| 2024 | 2025 |
| << June 2025 | July 2025 | August 2025 >> |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
1st: The land of plenty We are really chuffed that we now have gulls using our land on a daily basis. Every day they can be seen perching on the banks of Chaser Pond (previously Nick's) as well as washing and drinking from the pond itself. We are pretty sure we have Herring as well as both Lesser and Greater Black-Backed. Their copious amounts of poo are fab for the clay as it will add much-needed nutrients to it. The greatest number seen at once currently stands at 50. It's hard to believe but many species of gull are now on the red list with numbers of UK breeding pairs having gone from 200,000 to around 50,00 since 1969!!! We very much hope ours stay!!! Elsewhere on the land we now have scores of butterflies - a huge relief after the seemingly good start to the year, then dissolved into a period of almost zero sightings. Every day we now see meadow browns, gatekeepers, ringlets, green-veined whites and red admirals. The thistles and brambles in particular are a huge draw for them. And then there are the plants - some of the wild flower seed we sowed back in April has made a bit of an appearance with cornflowers being especially common, plus our scrapes are revealing lots of pioneer species such as the fumitory and the pimpernel. It really is the land of plenty just now (despite the lack of rain!!).              |
||||||||||||||||||
|
2nd: The Green veined white We spent a long time watching the Green veined whites on the thistles today - there is a patch of them behind Oak Pond (previously Wagtail) that they seem especially fond of. They really are very pretty butterflies. We don't seem to be spotting the Large and Small Whites just now, hopefully their will come.   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
3rd: HUGE excitement Today we spotted a 5-spot burnet month - a first on our land!! It was in the grass in Goat field and posed beautifully before flying off with its usual laconic, slow buzzing flight!! We hope to see more!! We are also chuffed to announce that we have have TWO swallow nests now: one in the barn and one in the stables. After not nesting last year, and not really being around that much either, this year we have seen more than ever. We had 14 perching on the wires this morning and then even more swooping over Chaser pond this evening gabbing insects and water as they flew. We also had wonderful views of a male Emperor Dragonfly over Poultry pond (previously Johns') and this 'may' be a new (to us) species of Drone fly!! The land really is attracting a fabulous range of wildlife!!      |
||||||||||||||||||
|
4th: Halsdan Nature Reserve A beautiful walk round Halsdan Nature Reserve this afternoon with Lynda Pons - we strolled alongside the River Torridge amongst a plethora of stunning butterflies, spotted a grey wagtail, herons, amazing demoiselles and hundreds of tiny fish. We then stood in awe looking at these twin oak trees in the middle of the meadow - the symmetry was remarkable. Nature and a good friend - perfect!!        |
||||||||||||||||||
|
5th: Even on dull day... Even on dull day the wildlife still appears... it is amazing what appears if you just stand still or sit down.    |
||||||||||||||||||
|
6th: 4kg of currants Picked almost 4kg of red and blackcurrants this afternoon!!! Fresh, no air miles, no chemicals and now frozen ready for having with cereal and yogurt throughout the year. About £60 worth-ish!!! AND we left quite a bit for the blackbirds!!! Our youngster from yesterday and all her family and friends, can now have their fill!! So lucky to be able to grow our own food!! 🥰 We then strimmed round all the fruit bushes, including the middle row of raspberries... not sure what crop we will get of those this year -but then we say this every year and it is usually pretty good!! Loving the rest of the allotment, It's very wild!!!    |
||||||||||||||||||
|
7th: New Butterfly Today we added a new butterfly to our Cadbury Cottage Count. With the addition of this beautiful Small Copper, we now have recorded 15 species! It is becoming a good year for insects and every day on our walks we see more and more species and in greater numbers. The land is inundated with swallows too, more than we have ever had before - there is a correlation here. White-tailed Bumble Bee and a Small Copper   Cornflowers and Marigolds  Cabbage Looper caterpillar and blackberries (it's going to be a good year)   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
8th: Butterflies and a Whitethroat Butterflies are doing so well at the moment. Today we stood in front of a bramble patch in our bottom field and saw TEN species in 20 minutes and a good 20/25 individuals at any one time. Eight are pictured here, the remaining two being Green -veined Whites and Ringlets Butterflies tend to be a good indicator species and so their numbers can indicate how well (or not) insects generally are faring. After an early spring flush, and then a worrying late spring/ early summer absence, it now looks as though we may be having a good year after all... In other news, a new bird species for Cadbury Cottage - a whitethroat - spotted on the wire above the allotment on our evening walk!! 
    |
||||||||||||||||||
|
9th: Another new species and Pond Dipping with the Brownies It's proving to be a good couple of months for new species. We strongly suspect that if we tried to find a new one every day amongst both plants and animals, then we probably could at the moment. As it is, we are 'stumbling' across these as we combine looking (at everything) with taking photos and walking the dogs. Today's find is a pretty Ghost Moth, found in the grasses of the Poultry Area. And we also spotted dour Burnet again and one of the many, many Meadow Grasshoppers springing around just now! We also had a lovely evening pond dipping with the Chulmleigh Brownies . After everyone had had a go at using the nets we went back to the barn, and with the help of field guides and magnifying glasses identified ( almost ) all the creatures caught, before gently re releasing them back into the pond.         |
||||||||||||||||||
|
10th: The Small Skipper We thought we were watching another Small Copper but then realised it was in fact a Small Skipper in Oak field this morning. New species really are coming thick and fast just now. We also had fun watching lots of butterflies drinking from the Marsh Thistles whilst the sun shone through their wings. AND we got a photo of a Brimstone, not a butterfly we are seeing a lot of. Ditto the ladybird who we only ever seem to see in single numbers, albeit all our the land. Finally the last photo 'may' be a Common Green Grasshopper (a brown version). It certainly didn't have the short wings of the Meadow Grasshopper. We aim to look tomorrow and see if we can confirm we have them both!! Brimstone and Small Skipper   Red Admiral and Large White 
7-spot Ladybird and a possible Common Green Grasshopper 
 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
11th: Spiders The land is full of spider webs at the moment. In the mornings we see masses of the small 'hammock' webs in the grass, made by money spiders. We are also seeing more 'tents' made by the Nursery webs spiders (as in the first photo) and oodles of orb webs, made by our Garden spiders and relatives. There are also a fair few 'retreats' which apparently alot of spiders build simply as resting places. Only a few spiders actually build webs to catch prey - webs are mainly used to rest or to raise youngsters. And yes, the last pic is of a bumble bee, a White-tailed one we think - there are a lot of these about too.    |
||||||||||||||||||
|
12th: Mothing A fabulous haul from last night's moth trap: 23 ish species (official count to do) and around 80 individuals. Some new species and some old favourites including the Poplar Hawk Month, Ermines and the Buff Tip. It was a very hot and sunny day so not great for photography and we let a lot go sooner rather than later so they didn't perish in the heat! We were also chuffed today to find several patches of nettles in Fruit Field (by the old cow shed) covered in Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars!! Poplar Hawk Moth  The Clay and Dark Arches   Dark Sword Grass and the Drinker   Little Grey and Plain Golden Y   Riband Wave and Scalloped Oak   Sharp Angled Carpet and Single Spotted Wave   Yellow Underwing and a Caddisfly (chaetopteryx villosa)     |
||||||||||||||||||
|
13th: How many mealworms? Our beautiful blackbird is raising his 'third' brood!!! For all three broods, it seems to have been dad more than mum that we see collecting food from our bird feed station. She has obviously been finding food elsewhere. (We don't begrudge the second mortgage we have had to take out in order to pay for all these live mealworms. Breeding colony establishing as we speak.). Meanwhile, we finally got a photo of a Common Green Grasshopper (not that this one looks that green) and were delighted to see this female Emperor Dragonfly resting on a hedge early evening,    |
||||||||||||||||||
|
14th: Hedgehogs Not sure why, but one of our hedgehogs was caught on camera just gone 11am this morning - its not always good news when they are out in the day, although this one looks happy enough!! |
||||||||||||||||||
|
15th: Swallows A totally joyful sight: swallows dipping and diving on Poultry Pond |
||||||||||||||||||
|
16th: More new species and building Hedgehog Habitats with the Brownies A new plant today: Scentless Mayweed (Tripleurospermum inodorum), found in Swallow filed by one of the banks. We imagine like the fumetory and scarlet pimpernel etc, the seeds were dormant in the land and just waiting for their moment. Also, a new moth, the Lesser Cream moth spotted in the grass in Goat filed on our morning walk. And we had to post the Stonechat sitting in one of our young willows - it is wonderful that we are getting to the stage where the vegetation on the land means that the birds now have places to perch, other than the hedges. Stonechats must love it here as we literally see them every day now and in good numbers.        |
||||||||||||||||||
|
17th: Leafy Devon A fabulous walk this afternoon with Lynda.       |
||||||||||||||||||
|
18th: More spiders Garden and Common Long-jawed Orbweaver - both common on our land. Note that there is a hole at the centre of the web of the later - only the the Long-jawed Orbweaver have this, in other Orbweb spiders the web is completely filled.   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
19th: New flies Two more species: a Common Banded Hoverfly and the Turnip Sawfly. We have seen little evidence of sawflies this year so good to see this one. Although the Turnip Sawfly is considered a pest if encountered in large numbers. The clue is in the name!!   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
20th: Ten a penny Harvestman and a Gatekeeper - both massively common on our land just now   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
21st: Colour We planted a fair few wild flower seeds in the banks of Fruit and Swallow Fields. They haven't done that well due to the lack of rain this spring/ summer BUT some are now putting on a great show. These are a few photos from this month of some of them, alongside others that have appeared for the first time since we disturbed the land and some that are old favourites but are now spreading like mad. White Clover - everywhere, including all the scrapes; alongside Corn Poppies from the sown seeds 
Cornflowers - in all colours from the sown seeds; and Scentless Mayweed that has appeared for the first time this year. 
Scarlet Pimpernel and Fumitory - both all over the banks and scrapes having not been seen before aside from the SP, seen once 
Purple Viper's bugloss - from sown seed maybe?? and more Cornflowers 
Common Buckwheat and Marigolds - both from sown seeds?? 
 Ragwort and Angelica - both already here and now spreading 
Honeysuckle - already established; and Toadflax - transported by us from Garden Pond 
Black Nightshade (new) and Valarium (here but spreading   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
22nd: More new plants Common Musk and Shepherd's Purse, both found in Swallow Field.   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
23rd: A plethora of insects A wonderfully sunny morning (haven't had one for a while) during which so many insects were out to appreciate the warmth and have their fill of nectar. We counted 20 plus Red Admirals at once in some places, similar numbers of Green-veined Whites and Meadow Browns. Everywhere we looked there were Gatekeepers, alongside more Speckled Woods than we have seen before. And the Buddleas were just covered in scores of butterflies and bees with Peacocks, Large Whites and Commas all very common. We also spotted the occasional Little Skippers. Tearing our eyes from the feeding frenzies on the buddleas and thistles, we were delighted to spot a new-to-our-land grasshopper: the Field Grasshopper, a fairly uniform brown looking insect, slightly bigger than the Common Green and Meadow. The photos reflect the amazing sights that now greet us on most of our walks round the land!! Male Broad Bodied Chaser and a Field Grasshopper   Ragwort feeding a host of hoverflies  Speckled Wood Butterfly and Knapweed   Growing acorns (there are masses this year) and a Peacock butterfly   Red Admiral and Green Veined Butterflies   |
||||||||||||||||||
|
24th: Lacewing We see lacewings occasionally and today managed (ish) to get a photo. This one is a Common Green Lacewing (there's that 'common' word again). There are apparently 21 species of Green Lacewings but in fact the Common Green one is said to have three separate species that are very hard to distinguish!! Also pictured is a Common Skipper which we are seeing more and more frequently and the Scentless Mayweed which seems to grow and look more magnificent on a daily basis,    |
||||||||||||||||||
|
25th: Yet more new species For a week or two now, we have been sure we have being seeing Fritillaries in the garden/ land and today we actually managed to get the binoculars on not one but two Silver-washed Fritillaries on one of our white Buddleias. They are big, powerful flyers and not great at posing. We hope to get a better shot or two in the coming days. The butterfly numbers really are phenomenal. Over the course of a day we are seeing scores and scores of them. The Common skipper is becoming more frequent now, as our the Speckled Woods and the number of Peacocks is starting to rival the Red Admirals. Another new species for today is the Ichneumon stramentor, last picture. It flew onto Jack's desk straight into her lamp base, knocked itself out a bit and then after half an hour, recovered and flew off!! And finally, every single day now we see basking BB Chaser's on the bottom hedgeline. Today's male was a beauty!!      |
||||||||||||||||||
|
26th: Swallows Yet more dipping and diving on Poultry Pond - looks like a whole family here. |
||||||||||||||||||
|
27th: Colours There is a lot of colour in the banks in Swallow field just now... some from wild flower seed we have grown and others that has just 'appeared'. And just look at those sloes!!! 
 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
28th: Song thrush Thrushes have been very conspicous by their absence this spring and summer - we saw them occassioanlly in the autumn/ winter and a week or so ago, found evidence of an anvil in Oak field by Yeti's gate! Compared to a few years ago though, sightings have been rare. It was great therfore to spot this song thrush from this morning's Bird Feeding Station trail cam footage. What a beauty. |