Final? Orchid Count

I had an 11% increase when I counted up the orchids as of the end of May. However the final tally has exceeded my expectations with 216 orchids - an increase of 57% on last year. As before the vast majority are Common Spotted Orchids but there has also been a stand out increase in Broad-leaved Helleborines. There was a total of 5 last year and there are now 11 with 5 in one group and the rest spread around the field edges. The photo is of one of these gorgeous orchids in the act of unfurling itself as they do. Of course should the Bee Orchid reappear the total will rise to 217 but no sign of it at the moment.

Butterfly update

It was looking like a very poor year for butterflies until the last week or so. Still not as wide a variety of species as previous years but at last the sunny weather has brought out the numbers and also many of the species. Recorded recently have been the Marbled White which is flying in good numbers, loads of Meadow Browns and Ringlets and some sightings of the Large Skipper and also one Comma today. The photo is a Marbled White resting.

New Species - Western Bee-Fly

I managed to get a photograph of a Bee-Fly and it seems clear that it is a Western Bee-Fly (Bombylius canescens) as it lacks the wing shading or spots of other similar species such as the Dark-edged or the Dotted Bee-Fly.

New Hoverfly species - Eristalis nemorum

Again due to the excellent 'Britain's Hoverflies' book I am able to ID a hoverfly I snapped. The strong loop in the wing vein narrows the ID down to a few species which helps. It is Eristalis nemorum which is described as a bee mimic. Could do better in that respect.......

First Waxcap of the year

In both the East and West fields I found fruiting Fibrous Waxcaps (Hygrocybe intermedia). Surprisingly early even for this fungus that is usually one of the earliest waxcaps.

Our Crows Nesting?

Possibly my favourite birds here are the resident pair of Crows whcih until the last week or so were always foraging for food together, waddling through the long grass looking for stuff. For the last few days it has been a single Crow so I am assuming that the partner is sitting on a nest somewhere. Also on the Corvid front I am seeing Magpies regularly for the first time. There could well be Corvid trouble ahead....

Green Dock Beetle Larvae

There's definitely a whole lot of Dock Beetles around. This could just be a reflection of my poor Dock removal progress but it does leave a dilemma about whether to remove Docks which are 'infested'. I've taken to removing the flowering tops if I see signs of the eggs or larvae rather than the whole plant. Here's a photo of some larvae doing their good work.

Stock Dove

Almost all of the pigeony birds we get here are Wood Pigeons but I get infrequent sightings of Stock Doves which look pretty similar to Feral Pigeons as seen in Trafalgar Square. The differences are in both colour and markings and the Stock Dove is altogether a more elegant and beautiful bird.

New species - Nemophora degeerella

N. degeerella is a day flying micro moth that is 'common in England and Wales' according to the Field Guide to the Micro Moths of GB and Ireland. It is similar to the much less common Adela croesella but there was a very helpful explanation of the differences that allowed me to confirm the ID. The thing that amazed me was the length of its antennae which stretch out beyond the frame of the photo.

Fox cubs

Inevitably soon after I remarked that there were no foxes around two cubs turned up and played in the garden and on the patio. One chased a rabbit but didn't even get close, but generally they just looked around explored and had some playful scuffles.

Large Yellow Underwing

I found this caterpillar on one of the larger Common Spotted Orchids having just stripped the plant of its flowers and started on the leaves. I resisted the urge to punish it and took a photo for identification purposes. It looks like it is the larva of the Large Yellow Underwing moth - one of our commonest large moths.

Orchid first

I always have a an orchid surprise each year. Last year it was the appearance of a Bee orchid. This year it is the first Common Spotted Orchid to appear outside the four fields. I found one flowering just near the barn in an area which I have started managing by letting it grow then cutting for hay but without the aftermath grazing that the fields get. As usual I wonder how the seed got there - has it been lying dormant or has it arrived from seed generated by the increase in Orchid population in the last six years? Anyway it has a cage around it to stop the large rabbit population eating it.