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1st: Ladybirds (plus spot the odd one out) We had a bit of an influx of ladybirds yesterday. Around 50 or 60 landed on our windows and doors to enjoy the warm sunshine on the south facing side of our house. And every single one was a Harlequin!! We didn't realise how varied their colouring and patterns could be - the key identifier, is the white patterning on the heads The harlequin ladybird first arrived in the UK from Asia in 2004, and is now one of the most common ladybirds in the country. It is larger than most of our native species and is a voracious predator - as well as eating aphids, it also eats other ladybirds' eggs and larvae. It also has multiple broods so can make quite a dent in our native species populations. As with a lot of invasive species, humans played a role by introducing it into America and then Europe, to deal with aphid problems. It was only a matter of time before it hit UK shores. We see very few native ladybirds on our land and to date, only two species, the 7 and the 14 spots. Recent research suggests that the impact of the Harlequin on our native ladybirds may not be as bad as feared, BUT the picture isn't yet totally clear. Thanks to Jo Everitt for finding these articles: RHS and NHM And our odd one out: the caterpillar of the rather fabulous Poplar Hawk Month - one of our favourites. 
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2nd: Meadow Pipits The land is full of meadow pipits just now - we see up to 50/ 60 at once sometimes. They congregate on the wires, flock in the grass grass, fly up to the saplings and the hedgerows. It's obviously been a good year for them and autumn/ winter is the time of year when they do get together in large flocks. Photo of individual bird taken in February!!    |
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3rd: Long-tailed tits Look what appeared on our feeders this morning for the first time. We have seen them on the land before, but they hadn't come to feed till now. Let's hope they become regulars. |
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4th: Corvids It's a joy watching the corvids fly around our land. In the winds they seem to know exactly which way to face and often they can be seen taking off backwards from the wires and trees and allowing themselves just to be carried free!! What a fabulous feeling that must be. (Not sure on the ID of these - rook or raven or even crow - will consult with some experts.)   |
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5th: Native or not? All these plants (from one bank in Fruit Field) have come from seed sown this year, seed that was sold as good for bees, butterflies and other invertebrates; great for birds; from wild seed native to the UK - in other words a right royal mixture!!! So, of these eight, four are considered native plants (Corn Chamomile, Cornflower, Knapweed and Vipers Bugloss), one non-native (Plains Coreopsis) and the remaining three (Corn Marigold, Yarrow and Dill) are now considered as 'naturalised' as they were introduced several or many thousands of years ago. Do there statuses matter to the wildlife? Some, especially the non-native Plains Coreopsis, do look as though they belong in a garden, rather than a wilded area but our current thinking is that as long as none become too invasive to the determent of others, the wildlife really won't mind. Corn Chamomile and Cornflower 
 Corn marigold and Dill 
 Knapweed and Plains Coreopsis 
 Vipers Bugloss and Yarrow 
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6th: Our Grey wagtail is still around |
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7th: Nuthatches Our nuthatches definitely love the fat pellets we put out. Beautiful birds, so colourful.. and unlike the treecreeper, able to walk head first up AND down the trunks of trees, and unlike the woodpecker, they don't need to use their tail feathers for support. Isn't it fascinating how all these different species have their own skill sets?  
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8th: Dogs and foxes Cheeky pups - this was meant to be Jack's new beanbag chair  And here are our two foxes that we catch on the cams most nights now - they have very different tails |
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9th: The beauty of webs |
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10th: New and Returning A new hoverfly spotted today, the Snout Hoverfly (and that is one seriously long snout), and the starlings are back - it really must be mid-autumn now  
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11th: New species We cleared the small rocks today inside one of the chiminera trailcams (in order to move it) and found two new species. The Red Legged Shieldbug was sadly dead (they overwinter as nymphs), the spider was very much not. It is from the Clubiona family, maybe a Clubiona terrestrus but in order to confirm this, genitalia would need to be examined!!   |
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12th: Tis most definitely fungi season. First up: a beautiful Parasol, Macrolepiota procera. They really are a wonder to behold, edible and so easy to spot from a distance. We get them in singles here but up on our local moor, there are in wonderfully huge half-circle fairy rings!! The gills are perfect!! And a new one for us: Orange Peel Fungus (we think) Aleuria aurantia, also edible. There are literally hundreds growing on one of the clay banks in Swallow field. It is apparently, frequently found on disturbed soil, which is exactly what are banks are.   |