Focus Nature Notes. Butterflies at last…

Last hurrah ….last week. 

Congratulations to RHS Garden Rosemoor with parts of the garden awash with bees, dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies at last …last week. Amongst the Whites are flashes of yellow, not Clouded Yellow as I thought but newly emerged Brimstone. It was a hopeful sight after the sad news about alarmingly low numbers from the Butterfly Conservation. #butterflycount. Also spotted a Peacock, 3 Red Admirals and my first and only Tortoishell of the year. Watch the clip below, enjoy a tranquil moment, I love to know what flowers are planted here.

“The Butterfly Conservation are calling on the Government to:

1. Declare a nature emergency

2. Implement an immediate and permanent ban on butterfly-harming neonicotinoid pesticides, without exceptions. 

If you agree, sign our letter and join leading conservation figures in calling on the Government to take action now.” Add your voice at (butterfly-conservation.org)

Seen 14th September

Watch the video here on youtube

 

 

 

Pat Adams' North Devon Focus. My North Devon Coast & Country Chronicle

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Focus Nature Notes. Farewell Summer

As harvesting is almost over and farmers trim the field hedgerows, apples and blackberries are ripening, purple heather, yellow gorse bloom on the high moorland and on the coast and grasses turn from green to gold it’s time to say farewell to Summer. A wet and windy one at times with unusually high temperatures recorded in parts of the UK, in a changing  and challenging world we can always depend on  wildlife to bring joy and complete the cycle. 

Butterfly numbers have been worryingly low but they seem to be making an appearance now, though not in great numbers. The Buddleia aka Butterfly Bush is still blooming in my garden and this week I have seen a Peacock, Red Admiral, Small White and a Speckled Wood.. Good news is that I have seen plenty of bees and insects.

The Swifts have long since gone. According to my nature notes 29th July was my last sighting and this week the House Martins and Swallows have been gathering. They sit together on the wires and flutter wildly aloft, swooping over the field so it won’t be long before they begin their long journey back to Africa.  The magical photo shows a lone Swallow on the wire, I hope he catches up with the rest of the gang.

As the main bird nesting season comes to a close, remember they still huddle quietly while the young ones get used to their new surroundings and the old ones hunker down for the moult so take care when trimming trees, bushes and hedgerows. Also take care when strimming, watch out for ground nesting birds, hedgehogs and other precious little critters. 

 

According to Natural England "The ‘Bird Nesting Season’ is officially from February until August and it is recommended that vegetation works (tree or hedge cutting) or site clearance should be done outside of the nesting season."

 

Just as I'm writing this  I noticed a little shimmering through the window, a fledgling Goldfinch fluttering its wings with mum or dad. Happy Days.

Photo copyright Pat Adams North Devon Focus

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 Read all about it

🐦RSPB. Brilliant Broods: A Guide to Bird Nests & Eggs https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/brilliant-broods-a-guide-to-eggs-and-nests

🐦Advice on protection of birds visit UK Government Wildlife & Countryside

🐦Act 1981 updates and legal information - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/contents

Wild birds: protection and licences https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wild-birds-protection-surveys-and-licences

 

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Pat Adams' North Devon Focus. My North Devon Coast & Country Chronicle

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Butterflies at last. Butterflies count

I was beginning to wonder if the butterflies were ever going to return. Worryingly very few in numbers over the past couple of months.

I spotted the Speckled Wood in my wildlife friendly garden at the end of May. On my walks around coast and countryside I only saw a couple Orange Tips back in the Spring and very few Whites.

Yesterday I saw a good selection including

• Red Admiral (first I’ve seen this year)
• Gatekeeper (first I’ve seen this year)
• . Skipper (first I’ve seen this year)
• Comma (first I’ve seen this year)
• Large White
• Small White

There was also a solitary Brimstone among the many Gatekeepers fluttering around the beautifully sheltered Permaculture Garden at Tapeley Park.

I do the Big Butterfly Count every year, so I’m hoping my own garden count counts for something this year. I took the stunning Speckled Wood photo in  my garden at the end of May.

 

 Butterflies at last. Photo credit Pat Adams North Devon Focus

Large White - Photo credit Pat Adams North Devon Focus

Speckled Wood - Photo credit Pat Adams North Devon Focus

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 The Big Butterfly Count 2024 runs from 12 July - 4 August, spend 15 minutes in a sunny spot and help gather vital data to save butterflies and moths.

“Help the Butterfly Conservation take nature's pulse by joining the Big Butterfly Count. The Big Butterfly Count is a UK-wide survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment simply by counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) we see.”
https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org

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Pat Adams' North Devon Focus. My North Devon Coast & Country Chronicle

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Explore the Coast and' Country' side of  Bideford Bay and Beyond 

>North Devon Focus Website 

Farewell May Daze.

I think May might be my favourite month and this year the rain and sun has produced some floral spectacles.
 

The Bluebells were early, the Mayflowers were late and the Ramsons were fantastic this year, I have included some of the wild flowers found on the North Devon coast and countryside, from ancient woodlands, wildflower meadows and rocky coast. 

Not seen too many butterflies, sparse number of Orange Tips and a few Speckled Wood. 

Relax and enjoy the peace….see if you can identify the wildflowers in this video

 

Pat Adams' North Devon Focus. My North Devon Coast & Country Chronicle

Facebook 😊 - Flickr

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Explore the Coast and' Country' side of  Bideford Bay and Beyond 

>North Devon Focus Website 

Be wildfire aware. Advice on how you can prevent wildfires

Fire down below over the border. The Devon and Somerset Fire Service were out on Sunday fighting fires near Porlock, we chatted to a crew who helped get the one down below under control as they were returning to their station at Combe Martin.

There have been a few large #wildfires on #dartmoor and Exmoor in the past couple of weeks, you can see in these pictures how dry the grassland is so #bewildfireaware, think of the wonderful environment, nesting birds and wildlife before firing up the BBQ. 

For advice visit dsfire.gov.uk @dsfireupdates on how you can prevent wildfires 🔥

• Take your litter home.
• Don't throw cigarette ends on the ground or out of car windows.
• Glass in direct sunlight can cause fires - ensure there is none lying around.
• Don’t have campfires or barbecues in the countryside. Only have them in safe designated areas.

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Keeping meadows in mind – and why they matter. Free online talk bu author Stephen Moss on the importance of wildflower meadows

Best-selling nature writer and broadcaster Stephen Moss is giving a free online talk to illustrate why creating wildflower meadows is important for turning around wildlife declines and helping to tackle climate change.

The 'Why meadows matter' talk, on Wednesday 3rd February at 7:30pm, focuses on a key habitat for the subject of Stephen Moss's latest book, The Swallow: A Biography. Wildflower-rich meadows are home to a diverse array of insects. That means they are important places not only for bumblebees, butterflies and other pollinators, but also for the smaller prey species hunted by insect-eating birds such as swallows.

This online event has been organised by Dartmoor-based Moor Meadows, a community wildflower and wildlife conservation group. Open to everyone, the event is free but you must register.  CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR PLACE

Traditional wildflower meadows have disappeared from most of the English countryside, largely due to changes in agriculture during the 20th century. With the loss of diverse wild plants came an associated loss of insects and other wildlife.

But in recent years, techniques have been perfected to re-create wildflower-rich grasslands. As groups such as Moor Meadows have shown, wildflower 'meadows' can be restored or created on farmland, in gardens and churchyards, and on roadside verges.

Event organizer and Moor Meadows co-founder Donna Cox of Buckfastleigh said: "Wildflower meadows are among the most important wildlife habitats, as they support disproportionately high numbers of plant and animal species. Yet 97% of Britain's wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s. Meadows have a fascinating history and are a wonderful wildlife spectacle in the present – but they are important for the future of both wildlife and people."

The free talk on 'Why meadows matter' will include a Question and Answer session so attendees can quiz Stephen Moss about the wildlife to be found in meadows and the importance of wildflower-rich grasslands for reducing pollution in our waterways, storing carbon from the atmosphere, reversing the declines in pollinating insects, helping to improve people's mental health and more.

Stephen Moss said: "Wildflower meadows have such a central importance not only for wildlife, but also in our history, literature and culture. They have all but disappeared in recent decades, but Moor Meadows is now helping to bring them back."

In addition to the general Q&A session the free event will also include a conversation between Stephen Moss and Dartmoor-based RSPB Chairman Kevin Cox.

Stephen Moss - Author of  'The Swallow: A Biography'

People enjoying Brimpts meadow, near Dartmeet. Photo credit Wendy Searle

Meadow brown butterfly Photo credit Robbie Phillips

"Keeping meadows in mind – and why they matter"

Free online talk on the importance of wildflower meadows organised by More Meadows – Wednesday 3rd February at 7:30pm

Places on the free online talk by Stephen Moss - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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>>READ MORE POSTS & ALL ABOUT MORE MEADOWS

Birdwatching. Life on the Torridge Estuary

Sometimes you don't need words, just watching nature is enough. The clip below was taken on a not very bright day on the 2nd December when the tide was out on the Torridge Estuary.  A murmuration, but not Starlings, however we enjoyed watching the flock rise and swirl up, up, down and around then quite a while. I have since found out that the birds were Golden Plover. Are they making a stop on their migration or over-wintering here

The Torridge Estuary is a haven for migrating birds but I haven't seen a flock this large before. In November I saw three Cormorant, each sitting on their own rock spot, four Egret, several gulls and a flock of Redshank swirling over the Skern. Scroll down for video clip....click through to YouTube if you want to watch on full screen....relax and enjoy. 

 Life on the Biosphere - Video clip credit Pat Adams (North Devon Focus)

For the Record, Life on Lockdown  Covid19 Day 254

Hello December. Robin's Winter song on lockdown Day 253

It's the first day of December, Covid19 Lockdown Day 253 not the brightest of times as we are in our second lockdown since March but there have been some fantastic skies, vibrant sunsets and awesome cloud formations.  Thank goodness for nature bringing us some joy in these difficult times.

Local walks and beaches have been heaving over the Summer so most days I have been restricted to watching the wildlife through my window and the garden.

Our resident hedgehogs have not visited for over a week, I have still left water at the door just in case. I am happy to say we have had hedgehogs in the garden for over twenty years and for the past couple of years have had a Trail Cam to capture their nocturnal pursuits. 

I could hear the Robin singing his heart out, but couldn't see him.....you've got to love nature's way of  hiding in plain sight.

Focus Nature Notes. Don't Tidy up Mrs. Tiggy

Well  I was doing my bit for nature, leaving the hedge-trimming, pruning and tidying up until later so not to disturb the nesting birds. My garden, I am proud to say, is quite small, rather untidy, a tangle of climbers, overgrown shrubs and not so pristine lawns but this also makes it very wild-life friendly. Last  week I finally started cutting back the hedges, the flowering shrubs, honeysuckle and roses and generally tidying up. I started by adding an extension to my Critter Hotel  with an old up-turned wicker cat basket thinking it might be a cosy winter shelter for our resident hedgehogs. I must say I was very happy with the result, I was “Giving Nature a Home”, a veritable palace built out of cut down cable hose, logs and evergreen  branches. I was also emptying the compost bins spreading it around the flower beds and the base of the shrubs for the Blackbirds and Robins to rummage through. I eventually worked my way to the messiest corner of the garden where unused pots and trays have lain undisturbed for a couple of years. I lifted up some corrugated plastic sheeting and Noooooooo- in the far corner curled up like a hairy caterpillar was a sleeping hedgehog.  She was in the perfect place beneath the Beech trees, nestled in a leafy mattress with easy access to the path for her nightly forages in the garden. I immediately put the sheet back, sprinkled with leaves, hoping that I hadn’t disturbed her, feeling so guilty wondering if she was already hibernating or just having an afternoon nap. So the moral of the story is nature will find a home in the unlikeliest places, in messy pots, clumps of twigs and leafy litter. The beginning of November is when hedgehogs normally settle down for  the winter and as Guy Fawkes Night approaches this is a time to be extra vigilant. Devon Wildlife Trust advise leaving bonfire building as late as possible. Our hedgehogs have been in the garden for years but I have never known where their home is, I also didn’t know that they will usually wake and forage more than once through the winter so I will continue to leave a few nuts by the door on warmer nights.Article and Photo Pat Adams 1/11/2013

• Devon Wildlife Trust - Adopt a Species
• The RSPB have tips on Giving Nature a Home.
• RSPCA North Devon
• North Devon Animal Ambulance - Wildlife Rescue
• Wikepedia Stub The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1905.