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The deadline for signing up for this trip on Saturday, 9 October is this Wednesday, 23 September.
Go to Field Trips for everything you need to know, including the information that Dick Budden needs to book you in with Dorset Wildlife Trust, and with The National Trust for the ferry to the island. Non-members and guests are, of course, very much invited to join us.
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Did you miss out on the bat walk at Old Wardour? There's another opportunity this Thursday, 23rd - go to Field Trips for full details.
No, nothing supernatural. But things absolutely super natural: moths. Fans or phobics, I would guess that you've noticed the gallery of fabulous creatures that now grace each of our pages, thanks to Andrew Graham's moth trap. Sending the latest gallery, Andrew explained: 'To put things in context: I started from scratch with my knowledge of moths when I got my moth trap at the start of lockdown in March '20. Since then, I have identified 250 moths that I have seen in my garden which backs onto fields. The huge majority of these are macro moths and although I have started to try to identify the micro moths, I have so far not been very successful. This year has not been as productive as last year so far as I have only identified 150 or so species in my trap although quite a few of these are new to me. I am sure that there remain plenty more to be identified and added to my list.' Sometimes, these exquisite creatures are the 'wrong' shape for the page headers, so here are some of the photos I would love to have used but couldn't, or which couldn't display properly. Just click on each image to enlarge it to rather more than life-size.
For more about Andrew's moth trap, go to Recording/Active surveys.  Photo: Dick Budden, Sunset on the Nadder 18th July 2021 (Apologies if you've seen this already - Feedburner messed it up for those using that service.)
We know from the survey undertaken last year further up the Nadder near Weaveland Farm (go to MoreNews and scroll down to 15 August 2020), that this area is phenomenally popular with bats. This year, Peter G Thompson recorded 10,000 hits on Dick Budden's patch. For more detail, go to Active Surveys. That big blank space in the middle of the Ordnance Survey map (North) of Salisbury and Stonehenge is, thanks to the Army's big guns, pretty much unknown to most of us (bar those who went Bustard spotting).
But on Thursday 16 September, we'll be learning all about the species rich habitat that's Salisbury Plain, from Simon Smart of Black Sheep Countryside Management. Go to Talks for full details - it's via Zoom. Many apologies to my viewers, especially those who have stayed with me: we're in the process of switching from Google's Feedburner to an alternative that will notify you of a new post - or even to a website builder alternative to Weebly, much as I love them. I hope normal service will be resumed asap.
Meanwhile, please just log onto this page whenever curiosity overcomes you - new items normally appear every 2-4 days, depending on urgency/relevance/topicality/my mood!! Thank you very much for your support. An email from Wiltshire Council is urging residents to take part in the consultations about the Climate Strategy and Natural Environment Plan. These are now open, and you can find out more and ask questions by joining one of the following online engagement events.
Don’t miss your chance to have your say. Sign up now! Find out more about the Climate Change consultation here and about the Natural Environment Plan consultation here.  Constable - Salisbury Cathedral from_the_Meadows: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The famous painting - one of the most famous - by Constable, of Salisbury Cathedral from the water meadows, must surely be in the minds eye of many of us as we drive along the Harnham Road.
On Wednesday, 25 August we are going to find out all about the meadows, why they're not just beautiful but internationally important and probably the most important meadow irrigation system in England. If you've not yet signed up for this and for full details, please go to Field Trips. Anyone ever have to act in 'Daddy long legs' as their annual school play? It's a rather sweet story about an orphan and a mystery benefactor she catches sight of only once as a lankily distorted shadow.  Leatherjacket_Emelt - Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons The insect version is no benefactor for gardeners, as their eggs develop into those nasty-looking grubs we call leatherjackets. But help from nature is at hand, as they're a favourite food for our avian friends the rooks, jackdaws and starlings. So don't be cross when you find little holes in your lawn.
Andrew Graham tells us more about them and the adult 'daddy long legs' that they become, in MoreNews. One of the surprises, for our leader Andrew Graham, was that his group of 12 did in fact succeed in completing the route he'd mapped out for us in the hope of seeing as much wildlife as possible. For his detailed account, go to Field Trips/What you missed, but here are some of the highlights. The Chalkhill blue butterfly is now quite rare - here's the male on the left, the female on the right. Some butterflies are confusingly similar - on the left, the Gatekeeper and next to it, a female Meadow brown. You'd think the next one to the right was the underside of the female Meadow brown but no, it's of the Gatekeeper. And the male Meadow brown is the dingy one on the extreme right - just a hint of orange on its forewing. The flowers were glorious, too, the hillside a riot of colour. We were all surprised to be introduced to the Carline thistle - we thought it was just a dead ordinary one, but they were there at all stages and fascinating especially close up.  Amongst the cattle grazing were some Park Whites, kept in Britain for more than 2,000 years. They are closely descended from Britain’s original wild white cattle that were enclosed in parks by the nobility during the middle ages.
A final and very appropriate touch of history. |
The pages now display photos of moths taken by Andrew Graham. This one's the Puss Moth, looks very soft and cuddly.
This blog is updated usually every 2-4 days, depending of course on what's happening, as also other pages independently or linked from blogposts.
AuthorIf it's not me, Elizabeth Forbes, website editor (keen but ignorant), I'll say so. Archives
September 2021
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