July - rain, rain, go away!

As usual, a reminder to go to www.liddells.co.uk to read this blog post, where the videos will be found in all their glory.

First some trail camera footage from the last day of last month. The buck seems to be in festival mode, certainly festooned.

1st July

This month began on a musical footing with the Hexham Village Band arriving to visit the tree they had planted as a memorial for one of their players and for a picnic. Clare provided the band with maps and several members enjoyed a walk around the site; one group were lucky enough to see a doe with a kid. In her mission to extend the range of Yellow Rattle in the county Clare made sure a few people took away envelopes full of seed.

Clare photographed a fly that caught her eye. It is a Noon or Noonday fly, Mesembrina meridiana and is jet-black with orange on the base of its wings, on its feet and face. If you read this article, you will understand why Clare thinks it is the insect embodiment of the phrase ‘where there’s muck there’s brass’, or gold.

Shortly afterwards Clare saw the hoverfly below. She thought this too was rather attractive. A bit of identifcation work proved it to be a Tapered Drone Fly, Eristalis pertinax. Furthermore she discovered that ‘the larva of E. pertinax is a rat-tailed maggot and lives in drainage ditches, pools around manure piles, sewage, and similar places containing water with high organic load and low oxygen concentration’. (uknaturalst.org) She found it by the Roadside pond which has a lot of algae at the moment. Where there’s muck, there’s maggots.

On a wander through the Pit Wood Clare noticed that the path down to the spring was covered in Self-heal and reminded her that the tutor on her Orchids course told the group that as a child he and his sister were frequently given Self-heal tea by their mother who believed the plant to have considerable medicinal qualities. The plant’s alternative name Heal-all would support her view.

Clare also used her time to pull the flowers off Hogweed plants in the Meadow and on the Hayfield - behogheading? The plant is highly successful, as is Cleavers. Clare thinks they may well take over the world. She also began her annual Yellow Rattle seed harvesting.

While the band were picnicking and making music, the doe and a single kid were captured on camera in the Scrub and shortly afterwards in the Pit Wood. The next day a kid is seen on its own in the Scrub, then late that night doe and kid are together in the Pit Wood.

4th July

TrogTrogBlog Chris visited to fulfil an offer he had made last year which was to return to Liddells with his Lunar Hornet Moth lure to see whether the moths could be found on Liddells. Chris had looked at last month’s blog post and offered the recording of the up-till-now called Marsh Tit to his new bird identification app, which concluded that the call was that of a Willow Tit. So, either the Marsh Tits have been wrongly identified all this time or there are both species on Liddells. Many specialists find it hard to distinguish between the two species, however the wizardry of the Merlin app showed no hesitation in its identification.

Chris’ lure failed to attract any Lunar Hornet moths on this occasion, however on a visit to a different site he discovered that ‘the moths are not evenly distributed, even in suitable habitat,’ so it may be worth trying again next year in different places on the site.

Clare ordered a sweep net which Chris said he had used for collecting Yellow Rattle seeds.The net is also of course for catching insects for examination.

5th July

Clare was surprised to notice that the Yellow Iris growing on the edge of the overflow to the Big Pond which she had been expecting to come into flower for a while, had grown very long foliage and turned into Reed Mace or Bullrush. Goodness only knows how the plants arrived, however they are very welcome. After last month’s beetles bonking on Hogweed but not Hogweed Bonking beetles, here are some not bonking Hogweed Bonking beetles.

6th July

It is approaching time for the rut and the younger buck is making sure his presence is established in the Scrub. He is captured anointing and scraping.

8th July

Clare spent a day on Lindisfarne looking for orchids and came across Ragwort with Cinnabar Moth caterpillars. Ragwort enjoys a troubled reputation because it is toxic to grazing animals, however the animals will not eat it in the wild. The plant becomes a threat when it finds its way into hay and the animals eat it unaware. There is Ragwort on Liddells however Clare monitors the Hayfield and the Meadow and pulls it out if it appears there. She leaves it on the Wetland where it can benefit insects. This article illustrates the benefits. She saw several Dark Green Fritillaries and met a new insect when it landed on her lunchbox lid. It proved to be a Stiletto Fly Thereva nobilitata and did indeed seem rather noble.

A kid on its own in the Scrub again and in a week it has grown considerably.

9th July

Emerald damselflies are now around in abundance and Clare thought she caught a glimpse of an Emperor Dragonfly however it was never still and so hard to be sure about the identification. The Emeralds were more co-operative. Below is a male, a pair mating and a male attempting to sabotage a mating pair. John Lewis-Stempel describes dragonflies and damselflies as the ‘flying jewels of the British natural world,’ and tells how they ‘share a mating method requiring Kama Sutra dexterity. When interlocked, the two insects form a ‘wheel’ or ‘heart’ shape’. The mating can take place on the wing, or perched on vegetation or on the ground. There is also a photo of a water spider having trapped a damselfly in its web and enjoying its prey.

John and Clare have been curious about the fate of the triplets, they haven’t been captured on either of the trail cameras since the first footage last month, however there has been footage of the doe with two kids. It seems likely that one of the triplets has not survived.

July 10th - 16th

While Clare was away for a week in the East Midlands, where she saw large numbers of Gatekeeper butterflies, which she hasn’t ever knowingly seen on Liddells, John spent time repairing the fencing on the Meadow ready for the sheep later in the year. Originally John and Clare only needed to rabbit proof the Meadow so used chicken wire. The sheep put on in recent years made short shrift of that so John has replaced sections with sheep netting.

Final preparations for the first school visit have involved strimming paths and the story-telling circle. At the last minute Clare noticed three wasps’ nests in the meeting room where they would have been a hazard too far for the children. The nests are beautiful and it seemed a shame to destroy them, however the risks of an allergic response to a sting outweighed aesthetic and environmental considerations. ‘Providing for herself, the queen settles on a location and starts to build. She constructs using wood mixed with saliva. This forms a malleable pulp that is perfect for moulding. The queen lays eggs into the hollow spaces - the cells - she creates. The eggs hatch and grow to become her first worker wasps. When they reach adulthood, the new workers take over the responsibility of foraging for supplies and building the nest. The queen is then resigned to laying eggs for the rest of her life.’ nhm.ac.uk

18th July

The forecast could not have been much worse for today’s school visit however nothing ventured…

The children arrived with wellies and waterproofs and the weather held until they left. Some of the children were a little nervous at first - Catherine, their Head, reminded John and Clare that as four year olds, they had been much affected by lockdown, especially in their spatial awareness and confidence outdoors, so Liddells felt particularly big to them. Clare and John welcomed them into the meeting room and Clare told the story of how Liddells got its name, said a little bit about what Liddells was for and invited a discussion about what creatures might live on Liddells. Some of the children had found a Violet Ground Beetle on their way and so that was examined under a microscope along with some moths that Clare had collected from the Shepherd’s Hut. Outside someone found a Silver Y moth and then noticed that its wings were vibrating. Apparently shivering before take-off allows moths to increase the temperature of their flight muscles until the power output of these muscles is sufficient to lift the insect's body mass. A great new discovery for a school day. Then everyone set off to explore the site. A pause by the big pond provided an opportunity for pond-dipping and seeing baby newts, whirligig beetles, pond skaters and more. Of course there was a story told in the story-telling circle followed by toasting marshmallows on the fire. More walking round with an opportunity to try out the swing, then back to the meeting room for lunch. After that the children were all more confident and so were happy to run around and around some logs that Clare had set up as a slalom course. They left just as the rain began. The whole visit was a success for all concerned and plans are afoot for more.

John and Clare were pleased to see that there is still a kid around although no doe appears.

21st - 22nd July

Clare was pleased to see a few more of the Broad-leaved Helleborines in flower. There are fewer of the plants this year than last and Clare was wondering about whether they had been eaten by the deer, however apparently the plants can flourish in alternate years. Clare hopes this is the case. She also noticed an insect she hadn’t knowingly seen before and discovered it is a Yellow-sided Clover-sawfly Tenthredo nothra. They are widespread and common in grasslands and other legume-rich habitats. The nocturnal larvae feed on clovers and vetches. Adults fly in July and August. They are avid flower-visitors, especially buttercups, umbellifers and thistles, and can carry prodigious amounts of pollen. Clare also saw a Marmalade Hover Fly Episyrphus balteatus on some Hogweed, which reminded her that Hogweed has its benefits.

23rd July

A lot of rain is falling and has been for several days. It is feechie (‘Dirty, filthy, disgusting. Also (of weather): foul, rainy.’ OED Word of the Day 13.05.23), leaving the ground queachy (‘Of ground: swampy, boggy, unstable.’ OED Word of the Day 28.04.23. Probably good weather for a pad (‘A toad. Later also: a frog.’ OED Word of the Day 24.04.23

Readers might correctly assume that the weather is inhibiting work on Liddells so Clare and John have to find other things to do, such as updating this month’s Blog post.

24th July

A break in the rain. John and Clare had a walk around Liddells with a view to updating their to-do list. Instead they were distracted by seeing cherries on the Wild Cherry trees and hazelnuts on the first Hazels they planted in the Top Strip.

Then Clare noticed a web woven around the top of some grass and saw that there was movement inside the web. The spider is a Furrow Orb Weaver Lariniodes cornutus. You can see the distinctive dark V on its abdomen. This specimen was over 10 cms so is most likely a female.

There was more to discover - two more insects demonstrating the value of Hogweed. First a Black and Yellow Mud Dauber Sceliphron cæmentarium, a solitary parasitoid wasp that builds nests out of mud. These sphecid wasps collect mud balls at puddle and pool edges for constructing nests. Then a Golden Dung Fly Scathopharga stercoraria which was overwhelming a Marmalade Hover Fly. In seeking information about this latter insect, Clare came across this article and was struck by how similar her photograph was to the one heading the article.

Last year a mystery plant appeared in the Pit Wood and it has now revealed its identity. It is Burdock. Apparently the roots taste like a cross between sweet chestnut and parsnip ‘but most often require major excavation to remove them from the usually hard and stoney ground. You need to forage the roots in Autumn or Spring of the first years growth to be of any worth. The roots can be roasted like parsnip, sliced finely and stir fried or made into a puree. The stems of the younger plants can be eaten until about May when they become woody and bitter. The tough outside of the stem needs to be removed first revealing a thin vegetable that can be treated like asparagus or used raw in salads. The leaves best use is to wrap and protect food when cooking in a ground or clay oven or in campfires…Recent studies have shown that the extracted oil from the root of Burdock is rich in essential fatty acids and phytosterols…Burdock was commonly used in cooking in the UK in times past but has long been forgotten about’. The article adds the helpful suggestion that the plant’s leaves make a useful umbrella if you are caught in the rain. https://www.wildfooduk.com/edible-wild-plants/burdock/

25th - 29th July

Clare took the last three cages off the Larches in the west end of the Hayfield. She then set about painting the new boards on the outside of the meeting room. Some of the boards at the back have been sitting on soil so are damp at the bottom. Clare dug a small trench below them and will have to wait for the boards to dry out before she can complete the job. The rain is frustrating this year’s hay-making, however Tom who cuts the hay has reassured John and Clare that the hay won’t be spoiled and that August will not be too late for the job.

Clare cut several willow whips from the first willow seat and used them to replace those that had been frayed in Sylvia’s Avenue. She was pleased to see that several of the frayed cuttings had sprouted and hadn’t died as she had thought.

Clare secured the new netting on the Meadow to the top wire and found 9 more Creeping thistles in the process - the total is still under 100, so a distinct improvement on previous years. The flowers were alive with bees foraging. Clare noticed a Dandelion seed head that had expanded to a beautiful structure, and a Six Spot Burnet Moth Zygæna filipendulae busy feeding on nectar from a Scabious - you can not only see the spots very clearly, but also the proboscis going down into the flower.

Other insects enjoying some sunshine - a Red Admiral, a Seven spot ladybird and a Common Drone Fly Eristalis tenax. The Common Drone Fly is a bee mimic and Clare was pleased to notice it as a recent email from NHSN had included a piece about bee mimics.

Meanwhile the trail cameras have captured several videos of the deer. First a doe runs through the Scrub with the older buck in pursuit a couple of minutes later.

The rut continues - the next sequence shows the doe with her kid, then the buck a minute later, the doe running five minutes after this and finally the buck again a minute later. The kid is still too young for John to be confident of its sex although Clare has put a small bet on it being a doe. You can see along its back that the buck is just beginning to lose its summer coat.

The final video of the month. The kid alone in the Pit Wood shows how its spots are fading and how much it has grown.

30th July

Clare did some preparatory work for wall repair in the Pit Wood by cutting down a small ash tree that was threatening to undermine the wall, removing the loose stones and excavating fallen ones from under the moss. Meanwhile John made several quad and trailer trips to collect wood from near the Trapezium bridge. The logs will cut, split and stacked this weekend if it is dry.