The Churchyard of St John the Baptist, Lea Marston

One afternoon last week I visited the churchyard of St John the Baptist, Lea Marston, to do a Big Butterfly Count. In the past when I have visited there has been a large wild flower area at the rear of the churchyard full of Betony.

The restored nave of the church dates to ~1300 and the porch is 15th century. The chancel and tower date to the 1870's. I've never actually been inside the church as it is always locked with lots of posters warning thieves to stay away - a sad indictment of our times. On one visit there were a few ladies cleaning the church and arranging flowers for a wedding the next day - I regret at times not being pushy and asking if I could have a quick look round.

Sadly the wild flower area seems to have shrunk somewhat in size although there are still areas of grass left uncut and some flowers.

A cranesbill geranium?

Knapweed

Mallow

And even a few harebells.

There are still a few patches of Betony.

As with previous summer visits Ragwort was covered in Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars

Gatekeeper on Ragwort

During the 15 minute count I saw

Gatekeeper x 6
Meadow Brown x 2
Ringlet x 1
Large White x 1
Speckled Wood x 1

I spotted a few Mint Moths and a dragon and damselfly were whizzing around but far too fast for me to identify.

On my last summer visit there I saw many Skippers but couldn't find one this time.



There are lot of old tombstones in the churchyard

This gravestone was particularly poignant as it is for Sarah Caroline, daughter of John Hewens and Susan Middleton who died in January 1872 aged just four months.

I have been going through some Parish Registers for Broseley online recently (all free and posted by the Broseley History Society) looking for family records and it is so sad to see records of children baptised and then buried a few days, months or years after. Occasionally too a mother is buried around the time her child was baptised which seems possibly to mean a death from childbirth - all so sad.

#30DaysWild (and latest Reading)

Just a short post on the final 2 weeks of 30 Days Wild. Activities while we were in Devon included watching bees and insects on flowers, looking for plants in walls, watching birds along the River Sid next to the cottage, trying to identify all the wildflowers seen in those beautiful high Devon hedgerows, observing bats hawking round the cottage at dusk, watching spiders spin webs around the cottage, a cruise along the Exe estuary looking for bids and admiring cloud formations in the evening.

To be honest I struggled to find time last week as, for various reasons, life was hectic. But I did try and find a few minutes to do a 30 Days Wild Activity each day.

Ragged Robin (grown from seed by B) is finally in flower in the newly planted bog garden. I really must go back to attempting water colour painting again soon although I suspect it is more of a winter activity initially when more time is available. If I can learn the basics I might be able to have another go at painting wild flowers next Spring and Summer.

I've been checking on the Orange Tip caterpillars on garden Honesty each day (highest count was ten). I still haven't found any pupae but will keep looking. Does anyone know if they pupate on the plant they have fed on or elsewhere?

I've been reading up on some of the stunning geology along the Jurassic coast and one night last week I put out the moth trap. To be honest I am finding it hard for some reason this year to get motivated with putting the trap out. Perhaps it is because we have had so much rain, or low catches or B moaning about finding moths in the fridge! Probably a combination of all three! Anyway, the trap contained my first Riband Wave of the year, dozens of Heart and Dart and Uncertain - believe it or not there is a moth of this name!! Plus a Figure of Eighty which I rarely trap here so I was quite chuffed.

Figure of Eighty

The garden feeders are attracting plenty of young birds - mostly Blue and Great Tits, Goldfinches and House Sparrows.

I've also been watching ants in the garden "milking" aphids. This is known as a mutualistic relationship as the ants protect the aphids from predators and the ants will stroke the aphids with their antennae to encourage them to release honeydew which is high in sugar.

I had plenty of ideas for activities but sadly time was lacking - well, there is always the rest of the Summer :) #StayWild




Books Read Recently

I've just finished reading "Absolute Truths" by Susan Howatch - the final book in the Starbridge series. I've really enjoyed re-reading the books again.



I've almost finished this book by Richard Fortey. I always love reading his books and this one is no exception.

If you are interested in Earth Science/Geology and/or The History of Life I would really recommend his books. The best ones to start with are probably

The Hidden Landscape - a Journey into the Geological Past

Life: An Unauthorised Biography

Fossils: The Key to the Past


He has also written a very good book on the years he spent working in the Natural History Museum, London called "Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum". In fact, any of his books are worth looking out for.




Tomorrow, back to the holiday posts - only 2 more days left to catch up on now!! :)

Temple Balsall and Marsh Lane NR's and a Resilient Butterfly

Last Sunday after leaving Baddesley Clinton we stopped off at Temple Balsall NR on the way home. Temple Balsall is a small Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Reserve covering 2.7 ha (6.6 acres). It was formerly an exotic water garden of the Springfield Estate. An artificial lake was destroyed in the 1940's and today this area forms a marshy swamp. The reserve is mainly wet woodland and is bisected by Cuttle Brook.

As we entered the reserve we spotted this caterpillar on a sign - a bit of research suggests its probably a Buff Tip moth caterpillar.

Butterbur leaves are now huge in a marshy area.

I didn't take too many photos as it was pretty dark and gloomy within the wood itself - some of the photos were taken with flash.

Eventually the path we had followed through the woodland was blocked by a fallen tree so rather than doing a circular route as planned we retraced our steps.

Ivy is now starting to flower - a great source of nectar for insects on the wing in autumn and

conkers will soon be bursting from the spiky fruits of Horse Chestnut.

Yesterday I went along to Marsh Lane NR for an hour or so. Its still very quiet there birdwise - highlights were a Green Woodpecker and my first Hobby sighting this year.

Gorse bushes along the causeway were covered in webs - I had a really good look but couldn't see what had been making them. Does anyone have any idea?

I spotted this small metallic bug and, although I haven't had time to put a photo on i-spot for verification, I think its a Blue Shieldbug (Zicrona caerula) which has a deep blue/green metallic sheen. They are predatory feeding particularly on leaf beetles in the genus Altica.

There were several Hawker dragonflies patrolling the pathways but I couldn't get decent views to attempt identification but I know Emperor and Southern Hawkers occur on the reserve. I managed just one dragonfly photo of this Common or Ruddy Darter.

Rosebay Willowherb going to seed along the path.

Here at home I have put the moth trap out two or three nights a week. I am trapping large quantities of moths but diversity is down and I am just getting mainly Large and Lesser Yellow Underwing, Flounced Rustic and Square-spot Rustic with the occasional Copper Underwing and Light Brown Apple moth. Its going to be hot and humid the next couple of nights so I am really hoping to trap something a little different.



Hoverfly on Gaillardia - Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax) hopefully!

Cosmos are flowering profusely at the moment.

Common Carder Bee on Cosmos

Late on Sunday evening we discovered a Peacock butterfly fluttering around in a lampshade on the landing and far too close to the light bulb. I am not sure whether it had come into the house accidentally or whether it was looking for somewhere to hibernate. We managed to trap it in a small box and left in the garage overnight with the lid open. I hoped it would either find a cranny in the garage if it did want to hibernate or else it would be flying around and could be released into the garden. Unfortunately, on Monday morning I found it lying on the garage floor on its side with its wings closed. When I picked it up it was obviously not dead although not exactly lively. I tried to get it to take some sugar water but it wasn't interested so I left it outside on a piece of card with a few flowers nearby so it had a source of nectar in the hope it would recover.

Ten minutes later and it had flopped over onto its side again so I brought it back into the garage as I didn't want any birds to spot it. For a few hours its wings continued to quiver and then it became totally motionless. To be honest we thought it had probably died. I know butterflies need a temperature of at least 60 degrees to fly but it was a lot warmer than this. Anyway I left it where it was on the off chance it was too cold for it to fly. The next day was very sunny and rays were coming through the window onto the butterfly box and when I went into the garage I had a lovely surprise as the sun had finally warmed up the butterfly to the extent that it had flown onto the garage door. Sorry about the rubbishy photo but when I approached it it closed its wings and my main priority was to release it into the garden.

A few seconds later it was flying into the garden, pausing briefly on a buddleia flower and then it was on its way. I hope it finds somewhere safe to hibernate and it just goes to show that you should never give up on a butterfly :)