Autumn Light at NT Wicken Fen

Many wildlife-lovers and poets would probably name autumn as their favourite season, and while I am not one of them, I love the bright colours and the intensity of the light that can be enjoyed at NT Wicken Fen in October (and yes, it was still late October when we visited).

We kept an eye out for a Kingfisher, but were not rewarded.

This was the view up the lode. 'Lode' is a late Middle English word for a watercourse, found frequently on the Fens, where it refers to an artificial waterway, usually for drainage. 

A moth larva was rapidly disappearing in the undergrowth at the edge of the reedbeds. 

I don't suppose we will see many more dragonflies now until 2018, but there is a wonderful dragonfly poem in a new book, Thaw, by Charles Bennett, Wicken Fen Poet in Residence, just out from Fair Acre Press.

I don't feel I have had a very good dragonfly-spotting season, but it may be more to do with location than climate issues.

It was lovely to see these Goldfinches out in force at the top of a bare tree.

I have taken so many photos like the one below over the years...

... but the windpump on the reserve always draws the eye.

On the butterfly front...

it was the Speckled Woods...



...who were stealing the show.

You can see the changing light...

I am wondering what work is being done on the Butterfly Walk, which is one of my favourite parts of the reserve - and a good place for Brimstones, 'Blues' and Brown Argus in spring and summer.

I love the little 'dragonfly' cottage...

Light was fading as we passed the fenman's cottage.

Time for a last windpump picture...

... and, of course, one of a sparrow, since this is one of the best places we know for watching (and hearing) these birds that were once so much of a part of our lives.

I took a last look at the watery reflections...

... before we headed for home.

Northern Holiday 2018, Post 7: Butterflies at Belton House, Near Grantham

Belton House is in the care of the National Trust. We broke our journey here for tea on the way up and for lunch on our journey south. The gardeners have taken care with their planting schemes, resulting in a good show of butterflies. I was particularly pleased to see Small Tortoiseshells as we have hardly found any 'red' varieties in our neck of the woods this summer, as those of you who read this blog regularly will know. But Small Torties were not the only ones taking advantage of the lavender beds... 

We usually see plenty of Meadow Browns (below), but at least we saw two on this occasion. 

It was terrific to see a pair of Green-veined Whites ...

... and another Small Tortoiseshell. 

This young Fallow Deer stag bounded over in our direction while we were eating our picnic lunch, adding a moment of excitement to the last lap of our holiday. 

In the hot weather it was a delight to amble around the fountain to the Orangery behind...

... where there was a small but rather lovely exhibition of items relating to Florence Woolward (1854-1936), an artist and botanical illustrator.

I'm afraid I have run very behind with these holiday posts since we have now been home for over a month! I hope you have found something of interest along the way.

I am sad to report that 'red' butterflies still seem very few and far between in our area. I have never seen so few Peacocks or Red Admirals in a summer. However, we were out and about here in Suffolk this afternoon and encountered about five Graylings, a species we seldom find, so that gave us a little boost ...

Northern Holiday 2018, Post 5: Glenwhan with Fritillary Butterfly

Photo taken by David Gill

We spent our last full day in Galloway on the Rhins. Our first destination was the spectacular garden at Glenwhan, high above the busy port of Stranraer on Loch Ryan. David spent some time above the main garden in an area of reclaimed moorland, and while he was exploring this part of the garden, he spotted the magnificent butterfly you see in the photo above. Now I have hardly ever seen Fritillary butterflies, but I think this may be a Small Pearl-bordered one on account of those central dots and the fact that the habitat was grassland with bracken. We have posted the photo on iSpot, and will update this provisional ID if necessary. The last Fritillary I saw (back in 2013) was much further up the west coast of Scotland on the beautiful island of Raasay, opposite Skye.

While David was exploring the moor, I spent some time in the little pagoda you see at the top of the photo above, looking out across the garden to the Irish Sea beyond. We soon met up and wandered round the magnificent floral borders and displays together, enjoying the bright colours, the views and the insects.

Marmalade hoverfly

The photo above shows the marshy habitat that has been created in the middle part of the garden, above the lake and below the moor. We think we saw Water Vole here.

We were amused to see the boar statue as we had seen a not dissimilar one at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight at Easter, and knew we were likely to visit a third a few days later at Castle Howard. I should be interested to find out a bit more, but here is a little information on the 'boar front' for the time being.

I loved the use of complementary colours in the planting schemes shown here by the juxtaposition of the orange ?alstroemeria and the blue hydrangea.

The photos above and below show the view from the little pagoda, with the sea in the distance.

This little Robin seemed quite content to perch in our presence.

It was soon time to drag ourselves away, but we couldn't leave without admiring a rather proud and magnificent resident ...