Six 7-spot Ladybirds and Eggs at Flatford

On sage leaves

I have seen a few more 'seasonal firsts' recently, though have yet to hear a Cuckoo (though I gather Cuckoo Chris has been in Suffolk). We saw what we believe are our first 7-spot Ladybird eggs of 2015 (photo below). I have just logged the photos on the UK ladybird Survey's iRecord form. Six 7-spots and the cluster of eggs were on foliage in a bank adjacent to the RSPB Flatford Wildife Garden last Saturday. It is always lovely to see ladybirds that are not Harlequins! 

Tree Following ~ March to April (plus new tree)

            and              

            2015                 

This post marks a complete year of Tree Following for me. My Tree Following posts form part of a wider project run by Lucy Corrander from the Loose and Leafy blog. I am following a Silver Birch, B. pendula, in Suffolk, UK. You will find the other Tree Follower links on the Loose and Leafy blog ... so do take the chance to catch up with happenings in the arboreal world!

Welcome to my new - as yet unidentified - tree! I have had my eye on it through the winter, but was in two minds whether or not to 'follow' it as I felt reluctant to move on from my Silver Birch, especially since I am now in a position, twelve months on, to make some comparisons (or contrasts) with a year ago. However, I have decided for the moment to carry on with the two trees in an organic kind of way. I may drop one or the other, but will keep the Silver Birch as my main focus for the time being. Please leave a comment if you can ID the new tree!

As you can see, the leaves are beginning to grow on my new tree, and I hope that once they have developed a little more, it may be possible to identify the species.

You can see last year's seed heads hang from the end of long stalks. I look forward to discovering more as seasonal changes take place. 

These, of course, are already happening. The daisy above was spotted ten days ago under my 'new tree'. There are other signs of spring, and those of you who watched BBC Springwatch at Easter will know that Chris Packham and the team are asking us to record first sightings of the following species for their Big Spring Watch survey:

• English oak
• Hawthorn
• 7-spot ladybird
• Orange tip butterfly
• Swallow

Hot-air balloon glimpsed through the branches of the Downy Birch

Some of you will recall that while I have been following a Silver Birch, I have also been keeping the occasional eye on 'another' birch, a Downy Birch seen in the photo above. It lies in close proximity, and while there was barely any green when the photo was taken some ten days ago, the Downy Birch now has definite signs of verdant leaf growth.  

Silver Birch

In contrast, the only green on the Silver Birch (above) is lichen on the trunk. I'm sure the leaves will follow soon.

There have been quite a few Blue tits on the Silver Birch (and as you can see, on the coconut feeders that dangle from its lower branches). The Silver Birch plays host to some 334 species of insect, and some of these small creatures prove choice pickings for the Blue tit, as you can see in the two top photos in the link here. Aphids, Ladybirds and Hoverflies are often drawn to the Silver Birch, and I shall be keeping an eye out for these as the days go by. There is even a Silver Birch Aphid (Euceraphis betulae). Silver Birch leaves attract a variety of moth caterpillars, many with rather lovely names such as the Angle-shades (adult here), the Buff tip (adult here), the Pebble hook-tip and the Kentish Glory. I shall be keeping an eye out for these. 

There have been no new birds on the Silver Birch this month. However, a pair of Mallards flew over one day for the first time, presumably a sign that the mating season has arrived. The Starlings have been regular visitors to the coconuts and, sadly, the Woodpeckers have been noticeable by their absence!

It may have been too cloudy for us to notice anything much during the eclipse, but 24 March brought a huge rainbow (the precursor to April showers, perhaps), followed on 25 March by a very icy morning.

24 March 2015: Rainbow

25 March 2015: Frost patterns on the car

  MY PREVIOUS TREE FOLLOWING POSTS

• February to March 2015
• January to February 2015
• November to December 2014
• October to November 2014
• September to October 2014
• August to September 2014
• July to August 2014 
• June to July 2014
• May to June 2014 
• April to May 2014
• March to April 2014
• February to March 2014

Blossoms of Hope Collaboration

And now for something a little different and rather special. My kind and creative friend and poetic collaborator, Kay Weeks (in the USA), has done a wonderful and spirited watercolour inspired by my one of my photographs of Loch Scavaig on the Isle of Skye. Kay's painting is the blue and indigo one in the centre of the invitation card above.

Travellers love to cross the unpredictable waters of the sea loch to reach the magical Loch Coruisk, painted so vividly by Turner and described by Sir Walter Scott as 'that dread lake'.

Loch Coruisk ...

... with its guardians

I am touched and humbled that Kay has chosen to put her painting of my photo forward as part of the Portraits and Profiles: Inspirations in my Life project to raise the profile of Blossoms of Hope, an organisation that supports the Claudia Mayer/Tina Broccolino Cancer Resource Center of Howard County General Hospital. 

Thank you, Kay! 

Rendez-vous in Philadelphia: me (left), Kay (centre), David Gill (left)

7-spot Ladybird at NT Anglesey Abbey

We visited NT Anglesey Abbey some days ago, and right on cue in the woodland 'Wildlife Discovery Area', we saw a 7-spot Ladybird. I expect it had been overwintering in a peaceful spot.

I have added the record to my iSpot account via the UK Ladybird Survey site. 

As you will guess from the greenery below, the photo of the Abbey was taken on a previous occasion, but I thought it would give a certain context to the post if I included it again! 

The (Non-event) Eclipse from a Suffolk Window

The solar eclipse, the most significant since 11 August 1999, was the event that never really happened in my neck of the woods. This is the day on which the moon travels between us and the sun, thereby covering the earth in shadow.

I confess I was a bit disappointed that there was so little to see after all the hype. But surely the 'not-seeing' is just as interesting in scientific terms as the 'seeing'. The OED (@OED) tweeted a helpful reminder at about 9.35 am, explaining the true meaning of the trilingual origin of the word 'eclipse'; and having read it, I felt reassured that I had at least witnessed the failure 'to appear' of the billed phenomenon!

The solar eclipse was due to peak at 9.33 in my part of Suffolk, when the moon was at its closest to the centre of the sun. I kept a watchful eye out and posted the following observations on Facebook:

• 8 minutes to the max. (partial) solar eclipse in Ipswich, but we have woken to a cloudy morning.
• 7 minutes. Robin sings on a Silver Birch branch.
• 4 minutes. A flutter of pigeons.
• 2 minutes. Sentinel Robin still singing.
• 1 minute. Robin joined by Blue tit. Robin continues to sing.
• and finally, 24 minutes ago. The moment has passed and the Robin is still singing ...

I hope there was something a little more spectacular to see from your window. Apologies for any odd spaces in this post: do I attribute these to the usual vagaries of the internet or to a certain natural phenomenon?
  

Further information

• From The Daily Mail: precautions taken in ZSL Butterfly Paradise to ensure the safety of night creatures like moths

• 16th century records of birds during an eclipse

Spring at NT Ickworth (another visit)

We saw three Nuthatches this afternoonat NT Ickworth.

The first one we saw was high up in a tree, but it flew down, and we noticed two others on the ground. 

The Robin attracted our attention with its song ...

Meanwhile, a little further into the park, the lambs were drawing a small crowd. 

Some were curled up at the base of a tree and others were looking alert. 

This pair, presumably twins, walked about in tandem, nudging up against each other as they went.

This little one was the closest to a black lamb ...

Notice the lovely markings on the ewe's face.

We noticed a few Grey Squirrels ...

like this one ...

... who was making the most of its nut. 

You can see the Ickworth rotunda here ...

We have seen an Egyptian Goose here before, and right on cue, this one appeared before our eyes ...

There seem to be quite a lot in East Anglia.

While we were admiring the goose, we noticed a charm of Goldfinches high up in one of the trees ...

The goose seemed to be looking for something, but we did not see a partner on this occasion. 

 There were some lovely clumps of Snowdrops and Primroses ...

This tiny Wren was scampering about on the bark.

On our way out of the park, we noticed an insect enclosure.

The arrows (clockwise from top) show:

• an high rise insect house, ideal for overwintering Ladybirds etc. 
• a path to allow the visitor to observe without disturbing the wildlife.
• a tree (there were several) providing bark in winter and leafy habitats in summer. 
• dry leaves and clumps of vegetation, again for insect homes, but also for food. 
• mossy tree roots, another kind of habitat for woodlice, snails, beetles etc.
• notice boards with beetle and butterfly identification guides.

NT Ickworth - a lovely place for a walk in the spring sunshine!

Peacock - My First Butterfly of 2015

I saw a butterfly - my first of 2015 - fluttering past me at the front of our house this morning. I thought it was a Peacock, but it was a bit high to tell for sure. Then this afternoon I definitely saw a Peacock in the back garden.

I feel this is quite late in the year to be seeing my first butterfly! We have had the occasional moth practically all through the winter.

There was no time to get a picture of today's Peacock (it was too quick), so here's one I photographed earlier ...

 You can find early Butterfly sightings here on the Butterfly Conservation site. I recall seeing a Peacock on 14 February one year in South Wales, with snow on the ground.

My First Lamb at NT Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds

We had a lovely visit to NT Ickworth on Saturday.

The Canada Geese were patrolling the pond. 

We checked for spawning frogs, but could see no sign of amphibian life.

David saw this bird of prey looking on

while I was watching ...

... a distant Great Spotted Woodpecker high up in a tree. 

The red patch of feathers on the nape of the neck indicates a male.

It was a bright spring afternoon, as you can see,

and although the park was full of people, there were quiet corners to be found ...

... some more accessible than others! 

We think this puffed out ball of fluff may be a young Buzzard. 

Do leave a comment if you know otherwise. 

We thought at first it was an owl, but a quick glance through binoculars

showed that this was not the case. 

We had a quick look around the Abbey Gardens

in Bury St Edmunds,

where the Grey Squirrels are very friendly. 

But before we left Ickworth,

we managed to spot a single lamb,

our first of 2015.

But it seems that there are or will be about 1999 more!