Our allotment plot is only about 150 square metres but we cultivate it with wildlife in mind and have several features to actively attract the wildlife that can support our gardening efforts. We endeavour to garden for wildlife and with wildlife. Some we attract some is here anyway.
Many beneficial insects are attracted onto our plot to help us fight pests and pollinate our fruit and veg. The most important insect predators are probably Ladybirds. Lacewings and Hoverflies. Their larvae are voracious pest eaters.
We have created an insect hotel on our plot to attract the beneficial predatory insects. Our “hotel” is made from bricks with holes of varying sizes, wooden posts drilled with holes and every available gap filled with twigs, canes, cones, dried grass, in fact anything that may be seen by insects as somewhere to shelter and to hibernate. On its roof we grow Sedum which will flower and attract more insects and we have added a log for insects to hide under. We know it works as in the spring on warm days Ladybirds pour out to sun themselves on the bricks which hold warmth.
We encourage birds to visit our plot to feed off pests who want to eat the leaves of our crops. Our bird feeders attract Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Longtailed Tits and Great Tits who feed particularly greedily on aphids and caterpillars. We have also put bird boxes up to encourage birds to raise their young, both open-fronted boxes for Robins and holed boxes for members of the tit family, as well as roosting pouches for Wrens. the birds are so confident now that they use the feeders when we are gardening close by.
Flowers decorate the plot for our own enjoyment and the feel-good factor, but we only grow flowering plants that attract wildlife such as Sedum, Marjorams, Cowslips, Primroses and Evening Primroses that will attract butterflies, bees and hoverflies. Some species of butterfly overwinter by hibernating in our shed as adults or as larvae. The one in the photo took a fancy to my hat hanging on the shed door as his winter haunt.
The Tortoiseshell Butterfly is exploring the flower buds of our Sedum, which once fully in flower is busy with insect life.
We leave some plants to go to seed each year for wildlife. The Fennel’s yellow umbrella’s of flowers attract wasps and hoverflies. Wasps are useful on a plot as they are the only insect that will consume the caterpillars of Cabbage White Butterflies.
The seed heads of Globe Artichoke are a magnet for finches especially Goldfinches, but when in flower they bring in the bees.
Our next plan is to develop a strip of wildflowers so that we have our very own mini-meadow. This will also act as a Beetle Bank attracting beetles into the shade of the plants, and we need beetles on our plot as they consume slugs and their eggs. We leave bundles of sticks around and these attract the best predatory beetle of all, the Violet Ground Beetle, which we see whenever we cultivate soil or do any weeding. the males are large with iridescent violet wingcases.
It goes without saying that we garden organically, we mulch a lot and grow green manures to protect the soil. The health and well-being of our soil is of paramount importance. We only feed it with natural materials to provide nutrients – manure, compost, green manures, seaweed feed and our own comfrey liquid feed. We maintain two compost bins on the plot.
The front edge of the plot is planted with wildflowers as a narrow border in front of the first row of fruit bushes. They bring in insects and give a welcome to visitors. Calendula and Heartsease self seed there each year so never need to be re-sown. They make enough green growth to be useful addition to the compost bins.
The next gardening for wildlife blog will be about our garden at home and its wildlife.
The weather forecast promised us sunshine, clear skies and mild temperatures in the mid-teens, so we decided to drive two miles up the road to park at the bottom of Earls Hill and walk slowly along the trail around the hill’s perimeter. The car park is in the woodland edge and stepping out of the car we look up into the canopy of tall deciduous trees to see Blue Tits flitting rapidly from branch to branch right up in the tree tops. Their calls sounded all around us.
The path inviting us into the wood.
An inviting pathway led us into the wood. It was comfortable and soft underfoot being strewn with fallen leaves and softened by recent rain. To our left we could see fishing pools through the old hedge of once-coppiced Hawthorn. The pools were almost as inviting as the woodland walk. The fisherman in me called. The Hawthorn was displaying first signs of Spring with buds bursting into the brightest green leaves. Here we were delighted to hear the call of the Chiffchaff, always the first of the Summer migrants to return to Shropshire. We always start hearing and seeing them around mid-March. They identify themselves for us as their call reflects their name.
New growth on the Hawthorn.
On the first section of track we were showered as we passed beneath willow trees by tiny pieces of the flowers as Blue Tits pecked at them. All around us the wood echoed to the sound of woodpeckers, the yaffling laughter calls of the Green Woodpecker and the territorial tapping of the Great Spotted. Further into the wood and our senses were bombarded by Wild Garlic, their bright green new leaves carpeted the woodland floor and their powerful onion-like smell permeated the trees. We could smell these Ramsoms a long while before we saw them and could still smell them a long while after passing them by.
Wild Garlic carpets the sloping woodland floor.
This early section of the walk was close to the edge of the woodland so wildflowers were stirring with the speckled light filtering through, Primroses and Pennywort were found alongside the path.
The glossy round leaves of Pennywort glow amongst paler mosses.
A patch of Primroses consisted of three solid flower-covered clumps. Those closest to the light were fully open while those just feet away but in slightly more shade were still in bud and leaning towards the extra light of the woodland edge.
Delicate yellow coloured Primrose.Leaning towards the light.
Bluebell foliage is already a few inches high so we eagerly anticipate the blue haze of their scented flowers which should grace the wood in April.
Bluebell promises.
Beyond this first patch of woodland the trail took us over an open area of rough land dotted with flowering Gorse and stunted Hawthorns. Long Tailed tits and Great Tits fed in these scrubby bushes and called continuously, the Long Tails churring and the Greats calling “Teacher Teacher”. The hills of Yellow Hill Ants were scattered over the whole of this area like a rash of nasty spots on a teenager’s skin. This ant is a speciality of this reserve.
The ant hills of the Yellow Meadow Ants.
Beyond this stretch of open land, we entered another area of woodland but here trees were thinner and spaced further apart. Here stones are strewn on the slopes and some slopes are cloaked in scree from the craggy steep cliffs of Earls Hill itself. On these crags Peregrines have nested for years, a clever choice as they are away from predators and the adult birds can look down over the scree and trees and spot passing pigeons, their favourite prey. From our garden we watch these magnificent falcons climbing and spiralling upwards so high that they disappear from view and occasionally we see their high-speed stoop from that great height. They reach speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour! But on our walk we saw them passing over the tree tops.
Slopes of thinly spaced trees amid scree.The haunt of Peregrines.
In one area the scree was being recolonised by plants. We were amazed to see Verbascum, commonly called Mullein, growing here in good numbers. Being biennial the Mulleins were present as last years seed heads still standing tall and stiffly upright and amongst them the rosettes of silvery and heavily-furred leaves from which the centres of which this year’s flower stems will rise.
Softly textured leaves of Mullein.The tall spires of last year's flowering stems of the MulleinSo many seeds must have burst from these pods.
Not much further along the track we came across a patch of ferns and amongst them discovered a bronze-leaved specimen. A true beauty, similar to one we grow in our garden. It reminded us of how Victorian gardeners became obsessed with ferns, collecting any with interestingly shaped or unusually coloured leaves.
The beautiful leaf structure of ferns.The bronze leaves of this unusual fern.Variation on a theme.Beautifully subtle shades of green and bronze.
As we moved back into denser woodland our paths were frequently crossed by the unpleasant musky odours of Fox and Badger. Foxes left trackways through the undergrowth but the signs of the Badgers were much easier to spot as we found their sett. One tunnel had been recently excavated and huge piles of soil and stones deep from underground piled around its entrance.
The fox's smelly trail.The Badgers have been busy extending their sett.
The commonest mammal on the reserve must be the Rabbit – we saw them throughout our wanderings their white tails bobbing as they disappeared at our approach. They must provide a useful food bank for the Foxes and Buzzards. We could frequently hear Buzzards calling overhead but we only managed to see two. One we spotted as it flew rapidly through the trees, keeping low to the ground as it tried to catch a Rabbit. The prey escaped this time! The other we spotted sat on the topmost branch of a Hawthorn bush in a field nearby, looking as if he was waiting impatiently for thermals to help him get airborne.
Throughout the wood there were excellent habitats for insect and invertebrates, some created by Mother Nature where trees have fallen and are now rotting and others made by Shropshire Wildlife Trust volunteers who create wood piles and brash stacks when they perform their management activities around the reserve. Rotting wood is particularly popular with beetles.
Fallen and rotting tree trunks are beetle heaven.
Throughout our circular walk around the base of Earls Hill we enjoyed listening to the song of our native thrushes, the repetitive phrases of the Song Thrush, the gentle ditty of its bigger cousin the Mistle Thrush and the flute like tuneful song of the Blackbird. All were males calling out to proclaim ownership of their territory and letting females know how good they would be as partners. It was noticeable that the thrushes we heard were our resident thrushes and there was no sign of the winter visiting thrushes, the Redwings and Fieldfares. They must now have left our shores to make their journey home.
Occasionally through gaps in the trees we enjoyed glimpses of views of the countryside. When walking in woodland you become so absorbed in its atmosphere that you forget what the outside world is like. These glimpses of the countryside reminded us of the thin mist overlying and obscuring the nearby hills and farmland.
One sign of the approach of Spring was the nest-building activity of birds large and small. We watched Bluetits delicately collecting lichen from branches of Hawthorns. Rooks clumsily gathered twigs too large to easily carry through the close growing trees. They were nesting in their rookery in a clump of tall trees across the fields bordering the reserve. We heard the snapping of the brittle twigs as they broke when lifted and carried by the Rooks.
While wandering we enjoyed the textures, patterns and colours on tree trunks and the shapes of fallen trunks and branches. It made us think of Mother Nature as artist and sculptress. (Look out for future blogs on the artistry and sculptural skills of Mother Nature)
We returned to the car park as the temperature began to drop, vowing to return when the woods were full of summer migrants. We have the songs of warblers to look forward.
The third wander around the allotments at Bowbrook already! We were expecting a warm bright day but it turned out misty with a chill in the air. So much work has been done to the plots with many allotmenteers all ready for the coming growing season. Tree surgeons have been to do a bit of work on our mature Sycamore tree and the resulting wood has been put to good. The shredded wood is being used by some plot holders to surface their paths, some branches have been used to create a brash pile and some logs used to create a big impressive log pile.
Our welcome message on the wall of our composting toilet.
To welcome visitors and plotholders to the site we have planted up two half-barrels outside the gateway and opposite the gate on the edge of a plot we have our posh main site sign which features a map of the site, our mission statement and photos of the main functions of the site.
Let’s begin the wander with a look at what is going on our own plot, number 37. We are just about ready for the 2012 season with soil dug over composted and raked. The kale which we have overwintered looks very healthy with its wonderfully coloured crinkle edged leaves of glaucous green, purple and pink.
The perennials in out “Bee and Bug Border” are producing new shoots. These plants are grown to attract beneficial insects both predators and pollinators, such as bees, hoverflies and lacewing.
Our bean poles, made from coppiced Hazel, are up ready for Runner Beans to climb when planted out in late May and behind them we have cloches warming the ground for early plantings of Carrots, Parsnips and Beetroot. If the weather is kind we shall sow these seeds at the end of this month.
This Ladybird sheltering near our shed lock is hoping for some sun to get warmed up a bit.
After a quick perusal of our site we began the wander around the whole allotment field, starting in the car park where Daffodils give a golden welcome as plotters arrive to work or enjoy the communal spaces. Each September we hold a “Donate a Daffodil Day” when members are asked to donate bulbs which are then planted around the site by volunteers on one of our working parties. In the first year alone we had over a thousand bulbs donated and planted several hundred in the car park border and on the grass verge alongside our entrance gates.
Moving on down towards the first communal orchard we spotted this insect hotel on Wendy’s plot and admired Tracy’s rhubarb which is well advanced.
The first of the community orchards is alongside Tracy’s lottie and she looks after its maintenance, mowing the grass paths, pruning the apples, pears, plums and damsons and generally keeping it neat and tidy. She also looks after the Fruit Avenue leading away from the orchard. She is a great asset! At the moment daffodils and crocuses are flowering between the fruit and in the avenue muscari are in flower. Bees are busy exploring these early flowers.
Our wander then took us through the Fruit Avenue with “super fruits” planted on both sides, out alongside Alan’s plot, affectionately known as “The Blue Plot”.
Blue alkathene water pipes are very popular around the site as effective ways of holding fleece or netting covers to protect crops. Wandering further on around the trail towards the Spring Garden we passed a plot that is always good to see as some interesting projects seem to on the go. Today we noticed that she had started to create a herb garden with tree stumps as seats and herbs in the ground around them and in a half-barrel planter. She is always building something – she seems very good at d.i.y. She made her raised beds which we saw have already got some early sowings in.
Behind this plot is the Spring Garden which is looked after by two other volunteers, Jill and Geoff, who keep it looking immaculate. Of course it is now beginning to reach its peak time. Bulbs are well up and some flowering, perennials are showing fresh green growth and the Violet Willow is covered in its sparkling white pussy willow buds.
Moving on from the Spring Garden, as we followed the trail, we noticed Blue Tits exploring the nest boxes. Beyond our big old Oak is the new log pile created with logs left by the tree surgeon after his safety work on our mature trees. The log pile will soon be home to Dunnock and Wren and as it begins to rot down insects, invertebrates and beetles will move in.
We soon reach the Winter Garden which continues to look impressive, full of interesting bark and stems on trees and shrubs and colourful flowers on bulbs and early herbaceous plants.
Some crops still look good after the winter and continue to give plot holders some good pickings. These brassicas, Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Cabbage look very healthy and appetising.
The beautifully coloured Red Veined Sorrel in the photo above is already putting on plenty of fresh leaves ready for harvesting, whereas the beautifully coloured flowers of Purple Sprouting Broccoli are now ready for enjoying after the plant has been standing through the winter.
Lots of our plot holders displays plaques with garden related sayings on for the amusement of all. How about this one to finish our March wanderings around the site?
we can enjoy a cup of coffee in the garden without jackets on, and from our special gardening mugs,
and when we prick out the first tomato seedlings,
and when Tulips and Wallflowers flower side by side and clash,
and when all around us Blackbirds sing loudly proclaiming their territorial rights and the song of Goldfinches and Greenfinches fill the air,
and when the first fruit blossom opens,
and when you can finish the day off by making your first harvest of your “cut-and-come -again” salad and herb leaves, and then eat them with eggs produced by your own chickens.
Once you have visited Brandon Marshes you have to congratulate Warwickshire Wildlife Trust for creating and maintaining such a wonderful reserve, with so many different habitats to explore. Woodland, pools, marsh areas, reedbeds and grassland. Seven hides are situated where you can appreciate the different birds using the reserve. And we can’t fail to mention the coffee shop with big windows affording great views of busy bird feeders, which attract Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Siskin and Reed Bunting as well as the usual suspects.
The reserve is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and boasts 2 km of paths for the wandering bird watchers to enjoy. It is hard to believe that you are just a few miles from Coventry, and that the site was used for sand and gravel extraction until the 1980’s. In fact this extraction still goes on adjacent to the reserve but you soon forget it is there and ignore its noises.
On the day of our visit the weather started cool and misty but cleared and warmed up later so we were able to stay in the hides for a long time without getting cold. We spotted 53 different birds including some of my favourites like Bittern, Snipe and Kingfisher. We were privileged to see two Bittern in flight close to and were able to appreciate their wonderful colours and markings. The Snipe were present in good numbers spotting groups of 12 and 9 whereas Golden Plover and Lapwing were present in very large numbers. A real surprise was the number of Bullfinches around the reserve. We reckoned we had seen more on that day than the total for the last 5 years or so. A flock of 8 were feeding close to the path just 100 metres or so from the hide and a second feeding group of 5 were seen after another 50 metres walk along the track.
Ducks and gulls of course were present in large numbers. Among the usual Blackheaded and Herring Gulls we spotted two rarities, a Glaucous and a Mediterranean, both firsts for us.Tufted Ducks and Teal were the most numerous with Gadwall, Pintail and Goldeneye the most unusual.
The next two photos show a male “Tufty” who obligingly stayed above water between dives to allow me to take a shot, but the Teal proved oh so different. He never stopped feeding resulting in lots of failed pictures.
Between hides we walked through woodland and along the edges of reedbeds and marshy areas. On a bank we spotted clumps of Primroses growing in profusion, with a few in flower. We could only imagine how wonderful they would look in a few weeks time.
In a marshy area with small trees and bushes we were delighted by the lichen on the branches of the trees and these rich red fungi growing close to a tiny trickle of water.
Returning to the car at the end of the day the sun was getting low in the sky and backlit this oak leaf to give it the look of burnished copper. We promised ourselves a return visit when the summer migrants have arrived.
We have 68 plots at our allotment site, Bowbrook Allotment Community, and after just three seasons of being open we have a waiting list of about 50. Phase two was on the cards from the word go but with budget constraints we didn’t really think it would ever come to fruition. The plan was to open up the field next to us and create about 50 extra plots.
Meetings with town council representatives and reports in the local newspaper over the last year or so indicated that this might still happen. Then recently the allotment management committee were asked if a few members could meet with representatives from the town and the county councils to look at plans. It seemed that things would be moving ahead in the autumn of 2012.
Budget constraints had effected the plans as the draft map for the new extension showed just 25 plots covering half the field. Still we couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth! Ideas were exchanged and the proposals will go in for planning permission and hopefully work will be done by the autumn.
So we can halve our waiting list. The plots will be so tightly packed that little space will be available to develop our community gardens but we should gain the pond, a spring and a few yards of stream and a triangle of land beneath a group of mature trees. We shall endeavour to make these exciting places!!
The strip of pastureland that will become our new allotments.The poor neglected pond that will become part of our site.The old Ash tree that will overlook the new allotments.The spring emerging from its old collapsed brickwork. The water table is so low it is currently dry.The mature trees in the corner of land to be developed as part of our community gardens.
So, opportunities are coming our way. The council will tidy out the pond, removing old fences, and other rubbish and hopefully the barbed wire surrounding it. A fence will be built around it with gated access, all conforming with the latest health and safety requirements. The old Ash tree will be attended to by tree surgeons to make it safe and ensure its future health. The 25 plots will be prepared for cultivation.
And then it will be up to new plot holders to cultivate them and the committee to develop the green spaces. the area around the spring could become a bog garden and the area under the mature trees could become a mini-arboretum. We shall see!
This is the third of the garden wandering posts already. Why is this year going so quickly? Could it be that we have had so many days when the weather has been amenable to gardening? So what is happening here in our garden? The bulbs are at last flowering well after such a slow start but in contrast the birds are responding quickly to warmer periods of weather. Robins are nesting in the box on my fishing tackle shed, House Sparrows are using three boxes around the garden, Great Tits are using the box on the summer-house and Blue Tits have started building in the box opposite the front door. They are so busy! Blackbirds are collecting moss from the lawns and dried grass stems from the borders so are nesting somewhere close by. The early morning bird song gets louder and more birds join in the chorus each day.
We have spent most sunny days continuing to clear borders, cutting down and adding new mulch. Clearing the “Beth Chatto Garden” is a hands and knees job. Jude the “Undergardener” pulls up weed seedlings by hand. Very tedious but made more enjoyable by the constant song of Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Robins. Calls of Buzzards high above us provide a good excuse to stop occasionally.
In the front garden Euphorbias are bursting into growth and some have already sent up their flower stalks curling over like shepherds’ crooks. New growth on the later ones is showing bright colours as they emerge from the bark mulch.
The flowering quince at the end of the drive is covered in bright red blooms scattered amongst its thorny angular network of stems – it will flower for months giving a warm welcome to visitors.
At last our first daffodils are fully in flower! We have waited so long. Muscari are also now bursting into bloom adding their own shade of blue all around the garden.
The Primroses we grew from seed a few years ago now give us big clumps of flower in their own special shade of yellow. They are self seeding and spreading around the garden, with an occasional plant producing flowers of an extraordinary shade of greyish pinky. Not sure I like them!
One of the delights of this time of year are the Pulmonarias with their flowers coloured pink and blue on the same plant and their beautifully marked hairy leaves.
Helleborus have featured in both the January and February garden wanderings and they are still going strong. Two of the last ones to come into flower are this red hybrid and the magnificent near black variety. It looks good in bud and full flower and has the added attraction of interesting foliage. The clump of mixed Hellebores in the “Chicken Garden” give us plenty to look at on coffee breaks when the March sun bursts through and its warmth feels so good on our backs.
The bees appreciate the early flowering bulbs especially purple crocuses but soon they will be flocking to feed on the Flowering Currant, the exceptionally large flowered variety Ribes sanguineum King Edward VII, which is on the point of bud burst. The buds on the Daphne bhulua “Jacqueline Postill” have opened to reveal highly scented flowers in several shades of pink.
March in the garden is full of promises with buds developing and preparations underway for the productive garden. The photos show buds of Clematis, both climbing and herbaceous, and Apples and Pears.
The Sempervivum in the alpine troughs and on the slate scree bed are all budding up nicely but one pure white-flowered one is out and glowing in the March sunlight. They are such precious little jewels of plants.
Our two newest areas of the garden, the Chicken Garden and the Secret Garden, are turning glaucous green with Allium leaves. One area is like a lawn of Allium. They seem to enjoy our soil too much and are spreading and self seeding madly!
The productive side of our gardening mostly happens on our allotment but we have a big greenhouse in the back garden where we start off many of the veggie plants. Some seedlings have germinated in the propagator and lots cells and 5 inch pots are full of compost ready for us to sow peas, broad beans and sweet peas.
In our raised wicker beds just outside the back door the cut-and-come-again salad leaves are almost ready for the first cutting – and of course the first eating. So many different textures, colours and tastes! Delicious! Much is still to happen in March and on into April.
Our Comfrey patch is showing strong growth. This is one of the most important areas of the garden for in this 2ft by 10ft bed we grow a comfrey variety called Bocking 14, which we can cut 4 or 5 times a year. The leaves can be put in the bottom of potato trenches before we plant the potatoes to feed them and prevent the disease “Scab”. We also put them as a mulch under fruit trees and bushes as a feed and as a weed suppressant, and use them to make a liquid feed mixed with nettles.
So much is still to happen in the March garden. It is a busy and exciting month. So much to look forward to.
We left home as the sun was about to rise. The car’s thermometer told us it was already 9 degrees. Things were looking good for a day’s wandering around the RSPB’s reserve at Conway in North Wales. Driving off into Wales the sun rising behind us gave the sky a warm orange glow and the dull flat grey concrete of each bridge we passed under looked as if it was being warmed by fire.
The problem with the coast of North Wales is that it has its own weather! Today was no exception – the closer we got to our destination the duller the sky became and drizzle began to fall. It was to continue all day! Looking out over the reserve it looked very grey indeed!
We stopped near the reserve entrance overlooking the estuary – the tide was well and truly out so it was sand and mud as far as the eye could see. On the sand a few waders probed for invertebrates – a couple of Curlew, a Redshank and a Little Egret.
We entered the reserve proper and wandered along board walks and soggy gravel paths towards the scrapes and pools. At the first hide were treated to a view of a Water Rail, that little beautifully marked rail, much smaller and harder to find than its larger cousins the Coot and Moorhen, who were here wherever we looked. Dozens of Teal, Mallard, Canada Geese and Shelduck fed busily in shallow water and on the muddy margins. Out in open water Tufted Ducks dived constantly for food. A real surprise was a pair of Goldeneyes! The award for the star of the show on this body of water was the Red Breasted Merganzer. Six of these saw billed ducks actively dived for food stopping only for an occasional skirmish. The males looked most dapper with their black and white bodies topped off with green-black heads, red eyes and long thin red bills. Their wispy crests fluttered in the wind.
We moved on wandering through areas of scrub and small trees where Meadow Pipit and Linnets were spotted, through marshy ground and finally reached the estuary. Here the breeze turned to a freezing strong blast, making it hard to look for wildlife. In the muddy foreshore a dozen or so Redshanks fed with even more Black Tailed Godwits. Two Shoveller fed amongst scores of Shelduck in areas where water remained. Both these species of duck were upending in their search for food in the shallow water. Our walk had taken us in such a short time from the sheltered area close to the reserve centre and coffee shop to this wilderness of wind, mud and driving rain.
The depth of the dark sky overhead varied as the drizzle came and went. It was amusing to watch the reaction of a Grey Heron to the arrival of the wetter, darker weather. He really seemed to sulk. The two following photos show the change in his attitude – a real mood swing!
He was not a very lively Heron at all. He definitely disapproved of the wet weather. the only time he made any movement was when an Egret landed near him and he let out a loud unpleasant “cronking” noise, sounding more like an animal than a bird. The Egret flew off but we were lucky enough to get a long very close up view of him from a hide near the estuary itself when we stopped for lunch and to escape the strong cold wind. Seeing these two members of the Heron family together illustrated just how different they are. they both sport crests and shape wise they are almost the same but the Grey Heron looks much bulkier and dull in its black, grey and white plumage. The Egret is the purest white possible in a bird and is slender in profile. The Egret sports a crest on top of its head but also is graced with long wispy feathers hanging down its chest.
We watched our Little Egret feeding just in front of the hide. He performed a shuffling feet dance to stir up the mud and disturb invertebrates and small fish. At other times he seemed to stalk his prey moving slowly, cocking his head and then stabbing at a small fish with his beak. In close up we were amazed by his bright yellow feet – usually you only see his black legs as he wades in shallow water – and a matching yellow ring around his eyes. This sequence of three photos follows him as he stalks in shallow water.
He seemed to feed continuously in sharp contrast to the Heron who had time to just stand and hide from the Welsh weather. Only once did we notice the Little Egret take his mind off hunting. Another Egret flew across from the neighbouring pool and our Egret immediately launched a vicious attack driving the intruder away. The aggressive noise he made was the same harsh “cronking” noise made by the Grey Heron, described in one of my books as “fraink”.
We moved back to the calm of the centre buildings and treated ourselves to a latte and cappuccino. This is the perfect bird reserve cafe as it serves excellent food and coffee and has a whole wall of glass overlooking a scrape, reed areas and bird feeding station. Here we relished our coffees, warmed up, dried off and enjoyed close-up views of Siskins, Reed Buntings and Goldfinches feeding.
We got soaked, our eyes and noses wouldn’t stop running but what a great day we had. This reserve is worth a visit at any time of the year. The facilities are great and the volunteers most pleasant, knowledgable and helpful.
A bright sunny day! And mild too! We just had to spend it in the garden clearing away old leaves and flower stems of perennials, finishing pruning the climbing roses and as the grass was dry giving it a quick skim over with the mower. A bit of early Spring cleaning. As we worked our way around we sere periodically stopped in our tracks by the sight of colourful flowers.
A good clump of pale mauve crocus in the Rill Garden.Hidden inside is a rich deep yellow.A classic February pairing of snowdrops and winter aconite.Primrose yellow hellebore.Close up the hellbore shows hints of green.Speckled pink hellebore.Perfect cup shaped hellebore bloom.Dark secrets inside a bud.The delicate pale Ipheon.Tiny flowers - powerful scent!Perennial Wallflower "Bowles Mauve" - always in flower?Cornus mas - acid yellow scented flowers.Looking for the magic inside a Snowdrop!Out of season Ribes speciosum - flowers like red droplets.White and green - a most subtle hellebore.
A river wanders through the parkland at the National Trust’s Attingham Park, sometimes in viscous flood, sometimes in slow motion. Today it was slow and cold.
The view from the suspension bridge.Berberis with its red berries hangs down towards the water.Sheer power!Willow weeping tears into the river.Gentle side stream.Last year's teasels still standing strong.Alder cones and catkins.Old Burrs overhang the grey water surface.A swan at her ablutions.
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