Coastal blues

Thursday 24th July

I have been working on the Durham Heritage Coast today and whilst I had hoped to catch a glimpse of a dolphin or two patrolling the shallow waters, it wasn’t to be. My eyes were drawn away from the sea and to a different azure hue, this time in the form of the common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus).

A striking sight, the common blue can be identified from its similar cousin - the holly blue by the orange spots visible on the underside of the wing, which are absent in the holly blue species. The flora of the coastal meadows were looking particularly vibrant in the July sun, boasting a bounty of flowering knapweed, restharrow, carline thistle, field scabious and more. Glorius!

Beamish new beginnings

Tuesday 1st July

While wandering Beamish open-air museum in County Durham today I spotted a ‘flight’ of barn swallows, all of which fledged just yesterday. Five of them sitting in a row were causing quite a stir, catching many a people’s eye as they sat patiently in the sun waiting for the right moment to catch flight and feed.

The swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a summer visitor to the UK, arriving from Northern Africa before it returns later in the year. Unhindered, they will migrate to the exact same spot to breed every year.

Wild pickings

Wednesday 25th June

A walk through Chopwell Woods today brought a lovely seasonal surprise for the taste buds. Not only is it always such a treat to stumble upon wild cherry fruit at this time of the year, but to be given the chance to grab a few before the birds arrive is quite a rare feat! Luckily there were several trees in abundance, with ripening cherries coming through at different stages. Plenty to share with our passerine companions.

Wild cherry (Prunus avium) is one of our two native cherry species and can be differentiated from its relative - the bird cherry (Prunus padus) quite simply by the season in which it bears fruit. Wild cherry tend to produce around June and its cherries on long stalks, are a deep red whereas bird cherry fruits in the autumn, with a black, bitter cherry that hangs in clusters. Leave the bird cherry to the wildlife, but where the wild cherry is concerned, pick away to your heart’s content.

Demoiselles on the river

Friday 6th June

It’s that time of year again where everything has burst into life. The sights and sounds of spring are in full swing and an almost overwhelming spectrum of colour is all around us. The epitome of this could well be what I witnessed at the riverside today.

Tens of banded demoiselle damselflies, both males and females in all their shimmering iridescent majesty, fluttering butterfly-like in the afternoon sun along the slow-flowing water. Banded demoiselles are one of only two UK species with coloured wings. The males with a characteristic dark band and the females who are greener in appearance to the males’ metallic blue, with a brownish tint to their translucent wings. Once a rarity this far north, their range is now expanding. Keep an eye out for them on local streams and rivers this spring and summer. You won’t regret it.

Avian rescue

Wednesday 4th June

Most years at work, we are lucky enough to have a pair of nesting pied wagtails in the old stables building. Last year the pair had two successful broods and seemed completely unperturbed by the constant disturbance from people unknowingly walking directly under the nest. That confidence however, ensured this particular wagtail ended up in a bit of a pickle, before its fortunate and timely rescue.

Thank you to the member of the public who kindly reported the stressed avian, trapped at the upper floor stables window on a hot day. How it managed to get past two closed doors is a bit of a mystery but as I released it from the palm of my hand it was kind enough to show its gratitude by gifting a beautiful, chirruping call is it flew back to the nest.

Orange-tip tag along

Wednesday 28th May

As I was walking through Ebchester Woods today I felt something graze the back of my neck. As I put my hand back there I realised that a male orange-tip butterfly was hitching a ride. A harbinger of spring, this captivating lepidopteran will usually lay a single egg on the underside of the leaf or stem of a cuckoo-flower. If you ever get the chance to look at one through a hand lens, take it from me you won’t regret it. Orange, elongated and reticulated. A thing of intricate beauty.

The fox and the hedgehog return

Sunday 25th May

Some of you may remember videos of recent times featuring a fox and hedgehog spending time together in my garden. Well, I can’t say I’m certain this is same hedgehog, but it is most definitely the same fox that has frequented the garden for the last four years, thanks to its distinctive characteristics. Maybe this fox has a penchant for its fellow mammal or perhaps both species just equally appreciate the extra bit of sustenance and hydration put out for them during this prolonged dry spell.

Either way, what a heart-warming sight this is to see.

Tawny mining bees are nesting again!

Sunday 20th April

Today I was working down by the river (Derwent), and on the path edge something caught my eye. A small, volcano-like mound of soil spool at the foot of an ancient, sessile oak. I carefully put my phone on the path and managed to film a charming video of a preoccupied female tawny mining bee in all her gingery glory. This wonderful solitary bee forms a burrow of eggs and a food source of nectar from nearby flowering fruit trees. She will seal each egg complete with a store of nectar in a single cell which will then hatch, develop, hibernate before it emerges as an adult the following spring.

The great toad migration

Thursday 27th March

Each year at early spring, the Gibside estate sees a common toad migration en masse. It is quite the spectacle. Thousands migrate from their terrestrial hideouts back to the pond they spawned in to breed and carry on the cycle of this charismatic amphibian. Roads and paths are covered and require key intervention to prevent harm. Often you will see the ambushing males clinging on to a very tired, larger looking female on the approach to the water course. She will be fought over many times and you can’t help but feel sorry for the incessant attention she warrants. There is no romance here!

But, with a bit of luck it won’t be long before the surrounding vegetation is teeming with tiny, perfectly formed toadlets.