Blog Archives: WildEssex

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: late-May delights

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

The photo above, a myriad of fairies photobombing a Monet masterpiece, encapsulates the joy of late May in the gardens. Everything is getting on with what they need to do, feeding or breeding or dispersing, furiously because they know the retreat of the sun is only a month away.

The 26th saw peak damselflies mating (mostly Azure, Large Red and Blue-tailed) alongside the first emerging Common Blue Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles AND the mass emergence of dragonflies (mostly Four-spotted Chasers, with a few Broad-bodied and Scarce Chasers, Common Darters, Emperors and a Southern Hawker. Fittingly, and thrillingly, this coincided with my Bug Safaris, a privilege to share it with kids (of all ages!). This was the week our ponds disgorged, a couple of weeks after many garden ponds whose water volume is much lower, so the water warms more quickly, speeding up development.

And the rate of change is just so fast. On a daily basis. A day later, damsels had peaked, dragons were still coming, but the garden was inundated with Painted Ladies, most very fresh-looking so perhaps offspring of the influx a month ago. And the trees and bushes were full of tweeting baby Blue and Great Tits, and Blackcaps: a squeakscape where a day before there was a songscape.

Apart from the Painted Ladies, butterfly action had scaled back from early May: the ‘June gap’ arrived early. But to tide us over were Orange Tips on the Dame’s Violet and onions and Green Hairstreaks on the Thyme, along with a good emergence of Common Blues.

It was a warm two weeks, at times extremely hot, sunny and dry: record-breaking, albeit not-in-a-good way. But generally the insect life seemed to enjoy it: some other highlights included Mint Moth, Cinnabar, Yellow-tail caterpillar and the larval shrouds of Spindle Ermine…

… Thick-thighed Beetle, a soldier beetle Cantharis livida, Adonis’ Ladybird and Two-spotted Malachite Beetles, including this pair in a prolonged bout of ‘kissing’, the male feeding her pheromone-laced food to try and woo her…

… Hairy Shieldbugs and Orange-tailed Mining-bee …

… and a good selection of flies including the lovely hoverfly Xanthogramma pedissequum, and a couple of parasite-flies Tachina fera and Tachina lurida.

I enjoyed myself too, taking time out to grow the garden wildlife list. Every visit produced something new, in some cases rare or absent (probably underrecorded!) in Essex but equally some very widespread that we just haven’t noted here before. Two new mite galls are a case in point: the Lime Nail Gall is found on almost every Lime tree, whereas the Silver Maple Bladder Gall is a recent arrival in this country and still spreading:

There were new flies to the list: the parasite-flies Phasia barbifrons and Blepharipa pratensis, and the robberfly Choerades marginata…

… new beetles: the thistle weevil Rhinocyllus conicus and Mallow Flea-beetle Podagrica fuscicornis…

… and new wasps: the parasitic Ichneumon xanthorius, a digger wasp Cerceris quadricincta (a strongly south-eastern species, rare in the UK) and a beautiful ruby-tailed wasp Chrysis ignita agg.

The list is growing every month, and but we hope to have a working draft available in the autumn!

And so we are fast into summer. Maybe time to relax a little as things settle in. Or maybe not: all it takes is a few days of deep south winds, and as we have seen repeatedly the Beth Chatto Gardens rarely fail to produce surprises!

By bus to Brentwood….

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Bus, Travel by Rail, WildEssex

It was our tenth wedding anniversary, a perfect excuse for an extra short break. And where better than Brentwood, travelling by bus, staying in the Premier Inn: we know how to celebrate!

This was our first attempt at longer-distance (free) bus pass travel. Wivenhoe to Brentwood involved changes in Colchester and Chelmsford, and took the best part of a morning. But time is one thing we do have, and the bus took us through places we have never or rarely seen before, some like Kelvedon and Ingatestone that would repay a closer look at some time.

The increasingly wooded nature as we approached Brentwood brought life to its original name ‘Burnt Wood’, the town created within a clearing of the great wood of Essex. It was also surprisingly hilly, being towards the southwestern splay of the Essex Alps we know so well from home.

So first into the town, for a welcome drink in the Dairyman. The High Street felt pretty vibrant, but the main interest lay in the religious buildings and the surrounding greenspace. Our first stop, the Catholic cathedral of St Mary and St Helen was a lovely surprise, the larger part of it little more than thirty years old, with a sparse, calming atmosphere.

The oldest part of the cathedral is a Gothic Revival church from the mid-19th century, designed by Gilbert Blount, who started his career working for Brunel on the Rotherhithe Tunnel before moving into churches, inspired by Pugin.

This church became the diocesan centre from its creation in 1917, then the modern ‘Neoclassical with a twist of Wren’ extension by Quinlan Terry (responsible for many monumental buildings in Britain and abroad in similar style) was completed in 1991.

The internal décor is almost austere, with only subtle ornamentation, including the terracotta roundels marking the Stations of the Cross, designed by Raphael Maklouf, he of the Queen’s head (coins not the pub!). And then tucked away in a corner, the organ that we later learned had come from St Mary on the Walls, now familiar to us as Colchester Arts Centre.

Then just round the corner, another church, St Thomas of Canterbury. Outside it is a stylish mix of flints and limestone blocks…

… but nothing prepared us for the visual assault inside. As we went in we were greeted by a lay preacher who said ‘welcome to the most Catholic church in Brentwood, and it is Anglican!’ This church has all the visual detail one would associate with a ‘traditional’ Catholic church, with Stations of the Cross on the walls, priests called Father and the like. All very confusing to a mere atheist, highlighting for me the folly of sectarianism. Indeed, it seems the church comes under the banner of Anglo-Catholicism, rooted in the 19th-century Oxford Movement that emphasizes the church’s Catholic heritage, sacramental theology, and liturgical traditions…

Although dating only from 1881, there has been a church nearby dedicated to St Thomas since the 13th century, the ruins of an early incarnation still to be found just off the High Street.

Seeking some fresh county air (albeit with the aural hallmark of the nearby M25) we headed into the nearest greenspace, St Faiths Country Park, a nice mix of grass and woodland, with tantalising views over to central London. Giant Horsetail is always good to see, typical of springlines on the slopes, and Common Carder-bees were busy on the clovers despite the chilly wind.

Other bits and pieces included the micromoth Cochylis atricapitana and the gall of the gall-midge Iteomyia capreae, on Sallow.

Sadly the cemetery next door was as sterile as they come, one disappointment alongside the litter strewn all through the Country Park. Jude did her bit to clear it up, but why should she have to? What is wrong with having pride in the green heart of a town? All a bit incongruous really, especially as we found local people on the street almost universally to be smiley and friendly…

And so we headed to the hotel. Very functional, as Premier Inns are, and extremely well priced, it had nine floors, and although we were only on floor four we had a panoramic view of the London landscape by day….

… and by night, the horizon lit up like a distant firework display.

And nearby, a very good Indian restaurant, The Raj, made for a great evening.  Overnight, the rain came. Very heavy at times, we managed to adjust our morning plans, and left the hotel to catch a bus to Warley just as the rain stopped.

I have blogged about Warley Place before, once the home of the eminent plantswoman Miss Ellen Willmott, now an Essex Wildlife Trust reserve, amid the mouldering ruins of her horticultural vision.

My previous visit a year ago was alone, but I just knew that Jude would feel at home in this place where nature and history merge so seamlessly. She bounded around like a child entering a Secret Garden! It really is very special, a nature reserve that doesn’t try to erase past human influences, a reserve that celebrates its non-naturalness, and a place of renewal and hope that nature will outlast us all.

The breeze had turned southerly, the air heavy with humidity from the night’s rain, but the warmth had brought few people out. We had the reserve to ourselves, always a privilege, aside from a young family who were thrilled with the roosting Pale Tussocks Jude found in one of the hides, and just one other lone figure. Who turned out to be Jenny, a former colleague and friend and holiday client of mine, who lives in Newcastle and who I last saw at least 20 years ago….  it’s a small world!

In the intermittent sun patches, a tattered Painted Lady bearing the scars of her spring wanderings appeared, together with diaphanous throngs of dancing Gold-barred Longhorn moths.

And back among the sawflies, as I seem to have been all month, the ferns were being visited by the Common Fern Sawfly Aneugmenus padi. Although reportedly not as rare as the other fern sawfly I found (possibly new to Essex) at Beth Chatto’s a few days ago, looking at the NBN map seems to suggest that today’s treasure may not previously have been found in the county. Of course, probably due to the lack of people looking rather than genuine absence!

A few other insects included a dramatic Wasp Beetle, a few Hawthorn Leaf-beetles and a larval micromoth, probably Archips xylosteana…

… along with a couple of woodlice species and a few fungi among the enveloping mosses…

… and several interesting plants, at least some of which may date back to the times of the garden’s former illustrious owner: Coral Spurge, Coralroot Bittercress and Yellow Figwort, together with Yews, a Ginkgo tree and many blooming Rhododendrons.

Even before Miss Willmott’s time, the estate had horticultural connections, being owned by John Evelyn, the 17th century gardener and diarist. Although he may never have lived there, he could have planted or influenced the planting of the oldest garden inhabitants, the magnificent row of Sweet Chestnuts, at least the oldest of which may be his contemporary. The history is all around in Warley Place!

And so into the Thatcher’s Arms for an excellent celebratory lunch, the only downside being the incessant roar of traffic outside, although at least to head home we didn’t have to take our lives in our hands and cross the crazy road on a blind bend to reach the bus stop…

It was back in Brentwood that we experienced our only travel hiccup when the Chelmsford bus failed to arrived, and then promptly disappeared off the board, without explanation. So we took the alternative (paying) option of train (we were right next to station) and got home couple of hours earlier than planned, ahead of the rain: mildly annoying, as we wanted to prove to ourselves we could do this trip all by bus, but a blessing in disguise really!

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: all change on the insect front!

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

Insect populations are ever-changing and those changes an endless source of fascination. In the first two weeks of May I have been to the gardens leading walks on two days and a further visit to try and reconfirm something I had seen on the previous occasion. And in that time the suite of insects has changed hugely, spring being ushered in by the advent of summer, even given the sometimes indifferent weather.

But there have been other changes too. We have seen several new arrivals to the garden, including sawflies, flies and beetles. Sawflies are actually wasps, ones that lack the wasp waist between thorax and abdomen, and have caterpillars rather like those of moths, rather than the grubs associated with most wasps. This seems to have been a Sawfly Spring, as I’ve seen more this year than ever before. There have been the regulars, Solomon’s Seal and Iris Sawflies all over their respective foodplants, and in a month or two the plants will be bearing the signs of larval chomping. Another species Selandria serva feeds on grasses, sedges and rushes, and has also been prominent around the garden – we have found it in the garden only a couple of times prior to this month. The National Biodiversity Network maps show only a couple of spots for this in Essex, but this is perhaps more down to the fact the sawflies are not a widely recorded group: spots on maps may represent more the distribution of competent observers rather than the beastie itself. All the comment below must bear that caveat!

A couple of new garden records are of Macrophya species. M. albicincta is an Elder-feeder but doesn’t seem to have been recorded from Essex. And M. teutona seems even scarcer: it was first found in the UK last year near to Bury St Edmunds and the map shows just one other location close to the first. So ours might just be the third British record…and we would be a great place for it as its larvae feed on spurges.

And more sawflies apparently new to Essex! Resting on a Foxglove leaf was the distinctive larva of Periclista pubescens, an oak-feeder and so had probably dropped from the tree above. And then were the lovely little black-headed sprites flittering around the bases of our ferns, Ostrich Fern especially. Evanescent creatures that almost disappeared as they were observed, they were Stromboceros delicatulus, the larvae of which feed on ferns and so not surprisingly recorded mostly in the damper corners of our nation.

But new insects for the garden were not all sawflies. The cloudy-winged non-biting midge Psectrotanypus varius and soldier beetle Rhagonycha lignosa are both only sparsely scattered in Essex, most localities being in the west of the county.

But for me the most exciting newbie was another beetle, a spotty chafer Oxythyrea funesta that is an old friend from my travels in Mediterranean regions. It has cropped up sporadically in the UK, probably mostly from accidental imports with plants, but over the last decade seems to have become pretty well established, especially in London and round Portsmouth. There are probably a couple of other Essex records, at least one of which in a garden centre is likely to be an accidental import. No such likelihood with ours though, given that all our stock is home-grown.

It was wonderful to watch it (or just possibly two of them) chomping the poppy and Galactites stamens in the hottest part of the garden, against the south wall of Beth’s house. The image of one sitting in Galactites will linger long in my memory, an instant transportation to one of the places I love most, Menorca. And if I am not travelling to such places so much any more, conscious of our granddaughter’s future in an already overheated world, I can console myself with the thought that I don’t need to: the Mediterranean fauna is coming to me! That impression was solidified yesterday when the soil below the chafer started to crawl with little orange morsels, first instar nymphs of the Firebug. Another constant companion in southern Europe, these have become established in Britain only within the past decade, including many places in northeast Essex. But hitherto, until the staff started seeing the adults a month ago, not in Beth Chatto Gardens: well, they are here now – and breeding!

What of other sightings? Well, the butterflies seem to have hit their ‘June gap’ early. Most overwinterers and spring specialists have gone, but the summer emergers are starting, with both Common Blue and Brown Argus. And one of my groups was entranced by half-a-dozen Green Hairstreaks nectaring on a bed of Thyme, and resting much less obtrusively on surrounding vegetation.

There was been a reasonably large emergence of Green Longhorn moths, dancing around when the weather was warm and still enough. And there seem to be Brown-tail Moths everywhere, thankfully not it seems in rampaging, defoliating hordes, but in some cases experimenting with food choice, such as Large Lord’s-and-Ladies.

As summer approached so we are expecting the songs of grasshoppers and bush-crickets to fill our quit moment. And here they come, a first instar Speckled Bush-cricket is out of the starting blocks…

It is this time too when the ponds start to disgorge their delights around the gardens. No dragonflies yet (our ponds are large and take longer to warm up than garden ponds), but Alderflies are everywhere, along with three species of damselfly: Azure, Large Red and Blue-tailed (in two colour forms).

 

Bees have done well, with Red-tailed and Early Bumblebees more numerous than in recent years, and lots of foraging Red Mason-bees taking advantage of our floral offerings.

And other lovely things to see included flies, the Narcissus Bulb Fly, the cranefly Ptychoptera contaminata and a couple of parasite-flies, Thelaira nigripes and Tachina fera.

Beetles included lots of click-beetles, mostly Athous haemorrhoidalis, the shining-green weevil Polydrusus formosus and a whole herd of stag-beetle larvae the garden team found (and saved!) under a rotten tree trunk slice. Most probably these are Lesser, not the rarer Greater Stags, but we can hope!

And finally a few bugs have been out and about, here Rhabdomiris striatellus, Harpocera thoracica and Hairy Shield-bug.

So a month of many delights, and the good news is there is another half of it to go! If you fancy looking at insects in Essex, there is really nowhere more exciting than Beth Chatto Gardens. You might even fancy joining one of my walks or moth events as advertised on Courses & Workshops – Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens? And if you turn up and it’s too cold or wet for insects, there are always the fantastic flowers…

… including my absolute favourite, the gorgeous Bogbean. How can you resist?

The Colne Valley, from Chappel to Chalkney Wood, and back…

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex

The mid-reaches of the River Colne, around Chappel, constitute a lovely, quintessentially Essex, mixed agricultural landscape, with extensive pasturelands in the valley bottom, either side of the clear, flowing river; arable on the high ground, parcelled up between hedgerows; and woodland, much of it ancient, on the valley slopes, embracing the spring-lines. An ideal place for long walks, not expecting to see anything rare, just Spring in all her glory, so last week I did that twice, first a full day with Naturetrek and two days later, a half day with #WildEssex.

The first walk started rainy, the first rain for a month, but soon gave way to sunshine, although a stiff northeast breeze kept the temperature down. Two days later, wall to wall deep blue skies, and lighter winds from a warmer, more southerly direction. The blue backcloth was ideal to appreciate the rainbow of greens, each tree providing its own interpretation before high summer dust dulls the difference.

Starting from Chappel, wheezing Greenfinches, twittering Swallows and willows heavily infested with Mistletoe kicked the walks off, along with a fascinating cluster of historic buildings reflecting the diversity of bricks made in the local brickworks. The churchyard wall in particular features the old bricks, and supports a wealth of mosses and lichens, crevice plants like Ivy-leaved Toadflax, and ones such as Red Valerian and Greater Celandine using the wall as a storage heater to mimic their Mediterranean mountain homes.

Heading upriver, the Colne flows between shaded banks, clad in Nettles, pinpricked white with Garlic Mustard: too early for the fluttering sprites, the Banded Demoiselles of summer, the waters were already providing flying life, in the form of Alderflies and mayflies.

The open pastureland of the valley bottom is not especially diverse botanically, although there was Meadow Foxtail in the drier areas, Lesser Pond-sedge and Cuckooflower where damper, and a triumvirate of buttercups – Meadow, Bulbous and Creeping.

Hedgerows of Hawthorn in full fragrant bloom and Blackthorn, most well over but some bizarrely still in tight bud, provided shelter for patrolling Orange Tips and Green-veined Whites, and the last, tatty overwintering Commas alongside the first, scintillating blue Holly Blues, while Whitethroats, both Common and Lesser, sang from within, and Ash leaves and Field Maple flowers introduced their vivid yellow-green colour to the surroundings.

Buzzards, maybe three pairs, soared and displayed overhead, joined by a lone Red Kite, as a Mistle Thrush proclaimed territory atop the largest Oak.

Cowpats! And happily, cowpats with insect holes, suggesting these cattle have not been treated with ivermectins which kill the rich diversity of dung. And sure enough two days later, a lot warmer, and the Yellow Dung-flies were out in force, feeding and frolicking.

Back into more sheltered areas. Evergreen Alkanet amongst the Stinging Nettles provided boundless opportunities for Dark-edged Beeflies and ladybirds, mostly 7-spot but with Cream-spot and 14-spot as well. Several St Mark’s Flies rested alongside the first Red-headed Cardinal Beetles of the year, all under the watchful gaze of basking Nursery-web Spiders.

A sunny wall and wooden fence, providing security for an isolated mansion off the beaten track, was teeming with Zebra Jumping-spiders, one of whom had caught a meal in the form of a Pond Olive mayfly (not that I realised it until I looked at my photos back at home!). And in another bit of post-hoc reassessment, a harvestman on that fence would appear to be Platybunus pinetorum. First found in Britain as recently as 2010 and known mostly from more northern areas, this will be (if confirmed) the first record from Essex, and quite possibly East Anglia.

Close to the river, there were three species of damselfly: several Large Reds, always the first to emerge in the spring, with single female Azure and Blue-tailed, the latter so fresh it was practically colourless, a so-called teneral specimen.

The final upstream section took us past fields of magnificent Longhorn cattle to one of the many former mills on the river, where Grey and Pied Wagtails fed, House Martins chirruped and swooped, a Kingfisher was heard, and a Little Egret bore witness to the inexorable march of climate collapse…

Thence into Chalkney Wood, a place I have been coming to for forty years. An inspiration! A Renaissance wood! A phoenix rising from the ashes of destructive early 20th century forestry policy: when I first knew it, Chalkney’s ancient woodland roots were buried under serried ranks of non-native conifer trees. Fortunately we recognised that those who attempted to destroy the old trees a generation previously had not been very efficient; green shoots of hope remained. And when in 1987 the plight of ancient woods was highlighted by the ‘hurricane’ that swept through our lands in October, it didn’t take too much of a push to guide the Forestry Commission down the path towards a sustainable future.

The conifers were removed ahead of their intended lifespan, light flooded back, life responded accordingly, and now thirty years later it is almost impossible to differentiate that part of the wood from the smaller portion that Essex County Council had presciently been able to rescue from the jaws of doom years before…

Over vast swathes of the wood, Bluebells were only just past their best, a colour scheme interrupted only on some damper patches where white Wild Garlic dominated. And both smelled as good as they looked.

 

Other flowers included cushions of Greater Stitchwort and Ground Ivy, especially around the wood edge, and Bugle and Wood Speedwell lining the rides:

The dominant coppice trees are Hornbeam and Small-leaved Lime, the latter particularly beautiful as its pink-flushed buds open, and Hollies (of both sexes) flowered on the woodbanks. Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs sang everywhere, with a lovely Garden Warbler both days around the lunch stop.

The sunny rides were also the place to find insects, including Speckled Wood, Orange Footman moth, Birch Shieldbug, the hoverfly Pipiza noctiluca, and two ‘longhorns’, Green Longhorn Moth and the beetle Rhagium mordax, rather scattered in Essex, being restricted to ancient woodland habitats.

The return journey was along the hill tops (yes, Essex does have hills!) giving wonderful views over the unspoilt valley. Long may it remain that way. Dandelions as always attracted insects, here a Gooden’s Nomad-bee, and sheltered nettlebeds harboured Hairy Shield-bugs and a Cinnamon Bug. And stunted hedgerow Oaks showed the large, spongy oak-apple galls of the wasp Biorhiza pallida.

The eroded path gave a window into local geology, flint-rich chalky boulder clay deposited by the last outpost of the Anglian Glaciation, before at least the Naturetrek group plunged through a waist-high Rape field. It was surprising just how many insects there were in the monoculture, from Small Whites to Honeybees and several others. We can only hope the Rape was not bearing a lethal dose of neonicotinoid pesticides…

And finally everyone got to pay homage to Chappel Viaduct, up close and personal, at its very best in slanting sunlight, a graphic masterpiece of Victorian architecture, as sound now as when it was built 160 years ago. Worth the effort of visiting in itself, especially for those travelling by train and seeing views both of and from. All rounded off for some with a welcome drink at The Swan: the wild side of Essex at its best!

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: Spring in full flight

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

April saw me heading to the gardens on three occasions in mid-month, twice to lead walks (two for the National Garden Scheme and the first two of my summer monthly WildSide walks) and one just me and my camera, a moment of peace in a mad world.

Five walks on three days in just a little over a week might seem like overkill, but this time of year it really isn’t. In the full flight of spring, nature can change perceptibly every few days. And this year was no exception, especially as the lack of rain for about five weeks and rising temperatures completely changed track from the past wet winter, and pushed us into incipient drought. These mood swings of nature, actually more like handbrake turns on a sixpence, are what we must expect and live with in the climatically weirded future. And so must our garden plants and wildlife. Some will not be able to, so my advice as always is get out there now and appreciate just what riches we have!

The speed of change was almost frightening. Take that wonderful yellow peony Paeonia mlokosewitschii (aka Molly the Witch), in tight bud on my first visit, full flower six days later and three days futher on, starting to fade. A plant of highly transient glory, but a favourite of the garden bees!

Many other flowers of course, a plethora of potential food sources for insects and a delight to photograph:

And not to be outdone, the unfurling fern fronds and red maple foliage added their own highlights to the masterpiece of spring:

Butterflies have yet to emerge in real force, especially since the overwinterers have started to fade. But the whites are putting on a strong show, with Small, Green-veined and Orange Tip by the first visit, Large White joining them by the final date, along with the first Green Hairstreak and Speckled Wood.

The first visit also coincided with the first emergence of the year of Large Red Damselflies, always the earliest of its group to appear, along with other aquatic insects like Alder-flies, and remarkable numbers of adult Iris Sawflies, on and around the emergent iris leaves and whose larvae will be responsible for nibbled edges to leaves this summer.

Back on dry land, there were plenty of the usual bumblebees, including rather more Red-tailed than we have come to expect in recent years:

Hairy-footed Flower-bees were still patrolling the borders of comfrey and lungwort, not only for food but also for each other, with many interactions between amorous males and seemingly uninterested females noted! Other solitary bees included Yellow-legged and Chocolate Mining-bees, one of the furrow-bees, and Flavous Nomad-bee. The several species of nomad-bee seem to be in remarkable numbers this spring compared with previous years…

Two others from the same insect group, Hymenoptera, were queen Common Wasps, feeding and rasping wood to build their nests with, and the currant galls of the spring generation of the Spangle Gall Wasp on Oak catkins:

Moving to flies, some of the most numerous were the Bibio species. first B. lanigerus and B. anglicus, with the first true St Mark’s Fly B. marci on the first visit. 14th April is early for this species, named because it emerges on or around St Mark’s Day, 25th April. During the second visit, they were very numerous, and by the third, almost gone – perhaps down the throats of birds, as they are favourites of Swallows.

Hoverflies increased greatly through the month, and included many flower-flies Syrphus sp., together with Batman and Footballer Hoverflies , and lots of Epistrophe eligans.

Other easily recognised flies were Yellow Dung-flies, the dance-fly Empis tessellata and the parasite-fly Tachina fera…

… along with many other less distinctive, but still important , parts of our garden’s biodiversity.

Ladybirds are still more abundant than I have ever seen before at this time of year, the offspring no doubt of those that arrived en masse last July. And while most are 7-spots, a selection of other species such as 14-spot Ladybird is starting to emerge.

Bugs included the first Harpocera thoracica of the year, with plenty of Hairy and Green Shield-bugs, and also a lovely find of a mating pair of Gorse Shield-bugs, a rather uncommon creature in the garden.

On the reservoir, Dabchicks were singing and a pair of Tufted Ducks has seemingly settled in. All around the garden, birds are in song, residents like Greenfinch, Robin, Goldcrest and Song Thrush, alongsideside the summer visitors, especially Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

On the first two visits a Cetti’s Warbler was singing on the edge of the garden, only the third record for the site, but on the third visit its apparent territory had been filled by a singing Whitethroat, again not common in the garden. And overhead plenty of action too, from feeding Swallows to displaying Buzzards, flyover Egyptian Geese and Red Kites, along with Mediterranean Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull, both rarely appearing in our sights.

Another fantastic month in the Beth Chatto Gardens, the incidental nature reserve!

A potter through history in east Colchester

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Bus, WildEssex

The joys of a bus pass. Just hop on and off, and do things you have never done before. And so we did last week, a day of azure skies that set off the acid green spring tree sproutings to perfection.

I have lived in and around Colchester for four decades, Jude even longer than that. But the eastern approaches to town (I still can’t cope with the concept of it being a city!) have always been the journey, not the destination. Using the bus more, as we have recently, had hinted at pleasures hitherto unknown, so when the day was right to photograph buildings against the blue, out we headed…

We walked through time, albeit not in a linear fashion, darting between ancient and modern, along Old Heath Road, then Military Road and finally Queen Street. Our starting point was Winsley’s Almshouses, Grade II listed, dating from the foundation of the charity in 1728 although built around an earlier farmhouse that now forms the focal point with a chapel on the first floor.

Arthur Winsley was a wealthy 18th century wool and cloth dealer. He left much of his property and £500 to the almshouse charity in his will. Originally, there were just twelve almshouses, for ‘Twelve Ancient Men, that have lived well, and fallen into decay’, but in an ever-evolving site there are now 80 such properties following the gifts of further benefactors. And no longer are wives evicted on the death of their husband!

Colchester has long been a garrison town: indeed it is claimed to be the largest and first garrison town in Britain, founded as such in Roman times. Over the past couple of decades though the extensive training grounds that brought green into the centre of town have been built on and the barracks relegated to the outskirts. All that remains are road and pub names and the military church, now a Grade II* listed building.

Built in 1855 on a military cemetery from the Napoleonic wars three decades earlier, it was to serve soldiers in the Crimean War. It is believed to be the largest wooden church in England, a prefabricated wooden panel structure held together with 12-inch bolts, originally constructed by the same firm that built the Royal Albert Hall. The church became redundant in 2007, and there were fears that it might be allowed to fall into ruin until it became St John’s Orthodox Church.

Continuing towards the city centre, we came to the next set of historic listed almshouses, Winnock’s and Kendall’s Almshouses, either side of Military Road. These date back to charitable donations from 1678 and 1791 respectively, although as with Winsley’s they have benefited from further legacies over the subsequent centuries.

Close by, Jude remarked on the name of a side passage ‘Tram Folley’, next to what had the appearance of a ticket office. More investigation ensued, as neither of us had any idea that Colchester once had a electric tram system. It had a very short lifespan, just 25 years from 1904 after which it became uneconomic due to the increase of motorbuses and cars, but at a length of almost 10km, it linked North Station to both Lexden and the Hythe. How the city could do with that nowadays to encourage the elimination of cars!

Turns out the ‘ticket office’ we had noticed was in fact part of the tram depot. At least its fascia was preserved (backed by an electricity substation) when the main depot site was redeveloped in 2020. And when we investigated further along the Folley we found the last remaining section of Colchester tramlines, again preserved within the context of the modern development of student flats, thanks it seems to the sterling efforts of Colchester Civic Society and former MP Sir Bob Russell, the epitome of a great constituency MP.

Almost at the end of Military Road now, there was a series of cottages that seemed too consistent not to be historic, but we have not been able to find anything about them. Were they tramworkers’ cottages, right next to the depot? Or could they be more almshouses, as the chimney stacks bear the same cross motif as at least some of those at Winsley’s?

Right at the end of the road, at the junction with Magdalen Street, was another distinctive and listed building, late 18th century with the distinctive Dutch gable profile so characteristic of places with historic links with the Low Countries. Once the Red Catt Inn, it then became the Railway Tavern until it called last orders in 1909.

Moving then to modern times, the Colchester Magistrates’ Court was built as recently as 2012, but that doesn’t make it any less appealing for photography, especially with the terracotta cladding set against deep blue.

Up Queen Street, next stop was St Botolph’s Church, built in 1837 on part of the former Priory, where the monastic kitchens and refectory were. This too is listed at Grade II and is described as showing a powerful neo-Norman style; although it has weathered dark, its tower was built in white brick giving it the local nickname of ‘The White Elephant’, a name of some assonance with Firstsite’s ‘Golden Banana’ where we ended our walk!

But first more history, and spectacular history at that, St Botolph’s Priory, one of Colchester’s greatest hidden secrets, appreciated by seemingly few people apart from those indulging in antisocial fraternising among the arches and columns.

Founded about 1100, St Botolph’s was one of the first Augustinian priories in England, and is an impressive example of early Norman architecture. Built in flint and reused Roman brick, with massive circular pillars, round arches and an elaborate, ornately decorated west wall, it was badly damaged by cannon fire during the Civil War siege of 1648 leaving it in the ruinous state we see today, albeit Grade I listed.

Right alongside the Priory ruins, a gentle, south-facing, hot slope brought natural history into our historical musings. White Comfrey with intensely blue Evergreen Alkanet and scattered Star-of-Bethlehem were drawing in numerous insects, including many ladybirds (7-spots, Harlequins and single 2-spot and 14-spot)…

… also hoverflies and Lesser St Mark’s Flies, Dock Bug and Green Shieldbug…

.. and lots of Hairy-footed Flower-bees, the black females feeding while the paler males chased them around, and on closer inspection, several smaller black bees with white spots on the sides of their abdomen. These were Common Mourning-bees, cuckoo-bees that don’t build their own nests but lay eggs in the burrows of Hairy-footed Flower-bees, where their larvae consume the host’s pollen food supply. First time we have seen this bee, it doesn’t seem to be especially common in Essex, though could easily be overlooked as ‘just another Hairy-foot’.

In a brief update from a return visit to this hotspot a few days later, mainly to try and get better photographs of the Mourning-bees, there were none to be seen, although there were throngs of their host species. But what I did find was a wonderful trio of bugs, scuttling through the leaf litter, all in very good numbers. Rhyparochromus vulgaris and Forget-me-not Shieldbugs are both rather uncommon in Essex, and Firebugs are a new arrival, a new kid on the block, still spreading since their main arrival at the start of the decade.

And on that second occasion in very warm sunshine, solitary bees were very active, visiting the Comfrey: Chocolate and Yellow-legged Mining-bees were the most numerous.

Back to buildings, we were just heading up Queen Street when we can upon the former bus depot, not so long ago the home of diesel fumes, spilt oil and buses in bits. Now reinvented and renovated it has become The Digital Forum, a ‘collaborative workspace focused on new and emerging businesses and technologies’, a great example of ‘corporate-speak’. Opened in 2025, at least when we poked our noses inside we found that a section of wall has been allowed to retain its palimpsest paintwork, each colour a layer of its past history.

And finally, our destination, the aforementioned Golden Banana. Firstsite opened in 1995, it is defiantly modern, but actually where we were headed was into the post-modern world of the Meanwhile Garden.

Becoming a brownfield site is the ultimate fate of all we create as a species, and the good news is that biodiversity thrives within the detritus of civilization. We have monitored its colonization over the past couple of years and here are just a few examples of what we saw this time: Colt’s-foot in flower and seed, 10-spot Ladybird, and our first site record of the rather anomalous moth Dahlica triquetella. This is a parthenogenetic bagworm moth, known in Britain only as wingless females that spend almost every moment of their life in their distinctive triangular bag, a silken structure decorated with bits of grit from their environment and inedible bits of the insects that form at least part of their diet. A fascinating end to a fine morning’s walk.

 

 

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: March goes out like a lamb…

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

It was the last day of the month, and the day dawned mizzly. When I arrived in the Gardens, it had stopped drifting down from the cloud, but moisture had congealed on every surface, mercurial drops turning every leaf into a work of art.

As the air dried out so the spring flowers perked up; only two weeks since my previous visit, but the whole floral palette had changed. Spring happens so quickly when the weather allows, a whole unfurling package of distinct microseasons, just a few days each.

Two plants for me were particularly noteworthy. The dramatic parasitic Purple Toothwort had erupted next to the Willow Room, and several of the damper borders were laced with a lime filigree of Town-hall-clock. One of my favourite unassuming native woodland plants, where else can it be seen bringing the sense of wildwood into our daily lives?

Birds were at their spring-singing best, with the first Blackcap joining the many Chiffchaffs, and up to half-a-dozen vocal males of both Chaffinch and Greenfinch. And in complete contrast, small groups of both Grey-lag Geese and Egyptian Geese flew over squawking.

After the dampening, it took the insects a while to become active, but the still warmth coaxed a few out. Two plants are the superstar attractors at this moment. Firstly, there is Skimmia, each plant producing a pool of sublime scent in the still, moist air, attractive to us, but also crucially also to pollinators, especially bumblebees and blowflies.

And then Euphorbia! So many different species and cultivars now in flower. All recognisably spurges, with their unique inflorescence structure known as a cyathium…

… but each with a different suite of shapes and colour of the obvious nectar glands.

And they really pull in the insects of all sorts, open inflorescences with lots of pollen and masses of nectar that are now doing the heavy lifting of feeding our insects. There were ladybirds everywhere…

… soggy solitary bees …

… and flies of all sorts, including several hoverflies, including a pair of Platycheirus: P. albimanus and P. scutatus.

For me Euphorbia is one of the most valuable, but overlooked, genera for insects in the garden, with one or more forms flowering almost throughout the year. Is ‘Euphorbiophile’ a real word? If so, I am one of them!

The far out west (of East Anglia!) – Ashdon & Bartlow

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

The far north-west of Essex has long been a bit of a mystery to me, so it was good last week when the chance arose to explore awhile before giving a talk to the Ashdon Gardening Club. Barely 15km from the hi-tech heart of the country, Cambridge, Ashdon does feel very out of the way. Nestled by the river Granta, and seemingly without any mobile signal, it is enveloped in the chalkscape of the greater Chilterns. The chalk heights reach their Essex peak at Chrishall (147m) west of the M11, but rolling hills clad in chalky boulder clay extend the foothills eastwards.

On the hill high above the town is a fine windmill, reached after a bit of a nervous drive a few hundred metres up a single track road with bends and high hedges. But least there is a carpark at the top!

Ashdon Windmill, recently restored to working order by the local community, was built in 1757 and operated commercially until 1912, after which it went through several cycles of dereliction and repair.

On the windswept peak (at just over 100 metres altitude) is obviously a good place for a windmill, and also to get a feel for the well-wooded, farmed landscape, the fields often featuring Fallow Deer.

Back down in the village, the church was worth a visit, in a fine setting with the historic Vicarage and Guildhall, now well away from the heart of the village, perhaps a shift in response to the Black Death.

Then it was up the road a short way to the village of Bartlow. Now entirely within the county of Cambridgeshire, until a boundary review last century the land to the south of the River Granta was the last outpost of Essex. Indeed, about five kilometres to the east, I noticed that the three counties of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk converge, and wondered briefly if it would worth hunting the join. Then I looked at the satellite photo, showing it among a slew of arable fields, and had second thoughts. After all, having straddled the Equator and the Greenwich meridian, I realise that artificial lines have no lasting meaning!

Bartlow Church was also worth a visit, although fairly unremarkable inside; it is one of just two Cambridgeshire churches with round towers. And that tower is the oldest part of current church, dating back to perhaps the late 11th century.

In the afternoon heat, the churchyard was buzzing with life. Patches of Red Dead-nettles, Primroses and Sweet Violets were in full bloom, attracting Peacock butterflies, while Brimstones and Dark-edged Beeflies were everywhere, and Nursery-web Spiders were out basking on many a leaf.

The Primrose patches included one plant with slightly darker flowers and flowers raised on a common stalk. That might suggest Oxlip, perhaps the most iconic plant of the borderlands of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex, but it wasn’t quite right. From closer examination it appeared to be one of the ‘False Oxlip’ Primula hybrids, most likely Primrose x Cowslip.

Then it was south across the Granta into ‘old Essex’, over the old railway line (sadly closed as recently as 1967) until the distinctive looming shapes of the Bartlow Hills hove into view. A series of three large Roman tumuli, these are the visitable part of a group of seven earthworks, of which the remainder have been much reduced in height.

For a long time erroneously associated with King Cnut and the dead from the Battle of Assandun in 1016, subsequent excavation has demonstrated them to be the grave-mounds from a wealthy family of the 1st or 2nd century AD. Apparently all manner of artefacts were recovered, including large wooden chests, decorated vessels in bronze, glass and pottery and an iron folding chair, most of which were lost in a fire at Bartlow Hall.

The tallest mound, at 15 metres in height, is claimed as the largest Roman barrow north of the Alps, and well worth the slog up the steps. And following me up was a very special insect, a male Black Oil-beetle Meloe proscarabaeus. In Essex we know this only from a few sea walls and sand dunes, and on the NBN map it appears this is its only Cambridgeshire site, apart from a couple of spots on the edge of the Fens.

From the top you can peer down into modern Essex, and contemplate the changes over time. For me as a botanist, that includes the losses of our native plants. Bartlow Hills is justly famed as the only Essex locality for the beautiful Pasqueflower, apparently just now coming into flower on time (‘Pasque’ in Old French = ‘Easter’) in its heartlands. Sadly, however no longer on Bartlow Hills: it was last seen there around the start of the 20th century, just at the time the land on which the hills stand was reassigned to Cambridgeshire.

 

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: Spring is unleashed…!

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

There comes a time every spring when one suddenly realises that whatever the vagaries of the British weather, spring is here to stay. The tipping point is sometimes as early as the start of March, but in other years it can be a good month later. In 2026 it seems to have come right in the middle of those extremes.

While the first two weeks of March saw a few glimmers of warmth, the overall impression was of cool days, sometimes breezy, damp (if not as downright wet as the preceding winter) and the occasional snatch of welcome sun. When Jude and I visited in the first week, it was misty and grey all day, rather chilly, and mist turning to fog in the afternoon. So we weren’t really expecting to see much in the way of insect life, and most of what we did find – masses of Seven-spot Ladybirds – were well hunkered-down or wrapped in a fur coat like this Common Earwig…

Of course Jude with her incredibly acute close vision also found some noteworthy stuff, including two colour-forms of Ten-spot Ladybird. Although this is one of the commoner British species, remarkably it seems to be the first time it has been found in the garden, at least according to our as yet incomplete biolisting. The two-spotted form was sharing a cosy niche with an Acorn Weevil and a spider.

Also new for the records, certainly overlooked in the past, was the moss Bryum capillare, its spore capsules standing bright and proud in the gloom.

And the same comments apply to the first record from the garden of a Yew gall caused by the fly Taxomyia taxi. This may be present wherever there is Yew, in gardens, parks and the wild, but it seems always to be under-recorded: the Essex Field Club map has only two spots on it.

Almost apologetically in the mirk the really special spring flowers like species daffodils and tulips were starting to appear. And Chiffchaffs were singing, probably newly in from their Mediterranean wintering sites, carried here a little prematurely by the Sahara-dust-laden winds at the end of February.

But two weeks later it was a very different picture. A couple of warm sunny days saw spring unleashed into the lives and hearts of a myriad of happy, smiling visitors. The Chiffchaffs, now perhaps half-a-dozen, expressed the joy of the season very effectively. As did two singing Stock Doves, the first time I have noticed territorial behaviour in the garden, and (now I come to think of it) possibly the first Stock Doves I have ever recorded there. Adding to the chorus were Chaffinches, at least three male Goldcrests and a Green Woodpecker in song, along with the mewling calls of displaying Buzzards overhead.

Four species of butterfly were on the wing: Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral and a rapid fly-past couple of male Brimstones. All species that overwinter as adults, it won’t be long before the spring-emergers like Orange Tips are with us!

Bees too, with bumbles (Buff-tailed and Red-tailed queens, the latter for me the first of the year) and lots of Honeybees especially on Skimmia ‘Kew Green’ and Scilla  bifolia.

The Scilla was also the focus for many solitary bees, including Andrena dorsata and A. minutula agg.

Ladybirds were everywhere, as seems to be the norm this year, AND now getting active, strutting their stuff as predators, pollinators and partners; most were Seven-spots with just a few Harlequins.

Several Dark-edged Beeflies were feeding or resting around the flowery borders: the first beeflies of spring are always a thrill!

And shieldbugs were also out in force, mostly Green Shieldbugs greening up nicely out of their brown winter plumage, together with a few Hairy Shieldbugs.

As with the previous visit, there were also new records for the Gardens. A couple of very common species whose names have seemingly evaded being written down anywhere in the past were the Common Pond-skater Gerris lacustris and the ink-cap fungus Coprinellus micaceus, equally common although of course only fleetingly visible when its fruiting bodies emerge.

On Anemone blanda there was the distinctive stripy Orange-legged Furrow-bee Halictus rubicundus, new to the garden and indeed with only a few records, mostly coastal, in the Tendring district.

And an exciting new bug for the garden was the ground- bug Graptopeltus lynceus. This is traditionally associated with Echium species but seems increasingly to be moving to other Boraginaceae, of which we have lots; it was very close to a flowering patch of Trachystemon. It is classed as Rare in Essex, with just eight scattered records, the nearest being one just west of Colchester.

And of course spring flowers of every description, no hint of apology now and a wonderful pick-me-up after a dreary old winter!

Beth Chatto Gardens, THE place to be at this time of year. Where else would you find Lesser Celandines blooming in the lawns rather than being hounded out as ‘weeds’? Do visit, and help Rewild your Minds.

The Wild Side of Essex: Spring on the Colne Estuary

Britain's Wildlife, Cockaynes Reserve, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

‘Spring’ perhaps more in theory than practice! It may have been mid-March, but the very cool breeze searing across the estuary and grey skies for much of the day made it feel like a return to winter. And as a reflection of the very wet winter past, another theme of the day was mud, especially on the clays lower down, as opposed to the Thames sands and gravels that cap the Essex Alps. But Naturetrek groups carry on regardless!

Starting around Ferry Marsh, all was quiet apart from the whispering churrs of Long-tailed Tits and angry chatter of a couple of Cetti’s Warblers, as so often only briefly glimpsed.

Down at the river upstream of Wivenhoe, the tide was falling away and the exposed mud supported Redshanks and Oystercatchers, with Black-tailed Godwits and Teals feeding in the shallows, and a Little Egret on the saltmarsh.

Along Wivenhoe waterfront, a chance to explore the changing socioeconomic trends that have shaped the town over the past fifty years ago as well as the eternal struggle against surge tides, the now-familiar rare plants were all present: Jersey Cudweed, Four-leaved Allseed and White Ramping-fumitory. Only the latter had flowers, but what a show!

Below the Barrier and into the wider estuary, more of the same waders, including a large flock of 400 or so Black-tailed Godwits, and the first few Curlews. But no smaller species, nor any Avocets: presumably these were hunkered down out of the biting wind in a more sheltered creek. But there were good numbers of Shelduck wading through the sloppy mud, single Cormorant and Great Crested Grebe fishing in the channel and Buzzards circling over the woods.

Along the seawall, especially on the warmer, south-facing slope, Hairy Bittercress and Red Dead-nettle were flowering, the latter a magnet for the few queen bumblebees foraging, making the most of their fur coats to be active when no other insects were.

As soon as we got into the shelter of Grange Wood, the temperature rocketed, and the first of several Chiffchaffs started to sing, probably ones that arrived along with Sahara dust last week. The Silver Birch trees were covered in Birch Bracket fungi, while on windblown twigs there were both Orange Brain Fungus and Stereum hirsutum.

Cherry-plum flowers were just past their peak, while those of Blackthorn were just starting to burst. A precocious Rhododendron was in full flower and the first Alexanders flowers were erupting, soon to become the most important insect forage before the full flush of spring.

And the shady pools were just crying out for Beavers!

For lunch we were back in the chill wind, but rewarded with flocks of Wigeons and Brent Geese, with a trio of Mute Swans surprisingly grazing on the saltmarsh. A Red Kite, presumably one of the local breeders, drifted low overhead and Skylarks were singing from the fields, bringing the promise of spring even in the teeth of an icy wind.

Heading up the hill to the top of the Essex Alps, moving from clay to gravel, we passed numerous vast pollards and coppice stools, mostly Oak but also Holly, boundary features of the ancient wood and the old trackway of Cutthroat Lane. Celandines were flowering, along with the very first Bluebells, amid the sprouting spring greens of Garlic Mustard and (more menacingly) Hemlock.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker and Jay showed themselves briefly along the lane, above large patches of fruiting, presumably ancient, Butcher’s Broom. And in the open at the end of the lane, acid-green in the verge highlighted a patch of Early Meadow-grass. Although we have known this plant close to the tide for the past five or so years, this is the first time I have found it inland round here.

Heading into Cockaynes Reserve, the volume of bird song increased, with Robins, Great Tits and Chiffchaffs featuring prominently. Sallow and Alder flowers were out, along with luxuriant Gorse, attracting numerous bees and flies.

The lichen heath seems to get more extensive every time I visit, and the Bunny Bee colony was coming to life in the admittedly weak sunshine, while a Little Grebe sang from the gravel pits and Long-tailed Tits seemed to be prospecting for a nest site.

Then through Villa Wood, a magnificent showing of Scarlet Elf-cups, highlighting the feature without which probably the reserve would never have come into being.

Heading back along the crest of the hill, the pastureland was graced not by the usual pair of Egyptian Geese, but three pairs and a singleton. From there the verges of Ballast Quay Lane were in fine flower, including Sweet Violets and the first few Three-cornered Leeks. Crossing Wivenhoe Brook, a peep over the parapet showed the continued presence of Water Crickets, the only local place I know for this bug.

Bringing us at the end of of a great day’s walk to Old George, our ‘celebrity’ old Oak tree. Chance for me to relate the saga of despair and hope, one which should never have happened but for the avarice of the insurance company and the acquiescence of the Town Council in contriving to hide from scrutiny the ‘evidence’ by which it has been condemned. Fortunately now, at great expense to the Protectors (and more still needed!), his future now lies in the reasoned hands of the High Court…

#WildEssex: A Glorious Spring Walk to Cockaynes Reserve

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

We have often led a walk up to the Cockaynes Reserve searching for Spring, but never have we had such wonderful weather for it as yesterday. And it was only 3rd of March! Azure skies, light winds and warm sunshine were just what we needed after the grim, grey gloom of February.

And it seems nature needed it too as it was out in abundance. As we walked up Ballast Quay Lane, starting with the customary chirrups of the gaggle of House Sparrows, the air was alive with Greenfinches singing/wheezing and Great Tits getting frisky, while the verges were blooming with Sweet Violets and Lesser Celandines.

And everywhere a rainbow of greens, from the dusty, dull, dark Ivy green to the vibrant emerald of fresh Hawthorn leaves and moss spore-capsules.

As we crossed the open fields, enjoying some of the best views of this part of the world from the top of the Essex Alps, Skylarks filled the air with exuberance as Rooks probed for grubs, and in the distance a couple of Egyptian Geese grazed. Red Dead-nettle, Common Field Speedwell and Bulbous Buttercup flowers were shining among the twinkling Daisies and Dandelions.

Turning into Villa Wood alongside Sixpenny Brook, we entered a moss-clad world, the haunt of our Scarlet Elf-cups, the reason this reserve exists. Perhaps not so many as last year’s bumper haul, but they were there, mantled in mossy green,  and maybe still more to come.

Spring is a time of rapid change but also delayed gratification: the spearing shoots of Bluebells will be transforming this woodland floor in six weeks or so:

Sibilant twitterings in the Alder tops revealed a party of at least 20 Siskins, and the first of half-a-dozen Chiffchaffs sang, surely new arrivals on the recent deep southerlies laden with Sahara dust.

Hazel flowers, always the pre-Christmas first sign of the Spring to come, going over, and the Big Bud galls starting to form; Alder catkins peaking with Silver Birch still to come;  Sallow pompoms just bursting, attracting numerous bees; and Cherry-plum in full flower with Blackthorn bud-burst perhaps a couple of weeks away: Nature’s Calendar in full flow!

Onto the heath, the glorious Gorse flowers hid the glistening nuggets of Gorse Shield-bugs, so well camouflaged among the emerging buds. Queen bumblebees bumbled through the flowers, and there were Seven-spot Ladybirds everywhere. Much more numerous than I have ever seen before at this time of year, these are presumably the offspring from last July’s mega-influx.

Basking on a fencepost nearby was what may be an early Gorse Mining-bee, along with a pugnacious Zebra Jumping-spider, ready to take us all on! The bee bank was teeming with Bunny Bees, one of the key features of this reserve, and especially pleasing as only a day previously, on my recce in similar sunshine, I had seen just a couple.

Two lots of Buzzards were overhead, mewling in display flight and carrying nesting material, while a female Marsh Harrier quartered the reedy willow scrub.

Several pairs of Long-tailed Tits seemed to be setting up territory and there were fleeting flypasts of both Peacock and Red Admiral, though no sign of yesterday’s Comma, my first butterfly of the year. Nor were there any of the Hairy Shield-bugs on show: such is the excitement and unpredictability of the natural world. But the final reward for we two leaders was back in town, just after the last of our group peeled away, the most vibrant male Brimstone crossing our path …

 

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: February is the LONGEST month!

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

February continued the pattern of the preceding winter: rain, lots of it, and grey gloom. So while I like to get into the gardens to witness the arrival of spring, in practice that meant only two occasions, early and late in the month. Such was the lack of spring-ushering sunlight that the three week difference saw rather little change in nature.

At the time of my first visit, Winter Aconites, Spring Snowflakes and most Snowdrops were pretty much at their peak, albeit without the sunshine to open the flowers fully. Anyway it was too dank for insects to be flying …

Three weeks later, Snowdrops and Aconites were mostly past their best, but it was time for the lovely, endlessly varied Hellebores to pick up the floral baton:

And Daffodils, Squills and Crocuses were coming up fast in the outside lane, the latter with numerous queen Buff-tailed Bumblebees, bumbling out of torpor for a welcome meal in the weak sun.

More than I’ve ever seen before at this time of year, presumably related to last July’s bumper influx and favourable overwinter conditions, Seven-spot Ladybirds were out, crawling and trawling for aphids.

Harking back to midwinter, every Sarcococca sat in its own pool of olfactory pleasure…

… and trunks and branches showed off their lichens and mosses, so much easier to appreciate in the full light before bud-burst:

Skylarks were singing over the surrounding fields and Dabchicks diving on the Reservoir, while Robins, Blue and Great Tits, and at least five male Chaffinches serenaded the spring.  And as if on cue, the next in the line of flowers were bursting through, a blossoming that will grow inexorably over the next few months:

How quickly spring will arrive depends on the weather over the next few weeks, but come it will. And whatever, the garden is always visit, whether in rain or shine!