Fruit Crop poor

This is supposed to be the time when the Rubus fruticosus (Bramble) is fruiting but this year is terrible. I did find Dewberry (Rubus caesius) in fruit along the River Wall along the River Waveney. Star plant today though was the Dipsacus fullonum (Teasel) Shown here. they flower from the middle slowly covering the heads. Although there was plenty of Buddlija davidii (Butterfly Bush) there was nothing lepidopteran nectaring. In fact the whole walk produced just two Whites.

Hot and Muggy

The day started chilly but my middday the sun came out and it was so hot and muggy. I was on the Suffolk broads and was soaked in sweat battling through the puddles. Great images of Black tailed skimmers

Frog watch

I have been watching photographing and counting breeding Common Frogs at Mousehold Norwich this week

Back to The old patch

Well after three years living in Beccles I have decided to go back to Lowestoft where the birding and Nature is much better and richer. I will be the Lowestoft Naturalist from 1st November 2011

Knoppers

A great walk this afternoon with Heather and her kids to Ellough we saw plenty of plant galls including these bright Knopper Galls (Andricus quercuscalis.) on acorns.

Over 100 flowering plants seen including Amaranthus retroflexus. (Common Amaranth.)

The Slugs and Snails

There is nothing more interesting for children this summer holiday to make a pet of the land molluscs namely slugs and snails. Keeping a few in a large jar covered with paper with breating holes and feeding them with lettuce or other succulant plants is a very interesting pastime. Slugs have no shell to speak of and can be tickled and you can see the response as if one was coaching a cat or a dog. By searching under logs and your parents or friends compsot heaps many different slugs and snails may be found to be studied. The large Slug Arion ater has some distinct colour froms and in my garden I find the variety called rufus in good numbers. For our large common garden snail Helix aspersa they too can be collected from garden vegetation and you children may be helping with pest control by taking them and rearing them. Try painting the shell different colours using a felt tip pen and locate them throughout the garden for the rest of the year.
Some Snail connoissuers feed them with lettuce for a few weeks to purge the snail of impurities and boil and eat them just like the french who call then "Escargot."

Bath Hills Norfolk

This morning I enjoyed a walk from Bungay Common to the Bath Hills at Ditchingham.
The dried ground did not produce the very small plants on the common that are unusual.
But the Bath Hills produced many copulating Azure Damselflies (Coenagrion puella.)

several Cardinal Beetles (Pyrochroa serraticornis.) and Banded Demoiselles by the river Waveney. When I got home I saw this micro moth Pyrausta aurata. on our Thyme.