Honey Bee

I found this apparently drowned insect in a water butt and after pulling it out noticed a very slight twitch of one leg. I left it out to dry and then took it indoors in a box and put some honey under its head. I was amazed to find it fit and healthy the next morning and it was gone about twenty minutes after I put it outside in the sun. I didn't recognize it as a Honey Bee but apparently the long thin cell on the outer edge of the wing is diagnostic. Of course the design of the abdomen is also distinctive but I was fooled by the bright colouration. I had read that honey is the one thing that gets an ailing bee up and flying and it actually works.

Siskins on the feeder

No photo I'm afraid but there were a pair of Siskins on the seed feeder today. I rarely see them on site. Also the Greater Spotted Woodpecker was back after a fairly long absence. The usual crowd of tits was there including the regular Marsh Tits that come every day

Hog release 2019

The first hog release of 2019 took place on 5 days ago. A female hog found on a busy road so she could not be returned. She has been in the rescue sanctuary for a few months. She is still using the hog house despite being free to roam. Evidence from our trail camera shows that she has overnighted in it for most but not all of the nights since release

New Species - Brambling

For the first time I seem to have attracted a group of Chaffinches to the newish bird feeder. Previously when the feeder was at the window we had an occasional Chaffinch but now the seed feeder hangs in a tree we have a regular group of half a dozen Chaffinches who mainly feed on the stuff that fall to the ground. Today they were joined by a single Brambling - the first time I have seen this species here. I managed a fuzzy photo that includes a Goldfinch in flight.

New Species - Scarlet Elfcup

I have seen this before but this is my first record for The Beeches. It is the Scarlet Elfcup (Sarcoscypha austriaca) which occurs on damp and rotting wood. In fact there is apparently a Ruby Elfcup which is rarer and is indistinguishable in the field. I found out from the excellent web site 'First Nature' that looking at the hairs on the outside of the cup at 400x maginification is a way to distinguish between the two species. The Scarlet Elfcup has coiled hairs and the Ruby Elfcup straightish hairs. My specimen has coiled hairs and so is confirmed as Scarlet Elfcup.

First deer of 2019

I haven't seen any deer for a while but a single Fallow Deer turned up the other day walking daintily down the steps in the back garden. I have only ever seen Fallow Deer on site though Muntjac and even the occasional Red Deer have been seen locally.

Hogs #7 and #8

We recently released two more hogs and both seem to be sticking around. Since the release of hog #6 we have been putting the soft release pen in the barn and surprise, surprise, the hogs seem reluctant to move their sleeping quarters from the barn. They have snug houses filled with hay and protection from rain and hard frost so I can understand how they feel. We think hog #6 may also be in the barn as there is a big pile of hay where we think she may be resting up. The photo is hog #8 who broke out of his soft release pen on night one by digging underneath it and then broke back in again to sleep in the hedgehog house in the pen. We have named him 'Steve McQueen'.