New Species - White-lipped Snail

Finding three snails in an overturned wheelbarrow I checked their 'lip' colour and one of them is definitely a White-lipped Snail (Capaea hortensis). That makes three Snail species recorded here so far - I had already recorded the Brown-lipped Snail and the Garden Snail. No doubt there will be plenty more species to find.

Major new species - Common Lizard

No photo but I'm delighted to see a Common Lizard for the first time here. I have wondered why I have never come across the UK's most common reptile in 13 years here despite seeing Grass Snakes, Slow Worms and almost certainly an Adder. I went back with my camera to where it was last spotted but to no avail.

Parasol

A rather nice example of a young Parasol (Macroplepiota procera) on the compost heap. The Macrolepiota species can be difficult and Kibby raises the issues of species' complexes in the genus. This example didn't display the usual snake skin like markings on the stipe but I am happy it is M. procera.

Bad year for Butterflies (so far)

The number of species and the numbers of individuals are down this year, the poor summer so far hasn't helped at all. As of the last few sunny days there have been Meadow Browns around but the main miss so far are Marbled Whites. I haven't seen a single individual yet. As of today it's raining again so I'm just hoping the next hot spell yields some of those gorgeous Marbled Whites. Only eight species recorded so far in 2024. By this date in 2023 I had recorded exactly double that number. In case it helps magic them up I attach a photo of a Marbled White.

Treble Bambi

Now it looks like a cohort of does with three young fawns have moved in - I am being careful not to frighten them as the youngsters may not be very good at jumping fences in a hurry. I am not a fan of deer nibbling the hedges or fruit trees but the youngsters are quite sweet.

Bambi at The Beeches

Whilst the sheer number of deer here can be an issue for the maedows (which in part look more like pasture in places due to grazing by rabbits and deer) they can also be an appealing sight. Coming across a fawn hidden away or peeking out is one example and here's the latest fawn seen on site. It became slightly separated from mum and tried to get into the field she was in but failed. However a few minutes later she came looking for it and a quick suckle later all was well with the world.