The ranidae family.

Part two the marsh frog.

The marsh frog is slightly bigger than the common frog, it also has a more rounded snout that helps to distinguish it from the common frog. The marsh frog eyes are also closer together, their is no black patch either behind their eyes. The female is about five inches in length with the male being slightly smaller. Although the marsh frog is bigger than a toad, a marsh frog has the smooth skin and leaping gait of a frog. Its colouration varies from a brownish colour to even bronze or green.This frog was first introduced to Britain by a zoologist called Percy Smith in 1935. The marsh frog is the largest frog that if found in Europe. They like marshland habitat and can be found around the dyke's and ditches of the Romney marshes in Kent. They can also be found in the Sussex area but they haven`t spread any further across Britain. Marsh frogs like to bask in the sun, but if they get disturbed they will quickly take to the water. They catch their food by using their sticky tongues, and feed mostly on land on mayflies and other insects and occasionally on worms. They breed between May and early June, normally a few weeks after emerging from hibernation, the males gather in water in small groups and croak loudly. They are all trying to attract females, once mated the frog spawn is deposited in clumps amongst water-weeds and the tadpoles are rarely seen. The tadpoles start to emerge from the water in September or early October. They are mainly predated by foxes or grey herons. They hibernate from late October to early November at the bottom of ponds in thick mud or stones, they start to emerge from hibernation in April.

Things to look out for in December.

We are now moving towards the winter solstice at which all of nature will be re-born, the first signs of this will be appearing quite soon. Snow has taken up a lot of the headlines, Worcestershire has had quite a lot of snow over the last week. Field and bank voles will be punching up through the snow to make air holes. They will find plenty of shoots and grass under the snow.  They will spend long periods looking for their food. Stoats and weasels may be stumbled across while they are out hunting for wood mice or rabbits. Brown hare tracks may be seen as well as they move through the snow. Their will be two smaller fore prints followed by two larger hind prints. This pattern is caused by the hares as they run through the snow. As a hare is digging through the thick snow to find shoots of grass under it, it will be listening out with its large ears for anything that is approaching it. You will be able to get quite close to a brown hare before it bolts aware from the area that it has been digging. For the brown hare it is much a challenge to survive as well as eluding predators during any month especially the cold ones. Foxes start mating from December until February, the vixen will only be receptive for between two and three days. Because of this the dog fox will not leave the vixen. Foxes become vociferous as the breeding seasons approaches. The "wow-wowing" bark and the blood curdling scream, produced mainly by the vixen, are their way of getting to know who is in their neighbourhood. Their will be lots of redwings,fieldfares and blackbirds around the red berries of holly during this month as they all try to seek out food. Look out for mistletoe on old oak trees as you are walking in the countryside. Rooks and jackdaws will be busy in their rookery as they start to prepare their nests for the forthcoming breeding season. The noise that comes from their rookery is for me one of the most enjoyable noises in the countryside. Blackcaps may be seen coming into your garden during the long winter days to seek out food. My mum has a single blackcap male that will stay in her garden until almost spring and then come back next winter. Yellowhammers and corn buntings may be seen concentrated together looking for food in large flocks. Their bodies resemble larger sparrows, because of this the word bunting means plump or stocky. The yellowhamer is a canary lemon yellow colour, but during winter this is not quite as striking. The corn bunting is a larger bird than the yellowhammer but hasn`t got quite as striking colours, they are normally a light brown colour with a pale chest. Rough grassland and arable land are favoured sites for these birds. Blue tits,great tits and chaffinches may be seen in mixed flocks. Small tortoiseshell  and peacock butterflies have now found somewhere to hibernate. Queen wasps will also be looking for somewhere to hibernate. After mating in the summer they will look for old wood mice nests or our house for favourable sites. Centipedes and millipedes are still wriggling around in the depths of the soil in our gardens. Scarlet elf-cup fungus,dead man fingers and jews ear fungus are three fungus's to look our for while taking a stroll through one of our deciduous woodland during December.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is a pagan quarter festival when it is the shortest day and longest night of the northern hemisphere. The earth has been withdrawn inside her-self, after the winter solstice she will start to be awoken. At the moment winter is bring quite a lot of hardship for all of the natural world including ourselves. Very little growth will happen as the mother earth tightens her grip on us all. But deep with-in the earth roots are starting to grow, bringing nutrients and stability to all the plants and trees. In the coming weeks new buds will start to form on trees, bulbs will start to push up their new shoots as well. All of nature has slowed down, waiting for the energy to change and for the warmth to return. Due to the restraints of winter we too have slowed down and conserving energy. The time between samhain and yule (yule is Norwegian for wheel) is the dark time of winter and it allows all of to enter into dream time. As the outer world has darkened we can now experience the inner energies of the world within. We can now get in touch with our dreams and its a great time to make inner journeys for our wisdom and understanding. It has been a great time for us to lay down our own personal  plans and ideas which with the return of the active outward energy, all of these can slowly begin to manifest. This is the suns birthday and also a celebration of the suns re-birth after the suns sacrifice of death slowly after laying down seeds at lammas. Life will become more active from now on as the days start to get longer and  nights shorter. We are all part of this cycle as-well so we too are re-born at this time. We will then bring the wisdom of our own inner journeys out into a manifesting natural world, that will grow with the increasing light from the sun. This is a time to celebrate the active principle whose positive qualities of intellectual and rational thought, determination and assertiveness bring Independence and purpose to our lives. Happy solstice to everyone and i hope you all enjoy it.

Counter current flow heat exchange.

How do ducks manage to stand on the ice and not melt it and fall through? How come they don`t stick to the ice?

Their feet are made up of bone, tendon and scales that are dead tissue with very few nerves in them. Because of this they don`t feel the cold as much as we do. But they do stand on it in one place for a long time. They manage this by having biological counter current flow heat exchange. It relies on a remarkable network of blood vessels called reat marabiley. Basically they cool the warm blood coming down from the heart and through the arteries by exchanging heat with cold blood that is coming back up from the feet. The cold blood is pre-warmed so it does not shock their system and their metabolism. The warm blood going to their feet is pre-cooled to pretty much ambient temperature. This is just above freezing  so therefore they don`t melt the ice. There is also no moisture to freeze and stick as birds feet do not sweet so they are dry.

Gluco neo-genisis.

With the one set of winter, food can run short for certain species of mammals. They face a simple choice, They either move with the food or they hibernate. Only three British mammals hibernate: Bats, hedgehogs and hazel dormice ( edible dormice hibernate as well). They are all mainly insectivores, As there are not so many insects about in winter they all hibernate. That is how and this is why: They all have to master gluco neo-genesis. They learn to chill their bodies right down and slow their heartbeats down as well. They also reduce their metabolism down by ninety nine per-cent. Before they hibernate they take on two types of fat. The first type of fat they take on is white atopos fat which through the process of gluco neo-genesis they get their energy. The second type of fat they take on is brown atopos fat. This is equally essential because while they still metabolise at one per-cent they still produce waste. They have to wake up from hibernation as well to burn brown atopos fat to produce heat as well. While they wake up they have a quick wee and poo and also have a quick sleep, because they don`t truly sleep while hibernating.

The ranidae family.(frogs)

Part one the common frog.

A common frog.

Open woods,ponds,shady habitats and lush pastures are typical places where you might find common frogs. They don`t like to be to far from water. But they are now becoming more common in our gardens that have ponds. They are found throughout most of Britain. Frogs eat small insects and slugs and snails, they have got long sticky tongues that shoot out to enable them to catch their prey. Because of this they are a welcome visitor to anyone`s garden. They like to hunt at night when it is cooler, during the day they may be seen hiding in tall grass. The common frog lives in damp places on land for most of the year. They are well camouflaged so they normally blend in well. They have a dark patch behind their eye which is distinctive, But their body colour varies from dark-greenish to grey or even sometimes chestnut-yellow with  Their skin being moist. On rare occasions you may evan see an albino common frog. They have a rounded snout with large black pupils that are flecked with gold and brown, their nostrils and eyes are positioned on the top of their head . Their eyes have  transparent inner eye-lids to protect them when they are under water. The female is about three inches in length with the male being slightly smaller. Adult common frogs have long hind legs with shorter fore legs. Their hind legs have webbed toes whereas their fore legs don`t. They use their hind legs to enable them to leap or hop, they do not crawl like toads.  They hibernate from November through to early March depending on the climate, they hibernate in a hiberaculum in a sheltered place on land or at the bottom of ponds. Frogs have lungs so when on land they use these but when under water they breathe through their skin. After hibernation they emerge to migrate to their breeding ponds. Common frogs will head to the same breeding ponds every year, it`s usually the pond that they were born in. The males arrive first, then the females look for a mate to breed with. The males will hold their own territory and carry on croaking to try and attract a female. When they mate they the position they take is called the ampelexus position. This can last for several days, The male sits on the top of the females back and grasps around her middle section, This normally happens in the water but can occasionally be on land. The female then releases her eggs, upto two thousand eggs which are called spawn. The male fertilizes her eggs with a milky liquid substance. The eggs then form together with a gel coating that thickens in the water. This coating helps to protect the newly fertilized eggs, and warms them slightly to speed development. After spawning the adult frogs will stay in the water until the outside temperature warms up, this is normally in April. If there are to many tadpoles in the water they release a chemical called theroxin. This prevents some of the tadpoles from going through the metamorphosis process. The reason they do this is if there are to many tadpoles in the water there will not be enough food for all of them as tadpoles or froglets. Some of them will stay as tadpoles until there is enough food for them and then they will metamorphosis. This enables the tadpoles to develop at different rates and may leave the water as late as September. The first tadpoles hatch after about fourteen days, by about three months old they have developed four legs, ready for life on land. They emerge from the ponds in June or July and are called froglets, they still have a tadpole tail, but this soon disappears. The frogs reach maturity after about two years. The froglets are pre-dated by blackbirds, but as they become frogs they are pre-dated by a host of animals which include crows, herons, grass snakes, hedgehogs, rats, foxes, and cats. They can live for upto eight years in the wild.

                                                                     A common frog.

Things to look out for in November.

The weather is now becoming much more Autumnal, The winds are becoming stronger, with all of the leaves that all have fallen to the ground blowing around. Most of the leaves from the deciduous trees have now fallen. Red wings and fieldfares have now made the long journey from Scandinavia to winter in Britain. They will be seen amongst hawthorn and apple trees, Finding the remaining hawthorn berries and apples. Their have been quite a few mentions of waxwings around Worcestershire. This bird is also a migrant that Winters in Britain. The fallow,sika and red deer will be finishing their rut by now. After the ruts the males, who don`t eat during the rut will feed well getting ready for the onset of winter. The females will also stay together during winter. The females will give birth during may or June of the following year. Chaffiinches and pied wagtails,linnets,bramblings and greenfinches may be seen in mixed flock species( i will be talking about this in a later blog). They are searching for food, which could be any leftover seeds that are still  in the hedgerow or even any late surviving nuts that may still be on the ground. Blue,coal and great tits will be seen on the feeders as they themselves are eating well,getting ready for the cold months ahead as well.  Seven spotted ladybirds will be attempting to enter our houses as they seek somewhere to hibernate over winter. Late migrant red admirals  and comma`s may still be seen amongst the ivy along with queen bumble bees, as long as we havn`t really had a cold snap yet. Wood mice,yellow-necked mice, bank and field voles will still be searching for hazel nuts to eat amongst the leaf litter. Protein rich hazel nuts are important food for a variety of creatures. You can tell what animals have been around by examining the empty shells. A woodmouse will leave a round hole on the side of the hazelnut, with marks of their upper teeth evident. A bank vole will leave a round hole on the top of the hazelnut, with a clearly delineated gnawed edge. A hazel dormouse will leave a round hole on the side of the hazelnut, unlike the woodmouse the edges will be smooth. Hedgehogs will be getting ready to hibernate during November. They use a process called gluco neogenisis to enable them to hibernate, I will be talking about this as well during a later blog. The hedgehogs along with the common dormice and our seventeen species of bats are the only British mammals that hibernate. With the onset of winter food can run short for certain species, so they face the simple choice to move with the food or hibernate and these three species choose to hibernate. Starlings may be seen in large roosts during November, We are not quite sure why they roost in such large numbers, possibilities include safety in numbers, increasing their foraging efficiency or simply for warmth. Its a wonderful sight as they fly around, moving all the time like a shoal of fish in the air then suddenly all descending onto the ground.

British reptiles.

Part six the sand lizard.

This is the final member of British reptile, although some others have been introduced and i will be talking about these in  a later blog. Male sand lizards are probably at their most vibrant with  a bright green flare of scales on the flanks. Accompanying this colour change they become extremely territorial and the presence of other lizards can trigger all sorts of surprising reactions. More heavily built than the common lizard, the sand lizard has two light stripes, sometimes broken, along their back with dark spots between the stripes. Some of the dark spots have pale centres. The male is a greenish colour and the female is a brownish colour, They are both about seven inches in length including their tail. Dry, open country is the home of the sand lizard, mainly the sandy heaths of Hampshire,surrey and dorset. Although there is a small colony living on coastal dunes near Liverpool. The sand lizards population has struggled in recent years as their habitat has given way to farming and forestry. The heath habitat that they live in has to be continually managed to stop trees coning through and the heath reverting back to a woodland habitat. In some areas livestock may be used or deers mat perform the same role to manage the habitat. The sand lizard emerges from its hibernating burrow in march or early April. They may be seen taking in solar radiation in the early hours of the morning. Males normally emerge first, Their winter coat will soon be shed for their new spring breeding colours so they can attract females. In April and may the males will fight for territories and dominance, One adult male may display its flank to intimidate an opponent. The victors will earn the right to then mate with the emerging females, who will show her aggression by opening her mouth and raising and shaking her forefeet alternately, Only mating when she is ready. The male then chases the female before mating and grips her first by the tail, then further forward and finally by the middle of the back. After mating the female then digs a hole in late may or early June. The hole will be dug in a sunny place, Where the sand is soft, then lays her eggs and covers them up. The oval shaped eggs, about half an inch long, hatch after two or three months in late July or early August. The newly hatched are just like the adult lizards but are only about two and a half inches long, they grow rapidly before they hibernate as well at the same time as the adults. The young sand lizards can be distinguished from common lizards by their more conspicuous spots. Beetles,spiders and grasshoppers are their main food, they are often dismembered before being eaten, they feed well during summer to build up reserves in readies for hibernation in late Autumn or early Winter. Sand lizards take about two years to reach maturity, they may live upto about seven or eight years in the wild if they escape the snakes,rats or birds of prey that all prey on them.

Surface area to volume ratio.

Example:- A hedgehog to a woodmouse.

There is a greater surface area to the woodmouse for the volume it has got.So if it is in a cold place it will call down quicker than the hedgehog. The hedgehog has less of a surface area but a greater volume to the woodmouse. So it is easier to keep the  core of the hedgehog warmer. So smaller animals will suffer more quickly. When we get a lot of snow bank and field voles and woodmice will stay under the snow as its actually warmer than being above it, they breathe by punching through the snow making little air holes. Stoats and weasels will suffer because they have lots of surface area to a very small volume.

Your sightings.

I went to slimbridge yesterday and it made me think. There were lots of migrant birds that spend their Autumn and Winter at slimbridge or use it as a stopping off point which were very enjoyable to watch. I would like you to tell me of sightings of migrant birds close to where you live or while you have been on a trip somewhere. You may see finches such as siskins or bramblings or thrushes such as fieldfares and redwings which have migrated from Scandinavia or Russia. Or you may even see a little firecrest that may winter in southern Britain. Let me know if you see whooper or bewick swans that have migrated from the Canadian artic and the artic siberia and the pink footed geese from Iceland or brent or barnacle geese that both come in from the artic as well. There are also various ducks and waders that come into Britain from their breeding ground. Go out and have some fun and tell me any of your sighting. Thank you.

Samhain

This is a pagan cross quarter festival of autumn`s end and the beginning of winter. It is the right time to connect energy and for internalising the creative life force. Increasing darkness and cold means we must all accept that winter is fast approaching and we must adjust to the changing seasons. Leaves have fallen from the deciduous tress, birds have migrated, certain animals have gone into hibernation(hazel dormice,hedgehogs and our seventeen species of bats), The first frosts have come. It is time of death and decay all around us, Death of the old, and within us , knowledge of re-birth at the spring equinox.It is a time of forced adjustments which, once accepted, reveal a new set of possibilities, a new phase and a new power of life. Like its counterpart beltain, Samhain brings a mystical energy at a magical time which we can use to explore and understand ourselves better. This is the dark phase of the year`s cycle when the mystery of transformation occurs. The process involves a descent and a death of something old in preparation for something new to be re-born. The descent into the underworld or otherworld can be understood as a journey into the unconscious and the spirit realms within each of us. Here we can find renewal through meditation, trance,rest,sleep,and by sacrificing our outer selves for a while. The seeds of our ideas and future direction in life are incubated in our unconscious during the winter months, along with all the roots of the trees and seeds of all of our plants are getting ready for re-birth at the spring equinox. We can honour the cycle by being aware that each end and death of the old will bring opportunity for a new start,as each beginning holds within it an end. The endless cycle of change is necessary, bringing renewal of cells, of ourselves,our understanding and our ideas. It means there are always new opportunities to start again and to stay healthy. Many illnesses are rooted in stuck energy patterns, emotional congestion and hanging onto the past. We have been taught to fear our inner world and to mistrust the information we may receive through insights,intuition, and our connection to our own inherent inner wisdom. Many of our actions come from our subconscious and we may not always be aware of these subtle patterns and conditioned responses that are such a part of us and which may silently rule our lives. We need to understand our unconscious selves, and to learn to listen to our inner voice. We can use the energy of the dark time of the year to explore these inner parts of ourselves. We need to face our fear of the dark mysteries, magic and our deep unwanted feelings which we may have pushed inside and not recognised as our own. We need to turn and face what these mean to us, free the energies, the potential inherent in the experience. From this courageous journey for all of within nature will come transformation, a balanced perspective and re-birth in the age-old tradition of samhain. Look for ways to find the divine within all of us at this period of rest and regeneration before re-birth.

Appo sematic colouration.

Insects will show off their bright colour to warn predators that they are poisonous or unpalatable. Seven spotted ladybirds are very colourful and very distasteful if eaten, common wasps are black and yellow to warn predators that they have a mighty sting. Their are then the mimics that don`t sting or are not poisonous, Wasp beetles,hoverflies and certain moths are three examples. The batesion mimic is the first type of mimic. Its to their advantage to copy insects that do sting when they themselves do not for their protection. Hornet clear wing moths benefit from copying wasps without actually having a sting. The second type of mimic is called a malerian mimicry, In this case both the mimic and the model are distasteful so they both benefit through association and because of this Predators will leave them alone. The third mimic is called aggressive mimicry. This is where a mimic or a parasite or a predator copies his host to get close to it so then it can eat its host or parasite it. Its not just mimicry through colour there is acoustic mimicry where certain types of moths are unpalatable to bats. To advertise this the moths produce a high pitched sound as they are flying. Other palatable moths copy this so the bats think they are unpalatable and don`t eat them.

Things to look out for in October.

By now leaves are starting to fall from all of our deciduous trees. Because of the process of abscission we can start to see all the different colours as the leaves start to fall. Red wings and field fares are starting to make the long journey from Scandinavia. During the evening you can sometimes hear the chack chack chack from these birds as they fly over head. Both of these birds are from the thrush family and may sometimes be seen in a mixed species flock which may include blackbirds and song thrushes.Red deer and fallow deer begin their rut during October.  Red deer stags will try to hold onto their harem in the rutting stands and mate with as many hinds as possible, they will try and hold as many hinds as possible in their harum. They will face competition from other stags though, Male stags will thrash around in the under growth and bellow as loud as they can. They do this to show their dominance but quite often after a lot of parallel walking the two stags will finally come to blows. Sometimes the fights can end in one of the stags dying, The stags don`t eat during the rut and lose a lot of weight and can become very tired. During the rest of the year the stags all live together in herds. The fruit bodies of fungi are abundant during October as they release their spores. Fly agaric is the most famous of our fungi but be careful as it is highly poisonous. But one mushroom you can eat is the penny bun which as their name suggests look like an old penny bun that you could buy from a bakery. The penny bun belongs to the boletus family, easily recognised by their plump look and spongy sporing surface.The tawny owl is probably one of the easiest owls to see, especially at this time of the year when it is getting territorial again and responds well to impersonations. Tawny owls are setting up territories at this time of year, pairing off and searching out nesting sites. The males will bring their females food as part of their courtship ritual. The young will be ousted from the territory in which they were raised. They must find a territory that will supply them with enough food through winter, They must also find suitable roosting sites and nest holes for the breeding season. Garden orb spiders can be seen almost everywhere during this month. They are actually their during the whole year bot are more noticeable with all the autumn dew on them. Most of the males have died by now and its the females that are on the webs. Galls can be seen on some of the leaves falling from the trees. Galls are mainly the products of the activities of a group of minute insects known as gall wasps. Spangle galls look like little flying saucers, But they are actually the little homes of tiny wasp grubs,which are a well known snack for birds. Flocks of bramblings and chaffinches feast on them over the winter months. Grass snakes and adders will be starting to look for hiberaculums to hibernate in over winter. Sweet chestnuts and horse chestnuts will litter floors when you are walking through woodlands. Natterer`s bat will be starting to look for winter roosting site where they will hibernate. Although this small bat may not finally hibernate until the end of November. They may hibernate in caves or in hollow trees if caves are not available. On cool wet night`s look out for violet ground beetle`s which can be recognised by a clean-cut appearance,long legs, big eyes and a powerful set of mandibles. They are mainly nocturnal and enjoy the moist autumnal air. As their name suggests they have got a violet tinge to them and are a perfect assassin , using their mandibles like a pair of bolt cutters, taking out and slicing up any invertebrate they come across from woodlice,garden snails and great black slugs.

                                                         Garden orb spider.                            

Syzagy.

Tides are a regular or a predictable movement of water caused by an astronomical body. The tides are not caused by wind, Which is neither regular or predictable. The earth is covered with water that is pulled by the gravitational pull from the moon. This then pulls the bulge to one side of the earth. The rotational pull from the spinning of the planet then leaves the bulge on the other side of the planet. The earth spins at 23.5 degrees and does not spin on the perpendicular. Twice a day it moves between the area with a bulge and the area without the bulge (The difference between the two give rise to the tides). Because the moon moves, by the time you move around again you get whats called moonlag. So because of this tides occur every 12.25 hours and not every 12 hours. The high and low tides are caused by syzagy. This happens when the earth, sun and the moon are aligned. The gravitational pull of the moon is maximised by the sun. The sun itself has a very powerful gravitational pull. There gives rise to the term spring tides(This has nothing to do with spring) and this is where bulges are at their biggest. The lowest tides are caused when the moon is at 90 degrees to the sun. Therefore its gravitational pull is reduced by the sun, and the bulges are at their minimum (This is when you get whats called a neap or a least). This greatly increases our bio-diversity of Britain. Without the peculiarity you would not get any beeches.
                                                                            Moon
Sun-Earth-Moon = Biggest tides  Sun-Earth = Lowest tides

British reptiles.

Part five the slow worm.

Despite looking like a snake, The slow worm is actually a limbless lizard. Gardens, farms, parks, scrub land and woods are their favoured habitat. They hibernate from October to march, They usually hibernate underground. When they emerge from hibernation they may be seen basking in the spring sunshine. They then mate during April and may, Male slow worms will fight each other at this time, They seize each other at the head and sometimes may cause serious injury from their bites. The young are then born between August and September. The female slow worm will lay her eggs in a place that generates heat, A compost heap is their favoured spot. Each young slow worm is born in a membranous egg which breaks open within seconds of being born. The young are preyed on by frogs and toads. Slow worms take up to three years to reach maturity. Unlike snakes the slow worm has eyelids and a broad flat tongue and rows of scales Whereas a snake has a membrane that covers their eye and a forked tongue and single scales. Adult slow worms vary in colour from greyish to light and dork or coppery brown. Females have dark brown flanks and a darker belly with a paler back than the males, The male slow worm is a more uniform colour. They grow up to about forty five centimeters in size and just over half is their tail. If threatened or seized by prey, The slow worm can shed its tail to enable it to escape. The tail will regrow but never to its original length. Slugs and spiders are their main food source, But they may also eat small creatures, But they will only eat live prey and will not eat carrion. The slow worm has no visible ear holes unlike most lizards. Slow worms can live longer than any other lizards and may live up to ten years in the wild.

Autumn equinox.

This is one of the pagan quarter festivals when day and night are in perfect balance again all over the world. The sun enters the star sign of Libra, Bringing balance and harmony. The equinoxes prepare us for change in the earth`s energy. This is the transition into the winter season which we must all respond to. Things start moving fast from now onwards. As a pagan the autumn equinox is really important to me. The way i see it is that everything co-exists together and we need both sides to be balanced and whole. The seen and the  unseen, The known and the un-known, Creation and destruction, Death and re-birth. Preparations and intentions for the coming winter months must be made now. The days are shortening and the increasing cold are here to remind us that change is coming. The leaves are changing colour and falling from the trees; The fruit is now ripening and needs to be gathered in. Outside jobs needs to be completed. The sap in the trees and plants is moving down now. This is the beginning of root energy and brings sleep, rest and renewal to the tree in preparation for spring. This is now a chance for all of life to go within and re-enter the dark womb of the spiritual world. This is the balance between the outer journey and the inner journey, Which provides a strong foundation for our lives . Autumn is a time for long term planning and incubation. The seed ideas we plant now will re-emerge in the spring changed, transformed and strengthened by their time in the unconscious. We have become disconnected from the natural world and the source and our inner knowing. Use the Autumn equinox to reclaim the balance . Give thanks to the harvest and appreciate all that the earth has provided for us. I always see what i can give back to the earth. The endless cycle brings renewal and new opportunities to explore and understand ourselves.Happy equinox.

British reptiles.

Part four the common lizard.

The common lizard is found throughout the British isles and may live upto six years. Common lizards can be found in various habitats, Heathland, Sand dunes, and grass or grass covered banks are some of the best places to find them. They emerge from hibernation in early spring and might be seen taking in solar radiation on early mornings. Common lizards mate in April with some wonderful courtships with the male trying to impress the female. Then up to eight young are born in midsummer. The young are born fully formed, each in a transparent capsule that usually breaks at birth, They may be born together at once or over a one or two day period.Common lizard have a varied diet which includes harvestman,flies,beetles,caterpillars and spiders which they may hunt during warm summer days. They will pounce on their prey, shake it to stun their prey, they then swallow it whole.  Common lizards may be predated themselves by smooth snakes,adders,rats and kestrels, However if a common lizard is captured it may shed its tail to enable it to escape from its prey. A new tail will regrow but never to its original size. Common lizards are a dull brown in colour with a tinge of red,yellow,green or grey with a dark back stripe, They also have dark side stripes. The female is normally fatter than the male and about six inches in length. Common lizards are very agile with very sharp claws which are wide spreading, Enabling them to be great climbers. They have short legs and a tail that is normally longer than their body.The underside of the male is orange with black spots, The female has a lemon-yellow colour underside with no spots. Lizards have rows of scales across their underside unlike snakes who have single scales. The transparent surface layer of is shed periodically. It is scraped off in pieces, making the lizard look ragged until all of the skin has come off. Common lizards can spend all of their lives on land unlike newts who go back to water to breed. Common lizards are viviparous like adders, They keep their eggs inside their body until they are ready to hatch. They have fantastic smell and sight senses.

Things to look out for in september.

Our hedgerows come alive during September, Blackberries, Hawthorns, Damsons, Elderberries and sloes are just a few of the delights on show. When you are walking around a woodland or through a meadow look out for signs of woodmice. They will leave the remains of most of these berries in their nest as they leave the remains of the Autumn harvest. Seeds are wood mice's main food during the year but during Autumn and winter they will eat various fruits of the hedgerow. They will make their small burrows along the hedgerow. For yourself many a beautiful apple and blackberry crumble has been created during September. Swallows and house martins will start to gather on wires throughout Worcestershire as they slowly start the long migration back to South Africa. We will also say goodbye to chiffchaffs, whitethroats,willow warblers and sedge and reed warblers as they plan their migration south. Chaffinch`s are swallowed up by European migrants during September. Their numbers increase so this generates large flocks of chaffinch`s flying around Worcestershire. Muntjac deer are active during September around brambles and grasses feeding as they move through a woodland. Muntjac deer don`t rut so they don't have a fixed breeding seasons. The doe`s can conceive after a few days of fawning and may give birth every seven months. Sweet chestnuts and hazel nuts are plentiful as well during September. Make sure though you get to harvest them before the bank voles, wood mice or squirrel`s eat them all. Depending on the shape of the nut shell on the ground you can tell what animal has eaten the nut. Unlike common frogs and toads, Smooth newts tend to hibernate close to their ponds or streams where they have b red. They will start to leave the water during September. They will look for a log or stone in rough vegetation, They  will then spend the winter under the log or stone and emerge in spring. Oak bush crickets which is a small green cricket and dark bush crickets which are slightly larger and brown may be seen in your during September. Seven spotted lady birds can still be seen in high numbers during September. They are looking for the last of the aphids before the could weather kills them all.Cranefly and harvestmen can be seen in your gardens in high numbers. September just wouldn`t be the same without them flying around your back light at night. Dor beetles can be seen on paths or flying to lights on warm evenings. They are armoured waste disposal units and their skeletons and wing cases often turn up in badger and fox droppings, Making them appear to glitter like metallic-purple jewels. Finally if you grow honey suckle in your garden you may see the convolvulas hawk moth. They migrate here from southern Europe and northern Africa.

Mixed species flock.

This is one of the strategies that woodland birds employ when their food supply becomes scarce. There are a number of benefit's for them doing this. Between them the birds have more eyes to look for the food. They will then use less energy finding the food. Any energy used will have to be replenished so its important that they all find a reliable food source. As they are in a mixed flock their are then more eyes to look out for predators. Some of the flock will act as guard to the other birds, They will give a call if a sparrow hawk flies over them. Blue tits need to find forty% of their body weight everyday to enable them to survive. Blue tits may loose up to sixty% of their population in a mild winter. If they loose these high numbers then the females will lay lots of eggs in the spring to regenerate the numbers that have been lost during the winter.

Things to look our for in august

A slow worm

Roe deer`s are very territorial in the summer and rut during August, They are not as aggressive as the red and fallow deer ruts. The two male (bucks) roe deers do not normally fight they just normally walk around in circles which are called roe rings. They then win the right to mate with the female (doe) who will decide when they mate. The kids are born in June because the does have delayed implantation of the embryo which i will talk about in a later blog. Grass snakes and slow worms have their young during august, The grass snakes hatch out of their eggs and slow worms break out of the membrane that they are born in. Rough grass lands,heath and woodlands are some of the places they may be seen. Look at the oak trees you will see a second growth of the year. New fresh stems and leaves at the tips of the branches. These are known as the lammas growth. They are called the lammas growth because it ties in with the pagan festival of lammas. By the end of August toads will be heading back to their hibernation sites. These sites could be as close as the rockery in the back of your garden. August is a great time of the year to look out for cinnabar moths.Their caterpillar's have been enjoying life on common ragwort but now its time for the adult`s to take over. They may be seen in meadows and espeicially on knapweed. Crickets and grass hoppers can be seen and heard during August. Grass hoppers have short antennae and crickets have long atennae. The common green grass hopper can be heard during August if you have a keen ear.(all the crickets and grasshoppers have different calls) The common green grasshopper is smaller and greener than common field grass hopper and can be found in grassy areas throughout Britain. Rowan berries ripen this month and their distinctive red colouration brightens up our countryside and tells us all that Autumn is around the corner. Longhorn beetles, Woodmice, Bumble bees, Common wasps and speckled wood butterflies enjoy the splender of blackberries that are amongst our hedgerows during August. When you go out blackberry picking remember to leave some for our friends in the hedgerows. Willow herb flowers are full of lovely colours this month along with may weeds. Listen out for shrews while taking a stroll in the country side, Shrews have a high pitched squeak and they can often be heard as they run through the tunnels in the long grass searching for earthworms and invertbrates. Because shrews have to find almost their own bodyweight in food everyday to survive they are always on the move looking for prey to eat. Look out for brimstone butterflies as they look for food on sunny days before they get ready to hibernate. The brimstone butterfly is the only member of the white (pierinae) family to hibernate, All the other member which also includes the yellows (coliadinae) and a sub-family (dismorphiinae) of which the wood white is the only British member hibernate as chrsalises. House martins and swallows may be having late broods this year as they were quite late arriving. They will be fine though, They will start migrating along with swifts during late September and early October.

A muntjac deer.

Wild boar.

I will be doing a blog on re-introduced indiginous species of Great Britain which i see the wild boar as being. This blog will also include the European Beavers. This was a wild boar that i managed to film in the forest of dean recently.

British reptiles

Part three the smooth snake.

The smooth snake is Britain's rarest snake, The smooth snake is only found in a few heathlands across Britain. One of the few places to find them is around the wearham forset in Dorset but they can also be found in surrey and Hampshire. They are fully protected by law and there is still very little known about them. A smooth snakes eye is more like a grass snakes than a adders, It has a black pupil with a red stripe around each eye and they also have a dark patch shaped like a coronet on the back of their heads. A smooth snake will have Little's speckles along its body whereas a adder will have a zigzag pattern. The female smooth snake has a smaller tail than the male. The smooth snake is very secretive and very enigmatic and rarely basks in the open, they will hide under tin and large stones, they do this for protection and shelter and also the tin produces heat for the snake to absorb. They are restricted to heathland, And as these are slowly becoming fragmented and the heath is being lost their numbers are falling. The oldest smooth snake to be found in Britain was nineteen years old which i believe is a record. The smooth snakes scales are  completely smooth whereas the grass and the adder snake has a ridge running along their scales. The best time to try and see a smooth snake is just after they has emerged from hibernation in spring. They may then be seen basking in the sunshine around the heather. The smooth snake is smaller than the adder, The female is  about sixty centimetres long with the male being slightly smaller. Their colour varies from grey to brown or even a red brown colour. Individuals have a home territory and will stay within this territory for a long time. Most of their time is spent pushing through the soil and burrowing underground looking for their main prey lizards (although it has been recorded that they have had cannibalistic traits in captivity).Mating takes place in may and the young are born in august or September, Upto fifteen young may be born at a time rupturing a thin membrane, and they are self-sufficient from birth. The young are actually born with darker spots than the adult. The young will eat spiders and insects when they are first born. A smooth snake is not poisonous but may bite if threatened from a predator. Like all snakes the smooth snake will sluff its skin every so often and will be at its most brightest just after this action.

Top tips for greening your garden.

Choose local seeds and plants that are suitable for your soil. The Worcestershire wild life trust or your local trust can advise you.

Wild flowers belong in the wild - Before buying, check plants, seed and bulbs are labelled as being from cultivated stock.

Ask your garden centre for peat-free products and use reclaimed stone or stone substitutes. Don`t buy water-worn limestone as it may have come from limestone pavement,a threatened natural habitat.

Save water. Install water butts under downpipes outside your house.

Common water plants suitable for small garden ponds.

Deeper water.

Hornwort, Water-crowfoot, Spiked water-milfoil, Curled pondweed, Willowmoss. Try to avoid plants that will quickly take over like Canadian pondweed, New zealand stonecrop and azolla.

Floating leaved plants.

Fringed, Yellow and white water Lily's, Water soldier, Potamogeton.

Shallow/ Ledge plants.

Water forget me-nots, Water mint, Yellow flag iris, Water plantain, Branched bur reed and arrowhead.

Marsh/sedge plants.

Meadowsweet, Purple loosestrife, Lady`s smock, Gipsywort, Ragged-robin, Marsh marigold, Brooklime and rushes and sedges.

After you have planted some of these plants then you should then start to attract, Mayflies, Dragonflies, Damselflies, Pond skaters, Lesser water boatmen, Great diving beetles, Whirligig beetles, Common frogs, Frog-spawn, smooth newts, Eggs from newts(Newts individually wrap their eggs in water plant leaves), Aquatic snails and maybe even grass snakes.

Making room for wildlife.

In the past fifty years, the countryside has changed dramatically with the destruction of much of our ancient woodlands, meadows and wetlands. We can`t replace these losses but we can help wildlife in our gardens and also enjoy watching it at the same time. Individual gardens may be small but together they form a living landscape, Linking urban green spaces with nature reserves and our wider countryside. I want to try and encourage people to get out into their individual gardens and rethink what they are planting. Making our fifteen million gardens wildlife-friendly will help the plants and animals that make the UK so special, and ensure that they are there for future generations. Wildlife gardening is about creating places for animals and plants to thrive alongside people. This is something that i have tried to achieve at my wildlife garden that i have created at the chawson barn as previously spoken about in a previous blog. You can practise it on a large or small scale depending on the area you have to work with. Wildlife gardening brings life to your gardens. Small ponds and meadows are easy to create and quickly become focal points. Being wildlife-friendly also means using fewer chemicals, including ant powder and slug pellets. This will then save you money and also helping the environment. Together we can create bio-diversity, This is a big word but while i was out recruiting the other night i asked people that i spoke to if they new what it meant. Know one did but when i explained that all it mean`s is the number of different species living in anyone given area everyone understood.

Things to look for for in July.

A marbled white butterfly.

Bees are in their element during July, Look into brambles in any hedge row and you can see them going about their business. The buff-tailed bumble bee (bombus terrestris) is our largest bumble bee. Bumble bees have much thicker bodies than honey bees, they are hairier than honey bees as well. They pollinate flowers as they are foraging for food, They do this to make honey for the larva as they grow. The queen make her colony along the hedgerow during spring. She then lays her eggs in wax cells and eventually feeds the honey to her young. A honey bee will have up to 50,000 eggs in her colony whereas a bumble bee will have up to one hundred and fifty in their colony. Their are up to twenty eight species of bumble bees in Britain of which six are really struggling. July is a good month to see young birds of prey including common buzzards,kestrels and sparrowhawks. When you are walking through a wood or along a footpath look out for them in trees or sat on fence posts. They normally draw attention to themselves by constantly wailing for food from their parent birds. Young tawny owls can be seen in groups during the day in woodlands.

Hoverflies on a newly opened sunflower.

Pipistrelle bats can be seen at dusk, They have a very random flight and they are Europe's smallest bat. The pipistrelle bat is Britain's most commonest bat. Marbled white butterflies can be seen darting around long grass in meadows during July. They are black and white but are actually part of the brown family. The marbled white is unusual because she lays her eggs while flying(Ringlet butterflies also do this). The grasses they are hoping the egg will land on is either cocks-foot or sheep's fescue, When the caterpillar emerges they eat around the grasses, They then hibernate from autumn onwards and reemerge during February and form a chrysalis in June or July, Then emerging as a butterfly during July or august. Stone chats can be seen in the heathland calling out chat,chat whoeet which is their alarm call. The stone chat calls its name when it calls out, It sounds like flint stones being jarred together. Wheatears, whinchats, yellowhammers and skylarks may be seen in heathland or meadows during July. Sky larks have an amazing sustained song flight, The skylark will sing on the wing while hovering, It will also sing while rising from the ground or while returning to the ground. Its my favourite bird song, I have been lucky enough to watch skylarks on many occasions during the summer. Sky larks nest on the ground in short grass, Their chicks(The sky lark will have up to five) have evolved to grow short light green grass looking feathers on their heads, They do this for camouflage so they are protected at the mouth of the nest. Common blue damsleflies can be seen along slow flowing river beds during July, They have a very nervous looking weak flight because of their size. I have also seen them in my garden as well so you don`t have to go miles to enjoy wildlife. Knapweed,Field poppies, Lady's bedstaw, Yellow rattle and ox eye daisies can be seen moving in the wind in meadows in Worcestershire. Finally take a magnifying glass from your pack and go and find some long grass and have a look at what you can find.

Ways to help you look for snakes.

1, When looking for snakes(grass or adders) its crucial to make an early start, You must start looking no later than one and a half hours after sunrise. Late march through to early june is the best time to look for snakes.

2, It must be a sunny day, Snakes will not come out if it is raining.

3, Always walk with a gentle heel-toe movement.

4, Always keep an eye on where your shadow is falling.

5, Remember its not the noise you make that they can hear, Its the vibration through the ground that will affect the snake.

6, An adder will find a basking point, After she has found it,she will then flatten her body down so she can then maximise the amount of solar radiation she can absorb.

7, After a snake has sluffed its skin it stays in the vegetation, Look out for the sluffed skin as its a good field skill to show you that there are snakes in the area.

8, An adder is our only venomous reptile, But don`t be afraid of the adder. Be cautious when you are near them. Don`t go picking them up just respect them and you will be fine.

9, They won`t come out at you, They will try and disappear as they are not aggressive .

10, Remember to look in a habitat that might suit a snake, A heathland, A wood or low lying vegetation are good places to start.

British reptiles.

Part two the grass snake.

The British grass snake should be called the water snake really as they spend a lot of time in slow flowing rivers,ponds and brooks. If a grass snake is disturbed, they will dive into water and hide amongst the weeds, Also if threatened by a predator, They will feign death by lying on its back with its tongue lolling, They may also eject a strong smelling liquid. Grass snakes can spend up to an hour under water. When they are away from the waters edge their habitat is low growing vegetation(close cropped sword). They hibernate between October and March in crevices or in old tree roots, After hibernation the males will look for a female and they will couple up and mate. In late spring or early the summer the female will find an area that generates heat, This is usually a compost heap or in leaf litter. She lays her eggs(up to forty). She is the only British snake to lay her eggs in a place where the heat is self generating.Depending on the temperature of where the female has laid her eggs, The warmer the area will mean that the eggs may hatch a couple of weeks earlier than those in cooler places. The eggs have flexible shells and are held in clusters by a sticky film. Two months after laying her eggs, Young snakes about seven inches long emerge through slits made by an egg tooth on their stout(this is shed after about two hours). They are smaller than their parents but look very similar. The female grass snake is longer than the male, It can grow up to two meters in length with the male being slightly smaller. The grass snake is Britain's longest snake, it has pale banding behind its head and has a round pupil, unlike the adder which has a vertical pupil(The eye is always covered by a transparent part of the skin rather than a eyelid). The grass snake also has a pale underside and greyish-green skin, But they do vary from light green to a olive green colour. It will shed(sluffing is another word for it) its skin between three and ten times a year,The colour of its skin is dull before sluffing but at its brightest afterwards. Its tail tapers away at the end of its body, it has dark markings along the flanks of its body with dark markings along its back. Grass snakes feed mainly on mice,frogs,tadpoles,newts,fish and birds. A grass snake swims with sinuous body movements as it hunts, It will swallow tadpoles but anything larger will be taken ashore to be eaten. Grass snakes are found throughout most of Britain but are not found in Ireland. They can live for about ten years in the wild if they are not preyed on be badgers or hedgehogs.

Magneto reception

Birds need a good sense of direction and a map. Birds have a substance called biological magnitude in their head`s. They also have a really sensitive compass in their head as well. They also have a substance called cryptocrome, Just above their beak as well. When the two substances are energised by blue light they can see the earths magnetic field, Enabling them to plan their journey. How do they know where the right spot is? When young birds run out of energy, They can then learn the environment. They do this by looking at features on their journey like road`s and bridges etc.

British reptiles

Part one the adder.

The adder is Britain's only venomous snake. Adders live in open spaces like heaths, moors and scrub land. However, they are very secretive and non-aggressive that they rarely pose a threat to humans. They have a dark zigzag pattern on their back and dark spots on their tale. They also have a black V mark just behind their head,A vertical pupil and a clear membrane over their eyes(Snakes don`t have eyelids). The colour of their eyes are red.Males are grey,White or cream but females are a red-brown colour, The male can grow up to sixty five centimetres with the female being slightly bigger. Adders are widespread throughout Britain especially in southern England and Scotland. They are active during the day,and may be seen hunting in warm weather for small birds,small mammals,lizards and frogs. Adders bite their prey with fangs, which inject venom,or poison, Straight into the victims flesh. If the animal does not die straight away the snake will track it with its forked tongue to follow the scent, They have heat sensors on its snout that will also detect the animals body. Snakes hibernate from October right through to the beginning of march. After hibernation they will look for a mate, On the heathland in spring males will wrestle with other males for the right to mate with receptive females who only become pregnant once every two years. They will not bite each other as this would be fatal as the are venomous. When the male adder approaches the female, he has to be careful, he will twitch his body to appease her and then they will couple. Between three and sixteen young are then born in august or September. Most reptiles lay eggs, but adders are viviparous snakes, which means they keep the eggs inside their bodies while they develop and then give birth to live young.The mother will not give them any parental care and they will leave the nest not long after they are born. Adders learn about the world around them using their excellent senses of sight,smell and taste. After they have killed its prey they fold back their fangs,before swallowing the animal whole. It draws in its prey by working its loosely hinged,wide opening jaws. Each half the upper and lower jaws can be moved independently. Very dark adders are not un-common,They are totally black with no zig zags. They have very few natural enemies apart from man and can live for up to ten years in the wild. They take about two years to reach maturity. Adders will shed their skin from time to time.

Things to look out for in june.

Bombus pratorum on some bramble.

June is a wonderful month to go for a nice walk with a pair of binoculars to see how many fledgling birds you can spot. Blue tits,great tits,robins,green finches,gold finches and black birds should be able to be seen. I counted four blue tits and five great tit fledglings while i was out walking last week. Make sure that the feeders in your gardens are topped up as the parent and fledgling birds will come to rely on them. The word tit comes from an Icelandic word tittr, Meaning a small bird or just anything small. Make sure that you don`t throw any peanuts on to the floor as the fledglings may choke on them. Nearly all of us will have urban or country red foxes living by us, Whether you live in the town or the country. To find out where the red foxes are, Is to find out where their breeding earth, Then you can enjoy some fantastic viewing. It`s not as hard as you think to find their earth, Small copses or a stand of trees in a park or an tucked away areas of wasteland are good areas to start looking. When you thing their could be red fox earth look for a single hole that is a bit bigger than a rabbits hole and a little bit smaller than a badgers entrance. Because the young cubs are now getting very playful look out for their toys around the earth,These could be bones,feathers,rabbits feet or even whole wings. All of the vegetation will be flattened around the earth as well. One thing that will make you know that its a red fox earth is the strong smell coming from it. This is a good month to look out for meadow brown,speckled wood and common blue butterflies.Birdfoot trefoil,knapweed and ox eye daisies are just a few flowers you might see them on. A walk through any woodland will bring up a male speckled wood, Fluttering in front of you then back down to their sunspot, This will most probably be the second generation this year of the speckled wood butterfly. The meadow brown is Britain's most common butterfly, Whats unusual about the meadow brown is that the female is brighter than the male.(male butterflies are normally brighter than the females).The female lays single eggs on grasses such as cocks foot, The caterpillars can live for up to nine months before they start hatching in the middle of June if the weather is warm enough.

.
Banded demoiselle damsefly.

Banded damoseilles can now be seen up and down rivers and brooks, This will also mean that their are caddis and alder fly on the wing as well, As this is one of their main foods. A week fluttering flight,a more delicate build and the fact that a damselfly can hold their wings either vertically over their body like a butterfly or horizontally (a dragon fly only hold their wings horizontally) are the main differences from a damselfly to a dragon fly. Dog roses,campions,honeysuckle,elder flower and ragged robins are just a few plants you may see in flower during June. Particularly elder flower will encourage a whole host of insects to its beautiful flowers, Hover flies, wasps and bees will be drawn to the beautiful white flowers. Also look out for black,orange and brown soldier beetles, They are attracted to the flowers in the search of other insects for them to hunt. Also look out for either the black and yellow Caterpillar of the cinnabar moth or the moth itself depending once again on how warm it has been. The cinnabar moth is easily disturbed so look out for its lovely scarlet wings in flight. Finally a tale of two wonderful insects, Firstly the lesser stag beetle which is smaller than the stag beetle, This is still a wonderful beetle to see though, But neither the male or the female develop the large mandibles that the stag beetle develops(i will be talking about stag beetles next month). Secondly the scorpion fly, This actually related to the mecoptera order, This the same order as lace wings and alder flys. So its not the same as a house fly or a hover fly because they have a different metamorphose stage. I will be talking about metamorphism in a later post. Their name comes from the shape of the males sexual organs, Which are bulbous and resemble the tail part of a scorpion. They are at the tip of his body and are normally curled up over his wings. Scorpion flys are harmless and are mainly found along hedgerows and in gardens. They have long beak-like mouth parts which they use to eat either decaying plant material, or feeding on dead or wounded insects. The males are true gentlemen,offering gifts of saliva or guarding a food item from other males while emitting a pheromone to attract a female and once she is satisfied ,mating commences. Look out for little tadpoles of smooth newts around some ponds where you have seen them spawning in spring, Disturb the weeds around the warm edges of your newt pond and you should uncover Little newts,(their tadpoles are just smaller versions of the adult newts). The fluffy little things sticking out of the side of its head are their gills.

Wildlife gardens

My wildlife garden at the barn owls pre-school.

I have just completed my first wildlife garden,The garden is at the Barn owls pre school at the chawson barn in Droitwich spa.Over the last three months i have totally transformed the area at the barn.When i first took on the project,The area had never been touched and it was no more than a mass of stinging nettles and rubble.Their was even an area that the neighbours had used to through their branches over from their silver birch tree.The first operation was to tackle the over hanging trees that were towering over the wall at the back of the garden.Then we removed the two compost bins that were in place(they were no more than waste bins).We then took away all of the branches and the rubble that were on the garden.(all of this was making the area look more like a rubbish tip than a wildlife garden).Then came the task of digging the whole area over.In all we dug the whole area five times with forks and spades.After taking care of removing all of the rubbish, we could then concentrate on actually returning the garden to a wildlife area for people to enjoy.After doing all of this we then marked out the area that i wanted for the borders so i could then put all of the different types of garden in that i wanted.


Another picture of the wildlife garden on a overcast day.

The wildlife garden would compromise of 1,Digging/planting area for the children. 2,Compost bin. 3,Bird feeder. 4,Log pile. 5,Stone pile. 6,Spring flower area. 7,Sensory garden. 8,Painted side wall. 9,Wildflower area. 10,Insect and butterfly boxes. 11,Re-seed the lawn area. 12,Insect tower. 13,Apply bark over all of the borders. 14,Put a log pile around the bird feeder. 15,Beetle bucket.After completing all of these and a lot of watering,We were finished.The garden looks superb now,A lot of effort but it was well worth it, as we have had house sparrows return already,Common blue butterflies,Small white butterflies and a cardinal beetle to name but four things to be seen in our garden.If anyone is interested in me doing a wild life garden for them they can contact me on 01905773313 or e-mail me via this blog.

the mustelidae family

Part seven the badger.

A male badger is called a boar and a female badger is called a sow.Badgers are omnivorous meaning that they eat both plants and meat.They live in family groups in setts under the ground. They start to emerge from these setts at dusk when the sun is setting.The badger has a black and white head,with small white tipped ears.They have strong forepaws with long claws making a wonderful adaptation for digging.The boar`s body and head is about seventy six centimeters in length with a fifteen centimeter tail,The sow is slightly smaller.The old English name for the badger is the brocc.Badgers mate from the end of winter right up to October, But the implantation of the fertilized egg is delayed until December so all of the cubs are born at roughly the same time. Their is usually between two or three cubs in one single litter. The cubs are then born underground in a breeding chamber,between the end of January and the middle of march.The cubs remain underground for about eight weeks. The cubs are born blind, They remain blind for about five weeks. Weaning starts after about twelve weeks.Badgers will spend most of winter in their setts underground,They do not hibernate but live of fat reserves that have been built up since Autumn.They live mainly in woodlands in their extensive setts with many tunnels,They may also live on large Commons and fields,(you may also see them within some urban areas).You can sometimes see straw bedding by their setts where they have taken clean bedding into the sett, This is because they change the bedding on a regular basis. Their diet consists mainly of earthworms and beetles, But they will also eat cereals,blue bell bulbs,autumn fruit and small mammals. They may live for up to fifteen years in the wild. They mark their territory with dung pits called latrines. They will have a well established territory that may have been passed down from previous generations. Look out for their pathways from the sett black and white hairs are a give away as well on barbed wire,., It will be well trodden and defended from outsiders. Badgers from the same sett will mark each other with their scent, This process is called musking. They will all groom each other and the young cubs can be very playful in their early years. A tree close to the sett will be used for them to sharpen their forepaws. Some of the young cubs will stay with the family group, But others will move away to sett up their own territories,Some will leave at their first winter but others will leave the family group when they are still quite young during their first summer. As badgers love elderberries there are normally quite a few bushes growing by the sett as they disperse the seeds in their droppings.Because of the soil being enriched with their droppings their will always be a huge number of stinging nettles as well.They like the soil around the setts to be well drained so it makes it easier for them to dig the tunnels for their setts, Large setts may have between thirty and forty entrances.A great time to watch badgers in the wild is between the middle of February and the end of march, As they start to emerge from their setts.

photo periodic pelage reaction

In the u.k there are four animals that turn white in winter,ptarmigan,mountain hare,stoat and the weasel. They do this to avoid predation from golden eagles in the cairngorms. Photo periodism- The eye records the local day lengths and this is the photo-periodism, they then communicate this information to the brain, which then relays it to their hormonal or the endocrym system. This then produce`s a compound called melatonin. This compound inhibits the production of pigments so when they moult the new feathers and fur come through white. The speed of change is not controlled by the day length but by the air temperature. They will go whiter quicker at higher altitudes. Because of genetic factors, Southern weasels and stoats couldn't`t go white anymore. There are microscopic sub structures of bubbles in the ptarmigans feathers to keep them warmer. Mountain hare`s coats are thicker in winter and when a stoat moults it goes whiter from the feet and belly first, This is because they are closer to the ground and it keeps the stoat warmer.The reverse happens in winter with the stoats nose going white first followed by the rest of its body down to its feet.

Things to look out for in may

night
A peacock butterfly.

All of our birds are busy finishing their nests and getting ready for their chicks to be born.Swifts are now back after their epic journey from Africa, Amazingly these birds only land to have their clutch. They do everything on the wing from feeding to sleeping.Hedgerows come alive during this month with flowers like cow parsley,Lords and ladies,Hogweed,Goose grass,Hedge woundwart,herb robert and greater stitchwort.Fox cubs can be seen with their mother(the vixen),look out for them by their earth.Horse chestnut blossom is wonderful at this time of year,Also the
catkins on a oak tree are also glorious,Look out for the larger male flowers and the smaller female flowers behind the male flower.May flies start to emerge from rivers and streams during may.They emerge as sub adults from the water,They actually cast their old skins as they leave the water.Reed and sedge warblers start to build up their territories along rivers and canals during may.Bank and field voles have had a litter by now so look out for their young along hedgerows.Small red damselflies may be seen coming into your garden to look for water during dry spells.Blue and great tits will be busily feeding their young with tiny green caterpillars,Both parent birds feed their young,They may have up to twelve eggs in their clutch.The young chicks may be getting ready to fledge by the end of may or the beginning of June.Froglets will be getting ready to leave their breeding grounds soon,look out for them,but look carefully as they are extremely small.Badger cubs start to emerge during may as well,They will be seen feeding outside of their earth,This may only be for a short period though to start with.Hedgehogs may be seen on warm spring evenings in wonderful courtship displays with each other.They come out late at night looking for each other,But be aware these courtships can be very noisy with snuffling and snorting sounds.And finally the bug of the month goes to the common cockchafer or may bug,They may be seen at night near any artificial light during may.Also listen out for the wonderful call of the nightingale in deciduous woodlands .

the mustelidae family

part six the otter

Everyone`s favourite animal must be the otter,they just look so cute and cuddly and are magnificent to watch.Land otters are nocturnal whereas sea otters are not and actually come out in the daytime,Although their have been more sightings recently of land otters coming out during the day.Otters are making a great come back and are now said to be in every county in England,Of course this is magnificent as somebody said in the Birmingham area in the mid eighties that because midland waters were so polluted, you would never see otters in our local rivers again.If you are trying to catch a glimpse of otters you must remember a few key points, Firstly always make sure the wind is blowing towards you as your scent will blow towards the otters if blowing against you and disturb them, Secondly always where clothing that will blend in well with the surroundings where you are watching the otters and thirdly always keep your profile low when watching from a short distance away from the otters.Extra green grass growing in a circle may give a clue that its an otters spraint and the otters are nearer by.Otters live in a holt,Which will normally be in good cover by a river or a stream or at the coast,The holt may be close to some roots from a old tree on the river bank.The otters will have a slide on the bank as a way to get into the river.Fish is a otters main food,But they will also eat eels and frogs,small mammals and some waterside birds,and as they are really strong swimmers they may catch quite a few fish, but trout and Salmon normally move to fast for them.They have large lungs to aid their underwater activities,When they dive they can slow down their oxygen consumption by slowing down their heartbeats.Otters can live for up to twenty years in the wild.The dog (MALE) and bitch (female) otter are streamlined for speed in the water,having small ears and a long body,with a powerful,tapering tail and short,strong legs with webbed feet.The dog is about ninety centimeter's long with a forty centimeter tail, The bitch is slightly smaller.Otters can breed all year round with the bitch being on heat for about two weeks every thirty to forty days. The cubs are born blind after about a sixty two day gestation period,They are born in the holt and will normally number between three and five..They can open their eyes after about four weeks.The holt will normally be lined with moss and grass.The otter cubs will stay with their mother for up to fifteen months,The dog otter has no active role in bringing the cubs up.Otters communicate through whistling to each other,If you watch otters you may hear them whistling to each other.The bitch will teach the cubs to swim after they leave the holt,This is when the cubs fur coat has changed from the grey fluffy coat they are born with,To the waterproof coats.Their coat is something they constantly groom.When the cubs finally leave their mothers territory they then set up their own territories.

the mustelidae family

part five the mink.

Not everyone`s favourite animal,the mink was first introduced in the 1920`s from north America,But the fur farms had inadequate fencing so many escaped to populate Britain.It has now established a healthy population.The mink is mainly active at night,Its habitat includes rivers,lakes and canal sides.The mink has a chocolate brown fur that looks black from a distance.The male has about a sixteen inch head and body with a five inch tail,The female is slightly smaller than the male.Mink`s swim really well and will eat slow moving prey,Such as eels and crayfish but they will also eat trout and young salmon,Water birds such as moorhens and coots may well be eaten by the mink along with their nestlings.The water vole population has also been decimated by the introduction of the mink,As the mink catches more food on land than the otter including rabbits,voles and other small creatures..Mink don`t really compete with otters for food but they may stop the otter from recolonising new habitats.Minks mate between February and march and One litter of up to six kits are born in may,The kits are born in a den of waterside stones or tree roots.The male will travel long distances to mate with a female.The gestation period is between 49 and 51 days but may appear longer due to delayed implantation of the embryo.The kits are weaned after about eight to ten weeks and leave to establish their own dens after about three months.They become sexually mature in time for the following years breeding season.A mink has a more pointed snout,darker colour and are smaller than an otter so can be distinguished from an otter when swimming.

Abscission

This is why every deciduous tree sheds their leaves in autumn.They spend all winter producing buds,All spring sprouting them and then all summer using them.Their leaves are very valuable to the tree,But they are very fragile organs.In winter the leaves face two serious problems,When it freezes this can cause damage to the leaf and the fact that its very dry in winter is their other concern(as its normally dryer in winter than summer).If the leaf was to die and just fall off the tree,The tree would loose all of the valuable nutrients contained within the leaf.So through the process of abscission they seperate the dead leaf from the stem by forming cells at the base of the leaf.Then all of the nutrients are reabsorbed down the tree.Then its down to the wind and rain to take the leaf off the tree.Then through the process of decomposition it is then reutilised back through the roots,In years to come will eventually form a new leaf on the tree.

things to look out for in april.

Swallows nesting in spring.

The beautiful spring mornings are finally here for us all to see,Ive just got back from a weeks holiday in north wales and there was not a drop of rain in sight.Bluebells,ramsons and hawthorn blossom are sights that we should now be able to see during April as the climate starts to get warmer.Bluebells and ramsons will carpet the woodland floor,While the hawthorn blossom should lighten up many a hedgerow in Worcestershire.You should be able to see the first house martins and swallows as they return from their epic trip to south Africa.Badger cubs make their first appearance above ground during April,Dusk is a really good time to go and watch them.Its also a good time to look out for wood mice rustling in the leaf litter as you walk through the wood.The sound of the cuckoo is the day i say spring has arrived,The cuckoo is a migrant from Africa and will use meadow pipits,reed warblers and dunnocks nest for themselves to lay their eggs.When the cuckoo chick hatches it instinctively pushed the other chick or egg out of the nest,So the adoptive parents tend purely for the cuckoo chick.Blackbirds,starlings and song thrushes are also really busy this month.Also look out for the Ariel displays of skylarks and meadow pipits.Orange tip butterfly's start to emerge during April around plants from the crucifer family in particular the Lady's smock,Laying their eggs on the leaves of the plant,They then feed as caterpillars on the mustard oils of their food plants.Its a good time of year to see grass snakes,adders and slow warms basking in the spring sunshine. Newts start mating from now as well so look in the shallows of your pond or someone elses and you may see them.The male woos the female with his tail flicking performance,and his bold marking on his body. You probably wont see the female laying her eggs, She wraps a living leaf around each one of her eggs,The leaves will then be bent over with a single egg inside.Start to look out for vixens with her fox cubs as well

Good luck aston villa in the f a cup semi final.

I know villa lost 7 1 against Chelsea last weekend,but as i am traveling down to wembley again next weekend and its against Chelsea i just hope they can turn it around in the semi-final.So good luck.

the mustelidae family

Part four the pine marten.

A while ago the pine marten was common throughout Britain,Now though it is uncommon.Trappings and persecution has led to the pine martens decline but its numbers are starting to increase again through better protection and sustainable habitat.Pine martens are nocturnal so they are mostly active at night in woodlands and cliffs,Sleeping through the day.Rich brown fur and a glorious brown bushy tail are two of its features along with the distinctive creamy-yellow throat and ears,It also has a pointed muzzle and large dark eyes.The male has an eighteen inch head and body with a nine inch tail,The female is slightly smaller than the male.The pine marten is bigger than a polecat.They make their dens in tree holes,old squirrel dreys and rocky crevices mainly in remote forests in Britain.Pine martens only breed once a year,Mating in July or august.But there is a delay in the implantation of the fertilized egg,The females do not become pregnant until about January,A litter of between one and four kits are born between march and April.Pine martens are excellent climbers,But mainly hunt on the ground,But they are agile enough to catch a squirrel amongst the trees branches and if the pine marten was to fall it can twist to land safely on all fours.Finding their prey by sight and sound.They eat a wide range of food,Depending on what is available from,rodents,birds,eggs,beetles,berries and a love for jam sandwiches.The kits are born blind,Opening their eyes when they are about six weeks old,For all of this time they spend it in the den with their mother,Once they are big enough to venture out of the den they stay together as a family for about six months.The kits grow quickly reaching adult size by their first summer.But remain paler than their mother until their winter moult comes through.Man is their biggest predator,But they don`t have many other enemies and can live up to ten years in the wild.

Resource partitioning

This is when animals and creatures come out at night.It makes perfect sense for them to do this, Bats,owls and badgers mostly come out in the evening to forage for their food. Firstly its cooler at night for them. Snails,slugs and earthworms will die in the heat of the day so they come out when it is cooler, The animals take advantage of this to enable them to eat at night.Through resource partitioning owls take advantage of day-time raptors who are asleep at night,Meaning the owls have all the shrews,bank and field voles,harvest mice,yellow neckedmice and woodmice to themselves.Of the 800 large moths 100 of them come out in the day.So butterflies are not avoiding competition but they are avoiding predation.Bats take advantage of the moths coming out at night who themselves may well have become nocturnal to avoid predation themselves.

things to look out for in march.

A common frog.

Its been a little bit colder this winter so everything is a couple of weeks later than normal.The equinox is here on the 21`st of march and that marks the first day of spring.As a pagan i celebrate the equinox as a really important festival because of all of the life that's now starting to manifest in so many different shapes and colours.Bluebells,ramsons,wood anemones and flowering hawthorn blossom are four things to look out for as we move into spring.There is something special about walking through a woodland when the bluebells are in flower.In my experiences trench wood by sale green is my favourite woodland for bluebells.Greater spotted woodpeckers are normally hidden from view,But you might be lucky like me and have one visit your feeders in your garden.If you don`t see one in your garden than head out to the woods with a dead stick,Find a hollow-sounding tree trunk and hammer the trunk in small bursts as fast as you can.With luck your hammering will encourage a territorial woodpecker to come and investigate your hammering,Giving you a lovely view of the bird.common Frog spawn should start to appear from now onwards as common frogs are the earliest amphibians to emerge from hibernation and will head straight towards their breeding grounds ,common Frog spawn is always in a ball whereas toad spawn is always in a line.Towards the end of spring tiny little tadpoles will start to emerge in lakes and ponds throughout Worcestershire.March is the best month to look out for brown hares as well,Brown hares may be seen courting in any month but because there is no lush vegetation for them to hide in march is a good month to spot them.Lowland pasture or ploughed fields are good places to look for them.Robins,Blackbirds,Blue and Great tits and song thrushes should be able to be heard now staking out their territories.Look out for where these birds are singing as it will normally be overlooking their territories.Also look out for our commonest newt,the smooth newt which resembles a smaller and slicker version of the greater crested newt.Toads and the other two species of newts,greater crested and the palm newt will all breed as well through march.Adders will start to emerge from hibernation as well as it starts to get warmer.
.
Small tortoiseshell on a spear thistle.

Brimstone,comma,peacock and small tortoiseshells should be out being seduced by the beautiful spring sunshine.Primroses should be out in force by the end of march,They get their name from the words prima rose meaning the first rose but they are not actually a rose.Bumble bees such as bombus pratorum and bombus hortorum will be seen visiting long tubular flowers,the first can be identified by an orange band on its abdomen and the latter by a white band on its abdomen.Buzzards can be seen as they hunt over meadowland,They are getting ready to have their young later on in spring.Normally they would be looking for carrion but at the start of the year they can be seen hunting.

Walking through the seasons.

The book.

Just a quick update on my book,The publishing company the hot hive are currently reading my book to see if they like it.Hopefully they will like it and i can get one step closer to getting my book into the shops.I want people to be able to appreciate wildlife like i do,Hopefully my book will be able to do this by encouraging local families into going out on one of my walks and having lots of fun and quality time together.

The mustelidae family

Part three the polecat

Polecats are very similar to ferrets and because so many ferrets have escaped into the wild the blood line has become mixed.Polecats are bigger than stoats, The male`s head and body are about fifteen inches long with a five inch tail,The male is slightly larger than the female.The polecat has lovely creamy underfur that are protected by dark brown guard hairs which look paler during winter,A polecats face has white ear tips with a beautiful dark brown and white mask around their eyes, a pink nose and black eyes.They live mainly on farmland but may also be seen along river banks and marshes and are mainly active at dusk or night.They may come out in the day but only if they are struggling to find food at night and may be seen chasing their prey.Polecats are carnivores and mainly hunt rabbits,voles,mice,frogs and small birds.They will often inhabit abandoned rabbit burrows,They mate between march and the end of may,Courtship can be rough with the male dragging the female by the scruff of the neck.A single litter is born between may and June and will contain up to seven young.Polecats are very sociable animals,The young may be seen playing and mutual grooming with their mother in early august, they are two months old and when they first leave the burrow.The female brings up her young on her own without any help from the male.Polecats are normally solitary animals,They mark their territory by secreting a persistent,foul smelling scent from their pea sized scent glands on the underside,at the base of the tail,This may also be used defensively.Polecats may live for up to five years in the wild and have very few natural predators,But unfortunately quite a few are killed on our roads.