Pasque Flowers for Easter

The Pasque flowers are out early on Royston Heath and are there in large numbers. It was a bit windy today for flower photography but I enjoyed trying a few different techniques and also finding some mini creatures - spiders, snails, fly, caterpillar and a Red-tailed Mason bee that makes its nest in snail's shells!

Destruction of Local Wildlife Habitats

It took me several days before I could do my 'daily' walk around the footpath in Toft that goes along the Mill Lane Drift down the side of the allotments and back along the stream into Toft Wood as I had heard the large machinery at work earlier and feared for the worst. 

We no longer have a stream - just a V-shaped deep drainage ditch and the Badgers and hedgerow birds (including Whitethroats, Dunnocks, Wrens and Blackbirds) have lost a valuable breeding habitat. 

Toft Invertebrates (3)

Latest batch of Toft invertebrates including a Caddis fly larva with a very smart case that it has built and glued together! Still not officially identified the transparent tube in the second image - snail eggs have been suggested but looks more like a shed skin. The Bee Fly was hovering - photo taken at 1/8000th has just about stopped wing motion. Finishing with a small mite from the pond.

'Signs of Spring' Survey at Paxton Pits

 Our first survey of the year at Paxton is always along the main Heron Trail recording any wildlife (plants in leaf/flower, birds, insects). This is a useful year-to-year comparison. Despite the cold and blustery conditions, the sunny intervals brought out quite a bit of insect life. My favourite was the Simulid midge - minute but amazingly sculptured - it is on a nettle leaf so the stinging hairs give scale!!. We were pleased to see our new bee terrace being used - Andrena bicolor was the commonest bee recorded there.

Toft Invertebrates (2)

Here are yesterday's species. First the bees - Tawny Mining Bee (male), Early Bumble Bee and Hairy footed Bee (female); then the Hoverflies including a Platycheirus albimanus in the jaws of a Flower Spider, several other fly species including the Bee Fly and finishing with Box Moth caterpillars and my first record of a Caddis fly larva from my pond.