1st - 8th June
John and Clare were struck by two pieces of feedback from the June blog post - ‘that was your longest blog post ever’ and ‘you must be at Liddells all the time’. Pause for thought. The second comment does sometimes seem true.
The last few days have seen John and Clare attending to small tasks of routine maintenance: collecting logs, algae fishing, pruning suckers from fruit trees, mending tree protection netting and path weeding. They are proud to be within yards of finishing weeding the path in the Top Strip which seems to take for ever.
Two new discoveries while working. The ladybird was on a stile post near pines and the Bird Cherry Ermine Moth caterpillars were, unsurprisingly, on the Bird Cherry. Clare had seen these before but thought they were spiders’ webs. The caterpillars might well be providing food for all the nestlings.
The trail camera did capture more images of birds leaving the Great Tit nest, however none clearly showed nestlings taking their first flight.
Clare has been much occupied with her bees and how they defy all the text books. She was recently alerted to the presence of a swarm in a hawthorn near the hives but could do nothing about it while on grandchild duty. Four days later - the books suggest swarms only hang around for a couple of days while scout bees look for a new site - the swarm was still there, so nothing daunted, Clare set about collecting it. When she returned later in the day to introduce the swarm to the hive - a traditional way is to lay a white sheet on the ground leading to the hive entrance and the bees walk up it - she noticed a very small swarm still in the tree. This could have alerted her to the fact that she might have failed to collect the queen and therefore the bees would be reluctant to leave her and go into the hive. They were very reluctant to go into the hive, however some started to and lots followed. The guard bees were doing a good job around Clare so she had to walk away in the hope they would go back to the swarm. Eventually they did so that Clare could leave and as she walked past she saw a small swarm hanging in exactly the same place on the hawthorn. She also thought she could hear the distinct sound of bees laughing.
Barbara R alerted Clare to a call for volunteers to record sightings of spittle and spittle bugs - froghoppers. Clare thinks the scientists missed a trick in not calling this campaign ‘Spot the Spit’.
Spit spotted
The swarm in the Hawthorn
9th June
Weeding the path in the Top Strip is finished, however it is rather like painting the Forth Road Bridge and now needs starting again.
12th June
Jane B sent Clare a link to a page about hay meadows on the Northumberland National Park website. If you have 12mins to spare, listen to the soundscape of a hay meadow. It demonstrably proves the value of these meadows for wildlife.
13th June
In spite of the atrocious weather, there were birds singing on Liddells today and Clare was delighted to hear and see Linnets in the Top Strip.
14th June
Clare and John walked over the Meadow and listed all the plants in flower. They identified 22 different species. The list is here.
15th June
The largest pond is offering a local mallard an opportunity for a bath.
17th June
Clare had another encounter with a sabre wasp. It was on one of the seats in the story-telling circle and probably laying eggs there.
18th June
More insect excitement for Clare. She watched a Broad-bodied Chaser darting over the Roadside pond. The dragonfly lived up to its name and proved hard to photograph. It also lived up to the textbook as apparently they often find new ponds. Clare also watched a Willow Warbler family feeding in the top Strip, calling to each other as they moved through the trees.
Sabre Wasp. The ovipositor is extending forward from her tail and pointing down into the wood left of her legs
Broad-bodied Chaser momentarily at rest
22nd June
A friend offered Ox-eye daisies from his meadow for the Meadow at Liddells where they have not yet become established. John and Clare went to collect them today and then Clare transplanted six clumps on the Meadow. Clare saw a baby frog near the big pond and then was delighted to see damselflies. They proved hard to photograph too as they were too busy being flighty to wait for the camera, however photographs were taken and then the damselflies could be identified. They are Large Reds and Common Blues. John was lucky to see two of the Common Blues mating though he couldn’t get a photograph.
The frog was only two to three centimetres long and easily hidden in the grasses and leaves
Clare found these two young crows having a snooze
Male Large Red Damselfly momentarily perched on the Alphabet bridge
Large Red feeding on Sorrel
Common Blue Damselfly
23rd June
This was to be a distressing day for John and Clare. For a long time they had been concerned that they were not doing Paul justice. He is a young and strong pony and could well live for another twenty years - this cannot so easily be applied to John and Clare. After much painful deliberation they realised that Paul could fulfil more of his potential with another owner and knew that however painful and sad, this was the right decision. William could be returned to the Moorland Mousie Trust and would be sent somewhere else to continue his excellent grazing skills. Fortunately, Becky, who sold Paul to John and Clare, was happy to take him back and sell him on. Both ponies were due to leave on the same day and William was collected much to Paul’s distress. Unfortunately the transport for Paul didn’t quite fall into place as planned and with John and Clare due to go away for a few days the following day, John made hasty arrangements for Paul to go to a local stables where he has often been for brief stays. This meant that he was not alone and distressed on the land while plans were redrawn and he could be boxed and transported to Cumbria from there. When John and Clare walked Paul to the stables, they realised that Paul had left Liddells for good.
Paul asking William why he is tacked up
William on his way
Paul wants to be in on the action
27th June
John, sans camera, watched a female Broad-bodied Chaser laying eggs on the big pond. Not to be outdone in the delights department, Clare saw a roe doe running down into the Pit Wood from the Orchard and as she followed, came across a roe kid tucked up on the side of the path into the Pit Wood. It stayed very still but ran the moment Clare tried to get her camera out. It was about the size of a large hare and still in its spots. Tim sent us a photograph of some of the Ragged Robin on the Wetland. The plants are spreading each year and are a particularly raggedy delight.
Roe kid disappearing fast
28th June
John spent some time filming by the big pond and as a result both Clare and John realise that the ponds need a webpage of their own. This will happen soon and John’s film from today will go on there. Suffice it to say John saw more dragon and damselfly action, more dragonfly egg-laying, a newt and a creature as yet to be identified…
29th June
As the ponies have left Clare and John set about dismantling the arena that John had created. Clare found wildlife under the logs that had supported poles and was able to identify a moth that rested for a moment. After the arena work Clare and John treated themselves to a bit of pond-watching - the dragon and damselflies continue to be a source of delight and new learning. They watched a Large Red Damselfly laying her eggs. To mate, damselflies join together in the “wheel” position and commonly fly in tandem this way. Afterward, the male will usually remain attached to the female as she lays eggs. When doing so he retains his grip on the front portion of the female’s thorax, using claspers located at the tip of his abdomen. On the way to the pond they found a patch of orchids where John had strimmed to make a path and therefore let light in. At a rough count there were nearly one hundred. Further up the same path Clare saw some Bittersweet, also known as Woody Nightshade, a plant she had not seen on Liddells before. The final discovery provides evidence that more squirrel work is needed.
Wold spider with egg sac
European Garden Spider or Cross Orb-Weaver
Newt, looking like a piece of wrought ironwork. Clare thinks it is a Great Crested Newt. They have full legal protection in the UK and it is an offence to disturb them Clare replaced the log under which she found it
Newly emerged Orchids
Four Spotted Chaser (males and females both look alike)
This looks to Clare like a photo from a ‘Guess the Mysterious Object’ game
Since seeing the roe kid John and Clare had been hoping the trail camera might capture it on video. No luck so far, however there was some nice footage of the doe.
30th June
Completing this month’s blog post also marks the last of Clare’s 30 Days Wild. We hope you have had an equivalently wild month.