Garden and Halloween

Just back from a few days in Herefordshire with my son and I'll do a few posts next week when I've sorted out the photos!  

Above a photo of the acer in the garden looking beautiful in the sunlight.

Grey Squirrrel in the garden.

I've never let D and E go trick and treating as to be honest I don't agree with it as I don't think its fair on the elderly especially those that live alone but we've always had fun celebrating at home.

The Halloween buffet with a few home made treats and D bought a bag of M and S Halloween goodies online. The plates and serviettes were left over from last year (bought from Morrisons I think)

Above photos taken by D with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera. Rest of photos below taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.

Chocolate Spider's Web cupcakes. I showed D how to make the cobweb decoration or feathering and he did well :)

Much as I like the idea of making things if I am honest I am not very creative so to make it easier to make an autumn wreath I sent off for a kit from Hobbycraft.  We were quite pleased with the results - D helped with the glueing as he is more patient than me!!

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

 

Garden Biodiversity - 365 Challenge - Part 4

Just a little update on how I'm getting on with my attempt to see 365 species that have arrived in or colonised the garden naturally during 2014.


Birds

I haven't added any new bird species to the list since Swift in May but we often get surprise visitors around this time of year as passing migrants stop off so there is still chance to add a few more birds to the list - hopefully!!


Mammals

Finally, a bat sighting a

Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus)


I did spot a mouse running across the garage floor a few evenings ago but it moved liked greased lightning so I have no idea whether it was a House Mouse or Wood Mouse. We have set up one of those humane live traps but so far haven't caught anything. From past experience :( its Wood Mice that are naive enough to visit the trap whereas House Mice don't but I suspect B will be clearing out the garage one weekend very soon so I may yet get an id.


Plants

Lots of species flowering in the wildflower meadow and in pots but I am being very honest and not counting these so the only species added are:

Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris) - in the front garden so I have counted this one as its well away from areas we have planted in the back garden

Lesser Hawkbit (Leontodun taraxacoides)

Broad-leaved Willow-herb (Epilobium montanum)


Bryophytes and Fungi

Still have quite a few species to identify!

Amphibians

None added - wish I could find a toad - I haven't seen one in the garden for years


Flies

Two species of Caddis Fly have been added - Stenophylax permistus and Cyrnus flavidus
These can be hard to id even though I often catch them in the moth trap so am not sure how many more I will be able to get to species level.

Large Rosesaw Fly - (Arge pagana) I may have mentioned this one in the last update? But frantically trying to get the post finished before I have to get the tea on so I haven't time to check!

Turnip Sawfly (Athalia rosae)

Flesh Fly (Sarcophagus carnaria) - a very pretty looking fly but with some rather horrible habits. Unlike most flies they are ovoviviparous depositing hatched or hatching maggots rather than eggs on carrion, dung or open wounds on mammals. At times like this I am very glad we no longer keep pet rabbits with all the worries of Fly-strike every summer.

Sawfly - Macrophya albo annulata

Hoverflies

I am getting really interested in hoverflies - there are so many in the garden (sadly many too small and quick to take photos which means most will probably never be identified). Golden Rod and Cosmos flowers are proving a real magnet to them at the moment. For id I've been using one of the 2 Collin insect guides I have or a free booklet given away with BBC Wildlife Magazine many years ago but I've just treated myself to Britain's Hoverflies : An Introduction to Hoverflies of Britain by Ball and Norris. I just hope it doesn't arrive in the post on a Saturday - some women sneak clothes, shoes handbags etc. into the house with me its books!!

Species added recently include

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)

Dead Head Fly Myathropa florea

Bees

Species Added include:

Cuckoo Bee (Coelyoxis sp) another one I may have mentioned last time?

Field Cuckoo Bee (Bombus campestris)

Honey Bee (Apus melifera)


Other Invertebrates

Common Green Lacewing (Chrysopera carnea)

Common Backswimmer (Notonecta glauca)

Miridae nymph

Its proving difficult, in fact, impossible in some cases to get some insects down to actual species level. So do I count them or not? Well, as this is just a fun challenge I am doing on my own, I have decided that I probably will although I expect purists will frown! If I was taking part in an organised challenge such as Garden Moth Challenge I wouldn't count them though!


Dragon and Damselflies

I'm really disappointed in the lack of Dragon and Damselflies in the garden this year. Blue damsels and hawker dragonflies have bred in the pond in the past but this year I haven't yet seen one damselfly and the few Dragonflies I have spotted have disappeared from the garden by the time I get outside.



Butterflies

Several species were added in July:

Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
Large White (Pieris brassicae)
Comma (Polygonia c-album

Gatekeeper (Celastrina argiolus)

I did see a Skipper species on a lavender plant but by the time I got close enough to try and id it it had flown off never to return :( Just to be perverse I am not counting this! as I really should be able to get butterflies down to species level.


Moths

Not surprisingly, most of the additions to the 365 list have been moths - apologies if you've seen some of these photos before.

Cabbage Moth (Mamestra brassicae)

Clay (Mythimna farrago)

Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Scalloped Oak (Crocalis elinguaria)

Double Square-spot (Xestia triangulum)

Dun-bar (Cosmia trapexima)

Marbled Beauty (Cryphia domestica)

Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella)

Elephant Hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor)

Bird's Wing (Dypterygia scabriuscula)

Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria)

Bird-cherry Ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella)

Sycamore (Acronica aceris)

Rustic (Hoplodrina blanda)

Common Rustic Agg


Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula)

Marbled Minor Agg

Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)

Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella)

Common Footman (Eilema lurideola)

Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)

Scarce Footman (Eilema complana)

Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

Orange Swift (Hepialus sylvina)

Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata)

Flounced Rustic (Luperina testacea)

Straw Underwing (Thalpophila matura)

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthe)

Small Dusty Wave (Idaea seriata)




The total to date now stands at 216 species. To stand any chance of reaching 365 I really do need to put out the moth trap more often. I've only trapped once in August (we've had rain most nights and, although, the 15w actinic runs "cold" and doesn't need a rain guard I do worry about the electrics). In addition, opening a trap with lots of drowned moths in soggy egg-boxes is not pleasant :(

I have got dozens of photos of species still to be identified such as micro moths, worn macros, spiders and flies but that will be a job for the autumn/winter when hopefully there will be more time to work on them.

If I am honest I don't think I will reach 365 but I am having a lot of fun and it's encouraged me to try and id and study a lot of insect groups I am not familiar with such as saw-flies. Its fascinating too to see just how many species use your garden and how they all interact. I have certainly become a lot more observant!

Sorry for lack of italics for the scientific names - I can never get italics, bold or links to work on the very basic blogger I use. One of these days I'll pluck up courage and switch to the newer version which D tells me is brilliant!

Garden Biodiversity - 365 Challenge - Part 1

Last year on Twitter there was a fun garden challenge to try and see 365 species in a year. Unfortunately I didn't find out about it until early summer and decided I didn't want to join in half way through the year but that I'd take part this year. I haven't been able to find much information about it though for 2014 and have only managed to track down two people who are participating (one trying to beat last year's record and one trying to add to last year's total). I decided I'd have a go anyway mainly to encourage myself to take more notice of groups that I currently only try and identify half-heartedly such as hoverflies, flies, beetles, woodlice etc.

I've set myself a few "rules". For example, I will only count species that occur within the actual garden and not count those just flying over or seen over the garden fence in a neighbour's garden! I've also followed in Owen Paterson's footsteps and moved the goalposts a little as I will be counting non-native species such as Grey Squirrel and Harlequin Ladybird.

However, I won't be counting species that we've planted ourselves so all those lovely wildflowers such as Primroses

and species in the wildflower meadow and native trees and shrubs in the mini wood and hedgerows are out of the equation. I will, however, count species such as Bramble and Coral Spot fungus

that have colonised naturally.


I got off to quite a good start in January - without really trying I managed 31 species.



Birds


Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Great Tit (Parus major)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Magpie (Pica pica)

Carrion Crown (Corvus corone)

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Coal Tit (Periparus ater)

Redwing (Turdus iliacus)

Great Spotted
Woodpecker (Dendrocopus major)

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

Long-Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Stock Dove (Columba oenas)

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret)


Mammals

Human (Homo sapiens) A bit cheeky this one but I noticed someone else counted it last year!!! :)

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)


Plants

Bramble (Rubus fruticosa)

Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

Smooth Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)

Flies

Holly Leaf Gall Fly - leafmine (Phytomyza ilicis)

Winter Gnat (Family Trichoceridae)



Beetles

Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)


Moths

Stigmella aurella - leaf mine on bramble

Fungi

Coral Spot Fungus (Nectria cinnabarina)

I suspect only a few species will be added in February and March as there won't be many insects to add. If I'm honest I think I will be very fortunate to reach 365 as last year, despite moth trapping, I only identified 100 moths. I'll need to try harder on the worn noctuids this year and also start identifying micros in earnest. On a good year we get about 30/35 bird species in the garden and about 12/15 butterfly species. Mammals are few and far between - I'll be lucky to reach 5 plus about 3 amphibians. So I am going to have to concentrate a lot more on insects in general. Still it'll be fun and give me the excuse I've been waiting for to buy some more id guides :)

I'll do an update on progress about once a month.

Garden Wildlife, An Interesting Church and Village and Lunch at a Historic Pub Overlooking a Battlefield

We're getting more birds visiting the feeders now its getting colder and the highlight this week has been a small flock of Redwings visiting the garden each day to bathe in the pond and feast on Rowan and Whitebeam berries. We don't usually get visits from this species until the weather is a lot colder or there's snow on the ground. I tried to get a photo without any success - they fly off at the slightest movement in the garden.

I did manage to get a photo of one of the frequent grey squirrel visitors though.

I've put the moth trap out quite a few times over the last few weeks only trapping a couple of Winter Moths (sadly no December Moths to be seen here) but there's a Winter Moth perched on the windows attracted by the light most evenings. Sorry rubbish photo but it is a pretty plain uninspiring moth!

It was my birthday last Sunday and plan A was to visit Upton House and then go for a pub lunch. As usual though we left far later than planned so ended up following Plan B which was a walk round the picturesque village of Tredington followed by the lunch. I drove through Tredington some months back when visiting Shipston-on-Stour with E and the village looked so lovely I was determined to return.

A few of the cottages and houses seen as we walked round the village.

Should I win the lottery in the foreseeable future I will definitely consider buying this cottage for sale as a weekend retreat :)

The River Stour runs through the village and the UK's second largest pike was caught here by a Geoff Crabtree - the pike weighed 451b 7ozs!



The parish church of St Gregory has a 210 foot tower and spire - the highest in Warwickshire. The oldest parts of the Church are Saxon dating back to 961

Valerian in flower by the churchyard

Many of the gravestones were covered in lichens - according to someone I spoke to later in the church there are quite a few rare lichens to be found in the churchyard.

The North door is fourteenth century and has lead bullets lodged in it dating back to the Civil War. A lady I spoke to inside the church told me that parliamentarian troops and horses had spent a night in the church on their way to the battle of Edgehill and the village had been divided over which side it supported with villagers on one side of the river supporting the King and those on the other side supporting parliamentarians.

A fifteenth century brass

Octagonal font - there are old staples on the steps said to guard against witches!

An ancient brass on the floor depicting Alice Barnes wearing a sixteenth century gown with puffed sleeves. She died in 1568 and the brass is a memorial to her and to her husband.

Seventeenth century pulpit installed in the church just before Oliver Cromwell became Protector.

We had lunch at the Castle Inn built on the summit of Edgehill, 700 feet above sea level, overlooking the battlefield of Edgehill where Englishman fought Englishman in the first major battle of the Civil War. There are superb views from the beer garden over several counties. The inn is also known as The Round Tower or Radway Tower and the octagonal tower built in 1742 marks the spot where it is believed King Charles I raised his standard on Sunday, 23rd October, 1642, prior to the battle.

The lunch was delicious with a starter of Brie and Cranberry Parcels

One of the main courses - I couldn't get a photo of the vegetarian option as the family were getting rather embarrassed at this stage with my constant photo taking in a crowded pub

Profiterole Cheesecake to finish the meal :) - I was determined to get a photo of this :)

As we drove through a village on the way home I spotted a "Sun Dog" in the sky. Sorry the photo doesn't really do it justice especially as it was taken from a moving car.

A beautiful sunset from the garden on reaching home