Another orchid!
The Friends get very excited about the reserve’s orchids.
Continue reading
How to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly
Dragonflies and damselflies are closely related cousins in the Odonata family but it isn’t difficult to tell them apart.
Continue readingQ&A
Email from Clive: This plant has been slowly developing, it’s about a metre high now. My app says Wild Carrot but we all know it’s is not reliable so over to you. If you need more pics let me know.
Read on for our answerCinnabar moth
Cinnabar moths (Tyria jacobaeae) have been reported from the reserve in the past week.
Continue reading “Cinnabar moth”
Orchids!
Yesterday, while surveying pollinator networks in the reserve, Ian Bushell discovered a colony of bright pink pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis), an important new species for the reserve.
Continue readingNO CAMPING!
One of our early-risers has sent us a picture of a small red tent pitched just inside the main entrance, right next to the noticeboard on which the NO CAMPING sign is displayed. It may or may not contain the person/people who lit a fire in the picnic place last night.
Thick legged flower beetle
An irridescent green, female Oedemera nobilis, known as the thick legged flower beetle or swollen thighed beetle, photographed in the park this week. It is the male (see below) that has the strangely shaped legs for which the species is named
1 
2
[1] by Gail Hampshire (CC BY 2.0) flickr.com; [2] © Hans Hillewaert (CC BY-SA 4.0) wikimedia.org
Oxeye daisy
We would love to see drifts of summery oxeye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) in the reserve’s fields but there is a problem.
Read on to find out what the problem is
Spindle Ermine Moth
To improve the reserve as habitat and increase its biodiversity, the Friends have been planting trees for years: whips and saplings of many different species to thicken the hedges and copses.
Continue reading
The Insects are Here!
by Simon Knight
In my last post I said I was going after young grasshoppers and crickets.
Continue readingBloody nosed beetle
A bloody nosed beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa) found in the short grass where the rabbits graze at the end of Sleepers Field.
Continue reading “Bloody nosed beetle”
All orchid flowers, even the glamourous and expensive tropical kinds, are built to the same three point plan.
Continue readingScorpion fly
A male scorpion fly photographed by Ian Bushell yesterday, in the reserve’s main car park.
Continue reading “Scorpion fly”
Message and video from Simon Henstock.
Continue readingRagged robin
Our ragged robin has spread into Kestrel Field and Brunts Field.
Continue reading “Ragged robin”
Every year there is quiet competition among Friends and Followers to see who can send in the first picture of the reserve’s common spotted orchids. This year the winner is Gill Newbury: well done, Gill!
Reptiles and water voles
by Ian Bushell
Another Wednesday morning work party; another good day and a good turn-out of Friends.
Continue readingBeautiful demoiselle
This is a damsel fly: a beautiful demoiselle, Calopteryx virgo.
Read on…
As the weather finally warms up, keep a look out for our grass snakes. A youngster, no more than 20cm long, was seen swimming in the pond last week: probably one of last autumn’s hatchlings.
Continue reading
Weed of the week
Ribwort plantain or narrow leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolate) photographed in the park by Ian Bushell.
Continue readingThank you!
While the noisier wing of the media has posted loud banner headlines about Bank Holiday Litter Louts, you have kept our reserve pristine. Yesterday, when the Friends met for their Wednesday work party, even the car park was litter-free. Thank you.
The sun is finally here!
by Simon Knight
For me, the past few days in the park have been very special. Not only has it brought me joy through wonderful wildlife sightings, I have also seen how happy the park makes other people, which proves on so many levels that the park is hugely important and worth every effort spent protecting it.
Continue reading “The sun is finally here!”
These few warm days have brought the reserve to life.
Continue readingNew nests
Ian reports that the bee swarm from the old ash tree at Fiveways seems to have settled into a hole in the tree we call the Owl Box Oak; a second honey bee colony in the reserve is very exciting news.
Read on for even more exciting news
