Nicola photographed this rare visitor to the Trap Grounds today. In the UK, numbers of Spotted Flycatchers fell by 85 per cent between 1970 and 2015. So this was an honoured guest. It was Nicola’s lucky day. Besides the Spotted Flycatcher, she got a glimpse of our most elusive resident, the Water Rail. More often […]
Spotted by Alan Allport on 7 September feeding on Rosebay Willowherb. Three inches long! It will pupate in a couple of weeks’ time and overwinter under the ground; but will we see the spectacular pink-winged adult next summer? Not likely, because it is a nocturnal moth.
Autumn approaches, but butterflies are still plentiful on the Trap Grounds. Nicola photographed this Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta (which she describes as “bold and` brassy”) on a Buddleia bush on 1 September. The most important food plant for the larva is Common Nettle – of which there is no shortage on the TG. On the […]
Light work: shaking the seeds from the mown grass and wildflowers in the glades near the back entrance, to allow the seeds to settle, and then raking the cuttings into piles to provide havens for snakes, frogs, toads, etc. Please meet us by the toolshed just before 3 pm, or come and find us later […]
Nicola photographed this Brown Argus feeding on a cornflower on 26 August. The caterpillar of this species has an unusual relationship with ants. As it grows, it produces a secretion that is irresistible to them, and when it turns into a chrysalis they will carry it away and bury it underground. There is no shortage […]
On 16 August Nicola photographed a pair of Stock Doves mating (scroll down to see the evidence), next to the requisitioned owl box from which their chicks were clamouring for food. By yesterday (27 August) those chicks had ventured out of the box and were still calling for food, while their mother disappeared into the […]
Purple flowers are everywhere on the Trap Grounds this month, in the form of thistles, teasels, marjoram, mallow, knapweed, water mint, hemp agrimony, clustered bellflower, buddleia and michaelmas daisies (both of them garden escapes) … and (photographed below) Great Willowherb, Rosebay Willowherb, Purple Loosestrife, and Phragmites australis. Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum — ‘hirsutum’ refers to the softly […]
Here are a few of Nicola Devine’s outstanding photographs taken last month, starting with a Silver-Washed Fritillary observed on 4 July. On the previous day, Nicola photographed a Southern Hawker teneral emerging from its exuvia: and a Six-Spot Burnet Moth emerging from its cocoon, while nearby two of the same species were mating:
Another visit late morning to look for Nicola’s Small Red-eyed Damselflies, again sadly without success. Saw quite a few Blue-tailed Damselflies, lots of red Darters of both species, one Brown Hawker on the Swan Pond and one blue Damselfly (Common or Azure).
I visited this afternoon with my camera to look for Nicola’s Small Red-eyed Damselflies. Sadly there was no sign of them though there were quite a few Blue-tailed Damsels around. There was plenty of other insects to see though, especially in the Meadow area where the Wild Marjoram was buzzing with activity. Butterflies seen included: […]