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

Treecreeper and the first butterfly

Is this a record - there was a butterfly flitting around inside the Christian Centre during the service last Sunday 24 Jan 2010? woken up by the warmth, I guess, it did not stop long enough to see what it was, probably a tortoiseshell.
And in the garden just now there is a treecreeper on our birch tree - well named, as it does creep up the trunk pecking away looking for insects in the bark.

Deer at Sheepcote Green

A reminder of how easy it is to add your wildlife photos to the site - just go into New Post and on the menu of the box you write in,third from the right is a little photograph - click on that and it will go on to 'Add an image from your computer', then you see your own list of My Documents - go into My pictures or wherever you keep them and just find the photo you want. Then 'Browse', click on the picture, 'Upload image' and it takes a few seconds. Here is one I took in the cold weather up behind Sheepcote Green farm - I could not get this close to the deer so it is zoomed from the camera. I blinked and the deer were gone, just like that, through a hole in the hedge. Here are their footprints in the field. Then click 'publish post' and there you are. It is best not to send pictures that are too large - I think mine are, try to reduce them to thumbnail size, there is software on your computer to do this quite easily.

Coffee Morning 22 January 2010

Just a reminder that the Clavering Countryside Group welcomes everyone to their Coffee Morning this Friday 22 January, 10.30 am at Maple Cottage, Arkesden Road, Clavering. This is the official launch date of this wildlife blog and also to gather support for the idea of creating a nature trail, and to attract support for the CCG activities. Please do come along, courtesy of Louise Oliver.
Jacky

Scarlet Malachite Beetle survey results 2009

SCARLET MALACHITE BEETLE, STICKLING GREEN, CLAVERING, ESSEX
SURVEY RESULTS

The Scarlet Malachite Beetle emerged earlier in 2009 than in 2008 by 14 days, and disappeared correspondingly early. Numbers were generally lower than in 2008 but were found mainly in the same areas and in roughly the same areas of grassland as in 2008. They were found initially on Foxtail grass and also sunning on nettles during early May, moving to Cocksfoot grass on 30 May 2009, whereas the move to Cocksfoot in 2008 was not until 6 June. No doubt the cold spell in February 2009 affected numbers. Surveying was undertaken by a number of residents of Clavering - without their help this comprehensive survey would not have been possible. Please email Jacky Cooper if you would like to see the 2009 survey results.
Michael Rowley. 8.7.09
Clavering Countryside Group

Alas poor Heron

I can't say I knew him well, but sad to say, the Heron is no more. We thought it seemed hungry and it has sadly expired.

- Still not time to take the net off the Koy pond though!

fieldfares

I saw one fieldfare in the field next to us last Thursday then the next day I saw one on our cotoneaster cornubia which is like a small tree covered in red berries. Last year there was a large flock here but only the one this year. The blackbirds have just about eaten all the golden pyracantha berries now.

I did it! to publish a photo there is a little photo icon in the toolbar of the Posting window, third from right. It took a long time, I think it is probably too large in bytes, so must remember to send a smaller thumbnail next time. This is a summer photo of course, to remind us it won't be long. But also because we hope the wildlife bloggers will support the establishment of a Clavering Nature Trail to run between the Dick Ball Meadow (where this comma was photographed this summer) and the Simons Wood - the two nature reserves that belong to the parish council. They have agreed in principle, I'll update you when there is some more news. Any views on this?

Fieldfares Jan 2nd 2010

A few fieldfares visited our apple trees looking for apples on the ground and rose hip berries on the trees.Last year there were many more and I think they were earlier.

visit by a nuthatch

Much excitement here - have had a beautiful nuthatch come to the bird feeder 3 days running. He or she always hangs upside down! Very slim, pointed beak with a beautiful salmony pink chest. Hadn't realised there are several types.

Buzzard and Heron in the snow

Last Sunday Lucinda and I saw one of the local Buzzards in the field opposite Willowbank Cottage and there is a new regular - a Heron that seems to have taken up a spot 20m upstream of the ford in Middle Street. We think it is very hungry, as it tends to wait until people are very close. It then flies low over the road to make its exit.