Scarlet Malachite Beetle 2010

Last photo for now - but the best of all, our wonderful Scarlet Malachite Beetle, nationally rare and one of the world's endangered species which we are highly privileged to offer habitat to in Clavering and Langley. These mysterious little creates appear only for a few weeks in May and June and then disappear we know not where. They are so beautiful feeding as here on the flowering foxtails - later they move to one or two other plants but once their flowering is over, then the beetles go too.

Many people dislike nettles but they highly valuable for wildlife as this ladybird busy this week on Dick Ball Meadow appreciates very well.

Just some of the thousands of cowslips which bloomed this year on Hill Green - a fantastic display.

May in Clavering has been glorious - more cowslips than I can ever remember - I gave up counting after reaching 2,000 heads of cowslip (or pegle) flowers on Hill Green. On Stickling Green the chalkland flowers are doing well with lots of salad burnet for instance - we have been counting Scarlet Malachite Beetles again and there seem fewer than last year. In Dick Ball Meadow a muntjac has somehow ended up dead in the stream, but the flowers are looking lovely and it is full of wildlife. I will try to post some photos if I can.
On another subject, at the annual parish meeting, the community unanimously supported a proposal by the Countryside Group to start a Nature Trail project in Clavering so we will be working on this over the next year or two.

April in Clavering

What are you up to you bloggers? I bet you're seeing lots of wildlife but forgetting to record it here. Today someone at Deers Green said she'd found a great crested newt in her pond - has anyone else got them? Mike Rowley is organising a great crested newt hunt on an evening in the summer at Hill Green pond, as well as the usual Scarlet Malachite beetle annual county he oversees.
Meanwhile it's all happening in the garden - there is a nest of quite mature blackbirds in one of my bushes and Mrs B follows me around a few inches away all the time I dig. There was a nuthatch on the bird feeder this week - not had one of those for ages. Has anyone else had any less usual sightings.
We had a walkabout down Dick Ball meadow this week and was delighted to see so many flowers pushing through - both there and on Hill green there seems to be a super display of cowslips this year. The Clavering Countryside Group is working on plan to create a nature trail including the meadow so we are collecting observations - if you can list the species you have seen there, please send to us - there are certainly deer, moles, rabbits and lots of birds.
Let us know any interesting wildlife you spot in Clavering by recording it on this Wildlife Diary.

It is good news for the Bee Orchids and other flowers that the parish council decided to use a haymaking type of regime in future on Lower Hill Green - this should ensure that the main flush of midsummer flowers has time to set seed, although it affects later flora. Things are waking up in the garden, very slowly, but birds are gathering nesting material and making a lot of noise in the mornings. Just wish it would warm up!

Great Spotted Woodpecker

just had a visit from a Great Spotted Woodpecker on peanut feeder which is only a matter of feet from the house, so it must be hungry!

Shane and I were having a chat in the garden the other day, when the buzzard glided over our heads majestically!


Tina Brown