St Nicks

Weather: short but heavy showers clearing to sun; breezy Observers: Amanda, Carrie, Cliff, Kaj, Kaye, Linda, Mike, Paul, Tracy The reserve is looking increasingly autumnal, with far more seed heads than flowers, and fruits ripening on a range of trees. The birds are still skulking, but the insects (like this one) are amazing. Mowing was […]

Weather: 15C to 21C A cool start to the day, but it warmed up later. Sunny intervals, light SW breeze Observers: Amanda, Doug, Hanna, Ian, Janetta, Kaj, Kaye, Linda, Mike, Paul, Preeus, Tracy Wow! What a huge turn-out this morning! There were twelve of us setting out from the Environment Centre – and it was […]

  Wild Teasel Dipsacus fullonum Teasels can be found all year, the full-grown plants often standing tall above the surrounding vegetation.  They are biennials, and start off  in their first spring as neat, almost flat rosettes of leaves. The tall flowering stems grow in the second year.  Late July to August is the time to […]

Weather: Mainly sunny, cloudier later, occasional light breeze, 13C to 21 C Observers: Amanda, Cliff, Declan, Ian, Kaye, Linda, Megan, Mike, Nicole, Paul, Preeyus Another good turn-out of Wildwatchers. Ian took newcomers, Megan, Mike & Nicole round, to be joined later by Declan and Preeyus, with an emphasis on birds and butterflies. Kaye led the […]

Weather: Warm (17C to 21C), overcast, but with sunny intervals. Occasional light SW breeze. Observers: Amanda, Declan, Ian, Janetta, Kaj, Kaye, Linda, Preeyus With eight of us on the Wildwatch today, we decided to split into two groups. Ian and Linda took Declan and Preeyus round, aiming to record birds and butterflies, whilst Kaye and […]

Weather: hot, humid, mainly sunny Observers: Amanda, Cliff, Declan, Janetta, Kaye, Linda, Maigen, Mike, Tracey In similar conditions to last week’s, except possibly even hotter and more airless, birds continued to be hard to find, one or two plants are experiencing a very short flowering season, but there were clouds of butterflies and small insects. […]

Weather: Hot, with sunny intervals: 20C to 28 C. Occasional calm and cooling breeze Observers: Amanda, Carrie, Declan, Ian, Linda, Natasha, Sarah, Tracey Well, at the height of the plant flowering season, we were without our plant and flower experts, Janetta and Kaye. But Linda and Carrie stepped nobly up to the line, and with […]

Weather:   Warm, overcast, light breeze Observers:   Declan, Nettie, Preeyus There’s a first time for everything, and it was inevitable that one day there would come a Wednesday when none of the regulars were available. We bitterly regret that it had to happen at the end of a mini heat-wave in the middle of the breeding […]

Weather: Cloudy at first, then sunny intervals. 16C to 21C. Light breeze Observers: Amanda, Claire, Kaj, Kaye, Ian, Nettie, Paul, Rasa, Rosemary, Tracy A big turnout of ten people this week, with three newcomers. It was a bit of a disjointed walk, partially because Phil wanted some volunteers to help him with a thesis on […]

  Speckled Wood Butterfly Pararge aegeria This attractive butterfly is the northern form of a species belonging to the large family of Browns or Satyridae. It’s by far the easiest of the family to recognise. The brown upper wings have an unmistakeable slightly chequered pattern of creamy-yellow spots; the underside of the forewing is similar […]