thought I counted more than six - and in some cases one spot will merge into another. These moths live in colonies, and we saw many pairs mating, like the ones above, as we scanned the long meadow grass.  

David striding out at Carlton Marshes ...

According to the Arkive site, wild thyme is one of the moth's favourite foods. I did not see any thyme, but the moths seemed quite content with thistle, a variety of purple vetch and bright yellow Bird's Foot Trefoil, this last flower being the one on which eggs are laid. 

I am intrigued by the little orange spots on the antennae of the moth in the photo below. At first I presumed they were pollen, but then I wondered if they might be a parasite. I would be grateful for any answers!  

I was interested to see this orange moth (below) heading towards the Burnet on its thistle. The new arrival turned out (I think) to be a Small Skipper. It looked like a moth to me, with its furry features, but I understand it is a butterfly. In any case it is a Lepidoptera along with other butterflies and moths.

Strangely, there is a creature called a 'Burnet Companion' ... but I have yet to see one of these moths. The orange insect below is the Skipper again.

Bird's Foot Trefoil, the plant on which Burnets lay their eggs

• Previous post ... Bottlenose Dolphins in the Moray Firth here.

Butterflies and Moths (9): At Burgh Castle Saxon Shore Fort

David finding the perfect photo spot inside Burgh Castle walls

I had not been here for many years, but this impressive Roman fort on the Saxon Shore (along with others) was the subject of my A Level History project many moons ago. I may post a piece about the Saxon Shore over on my Coastcard Poetry Plus blog in the next few days, but this post here (and a couple of subsequent ones) will be about the wildlife we encountered. 

The sun was shining most of the time - a rare treat this 'summer' in our corner of the world - but there was a breeze, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of lepidoptera. As we walked through the beautiful meadowlands, we soon realised that we were surrounded by lively butterflies like the (female) Meadow Brown above.

We walked on a bit towards the castle walls, and I spotted this butterfly in a grassy verge. It was busy 'nectaring' on what I took to be a kind of red (purple!) dead nettle. I think it may be a member of the Hesperiidae, otherwise known as Skippers. Possibly a Large Skipper? 

The butterfly resting.

The final species of butterfly we noticed was this male Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus). It was a bit ragged around the edges, but a delight to watch.

You can read about the dragonfly we saw at Burgh Castle here in the next post. Meanwhile, if you live in the UK, you might like to take part in the Big Butterfly Count. It is something I hope to do, and I look forward to sharing my results.