Early Snowdrops in Martlesham

We always enjoy an annual visit to the Snowdrops in the churchyard at Martlesham, across the river Deben from NT Sutton Hoo. We knew we were pretty early for spring flowers, but it was a delight to find a good spread, if not quite a carpet, of these beautiful flowers. I expect we will return in a few weeks, once the Crocuses have had a chance to open.

Church of St Mary the Virgin. Most Snowdrops were the far side of the flint-faced tower.

We watched this Buzzard being dive-bombed by a screeching Kestrel.

Catkins

I love to be near reeds

A very poor record shot, sorry; best my Zoom could manage, but lovely to see these Lapwing

I love Snowdrops, but I also look forward to the riot of colour that comes later ...

... and indeed, we saw our first Daffodil in flower, but don't you love the purity of the Snowdrop?

 

Nomad Bee (?) on Dandelion

 

 

 

We have various insects landing on the Dandelions at the moment. This seems to be a new one for my garden list. I am not exactly sure what kind of ?bee it is, but judging by a thread on the Suffolk Wildlife Facebook group, it seems to be a Nomad bee, perhaps akin to Nomada goodeniana, though I fear the antennae are not sufficiently orange in hue for this particular variety. Those two yellow spots made me stop and take a second look. I shall post the photo on iSpot.  

 

 

P.S. Thanks to the kind (and knowledgeable) folk on iSpot, it seems this is a Nomada/Nomad bee, possibly a female marshamella.

The Appeal of the Dandelion

Peacock butterfly

Inspired by Crafty Green Poet's post on the Dandelion Appreciation Society roughly three weeks ago, I decided to photograph the insects in our garden that perched on these vibrant flowers. All the images below have been taken since the start of May. I don't know what all the insects are yet; but while I try to discover, I hope to continue to keep an an eye out for more, and will add them when I find them. I am not always good at distinguishing a Dandelion from a similar species, so it would be good to be able to identify at least some of the 240 species we have in the UK.

Small White butterfly

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Yesterday morning's butterfly, a Common Blue, I think. I have placed this photo below the line because I have a hunch the host plant is not a Dandelion. Do enlighten me!

Ruby Tiger Moth

I have kept an eagle eye out for moths ever since our encounter with the Red Underwing at Oxburgh Hall. That particular insect made me realise how much there is to these shy insects in terms of hidden colour as you will see if you click here. And then today I found what I think may be a young Ruby Tiger moth nestling in the lawn on our home patch. I may, of course, be quite wrong in my identification, but my guess has now been endorsed on iSpot. Please enlighten me if you think I am barking up the wrong tree!

My poetry chapbook, The Holy Place, (published by The Seventh Quarry and co-authored with John Dotson - details here) contains a short poem about the larva of the Isabella Tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella), which is often referred to as a woolly bear. Up until now I have never knowingly seen a Tiger Moth of any variety, so I count today as a bit of a red-letter day, particularly since the insect in my photos was spotted right here in our garden.

Our lawn has not be mown for a few days which has given these yellow dandelion-like flowers Mouse-ear Hawkweed heads (thank you, Conehead, for your ID) a chance to flourish. One year they seemed to be the magnet for some Skipper butterflies, and this year I suspect they may be partly responsible for the presence of the new moth.

I have studied the photo below as best I can (it isn't the best of photos for identification purposes), and am assuming that the usual spot (or spots) on the forewings has (or have) yet to develop.

What caught my eye were the bright rose shades on the hindwings as the moth flew towards the grass. Sadly these remain tucked away in my photos, unlike the 'fur' on the thorax, but you can see what they look like here. This species is not rare and may well be a familiar species to you. It is new to me (whatever if is!), and I hope you will share my joy!

More insects... and the first daisies

These photos are a bit of a mixed bag, taken in our garden in bursts of sunshine. The wind has been a chilly one, but in sheltered spots, there have been signs of insect life. 

The flowering currant is always a favourite with bees.

The most colourful corner - Flowering Currant and Forsythia

I was delighted to find this little clump of Daisies. May there be many more as the days grow longer. N.B. For those of us in the UK, the clocks change this weekend. 

And a first Dandelion in the garden, emerging round a paving slab.