Blog

I blog about nature in the Norfolk countryside and about my wildlife garden. My blog blends digital photos with an analogue nature journal.

Nature journalling blends nature observation and citizen science with a written diariy or art journal to build a deeper connection with nature and cultivate curiosity, creativity and flow.

Goldcrest in the Winter Cherry

Plenty of flowers but everything is parched and is growing very low in response to the long dry spell / drought. In a first for garden I spotted a Goldcrest foraging amongst the leaves in the Winter Cherry from the sunroom window! Very chufted as it was good sighting and I've only seen them a few times in my life! They are resident and often hang out with Blue tits. Numbers increase in winter due to an influx of Scandinavian migrants.

Large Red Damselfly

John spotted this intermedia male Large Red Damselfly basking on the wall of the house. I wondered if it had emerged recently. Being such early species they really are an auger of spring. It was lovely to see one, especially after being forced to refill the pond, which had dried out amost fully in this strange sunny and dry but cool weather we've beenhaving.

Silver Birch Tree Study

Our oldest Silver Birch that we planted soon after arriving is 15 years old now and c. 25-50ft tall already. They are a very fast growing species. They can play host to over 300 types of insect life so are a pioneer species. Angle Shades and Buff-tipped are among the many moths it hosts.

Butterfly Wings

Butterfly wings are covered in overlapping scales made of chitin. Its stretched like a membrane over a hollow tube framework called verris that carry hemo lymph, air and nerve signals to the wing. Covering the membrane are thousands of tiny scales that overlap like roof shingles. Each scale has long, parallel struts joined to each other by lots of fine ridges creating a lattice.

Purple Bluebells

The Bluebell's hue comes from an anthocyanin, called Delphinidin, that can appear red, purple or blue depending on its chemical environment. PH, light absorption, other flavonoids and metallic ions all affect the final shade we see. Delphinidin has 3 hydroxyl decorations, which shifts the colour towards purple and blue. This marks them as highly visible to pollinators. Colour also changes over time, with the youngest flowers being richest in colour.

Winter Flowering Cherry Blossom

Prunus x subhirtella Autumnalis

Produces semi-double white flowers, some tinged with pink intermittently from November to March, opening from deep pink buds. Flowers are sometimes followed by small bitter fruit beloved by birds. It has been awarded the RHS plants for pollinators logo so is presumably good for overwintering and early spring insects. Native to Japan.

Brimstone Butterflies

I book a trip to Norwich today. It was unseasonably warm and beautifully sunny- the first really lovely springtime day. Along the way I saw not one but 7 Brimstone butterflies! Brimstones have quite large, leaf-shaped wings and hibernate over winter. The males have bright lemon colored wings and the females greenish white-cream wings. Larvae feed on Buckthom and Alder Buckthorn. They always rest with their wings closed. They are widespread as Buckthorn is found on calcareous soils and Alder Buckthorn on moist acid soils. Therefore they are rated as being of “Least Concern" on the GB Red List (2022). From 1976-2019 they've become 22% more abundant but -3% less widely distributed. One possible origin for the word "butterfly" comes from the colour of the male brimstone butterfly.

Roe Deer

John had an incredible sight of a small group of young Roe deer on his dog walk with Rosa. There were 5 deer altogether: 3 male and 2 females. "Capreolus capreolus” have grey-brown winter fur with a white rump & short antlers. Bucks form territory overlapping females and breed in July/August & uses delayed gestation to time birth for May/June vegetation peak.

 

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