| 2024 | 2025 |
| << May 2025 | June 2025 | July 2025 >> |
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1st: Labyrinth spider A labyrinth spider, with a fabulous large and complex tunneled web in the long grasses. As we watched, it rushed out from the inner depths, grabbed a fly and raced back down. It then turned around and began to enjoy its lunch in the entrance to its 'lair', giving us a wonderfully convenient 'front row' view' All this drama that goes on beneath our feet.. what a privilege to get to watch it. We also spied what we are fairly sure is a Common Green Grasshopper (with brown sides) and an ichumen wasp: a diplazon laetatorius, identifiable by the white marks on its hind legs. So much life is spotted simply by crouching down in the grass and waiting!!! We love it!     |
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2nd: Labyrinth spider Today we managed to catch some video footage of our spider |
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3rd: And yet more Yesterday we found another labyrinth web and spider, although the tunnel in this one was less obvious. And whilst we began the day with rain (as the photo shows), it ended with sunshine and so a happy half hour was spent trying hard to take photos of the many Large Red and Common Blue damselflies round the garden pond - we largely failed. Success in the strawberry bed though as we picked the first strawberries of the year!!!    |
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4th: Pond Dipping 2 with Chulmleigh Guides After their first visit to us last month when we had a fab pond dipping session, Chulmleigh Guides were asked what they wanted to do for their second session here at Cadbury Cottage. They were given quite a variety of choices from making bee bricks to building habitat piles. And they opted for.... .... MORE pond dipping. We gave them the task of seeing what they could find in all the newest ponds on the land - many of which didn't look as though they contained that much life (although we knew different!!). In a mere half hour or so, most groups had found a good 10-plus species.We them had a very happy half hour looking at them under microscopes and hand lenses!! Another great session from a wondrously engaged group of young ladies - all 21 of them!!! Thanks to Mandy, Lesley, Claire, Amy and Nick for all their help!!             |
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5th: Bottom of Oak field The very bottom of Oak field, in the far corner behind all the saplings, is a haven for invertebrates - the thick hedgeline and long grass provide great cover and feed. These were some of yesterday's highlights Housefly (Eudasyphora cyanelle) and a Dancefly (Empis livida)   Rustic sailor beetle  |
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6th: Daughter and mum - Kite and Sparrow |
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7th: Welcome rain and stocking up at the Bird Feed station And looks like the blackbirds have another brood!!      |
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8th: Chulmleigh Open Gardens Wow - Chulmleigh Open Gardens was just amazing today. 26 families opened their doors to allow the rest of us to ooh and aah over their wonderful outside spaces. From wildlife meadows to maple filled lawns; from vegetable plots that seamlessly blended with flower borders to gorgeous courtyards that filled the air with colour and scent.. Chulmleigh has it all. Another triumph Claire Withers - thanks so much for organising it and to everyone who took part and made the rest of us feel so welcome.         |
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9th: The new benches have arrived    |
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11th: More bug spotting Knot moth caterpillar on our purple willow and a seven spot ladybird - as last year, we are seeing these a fair bit, but only in single numbers.   The entrance to our labyrinth spider's web with raindrops from last night's rain!  |
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12th: Storks So lucky to be able to see these stunning wild storks last night, recently released into North Devon, all part of restoring our eco-system and improving bio-diversity!     |
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13th: A good year for blue tits!!   |
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14th: Roborough Rewilders Open Day A fabulous day at Roborough Rewilders Open Day today as managed by Nick and Annie Benge, Paul and Jo Everitt. I was chuffed to be invited to give a short talk on 'Unappreciated Invertebrates' which concluded in a spectacular and unplanned fashion when a Golden ringed dragonfly that Jo had managed to capture earlier, decided to pose beautifully on my finger. It stayed for ages, before shaking its muscles out to get warm and taking off into the sunshine. What a fantastic experience. HUGE thanks to Nick Withers from Nature with Nick for capturing the moment. It was great to talk to the group of 30 plus about how and why we need to look after all the invertebrates we have, to encourage them to move in and stay in our gardens and land and to appreciate them in all their glory!! (other photos by Roborough Rewilders)      |
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15th: It's another 'Macro Day' Marmalade hoverfly and a Soldier beetle (Cantharis flavilabris) 
 Figwort hoverfly (Cheilosia variabilis) and a Marsh cranefly 
 Meadow brown and a Meadow grasshopper 
 Dark bush crickets    |
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16th: Suet pellets and live mealworms     |
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17th: More action at the Bird feeders   |
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18th: Bees We no longer have a hive on our land sadly but we are seeing a fair few honey bees nonetheless. The thistles and the brambles in particular are very popular with them - and we certainly have enough of those.   |
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19th: Pond dipping and habitat building with the Cubs      |
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20th: Painted Lady Caterpillars This is one of three that we found on a lone thistle in Goat Field - delighted to see them!!  |
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21st: Not a frequent sight - a sky full of insects - swallow will be happy! |
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23rd: Badger watching An incredible privilege to watch this female badger for a good half hour this evening. She had a generous feast before slipping away as quietly and serenely as she arrived!! (This wasn't by the way, on our land). Meanwhile, for the results of another fab zoom lens session - using it as a close up - scroll down.  |
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24th: The attraction of water We are seeing a lot more gulls this year than we did this time last year. The field shot shows a mixture of Herring with possibly a few Lesser Black-backed. This is Andrew's land but we do occasionally catch them sitting on our pond banks and having a drink. The single gull is an immature Herring who was having a quiet little potter in the rushes just over the gate between us and next door. And today we caught the heron in the camera (just) as he flew from John's Pond (nee Nick's) down to Darter Pond in Oak field, having had a brief look in Stonechat Pond en route. It's very exciting to think it might become a regular visitor.    |
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25th: Butterflies A Meadow Brown and a Ringlet, both very common at the moment, especially in Oak field. Other than these two, we are not seeing many other butterflies just now: some whites and the odd Red Admiral and that's about it!! It's worrying, particularly after the promising start we had.   |
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26th: Fabulous spiders and a new plant Just adore our Labyrinth spider - she has been enlarging her web, preparing for youngsters perhaps?? And a new plant today, discovered in a bank in Swallow field      |
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27th: GS Woodpeckers What a joy to see the whole family eating at the BFS today - mum, dad and two juveniles. Last year there were three offspring - they can lay 4-6 eggs but not sure what the fledgling survival rate is! |
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28th: Hedgehog and Mustard |
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29th: New species The Black Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus cristatus) and a Darkling beetle (Lagria hirta).   |
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30th: New species A Long Hoverfly - a Sphaerophoria - there are 11 species, identifiable by genitalia only!!  |