All posts by Chris Gibson

Late summer in Cambridge Botanic Garden

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Rail

A summertime trip to Cambridge Botanic Garden is always in order: there are the flowers of course, but also insects using the garden’s resources. Well, at least in most years: the poor insect showing of 2024 has been mentioned time again in these blogs, and sadly the story was the same here last week.

Of course there were insects, but fewer in number and range than we hoped for, although bumblebees at least seemed to be thriving, albeit almost all of just one species (Buff-tailed), around the flowers of Eryngium, Scabiosa, Echinops and Lavandula in particular.

Otherwise the following selection shows quite a good range of insects, although remember that all too many of these were just single individuals.

Several things though we did find noteworthy, from the remarkable camouflage of multi-instar aggregations of Dock Bugs on the seeds of Great Water Dock to foraging Bee-wolves, not particularly special nowadays but always a thrill for those of us with memories back to the 20th century, when they were restricted to far southern heathlands…

… and a new carrion beetle to us, Silpha laevigata, a specialist of the Chilterns and North Downs chalk on account of it favoured prey, snails.

Another, perhaps less unexpected, surprise was on the leaves of one of the Mediterranean evergreen oaks, Quercus trojana, which bore leaf-mines identical to those of the micromoth Phyllonorycter messaniella. This is familiar to us now as a miner of Holm Oak, but not according to our researches this new host species. Then again, who is looking?

Apart from that it was left to the plants to entertain, including species (sometimes rather rare) native to our shores …

… to those that have established themselves in the wild from cultivation in the past few centuries …

… and those that, at least for now, are garden novelties only.

 

Otherwise it was up to certain species, here Cornelian-cherry and Deadly Nightshade, to give us a hint of the impending season.

All that is left to say is a twinge of disappointment that the eco-optimism we felt on previous visits may have been misplaced. Where was the long grass? Maybe (being generous) it had already been harvested as hay, but especially after such a slow start to the summer, an August cut would have decimated insect populations. And on that topic, why celebrate the flowering of Thalia dealbata as a point of garden interest, given its now well documented antisocial behaviour, killing pollinators slowly.

Having said that, it was always a pleasure to be there, and so convenient for our preferred travel by rail!

The Wild Side of Essex: late summer by the Colne Estuary

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

As the full group assembled at Wivenhoe Station, things started too look up. The last vestiges of overnight cloud and rain were clearing away eastwards, although the wind was pretty rough, as indeed it remained all day. As the sun evaporated the moisture, humidity increased, and it turned into a very pleasant, hot day indeed.

Our varied day began well with a couple of ‘hot off the presses’ sightings. In the station community garden, Firebugs were eating the Hollyhock seeds. Until about five years ago only fleetingly resident in the UK, despite their abundance on the continent, they colonized the Harwich area (presumably via the port), and since then have consolidated and spread. They reached (or at least were found in) Wivenhoe only a week ago.

Then in the railway underpass, we found European Cave Spiders. So far as is known, this is the only site in north Essex for the species, and it has been known here for only about three months.

Our morning walk took in all three sections of the Colne Local Nature Reserve. Apart from wandering bands of Blue, Great and Coal Tits, an occasional Great Spotted Woodpecker ‘chicking’ and a young Sparrowhawk mewling, the strong wind kept things rather quiet.

But in more sheltered rides and clearings, Speckled Woods were taking advantage of the sun and Ivy, the plant that prepares our wildlife for winter as pretty much the last nectar and pollen source of the year, was just bursting out.

Leaf miners are always there to find, whatever the weather, and we looked at both Holm Oak (a moth) and Holly (a fly)…

… while galls provided hours of fun, searching the leaves for spangles, smooth spangles, silk buttons and cherries, with knoppers on the acorns.

Out into Lower Lodge, the meadows looking a bit forlorn after the past six weeks of near-total drought and searing temeperatures, the main pollen and nectar sources were Wild Carrot and Common Ragwort along with the last few Field Scabious, although the wind largely kept the insects down …

… except in the scrub-sheltered areas where there was plenty of dragonfly activity, with Common Darters flycatching, Migrant and Southern Hawkers hawking and a female Southern Migrant Hawker (another relatively new arrival in these parts some three years ago) perching.

The third section of the Local Nature Reserve was Ferry Marsh, skirted by the elevated pathway on the seawall. But again, little in the way of bird activity given the wind which rather than creating a gentle psithurism  was more like the roar of the wild as it swept through the stands of Common Reed.

But turning seaward, there were birds: Black-headed Gulls, a few Redshanks and Black-tailed Godwits and single Cormorant and Curlew on the half-exposed mudbanks.

Then it was along the Wivenhoe waterfront, with a sheltered and shady spot for lunch, and chance to see the two botanical specialities of the block-paving, Jersey Cudweed along West Quay and Four-leaved Allseed around the Shipyard.

Our afternoon walk was much more exposed, heading downstream into the open estuary; the full afternoon sun and a reducing wind made for a rather hot time. There were very few waterbirds to be seen, due to a combination of the time of year, a very high spring tide and some noisy aerial activity from the Clacton Airshow. And especially the sometimes illegal and always antisocial presence of the ‘Romford Navy’ playing on their jet-skis…

But when it was quiet it was truly sublime, the gently lapping wavelets and squawking gulls complementing the silence perfectly. Time to take enjoy the saltmarsh in flower, with both Sea Aster and Golden Samphire looking especially good.

The seawall itself had fruiting Strawberry Clover and more ragwort, but this time mostly the lemon-yellow, greyish narrow-leaved grazing marsh specialist Hoary Ragwort.

And lingering in the welcome shade of  Grange Wood, there was plenty of time to examine the Small-leaved Elms, both living suckers and dead trees. King Alfred’s Cakes on the latter were rather unexpected as this fungus normally grows on Ash, while Silver Birches had the much more expected Birch Brackets.

All that was left was to wander back through Wivenhoe, some buzzing Ivy bushes and splendid pargeting on the Garrison House rounding off a full, fun and diverse day.

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: Summer peaks, Autumn approaches…

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

My two August Wandering Naturalist events around the Beth Chatto Gardens were at the start and in the middle of the month, and on both we we were blessed with hot, sunny and still weather. In total around 30 customers took the opportunity to be shown the wildlife with which we share the garden.

Of course in practice ‘the wildlife’ means the insects – while birds are always there, apart from Moorhen chicks, those in the garden tend to hide away when the gardens are open. But Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Robins were singing, with Swallows migrating overhead, and the local Buzzards mewling around.

The two week period covered by this blog saw the summer peak and start to fade: aside from a 12mm downpour the night before the second set of walks there was no rain, and both day and night temperatures were very high. By mid-August, the garden and its wildlife were flagging – Verbena, Buddleja, Origanum and Eryngium were over in a flash…

… while the daisy family was starting to assert its autumnal supremacy, along with the absolute stars of the show, the various Bistorta amplexicaulis forms which were simply humming with Honeybees, social wasps and patrolling Hornets ….

… and Hylotelephium ice-plants just starting to make their presence felt.

Whilst it was possible to record up to ten species of butterfly a day, none were in large numbers, as has been typical of so many places this year.

And indeed very much the same could be said for all bees, hoverflies and other pollinators: more than anywhere else locally, but fewer than there should be.

Plenty of activity round the Water Garden though, with half a dozen species of dragonfly (including Ruddy Darter) and four damselflies, most numerously the relatively newly arrived Willow Emerald, the one that is likely to persist deep into autumn.

All around the garden, away from the flowers, there were insects basking or, when it was too hot, sheltering:

 

 

And a final selection of goodies included White Crab-spider, Bee-wolf and Hornet Hoverfly.

Even the busiest areas added interest to our walks, with the bee hotel by the tea room a focus for activity, and in the nursery one group was lucky enough to be shown a large Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar, probably heading to pupation after munching its fill of evening-primroses!

If anyone wants to join me on a nature walk around the gardens, I will be doing just that (weather permitting!) for a final time this summer on September 20th. Once you have paid to come in, the walk is free! Walks commence at 11AM and 12 noon each day, meeting at the Visitor Information Centre. For garden entrance tickets and more information, visit our website Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens, and do come expecting to want to buy some of the wildlife-attracting plants I will show you, as well as delicious tea and cakes!

Blogs of the previous Meet the Wandering Naturalist event this summer can be found here:

April: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: among the April showers… | Chris Gibson Wildlife

May: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: the height of Spring | Chris Gibson Wildlife

June: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: is summer finally here? | Chris Gibson Wildlife

July:  The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: focus shifts to the ponds | Chris Gibson Wildlife

Cockaynes Reserve in high summer

Britain's Wildlife, Cockaynes Reserve, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

At the height of the recent heatwave, an early morning around Cockaynes was very much in order. But even before 7AM it was above 20°C, and the water buffalos were already mudbathing in the shade!

This uncertain summer has turned from soggy to hard-baked almost overnight, and the vegetation is starting to look very droughted, with flowers generally at a premium..

The iconic Heather strip, a symbol of the reserve in the sense that it was the discovery of a relict sprig that helped to persuade the gravel company to adopt a wildlife-focused approach to restoration after gravel extraction, is purpling up irrespective of the weather…

… while Trailing St. John’s-wort and Common Centaury added their splashes of colour to the bleached turf.

Insects and other invertebrates were scarce, by now a familiar situation this summer, but probably more to do with the fact they were already resting in the shade than anything else:

Two were of particular note. First a Buff-tip moth caterpillar: common enough, but just look at that camouflage, pretending to be a fruiting Silver Birch catkin. And second, a picture-winged fly, a Homoneura species, probably the commonest H. notata, although internal examination is probably needed to confirm. But even this commonest species has been recorded in north Essex only once previously, from a site to the west of Colchester.

Out in the open, the only real plants attracting pollinators were Ragwort (Common and Hoary), and Common Fleabane. These were drawing some insects in, especially flies and a few bumblebees.

 

But down in Villa Wood, alongside the Sixpenny Brook, the air was more buzzy, shade from the Alders keeping temperatures down.

Best plant in the valley was Wild Angelica, its domed umbels at times alive with hoverflies, wasps and Yellow-and-Black Longhorn Beetles, and being patrolled by Hornets.

But as always, where there are few insects to actually see, there are often insects to record on the basis of not seeing the animal itself. The open sand had nest holes of digger-wasps; a leaf had a mobile ball of fluff skittering across its surface, the camouflaged larva of a lacewing, clothed in the remains of its aphid victims; and a swelling in a willow stem proved to be the gall of a gall-midge Rabdophaga salicis. seemingly uncommon in England and in fact the Essex Field Club map showing just one previous county record, in the deep south. Indeed, its national distribution as a whole is very sparsely scattered,  away from western Scotland. Always something to find!

Selborne and Thursley Common

Britain's Wildlife

A few days ago, I headed down to Selborne in Hampshire for a meeting of the British Naturalists’ Association. Why Selborne? Well, of course it is the home of the father of British nature writing and phenological studies, Gilbert White, the former curate of the parish, and the BNA membership includes two of the foremost experts on Gilbert White, June Chatfield and Stephanie Holt.

The house now hosts a museum to Gilbert and also the Antarctic explorer Lawrence Oates, a descendent of whom funded the creation of the museum. Both parts are full of interest, memorabilia and books, books and more books, including the manuscript of The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, one of the most published of books in English, continuously in print since 1789.

We started with the two moth traps, run the previous night, and the diverse contents got the day off to a flying start. Among the many highlights, in addition to perennial favourites such as Poplar Hawk, Rosy Footman and Ruby Tiger, were Peach Blossom, Yellow-barred Brindle, Four-spotted Footman, Black Arches, August Thorn, Straw Underwing, Maiden’s Blush and Spectacle….

… together with several sexton beetles, including this Nicrophorus interruptus, hosting a fine display of travelling mites.

Then it was out to the meadows and hedgerows, overlooked by the famous Selborne Hanger, a beechwood on the scarp slope above.

Hogweed was feeding hoverflies, in turn feeding White Crab Spiders …

… while Hedge Woundwort was past flowering, its seeds like clutches of tiny eggs …

… and  one of the most abundant hedgerow nectar sources was Small Teasel, its flowers very attractive to Honeybees.

 

Into the garden, Globe-thistles were equally attractive to both Honeybees and bumblebees, the latter also visiting the many Hollyhocks.

Other plants included Wild Basil, Caper Spurge (a surprising inclusion in an otherwise largely edible garden) and Motherwort, a dead-nettle relative with improbably furry flowers.

And finally, to the churchyard to pay our respects to Gilbert White’s modest final resting place, beside a dripping downpipe clump of Marchantia polymorpha liverwort. I am sure he would have approved! And then all that was left was to visit the Jubilee Tap to sample some of the beers produced across the road, some to Gilbert’s own recipes.

So far from home, I had decided to stay the night in the area, and that gave me the chance the following day to explore one of England’s finest nature reserves, Thursley Common, a place I haven’t been to for more than 30 years.

Thursley comprises a vast complex of lowland heath, both dry and wet, and merging into peaty boglands. Fortunately it has well-marked routes, including boardwalks, allowing the sensitive habitats to be viewed without damaging them.

 

The wetter bits with Sphagnum mosses also have a range of ‘grassy’ bog plants which are quite special when one comes from bog-less Essex, including White Beak-sedge, Common Cotton-grass, Deergrass and Black Bog-rush.

 

Much more showy, there was Common Sundew, Bog Asphodel, Marsh St. John’s-wort and Bogbean …

 

… with a fringe of Cross-leaved Heath.

Moving towards higher ground, Bell Heather and Dwarf Gorse took over, gradually giving way to Common Heather and Bracken on the highest ground.

Remarkably almost the whole reserve was affected by a severe wildfire only four summers ago, and now one really has to look hard for fire-charred stumps and ground.

But while the plants and communities may be recovering, the special reptiles are lagging behind. Where once it was reasonably easy to see Adders, Smooth Snakes and Sand Lizards, the only reptiles I saw were Common Lizards, mostly basking on the boardwalks.

Those same structures were also the easiest places to see dragonflies, one of the most important groups of insects on the reserve, here with Black-tailed and Keeled Skimmer, Common and Black Darter and Four-spotted Chaser, alongside many other insects including flesh-flies and sand-wasps.

It was a very hot, sunny, windless day and birds were not much in evidence, apart from Stonechat families and a few Tree Pipits and Dartford Warblers…

… and it was left to natural esoterica to provide the final highlights: an ex-Vapourer Moth caterpillar eviscerated by an ichneumon parasite, and a fly-gall Anisostephus betulinus on Birch that, assuming the NBN Atlas is up to date, is not recorded from anywhere closer than mid-Suffolk, Bodmin and Cardiff!

Two days in Norwich

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Rail

Our August short break was very special, one on which 6 year-old Eleanor was able to come with us. An easy train journey followed by a bus brought us to the University of East Anglia by lunchtime. In the nearly 40 years since I left after my PhD, I have been back only a mere handful of times.

But it never fails to stir me. Memories of hard work, but lots of fun. And it has left me with an enduring love of Brutalist architecture…

Whilst some public sculpture was always there, there is so much more now:

And the campus, in which I honed so many of my identification skills (and probably spent too much time when I should have been in the lab), is still wonderfully wild, at least in front of the famous ziggurats and the teaching wall (behind the wall, things are very different!).

Woolly Mullein, a Norfolk speciality, is still there, and a short walk brought us tinkling parties of Goldfinches, and a selection of insects including the micromoth Agriphila tristella, a red flea-beetle Sphaeroderma and (new to us) a willow-feeding mirid bug Agnocoris reclairei.

Plenty of the mullein also around the city, including on the old flint city walls …

Almost under the shadow of the hulking Catholic Cathedral, the Plantation Garden (essentially a Victorian Gothic folly within an abandoned chalk pit) was as delightful as ever:

You might have to peer hard to see the Large House Spider in the final picture!

And on the other side of town, the magnificently graceful Anglican cathedral provided shade from the heat along with architectural and artistic drama:

Eleanor, not to be outdone, also seemed inspired by the Anglican Cathedral and the Plantation Garden. Here are some of her photographic efforts, given free rein to see the world as only a 6 year-old can!

Two days topped off with a drink and loaded chips outside the lovely Adam & Eve pub, and not even return rail disruption due to a lineside fire could take away the pleasure!

An evening walk on Layer Breton Heath

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

I last blogged about Layer Breton Heath three years ago, describing the chequered history of this locally important grass-heath. A few days ago I had the chance to return, to lead an evening walk on a very hot, summery day.

Since my previous visit the site has continued to diversify with good management of the open areas especially.  In several areas now, bare sandy ground created by trampling have been colonized by ground-nesting solitary wasps, including Sand Wasp and (below) the Bee-wolf, a predator of various bee species. we were able to watch the comings and goings of the occupants of the nests.

Insects were generally abundant, a nice surprise given the paucity of insect life in Essex so far this summer. Dragonflies and damselflies were everywhere, despite the absence of water bodies on the heath itself, no doubt feasting smaller fry to build resources before returning to breeding ponds, and three species of grasshopper provided a constant chorus from the grass.

A Yellow-and-black Longhorn beetle flew around clumsily before landing on some Bramble flowers, while Hogweed Bonking-beetles were up to their usual antics, albeit not on Hogweed…

Meadow Browns were in the longer grass and Gatekeepers very numerous along the scrubby edges, often nectaring on Ragwort flowers. Indeed it was Ragwort that was doing the heavy lifting of feeding insects generally; it is so worrying to hear the overblown media outrage at the presence of this inordinately valuable nectar source in our late summer landscape. Among many other visitors were tachinid flies and a very worn White-letter Hairstreak.

And of course, Cinnabar caterpillars, although on only a few plants, which seems to be the pattern this year, presumably reflecting poor weather during the adults’ flight period.

Black Knapweed was also blooming well and attracting a steady stream of visitors, including this Common Leaf-cutter bee, its abdomen typically tilted upwards to show the pollen gathered beneath.

Otherwise, among the butterflies there were Commas, Large and Small Whites, Peacocks and Small Skippers.

One botanical newcomer for me was Bell Heather, which may have arisen through ground disturbance releasing a seed-bank, although perhaps more likely from seed collected at the nearby Tiptree Heath and spread along the route of the new water pipeline.

In some of the bare patches on the open heath, Rosebay Willowherb was blooming well, and along the woodland edges, good stands of Wood Sage, to my eyes one of the most subtly beautiful flowers of our lowland heaths.

All was wrapped up very satisfactorily with a buffet supper at the Hare and Hounds, followed by a spot of batting as it got dark, with both Common and Soprano Pipstrelles and a Daubenton’s Bat picked up with the bat detector.

Wanderings in Wivenhoe’s Lower Lodge

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Midsummer in Wivenhoe and our attentions turn to Lower Lodge, part of the Colne Local Nature Reserve, a riverside area of grassland and scrub, the wilder bits of which are managed on a three-year mowing rotation by Colchester City Council. Rich in flowers, it is one of our areas of greatest insect diversity, so in the month from late June we made four visits there, a recce and with WildEssex and BNA groups.

Actually this year, at least at first, flowering (and hence insect abundance) was poor, a consequence of a cool spring and of the vigorous growth of tall grass, no doubt reflecting the unprecedentedly wet past six months.

But towards the end of July, flowers were coming through, and butterflies were coming out, albeit not (yet?) in the number of variety we have come to expect.

Meadow Browns as always were followed sequentially by Gatekeepers and then Ringlets, with a few Small Heaths around the mown paths …

… Large (mostly early in the period), Essex and Small Skippers (later on) …

… while summer-brood Commas and Green-veined Whites came out on cue.

As far as day-flying moths are concerned, the few Burnet Companions were not at all companionable, coming a couple of weeks before the first Six-spot Burnets: the latter emerged in force on our last visit on 21 July, when we also found a Silver Y at rest.

Despite the abundance of Ragwort, Cinnabar caterpillars were distinctly patchy, perhaps reflecting poor weather during the adults’ earlier flight period. And another ‘caterpillar’ was of a sawfly, many of which have distinctive larvae, but they are generally beyond our identification skills given the lack of readily available identification guides.

Lepidoptera and other insects are at their best in warm, sunny weather and when nectar- and pollen-rich flowers are open. Therein lies the value of this site, from the earlier-season Common Cat’s-ear and Red Clover, to Wild Carrot (with insect-mimic central flowers) giving way to Hogweed and its vast plates of insect food, available to all, and then Common Knapweed and Field Scabious.

Other lovely flowers included Hedge Bedstraw, Smooth Tare and Grass Vetchling, although by the last walk the latter had retreated into anonymity as its flowers had finished.

And also of course the grasses, here Cock’s-foot  and False Oat-grass in full hayfever-inducing glory!

As for other invertebrates, a few to be mentioned by name are Hogweed Bonking-beetles (out in force and living up to their name), Thick-thighed Beetle and Black-and-Yellow Longhorn …

… ‘Common’ Earwig, one of those memories of childhood that few of us see nowadays …

… a nymph Tortoise Bug, not a common species in the county and according to the Essex Field Club map almost unknown east of Colchester, while very similar comments apply to the beautiful planthopper Allygus mixtus, although we have seen that previously around Wivenhoe, in the Old Cemetery.

And then just a selection of others, just photos, no words, although all have been identified and a full list will be given to the site managers.

 

It was also good to see plenty of oak galls – marbles, artichokes, ram’s-horns, cherries and knoppers – with only the spangles seemingly at a low ebb, being small and few and far-between.

And finally, always good to see, dispersing Toadlets, presumably having taken advantage of the spring-line pools created by this year’s weather. We may have complained but every version of our crazy weather benefits something!

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: focus shifts to the ponds

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

It was a lovely hot and sunny day for my July Wandering Naturalist event around the Beth Chatto Gardens. Perhaps to be expected, the sudden intense heat meant that although there were lots of visitors, they were mostly interested in sitting in the shade looking at the garden, rather than being shown insects and other wildlife. And who can blame them?!

Nevertheless, enough people were happy to be dragged around by me to make it worthwhile. In common with the whole of this summer so far, there were fewer insects than expected for the season; notably the two Buddleia, davidii and crispa, next to Beth’s house were pretty much devoid of butterflies and bees, in complete contrast to the equivalent time last year.

But true to form, I saw more insects around the garden than I have anywhere else in north Essex over the past month, testament to the pulling power of a well-planted, large ecological garden.

There were the first tentative signs that at long last insect populations are starting to take off. Ten butterfly species. Including freshly emerged, second brood Painted Lady, Brimstone, Comma and Holly Blue, plus Large Skipper and Speckled Wood is something of a return to form in species richness, if not abundance.

Sea-hollies Eryngium in all their wonderful variety are without exception great plants for pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and beetles. Now starting to attract as the flowers open, these are destined to be a major part of the garden menu for the next month, alongside the larger daisies which too are just starting to reveal their wares…

But it was the dragonflies that were the stars of the show this week. Still plenty of damselflies, including Blue-tailed and Common Blue…

… several Brown Hawkers were sweeping over the ponds on tawny-suffused wings…

.. and the Common Darters that have been around for three weeks or so were supplemented, and outnumbered, by a wave of Ruddy Darters, fresh out and flycatching furiously.

  

To walk around the ponds, watching the activity, the Flowering-rush and Pickerelweed in full bloom, was simply sublime.

Elsewhere in the garden, other insects included Common Scorpionfly, Harlequin Ladybird and several hawking Hornets. But surprisingly, given their abundance nearby over the previous two days, there were no flying ants,  although the Swallows twittering overhead suggested they may have been up there. Buzzards were also noisy overhead, as a Chiffchaff continued in song, a couple of Song Thrushes fed safely away from the slug-killing fields of modern agriculture, and I watched a Grey Heron fishing (successfully) in the Reservoir.

The full riches of summer may yet be to come. And there are certainly a richness of flowers to cater for their needs if they do. My next walk might hopefully see them providing for more insects.

If anyone wants to join me on a nature walk around the gardens, I will be doing just that (weather permitting!) on August 2, August 16 and September 20. Once you have paid to come in, the walk is free! Walks commence at 11AM and 12 noon each day, meeting at the Visitor Information Centre. For garden entrance tickets and more information, visit our website Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens, and do come expecting to want to buy some of the wildlife-attracting plants I will show you, as well as delicious tea and cakes!

Blogs of the previous Meet the Wandering Naturalist event this summer can be found here:

April: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: among the April showers… | Chris Gibson Wildlife

May: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: the height of Spring | Chris Gibson Wildlife

June: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: is summer finally here? | Chris Gibson Wildlife

Marvellous moths morning at Beth Chatto Gardens – late July

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Our first moth event of the year a month ago was an eye-opener in this summer of few insects – a surprisingly large haul of moths caught (and released). For our second course yesterday, our hopes were even higher, being deeper into the mothy time of year, following several very hot days and the night itself forecast to be one of the warmest of the year, with increasing cloud cover, and temperatures not expected to fall below 20°C: pretty much perfect conditions.

And so it proved, a bumper haul of 60 macromoth species (plus another 10 or so micros), totalling perhaps 400 individual moths. Our small group of customers, and the handful of interested passers-by as we released the catch were treated to a wide variety of the night life of the garden.

For smaller hands at least the big game proves the most interesting, and today’s stars included three types of Hawk-moth (Poplar and Small Elephant, together with an old and faded Elephant, conceivably one of the fresh emergees we caught last month), a couple of furry Oak Eggars and the large, emerald Large Emerald.

Moving down a little in size, but keeping the intense colours going, there were lots of Rosy Footmen, a few Canary-shouldered Thorns and a single Green Silver-lines.

Black Arches are always a delight, all charcoal scrawls and remarkable antennae, the latter feature also shared by the Vapourer Moth:

Three species of Prominent graced the trap and the willing hands and clothes of the onlookers: Iron, Pebble and Swallow Prominents.

The list goes on, and even the brown and less showy species have plenty to say about the value of camouflage: Blood-vein, Latticed Heath, Scalloped Oak, Oak Hook-tip, Poplar Grey and Nut-tree Tussock.

While most of our captures were of widespread and common species, there were some less frequent ones. The Festoon is no doubt living in the ancient oaks that run alongside the trap site, but it is both nationally scarce and included in the Essex county Red Data List.

A final selection of macromoths includes three of my favourites. Buff Arches might sound plain but in reality it is like no other, almost shell-like in texture; and then you have those moths that are nothing more than animated birch twig (Buff Tip) and bird poo (Chinese Character)!

And that is just the macromoths: there was a variety of micros, although as so often, insufficient time to look at them closely – here are Elder Pearl and Eudemis profundana.

And moths are not the only things that come to moth traps. Our haul included the small Birch Shield-bug (not a common species in this part of Essex and I think the first record for the garden) and the attractive green planthopper Iassus lanio.

Another attraction for our customers on these events is that they get access before anyone else is there. First thing, the gardens are truly sublime: the only sounds are birdsong and the rustle of a dragonfly’s wings, the only feeling pure joy…

And our potter around gave us chance to look at insects going about their daily business. Common Darter dragonflies and Willow Emerald damselflies were among the pondside foliage, early butterflies included Gatekeeper, and this lovely hoverfly Chrysotoxum festivum showed itself to advantage before it had warmed up enough for its daily rounds of the flower beds.

If you are interested in such events, please keep an eye on the Beth Chatto website for similar events next spring and summer. These are run by and in support of the Beth Chatto Education Trust, established by Beth to carry forward her passion for plants and the ecological approach to all.

#WildEssexWalks: Mistley Furze Hill and Old Knobbley

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, Travel by Rail, WildEssex

Wow!  A warm summer’s day – what a lovely change – and enjoyed by our group on our Wild Essex walk in Mistley.  Our journey took us through the Edme Malt works, where we admired some of the intricate decoration of these functional buildings, under the railway line and on through a cow field where the residents were curious but friendly.

A walk along a rather attractive footpath reminiscent of a holloway where the tree canopies meet was a cool place to wander out of the sun’s glare and admire some of the wild flowers, Cuckoo Pint, Herb Robert and Hogweed to name but three.

Of course Chris took the opportunity to talk about the characteristics used in his new flower identification guide such as the ‘false insect’ and branched bracts of Wild Carrot, the four-lobed stigma of Great Willowherb and the uniquely two-petalled Enchanter’s-nightshade.

A few galls were spotted including two very different ones on Dog Rose: smooth pea-gall and spiked pea-gall. A complex, confusing and confused pair, the spiked version  belongs to the gall-wasp Diplolepis nervosa though the smooth one could be caused either by D. nervosa or the closely related D. eglanteriae. In this form, the two species are indistinguishable.

At the top of the lane we continued on to the edges of the local amenity field, past the ‘Secret Bunker’ and rather interesting Passive houses. Here there were more stands of wild flowers (including Ragwort, but without stripy Cinnabar caterpillars) and a number of butterflies seen.  Sadly numbers of these insects seems to be quite low this year, at least so far, though by the end of the afternoon we had spotted seven species – Red Admiral, Holly Blue, Comma, Large White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Large Skipper.

Just a few other insects attracted our attention including a 10-spot Ladybird, a flesh-fly and and a nymph Speckled Bush-cricket.

And on to the main event – through the wood that clothes the flanks of Furze Hill we admired a number of old oak trees, many of which showing signs of pollarding down the ages resulting in interesting branch formations.

At last we reached Old Knobbley Himself.  Well-named,  this 800 (at least) year-old tree is covered in nobbles and lumps – some caused by bacterial infections and galls – but despite its vast age, this charmer still looks pretty fab and very much alive with upper branches sprouting leaves with gay abandon.  It is such a tactile beast we all spent time stroking  and patting the trunk, and spent time imagining what some of the limbs might represent – two elephants, a moose, a stag?

And as we walked round his girth, is it possible the enveloping folds of root and bark were nursing the oaklet that will eventually replace its esteemed forebear?

And so it was time to turn back to ensure we reached our trains punctually.  A little walk along School Lane brought us back to the station and it was time to say our farewells.  Thank you to all who came along, and to everyone who supports our Wild Essex venture.  Hope to see you all again soon.

The Wild Side of Essex: Summer by the Stour Estuary

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

A select group of Naturetrekkers gathered at Wrabness for our now-traditional high summer amble around the southern shore of the Stour. The forecast was poor (no surprise, this IS 2024!) but the rain largely held off, and at times it was sunny, warm and humid, although with a brisk breeze away from the shelter of trees.

A look at the immediate weather prospects made me change my plans for the day around, so we started off at Stour Wood RSPB reserve. Long after the ‘best’ time for the woods (with spring flowers and birdsong), our primary target was summer woodland butterflies. It all started well along the first ride with half a dozen Silver-washed Fritillaries (although flitting and flirting high in the canopy) and a fleeting fly-past White Admiral. So no photos …

But after that, none. And indeed apart from a few Meadow Browns, a very few Gatekeepers and Ringlets, and single Red Admiral and Comma, that was just about it for butterflies. This summer’s abysmal dearth of butterflies continues.

In fact insects generally were sparse. Highlights included the Scare Forest Tubic micromoth and tiger-striped caterpillars of Cinnabar…

… a Forest Bug, with a plant bug Lygus pratensis on a Ragwort head.

The main tree in the wood, Sweet Chestnut, was really showing off, with cascades of catkins, each producing their characteristic mushroomy odour, and attracting at least a few passing flies.

Honeysuckle, the food plant for White Admiral, was festooning the edges of the coppices, and in full bloom:

Other trees and shrubs were indicators of the ancient origins of the woodland, probably continuously wooded since the retreat of the last Ice Age: Wild Service-tree and Butcher’s-broom.

And in the gloom of the summer wood, just a few flowers in evidence, including Rosebay Willowherb, Wood Sage, Enchanter’s-nightshade and Yellow Pimpernel. At least enough to demonstrate the approach used in our brand new WildGuide!

Few birds were in evidence, apart from ever-singing Wrens, seeping Treecreepers and several yaffling Green Woodpeckers.

A short walk around the adjacent fields took us past the remarkable House for Essex, the brainchild of Grayson Perry. Marmite to the community, but personally I love it, especially now that the lustre of its first decade has become muted and moulded it into its surrounding landscape.

Conservation field margins had plenty of Common Knapweed, Prickly Ox-tongue, Hogweed and Wild Carrot, but sadly few insects again, there was a bug Closterotomus norvegicus and rather a lot of Hogweed Bonking-beetles, doing what they say on the tin! And more Gatekeepers…

Swallows were twittering overhead, no doubt finding sustenance around the stables, while a Linnet, Goldfinch and Greenfinch sang side-by-side of a roof-ridge and just a few hundred metres the finch songscape was filled out with a Chaffinch.

Moving then to the Wrabness Nature Reserve (Essex Wildlife Trust), we entered a very natural-looking but essentially brownfield reserve. Patches of trees and scrub held at least three singing Turtle Doves. Once the sound of our summer, this is pretty much their last outpost in Essex… The trees and bushes also provided us with gall interest (Knopper Galls on acorns, and Robin’s Pincushions on Dog-rose) as well as leaf blemishes and spots, including Sycamore Tar-spot.

Being brownfield, the site showed a vast range of floral interest, including Agrimony (in flower and seed), Common Toadflax, many legumes including Meadow Vetchling and Broad-leaved Everlasting-pea, the latter in an array of colour shades …

… less frequent species locally, like Corky-fruited Water-dropwort,  Viper’s-bugloss, Dittander and Meadow Crane’s-bill…

… and everyone’s favourite, the shell-pink Common Centaury among a couple of parasitic plants, Red Bartsia and Common Eyebright.

There were a few more insects at this site, reflecting its floral diversity, with Essex and Small Skippers, single Six-spot Burnet and Shaded Broad-bar moths, nymphal Speckled Bush-crickets and several Footballer hoverflies.

As a grand finale, it was down to the mudflats of the Stour Estuary, where the tide had now receded. Midsummer is not the best time for estuary birds, off breeding elsewhere, but we saw a Curlew, a few Oystercatchers and Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls, as well as a Little Egret, all concentrated around a freshwater outflow.

The saltmarshes shone purple under mounds of Common Sea-lavender, and a good day was brought to a fitting end sitting among a Sand Martin colony. At least 150 on the wing included some juveniles, as the adults busied with starting second broods, a twittering, trilling cloud that ebbed and flowed with action, until a late afternoon squally shower sent them all indoors. The end!