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| I hope the hedgehog (right) had finished its meal and was on the way home ... |
As regular readers know, we live in an area frequented by hedgehogs. The photos above are a record of recent hedgehog visits to our wild suburban garden in Suffolk. We put down water and food ... and, as you can see, it is sometimes a case of who finds it first!
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| Painted Lady on Red Valerian, Home patch, 2022 |
My fledgling list of wildflowers seen in the garden ...
I have decided to build on a previous list of wildflowers found in our suburban Suffolk garden. Having begun by date of sighting, it seems sense to continue to record in this way.
If you would like to see my garden list of creatures, you will find it here. And these are the flowers:
1. Daisy (20 February 2021)
2. Violet (18 March 2021)
3. Chickweed (19 March 2021)
4. Dandelion (19 March 2021)
5. Herb Robert (9 April 2021)
6. Red valerian (29 March 2021)
7. Goosegrass (with white flowers) (21 May 2021)
8. Buttercup (21 May 2021)
9. Red dead nettle (21 May 2021)
10. Common storksbill (24 May 2021)
11. Red clover (25 May 2021)
12. Poppy (9 June 2023)
13. Small Flowered Cranesbill (9 June 2023)
14. Lesser trefoil (9 June 2023)
15. Wood forget-me-not (9 June 2023)
16. Wood avens (9 June 2023)
17. Purple oxalis (9 May 2023)
18. Aquilegia (?vulgaris) (9 May 2023)
19. Common ragwort (25 May 2024)
20. Pink valerian (25 May 2024)
21. Ribwort plantain (25 May 2024)
22. Bramble/Blackberry flower (25 May 2024)
23. Common cat's ear (25 May 2024)
24. Harebell (25 May 2024)
25. Sow thistle (25 May 2024)
26. Ivy (25 May 2024)
14-spot Ladybirds mating on a nettle in our garden this morning
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| A rolled-up oak leaf on the reserve ... which may suggest that the dangling caterpillar below |
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| ... is the larva of Oak Leaf Roller moth Tortrix viridana |
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| ... though it could be the larval stage of the Winter moth (Operophtera) |
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| Back in the garden, the caterpillar of the Bagworm (moth) |
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| ... turning this way and that |
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| Garden: a Nursery Web spider (left) and a spider exoskeleton (right) |
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| The exoskeleton |
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| A parasitised caterpillar with eggs, apparently (thanks to iSpot), and claspers showing |
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| Green Hairstreak butterfly. We saw two of these. |
The sun finally put in an appearance this last Thursday, and we headed off to Minsmere with a picnic lunch. This small selection of photos will perhaps give an indication of the wide variety of species that co-exist on the site, despite the proximity to the new and controversial Sizewell C site.
We noticed our first Large Red Damselfly of 2024 in our garden yesterday. We didn't see any red ones at Minsmere, but we spotted this rather fine Blue-tailed Damselfly in the pond below the visitors' centre.
There were a couple of terns at the water's edge. Is this a Common Tern? I believe this is its breeding plumage; but, as ever, please correct me by leaving a comment.
It is always a joy to see the unmistakable Avocet, the bird on the RSPB logo.
I think this is a Sedge Warbler. The new boardwalk was alive with birdsong.
The photograph above (complete with Spider Crab, presumably the result of somebody's beach-combing activity) shows the seaward extremity of the Minsmere site, with the Dunwich Heath coastguard cottages up on the northern rise in the distance.
Yes, it's definitely breeding season!
We passed signs informing us that the Minsmere adders were waking up. We did not see any snakes on this occasion, but we saw a couple of Common Lizards. Just as we turned to head back to the Visitors' Centre, a Bittern flew over the reedbeds, too quick to catch on camera, but a joy to behold.
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| Look who's watching ... |
It has been a joy to discover via the Trailcam just how often the hedgehog has been visiting our garden, though we are rather concerned that a local cat has been keeping a rather close eye on it. We have a hedgehog house and provide water. We put out fresh supplies of dried food containing insects each evening. David saw the hedgehog a few nights ago, but mostly we rely on the camera to keep us in the picture.
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| Look at those feline eyes in the background. |
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| Sutton Hoo (installation inspired by helmet) |
We have enjoyed some waterside bird-watching recently at NT Sutton Hoo. These are our sightings (and 'listenings') so far. Merlin, the Cornell bird ID app has helped us along the way. We have found the app pretty reliable, though I suspect it is designed for users in the US. The bird recorded as a 'White Wagtail' was probably a Pied Wagtail.
3 March
9 March
17 March
30 March
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| The Oystercatchers in the next photo were on this rampike. |
1 April
36 species in total so far since 3 March. Those with a letter, such as (a), have been seen on more than one occasion.
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There were quite a few ladybirds, mainly but not exclusively 7-spots, on the Sutton Hoo site and a few butterflies: we noticed Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals. We saw a beefly on Saturday, and two shieldbugs this afternoon on the gorse.
Thanks to the Trailcam, we were absolutely thrilled to find that a hedgehog had been visiting our garden most nights last week. Of course, we can't tell whether it is the one who came to our door for food and water nearly every evening last summer, but who knows ...
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| Birds galore |
David and I checked the forecast last Saturday, which didn't promise much in the way of sunlight, but we set off anyway. In fact, the early February weather, on the day after World Wetlands Day, was superb. There were plenty of ducks about on the scrape behind East Hide.
The structure above was hard to miss, with its distinctive yellow base. I assumed it was to do with the new and controversial Sizewell C. However, it turns out to be a Kittiwake Hotel (see here also) for Black-legged Kittiwakes.
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| We had a good view across to Southwold. |
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| Is this a Great Northern Diver in winter plumage? |
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| You can reach East Hide via the new boardwalk below. |
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| You can see some of the birds we saw and heard. |
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| It was almost balmy on the beach. You can see the coastguard cottages on Dunwich Heath. |
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| I wonder how this view will change ... |
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| We saw several Shovelers on the scrape |
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| Not all the ducks were so alert ... |
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| ... and neither were the Lapwing. |
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| It was a joy to watch this elegant Pintail ... |
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| ... and to see this pair of Shovelers. |
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| The light kept catching our eye ... |
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| ... and the clouds at sunset. |
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| By the time the rain began, we were heading for home. |
