Tag: insects

Our Wildlife Garden – gardening for wildlife, gardening with wildlife.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 9, 2012
11 Comments on Our Wildlife Garden – gardening for wildlife, gardening with wildlife.

It is easy to create secretive and decorative nesting places for bees.

We always describe our garden as being wildlife friendly. But what makes it good for wildlife? What elements of our garden invite wildlife in? We are proud of the fact that we have gardened with organic principles at the front of our minds for decades. A garden cannot be regarded as wildlife friendly if the gardener is not working with these principles constantly driving what goes on.

We make deliberate decisions to attract wildlife by providing food, shelter and nesting places. Each time a plant is bought, a bed restructured or new beds made, wildlife is a factor. Equally how we manage the garden has to be friendly towards our natural friends.

But let’s be honest, we don’t do all these things just for wildlife, as there is a selfish element to it. We like being surrounded by birds, butterflies, insects et al. We need to hear, see and experience the natural history of our plot. A cup of coffee outside is all the better if accompanied by the song of birds, the movement and colour of butterflies and the constant flittering of insects.

I have recently read a wonderfully informative and thought-provoking book by John Walker entitled “How to Create an Eco Garden”, and in it he proposes the concept of “eco-fitting” your garden. This idea is all about making the garden “more self-sustaining, less wasteful of valuable resources, more reliant on renewable sources of energy and friendlier to wildlife”. This will provide a useful guide when considering the content of my blog, and it will be at the forefront of my mind as we go on a journey around our garden looking at how we make it good for wildlife.

Throughout the garden, the trees and shrubs we have planted were chosen partly for their berries to feed the birds, blossom to attract pollinators and how well they give shelter, homes and nesting places.

The dark berries of mahonias are enjoyed by Blackbirds but only after all the red berries around have been eaten.

Apple blossom provides pollen for bees and hoverflies early in the year and fruit for us later on. Fruit that rots in store or goes too wrinkled is put out for Blackbirds and Thrushes to enjoy.

Look into our front garden and in full view of all windows is one of our three bird feeding centres where we provide mixed seeds, peanuts, suet balls and suet blocks. The front lawn supports White Clover and Dog Violets both loved by bees. Although we cut the grass and keep it quite short these wildflowers react by flowering on shorter stems. We use no weed killers or fertilisers on our grass as we enjoy knowing that Blackbirds can safely feed there. Tawny Lawn Bees make their homes here and in the gravel patch alongside. They make miniature volcano shaped piles of fine soil as they construct their tunnels.

IMG_3493a — The beautifully coloured miner bee, the Tawny Lawn Bee.

A mini-volcano on our gravel made by a bee.

The old Oak stump as ferns and grasses are just beginning to grow in early May.

We have an old Oak stump around which we grow ferns and grasses. The Wrens, Robins, Warblers and Dunnock soon recognised this as a home for the insects they enjoy eating.

All of our outbuildings are clothed with climbers to provide shelter, food and nesting places for wildlife. You can just spot the robin box in amongst the honeysuckle and rose.

IMG_3718-1 — The old trug hides behind climbers to attract blackbirds to nest

In our side garden opposite our main door are bird boxes for Robins, Tits and House Sparrows and an old trug was placed in a dogwood to provide a nest shelf for Blackbirds. On the shed there and the fence we grow Honeysuckles and Climbing Roses to provide shelter for wildlife and nest sites for Wrens and blackbirds. The Apple Trees growing in large terra-cotta pots are favourites of bees early in the spring, and in other large flower pots we have sown mini-meadows of wild flowers.

An assortment of insect shelters and nesting holes on the garden shed, attract droves of solitary bees who nest in the holes.

Wrens nest in the roosting pouch every year even though it is right above the shed door.

Into the back garden and immediately we spot the insect hotel, which sits in amongst our comfrey bed. The leaves of the comfrey provide us with our organic plant food and their flowers are loved by bees and hoverflies.

Luxury accommodation for beneficial insects.

Nest boxes are scattered throughout the garden wherever we can find a suitable space. Most are used by members of the Titmice family or Robins. Our trained fruit trees and climbing roses are favourite nesting places. Last year a pair of Goldfinches nested in a climbing rose called Goldfinch – they must have read the label!

IMG_3713-1 — A favourite with our Robins.

A pair of Collared Doves is nesting on top of one of our Apple Arches. We can see the eggs and sitting adult dove through the twiggy nest as we pass beneath.

Throughout the borders we select plants with simple flowers, rarely doubles, and grow several native plants such as Red Campion, Cowslip, Foxglove and Cow Parsley.

IMG_3714-1 — The beautiful flowers of our native Red Campion.

Towards the bottom of the garden is our wildlife pond all planted up with native plants, whereas the bog garden alongside is a mix of native and more exotic plants. The pool and bog are popular with our resident amphibians, toads, frogs ands newts as well as Dragonflies and Damsel Flies which breed in the pool. Birds use the shallow pebble beach area for bathing. Beneath the water live diving beetles and water boatmen, and on the surface Pond Skaters skim arouns on the surface film.

Our wildlife pool – a favourite place to watch wildlife.

Beyond the pool and chicken run is a strip of wild grass about 6 feet wide which gives us access to the surrounding countryside. We cut this grass to attract Green Woodpeckers who come down to feed here. We grow a pair of Hazel bushes here which gives safe place to approach one of our bird feeding stations in the winter, give nuts for Jays in the autumn and every few years gives us poles to use as bean poles and brash to use as pea sticks.

One of our Hazel bushes just prior to coppicing.

This quick wander around our garden shows some of the wildlife friendly features we enjoy. Our whole garden is a little reserve where we hope wildlife can feel welcomed and safe.

Tags birds, conservation, garden wildlife, gardening, insects, organic gardening, ornamental trees, wildlife

bird watching birds forests photography Shropshire trees wildlife woodland

Forest Foray

On a cool damp April morning when heavy rain was forecast for the afternoon, we set off to the south of our county, Shropshire, to explore some of the tracks around the Mortimer Forest. We chose to visit the area known as Whitcliffe. When we parked up in the car park alongside the Forestry Commission offices we knew we were in for a treat. The colours of the trees looked fresh and glowed with every shade of green, and the calls and songs of birds mingled to fill the air, Nuthatches, Thrushes, Blackbirds and Robins.

We decided, as we only expected to have the morning to walk before the heavy rain arrived, to take the track, called the Whitcliffe Loop, that would afford us a two-mile walk through deciduous and coniferous plantings. We were soon to find that the trail was poorly marked so we were frequently unsure if we were on the right track or not. But who cares, we had a great morning’s forest wanderings.

The beauty of the Mortimer Forest is the sheer variety of habitats created by the areas of different trees, some conifers planted in straight lines for wood production, some wind break tree planting and large areas of native deciduous trees. The odd tree out amongst these if the native larch, Larix decidua, which is a conifer but it sheds its needles in autumn. In April its new needles are the brightest green to be seen in a conifer and its bark is beautifully patterned, textured and coloured.

Almost as bright are the new leaves of the Silver Birches.

Beneath the trees, wildflowers are infrequent but when we find them they are worth the wait. Wood Anemone, Stitchwort and Bluebell bloom demurely between clumps of Woodrush and the leaf growth of foxgloves.

We were delighted to find this anemone with much longer and narrower petals than all the others.

A plant we were surprised to find was a small clump of a native euphorbia with dark stems which emphasised the Chartreuse bracts, tiny yellow flowers within them and the glaucous foliage.

Just over half way around our planned ramble, we entered an area of Cupressus trees planted as a wind break planted to protect newly planted young trees years ago. these heavy-looking trees cast such a deep shade that nothing grew beneath them and peering beneath their hanging branches was like looking into a cave.

All the bird song that had accompanied us up until then stopped. No wildlife seemed to favour this dense, dark area and I can’t blame them. Not my favourite sort of tree – simply too static. The only signs of wildlife as we passed along the narrowed pathway was the occasional high-pitched calls of Goldcrest, Marsh Tit and Willow Tit. Having deduced that we were amongst wind break planting we knew we were nearing the edge of the forest so we looked forward to openness and wide views.

Not only did we find that but also a well-positioned bench inviting us to sit a while and appreciate the views with a coffee and some fruit. As we approached the open area a flash of green passed rapidly overhead, low to the tree tops and at great speed. it was a Green Woodpecker. We were soon to discover why he was in such a hurry for this area was littered with anthills. Anthills mean ants, their favourite food.

The wooden bench was so popular that the ground in front had been worn away so much that when we sat on it our feet didn’t reach the ground. We could swing our feet beneath like little kids on big benches. The views, the coffee and the fruit were enjoyed in equal measure especially when we were entertained by a Buzzard, which rose from the valley floor a few hundred below riding a thermal that took him past us and way up until he was little more than a black dot.

The valley side here dropped steeply away from the edge of the forest where we sat. The ground around us was covered in rough tufts of grass through which tumbled Honeysuckle and Brambles dotted with Bluebells and Stitchwort. Small trees, Spruce, Birch and Whitebeam, none reaching over a couple of metres tall gave a few perches for finches.

As we took the path back into the forest we noticed butterflies sunning themselves on tufts of dried vegetation, Tortoiseshells and Painted Ladies. Before we reached the dappled shade on the edge of the trees there were more clumps of wildflowers now including Oxalis, with its shamrock like leaves.

Towards the end of our walk we took a turn into an old trackway where the rays of the sun peered through coppiced trees along the sunken track. Here we were sheltered from the cooling wind and the bird life changed. Blackcaps, Whitethroats and warblers entertained with their song. Courting pairs of Speckled Wood butterflies ignored us and carried on their erratic chasing flight. The Small Tortoiseshells were much more subdued perhaps waiting for the sun to warm them up a little.

While walking along the stone-paved bottom of the trackway we discussed a Stinging Nettle with unusual foliage, much darker than the norm and with hints of purple particularly deep along the edges and at the tips. The stalks were a pure, deep purple.

We were later to discover that this trackway was an ancient sunken cart track with the wonderfully apt name, Holloways.

Two miles of slow ramblings along footpaths often muddy and soft underfoot and so much to see and listen to. the true highlight of the day was a short few moments when two Long Haired Fallow Deer crossed the path in front of us. We watched silently as these rare creatures trod carefully through the trees not making a sound. These deer are unique to this forest. I couldn’t get a photo of them but I did get a photo of this little friendly fellow.

It wasn’t easy though because he was elusive but he was just too friendly crawling over my hand and even the camera before he finally decided to move to this bramble and pose for his shot.

As we neared the end of our walk after enjoying the presence of such wonderful trees, wild flowers, birds, insects and the occasional mammal, I was subjected to the sight of two of trees that were far from favourites. I really do not appreciate trees that are rigid and never-changing such as these tow we met at Whitcliffe.

Returning to the car park a picnic bench under a tall maple and sitting in the spotlight of the beams of the sun was most tempting.

It was definitely too tempting for Jude and I as we still had a little coffee to enjoy and some apples and pears to accompany it.

Tags birds, forests, insects, shrubs, trees, wildlife, woodland

allotments birds community gardening fruit and veg garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own meadows natural pest control wildlife

A Wander around our Allotments in April

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 24, 2012
12 Comments on A Wander around our Allotments in April

The key moment in April came when our allotments featured in a national gardening magazine, “Grow It”. A great article full of photos! And then towards the end of the month the lottie chairman, John and I were interviewed by Matt Biggs for an article in the “Edible Garden” magazine. (Please excuse the name dropping!)

So let’s take a wander around the site starting at our own plot, number 37, where the last of the leeks are still in the ground but the kale is beginning to go to seed. Seeds we sowed a few weeks ago are now germinating and popping their heads above the soil. The autumn sown broad beans are flowering as are our currants and gooseberries. So it is all systems go.

Jude harvesting the last of the leeks with our Wolf weeding tool.

The incredibly coloured flowers of Crimson-flowered Broad Bean.

As we began our wander we were pleased to see two families from the nearby estate wandering around our interest trail with their children. Later they were sat in the willow dome reading stories. This is what community allotments are all about! We shall start our wanderings at Hut 2, one of our communal huts and move on to the Autumn Garden, one of our “Gardens of the Seasons”.

Colourful welcome to Hut 2, our information centre.

A species crab apple, Malus floribunda, is a recent addition to the Autumn Garden.

We planted the malus to attract bees - it works!

Japanese maples grow in the dappled shade of the trees in the Autumn Garden

Moving on from the Autumn Garden towards the first communal orchard we follow a native hedge in which for the first time a Song Thrush has nested. the parents are busy feeding their young and collect worms and bugs from plots right under the noses of the gardeners.

April lottie 2 — Thrush collecting food for its youngsters.

SAMSUNG — The empty thrush egg we found a few weeks ago alongside the hedge.

We are trying to encourage wise watering on the plots so lots of new guttering and butts are appearing.

In Crowmeole Orchard flowering spring bulbs are coming to an end as Camassias and Allium push up their flowering buds. The apples, pears and plums are covered in pink or white blossom.

Blackthorn - bees love the blossom, birds love the fruit and allotment holders love to make sloe gin from them.

Homes for beneficial insects who will help pollinate the fruit and predate on pests.

The Fruit Avenue getting more colourful by the day.

As we wandered through this orchard a flock of Long Tailed tits in their pink and brown livery flew off in the bouncing flight pattern, having fed on the peanuts in the feeders. Their long trailing tails followed on. We moved on following paths between plots towards the Spring Garden and Sensory Garden near the old oak tree. Plots are full of ridged rows of sown potatoes and white plastic plant labels marking newly sown rows.

Phil and Doreen have planted up a border alongside their plot.

Several plot holders are topping up their paths with wood chip.

The Spring Garden in its second spring is looking so good and has become a popular place for allotment holders and visitors.

The most colourful spot on the site in April is the Spring Garden.

Forsythia flowering in the Spring Garden.

Through the Willow Tunnel is one of our many picnic benches where we stop for coffee on our April wanderings. As we enjoyed our brew curlews called in nearby fields with their mournful song and the Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew busily overhead.

IMG_3602a — We have just started to shape the willows into a tunnel.

The Sensory Garden is growing well now the weather is warming up.

The Winter Garden has passed its peak after being so popular for months. We have been busy giving it a sort out.

The stems of the White Stemmed Rubus look magical in the spring sunshine.

The dogwoods and willows grown for their coloured stems have been pruned hard to encourage fresh wands of growth.

Fresh Fennel foliage in front of a Euphorbia.

We wandered next through the Woodcote Orchard where the paths are cut short and neatly through the long grass, and looked at the Turf Spiral, a favourite of the children.

Follow the trail post down the neat path.

We have been adding another layer of turf to the spiral to create somewhere to sit.

Our final stop on the way back to the car park was the Herb Garden where herbs are now well established. This last section of our lottie wander took a lot longer than the others as we enjoyed a good chat with Dave and Jean. We put the world to rights and shared details of how all our crops were getting on.

Tags allotments, apples, birds, community gardening, conservation, dogwoods, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grown your own, insects, meadows, organic gardening, roses, spring garden, wildlife

allotments birds community gardening conservation fruit and veg garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own meadows natural pest control wildlife

A Day on the Lottie – mini-meadows and brassicas.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 10, 2012
4 Comments on A Day on the Lottie – mini-meadows and brassicas.

Yesterday we spent the day up at our allotment, with the aim of sowing mini-meadows and planting out Brassica plants. But firstly the grass paths separating the plot into its four beds needed a good cut. That done we prepared two narrow borders along one edge of the plot, raking the soil finely but adding no fertilisers or organic matter, for this is where we were creating our mini-meadows.

We sowed a mixture of 3 packets, a white cornflower called “Snowman” a native cornfield mixture and a Californian wildflower mixture. It seemed so strange to feel how light the seeds felt in my hand – a meadow in the palm of my hand.

We hope that our little strips of meadow will look good for us and fellow plotholders to enjoy, attract beneficial insects and bring in attractive butterflies. We particularly want bees to arrive to help with crop pollination. And of course they all entertain us while we are gardening.

After a quick coffee we scattered chicken muck pellets and fish, blood and bone fertiliser onto our brassica bed and raked them in well. I then trod over the area to firm the ground and raked again. Brassicas enjoy firm soil and they are less likely to bolt and help them fill out better.

We decided to plant the Brassica plants in trenches with raised sides to act as min-dikes. With all the talk of drought and possible hose pipe bans we are trying out ways of watering wisely. These trenches should ensure that any rain is directed towards the plants.

We packed away our tools and locked up the shed after a busy, productive couple of hours. Back to the community hut to collect one of the site mowers and the grass strimmer, and we were off to mow the grass around the community meadow area and the turf spiral. But we wandered around the site first and found three real little gems.

This first gem we found was a native fritillary growing in a batch in the first of the community orchards and the second, a more unusual fritillary, in a small patch in the Hazel Grove.

The third gem was a hatched shell near one of the native hedgerows. This little sky blue beauty is the egg of a Song Thrush, so we were delighted to find it. Thrushes are becoming more frequent on the site as our community wildlife areas are becoming more established. We often see them feeding under the feeding stations or rummaging in the leaf litter beneath the hedges.

We mowed and trimmed for a couple of hours before our backs shouted “Enough! Enough!”

Tags allotments, birds, brassicas, community gardening, conservation, fritilaries, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grown your own, insects, meadows, organic gardening, song thrush, wildlife

bird watching birds conservation Shropshire trees wildlife Wildlife Trusts

A Canalside Ramble, There and Back. Part One: There.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 6, 2012
10 Comments on A Canalside Ramble, There and Back. Part One: There.

Bright sunshine, the purest blue sky and warm, summer temperatures in March! What could be better than a walk near water? So we decided to visit a Shropshire Wildlife Trust reserve with its track taking us along the towpath of one of Shropshire’s many stretches of canal. An easy flat walk on soft grass – so kind to the legs and feet after busy days on the allotment.

We have been members of our county’s Wildlife Trust for about 40 years now and visited their reserves regularly when our children were with us but now they have left home and we have both retired we are enjoying visiting them anew. The walk we chose today was the Prees Branch Canal Reserve, described as a “2 mile long pond”. A Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the rare underwater plants, it is also home to one of Britain’s rarest mammals, the Water Vole. Thus it was with great anticipation that Jude, also known as Mrs Greenbenchrambler, also known as “The Undergardener”, and I climbed the stile into the reserve. The first sound to reach our ears was the loud call of a chicken who had just laid its daily egg.

The Prees Branch Canal was started in the early 1800’s and was intended to be a branch of the Llangollen Canal, but finances ran out so it was never completed. The trail we chose to follow runs alongside the 2 miles that were built and runs to its junction with the Shropshire Union Canal.

Just a few steps into woodland alongside a short dried up section of canal and birdsong filled the air. The most persistent songster was the diminutive warbler, the Chiffchaff. Throughout our day’s walk of almost four miles there was a calling Chiffchaff every 30 metres or so, and these early arrivals sing with such gusto to announce themselves to any females in calling distance. It’s call, the simple repetitive “Chiffchaff” call that gives it its name, was interrupted by the much more tuneful song of its near relative, the Willow Warbler. We saw so many flying from tree to tree or searching out insects in undergrowth.

The habitat in this tree-lined section looked absolutely perfect for the Water Vole but the closest we got to one was hearing the characteristic “plop” as one entered the water from the dried reeds followed by the every increasing circles of ripples. In this area, beneath the bare stems of trees in their dappled shade yellow flowers abounded – Celandine, Dandelion, Marsh Marigold and Pussy Willow. Later a snout popped up through the surface film of the water, and Jude stopped me suddenly and pointed. as it moved towards it we realised that the snout was attached to a frog and not a Water Vole. But we enjoyed admiring the frog’s swimming skills – perfect breast stroke clearly seen in the sparkling clean water.

Leaving the tree-lined section, we entered a much more open stretch where the water was crystal clear. Beneath the surface the green of new Yellow Waterlilies glowed.

Two male Mallards, their green iridescent heads glowing against the sky reflecting blue, paraded up the canal ahead of us. A single Mute Swan bustled from the dried reeds, a blue ring on its leg showing in the clear water. Clean white feathers, orange beak and blue leg ring.

We crossed this open stretch and after passing through an Alder coppice, we reached a busy marina and navigable waters. Narrow boats in all colours, all sizes and from all destinations clustered around moorings. From here on these boats chugged passed us regularly stirring up the silty bed of the canal. They sported a miscellany of names all saying something about their owners, their humour and their interests. Tadpole, Otter, Mouse, Earwig and Maple Leaf, Grace, Ondine, Montgomery, Jubilee Bridge and my favourite Django. That boat owner must be a fellow jazz fan.

Just beyond the marina we found a stile conveniently placed to lean upon, eat bananas and drink coffee and of course rest weary legs.

We passed under bridges which gave us a moment of shade from the sun which was gaining strength by the hour. Each bridge has a name, Waterloo Bridge, Boodles Bridge, Dobson’s Bridge, Starks Bridge, Allimans Bridge or a number. These hump-backed bridges carried narrow country lanes over the canal or tracks that took cattle or sheep from field to field. Under Boodles we were mesmerised by the sight of a Great Diving Beetle swimming powerfully to the water’s surface to collect its bubble of air. This is Britain’s largest beetle and swims with strong legs. It is large and powerful enough to catch and eat small fish called Sticklebacks.

Starks and Allimans were most unusual bridges – Lift Bridges. The trackways were carried over the canals by these low wooden bridges which boatman raise by manually turning a handle. As we approached Starks we watched a barge passing under, a skillful manoeuvre.

We stood on Allimans lift bridge and looked along the canal trying to decide whether we had enough energy in reserve to walk the last straight quarter-mile stretch to the T-junction where our Prees Branch Canal met with the Shropshire Union. It looked too tempting!

So we moved on slowly and here the canal cut straight through marshy land with scrapes and pools. From the towpath we spotted wading birds such as Lapwing and Curlew, and water birds such as Moorhens, Canada Geese and Wigeon Ducks. Squealing and wheeling above them were the ubiquitous Black-headed Gull.

Reaching the T-junction felt great and after crossing Roving Bridge next to Roving Farm, we found a seat! Just reward indeed! There were two benches placed in memory of people who had loved the canal in their lifetimes. We made ourselves comfortable with a coffee and a couple of apples on the bench dedicated to Edith. Thanks Edith we enjoyed your seat. Here we stayed a while enjoying the sounds of birdsong and watching the occasional barge passing along the Shropshire Union. Most cruised slowly and quietly in front of us and their occupants waved or called greetings. But one approached us noisily. We heard the engine and the “sailors” a long way off. The engine was so noisy that the sailors just had to shout to hear each other giving commands and advice. They needed advice as three men in orange fluorescent safety jackets stood on board a tiny tug barge pushing a barge along in front and pulling two behind. The barge snake zigzagged from bankside to bankside and progressed slowly, but provided amusing entertainment.

Quiet returned as they disappeared into the distance and we could appreciate the “yaffling” calls of Green Woodpeckers and the chattering of pairs of Wagtails, both Pied and Grey. Goldfinches and Greenfinches passed over head in pairs and a lone Buzzard wheeled high above.

(Part Two to follow)

Tags birds, chiffchaff, conservation, goldfinches, insects, waders, warblers, wildfowl, woodpeckers

allotments birds fruit and veg garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own meadows natural pest control Shropshire wildlife

Our Wildlife Friendly Allotment – Gardening for Wildlife Gardening with Wildlife

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 31, 2012
9 Comments on Our Wildlife Friendly Allotment – Gardening for Wildlife Gardening with Wildlife

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.

Tags allotments, birds, conservation, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden wildlife, grown your own, insects, meadows, wildlife

bird watching birds conservation photography Shropshire trees wildlife Wildlife Trusts

A Wander Around a Hill – Earls Hill Nature Reserve

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 27, 2012
3 Comments on A Wander Around a Hill – Earls Hill Nature Reserve

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

IMG_3234-1 — 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.

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.

IMG_3250a — The tall spires of last year's flowering stems of the Mullein

So 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.

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 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.

Tags birds, Earls Hill, insects, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, wildlife

allotments birds community gardening conservation fruit and veg garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own hardy perennials natural pest control trees wildlife winter gardens

A Wander Around the Allotments in March

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 22, 2012
10 Comments on A Wander Around the Allotments in March

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?

Tags allotments, birds, community gardening, foliage, foliage plants, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grown your own, harvest, insects, ornamental trees, spring, wildlife, winter, winter gardens

conservation garden photography gardening ornamental trees and shrubs The National Trust trees

A Walk in the Park – with snowdrops.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 15, 2012
4 Comments on A Walk in the Park – with snowdrops.

Today as the weather has warmed up and the sun is seeping through a thin cloud layer, we decided to take a twenty-minute drive out to Attingham Park for a walk through the woodlands where snowdrops are the stars in February. It was half-term so the woods were colourful, bright coloured anoraks, scarves and hats as families took to the paths. Every child seemed to have found a suitable rustic walking stick from the undergrowth. It was great to see young families out enjoying the natural world.

As we passed through the stable block the sound of vigorous hammering filled the air echoing around us. A noisy coffee break but we enjoyed watching youngsters wielding hammers busily constructing nest boxes. A great idea from the National Trust. Every family leaving Attingham today has at least one child clutching proudly a newly built nest box.

Once into the wood itself we seemed to be guided along by Robins who entertained us with their songs.

The snowdrops are small this year and very slow to develop. Many are just at the early bud stage and those that have come our sport small blooms. The swathes under the tall bare deciduous trees were far less vibrant than expected so the beauty was to be found in the little clumps hidden away deeper into the woods.

But there was far more to the woods than Snowdrops and the temptation to photograph the textures and patterns found there was easily given in to.

The earliest of woodland shade loving plants are beginning to appear taking advantage of the light filtering through the veil of bare branches above them. The arrow shaped leaves of the Cuckoo Pint are glossy and shine out amongst in the monochrome leaf litter.

Leaving the woodland we took a track across the Deer Park. A warden appeared on a mini tractor closely followed by herds of excited deer. The tractor was pulling a trailer full of feed! This was an unexpected opportunity to see the park’s deer close up.

The deer may be the biggest and most obvious creatures here but the littlest are also of equal importance. Where the trust have been clearing dead and damaged trees they have taken the opportunity of creating habitats such as log piles, brash stacks etc to attract insects and invertebrates and small mammals. The woods here are now well-known for the population of Lesser Stag Beetles. In some places fallen branches and larger trunks are left to rot away to become hosts to fungi and multitudes of minibeasts.

This fungus seems to be leaking from the cracks in the dead bark, like woodworker’s glue seeping from a joint.

This dead tree left standing for fungi, invertebrates and insects looks dramatic alone in a clear area of parkland. Woodpeckers will enjoy attacking the peeling bark and rotting wood in search of tasty morsels.

Tags Attingham Park. parkland, conservation, fungi, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, insects, National Trust, trees, wildlife, winter

bird watching birds conservation garden wildlife natural pest control photography Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust wildlife winter gardens

A Day at the Original Wildfowl and Wetland Trust Centre – Slimbridge

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 22, 2012
5 Comments on A Day at the Original Wildfowl and Wetland Trust Centre – Slimbridge

Our recent visit to Barnes, the WWT centre in London, reminded us that we hadn’t visited Slimbridge for a good few years. Bitterns were being spotted regularly so a relatively mild day in January seemed a good day to visit. A long and very slow drive down in the drizzle failed to dampen our enthusiasm. So having arrived an hour after we had planned a welcome cup of coffee was gulped down before we headed for the hides. Trouble is we had to begin by walking passed the flamingo enclosure – an assault on the eyes and ears. Not our favourite birds – the Dame Edna Everidges of the wildfowl world.

The walk to the first hide took us through wildfowl enclosures. We don’t stop here much but it was a favourite when our children were young, and is still a favourite for young families today. it is a great way to introduce youngsters to the joys of the bird world. It is safe to say that many children who marvel at the beautiful fowl from every corner of the world become birdwatchers – their interest is sparked here at Slimbridge.

In this area pollarded willows with wands the colours of fire glow against the storm-laden sky. Some newly pollarded trees look like they are sporting designer stubble, others throw their stems rigidly into the air.

Flames of willow lapping the airforce blue sky.

Winter light gives so much colour to a dull day.

We arrived at the first hide after a twenty-minute walk through the wildfowl pens regularly distracted by the low winter sun and its magical effect on stems and stalks. The view from the hide was one of flat landscape of reedbed, river and shallow pools. Shelduck were relaxing on the grassy bank of a patch of cold looking water while mallard and teal flirted in the edge of the reed fringed pools. This was a quiet place with just the wind rustling the reeds, the whistling calls of the teal disrupted by the quarreling mallard. A small bird flitted from one reed seed head to another never settling, a brown backed warbler with rounded end to its tail – a cettis warbler. This is a sight worth the long journey to see. But Jude quietly whispered to me “I can see a bittern”. There it was, so hard to find and so easy to lose, skulking in the fringes of the reeds a few metres from the hide. Stripes of brown on warm beige, provided the perfect camouflage, the bittern moved so slowly like a clump of dried reeds. Jude saw it with head and neck stretched up – lucky lady!

We remained in this hide long enough to get cold and stiff after perching on the hard wooden seating, revived somewhat by regular coffees. Eyes soon become tired staring over such huge areas of wetland, so blinking and rubbing them was a necessity. But our tired eyes did see many delights, Pintails, Shovellers, Water Rail among multitudes of Pochard, Wigeon, mute swan mixed with Bewicks and the occasional heron flying in and landing on fenceposts. The only birds of prey we spotted were several buzzards all lined up on fence post on the edge of the river. Our eyes needed a rest and luckily the nearby Kingfisher Hide provides just this as the views are smaller, the birds more intimate. Here bird feeders hang in a tree just outside one of the hide’s windows. A half hour of close-up views of finches and tits while eating lunch is an enjoyable interlude.

As Jude read an information board about kingfishers she informed me that they moved elsewhere during the winter but returned in March, but as she told me this one flew across the water low and purposefully. You can’t mis-identify a kingfisher, there is nothing else like it. Then it flew back across the water to prove he really was there. Beneath the feeders opportunist pigeons, blackbirds, moorhen and jackdaws joined by a squirrel picked up the seeds and peanut crumbs dropped by the messy small birds above. We enjoyed watching the antics of a Little Grebe as he swam around just feet from the hide, a delightful ball of feathers.

Picnic eaten and eyes rested we continued our tour of the site visiting smaller hides and enjoying the walkways in between. We passed the Rain Garden with the most wonderful, sculptural insect shelters.

The art of the dry-stone wall-builder provides shelter for wildlife.

Many of the birds have become so used to human visitors that they let you take photos without huge telescopic lenses, just compact digital cameras like the one I carry in my pocket.

It's not just me that appreciates pollarded willow.

The moorhen, common but beautifully marked and subtly coloured.

The coot creating his own patterns in the water.

It was between some of the smaller hides that we spotted the first good-sized clump of snowdrops of the winter so far bursting from the leaves that had dropped in the autumn to give the ground a warming duvet. Nearby gnarled old bracket fungi clung to equally gnarled old willow bark.

Bright lights in the gloom under the bare stemmed trees.

Such varied texture and so many shades of brown.

We reached the Holden tower as the poor light was fading further. The multitude of waders, geese and ducks were almost in silhouette now. A flock of Tufted Ducks had taken over one small pond exclusively, but the other pool was busy with Lapwing by the hundred interspersed by a scattering of their cousins the Golden Plover. Out on the far estuary Pintails could be seen feeding in the margins and Curley in the muddy banks. A real treat was spotting a female Reed bunting close to the hide atop a twiggy bush. She was a bird of subtle beauty. Completely unlike the black hooded male, she sported black and cream streaks all over.

The fading light that makes the afternoons in January too short, made us hurry to the South Lakes for a final half-hour bird spotting. Gulls, waders and ducks galore greeted us, unaware that they were being watched by a Buzzard in one tree and a Peregrine in its neighbour. We were entertained by a group of Black Tailed Godwit feeding in the shallows close to us and Lapwing moving across the shallower water feeding incessantly. Scanning the Lapwing flock with the telescope, I spied a small gang of Redshank, easily identified by their red legs. But amongst them was a different character, a slightly longer and down-turned beak and marked eye stripe and more marked plumage identified it as a Spotted Redshank. What an end to the day! Our time watching and appreciating the waders on the South Lake was forshortened when the Peregrine launched itself from its tree top perch. The waders disappeared.

But it is not just the rarities that it is possible to see at Slimbridge, and we certainly revelled in seeing our Water Rail, Spotted Redshank, Bittern and Cettis Warbler, that makes this such a wonderful place to visit but is the enjoyment of seeing the commonest of birds in such a varied range of habitats. Journeying home we looked back on a day when we spotted over 50 species of birds some of them in their hundreds and satisfied with a short glimpse of the ubiquitous Bittern.