Blog Archives: Britain’s Wildlife

Wanderings in Wivenhoe’s Lower Lodge

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Midsummer in Wivenhoe and our attentions turn to Lower Lodge, part of the Colne Local Nature Reserve, a riverside area of grassland and scrub, the wilder bits of which are managed on a three-year mowing rotation by Colchester City Council. Rich in flowers, it is one of our areas of greatest insect diversity, so in the month from late June we made four visits there, a recce and with WildEssex and BNA groups.

Actually this year, at least at first, flowering (and hence insect abundance) was poor, a consequence of a cool spring and of the vigorous growth of tall grass, no doubt reflecting the unprecedentedly wet past six months.

But towards the end of July, flowers were coming through, and butterflies were coming out, albeit not (yet?) in the number of variety we have come to expect.

Meadow Browns as always were followed sequentially by Gatekeepers and then Ringlets, with a few Small Heaths around the mown paths …

… Large (mostly early in the period), Essex and Small Skippers (later on) …

… while summer-brood Commas and Green-veined Whites came out on cue.

As far as day-flying moths are concerned, the few Burnet Companions were not at all companionable, coming a couple of weeks before the first Six-spot Burnets: the latter emerged in force on our last visit on 21 July, when we also found a Silver Y at rest.

Despite the abundance of Ragwort, Cinnabar caterpillars were distinctly patchy, perhaps reflecting poor weather during the adults’ earlier flight period. And another ‘caterpillar’ was of a sawfly, many of which have distinctive larvae, but they are generally beyond our identification skills given the lack of readily available identification guides.

Lepidoptera and other insects are at their best in warm, sunny weather and when nectar- and pollen-rich flowers are open. Therein lies the value of this site, from the earlier-season Common Cat’s-ear and Red Clover, to Wild Carrot (with insect-mimic central flowers) giving way to Hogweed and its vast plates of insect food, available to all, and then Common Knapweed and Field Scabious.

Other lovely flowers included Hedge Bedstraw, Smooth Tare and Grass Vetchling, although by the last walk the latter had retreated into anonymity as its flowers had finished.

And also of course the grasses, here Cock’s-foot  and False Oat-grass in full hayfever-inducing glory!

As for other invertebrates, a few to be mentioned by name are Hogweed Bonking-beetles (out in force and living up to their name), Thick-thighed Beetle and Black-and-Yellow Longhorn …

… ‘Common’ Earwig, one of those memories of childhood that few of us see nowadays …

… a nymph Tortoise Bug, not a common species in the county and according to the Essex Field Club map almost unknown east of Colchester, while very similar comments apply to the beautiful planthopper Allygus mixtus, although we have seen that previously around Wivenhoe, in the Old Cemetery.

And then just a selection of others, just photos, no words, although all have been identified and a full list will be given to the site managers.

 

It was also good to see plenty of oak galls – marbles, artichokes, ram’s-horns, cherries and knoppers – with only the spangles seemingly at a low ebb, being small and few and far-between.

And finally, always good to see, dispersing Toadlets, presumably having taken advantage of the spring-line pools created by this year’s weather. We may have complained but every version of our crazy weather benefits something!

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: focus shifts to the ponds

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

It was a lovely hot and sunny day for my July Wandering Naturalist event around the Beth Chatto Gardens. Perhaps to be expected, the sudden intense heat meant that although there were lots of visitors, they were mostly interested in sitting in the shade looking at the garden, rather than being shown insects and other wildlife. And who can blame them?!

Nevertheless, enough people were happy to be dragged around by me to make it worthwhile. In common with the whole of this summer so far, there were fewer insects than expected for the season; notably the two Buddleia, davidii and crispa, next to Beth’s house were pretty much devoid of butterflies and bees, in complete contrast to the equivalent time last year.

But true to form, I saw more insects around the garden than I have anywhere else in north Essex over the past month, testament to the pulling power of a well-planted, large ecological garden.

There were the first tentative signs that at long last insect populations are starting to take off. Ten butterfly species. Including freshly emerged, second brood Painted Lady, Brimstone, Comma and Holly Blue, plus Large Skipper and Speckled Wood is something of a return to form in species richness, if not abundance.

Sea-hollies Eryngium in all their wonderful variety are without exception great plants for pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and beetles. Now starting to attract as the flowers open, these are destined to be a major part of the garden menu for the next month, alongside the larger daisies which too are just starting to reveal their wares…

But it was the dragonflies that were the stars of the show this week. Still plenty of damselflies, including Blue-tailed and Common Blue…

… several Brown Hawkers were sweeping over the ponds on tawny-suffused wings…

.. and the Common Darters that have been around for three weeks or so were supplemented, and outnumbered, by a wave of Ruddy Darters, fresh out and flycatching furiously.

  

To walk around the ponds, watching the activity, the Flowering-rush and Pickerelweed in full bloom, was simply sublime.

Elsewhere in the garden, other insects included Common Scorpionfly, Harlequin Ladybird and several hawking Hornets. But surprisingly, given their abundance nearby over the previous two days, there were no flying ants,  although the Swallows twittering overhead suggested they may have been up there. Buzzards were also noisy overhead, as a Chiffchaff continued in song, a couple of Song Thrushes fed safely away from the slug-killing fields of modern agriculture, and I watched a Grey Heron fishing (successfully) in the Reservoir.

The full riches of summer may yet be to come. And there are certainly a richness of flowers to cater for their needs if they do. My next walk might hopefully see them providing for more insects.

If anyone wants to join me on a nature walk around the gardens, I will be doing just that (weather permitting!) on August 2, August 16 and September 20. Once you have paid to come in, the walk is free! Walks commence at 11AM and 12 noon each day, meeting at the Visitor Information Centre. For garden entrance tickets and more information, visit our website Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens, and do come expecting to want to buy some of the wildlife-attracting plants I will show you, as well as delicious tea and cakes!

Blogs of the previous Meet the Wandering Naturalist event this summer can be found here:

April: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: among the April showers… | Chris Gibson Wildlife

May: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: the height of Spring | Chris Gibson Wildlife

June: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: is summer finally here? | Chris Gibson Wildlife

Marvellous moths morning at Beth Chatto Gardens – late July

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Our first moth event of the year a month ago was an eye-opener in this summer of few insects – a surprisingly large haul of moths caught (and released). For our second course yesterday, our hopes were even higher, being deeper into the mothy time of year, following several very hot days and the night itself forecast to be one of the warmest of the year, with increasing cloud cover, and temperatures not expected to fall below 20°C: pretty much perfect conditions.

And so it proved, a bumper haul of 60 macromoth species (plus another 10 or so micros), totalling perhaps 400 individual moths. Our small group of customers, and the handful of interested passers-by as we released the catch were treated to a wide variety of the night life of the garden.

For smaller hands at least the big game proves the most interesting, and today’s stars included three types of Hawk-moth (Poplar and Small Elephant, together with an old and faded Elephant, conceivably one of the fresh emergees we caught last month), a couple of furry Oak Eggars and the large, emerald Large Emerald.

Moving down a little in size, but keeping the intense colours going, there were lots of Rosy Footmen, a few Canary-shouldered Thorns and a single Green Silver-lines.

Black Arches are always a delight, all charcoal scrawls and remarkable antennae, the latter feature also shared by the Vapourer Moth:

Three species of Prominent graced the trap and the willing hands and clothes of the onlookers: Iron, Pebble and Swallow Prominents.

The list goes on, and even the brown and less showy species have plenty to say about the value of camouflage: Blood-vein, Latticed Heath, Scalloped Oak, Oak Hook-tip, Poplar Grey and Nut-tree Tussock.

While most of our captures were of widespread and common species, there were some less frequent ones. The Festoon is no doubt living in the ancient oaks that run alongside the trap site, but it is both nationally scarce and included in the Essex county Red Data List.

A final selection of macromoths includes three of my favourites. Buff Arches might sound plain but in reality it is like no other, almost shell-like in texture; and then you have those moths that are nothing more than animated birch twig (Buff Tip) and bird poo (Chinese Character)!

And that is just the macromoths: there was a variety of micros, although as so often, insufficient time to look at them closely – here are Elder Pearl and Eudemis profundana.

And moths are not the only things that come to moth traps. Our haul included the small Birch Shield-bug (not a common species in this part of Essex and I think the first record for the garden) and the attractive green planthopper Iassus lanio.

Another attraction for our customers on these events is that they get access before anyone else is there. First thing, the gardens are truly sublime: the only sounds are birdsong and the rustle of a dragonfly’s wings, the only feeling pure joy…

And our potter around gave us chance to look at insects going about their daily business. Common Darter dragonflies and Willow Emerald damselflies were among the pondside foliage, early butterflies included Gatekeeper, and this lovely hoverfly Chrysotoxum festivum showed itself to advantage before it had warmed up enough for its daily rounds of the flower beds.

If you are interested in such events, please keep an eye on the Beth Chatto website for similar events next spring and summer. These are run by and in support of the Beth Chatto Education Trust, established by Beth to carry forward her passion for plants and the ecological approach to all.

#WildEssexWalks: Mistley Furze Hill and Old Knobbley

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, Travel by Rail, WildEssex

Wow!  A warm summer’s day – what a lovely change – and enjoyed by our group on our Wild Essex walk in Mistley.  Our journey took us through the Edme Malt works, where we admired some of the intricate decoration of these functional buildings, under the railway line and on through a cow field where the residents were curious but friendly.

A walk along a rather attractive footpath reminiscent of a holloway where the tree canopies meet was a cool place to wander out of the sun’s glare and admire some of the wild flowers, Cuckoo Pint, Herb Robert and Hogweed to name but three.

Of course Chris took the opportunity to talk about the characteristics used in his new flower identification guide such as the ‘false insect’ and branched bracts of Wild Carrot, the four-lobed stigma of Great Willowherb and the uniquely two-petalled Enchanter’s-nightshade.

A few galls were spotted including two very different ones on Dog Rose: smooth pea-gall and spiked pea-gall. A complex, confusing and confused pair, the spiked version  belongs to the gall-wasp Diplolepis nervosa though the smooth one could be caused either by D. nervosa or the closely related D. eglanteriae. In this form, the two species are indistinguishable.

At the top of the lane we continued on to the edges of the local amenity field, past the ‘Secret Bunker’ and rather interesting Passive houses. Here there were more stands of wild flowers (including Ragwort, but without stripy Cinnabar caterpillars) and a number of butterflies seen.  Sadly numbers of these insects seems to be quite low this year, at least so far, though by the end of the afternoon we had spotted seven species – Red Admiral, Holly Blue, Comma, Large White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Large Skipper.

Just a few other insects attracted our attention including a 10-spot Ladybird, a flesh-fly and and a nymph Speckled Bush-cricket.

And on to the main event – through the wood that clothes the flanks of Furze Hill we admired a number of old oak trees, many of which showing signs of pollarding down the ages resulting in interesting branch formations.

At last we reached Old Knobbley Himself.  Well-named,  this 800 (at least) year-old tree is covered in nobbles and lumps – some caused by bacterial infections and galls – but despite its vast age, this charmer still looks pretty fab and very much alive with upper branches sprouting leaves with gay abandon.  It is such a tactile beast we all spent time stroking  and patting the trunk, and spent time imagining what some of the limbs might represent – two elephants, a moose, a stag?

And as we walked round his girth, is it possible the enveloping folds of root and bark were nursing the oaklet that will eventually replace its esteemed forebear?

And so it was time to turn back to ensure we reached our trains punctually.  A little walk along School Lane brought us back to the station and it was time to say our farewells.  Thank you to all who came along, and to everyone who supports our Wild Essex venture.  Hope to see you all again soon.

The Wild Side of Essex: Summer by the Stour Estuary

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

A select group of Naturetrekkers gathered at Wrabness for our now-traditional high summer amble around the southern shore of the Stour. The forecast was poor (no surprise, this IS 2024!) but the rain largely held off, and at times it was sunny, warm and humid, although with a brisk breeze away from the shelter of trees.

A look at the immediate weather prospects made me change my plans for the day around, so we started off at Stour Wood RSPB reserve. Long after the ‘best’ time for the woods (with spring flowers and birdsong), our primary target was summer woodland butterflies. It all started well along the first ride with half a dozen Silver-washed Fritillaries (although flitting and flirting high in the canopy) and a fleeting fly-past White Admiral. So no photos …

But after that, none. And indeed apart from a few Meadow Browns, a very few Gatekeepers and Ringlets, and single Red Admiral and Comma, that was just about it for butterflies. This summer’s abysmal dearth of butterflies continues.

In fact insects generally were sparse. Highlights included the Scare Forest Tubic micromoth and tiger-striped caterpillars of Cinnabar…

… a Forest Bug, with a plant bug Lygus pratensis on a Ragwort head.

The main tree in the wood, Sweet Chestnut, was really showing off, with cascades of catkins, each producing their characteristic mushroomy odour, and attracting at least a few passing flies.

Honeysuckle, the food plant for White Admiral, was festooning the edges of the coppices, and in full bloom:

Other trees and shrubs were indicators of the ancient origins of the woodland, probably continuously wooded since the retreat of the last Ice Age: Wild Service-tree and Butcher’s-broom.

And in the gloom of the summer wood, just a few flowers in evidence, including Rosebay Willowherb, Wood Sage, Enchanter’s-nightshade and Yellow Pimpernel. At least enough to demonstrate the approach used in our brand new WildGuide!

Few birds were in evidence, apart from ever-singing Wrens, seeping Treecreepers and several yaffling Green Woodpeckers.

A short walk around the adjacent fields took us past the remarkable House for Essex, the brainchild of Grayson Perry. Marmite to the community, but personally I love it, especially now that the lustre of its first decade has become muted and moulded it into its surrounding landscape.

Conservation field margins had plenty of Common Knapweed, Prickly Ox-tongue, Hogweed and Wild Carrot, but sadly few insects again, there was a bug Closterotomus norvegicus and rather a lot of Hogweed Bonking-beetles, doing what they say on the tin! And more Gatekeepers…

Swallows were twittering overhead, no doubt finding sustenance around the stables, while a Linnet, Goldfinch and Greenfinch sang side-by-side of a roof-ridge and just a few hundred metres the finch songscape was filled out with a Chaffinch.

Moving then to the Wrabness Nature Reserve (Essex Wildlife Trust), we entered a very natural-looking but essentially brownfield reserve. Patches of trees and scrub held at least three singing Turtle Doves. Once the sound of our summer, this is pretty much their last outpost in Essex… The trees and bushes also provided us with gall interest (Knopper Galls on acorns, and Robin’s Pincushions on Dog-rose) as well as leaf blemishes and spots, including Sycamore Tar-spot.

Being brownfield, the site showed a vast range of floral interest, including Agrimony (in flower and seed), Common Toadflax, many legumes including Meadow Vetchling and Broad-leaved Everlasting-pea, the latter in an array of colour shades …

… less frequent species locally, like Corky-fruited Water-dropwort,  Viper’s-bugloss, Dittander and Meadow Crane’s-bill…

… and everyone’s favourite, the shell-pink Common Centaury among a couple of parasitic plants, Red Bartsia and Common Eyebright.

There were a few more insects at this site, reflecting its floral diversity, with Essex and Small Skippers, single Six-spot Burnet and Shaded Broad-bar moths, nymphal Speckled Bush-crickets and several Footballer hoverflies.

As a grand finale, it was down to the mudflats of the Stour Estuary, where the tide had now receded. Midsummer is not the best time for estuary birds, off breeding elsewhere, but we saw a Curlew, a few Oystercatchers and Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls, as well as a Little Egret, all concentrated around a freshwater outflow.

The saltmarshes shone purple under mounds of Common Sea-lavender, and a good day was brought to a fitting end sitting among a Sand Martin colony. At least 150 on the wing included some juveniles, as the adults busied with starting second broods, a twittering, trilling cloud that ebbed and flowed with action, until a late afternoon squally shower sent them all indoors. The end!

The Mid-Anglian chalk in summer

Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex

Essex is a large county, and over here on the eastern seaboard, the chalklands of the west are really a step too far away … unless one has to pass through on the way elsewhere.  Earlier this year was one of those, but as a late spring it wasn’t hugely productive (except for Pasque Flowers), so I decided to drop in for more summery fare on my way to and from Birdfair, near Rutland Water.

At the juxtaposition of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, the mid-Anglian Chilterns Chalk is best seen perhaps at Therfield Heath (Herts) and here the chalk grassland flora was just outstanding.

Taller species like Clustered Bellflower, Yellow-wort, Dropwort, Hairy Hawkbit and Hawkweed Ox-tongue…

… mingled with shorter ones like Small Scabious, Common Rock-rose and the simply delightful candy-striped Squinancywort.

Marbled Whites flew away at every footfall, and of those that did settle a good proportion had passengers in the form of hitch-hiking mites. A species called Trombidium breei, this normally attaches to the thorax or legs of the host and seems to be particularly prevalent on Marbled Whites.

A final point of interest was from the Beech trees that abut the grassland. Just a few leaves showed a line of galls running down the midrib. These belong to a gall midge Hartigiola annulipes. Although widely distibuted across the country, it doesn’t seem to have been recorded before from or near to this locality, at least according to the National Biodversity Network Atlas.

Elsewhere, the low rolling landscape, mostly clad in intensive arable and a few hedges, the realm of singing Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings, the only real clue to the underlying geology is the remnant chalk flora in some of the grass verges, with Field Scabious and Greater Knapweed being especially good indicators. The narrow, often single-track roads don’t lend themselves to easy stopping, but with my long history of working in the counties, I have come to know a few good spots with reasonable access. And so yes, I took the opportunity to drop in on a few old friends.

Near Thriplow (Cambs) in a field margin prone to winter-wet is an accessibly colony of a very rare, small but attractive plant, Grass-poly.

As an annual of often ephemeral waters, its population waxes and wanes; seeds are probably moved around on the feet of ducks, as well as remaining dormant in soil for long periods during adverse conditions.

I have seen it here maybe four times in the past two decades and my feeling is that this year will not be particularly successful for it. The surrounding vegetation is so lush from earlier rains that the flowering patches are reduced to little more than a few square centimetres in extent, a far cry from the sheets I have seen before. But it will no doubt be able to bounce back, through natural immigration on ducks and from the germination of buried seed.

Moving into Essex, the final location near Saffron Walden is somewhere I have known for even longer, perhaps 40 years. It is a road verge, and one that is protected as it holds good population of Crested Cow-wheat.

This magnificent plant has a very good claim to be the botanical icon of Essex. Pretty much restricted to the chalk and chalky boulder clays of north-west Essex, south-west Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, it has a very similar national distribution to our other iconic plant, Oxlip.

Although like Grass-poly it is in annual, this population of Crested Cow-wheat seems to fluctuate less markedly. With little or no seed bank and no obvious vectors of long-distance immigration, it should therefore be regarded as vulnerable to environmental change. Gratifying therefore to see this year that plants are distributed pretty much as I have seen them before over the years.

Interestingly, there was also a flurry of butterfly activity, welcome after such a deep June chasm. Ringlets were everywhere with lots of Large Skippers and a Brimstone (my first of the summer brood), along with something that would not have been part of the scene 40 years ago, or even 20 years ago, Silver-washed Fritillaries patrolling the wood edge in abundance and seeking newly opened Bramble flowers. Times change, and sometimes for the better!

Old friends is old places, there is something both reassuring and instructive about returning again and again to see them!

#WildEssexWalks: Wrabness and Stour Wood

Britain's Wildlife, Bug & Botany Walks, WildEssex

A rather damp and dark evening was the backdrop for our annual Wrabness evening walk (leafy lanes to East Grove with its wonderful views over the estuary, then into Stour Wood itself), however we still found plenty of interest to show our group. We have assembled a selection of photos from the night, many taken with flash as the conditions were so dull while the landscapes became more like Impressionist art!.

This summer has so far been worryingly short of insects, but given the lush vegetation along the lanes, woods and wildflower margins alongside the fields where we were walking, we did find lots of what we would have expected including the ubiquitous Hogweed Bonking-beetles, a variety of shieldbugs, Speckled Bush-cricket, Acorn Weevil and a Hairy Beetle with a couple of stowaway mites.

No butterflies unfortunately, which we hope was only due to the weather conditions, but there was a scattering of moths: one lovely 6-spot Burnet moth, together with a bagworm and Cinnabar caterpillars..

The Wildlife ‘For Bees’ area near Wrabness station itself came up trumps with lots of bumblebees on the Lavender, and proves that just leaving areas to go ‘wild’ isn’t the only way to help our waning wildlife  – many ‘garden’ plants can do the trick very nicely.

As well as insects we looked at some of the many flowers including White Bryony, Oxeye daisies and Knapweed, all of which play a part in providing food for insects.

The moist air of the ancient woods was scented with the mushroomy odour of Sweet Chestnut and the sweetness of Honeysuckle, waiting for the arrival of moths, the night-shift pollinators, while ripening Wild Cherries shone like little beacons.

As we walked we were serenaded by Goldfinches, Skylarks and Wrens. Just one or two birds were spotted on the estuary itself – Black-headed Gulls and a Curlew or two, with Oystercatcher flying over: the winter influx of waterbird migrants is just about to begin. And as if to demonstrate we don’t ignore anything, how about our final offering – the aptly named Dog-sick Slime-mould!

Three days by train: Romsey & Southampton

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Rail

Our July mini-break of our year (or more!) of mini-breaks took us to Hampshire, specifically Romsey. Where? you may ask! We certainly did when during our February break in Reading, while wandering around the ruined (albeit impressive) abbey, we saw a board showing what it would have looked like: ‘our sister abbey in Romsey’…. Before the day was done we had booked a break in a place that had never entered our consciousness before.

The abbey did not disappoint. While certainly not stately and soaring (actually rather squat), it is beautifully proportioned, and filled with impressive architecture and art from through the ages. Add to that a warm welcome from the attendants who passed on all sorts of useful hints for our days to come (who needs Tourist Information Centres?!), our break got off to a very good start.

Romsey itself is also delightful, a small market town full of historic buildings …

… including the White Horse Hotel, our excellent base for two nights. We had superb evening meals, both at the White Horse and the Old House at Home, the latter with a side order of a marching band that came from the British Legion next door and marched on through the restaurant, still playing. Almost loud enough to drown out the wonderful large screaming parties of Swifts hurtling down the narrow streets. Us watching them careering around and into nest crevices suggested to one local chap we might be from the ‘Test Valley Swift Group’ and he then launched into a very full description of the Swifts of the town, a source of evident pride!

And then there is the River Test itself, one of the premier chalk-streams in Britain, forming the west flank of the town and sending runnels right through its heart, with clear, fast-flowing water supporting lots of aquatic plant life.

However, in common with so many places this summer, precious little insect life, just one each of caddis-fly and solitary bee along a couple of hundred metres of riverbank. Makes you wonder just what the Swifts are finding to feed upon.

Just north of the town was another reason for our visit, Hiller’s Garden and Arboretum, created by Sir Harold Hillier and left in the care of the local authority.

There are trees and other plants from all over the world, reasonably well labelled, and arranged in variously themed beds:

Of particular interest was the collection of Cotoneaster species, allowing side-by-side comparison of this very large and confusing genus.

And highlights for us were a remarkable (unnamed) curly-wurly form of Miscanthus sinensis and the newly opened, fascinating flower-heads of Dwarf Elder.

Of course, in its 72 hectares there is ample space for nature. Native plants included Common Spotted-orchid, Great Horsetail, Slender St John’s-wort, Self-heal, Enchanter’s-nightshade and Corky-fruited Water-dropwort …

… although once again insects were in short supply. Butterflies were restricted to a few Meadow Browns, a handful of Gatekeepers and Ringlets, and a single Marbled White, hardly the bounty expected of early July.

There were other insects of course, across a range of groups, but the following might give a false impression of abundance: I photographed everything I could and that is all we had to show for our efforts.

Nonetheless, it was a very interesting garden, and one which has given us another short break idea for next year, a visit to Ventnor Botanic Garden on the Isle of Wight, similarly created by Hillier and apparently containing some rooms to let within its grounds. Watch this space!

On our last day, we took the opportunity to visit Southampton for a few hours, a city neither of us knew. Views of the sea are always welcome, albeit not the open sea from the angle we were looking:

And, as always, it had some buildings of interest, from the ultra-modern …

… to the Modernist delights of last century …

… and indeed earlier centuries …

… going right back to the still-impressive city walls.

A more natural flavour came from Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls everywhere, Sandwich Terns around the ferry port, street trees including Indian Bean Trees and Common Limes, both in flower and attracting bumblebees (more here than anywhere else in our trip).

And the grassy slopes below the walls had a good population of Hawkweed Ox-tongue (rather uncommon in Essex, so good to see) alongside Ragwort being demolished by Cinnabar caterpillars. In Hillier’s and elsewhere we were remarking how there were none of these munchers: as so often it was up to the often overlooked nature within urban greenspace to fly the flag and provide a glimmer of hope for the future. Quite appropriately too, it was the day of the General Election!

Tales of the Bonny Clyde: 3 – Glasgow & Cumbernauld

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Rail

And so to Glasgow, midway in Clyde terms between the turbulent upper reaches at New Lanark and the stately tidal mouth around Dunoon and Gourock. Glasgow is one of our favourite cities, possibly the favourite one of all, the result of wonderful experiences there over the past decade. Some of the best times of course have been based around the pubs, especially the Scotia and the Clutha Bars. Both of which were on our walk from the station to our hotel in the Gorbals, on opposite sides of the street … well, it would have been rude not to have checked them out before checking in! The Clutha Bar was especially inviting, with a pizza and a pint offer to complement earlier gastronomic experiences, and live (loud) music  to fill the sound of silence after living with the rushing Clyde for the last couple of days.

So it was early evening before we unloaded at the hotel, and headed out for a walk through familiar streets, by bridges and along the river. Pity the wind was so strong and out of the north – absolutely not a summertime experience, even for Scotland. But a Goosander on the river, stately stands of Giant Hogweed on the riverbank and singing Willow Warblers from seemingly every patch of railway scrub gave us our daily nature fix.

The Southern Necropolis cemetery has also done this for us in the past, so after breakfast at the wonderful G5 deli (again one of our regulars and favourites, conveniently round the corner from the Premier Inn) we headed there again. Sadly much of the grass had recently been mown, and the air was simply too cold for insect activity, but it remains a tranquil green refuge.

Our long-awaited first visit to the Burrell Collection, set in the Pollok Country Park played a big part in our decision to return. The park itself contains some lovely grassland and woodland (and provided us with a rather battered Lime Hawk-moth) while the collection is housed in a simply wonderful, recently upgraded, modern architectural marvel.

Light from every angle, shadows as important as the art itself, and the luxury of space make this one of the best museum/galleries we have been to, complemented by interesting exhibits (not always the case, we have found) – and it is free!!

A final flourish for our holiday was a jaunt out to Cumbernauld. We like concrete brutalism, we like planned new towns such as Harlow, so a visit was a must. The train from Queen Street started in an interesting fashion, with hordes of glittering Swifties waiting to head out to Murrayfield, such that the concrete of Cumbernauld represented reassuring familiarity.

Planned and built from the 1950s, like Harlow the town features extensive traffic-free walking routes, some forming impressive green corridors.

   

From the station to the Centre we had to cross not a single road, until arriving at the heart, now given over firmly to the domain of the car. By now the hottest day of our holiday, after a restorative pint among the public sculpture (reminiscent again of Harlow) we strolled around and through the 1950s dream that hasn’t really been served well by history.

Bits have been knocked down, other bits added piecemeal, but its brutalist heart is just still beating – or is that the sound of raindrops dripping into the shopping mall, a leaking canyon of empty units and charity shops?

The Centre is deemed worthy of listing, but the authorities have decided not to, given that plans for comprehensive redevelopment are apparently well advanced. Necessary perhaps, but replacing utopian individualism with modern retail conformity hardly seems like a great step forward.

All that was left to do was much more uplifting: after a good trek along greenways, again largely traffic free, and over the raging motorway, we found ourselves at the Arria statue, by Andy Scott, he of the Kelpies renown.

Imposing yet invisible until almost upon her, she was remarkable, standing in a lovely meadow with Yellow-rattle, Greater Butterfly- and Northern Marsh-orchids. and with a stillness that seems to subdue even the roar of the motorway, helped by the tinkles of yet more Willow Warblers.

Why here? Well, Cumbernauld stands on the watershed of Scotland (its name may be derived from a translation of ‘meeting of the waters’). So this really complements the rest of our holiday, representing the point at which rainwater drainage runs either east into the Forth or west to the Clyde.

And watershed in a metaphorical context, an east-west political boundary, the furthest reach of the Roman Empire. marked by the nearby Antonine Wall: Arria is named after the mother of  Emperor Antonius. And to draw the watershed imagery together, the statue is inscribed with the words of the poem ‘Watershed’ by Scottish poet Jim Carruth.

It is a pity that time, and the very late sunset, didn’t allow us to see Arria in her internally illuminated glory. But back in Cumbernauld centre, the Beefeater gave us sustenance, and the warmest welcome (which naturally translated into the largest tip) of our entire holiday.

On our final morning I woke to the song of yet another Willow Warbler, this in the hotel car park, a particularly poignant sound for those of us from a part of the country from which they have been stripped as a breeding bird in only the past decade by climate change. A song of our recent past that remains in my brain. Without a memory there can be no mourning, so sing, little bird, of the things we have lost but could be ours again if only we have the will.

For other blogs from this trip, see:

Tales of the Bonny Clyde: 1 – Dunoon & Benmore | Chris Gibson Wildlife

Tales of the Bonny Clyde: 2 – New Lanark | Chris Gibson Wildlife

 

Tales of the Bonny Clyde: 2 – New Lanark

Britain's Wildlife, Travel by Rail

As we left the station at Lanark, something was clearly afoot. Crowds, flags, bunting, revelry and general merriment, people in various states of undress despite the freezing wind – on a Thursday afternoon! We felt the transition from genteel Dunoon acutely. No hope of getting a drink as the pubs were so crowded, we headed on through towards New Lanark, gradually piecing together the fact that it was Lanimer Day, a very historic annual event (dating back to 1140) linked to beating the bounds of the ancient Royal Burgh (‘Land Marches’) and now serving as a general gala day. Everybody is involved, so as we headed out of town, it all became quiet, then quieter and, as we descended into New Lanark, quietest, apart from the constant reassuring rush of the tumbling Clyde.

First impressions of the World Heritage Site mill town was of amazing architecture, a good number of cars, but no people at all. It all felt vaguely Wicker Man, or like one of those post-apocalyptic movies where you wake up to find you are alone in the world …

The rushing waters give the clue to this place. All that natural hydropower could be put to good use, and was from 1786 to power cotton mills. The settlement includes homes for workers, due to the involvement of utopian philanthropist Robert Owen, one of the originators of the co-operative movement. The hotel is now actually in the main mill building.

Once indoors, we did find civilization, albeit cocooned from the outside world. A lovely room, directly overlooking the river, with Sand Martins swirling around in by now very pleasant sunshine. And lots of opportunity to explore the exterior of the stone buildings (all except the hotel closed because of Lanimer Day), the remarkable architecture bathed in light, throwing shadows as the sun started to set…

The mill and town are set within a lovely wooded landscape, clothing a really quite impressive rocky gorge. In part conifer plantation, in part old Oak and Beech, some with wonderfully gnarled roots and buttresses.

Mosses and ferns clothed the forest floor, that growth extending upward onto the boughs, in places luxuriantly coated with epiphytes.

There were of course other trees too, including flowering Laburnum (in a habitat resembling its native sites in European mountains), Bird Cherry (clad in the silken webs of Bird Cherry Ermine micromoths) and Guelder-rose nibbled to bits by Viburnum Beetle larvae.

The Falls of Clyde provided a whole series of dramatic glimpses of the fledgling river as we walked upstream from the mill, taking a leisurely approach to a walk that should only take an hour or so as the weather was sunny and warm(ish) for most of the day.

A Grey Heron waded in one section of the river, while a few Dippers and Grey Wagtails were feeding in the rapids. Jackdaws and Ravens made their presence known noisily, with Siskins wheezing and a few Spotted Flycatchers spotted flycatching.

The gorge and woodland had many interesting flowers. Closer to the town, there were lots of garden escapes (many of which are really useful for insects): Rock Crane’s-bill, Fox-and-cubs, Monkeyflower, Dame’s-violet and Masterwort.

Deeper into the nature reserve, native woodland plants predominated, including Foxglove, Water Avens, Welsh Poppy, Common Cow-wheat and Red Campion, the deep red flowers of the latter ‘undiluted’ by the genes of lowland White Campions.

And the best of the plants, ones that we are relatively or wholly unfamiliar with in Essex included Marsh Hawk’s-beard, Tuberous Comfrey and Bitter Vetch.

For the first time this summer we found ourselves in the presence of lots of galls. Most of them – those on Lime, Oak and Wych Elm – were common enough, but two were new to us and seemingly less frequent. On Bilberry the swollen reddened leaves are the result of infection by the fungus Exobasidium myrtilli, forming the blaeberry redleaf gall  while the red pimply paint-patches on Silver Birch were caused by the mite Acalitus longisetosus. According to the National Biodiversity Network atlas, this is not previously recorded from that part of Scotland, being concentrated in the Highlands and also very thinly scattered in England and Wales. It was present on only one tree that we found, but is certainly very distinctive.

And we also found the nature reserve to be a a great place for a selection of insects and other invertebrates.

Among these, there were a few edge-of-range species and and ones not not previously recorded from that part of Scotland, including the lace-bug Tachycixius pilosus and click-beetle Denticollis linearis …

… while a couple of dramatic highlights included a mating pair of Giant Craneflies and a Scorpion-fly Panorpa germanica tucking into a dance-fly.

Given that the hotel is the only feeding spot without a considerable uphill walk, the restaurant provided us with very reasonably priced and excellent sustenance. I especially enjoyed the salmon medley, (the smoked component with such a delicate smoky-sweet cure) and chicken supreme with smoked cheese stuffing, while Jude liked the creamed goats’ cheese and figs and the chickpea curry.

On our second morning after a good breakfast we were taken by electric minibus (as befits a World Heritage Site) through Lanark – now approaching normality! – to the station for the third part of our break, in Glasgow. Having lived with the sound of the tumbling Clyde for two days, its absence was almost deafening….

POSTSCRIPT

Only when we got home and started working through the photos, entering them onto irecord, and checking their known distributions on the NBN Atlas did we come to appreciate how few of the things we found have ever been recorded at this site before, indeed how few of them have any records on the NBN anywhere near to New Lanark. WE have therefore prepared a complete listing for the record (see here Falls of Clyde), which will be sent to the Scottish Wildlife Trust who own the reserve.

Some of these have been pointed out in the main blog (see Exobasidium myrtilli, Acalitus longisetosus, Tachycixius pilosus and Denticollis linearis above). But others were more surprising, not least because they are so obvious and frankly unmistakeable, such as Meadowsweet Rust, the galls on Lime, Elm and Oak, and the larvae and munchings of Viburnum Leaf-beetle.

And how about the Gold-barred Longhorn moth. Very familiar to we southerners, if the NBN is up to date, our record is some 60km further north than it has ever been recorded before. Distributional data and changes in distribution are one of the main sources of information we have to underpin conservation policy and practice, so my plea is for anyone who visits an unfamiliar area, don’t assume that all you see is commonplace or already known. Record it for posterity: every data point is a step towards a better future.

The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: is summer finally here?

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

In response to the question posed in the title, the answer is ‘it blooming well should be!’ as my latest Wandering Naturalist walks in the gardens were on the summer solstice. And what a day to be there! Azure skies, almost windless, hot sunshine almost for the first time this year. The fourteen visitors who joined me were treated to a lush garden, reflecting the spring rains, but sadly few high summer insects: the lack of warm sun thus far has delayed the emergence of many. Hopefully another few days of this will sweep away fears of a Silent Summer.

Butterflies were notable by their near absence, though that is not atypical of the ‘June Gap’: just five species with no more than ten individual of all species put together. Holly Blues amounted to four of those. Day-flying moths were similarly sparse, with just one Gold-barred Longhorn and a couple of Mint Moths. And remarkably just a single dragonfly (a newly-emerged Common Darter), while shield bugs and their relatives were represented only by two Hairy Shield-bugs and a few Dock Bugs, mostly doing what comes naturally!

Honeybee and bumblebee numbers were moderately high, especially visiting Cistus, Knautia/Scabiosa and Veronicastrum, together with Opium Poppies which this year are providing such a spectacle in the Reservoir Garden:

Especially by the ponds, but spreading round the whole garden, damselflies were everywhere: four species, mainly Azure (with my first Common Blue of the summer), plus Large Red and Blue-tailed, including several examples of the very attractive rufescens form.

Although there has not yet been the summer influx of hoverflies from the Continent, numbers are growing, both of the Drone-flies, Batman Hoverflies and others we have been seeing all spring …

… plus a few others  including Chrysotoxum festivum, Xanthogramma pedissequum and Anasimyia contracta, the latter a fly of water margins and very scarce in north Essex.

Another remarkable hoverfly was the Narcissus Bulb-fly Merodon equestris, one that occurs in several colour forms, each of which are mimics of different bumblebee species.

Other flies included a mating pair of Gargoyle Flies, at least that’s what we call them, we think for very good reason!

A final selection of today’s insects includes Thick-thighed Beetle, a click-beetle with a couple of passenger mites, the hairy beetle Lagria hirta, and a few tiny nymphal Speckled Bush-crickets.

There are no doubt lots more to come, and the good news for them is that that there are absolutely masses of nectar and pollen resources awaiting their emergence or arrival.

Having given the gloom and doom messages, I should point out that compared with everywhere else in north Essex I have ventured recently, Beth Chatto Gardens are clearly richer in insect life, a bioabundance driven by the provision of nectar and pollen sources from all round the world and not compromised by the application of pesticides and herbicides.

By way of showing all visitors our ‘live and let live’ organic credentials, there were caterpillars munching unmolested. Our mulliens are covered in holes made by Mullein Moth caterpillars and irises sculpted by Iris Sawfly larvae, while the Martagon Lilies that have had their leaves stripped by Lily Beetles are still flowering happily.

Star turn though among the insects for both walks was a bronzed green, metallic Rose Chafer that remained munching the Corky-fruited Water-dropwort flowers all day. The Colchester area is one of the heartlands nationally for this magnificent beast, and we are so lucky to share our garden with it.

One final highlight was the living roof on the bike-shed, designed and installed by our friend John Little. Never has it looked better, and the solitary bees are making full use of the nesting holes created for them as part of the structure.

If anyone wants to join me on a nature walk around the gardens, I will be doing just that (weather permitting!) on July 19, August 2, August 16 and September 20. Once you have paid to come in, the walk is free! Walks commence at 11AM and 12 noon each day, meeting at the Visitor Information Centre. For garden entrance tickets and more information, visit our website Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens, and do come expecting to want to buy some of the wildlife-attracting plants I will show you, as well as delicious tea and cakes!

Blogs of the previous Meet the Wandering Naturalist event this summer can be found here:

April: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: among the April showers… | Chris Gibson Wildlife

May: The Wild Side of Beth Chatto Gardens: the height of Spring | Chris Gibson Wildlife

Marvellous moths morning at Beth Chatto Gardens – late June

Beth Chatto Gardens, Britain's Wildlife, WildEssex, WildWivenhoe

Our hopes for the moth event at the solstice were not high given the general dearth of insects hitherto this spring. However the first garden moth event of the year was blessed with perfect weather conditions, a hot but cloudy and humid night with little wind, preceded by a very hot and sunny day or two. The garden really lived up to what I always say about it: as rich in insect species as any nature reserve hereabouts.

52 species of macromoths and more than a dozen micros (just the ones we had time to identify) amounted to very respectable 200 or so individual moths to entertain and educate our select group of customers. Any night when you catch four types of hawk moth, everyone’s favourites because of their size and/or colour and as they are generally very docile, very amenable to handling, has got to be a good night. Especially when these include two of the larger Hawk-moths (Poplar and Pine) and the two most beautiful (Elephant and Small Elephant).

At least 20 Buff-tips, living ‘broken birch twigs’ was an impressive total, indicating a recent coordinated emergence, a good idea if you want to find a mate:

Large yellowish species included  Swallow-tailed Moth and Ghost Moth…

… while a little smaller but in the same suite of colours were Buff Ermine, Barred Yellow, Common Footman and Barred Straw (with its characteristic bottom-up posture).

Such fascinating moths, with often entrancing names: how about Nut-tree Tussock and Pebble Hook-tip, both exceptionally well camouflaged against bark and similar backgrounds.

Equally well camouflaged but only against leafy backgrounds were the beautiful Green Silver-lines and Blotched Emerald, three of the latter for me the moths of the morning.

Others camouflage themselves by looking like inedible objects (see Buff-tip above) – one of the more frequent forms is to resemble bird-poo, as here with Garden Carpet and Lime-speck Pug.

And to round of a motley selection, a few grey and brown species, here Pale Oak Beauty, Grey Pug and Riband Wave. A full list of those moth species we recorded is appended here bc moths june 24. And before anyone queries whether ‘moth trapping’ is compatible with our desire to be the home of ecological and sustainable gardening, please rest assured all moths were released unharmed at the end of the two hour morning session, away from the attentions of predators such as Blackbirds.

Another attraction for our customers on these events is that they get access before anyone else is there. First thing, the gardens are truly sublime: the only sound is birdsong and the only feeling pure joy.

And it gives us chance to try and find ‘free-range’ moths and other insects. We found the caterpillars of Iris Sawflies munching the irises and proving to all other visitors we don’t poison the planet in our mission to create a beautiful garden.

Always something to see! Blue-tailed and Azure Damselflies were everywhere, scabious heads had Hairy Shield-bugs, and best of all (a rival to the biggest and brightest of the moths) a solitary bronze-highlighted, metallic green Rose Chafer, a real speciality of the Colchester area, munching contentedly on an umbellifer.

All too soon the event was over, but the clouds were gathering, reasserting the typical weather pattern of this summer!

If anyone would like to join us on the next one of these moth mornings on July 20th, 0900-1100am, please book through this link Marvellous Moths! – Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens. We can never promise moths, and all are weather-dependent but whatever we will find something to start your weekend in style!