Newbourne Springs, Suffolk Wildlife Trust Reserve

 

Not the best photograph of a Peacock butterfly, but what a surprise after the last few days of grey skies and chilly temperatures! This afternoon we saw:

• 1 female Brimstone, too quick to photograph
• 5 Peacock butterflies
• 11 Comma butterflies
• 2 Bee-flies 
• In excess of 15 7-spot Ladybirds, including one outside our house

We were not expecting Newbourne Springs to produce such riches in a couple of hours, if that; but how wonderful, at last, to feel that the insect seasons are underway. 

The photos below are a bit of a mixed bag, but I hope they give an impression of the seasonal sights we enjoyed.  

Wild Arum

We watched this bee climb into the undergrowth

Wonderful blossom

Butterbur

Seasonal first: Peacock butterfly

Lesser Celandine

Seasonal First: Comma butterfly

7-spot Ladybird (this top one outside our house)

Robin

Two more 7-spots

I love the feathery reflection!

Another Comma

And another 7-spot ...

... perhaps laying an egg?

Bee fly, one of two seen this afternoon

Peacock

Primroses above the stream

Primroses

Hard to resist a ripple over the sandy stream bed

?Greater Stitchwort

close-up

Wild strawberry flowers

The stream at Newbourne Springs

Back to the house, where our spring bulbs are adding a splash of colour.

Spot the (Sutton Hoo) Dragon

We returned to NT Sutton Hoo this afternoon and looked in the wood to see how the bluebells are coming along. You can see the green shoots behind Spot the Dragon. Some years we have seen these wonderful flowers attracting Orange-tip butterflies, showing off nature's complementary colours in the best of ways; though I cannot help wondering why there should be such contrast when (surely) camouflage, i.e. a flower and butterfly of the same shade, would afford more protection from predators. 

And by the way, we have at last seen our first butterfly of 2023; a Small Tortoiseshell on 21 March. This seems very late for back in 2004 when we were still living in Swansea, two butterflies alighted on our rockery on a snowy Valentine's Day. I wrote a Haiku to mark the event:

St Valentine’s Day –
butterflies hug the heather,
snow kisses the lawn

Looking across the River Deben to Woodbridge

 

Signs of Spring: Black Lambs at NT Sutton Hoo

We visited these wonderful Hebridean lambs (above and below) at NT Sutton Hoo last weekend when they were a matter of days old. They were gambolling about near the mounds and leaping up in the air. We returned to the site this weekend to see how they were getting on. 

 

The photos above this line were taken eight days ago. The ones below were taken a week later ...

Their shepherd has asked the public to suggest names. Both lambs are females. We sent in our suggestions and it will be interesting to see which names are chosen.

 

 

 

 

(Rather Late) New Year Observations

How wonderful to have my first Barn Owl encounter of the year before we have even (quite) reached the mid-point of January! It took place in what is to become an official Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve, not far from Woodbridge and Ipswich, known as Martlesham Wilds. 

We spent quite a while watching the owl as it quartered a large expanse of meadow. Every so often it was joined by a Kestrel, and at one point they had a bit of a ding-dong. 

We reached the lower levels via a footpath from St Mary's church, which we were visiting, as we always do at this time of year, to enjoy the snowdrops. We passed about eight fully open daffodils on our way home. It may still be winter (and with a broken boiler, it certainly feels icy), but there are already signs of warmer days ahead.

 

 

David checked the film on our Trailcam yesterday. There was no evidence of any further 'foxy' activity, just lots of feline visitors ... and this delightful mouse from way back in October. 

 

We had watched the Wren in the final photo some days ago, and wondered if it would show up as it only landed momentarily. We usually have a resident Wren, so we look forward to seeing it again. We also had an unrecorded visit from the local Sparrowhawk, who zoomed at a very low altitude over the garden one day last week. 

I wish you a wonderful wildlife year ... 

 

I must go now, and order some more bird food. And don't forget; BBC Winterwatch begins tomorrow (17th January).