Woodpecker

 

Most regular readers of my blog will know that DS is a keen wildlife photographer. As he is eleven years old, I can't really send him off to nature reserves by himself. There is only so far you can get on a scooter! This week I took him to Warnham nature reserve, which is council run nature and hence very cheap to get into. It's great for a few hours out in the afternoon. The people there are very friendly and very encouraging to my mini-naturalist. They have an extensive bird feeder section and I was pretty pleased to get a photo of this greater spotted woodpecker, which was on a niftily designed woodpecker feeder.

A breathing space

Today has been unbelievably mild for March in our corner of the South East of England. DD had her practice walk for her Duke of Edinburgh award this morning, so DH and I took DS to Warnham Nature Reserve. It is a hop and a skip from home, and is one of DS's favourite places.

We only had a short time there, and spent most of it in one hide, just watching the birds. DH and I shared my camera.

A grey heron was stalking along the opposite bank. He was hunting, and caught an unwary frog. (DS got a photo of that, which I may link to soon.)

 

 

Who can resist an iconic swan photo?!

 A buzzard rode the thermals into the bright blue sky.

A tufted duck kept his golden eye on us.

It was a peaceful, serene hour in the midst of a busy week.

Goldfinches

So pretty...

Fresh air!

Today has been the first really good weather day in the UK since before Christmas. It has been more or less continual rain, wind or usually both for weeks, resulting in the worst flooding for years across much of the country. We have got away fairly lightly, with an inch of water in the garage and a lawn the consistency of chocolate mousse. I am not complaining; many people have put up with far, far worse.

This afternoon the sun was shining, so we bundled up and headed out to Wakehurst Place, our favourite place for a walk. We never seem to get tired of it, and if you know where to go you can avoid the hordes of similarly cabin-feverish folk.

Blue sky!  Space!

Wakehurst is home to the Millennium Seed Bank, which has inspired some large-scale sculpture:

 There was also some fairly exotic wildlife:

 

This is actually a musical instrument, children (and adults) can hit various parts of it with wooden pegs. We all enjoyed trying it out, although I'm not sure what the North American animals would make of Sussex!

There were definite signs of spring, with swathes of cyclamen and snowdrops.

It was so good to just get out and breathe.

Catkins!

These made me happy today...

One of the techniques which DH has been learning to help him cope with Aspergers is mindfulness. As far as I can tell it is trying to live in the present moment and noticing the world around you. As I had to take a short cut through some woods today, I thought I would give it a try. I noticed that the birds were in full song - a little early surely - and the catkins were out. I am no arboreal expert, but I think these are Hazel catkins. Spring is on its way!

Autumn

 

I'm not sure what it is about autumn that I love so much. Maybe the colours, maybe the quality of the light, maybe the sense of completion. Whatever it is, it makes me very happy!

DS took the photos for this post.

Counting butterflies!

While DD is away at camp, DS and I have been getting out and about into the local countryside as much as possible. As well as our trip to Warnham on Saturday, we visited a country park in our own town on Sunday and today we visited the RSPB reserve at Pulborough Brooks. We particularly wanted to get involved in the Big Butterfly Count run by the Butterfly Conservation Trust.

Butterflies in the UK are having a tough time. Long term problems such as habitat destruction and climate change combined with the recent dreadful summers has led to 75% of UK species being in decline. The idea behind the count is to "take nature's pulse" as butterfly numbers are great indicators of the health of the environment. It is really easy to take part. There is even an app available on the website. (Thanks to Gill from Frugal in Derbyshire for pointing this out!) All you need to do is to spend 15 minutes in a sunny spot and count all the butterflies you see, then upload the results onto the website. Simples!

Until this summer, I could possibly have identified a cabbage white, (which isn't even it's real name!), and a peacock butterfly. Over the past few days we have identified lots of different species, and DS has photographed quite a few:

Common blue - such a beauty!

Gatekeeper - one of mine!

Large skipper - actually quite a small butterfly.

Meadow brown feeding

Green-veined White

Peacock - I took this one!

Caterpillar of the Cinnabar moth - identified thanks to iSpot

Painted Lady

We've had a lot of fun, and DS is revelling in his new hobby. The Big Butterfly Count only runs until August 11th, but it is well worth getting involved if you can spare the time.

Warnham nature reserve

It feels very strange in our house at the moment as DH and DD are both away. Yesterday DS and I decided to check out Warnham nature reserve, which is on the outskirts of a nearby town. DS is currently loving wildlife photography and I need very little excuse to abandon my housework and disappear into the countryside for a while!

Warnham is run by the local council, and only charges a nominal entrance fee. We loved it. We sat in the meadow and watched the insects.

 

We were dazzled by the light on the water of a millpond.

DS took this one!

 We wandered through the woods and marvelled at the butterflies.

A comma butterfly

We were very glad we didn't meet any stag beetles!

A stag beetle hotel!

We lingered in the hide watching birds on the feeders. We loved the antics of the chaffinches.

The squirrels amused us with their acrobatics.

DS took this one too!

We got very excited when we saw a greater spotted woodpecker!

And this one!

We had a fabulous, peaceful afternoon. I felt very blessed!

Ardingly reservoir

We love picnics in our house. As soon as the sun comes out in Spring, the picnic blanket is unearthed and the cool-bag is cleaned out ready for another year. This year they have had plenty of use with the unusually sunny weather we have been enjoying. This morning I threw a few sandwiches together and this afternoon we headed out to Ardingly Reservoir. 

It tends to be a peaceful spot as it is off the beaten track. There is usually a small car-parking charge, but the machine has been broken for months. There is a large hill which seems to have been specifically designed for rolling down. (Tested by the children.) There is also a watersports activity centre which sells cheap ice creams. (Very important!)

After we had eaten our picnic we took ourselves off for a walk. We didn't get very far this time as we got completely distracted by a meadow area which was humming vigorously.

We recently bought DS an inexpensive camera as he has been showing such an interest in wildlife photography, (see post here). It was a kind of un-birthday present; the poor boy's birthday is two days before Christmas and it is a long time between presents. We also feared for my camera's safety as he was hanging out of the window with it! 

There is an amazing amount of insects to be found in a patch of grassland. DS was in his element and got busy with his camera:

 

I am no wildlife expert. I looked at the photo and mumbled "Err, cricket?". Fortunately there is a great website called iSpot which is run by the Open University. If you upload a photo of your sighting someone will usually identify it for you. This evening it took less than an hour for some clever person to identify this as a Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Fortunately this one was a little easier:

 

Even I know a bumblebee when I see one!