Diary of an English Country Garden

Pesky Woodpeckers

2012-01-31T22:05:00.008Z

This has been one of the warmest Januaries on record in this part of the UK. Although we have had a few hard frosts, it has generally been remarkably warm. Great news from the point of view of heating bills.

Earlier in the month we had a lot of high winds, so bad that a tree was brought down in the garden.

On closer inspection, the tree was full of holes obviously made by woodpeckers. I don't know whether the tree was rotten inside when the woodpeckers decided to nest there, or whether the woodpecker holes caused the tree to rot?

A fallen tree is always a useful source of fuel for our wood burning stove and it was not a very pretty tree, anyway. Luckily it did not fall on anything.

Just outside our kitchen window we have a two storey luxury bird box. The great tits had been showing great interest in it until an incident last week. I had been out all day and when I arrived home was shocked to see that a woodpecker had completely wrecked the box! It had obviously been busy all day enlarging the holes. They are now so big that you could fit a tennis ball through the holes. Completely ruined for nesting great tits :(

I cannot understand why the woodpecker would do this. At this time of year there was obviously nothing nesting yet (I don't think so, anyway). I am wondering if the woodpeckers themselves are planning to move into the box. That would be interesting.

The sparrowhawk is still making life difficult for the little birds around the feeders. As I have mentioned before, it is a little stupid sitting on the garden chair waiting for the little birds to appear. The little ones have more sense than that.

It appears to be getting more desparate, however, and we have seen it on several occasions try to chase the little ones into the bushes. Of course, it's size does not allow it to get in among the branches, so it usually leaves empty-beaked.

Today, I managed to grab a photo. It is not a good one because it was late afternoon and the light was fading. But, at least you can see it is a male with a grey back and reddish stripes on the chest.

It is February tomorrow and the forecast is cold with possible snow on the way. We have not had any snow yet this year. It has been a strange winter. There are daffodils, snowdrops and primroses flowering and some of the bluebells are even several inches high.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T21:53:00.010Z

I have been seriously lax in keeping up to date with this blog in recent weeks. I hope to remedy that in 2012. We were away for a couple of weeks in November - a wildlife holiday of course. So, I would like to start with one of my holiday snaps. This was definitely NOT taken in my garden!

This harrassed mother had 3 cubs, just a few weeks old. The runt of the litter could not keep up with the others so Mum kept giving it a helping hand, or should I say mouth.

Well, back in the UK, life in the garden has been busy as usual. The weather has been very changeable but not particularly cold. November was apparently one of the warmest on record around these parts. It is causing confusion with the plants, of course. We had primroses flowering in November and some daffodils are in bud at the moment.

There has been plenty of fungi around but not as many as last year. Unusually, there have been huge numbers of Trooping Funnels (Clitocybe geotropa), not only in the garden but all around the village.

Trooping funnels are large mushrooms with a cap that can be up to about 8 inches (20 cms) diameter. As the name suggests they grow in large rings or "troops". They are apparently edible but I don't advise eating any fungus without first checking with an expert.

2011 has been a good year for squirrels. There are dozens of them, all very hyperactive, running up and down trees and along fences. Luckily there are plenty of acorns to keep them away from the bird feeders.

Talking of bird feeders, in the last couple of weeks we have had a regular (unwelcome) visitor - a sparrowhawk. It sits on top of the bird feeder, which is a bit stupid because, of course, all the little birds fly off and hide.

The deer have been a bit elusive recently, although we have seen the Roe Deer twins, those born this year, in the field in front of our house. A couple of muntjacs have also been foraging in the garden - a female with a youngster.

Sadly it is not going to be a white Christmas this year, but I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012.

Astonishing October

2011-10-30T20:28:00.011Z

There are definitely big changes in the weather patterns compared to previous years. Whether or not this is due to global warming is yet to be proven. This October has seen some very pleasant weather with above average temperatures and just a couple of frosts. The result is beautiful autumn colours with most of the leaves still on the trees. In addition, there are shrubs flowering which normally only flower in springtime (Kerria Japonica and Ceanothus). Here are a couple of photos.

Also, one of the primula that I mentioned in my previous post has been flowering, Primula Vialli - very pretty.

October is normally a month of misty sunrises, when the ground is wet and the nights cold. Very few of those this month, but here is one of them.

The birds have been hyperactive this month, feeding frantically on the feeders. In their exuberance, they sometimes overshoot and hit the window. This happened to a little long-tailed tit. He/she was a bit stunned and I stood by waiting for him to recover in case any predators decided to have a tasty meal. Great opportunity for a close-up photo which is not normally possible with these shy little creatures. This is probably my favourite bird.

We changed the clocks today. Nice to have an extra hour in bed, but the evenings are now very dark. Hibernation seems a very attractive option. I am so looking forward to next spring.

In the meantime we will have to make do with the beautiful autumn colours, here is a shot across the valley and over the garden fence. If the wind does not take the leaves off soon, I think the colours will become even more spectacular.

Surprising September!

2011-09-30T20:18:00.011+01:00

This month has certainly been interesting. It is going out with some superb weather in the mid-twenties centigrade which is very unusual for this time of year. I guess it cuts down on heating bills.

I am always busy in September when we have visitors from the north. This year we were able to entertain them with some obliging badgers.

I have been quietly watching the badger sett in the woods next door for most of the summer. Sadly, several weeks ago, I spotted some undesirables out shooting in the woods. I was not just concerned with my own safety but I did not want these guys to find the badger sett. So, I decided I should stay in my own garden to watch the badgers.

I have been putting out peanuts each evening, spread over a wide area. The badgers pass by at a very regular time and we have been watching from our conservatory. They literally "hoover" up the peanuts. There are 2 of them, one from the sett in the woods to the east (with a vertical line down his snout) and one from the sett in the woods to the west (with a spot on its nose). Unfortunately, every time I set up the camera and try to trigger it remotely, they get spooked, so no decent photos.

The roe deer family have been more obliging...

A week or so ago, Mum and twins were all on the front lawn. The twins are both boys which you may be able to see from the photos. Their little antlers are just pushing through.

These photos were taken through the window, so are not the best. Just opening the window to take the shots, would have made them flee.

I also recently visited a local garden centre in a quest to find more summer-flowering pretty flowers which the deer will not eat. Someone suggested Pentestemmon which I had never tried before so I bought some to give it a go. So far, they have not been touched by the deer. Hopefully, next summer we may have more colour during the summer months.

I noticed a long time ago that the deer don't eat Primula. The primroses in our garden run rampant in the spring but I did not know how many pretty types of primula there are. We visited Armadale Castle and Dunvegan Castle Gardens on the Isle of Skye in Scotland this year. They had some wonderful displays of primula (primula vialii, primula bulleyana, primula beesiana, etc). I have planted some this year and hopefully they will do as well in the garden as their native cousins.

Finally, the buzzards and red kites are continuing to thrive. They do their best to avoid posing for the camera, but I did get one reasonable photo this week.

Deer, Deer and More Deer!

2011-08-29T20:42:00.005+01:00

This year, unlike last, we have apples on the apples trees. This means that our garden is a choice destination for the deer who love to eat the windfalls. They are backwards and forwards all day (and probably all night) feasting on the apples.

The other evening there were four muntjacs under the trees and, interestingly, another muntjac fawn. It was definitely not the fawn I spotted last week. This one was much bigger and without its spots. However, it was still suckling and very demanding on its mother. So, there must be at least two families of muntjacs around this year.

Sadly, it was too dark for decent photographs.

However, Mrs Roe and the Twins have also been hanging around much of the time. The twins are getting big now, almost as big as their Mum and their spots are just fading. They are about 3-4 months old now. I did not manage any good shots of the three of them together, but the other evening as it was getting dark Mum and one of the twins were in the field at the front. I got the following photos.

The middle photo is quite amusing. The mother has an apple and some grass in her mouth and the little one is pulling at a piece of grass!

You need to click on the images to see larger versions.

Flash Photography

2011-08-22T21:41:00.006+01:00

I have reached a stage in my photography where I don't feel I can improve until I have mastered flash and lighting in general. So often there is not enough natural light to take the photos I want.

So, I recently booked myself on a Lighting Fundamentals course run by Shutterbug Training (http://www.shutterbugtraining.co.uk/). James Stone, who runs the course, is very knowledgeable but above all he is able to impart his knowledge in simple terms - ideal for people like myself.

The course was excellent and I came home with a much better understanding of lighting and lots of ideas that I wanted to try.

Sadly this time of year in our garden is very boring. Hardly anything is flowering. I was desperate to find something to practise on so ended up picking some Bird's Foot Trefoil which was growing wild in the grass. The photo above is one of my early efforts. I am quite pleased with it and certainly could not have taken a photo as good as this before taking the lighting course.

As soon as I found a rose flowering, I pounced for more practise with the following result.

I have continued to watch the badgers for the last few weeks. The little baby is fearless and follows a trail of peanuts to where I set up my camera, with this result...

The roe deer twins are doing well. The farmer has cut the grass in the field out front and we can now see them when they are browsing in the field. They regularly come up to the fence to eat the blackberries. There are thousands of blackberries this year. I have been picking them every weekend and more keep coming.

Last week, I was very excited to catch a glimpse of a new baby muntjac. Very tiny, it is probably two or three weeks old and Mum is very protective. No chance for a photo, yet!

There were three hares on the front lawn yesterday, one of them a younster. Sadly, I found a young one dying in the garden today. I don't know what was wrong with it.

Finally, today there were dozens of dragonflies swooping around in the back garden enjoying the sunshine. I can never identify dragonflies without getting a photo and there was no chance of photos today.

Badger Watching

2011-07-31T22:40:00.008+01:00

I have been seriously neglecting this blog during the last few weeks. The reason this time is because I have been out virtually each evening watching badgers. I happened to wander through the woods just over our garden fence one evening and spotted a whole family by their sett. They are absolutely mesmerising to watch.

Badgers are protected in this country and it is an offense to disturb them at their sett. However, I don't really see the logic in this when they are planning to allow farmers to shoot them on sight in an effort to control bovine TB.

Anyway, because of this I don't have any photos to show. I just stand and watch them each evening just as it is getting dark. They are real little characters. Firstly, when they emerge, they have a good scratch - a seriously good scratch, even scratching each other. I guess if you had been holed up underground all day, you would want to scratch, too!

I just stand and watch in full view of them (but preferably downwind). Their eyesight must be very bad because they don't seem to see me. However, they do know I am there because they can catch my scent.

I have been sprinkling peanuts around the sett, which they love. They are so intent on getting the nuts that sometimes they come to within a metre of where I am standing. There is a baby one which is not quite so streetwise as its parents. This comes within 6 inches (15cms) of my boots!

It is quite magical.

Now back to the garden - it is very busy at the minute. The birds seem to have had lots of success with their families. A little wren has just finished feeding her babies in a tiny nest hidden in the cotoneaster growing around our living room window.

The photo above is a baby Jay, out without its parents but it was with another sibling. Its brown feathers are still very fluffy and patchy, but the blue feathers have grown in nicely. The Jays are very shy, so photos are difficult.

The next photo is a juvenile Green Woodpecker. It looks very grown up but the speckled feathers show it is a youngster. There have been a lot of them around this year.

Finally, the baby Roe Deer that I mentioned a few weeks ago has turned out to be twins! I have still not managed a decent photo because the grass in the field out front has still not been cut. You can still only see their ears above the long grass.

Hopefully I will get a photo of them before too long.

Moths and Butterflies

2011-06-26T19:25:00.010+01:00

I have not posted for a while because I have been away - exploring the Outer Hebrides. While we were away, the weather was apparently not good here, cool with plenty of rain. The grass is now green again after the drought in the spring.

The rain has brought on the fungi - lots of inkcaps and also 2 large fairy rings in the lawn (Fairy Ring Champignons).

Since our return, the weather has changed to very hot. This has brought out hundreds of moths and butterflies.

The moth above, a Buff-Tip, is one that I have never seen before. This is possibly because it is so well camouflaged. It looks just like a piece of twig. I thought it was a twig. Only when I touched it and it moved slightly, was I sure that it actually was a moth. Some moths like to play dead and don't fly away when you touch them. This was one of them. What an amazing creature!

The Large Emerald Moth is a real beauty. I think moths get a bad press. People don't tend to like them, fluttering around the lights at night, but many moths are every bit as pretty as butterflies. This one included.

Finally, I had never seen a Skipper butterfly until a couple of years ago. This year there are lots of them. I am not sure what has attracted them to the garden. Although this one is called a Large Skipper, it is in fact quite small with a wingspan only in the region of 30mm. This one is a male, identified by the black scales on its wings.

More Babies

2011-05-30T15:43:00.004+01:00

The garden seems to be full of youngsters at the moment. This tiny squirrel probably came from the drey photographed below high up in an oak tree. Not sure if it fell from the drey or was just exploring.

I would imagine that they are very vulnerable alone on the ground, so I hope it found its way back.

The photograph below shows the drey, woven out of twigs and leaves, perched precariously on the branch of the tree.

Finally, this weekend (a public holiday in the UK) is usually the weekend when we see the first roe deer fawns, if there are any. This year was no exception.

The field in front of our house has long grass at this time of year, before the farmer cuts it for hay. This is an ideal environment to bring up a fawn. It follows its mother around but is so small that you can only see its ears sticking out of the grass! I am looking forward to a better view of it and a better photo at some stage.

I Hate Woodpeckers :(

2011-05-20T12:14:00.004+01:00

I am a little late posting this because it happened a couple of weeks ago - just no time to post.

I realise that nature can be cruel but sometimes I find it hard to take. I posted a few weeks ago about the blue tits nesting in the box in our pergola. The box is just outside my office window and I heard tapping. It was a Great Spotted Woodpecker hammering away trying to get into the box. It was after the babies.

I kept chasing it away but it kept returning time and time again. Finally, it found a crack in the bottom of the box and started pulling out moss, part of the nest. I took a photo of it when it reached one of the babies - blood all over its beak :(

I realised that I had to do more to save them, but I did not want to interfere with the box too much otherwise the parents might abandon them. So, I stuck a piece of plastic over the crack and secured it with masking tape. I could feel movements in the box so some of the babies were still alive.

The GSW still kept coming back but luckily did not manage to hurt any more babies.

Mr & Mrs Blue Tit still continued to feed the remaining chicks until they finally fledged.

I will post a link to the photo I took but I prefer not to display directly in this post because I find it distressing.

Photo here.

My Book is Completed :)

2011-05-15T21:26:00.004+01:00

I mentioned in earlier posts about my project for 2010 photographing "A Year in the Life of an English Country Garden". I am pleased to say that I have now completed my book on Blurb and there is a preview available.

A Year in the Life of an English Country Garden by Jenny Bailey

Comments and/or feedback would be very welcome.

Still Fighting

2011-05-05T21:18:00.009+01:00

The cock pheasants have been fighting on and off all day. I would have thought it was a bit late. I think most of the females are already sitting on their nests, but there are a couple of females still wandering around. These guys really don't like each other. They have started to leave feathers on the lawn after their bouts of fighting. They are very aggressive to each other.

At the other end of the spectrum, this hare was lying in the grass all afternoon, very relaxed. I have been finding out more about hares and their lifestyle from Marc Baldwin, whose web site (www.wildlifeonline.me.uk) is a mine of useful information about British wildlife.

Once again I crept up on this hare and only when I got close, did it sit up. You can see from the photo it is assessing how much of a threat I was! They rely on their camouflage and speed to avoid danger.

I wanted to post this photo because it shows really well the length of its front legs. These help make it the fastest land animal in the UK reaching speeds up to 45 mph.

Feeding Time

2011-05-02T11:39:00.014+01:00

The blue tit eggs have hatched in the nesting box on the pergola. Mum and Dad are very busy feeding the youngsters with lots of juicy caterpillars. I don't know how many little ones there are. It would be nice to have a nestcam. The incubation period is about 2 weeks and I think they have probably only just hatched in the last few days.

I have never yet seen them fledge. I think they must take their first flight out of the nest very early in the morning.

There are not many birds around at the moment. I think they are all sitting on their nests. The bird feeders have hardly been touched recently.

However, great excitement the other day when I saw a bullfinch. It landed on my office windowsill but had disappeared before I could get the camera out.

Yesterday, I caught my first ever glimpse of the cuckoo. We hear it every year but I have never managed to spot it. This year it has been exceptionally vociferous. It is calling from morning till night. I managed to find which tree it was sitting in but still could not spot it until it flew off. Again no possibility of a photo.

The amazing weather continues. It is not quite so warm but still very sunny. I don't recall getting any rain at all in April, which is very unusual, although there may have been a shower during the night on Saturday. It cannot have been much because the ground was dry when we got up. However, the cars have a layer of yellow pollen all over them and there were water droplet marks in the pollen - but not enough to wash off the pollen.

Finally, for this week, the hares seem to have taken up permanent residence in the garden. They are coming closer to the house and we see them every day - at least two of them. Even when I go outside to take a photo, I can get to within a few metres before they run off. I particularly like the photo below.

Riot of colour!

2011-04-25T19:53:00.008+01:00

What an amazing Easter this has been. The weather is hot (high 20's centigrade) and sunny, hardly a cloud in the sky. I don't remember when it last rained. This is most unusual for April which is famous for its showers.

The bluebells are a carpet of blue through the woods and all the other flowers are a riot of colour. Sadly, the lack of rain means the bluebells are dying back early. Too early!

The azaleas are absolutely gorgeous and the perfume from this yellow one is amazing. It is a pity that I cannot capture the scent for this blog.

I was standing watching this morning while the speckled wood butterflies were all over the place fluttering around in a frenzy in the sunshine and occasionally landing on the bluebells.

Finally, the cuckoo has been calling all week. No sight of him, though.

This time of year is magical.

She's Mine . . . No, She's Mine!

2011-04-14T19:59:00.005+01:00

I have spent a lot of time watching the pheasants in the last few weeks. They are most amusing. The cock pheasants are wandering around hopefully trying to attract the females, chasing them around the garden and displaying their beautiful plumage.

The females seem to be completely disinterested but the cocks live in hope.

Occasionally, a fight breaks out between competing cocks - really quite aggressive. The fight in this photograph broke up when they heard the clicking of my shutter. Sadly, it is not a good photo but the best I could manage.

I spent last weekend trying to take some decent photos of the cherry blossom. It is a really gorgeous sight but very difficult to photograph without blowing the highlights in the sun. It also requires a very still day. The beautiful weather continued over last weekend but has changed for the worse during this week. Still no rain, though.

Finally, another bluebell shot. I would love to find some more unusual ways of photographing bluebells. This one is backlit. Any suggestions?

The First Bluebells of 2011

2011-04-05T20:48:00.006+01:00

Everyone who knows me realises that I get very excited at the start of the bluebell season. It is such a beautiful time of year, if we have time to get out and enjoy it.

The first bluebells started appearing last weekend. They start with just a few here and there. During the next few weeks more and more appear until there is a glorious blue carpet through the woods. Then they start to fade. The whole magical experience only lasts 4 to 5 weeks.

I saw the first swallow today, back from its winter in Africa. So spring is well and truly here.

The Morel Season

2011-04-02T20:37:00.002+01:00

After the very dry March, I did not expect to see the Morels this year. However, a few sprinkles of rain over the last few days brought them all popping out. These Morels are called Semifree Morels and are not the much sought after Morels of culinary fame. I would not risk eating them.

They are called semifree because the cap is not joined to the lower part of the stem, but is joined at the top of the stem with the cap hanging loose over it.

I find it intriguing that they appear as regular as clockwork every year during the first week of April. They are incredibly difficult to spot and last year I only spotted them after I had trampled on them, so no possibility of photographs. I was more careful this year!

Butterflies

2011-03-28T21:22:00.005+01:00

The last few weeks have been unseasonably warm and dry. March is lining up to become one of the driest in recent memory. I have no doubt that April will make up for it!

The weather has brought out the butterflies - Brimstone (which never hang around long enough for a photo), Commas, Peacock and finally I have managed to get a photo of a Holly Blue. I have seen them in the garden before but they are very difficult to photograph. Firstly, they are very tiny and secondly, they flutter around the tops of the shrubs. The shrubs in our garden are very mature and many of them are at least 2 metres high. This makes photographing the butterflies very difficult.

The photo above is the best I could manage today and since the weather forecast predicts an end to this dry spell, I may not get another chance. Although, you cannot see it from the photograph, the upper wings are a darker blue. The underside of the wings is a silvery colour with black speckles.

Elsewhere in the garden, there is a frenzy of activity - nests are being built, the male pheasants are showing off their gorgeous colours and chasing the females. The bluetits have set up home in the bird box on the pergola. It is also the time of year when we see all the birds in pairs. In the last couple of days, 2 green woodpeckers, 2 nuthatches, 2 chaffinches, 2 robins.

My favourite time of year!

Hares and Rabbits

2011-03-21T19:52:00.007Z

Spring is most definitely here. The evenings are getting lighter and the spring flowers are appearing all over the place. The birds are building their nests but some of the animals are already rearing their young. There are baby rabbits all over the garden. As cute as they may be, they really are pests in the garden - digging holes and eating all the plants.

I thought it would be interesting to compare the hares (which I find really beautiful) and the rabbits which to me are pests.

The photo above is a hare - a gorgeous fluffy creature - which was nibbling grass just outside my conservatory yesterday. It is huge compared to the rabbits and it does not dig holes. They are much lighter coloured with very long black-tipped ears. The legs, although you cannot see them in this photo, are also much longer and they can run very fast.

The photo below is a group of baby rabbits. There are several families living in my shrubberies. The babies venture out further and further from the shrubs but dash back in when disturbed.

Another interesting find in the garden this week are a pair of red-legged partridges. They have so far evaded my efforts to photograph them!

Life in the Garden - 2011

2011-02-22T21:07:00.008Z

My photography project for 2010 is finished. I did not realise how much it has taken out of me to continuously record life in the garden for a whole year. I was constantly looking for photo opportunities. For the first few weeks of 2011 I hardly touched my camera but I am gradually getting back into the swing of it again. I hope that I now have time to give this blog the attention it deserves.

My book "A Year in the Life of an English Country Garden" is progressing well. It will contain about 240 photographs of animals, birds, insects, flowers, trees and landscapes all taken in the garden during 2010. I hope to complete it soon.

This winter has not been pleasant - very cold and very grey with little sun to cheer things up. I don't recall such a long spell of very cold weather here in England as we experienced in January. The temperature went down to -11 degrees centigrade and it did not get above freezing at all for several weeks.

However, the first signs of spring are upon us. We have snowdrops, crocuses, primroses and even daffodils flowering already.

And, life goes on for the animals - a little Muntjac kid was born in early January. So far it has not been easy to get a photo. Mum leaves it hidden during the day while she goes foraging. Then at around 4 in the afternoon she comes back to collect it. We regularly see them together before 8 in the morning when it is usually too dark for photographs.

It is most amusing to watch and seems incapable of actually walking - it runs everywhere. It is just a bundle of energy. This is the best photo I have managed so far. About 6 weeks old it still has its spots.

Summer in Full Swing

2010-07-31T11:34:00.008+01:00

I seem to have seriously neglected this blog for the last couple of months, for which I apologise. The reason is because I have been concentrating on a project which is taking much of my spare time. I am recording "A year in the life of an English Country Garden" in photographs. I started on 1st January this year and will continue until the end of the year. I am over half way now!

I plan to produce a book (coffee table style) which I think will be an interesting record of wildlife and nature in the UK throughout the seasons. Many of the photos that I plan to use in the book are already in this thread, with many more that I have not yet included. I will upload a gallery on my web site to showcase these images, as soon as I have time.

I also plan to use the best photos and produce a calendar at the end of the year - hopefully in time to use them as Christmas presents for relatives and friends!

The idea for the project came from a photography web site called Talk Photography, which I can thoroughly recommend. There are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful people on the forum. They also run a challenge called a "52", where people take photos each week on a particular theme and upload them for comments and criticism. The idea is to practise and learn from the feedback.

Very soon after starting the 52, I decided that the photos I was taking would be a useful record to chart the whole year in the garden. Hence the book idea.

So, back to the current time. Summer is in full swing and it has been hotter and more humid than the last few years with very little rain, at least in the south and east of England. Northwest Scotland seems to have been bearing the brunt of any bad weather coming in from the Atlantic. Our front lawn is completely brown, even after a bit of rain in the last week.

The weather has made it an amazing year for butterflies and moths. I have seen more than ever before including several new species that I have never noticed in the garden before. The little chap above is a Common Blue, an exquisite little thing.

At the top of the page are some ripe Woody Nightshade berries. Poisonous, as the colour implies!

Finally, today I saw the roe deer buck closely following a doe. It must be that time of year again. Sadly, I have not seen any roe deer kids this year. I don't know if there were non born or whether Mum kept them well hidden?

I have kept a record of what has been goung on in the garden over the last couple of months and I will fill in the missing details of this blog as soon as I can.

The Bluebell Season

2010-04-30T21:04:00.011+01:00

Spring has continued to be unusual. The infamous April showers hardly materialised. It was the driest April that I can remember. However, that has not stopped the spring flowers. The garden is awash with colour, most notably the bluebells. They really are a sight to behold.

Once they start to flower, they become more and more blue until there is a carpet stretching across the garden and through the woodland. Beautiful!

The cherry, pear and apple trees are covered in blossom. It was windy today and the blossom was falling like confetti.

It is hard to describe just how much colour there is in the garden at this time of year. Perhaps a few photographs will summarise...

Springtime in Full Swing

2010-04-18T21:52:00.010+01:00

In the last couple of weeks, spring arrived with a vengeance. This is the latest spring that we have had for many years, after a winter that went on and on.

The weather has improved and the wild flowers have sprung up all over the place. There are millions of them - many more than usual. Violets, celandine, wood anemones, wood sorrel, forget-me-nots, cuckoo flowers and just this week the bluebells have started flowering. My favourite time of year.

I heard the first cuckoo this week and also saw three swallows back from their winter in Africa. So, spring is well and truly here.

It is strange that the weather systems that have given us this good weather are responsible for complete chaos over most of Europe. Our usual south-westerly weather systems have been held at bay by a large area of high pressure over the UK. The ash belching from the erupting volcano in Iceland is being swept south east over the UK and mainland Europe causing the shutdown of European airspace. If our normal prevailing winds were in place, the ash would be blown northwards and out of harms way.

The consequences to the airline industry and other businesses relying on and supplying air transport are incalculable.

In the meantime, the result is an eerie quietness. We are on the flight path to Heathrow airport, one of the busiest in the world. Although we are not very close and the aircraft are usually quite high when passing over our house, there are always aircraft in the sky. Not so this week. The only planes flying are tiny prop planes flying over at very low altitude. It is very strange indeed.

This is likely to be a death knell for some of the airlines, who have already been hit very hard by the recession. I hope that this week the airline industry can get back to some kind of normality.

A Very Slow Start to Spring

2010-03-27T21:52:00.011Z

I don't remember the last time we had such a late spring.

Although there were signs a few weeks ago, the weather has not been good and things are progressing very slowly in the garden. Usually by this time in March, the trees are starting to show green, but not this year.

Nest building is, however, in full swing. This little blue tit has taken up residence in one of our nest boxes. The long-tailed tits have been picking cobwebs from around our windows to line their nests and last week I saw a little goldcrest picking fluff from one of the garden lamps.

The daffodils are now flowering, several weeks later than usual, but the weather is not being kind. Not too cold but lots of rain. We change the clocks tonight and will lose an hour, but the evenings will be much lighter. I hope that the weather will allow us to enjoy them.

The deer are still hanging around the garden most days. I think they can find more food here than in the woods, until everything starts growing again. They sit in the woods during the day, watching us from a safe distance, and come out in the evening to graze in the garden. It should not be too long until the babies are born.

Spring is on its Way

2010-03-05T21:51:00.004Z

March dawned with beautiful weather, mild and sunny. But it did not stay that way for long! Several very cold, frosty mornings this week.

However, the birds are getting excited. There have been signs of frantic nest building and frenetic activity. It has been a long, hard winter for them and they have survived. I love to see them at this time of year - always in pairs.

As well as snowdrops, we have crocuses flowering and the first daffodils this year, bringing some colour back to the garden.

A Quiet Month

2010-02-28T21:32:00.009Z

February has been a quiet month with not much happening in the garden. Everyone is waiting for spring.

The weather has been awful - grey, dark snowy and rainy. I think the animals are as fed up as I am.

The only things flowering are the snowdrops. They seed themselves every year and have grown over a large area.

The only good thing about this weather is that it has driven the deer into the garden, even in daytime to search for food. They come right up to the house and it has been wonderful watching them. They are eating things that they would never normally eat, such as heather. I guess they are desperate.

It is now official that this has been the worst winter for more than 30 years in this area. In other parts of the UK, it has been even worse.

I hope that no damage has been done to the plants and that everything will spring into life when it warms up a bit.

Roe Deer Convention?

2010-02-02T20:50:00.005Z

There have been so many roe deer in the garden over the last week, I am having trouble identifying them.

Last week I spotted this threesome and went outside to try to get a photo. They, of course, spotted me immediately and did not stay long. I must try to improve my deer stalking skills!

It is difficult to tell, but I think these were two males and one female.

Yesterday, I went into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee and spotted this roe buck cleaning up the seed under the bird feeders (just 3 metres from my kitchen window). I had the wrong lens on the camera but no time to change it, so all the photos were close-ups.

You can see his little antlers just pushing through!

I think the extreme weather this winter has been great for wildlife spotting. The creatures are more desperate than usual for food and are willing to venture out in daylight to find it.

Big Garden Birdwatch

2010-01-31T20:26:00.004Z

Here in the UK, each January, the RSPB run their Big Garden Birdwatch. This is a massive survey of garden birds over the whole of the UK. Supporters are asked to identify and count the birds they see during a one hour period this weekend. The results are submitted online and provide a picture of bird numbers in each region. It is also a lot of fun.

I did my Garden Birdwatch early on Sunday morning and here are the results:

Blackbirds - 2
Blue Tits - 2
Carrion Crows - 5
Chaffinch - 1
Coal Tit - 1
Dunnock - 1
Great Tits - 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Jays - 2
Long-tailed Tits - 6
Magpie - 1
Marsh Tits - 2
Mistle Thrush - 1
Nuthatches - 2
Red Kite - 1
Robins - 2
Wood Pigeons - 8

That is 17 different species in the period of an hour - and some of the regulars did not turn up during that time!

You can read more about the Big Garden Birdwatch at http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/.

Long-tailed Tits and Roe Deer

2010-01-27T20:06:00.006Z

Probably my favourite small bird is the Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus). They are small and fluffy, never keep still and are very sociable. You never see them alone. They usually appear in groups of 6 to 10.

Sadly, they are not constant visitors to the garden. They appear for a few days then disappear for weeks, but they are a joy to watch. After the bad weather recently, I think they were very happy to get an easy meal on my bird feeders.

This was the first time that I managed to get a reasonably good photo of them.

There also seem to be a lot of deer around at the moment. This Roe Deer buck appeared with 2 females just before dark tonight. You can see his beautiful velvet antlers.

Badger Prints in the Snow

2010-01-24T21:04:00.007Z

Last weekend the snow gradually disappeared, just to return again a couple of days later. Luckily not so much this time and it did not stay long. There was enough, however, to find some excellent badger prints across the back lawn.

It is not a brilliant picture, but you can quite clearly see four of the five toes with the long claws and the kidney-shaped palm print.

Two roe deer have been hanging round the garden this week, but no photo opportunities, unfortunately. I also saw a fox today but they are rather elusive. I have yet to get a good photo of a fox.

Finally, after being buried by 8 inches (20 cms) of snow for two weeks, these rather brave snowdrops emerged unscathed. They had just started to flower when the snow first fell, but their built-in anti-freeze protected them from the freezing cold temperatures.

I hope this is a sign that spring is on its way.

Watching Me Watching Him

2010-01-10T21:03:00.003Z

There are some benefits to this bad weather. The muntjacs have been hanging round the house again today and it makes for some great photo opportunities.

They were rooting around in the flower beds next to the house and I was watching through the window waiting for them to emerge. The little one froze when he saw me, just long enough for me to take this photo before he ran off.

It has been slightly warmer today. No new snow has fallen, but there are still several inches left on the ground.

Not Yet Weaned!

2010-01-08T20:11:00.006Z

I mentioned seeing a new baby muntjac deer a couple of weeks ago. Well, I was in for a real treat today. Mother and Junior were both on my back lawn and I was lucky enough to capture a picture of the little one suckling. What a wonderful sight!

Sadly the photo is not these best, but it was late afternoon and starting to get dark.

The snow is still deep and it is still very cold, so the fawn must be a tough little thing to survive.

The next picture shows the fawn when it ran across the lawn before disappearing into the flower bed next to the house. It looks as if it is sitting down, but actually the snow is so deep that it was sinking up to the top of its legs. I think it is probably about 8 weeks old and should be weaned very soon.

Bird on a Wire

2010-01-07T20:19:00.006Z

The temperature dropped to
-11 degrees C (12 F) last night, so the snow is not going to disappear quickly.

I was watching a buzzard (Buteo buteo) this morning. He was sitting on the electricity cable that feeds power to our house. Not a very good photo, but he flew off when I tried to get closer.

The wildlife is finding it difficult in the snow. There were lots of animal tracks leading to sheltered spots underneath the shrubs in the flower beds next to the house. This weather cannot be easy for them.

Glorious blue skies and sunshine today, but it did little to melt the snow.

Worst Winter for 25 Years

2010-01-06T21:01:00.002Z

What an amazing winter this is turning out to be. Some say it is the worst winter for 25 years. Last night eight and a half inches (21cms) of snow fell. I went out and measured it on the patio table this morning.

This may not seem noteworthy to those who regularly have hard winters. However, most years we get a maximum of one fall of snow which usually disappears the next day. Some years we get no snow at all.

The birds are not happy. I went out and sprinkled more food for them this morning and I was surprised by how many turned up for the feast. Not just the usuals, but also goldfinches and long-tailed tits. I did not get any photos of them or of the 2 roe deer that made a brief appearance.

The forecast is to be colder tonight, so although the snow has stopped falling, it will freeze overnight. I guess it is here to stay for the next few days.

Marsh Tit or Willow Tit?

2010-01-01T22:27:00.009Z

The new year dawned with sun and bright blue skies, but very cold. As usual the birds were very busy on the feeders and I managed to take a few photos.

This little guy (or gal) always has me puzzled - it is a Marsh Tit or Willow Tit? They are both very similar. My book says that the Willow Tit is more scruffy looking, but this one is very neat and tidy. The Marsh Tit has a smaller black bib and the Willow Tit has a heavier head and neck. I think it is probably a Marsh Tit (Parus palustris) but I would value any opinions.

This Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus Major) was also enjoying a good feed today.

Goodbye to 2009

2009-12-31T20:59:00.006Z

The snow has finally disappeared, but the weather remains cold and miserable. During one of the sunny interludes this week, I had a good look around the garden and noticed that the tree that came down a few weeks ago is covered in lots of mosses and lichens. I don't know much about either, so perhaps one of my tasks for 2010 is to find out more!

This cup lichen nestling among the frosty moss is probably Cladonia sp. I won't hazard as guess as to exactly which one. Lichens are amazing organisms which come in all shapes and sizes and which are very easy to overlook. These cups are tiny, just a few millimetres across.

Also, this week I spotted a new baby muntjac. It was alone without its mother, but I suspect she was somewhere close by. Muntjacs breed all year round and have a gestation period of 7 months. The females usually become pregnant again very quickly after giving birth, so it is possible that this is a sibling of the fawn I mentioned back in May. Sadly, there was no possibility of a photo of it this week. The weather was too dull and overcast.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2010 and hoping for lots of interesting flora and fauna in the new decade!

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-22T21:27:00.004Z

What a difficult couple of days. More snow started to fall yesterday afternoon and about 6 inches (15 cms) fell in a few hours.

The UK can't seem to handle snow for some unknown reason. Every seemingly minor snowfall causes complete chaos on the roads and yesterday was no exception. I spent three and a half hours picking up my son from work - 6 miles away! The roads were competely gridlocked.

Just before bedtime last night the electricity went off. It was a very cold night so we lit the wood-burning stove in an effort to keep the house warm.

The electricity was still off this morning. Frustratingly, we found that for most of the village the power had come back on within a few hours. There were just a few of us without.

We don't realise how much we rely on electricity until we find ourselves without it. It was a big relief when it came back on at 4.00pm.

We had such a bad experience after the hurricane of 1987 when we had no power for 7 days, that I always fear the worst when the power goes off!

On the plus side - I managed to get out for a short time with my camera. The trees look very pretty with their white winter coats against a beautiful blue sky.

Winter with a Vengeance

2009-12-20T20:48:00.006Z

Winter arrived with a vengeance on Thursday night. The temperature fell to -8 degrees C (17 in fahrenheit) according to the thermometer attached to our kitchen window. It does not often get as cold as this.

The snow came from the east and most of it dropped on the east side of England. By the time it reached us, it left only a couple of inches (5 cms).

I did not manage to get out in the early morning to take photographs and by the time I took this photo the sun was going down and much of the snow had disappeared.

There was another half inch (1 cm) last night, but because the temperature is not rising above freezing during the day, the snow is not disappearing quickly.

The birds are in a frenzy on the feeders and I noticed a couple of new robins encroaching on the territory of the usual one and causing a bit of a stir. So, I went out and sprinkled some food in another part of the garden to try to keep them apart. Robins are very territorial and the only time we see more than one together is during the mating season.

It would be nice if the snow lasted until Christmas. I don't remember the last time we had snow on the ground at Christmas.

First Snow of the Winter

2009-12-16T21:51:00.006Z

The first snow of the winter fell today. There was not much of it and it did not stay around long, but this male green woodpecker (Picus viridus) did not look too comfortable.

There has been a lot of wildlife around recently. After seeing no deer for several weeks, a herd passed through a few days ago. Firstly, the roe doe with her adolescent fawn (male, I think) crossed the lawn in one direction.

Half an hour later about five or six roe deer came racing through. It was misty so I was unable to count them exactly.

The muntjacs have also been around - the buck on several occasions, but there were two of them on the lawn yesterday.

My neighbour told me that while we were away, there was a big fight between two buzzards on our back lawn. When he went to investigate, they were fighting over a hare. I was really annoyed to miss this spectacle, but rather sad at the demise of the hare. That's nature, I suppose.

Sunshine, Wind and Rain

2009-12-06T21:16:00.003Z

It has been a week of sunshine, heavy rain and winds.

An inspection of the garden today found the pond level two or three inches above the overflow pipe. It must have rained very heavily during the night. I hope the level falls to normal soon otherwise the bog plants in the shallow end may suffer.

A huge tree has recently fallen in the corner of the garden furthest from the house. Luckily it did no damage. It is not actually our tree but has fallen over into our garden from the woodland next door, just missing demolishing the fence!

I think it is an alder (although difficult to tell when there are no leaves). I have read that alder wood does not give out much heat when burnt in a stove, so I hope I am wrong about the type.

I also found lots of holes dug in the flower beds next to the house with lots of tracks leading to them. I guess it must be rabbits causing the damage. I think it is unlikely that badgers would dig there. Whatever it is, it is causing a lot of damage. I must put out my stealthcam to see if I can get a photo of the culprits and try to find a way to dissuade them.

The Quintessential Toadstool

2009-12-03T20:55:00.002Z

I found this toadstool in the garden - Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria). They are not uncommon and we regularly find them in the garden during autumn and winter.

The reason I am posting a photo is because I don't often find such a good specimen. They are usually nibbled and damaged and I could not resist a photo of this one. They are so pretty.

I think of Fly Agaric as the quintessential toadstool - those that appear in kiddies' story books and the type that most people conjour in their minds when you mention the word toadstool.

They are usually found around birch trees and, of course, they are poisonous so best not to touch.

After the Storms

2009-11-26T20:33:00.006Z

I have been away for the last few weeks and therefore unable to post.

Today was the first occasion to look around the garden to see what has been happening while I was away.

Apparently it has been quite stormy - high winds and heavy rain. Most of the leaves have gone from the trees, which is rather a godsend. As you can imagine, with so many trees in the garden, leaf clearing is a huge job which usually lasts from September to December. The ash leaves are usually the first to fall and the oak the last. This year, maybe we can get them cleared by early December.

There is not much flowering at this time of year, just some Winter-flowering Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) and Mahonia (Mahonia x charity), but they add a little bit of colour.

There are still lots of fungi. The lawns are peppered with what look like tiny Waxcaps (Hygrocybe), white and yellow, but I have not been able to identify them exactly yet. There are also Blackening Waxcaps (Hygrocybe nigrescens), Shaggy Parasols (Macrolepiota rhacodes), Deceivers and some Cup fungi which I am not sure about.

While I have been away, the birds emptied the feeders and then disappeared. They turned up again very quickly when I replenished, including 2 very greedy crows and the athletic magpies which manage to hang onto the feeders like the little birds. There were also a couple of mistle thrushes around the house today.

Luckily we don't seem to have had any storm damage and let's hope we are in for a calmer winter.

Finally a Hare Photo

2009-11-03T22:12:00.002Z

There have been hares (Lepus europaeus) in the garden for some time, but they have proved very elusive and, until today, I have been unable to get a photo.

Just before it got dark this evening I saw this little chap (chapess?) nibbling away on the lawn. I managed to sneak up on it and take this photo, although I did not really get close enough.

What a magnificent creature. It is larger and lighter coloured than a rabbit with quite distinct long ears.

I hope it will make itself at home so that I can get a better chance of a photo.

Autumn Colours

2009-11-01T12:00:00.004Z

They promised heavy rain and stormy winds this weekend, so I thought I should take some photos of the autumn colours in the garden while the leaves are still there!

It has been a very pretty autumn and there are a surprising number of leaves still on the trees even though it is the first of November today. The tree in the foreground is a beech and its leaves are still remarkably green.

The high winds and rain did materialise and our driveway is now ankle deep with leaves.

An Explosion of Fungi

2009-10-25T19:56:00.003Z

The rain yesterday morning has brought out a huge array of fungi - lots of differents kinds of Inkcaps (Coprinus), Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa) and Lepiota of some kind, probably Freckled Dapperling (Lepiota aspera), among others. The first photo is a Shaggy Inkcap which is apparently edible when young.

The second photo shows Hen of the Woods which is also apparently edible. However, my fungus identification skills are not good enough to risk eating any of these!

Hazel Catkins in October?

2009-10-24T21:04:00.005+01:00

I found these Hazel Catkins (Corylus avellana) in the garden today. Most surprising to see them in October. Although they had not fully opened, I would not normally expect to see them until January or February. Strange things are happening with the seasons.

It was a busy day for wildlife today. There have been a least a dozen pheasants around and when I went to have a look at the pond I disturbed a heron and two mallard ducks.

Silk Button and Common Spangle Galls

2009-10-23T22:29:00.006+01:00

Life in the garden takes many shapes and sizes but one of the strangest is galls. Galls are abnormal growths on a plant caused by a parasite.

I found these galls on a fallen oak leaf today. The doughnut shaped ones are Silk Button Galls (Neuroterus numismalis) and the green-coloured ones are Common Spangle Galls (Neuroterus quercusbaccarum). They are tiny. The diameter of the Silk Button is about 3 mm.

They are created when the tiny Cynipid wasp lays eggs on the oak leaf. The grub matures inside the gall.

The Common Spangle Galls are formed in a similar way but they are flatter and rather bristly.

The second photo shows a close-up of these amazing growths.

Roe Deer Buck

2009-10-22T20:01:00.005+01:00

This chap was hanging around our garden all day today. I watched him eating our shrubs as I opened the curtains when I got up this morning (no camera handy).

I got my camera out when he was eating the windfall apples this evening, but it was almost dark, so the photograph is not too good.

You can see the remnants of his ginger summer coat amongst his darker winter coat.

He is also a relatively young male since his antlers are quite small. Roe deer shed their antlers each winter and regrow them.

Deer, Squirrels and Pheasants

2009-10-18T21:14:00.003+01:00

Until this week we have not seen any deer in or around the garden for ages. I guess they are visiting at night rather than during the day. However, in the last couple of days I have spotted a couple in the field out front. I think these are the mother and the young male born this year. They are both wearing their darker winter coats.

The squirrels are hyperactive at the moment. Every time I look out of the window, I see one running across the lawn, probably with acorns to stash away.

I think there must be people locally who breed pheasants. I suspect that they have just released this year's brood, possibly because the pheasant shooting season in England started on 1st October. In the last two weeks, there have been at least a dozen pheasants in the garden - mostly males. We often hear shooting in the woods, so I hope the pheasants realise they are safe in our garden!

Feathered Thorn Moth

2009-10-17T20:06:00.003+01:00

This Feathered Thorn Moth has been on my window for several days. It looks just like a dried leaf sticking to the window, until you look closer.

This one is a male with its long, feathery antenna. They are quite amazing when you see them close up. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Green Woodpecker

2009-10-12T22:19:00.004+01:00

This female green woodpecker (Picus viridus) was hopping around the lawn for most of the day today, eating ants.

They are very shy and don't often come close enough to the house to get a decent photo through the window.

The beak is very long and it hammers it into the earth to find ants, usually ending up quite muddy in the process.

Unlike other kinds of woodpecker, green woodpeckers spend a lot of time on the ground rather than in trees. Their green plumage merges into the background, but the red head means it can be spotted quite easily.

At the weekend there were dozens of ladybirds flying around. I would guess that they are trying to find a warm and cosy place to hibernate. Last winter, lots of them ended up in the frame of our sliding patio doors.

Badger and Hare

2009-10-09T20:38:00.006+01:00

I found a dead badger (meles meles) in the garden today - not the one in the photograph. It must have been dead for a while because the scavengers had been at it and there was only fur and a few bones left. I would be interested to know what killed it.

Badgers have few predators in this country and it is badger cubs that are most at risk from predators. Adult badgers can fight back fairly aggressively if attacked and they have a nasty bite. They also use their black and white striped face to warn off attackers.

Badgers are getting a fairly bad press at the moment in the UK, accused of spreading Bovine TB. I hope that no local farmers are taking it into their own hands and poisoning them. They are such beautiful creatures.

I also surprised a brown hare (Lepus capensis). It was just a few metres away so I got a good look at it before it ran off. I have seen hares in the garden before but only from a distance. I was surprised by its light colouring and, of course, it had the black tips on its ears. I wish I could get a photo.

Gardener's Enemy

2009-10-01T20:28:00.006+01:00

It only took a sprinkle of rain and up popped clumps of Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) all over the garden.

In woodland, this fungus serves the very useful purpose of breaking down the wood of dead trees and making space for new trees to take their place. However, in gardens, the fungus can spread to healthy trees and shrubs and kill them.

We get Honey Fungus in the garden most years but have not as yet had it spreading to healthy trees. I am not really sure what, if anything we should do about it. There is no easy way of getting rid of it.

Glorious Autumn Weather

2009-09-26T22:30:00.009+01:00

I don't want to speak too soon, but after a mixed summer this autumn has started beautifully - bright blue skies with a few fluffy clouds and glorious golden sunrises.

The leaves started changing colour in August, but very few have fallen. If we don't get any high winds, I think this will be a very colourful autumn.

Today was sunny and warm and the creatures in the garden were making the most of it. Two buzzards were soaring over the house and butterflies (Comma and Speckled Wood) and dragonflies were enjoying the sunshine.

More New Moths

2009-09-25T22:49:00.003+01:00

Moths tend to be rather intimidating to some people. They flutter around the windows and light bulbs at night trying to get in the house. They are mostly associated with darkness even though there are many day-flying moths. They were never one of my favourite creatures.

However, since I have started to look at them more closely I have realised they can be very beautiful. I am also amazed by their diversity.

This Herald Moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix) was on the glass door tonight. At a glance it looked like any other dark coloured moth. It wasn't until I took a photo that I realised how striking it was, with its jagged wings and bright orange/red markings.

There was another new one on the kitchen window which I think is The Gothic (Naenia typica), but I am not completely sure.

Shaggy Parasols

2009-09-23T22:34:00.002+01:00

Today, I found two huge patches of Shaggy Parasol Mushrooms (Macrolepiota rhacodes) near the compost heap. The photo shows one of them. There must have been about a dozen of them, all about this size - more than 4 inches (10 cms) diameter.

These mushrooms have brown scales on the cap and a bulbous base to the stem.

They are apparently edible, but can cause stomach upsets in some people. I should stress that you should never eat any fungus unless you are certain it is safe to eat.

Daytime Bat

2009-09-22T22:16:00.001+01:00

No photo unfortunately, but several times this week we have seen a bat flying around the house in the middle of the day. It was fairly light in colour and probably a Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) registering about 45KHz on the bat detector.

I just wonder what is bringing it out so early in the day?

Face Off

2009-09-15T22:04:00.003+01:00

These two cock pheasants were having a bit of an argument today. There was no female around, so I am not sure what the disagreement was about. They usually live happily together in the garden until the mating season comes around.

Very Unwelcome Resident

2009-09-06T21:57:00.007+01:00

Although I knew there were American Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) in our pond, we don't often see them. It was a case of out of sight - out of mind, until I found this one, today, in the stream that feeds our pond.

These crayfish are a non-native species and their release into the wild in Britain is a disaster for our native wildlife. They are voracious predators which have almost wiped out our native crayfish. They eat fish, plants and invertebrates and cause erosion problems along riverbanks.

This one was about 6 inches (15 cms) long.

I am not really sure what we should do about them. Should I start trapping them?

Crickets and Dragonflies

2009-09-05T22:08:00.013+01:00

This Speckled Bush Cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima) was on the window today.

Not much else around except a couple of dragonflies - probably Southern Hawkers (Aeshna cyanea).

I find dragonflies almost impossible to photograph because they never seem to land. Southern Hawkers are fairly distinctive with their bright blue/green colouring.

Determined Badgers

2009-09-04T20:43:00.005+01:00

I went back to have another look at the wasp nest mentioned last week. The badgers have been at it again and the hole is now much bigger.

I suspect the wasps have been fighting back but the nest is now much more exposed.

Because badgers have such thick fur they have a lot of protection against wasps stings. I would guess only their noses are susceptible. It will be interesting to see who wins this battle.

Raided Wasp Nest

2009-08-31T21:38:00.001+01:00

There is not much happening in the garden at the moment and not really any colour. We cannot plant any of the usual pretty flowers in an English Country Garden because most things we plant are eaten by the deer. Although there is a riot of colour in the spring, by late summer very little is flowering and the garden is mostly shades of green.

If anyone has any suggestions about late-flowering plants that are not eaten by deer, I would be very interested to hear about them.

I had a walk around the garden today and there are still plenty of butterflies - mostly whites and speckled woods. However, the most interesting find today was the wasp nest which I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. When I first found it, it was a small hole about 3 cms diameter. This weekend I found that it has been raided. Quite a big hole has been dug in an effort to reach the nest, but I don't think the marauder was successful because of the tree roots in the way. If you click on this image to enlarge it you will see that there are still plenty of wasps making their way in and out.

I would guess that the culprit is a badger. I believe that badgers eat wasp larvae and sometimes wasps, too. This wasp nest is right next to the badger latrine, which was probably not a very sensible place to build the nest!

Sparrowhawk with a Sore Head

2009-08-24T20:11:00.005+01:00

I was sitting in my office today when there was an enormous bang on the window. I rushed outside to find this Sparrowhawk stunned on the patio. I really didn't think it would survive. I don't know how it did not break its neck. But, luckily, after a few minutes it managed to get up and fly away.

This is probably a juvenile and possibly a female.

What a magnificent creature! However, the reason it was here was to catch one of the small birds which feed on my bird feeders. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing that one of the little birds survived today at the expense of the Sparrowhawk.

Enormous Moth

2009-08-23T20:29:00.004+01:00

This evening we saw a huge moth on the window. It is probably the biggest moth that I have ever seen in the UK with a wingspan of almost 3 inches (>7cms).

It was a Poplar Hawk-moth. It is easily identified because its hind-wings are held forward of the forewings, which can be seen in this photo. Also just visible is the red patch on its hindwing, which is usually hidden.

Another New Wildflower

2009-08-22T21:26:00.003+01:00

Another first from the garden today - a cyclamen which goes by the rather unflattering name of sowbread (from the time that they used to feed the corms to pigs).

This pretty little flower was growing alone on top of a long straight stem. The leaves apparently appear after the flower.

Nighttime Visitor

2009-08-21T22:31:00.002+01:00

We don't often see toads here, probably because they are noctural. I am sure that there are plenty of them around. I found this one tonight on the driveway, quite a long way from the pond. I hope it can find it's way back.

Just a Big Kid

2009-08-20T17:39:00.007+01:00

Since one of the roe deer died in the garden a couple of weeks ago, the others seem to have been visiting less frequently, or perhaps only at night. Maybe they sense danger here?

However, the fallen apples are proving too much of a temptation and mother and kid were back again today. I have only just found out that a young roe deer is called a "kid". I thought they were fawns.

The kid is big now - almost as big as its mother. But, it's spots are still showing faintly. This kid is about 3 months old now. It was born in May.

Cutting the Hay

2009-08-19T10:22:00.000+01:00

This week the farmer next door has been working very hard to cut the hay in the field in front of our house before the promised rain. This means rich picking for the birds!

The buzzards and red kites have been swooping down behind the tractor for an easy meal. There have also been dozens (possibly hundreds?) of swallows circling around and skimming low over the field in search of the insects who have lost their home.

It is great to watch. However, I am not good at photographing birds in flight. This photo of a red kite is the best I could manage.

German Wasp Nest

2009-08-16T21:01:00.006+01:00

I found a nest of German Wasps (vespula germanica) in a hole in the ground under one of the trees in the garden.

They are very busy, in and out all day. German Wasps are very similar to Common Wasps, but they can be identified by a triangle of three small black spots on their face - if you can get close enough to see them! Common Wasps have a black anchor shape on their face.

I also found this very pretty little feather. It is tiny - only about 2 inches (5 cms) long. It comes from a Jay and is responsible for that blue flash that is usually all you see when a Jay flies by!

More New Moths

2009-08-15T20:34:00.007+01:00

More new moths this week. Fairly common ones, but I have either not noticed them before or have not been able to identify them - straw dot moth, sallow kitten moth and brimstone moth. The moth to the left is the Sallow Kitten which is often found near goat willow trees.

I mentioned previously that this is a good year for butterflies, but the same seems to be true for moths.

I also managed a rather nice photo of a black arches moth.

Autumn arriving already?

2009-08-09T18:46:00.005+01:00

There are already signs that autumn is approaching - so early in the first week of August. The leaves are starting to change colour on some of the trees, especially cherry and chestnut.

The blackberries are ripening and the apple trees are heavy with fruit.

However, the butterflies are still very active. Lots of whites and common blues around today.

Chicken of the Woods

2009-08-07T21:43:00.009+01:00

I found another fungus new to the garden today - Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) or sometimes called Sulphur Polypore. It is edible and apparently has the texture of chicken - hence the name. Not something I would like to try.

Lots of other fungi around - today I found 3 types of bolete, Brown Birch Bolete - Leccinum scabrum, and two others which I am not sure about.

I should also stress that it is not advisable to eat any fungus unless it has been identified as edible by an expert.

This week has also been a good week for birds. It was very quiet at the feeders for the last couple of months. They all seemed to be very busy nesting. However, all the little ones have returned and been hyperactive all week.

There have also been two juvenile green woodpeckers picking ants out of the lawn, three Jays which is unusual because they are usually fairly solitary. They have been very active in the apples trees and on the lawn. The grey wagtail that usually lives by the pond also made an appearance outside the house.

His Lucky Day?

2009-08-06T20:27:00.004+01:00

He thinks it may be his lucky day?

Roe Deer Mating Season

2009-08-05T18:02:00.000+01:00

It's that time of year again - the roe deer buck has turned up and is staying very close to the doe. It is quite amusing to watch. He stays about 20-30 metres away from her. If she sits down, so does he.

Hopefully there will be some new little ones next May.

Peacocks on Buddleia

2009-08-02T20:26:00.003+01:00

Busy day for peacock butterflies. They could not resist the buddleia flowers.

Lucky Escape!

2009-08-01T21:46:00.000+01:00

A stock dove came down our chimney today. Luckily the fireguard kept it in the fireplace so we were easily able to catch it and take it outside. We released it and it seemed unhurt.

Horrible day today considering it is supposed to be the middle of summer. Rain on and off all day and not much chance of photographs.

Sad Update :(

2009-07-29T22:39:00.000+01:00

I mentioned in my post last weekend that I thought there may be something wrong with the roe deer that did not run away. Sadly, I found it dead in the garden this evening. Twice this week I found it sitting or lying in the garden and managed to get quite close to it before it noticed me. I thought this was most unusual.

I am now wondering what happened. I hope it was not poisoned.

Very sad.

After the Rain

2009-07-27T22:19:00.000+01:00

The weather has been awful for the last couple of weeks - heavy showers and very blustery. However, the rain has greened up the lawn which had become very brown after a particularly dry May and June. The rain has also brought out the fungi which is popping up all over the place. There are a couple of rings of Fairy Ring Champignons (Marasmius Oreades), Yellow Stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus), lots of boletes (not sure which), Common Earthballs (Scleroderma citrinum), Collared Earthstars (Geastrum triplex), 3 different kinds of Russula (purple, red and yellow) and various other LBJs which I won't even try to identify.

In between the showers the butterflies come out in their hundreds - lots of whites, peacocks, painted ladies, fritillaries, brimstone, meadow brown, commas, gatekeepers, speckled wood...

The Jays have also made an appearance. Normally very shy, we usually see them at this time of year collecting acorns.

Deer Surprise!

2009-07-25T22:28:00.000+01:00

I had a nice surprise today. I was out in the garden photographing butterflies and I looked over the fence into the field next door. There, sat very quietly, was a roe deer who looked at me with interest but did not run away.They are normally very nervous creatures so it was lovely to get so close without scaring it. I rushed indoors to get my other camera and she was still there when I got back.

She sat quietly while I took some photos, but the problem was the long grass in which she was hiding. I am wondering why she did not run away? Maybe she was a youngster or perhaps she had a problem of some kind. She was not one of the regular roe deer that frequent the garden. I am getting the recognise them now!

Hundreds of Butterflies

2009-07-12T12:48:00.000+01:00

After the rain yesterday, the butterflies have emerged to make the most of the sunshine. There are hundreds of them - gatekeepers, ringlets, green-veined whites, commas and small heaths (I think). Today is fairly windy so they are keeping to the sheltered spots, where I also spotted a banded demoiselle and a large red damselfly.

This photo shows a male (one black spot) and female (two black spots) green-veined white.

Mother and Junior

2009-07-10T04:36:00.000+01:00

Although I have seen them several times, the roe deer and her fawn have been avoiding the camera. However, the windfall apples have started to fall from the tree and they are proving to be too much temptation. Still not a very good shot, but they are easily spooked.

Junior still has his/her spots.

Trouble with Magpies

2009-07-09T02:50:00.001+01:00

A family of magpies (at least 5 of them) are causing real trouble at the bird feeder. They have taken to hanging on the feeder and are particularly partial to fat balls. They are not a bird that I like and they are chasing all the little birds away. I will stop putting out fat balls for a while to see if they will go and feed somewhere else.

Great year for butterflies

2009-07-05T21:37:00.000+01:00

What a great year this has been for butterflies. Today was warm and sunny and the bramble bushes along the garden fence were alive with butterflies - dozens of them, mostly Gatekeepers (sometimes called Hedge Brown) and Ringlets.

This is the first time I have seen Ringlets in the garden, but I find them very difficult to identify without getting a photo. That is difficult in itself because they don't keep still for long.

Two new moths this week

2009-07-05T02:00:00.000+01:00

This week I have found 2 very pretty moths that I have not seen before, both emeralds.

They are attracted to the windows when the light is on and the curtains open. The Light Emerald has a very distinctive shape and colour and has a tiny red dot on the tip of each wing.

The Large Emerald was very bright green. I believe that the colour fades very quickly so I was lucky see to both of them while they were so colourful.

The Grasshopper Season

2009-06-28T21:53:00.006+01:00

Every year around this time for a period of about 2 weeks, we seem to have a plague of grasshoppers. They hop into the house both upstairs and downstairs and when we pick them up and put them outside, they come straight back in again. They don't cause a problem, but I would love to know what attracts them inside.

I am not sure which kind of grasshopper this is - a Meadow Grasshopper, perhaps?

Wild Onion

2009-06-28T01:22:00.000+01:00

Each year this plant grows in the same spot. But, each year, it gets cut down before flowering, so I have not been able to identify it until now.

It is Wild Onion - allium vineale, sometimes called Crow Garlic.

The stems are about 80cm high and they are hollow with a distinct onion smell when broken.

Slender St John's Wort

2009-06-25T20:32:00.000+01:00

Another new wild flower that I have not found in the garden before today, Slender St John's Wort - Hypericum pulchrum.

It was the reddish stems that helped to identify it. And, looking closely, there are black dots along the edges of the petals.

Finally a Fawn Photo

2009-06-22T20:07:00.000+01:00

I have not been able to take a decent photo of the new fawn, but luckily I captured him/her on my stealthcam, taken at 5.00am today. Mum is looking on.

He/she still has her spots so is probably less than 8 weeks old.

Roe deer among the buttercups

2009-06-07T00:45:00.000+01:00

Each year the field in front of our house is allowed to grow without grazing. There is always a wonderful display of buttercups. Roe deer love it. Each year I try to capture a photo of roe deer among the buttercups. This is this years effort.

After years of trying to take photos through the window, I have realised that I really need to get outside. Of course, there is not much time before they see me and run off. This is one of my better efforts.

Damselflies by the Pond

2009-05-30T20:23:00.004+01:00

Lots of damselflies around the pond today enjoying the sunshine - large red and blue-tailed.

Roe Deer fawn

2009-05-24T19:56:00.000+01:00

Every year during the Spring Bank Holiday here in the UK, we usually catch sight, for the first time, of the roe deer fawns born this year. This weekend was no exception.

No opportunity for a photo, but mother and child were in the field at the front of our house. The youngster was only just visible in the long grass. I will post a photo as soon as I can get one. Watch this space!

Glorious skies

2009-05-21T03:57:00.000+01:00

The weather has been beautiful this week and the bright blue sky and wispy clouds have been crying out for a photograph. Perfect English weather!

Muntjac Fawn

2009-05-13T03:30:00.000+01:00

Great excitement in the garden today. Our neighbour told us that there was a baby muntjac hiding under a bush in the garden. Mum had left it there while she went foraging.

It was very well-behaved and did not stray while she was away. She had left it there each day and came back each evening.

We were careful not to get to close and disturb it, but managed to get some photos. What a beautiful creature.

Visit from a Hornet

2009-05-10T20:10:00.003+01:00

We had a visit from a hornet today. Until about five years ago, I had never seen a hornet and I have lived in this area for more than 20 years. However, in the last few years they have become very common. When I first saw one, I was shocked about how big it is.

They also get a very bad press. They are not as aggressive as some may think. Yes, they will sting if provoked and the sting is apparently a nasty one. However, they do not usually sting without reason.

Even more Bluebells!

2009-04-29T00:46:00.000+01:00

It must now be fairly obvious that I love bluebells.
Glorious!

Over the Rainbow

2009-04-27T21:36:00.001+01:00

Beautiful rainbow this evening and the trees looked as if in 3D bathed in the late evening light.

More Bluebells

2009-04-26T07:42:00.000+01:00

They just keep getting better and better!

Bluebells in full swing

2009-04-20T01:36:00.001+01:00

What a wonderful show of bluebells. They will be reaching their peak in a couple of weeks.

The Terrible Twins?

2009-04-18T18:37:00.000+01:00

Sitting at my computer this morning, two heads suddenly appeared at the window!

I slid down below the desk whilst trying to find my camera. I managed a few shots before they disappeared.

These roe deer are in the process of shedding their winter coats. Their fur seems very patchy with the ginger summer coat just showing through.

I have a feeling that these are the twins that were born last year. It is unusual to see a male and female together at this time of year.

The Morel Season

2009-04-14T07:49:00.000+01:00

Early in April each year a patch of Morels spring up in the garden. Sadly, these are not the sort-after delicacies which mushroom hunters prize. Those in our garden are the Semifree morel - Morchella semilibra, which I believe can cause stomach upsets if eaten.

They can be identified by the lower part of the cap being free from the stem.

The animals enjoy eating them, however, and they quickly are nibbled away. There must have been a couple of dozen of them this year.