Wasp Spiders at Snape

Today's sighting: Wasp Spiders at Snape, Suffolk

You can see the web and the start of a stabilimentum

Underside - with bound-up grasshopper

The watery reedbed habitat at Snape, looking across to Iken church

 Sadly we have not seen any of these extraordinary spiders in our wild garden this year. I am wondering if they were eaten either by the grass snake or the resident frog.

Spring Signs at Home and at Snape Maltings

Snape: Aconites and Snowdrops

Snape: Aconites

This small clump of Cyclamen taking over the delapidated decking at home

Our first 2023 Iris, probably Iris Reticulata

Snape, looking from the reedbeds to the Maltings

Snape: wonderful to see so many Avocets, albeit at a distance.

Stonechats, male and female

Snape, looking to Iken Church and Iken Cliffs on the right

The female Stonechat

Wing beats: two Mute Swans overhead

Snape: Iken Church through the rampike

And finally, back at base, a quick peep at the toad house. I so hope a toad finds it in the weeks to come.

 

Blue Skies at Snape, the Calm before the Storm

It is always a joy when the first spring flowers appear, and these bright yellow Aconites at Snape this afternoon were the first ones I have seen in 2020.

The reedbeds were shimmering in front of the poplars...



...and large swathes of the sandy soil had been ploughed.

This was the view, looking back to the Maltings, with its cafes, shops and famous concert hall.

I saw one tiny fish in the water and a couple of flies or midges above it, but it was really the reed reflections that caught my eye.

The gulls were out in force.

There were a few small waders and some Shelduck in among them.

This is St Botolph's church, across the water at Iken.

These small flecks of green must indicate new growth in the reedbed.



I wonder who will find these remaining rosehips.



The land here is very flat, and I love the marked bands of colour - green, gold, blue, more green and more blue - that can be seen.

We stopped to listen for birds, but apart from the cooing sound of some distant Wood Pigeons, we heard very little above the sounds of an aeroplane overhead, some traffic in the distance and what was probably the motor of some kind of farm machinery.

There may not have been much sound on the marsh, but the view from the boardwalk is always rather special, with these stark trunks. Robert Macfarlane called these skeleton trees 'rampikes' on his Twitter feed on 24 September 2019. I always thought that trees like these had been struck by lightning, but I believe these ones may have been damaged by flooding.

On the east coast of the USA, stands of waterlogged trees are known as ghost forests. You can just see Iken church through the bare branches.



I'm guessing a Muntjac has been making its way through the reeds on a fairly regular basis.

There was a last shimmer of light as we took a last look at the poplars.

The moon rose over the water...

... as our shadows began to lengthen.

Postscript
Gusts in the high 60s (mph) are predicted for our area tomorrow (i.e. for Sunday 9 February). Do check the forecast if you are out and about.

An Afternoon at Snape and Aldeburgh

The forecast was not very promising, but when we reached Snape Maltings yesterday afternoon the sun appeared and it was sufficiently warm for a small Common Lizard to venture out of the reedbed. Lizards are not only wary of humans but they are also protected under law, so this photo was taken with my zoom lens extended. The camera has focused on the thorax: what intricate designs these lovely reptiles have.

I have no idea whether the skin patterns are entirely for camouflage in this species or whether colour and appearance play any part in mating rituals. You can read about some Aegean Wall Lizard research on this topic here.

The photo above shows Snape in the hazy sunshine. 

Some creature, possibly a deer, has carved out a private path through the reeds.

Humans can walk through the reedbeds in the direction of Iken on this slatted boardwalk.



The light was very strange at this point, but the iconic tower of Iken Church, dedicated to St Botolph, was very prominent on the far side of the water.

Hawthorn, also known as May, blossom was bursting into flower. We left Snape, and since the afternoon was still dry, we moved on to Aldeburgh ... 

... where we were greeted by this rather fierce Herring Gull.

I am not sure what the blue line signifies, but this is where the gull chose to stand on patrol.

I saw a couple of people eating fish and chips in a car as we left, so perhaps the bird knew that it was in exactly the right place for its favourite snack.

It began to look as though the promised rain was on its way. In fact, we somehow seemed to avoid it, so perhaps the storm broke out at sea.

It is always a joy to see the emergence of summer flowers, and the Aldeburgh area has some unusual coastal varieties. This was the first Sea Campion I had encountered in 2018.

David walked on towards the martello tower. We could see Orford lighthouse in the distance and the eerie defence 'pagodas' on Orford Ness.

This was the view on the landward side of the path. This water-bound area, just south of Aldeburgh and around the river Alde, is known as Slaughden. It was once a vibrant commercial centre. The tide has already claimed so much of this fragile maritime environment.

Oystercatchers were calling on the landward side of the path,

 ... and a Mute Swan was doing a spot of preening. Look at the size of that webbed foot!
Meanwhile, out at sea ...

... the beautiful head of a seal was bobbing up and down. The photo above was the best my camera produce as the seal was quite a way out in the deeper channels and the light was very stormy.

Back home in the garden, it was good to see a variety of Soldier Beetle I had noted in May last year.

There were several Dandelion clocks on the lawn..

... a sign, I would like to think, that the settled sunny weather ...

... will return before long.