Corona Wildlife Diary: Day Fifty-one

As the world shuts down around us the uplifting role that wildlife plays in our lives becomes more vital than ever. So, for my own sanity as much as anything, I’m going to keep a daily diary of what I find around my garden.  Photograph the wildlife you can see from your window or in your garden and post your pictures on the ‘Sussex Wildlife Trust Nature Table’ page.

Day Fifty-one
There's been a lot of excitement in the garden over the past few days - so I thought I'd try and cram it all into this update. 

Fox Update

I’ve been putting the trail camera out once a week but I’m not seeing the fox cubs as much. I’m thinking maybe they have now moved out of the den and are spending time in another part of my neighbour’s garden. Or the camera isn’t working. Here’s some footage from last week. They're as inquisitive as ever.

The Singing Fireplace

Every evening my local Blackbird proclaims his territory by singing from my chimney pot.The song carries down the chimney, is amplified by the fireplace and fills the front room.

Egg-laying Brimstone

Yesterday I was looking at the front lawn (fully clothed this time) when I noticed a large, pale butterfly fluttering about on the Alder Buckthorn bush. I planted the Alder Buckthorn years ago as its leaves are the food of the Brimstone butterfly’s caterpillars. So, I was thrilled to watch as this female Brimstone fluttered around the bush, occasionally landing on the young leaves.

She'd land, perching precariously on a leaf and curl her abdomen underneath.

It would only take a few seconds but you can see the small pale egg that she has deposited.

And then she'd be off to another leaf

Today I went outside and searched for the butterfly's eggs. They were really easy to find. Tiny (2mm), pale, skittle-shaped eggs all over the plant. There must have been 20 or so out there.

 

The B.O. Towel

I was working in the spare room the other day when my wife started shouting from the kitchen

“Oh no! There’s a grey spot on your B.O. towel”

I ran in to the kitchen where Clare was staring out of the window towards the washing line. A lot of thoughts raced through my head. I was rather confused as I didn't know we had a B.O. towel. Then I became concerned that there’s a sweaty towel and that Clare has a secret name for it. But then I got confused as to why she was perfectly happy to have this sweaty 'B.O towel' in the airing cupboard – but she now seemed really upset because there was a grey spot on it.  Then I realised that what Clare was actually shouting was:

“Oh no! There’s a Great Spot on your bee hotel”

That made more sense. A Great Spotted Woodpecker had landed on one of the bee hotels which I made back on Day 35 (here) and was methodically probing each hole with its tongue trying to find some bee& larvae. It soon realised that the bees hadn't moved in and flew off. This has happened before. A few years back a Great Spotted Woodpecker landed on my original David Bowie bee hotel and started eating the bee larvae. Of course that it was hard to watch something I had created be exploited.Then a Sparrowhawk swooped down, grabbed the woodpecker who hadn't been paying attention) and killed and ate it. One of those 'circle of life' things I guess. I'm just glad that we don’t actually have a smelly towel.

(Hmmm. Not the best picture but if you squint you can make out the red bottom end of a Great-spotted Woodpecker on my B.O. Towel)

The First Fledgling

I've seen plenty of Blackbirds and Starlings with their beaks stuffed with worms carrying them off to a hungry mouths in a hidden nest soemwhere. Some birds are still gathering nest materials to build their nests. Other birds have still not made it back from Africa yet. Meanwhile this young Robin is the first young bird that I have seen up and out of its nest this year. Young Robin's do not have the red breast of the adults. It wont be long under it moults its 'teenage' feathers and puts on the red feathers of an adult. And when it does the parents will chase it out of their territory. 

 

A couple of bonus garden insects

Insect activity is hotting up in the garden. There are more species of hoverfly emerging and I photographed these insects on the willow.

This is a young Azure Damsefly. Dragonflies and damselflies look pale just after emerging from the pond. This one will shortly turn a vivid blue.

Scorpionfly. These amazing insects hold their abdomen over their bodies making them look like scorpions. But they can't sting (that weird structure is used for clasping its partner while mating). There are 3 species in the UK which are hard to tell apart. I had to get my magnifying glass out and have a close look at those claspers to identify it as Panorpa communis.