Day 26: For today’s 30 Days Wild, David and I spent a leisurely two hours walking around the recently re-opened Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve. It had been closed since February 2021 due to the River Alt bursting its banks and flooding the reserve. Lunt Meadows is a flood storage area but I don’t think visitors thought it would be closed for so long! It was nice to be back and see the changes the volunteers and Wildlife Trusts’ have made to the site. New pools and paths and lots of wildflowers had been sown. I took David’s camera along with us and below are a few of my snaps.
However restrictive life in 2020 has been, wildlife and nature has been very restorative, definitely a pick me up in times of stress. During the first lock-down, the air was less crowded with the sounds of road and air traffic which made it all that more fresher than it had in years. Though my wildlife moments have been less in numbers this year, it has been nice to just notice and celebrate the small things, like an ashy mining bee resting on a lilac in the yarden and spotting mermaid’s purses washed up on Formby Beach.
Summer is a busy time for wildlife rehabilitation. Our only success this year has been Ava the pigeon who we crop fed while tackling her canker infection. We also rescued a very young lesser black-backed gull chick who had fallen from its steep roof nest and could not be put back. Luckily, thanks to the kind rehabbers of a local volunteer group, we found a home for Benjamin.
During June a male herring gull befriended us and came by daily for cat food or kitchen scraps. Then in August to our surprise he brought along with him his three crying fledglings! For about a month the three youngsters came for food along with Steven the adult. It was cute watching the three fledglings fight over food and then become independent. However, once autumn arrived Steven chased them away to find their own territories. It was a nice glimpse into the lives of herring gulls and I learned the different vocalisations they communicate with.
Spotting wildlife that you haven’t seen before can give you such a rush! I felt this excitement when I spied the looping flight of a bat around our walled yarden. Planting for wildlife really does work!
There have been other wildlife highlights too, that I’ve not been able to photograph; like a kestrel hunting in the local park and a brief glimpse of a holy blue butterfly.
Seven years ago David and I began work on creating a wildlife yarden. We focused on attracting as much wildlife to an inner city walled yard as we could.
Yarden
Bird feeders were the first and easiest addition to the yarden and during late summer/early autumn the feeders are usually awash with different coloured wings and bird calls. From chattering charms of goldfinches and the happy chirruping of sparrows to boisterous gangs of starlings. The odd blue tit is seen nervously snatching away a sunflower heart as well as two delicate greenfinches who’ve visited among with the goldfinches. All this activity has caught the eye of several sparrowhawks whose presence in the yarden is a wondrous sight to behold.
Goldfinches Picture by David Evans
Starling Picture by David Evans
Female Sparrowhawk
About three years ago we put in a wash bowl pond. It’s in a sheltered spot so we don’t have dragonflies or damsels visiting but we did have a little frog for a short while.
Frog
Pond
Over the years we have planted shrubs and herbs which flower at different times of the year to attract insects. We even have the odd sapling tree, with a hawthorn being my pride and joy!
Common Wasp
Red Mason Bee
Honey bee
Honey Bee and Passion Flower
Large White Butterfly
Hellebore Flower
Swallow Tailed Moth
Red Tailed Bumblebee
Willow Beauty
Trying to increase the insect population means that other predators will hopefully move in. Imagine my excitement and surprise when I discovered that a bat frequents the area!
I know nothing about bats so here’s a few facts on them:
There are 18 species of UK bat, with 17 breeding here
They all eat insects and are a natural pest control for e.g. mosquitoes
A pipistrelle can eat up to 3000 insects a night
They use echolocation to find food
They are indicators of biodiversity
They pollinate and spread seeds
Like the dormouse and hedgehog they hibernate
The mating season is from September and females give birth to one pup around June in maternity roosts
Cats and birds of prey are their main predators
They are the only mammal that can fly
I wonder what type of bat is visiting? It could be the most common bat in the UK, called a common pipistrelle. I’d need a bat detector to discover the identity of our new visitor, perhaps I’ll add one to my birthday/Christmas wish list. :p
Have you got bats visiting your garden? What is your favourite bat?
Mid May I ordered five painted lady caterpillars from Insect Lore, hoping to have them by the end of this years 30 Days Wild. They were dispatched min June and I waited anxiously for them to arrive. The first week passed with no caterpillars, then a second week passed. 30 Days Wild ended with no caterpillars in sight. I complained to Insect Lore customer services and they said that post in my area had been extra slow, but that they would kindly dispatch some more caterpillars.
After a full three weeks since the caterpillars were dispatched, they finally arrived!
I was a little weary of opening the packaging, frightened of what to find! Would I find dead caterpillars? On opening the package and taking out the pot where the caterpillars feast on some unidentified brown goo. I found a mess! Among the excess food source, caterpillar poo and fras (a fine web caterpillars weave when they feel threatened) I discovered five chrysalises. Not hopeful they were alive I extracted them from their filth and placed the chrysalises inside the mesh habitat I kept from last years batch and left them.
A week later while David was in the study working from home, he called me in saying that one chrysalis was alive. It had been vibrating. I was overjoyed! At least one was alive!
Some half an hour later David called me in again and said I had a butterfly! It had burst out of its chrysalis and we watched as it pumped up its wings. It was a wondrous sight to see. I hadn’t had much hope for these beautiful souls.
Several hours later I discovered that another chrysalis had burst and a new butterfly had emerged. I had two butterflies!
I still had three chrysalises and two were quite small so I had little hope for them. But come the next morning we found that all chrysalises had emptied and I had five painted lady butterflies! What a miracle! After spending three weeks in a dark box, sitting in a Royal Mail post room, they had overcome the odds to become beautiful butterflies!
Last weekend I released them.
Four flew away, however one wanted to stay an extra day. So after watching the butterfly sit lethargically in the garden, David and I popped him back into the habitat with sugar water and flowers and planned on releasing him the next day.
Painted Lady Butterflies
Painted Lady Butterfly
The butterfly seemed much livelier on the second release day and enjoyed the flowers on the salvia. We left him enjoying the flowers and on returning to the garden, he was nowhere to be seen. I hope he managed to fly off and begin his adult life.
What a wonderful story of life fighting against the odds!
But my caterpillar story for this year isn’t over yet as on the day before I released the butterflies from the first batch, the new set of caterpillars arrived. Only a week late! On opening this package I am happy to report five caterpillars looking a little stunned. It took them a while to begin moving but in the few days since their arrival they doubled in size.
Painted lady butterflies and caterpillas
Painted lady chrysalis
Since then they have already become chrysalises.
So I had caterpillars for a few days at least. I wonder if they will all develop into painted lady butterflies? I’ll let you know!
Day 23: This week (22nd to 28th June) is National Insect Week, a biannual initiative organised by the Royal Entomological Society, encouraging people of all ages to learn more about insects. Insects are a diverse and ecologically important group of animals. There are over 24,000 species of insect in the UK.
So for today’s 30 Days Wild, below is a gallery showing the variety of the insect world.
Day 4: I began my 30 Days Wild adventures in 2015. Since then I have learned a new appreciation for arachnids, helped countless exhausted bees and learned a few more bird songs. Continuing on from the past two years of30 Days Wild, Thursday’s will be know as Throw Back Thursday’s! Preparing for this post, I realised that the calendar for 2020 is the same as 2015. On the fourth day of June 2015 I planted wildflower seeds.
In 2016 I marvelled at the flowers on maris bard potatoes. 2017 saw me pick flowers and grasses for a nature table. I got up close and personal in 2018 with a cellar spider and in 2019 I watched as my painted lady caterpillars grew and grew and grew!
Maris Bard potato flower
Junes Nature Table
Cellar Spider
Day 9 – caterpillar
So for 2020’s Throw Back Thursday I will create another nature table.
Nature Table
All my finds are from a local park. On display are many types of grasses, elder and cow parsley flowers, a fallen sycamore leaf and seed (helicopter), daisies, clover, poplar tree seeds, (that look like cotton wool) and even a pigeon feather. A nature table that depicts early summer.
This Sunday, David and I finally planned a Lake District adventure! It was nice to be back to our days of exploring. 2019 has thrown us a few curve balls but hopefully illnesses and job woes are all behind us!
Our destination this Sunday morning was the western shores of Thirlmere. We arrived at the Dobgill pay and display car park at 8.30am after an early rise. Whilst enjoying unprecedented weather this summer bank holiday weekend, the decision to visit the quieter Thirlmere was beneficial as we only saw a handful of people on our walk towards the picturesque Harrop Tarn.
The walk through woodland was steep but not exhaustingly so, we spotted many types of fungi bathed in sunshine.
Fly agaric
Harrop Tarn
The tarn itself has only one shingle beach with access to the water. We aimed for this beach but had to squelch through moss and bog to get there!
Thankfully no one else was swimming when we arrived but a group had set up a wild camp in the conifer trees beyond. Mindful of people at close proximity I quickly stripped to my swimming costume and donned my neoprene shoes and gloves. I entered the water quickly as the sloping shingle shore was steep and shifted under foot. I spent a leisurely 15 minutes swimming back and forth with butterflies fluttering over head and the Helvellyn massif stretching impressively to the west. The water was around 16°C but was rather murky. It was only later that we discovered that I shared the swim with little silver fish.
Back on land I struggled into another swimsuit, a second swim was planned! However I recalled that on arrival at the car park I’d exclaimed, ‘I’ve forgotten the sunscreen!’ David and I were going to bake as the sun was already high in the sky and burning hot!
We retraced our steps through bogland towards a forest path and then struggled through a muddy, stone littered track towards the open fell of Watendlath. The second tarn of the day was going to be Blea. There are three Blea Tarns in the Lake District: Landgale, Watendlath and Eskdale, only the Eskdale Blea Tarn to do!
David looking towards Helvellyn
Blea Tarn: Watendlath
Blea Tarn
Watendlath’s Blea Tarn is nestled below Coldbarrow Fell at 1500ft. It was a tiring marshy trek over sphagnum moss to get to the tarn and then with no path to the shore or easy access to the water, we had to knock down vegetation and sink into pits of mud and water to get any closer. We picnicked with the view of the tarn and Low Saddle before I gritted my teeth and waded into the wind chopped waters. I was not enamoured with this Blea Tarn. At present the Langdale’s Blea is winning. Watendlath’s Blea had a feel of Small Water for me. I waded out into shallow waters. Too shallow really to swim in. Then there was the blue green algae fluorescing further ahead and fronds of vegetation wrapping around my wrists. Tired and frustrated, I turned tail and returned to shore.
Once dry, we decided to walk back to the car park, which saw us embark on another hour of trudging through marshland. We dodged hungry bumblebees, and avoided ticks as we made our descent towards the car. An inferno awaited us as we opened the car doors, heat flooded out! We returned home tired, sunburned but content that we had spent five hours walking and swimming in the lake district fells. I am looking forward to our next adventure.
I thought I would write a roundup of my 2019, 30 Days Wild.
Blogging everyday is a challenge in itself but when illness puts pay to plans it makes the challenge all that more difficult! Well it did for me! I had to cancel a weekend break to the Lakes and also a badger hide encounter. However, hopefully I will be able to re-book both in the near future?!
Before 30 Days Wild had even begun my story was featured on the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trusts’ page. I was surprised to see they used my picture of swimming in Rydal Water as their feature! You can read my story here.
Saturday’s in June were meant to be RSPB reserve visits but David and I only managed to visit one site and that was Leighton Moss to meet with their moths.
Buff Tip Moth – David Evans
Small Elephant Hawk Moth
I did manage to schedule some blog posts and enjoyed researching about red squirrels and dragonflies.
Red Squirrel by David Evans
Golden Ringed Dragonfly
Gaia was an impromptu visit but an impressive addition to my 30 Days Wild. I also focused on the moon with some facts about our beautiful satellite.
Gaia
The Moon by David Evans
There were two highlights of the month. One was of course watching my five painted lady caterpillars (from Insect Lore), become chrysalids and then beautiful adult butterflies! I would definitely do that experience again!
Day 9 – caterpillar
Chrysalids
Painted Lady Butterfly
The other highlight was the bee experience at The Bee Centre. It really made me wish I had a bigger garden so I could get a hive. I would love to become a bee keeper, and I think David would too.
The Bee Centre
Christine and honey bees
David and honey bees
Looking back, perhaps my 2019, 30 Days Wild really wasn’t that bad at all!
Would I blog again everyday for 30 Days in June? Probably. I do like how the challenge makes you focus on the small things as well as the large.
Have you enjoyed my journey through this years 30 Days Wild? What did you like and what didn’t you like?
Thanks for reading, and for one last time, stay wild!
Day 22: Today, David and I, (with Riley in tow), drove to Warrington’s Moore Nature Reserve, situated between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. This 200 acre site boasts miles of woodland paths, meadows and wetlands. We walked 3.5 miles around the reserve but could have stayed longer. We saw speckled wood butterflies, a great crested grebe and damselflies.
Map
Azure Damselfly
Grebe Hide
Great Crested Grebe
Speckled Wood
Christine and Riley
Cinnabar Moth
Stitchwort
David and Riley
Have you visited this nature reserve? Which is your favourite reserve?
2019’s longest day, saw the UK welcome 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight. However, after all this celebration of light, the shorter days and darker nights begin from here. Today the weather for the NW of England has been fair and warm. Perfect weather to release my painted lady butterflies.
I was sad to see my butterflies fly but knew I had given them the best start in life.
Painted Lady Butterfly
After coming home from work David and I headed out to a sun drenched yarden. The chirrup of sparrows and the cooing of pigeons sounded in the air. Once I had opened the habitat one butterfly, (I would like to think it was my little caterpillar who hadn’t made it to the top of the cup), flew straight up into the air! The other four butterflies needed a little more coaxing. I noticed one feeding on the watermelon I had given them before he/she took to the wing.
All five butterflies safely flew away. I hope they enjoy the sunshine on this solstice and manage to breed and begin the cycle again.
It has been a wonderful experience. I was amazed at how quickly I grew attached to the caterpillars and then saddened when they became chrysalids, but soon celebrated the emergence of them as butterflies. Nature is truly miraculous!
Day 9 – caterpillar
Getting ready to Chrysalise
Chrysalids
Painted Lady Butterflies
Would I do it all again? Probably, though I stressed about feeding the butterflies and when I couldn’t release them. But the positive experience more than out weighed the worries.
Have you been inspired to give the experience a go? If so, you can read more about butterfly gardens from Insect Lore.
Thanks for following my caterpillars to butterflies,
Day 26: For today’s 30 Days Wild, David and I spent a leisurely two hours walking around the recently re-opened Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve. It had been closed since February 2021 due to the River Alt bursting its banks and flooding the reserve. Lunt Meadows is a flood storage area but I don’t think visitors thought it would be closed for so long! It was nice to be back and see the changes the volunteers and Wildlife Trusts’ have made to the site. New pools and paths and lots of wildflowers had been sown. I took David’s camera along with us and below are a few of my snaps. 
After a full three weeks since the caterpillars were dispatched, they finally arrived!
Day 23: This week (22nd to 28th June) is 
Day 4: I began my 30 Days Wild adventures in 2015. Since then I have learned a new appreciation for arachnids, helped countless exhausted bees and learned a few more bird songs. 
I thought I would write a roundup of my 2019, 
Day 22: Today, David and I, (with Riley in tow), drove to Warrington’s 
Day 21: Happy Litha or Summer Solstice! 
Christine Lucas 