Hang in there!

Despite this appalling weather and all the doom and gloom being reported about how our British wildlife is suffering, a few creatures and flowers are still clinging on.  Undoubtedly things dont look as colourful, summery and full of life as they should at this time of year but if you look closely you can still find small pockets of splendour...

Common spotted orchid

Small tortoiseshell and Meadow brown (sharing, aah!)

Stinking iris

face full of buddleia

Pyramidal orchid

Red cardinals making whoopee

Emerald damselfly

So chin up, the little guys are battling through the monsoon, so can we!

Bella Italia and Keith's weeds

So I managed to escape the rain for a couple of days last week and visit the ol' aunt and uncle in rural central Italy. And naturally I had to explore the flora and fauna on their doorstep. I wasn't disappointed. Their large garden backs on to traditional hay meadows and you wake to the sound of corn buntings and swallows. And occasionally you wake to ritual offerings from the outdoor insect zapper. For example...

barbecued Garden Tiger moth

Other creatures in the garden that fortunately resisted the urge to fly toward the light included...

Lizard

White-legged damselfy (female)?

Common blue butterfly

The large amount of wildlife present in the garden can be attributed to the abundant resources available - fruit, seeds, insects, and wild flowers, or as Keith calls them, weeds!

I would have got more pictures but I was forced to put the camera down and drink prosecco, oh the hardship.

Why did the viper vipe her nose?

Cos the adder 'ad 'er hankerchief!

Considering I am not a big fan of snakes, I seem to spend a fair amount of time either looking for them or stumbling across them.  We did a reptile survey at Brenchley Wood and Cinderhill last week with the hope that we might find adders on site.  Sadly (for conservation, not so much for me) there weren't any but the site may not be dry enough for them.  We did record plenty of slow worms and a few grass snakes though so it wasn't a total loss.

Slow worm (legless lizard)

Today, we were at Kiln Wood Nature Reserve doing a bit of path cutting.  Whilst having a break from the heat, I was rummaging around the pond trying to get pictures of the damselflies and got startled by something in the water.  Fortunately it was not an anaconda, but instead a grass snake happily swimming along.  Once I had recovered from the mild shock, I remembered I had my camera in my hand and tried to get some photos.  Not brilliant, but you can just about make out Britain's longest snake...

I did also manage to get a picture of the Large red damselfly, but be warned, it is x-rated.

Other shots from today...

Red campion

Common Spotted-orchid avec spider

Speckled Wood

Our new neighbour

See if you can locate the world's smallest bird house in this picture...

This was a gift from Tom and Laura following its brutal rejection from their wedding favour shortlist and now makes an attractive little decoration for our balcony.  We were hoping to wake up one morning to find a blue tit's bum sticking out of it following a mis-judgement on potential nest sites.  Alas, we have resorted to accepting its mere ornamental status.

However, as I was munching my lunch today I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye, only to watch a small creature enter the teeny house.  Surely not I hear you cry.  But yes, this splendid little gimic has now become the nesting ground of what I can only assume is a solitary bee...

She is in and out of there pretty quick but I know it isnt a wasp (phew) and maybe it is a Red Mason Bee?

Frolicking in the meadows

I spent a splendid morning last week basically frolicking in a meadow.  My task was to count the Green-winged orchids at Marden Meadows so we can check that their numbers are staying up.  What a beautiful place - if you want to see a fine example an unimproved hay meadow (very rare habitat these days) I would suggest a visit to this reserve near Maidstone.  There are thousands of these orchids as well as many other wild flowers.  Naturally, I had my trusty camera with me and it didn't let me down...

Water-violets

Bugle

Yellow-rattle

So Maidstone actually does have something good to offer!

To bee, or not to bee

I am considering joining Buglife (the Invertebrate Conservation Trust) when I finally transform back to tax-paying pleb from student, sooner rather than later hopefully.  Despite being somewhat freaked out by insects on a regular basis, they are undoubtedly very important little monsters.  Sir David Attenborough quite rightly said:

"If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear over night, the rest of the world would get on pretty well.  But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse."

It's amazing what is down there in the depths of the underworld.  I spotted this little chap on Saturday whilst hunting for adders on the heath at Brenchley Wood...

Green Tiger Beetle

So I think I would like to be an advocate for bug conservation, as long as mother nature keeps them small.  I may have to re-consider my position should films like "Them" come true.

Sycamore gets the blues

So the season for cutting things down is over, boo. I have just spent the day painting Quarry Wood blue following a whole lotta cutting down of Sycamore over the winter.  To stop the regrowth we treat the stumps with a weedkiller with added dye so we can see what we've done.

Picasso at work

Pretty!

The dye does go away, so the reserve doesnt remain looking like you'd expect to see a Tellytubby appear round the corner at any moment.  And we were cutting trees down in the name of conservation.  Sycamore spreads like wildfire so by clearing sections of it, the other native species get a chance to return to the site.

There are some beautiful woodland flowers out at the moment (not painted blue)...

Dog Violet

Dogs Mercury, Wood Anemone, Lords and Ladies

Wild Primrose

Bluebell

Early Purple Orchid

Herb-Paris

Lesser Celandine