Ampthill Park.

First thing this morning I undertook my monthly bird survey over Ampthill Park. The highlight was a red kite making its way westwards along the Greensand Ridge, much to the consternation of a couple of local jackdaws. I was also chuffed to find a pair of buzzards with a young one trying out its wings, the first proof of breeding I've seen in this immediate area. Other birds with fledglings included robin, dunnock, song thrush, mistle thrush, moorhen, blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, blackcap, wren and carrion crow, the latter with a hapless frog hanging from its mouth!



There were a number of chimney sweeper moths around, looking like they'd dipped the tips of their wings into a paint pot! There's plenty of pignut around, which will suit the larvae, who enjoy consuming its flowers and seeds.



And here's the dramatically-suited Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet. There must have been 20 or so fluttering around at the northern end of the Flushes, and they were quite a sight.



This is the remains of one of the distinctive cocoons from which the Burnets emerge.



The yellow of Tormentil and white of Heath Bedstraw makes for a dramatic contrast all over the grasslands to the north of the Park.



And, finally, a Large Skipper butterfly. The prominent dark 'sex brand' marks on the wings show that this is a male. Thomas & Lewington describe how they tend to patrol their patch from about 10am until noon, with slow extended flights, hovering just above the ground, or weaving around grass clumps, scanning each for the presence of a female. In the afternoons, active flying is replaced by a siesta in the sunshine. Sounds like a good idea to me!

Ampthill Fields - north of St Andrews Church.

The lack of posts this past week says something about just how busy I've been. An opportunity for a walk early this afternoon was seized like a drowning man gasping for air!



This tree makes for a very dramatic image.



And here's a close-up of the hole at the top of the trunk. Can you spot the Green Woodpecker? The way in which they play hide-and-seek with passers' by never ceases to amuse me!



I love the variety of flowering grasses that start to appear at this time of year. It's so easy to pass by without noticing them. Here's Meadow Barley...



Yorkshire Fog...



Cocksfoot...



and Meadow Foxtail.



Several yellowhammers were singing. This male seems bemused by the antics of the chaffinch!



There are a lot of Early Bumblebees (Bombus pratorum) around at the moment. The orange-red tail is a bit of a give-away.

Chandos Road, Ampthill

Imagine my excitement looking into the moth-trap this morning after a cold and wet night to find a new species amongst the paltry sum of 4 individual moths - my first ever Peppered Moth (Biston betularia)! It's the large white speckled specimen in the photo to the right of the Dark Arches.

OK, so it's common....but this was the first time I'd come across a moth in the flesh that I'd studied on the page for years! You, too, probably remember examining photos of light moths and dark moths in your biology textbooks, dramatically illustrating so-called natural selection. The moth in my photo is the form typica which was common hundreds of years ago, its speckled colouration helping it to blend in with crustose lichens on the trees where it spends its days resting and, thus, out of sight of hungry birds searching for a tasty morsel! But, as the Industrial Revolution progressed and trees became covered in soot and the like, these moths were easily spotted and consumed with relish. And so the typica form declined but, conversely, the dark carbonaria form flourished.

These days morpha typica far outnumbers morpha carbonaria once more, a sign that, in the midst of our fears regarding the environment, things really can change. And so it was with a sense of hope that I released Biston betularia f. typica back into the garden this evening.

Cooper's Hill Nature Reserve, Ampthill

One of the things I enjoy doing most is opening the eyes and ears of young people to the natural world around them. That's why I've so enjoyed taking part in Alameda School's Activity Week today, taking one Year 7 class after another - 4 in total - on walks around Cooper's Hill Nature Reserve. The focus was 'ornithology', and we spent time listening to various birds that were calling and singing: robin, wren, chaffinch, blackbird, goldcrest, carrion crow, rook, jackdaw, willow warbler, garden warbler, wood pigeon, great spotted woodpecker and the like. But we looked out for other animals, too:



Although one girl ran off horrified, the sight of a dead pygmy shrew resulted in a lot of excitement...



But nothing like as much as the live common toad that I found under a rotting stump...



And, not wanting to be outdone, a common frog obliged, too!

Several of the children told me that they found the walk "awesome"...and a young lad who'd been on the walk earlier told his friend as he set off, "It's great!" So some, at least, seemed to genuinely enjoy it, which is what it's all about!

The Lodge, Sandy

Some animals have a real 'wow' factor and the crepuscular nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) falls into that category. I remember standing on Wavendon Heath some years ago in the half-light of dusk, listening to the strange churring call and, later, watching the bird fluttering around me as it hunted for moths & beetles.

It is only rarely seen in Bedfordshire nowadays, and the bird above was photographed by Robin Edwards at The Lodge earlier today, where it remained immobile on the log awaiting its nighttime witching hour. You can just imagine the excitement that it's caused there where some 200 people saw it today. But not me, unfortunately, as I was too busy to get up there to see it, but Robin has kindly allowed me to share his photo here.

Such a strange bird has been the origin of various myths, the most famous described by Cocker & Mabey, in their Birds Britannica, where they write, 'The more ancient slur is still enshrined in the scientific name Caprimulgus, from the Latin capra 'she-goat' and mulgeo, 'I milk'....From classical times it was believed that the birds entered the goat stalls and sucked the nanny's udders, which could eventually cause them to wither and the animals themselves to go blind.'

So, if you see any blind goats around, now you'll know why!

Firs Lower School, Ampthill

Following a cold night with little cloud, I was fearing the worst when I arrived at The Firs Lower School this morning to look at the moth-trap. My fears were confirmed with only 3 species in the trap: 10 Heart & Darts, 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart (the moth at the top of the photo), and a Green Carpet. The children who were passing through the Quadrangle found them interesting, but I was disappointed. I'm hoping to return on a warm night in a few week's time and put the trap out on the grass alongside Cooper's Hill....I think the difference will be quite dramatic!
























Then, just as I was packing the moth-trap into the car....I noticed this little beauty clinging to the sides - a male Pale Tussock. How did I miss it earlier? I'm sure that I looked at all of the sides of the trap. Shame, 'cos the children would have loved it!

Cooper's Hill wildlife walk preparation

"It could only be Stephen!"

It sounds like the story's going round, so I may as well share it here.

Being in Bedford late yesterday morning, I decided to pop along to Putnoe Surgery where Carole works to see if she was free for lunch. She was so, after buying some sandwiches at the local Co-op, we sat in the little garden at the back enjoying the sunshine. Donna, one of the other nurses, joined us. During the conversation that followed I shared that I wanted to find a frog to use as a live illustration for a class of Alameda Middle School pupils during a nature walk over Cooper's Hill this morning. Donna, who lives down the road from the surgery, told me that she was happy to donate one of the 7 frogs inhabiting her little back garden pond. She gave me the number for her key-safe and - going well beyond the call of duty - directions to find a plastic food container in her kitchen in which to put it!

After a bit of searching, I managed to find a frog and popped it into the container with some water. On the way home I stopped off at Bedford South Hospital for a visit and, the day being so warm, slid the container under the car to keep the frog as cool as possible. It was cutting the visit short, pleading compassion for the frog, that has led to this story doing the rounds.

When I got home I popped the frog into the fridge for a little while to make sure that it would be in good health...unfortunately, Mark opened the door a little while later when looking for some chicken slices and salad to make a sandwich...which then meant that Carole found out, too, when she got home from work!

I can't see what the fuss is about. Dad used to be a keen fisherman when I was a boy and there were always tins of maggots in the fridge!

Anyway, I think the pupils appreciated seeing my frog this morning. I've got the moth trap running at The Firs Lower School this evening and I'll be showing the children whatever turns up in the morning...I built it up a bit during an assembly on Tuesday, so I hope there's something to show for it.

By the way, it's recommended that moths caught in a moth-trap are kept in the fridge during the day and released again in the evening....but I've already been warned never to do that in no uncertain terms!!

[photo from http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk]