Only One Earth

In case you haven't noticed , there is another chance for the world leaders to get to grips with climate change. What this press notice ( below)  doesn't say is that we all must decide how we are going to stop ruining our planet!

On a  more cheerful note , I took this photo in our meadow in June. A furry caterpillar  ( no idea what species it is!) on a newly flowering wild  Pyramidal Orchid

Now for the news!

UN Climate Summit 2014

Climate change is not a far-off problem. It is happening now and is having very real consequences on people’s lives. Climate change is disrupting national economies, costing us dearly today and even more tomorrow.  But there is a growing recognition that affordable, scalable solutions are available now that will enable us all to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies.

There is a sense that change is in the air. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders, from government, finance, business, and civil society to Climate Summit 2014 this 23 September to galvanize and catalyze climate action.  He has asked these leaders to bring bold announcements and actions to the Summit that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilize political will for a meaningful legal agreement in 2015. Climate Summit 2014 provides a unique opportunity for leaders to champion an ambitious vision, anchored in action that will enable a meaningful global agreement in 2015.

Everyone can step up and take climate action. Visit the UN Climate Summit site to find out how. #climate2014

Conservation news, new comiittee and Tell Hicks talk about the Galapagos Islands

Recharge the batteries!

First a reminder to myself of what interests me in the local natural scene. visit my set of photos on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonewell/sets/72157636117285686/

I find viewing these photos makes me want to write this post.

Its quite normal for any voluntary group to find that they need an injection of encouragement, motivation, new ideas, even just questioning what they are trying to achieve.

Our Heart of the Levels Group is no different. For some time now we have been working our way through a transition phase in the life cycle of the group. We are of course part of the Somerset Wildlife Trust and the whole county wide organisation has itself been on a similar journey.

Interestingly in many ways  its just like the life cycle of the insects, mammals and natural flora we are trying to protect and encourage through the seasonal changes.

I'm writing this as I reflect on the committee meeting we held last evening.The big difference this time was the very refreshing interest shown by three new committee members. We always have a very flexible agenda which allows us to follow up on ideas and comments made by members and this time there were some new thoughts to pick up on. We have our next public meeting on Thursday in Somerton as usual with Tell hicks talking about the Galapagos Islands

And here just to add a little interest is a photo of a Herald moth trying to hibernate inside our home. I had to disturb him or her to offer a more suitable resting place! I also played around a bit with the aperture setting, this time it was f14.

Heart of the Levels, Botany Study Group, Photographic Workshop

I took a series of photographs whilst on a workshop to improve my understanding of how to take better photos of plants and insects.

The best are on Flickr at this link :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonewell/sets/72157636117285686/


How about that one?

Our friendly wildlife group has two important events lined up for July and August.

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 Thursday July 7th at 7.30 pm in the United Reformed Church in Somerton.

Wildlife on the Shores of Somerset ( yes we do have an extensive coastline!)

 An illustrated talk by Nigel Phillips.  

By way of introduction Nigel has written a book on the subject.  This is a stunning book which describes the huge diversity of landscapes and wildlife found along this wonderful coast. It is packed with photographs of coastal habitats and the wildlife that can be found. It has maps and appendices helping to point out what might be seen, and where and when things occur. It includes lists of all the plants, seaweeds, birds, marine creatures, butterflies, grasshoppers and crickets and dragonflies you might find along the shore and on the cliffs and cliff tops.

This is a 120 - page softback flexibound book in full colour.
Move your mouse over the text "Look inside this book!" on the book image (left) to view the contents. For a more detailed look, one extract has been included here - click here to view!

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The price is £19.50 plus £3.50 post and packing (within the UK). Books can be picked up from Nether Stowey, Somerset by arrangement. Natural Time Out publications 37 Castle Street Nether Stowey, Somerset Somerset TA5 1LN.

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Saturday August 17 th at 8 pm,

 at Playses Orchard Farm , Hambridge, TA10 0AP

A Bat Walk and Talk led by the SWT Bat Group.

Somerset Bat Group was formed in 1985 to help protect bats in Somerset
We are affiliated to the Bat Conservation Trust (the national organisation for bat protection) and Somerset Wildlife Trust

Somerset has 15 of the 16 species of British Bats and we still haven’t given up on the 16th. Some species are more common than others and some are endangered. The Bat Group is actively engaged in varied activities to help preserve these fascinating creatures.

Several of our members run Bat Walks in the Summer. We give talks to local groups, install and check bat boxes and during the Winter hold workshops and courses in Bat Care, Analysing Bat Sound, and Bat Identification.

If you are interested in joining us the please contact secretary Adel Avery, 
phone 01749 840240, or send £5 subs to Adel at The Cottage, Nettlebridge, Oakhill, Bath BA3 5AA.

Wildlife Garden

Trying to make the most of the good weather. Some photo's from our Wildlife Garden. ( a small area at the bottom of our garden, recognised by the Somerset Wildlife Trust .)

This first picture is not as good as I hoped for but just shows some type of bee or fly feeding on the head of a Thistle. It had a large proboscis

Since I added the description below I now thnk that the photo simply shows the Flower head beginning to open. I'll check again today and it should be much clearer now!!

On the same thistle I noticed this unusual collection of eggs? They were sitting in the crown of an unopened thistle flower head . They look like eggs to me, but what insect chooses a thistle flower head before it has opened?

Also just starting to flower is this Ragwort, probably Common Ragwort. I have been trying hard to use a key to pin down as to whether it is Common,Oxford, Hoary or something else. Its certainly not Silver as I saw that last year on the Cornish coast and it is quite different.

My favourite umbellifer, Wild Carrot.  Clearly showing the small red flower in the centre and the prominent bracts. Very distinctive.

Fantastic summer weather!!

The sun works wonders for wildlife in our meadow.  Photos taken last Saturday whilst showing  some friends around the field.  These photos are not the sharpest in the world but they just show yet again the variety of wildlife activity that is just waiting for some one to slowly walk around and look carefully at the hedges, grasses and wild flowers and insects that live there.

This first picture tries to show the Grass Vetchling , still flowering but at the same time, on the same grass like plant, a seed pod has developed. You can see it towards the top right hand corner. I must find out how to put a marker on a photo!

This yellow flower is,  I hope, a Greater Birds-foot-trefoil, looking resplendent in the bright sunshine. It grows in patches and looks very attractive against the grasses.

Whilst looking at plants which my friends were mostly interested in we found the ants nest, which are pretty numerous in the field , had come alive as ants came out and climbed up the grass stems and eventually flew off. Hundreds and probably thousands from the several nests we were close to. I know very little about this phase of an ants life cycle and I assume we were seeing male and female ants here.
A quick look at Wiki here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_ant ,   gives an idea of the complex world of ants

I feel confident that this flower is Wild Basil. Growing at one end of the field in a patch in front of a hedge over about 30 metres or so. very attractive. Mild herby smell from the leaves.

Just as we were leaving the field we noticed this Gatekeeper butterfly , quite close to the gate as it happens! We had already seen large numbers of Meadow Browns, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Marbled White's , Large White, and numerous Burnet moths

Wildlife in Somerset meadows

We had a bit of drama in our meadow on Sunday. I had just spent a hour or so taking some record photos to show what was surviving the wet and unpleasant weather when a young man came into our field. To cut a long story short he was from Western Power and investigating a loss of electricity in our village. It became necessary to get access to a pole on the edge of our field which meant bringing in three large vans with all their gear to carry out repairs. Having pointed out that the field was a nature reserve they were careful to keep to the edge of the field to minimise trampling the grasses and orchids!

It took an hour or so to complete the work and peace and quiet was restored as was the electricity supply.

Here are a few of the wildlife photos I had just taken:

Soldier Beetles having a party!

 Marbled White on Knapweed  ( Centaurea scabiosa)

Burnet Moth enjoying the Knapweed.  ( Centaurea scabiosa)

Is this the Thickleg Beetle, Oedemera nobilis ? ( with rather thin legs!!)

on Field Scabious  ( Knautia arvensis)

To see a better photograph try this link:

http://iloveflowerbeetles.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/ukflowerbeetle_by_mountainashe.jpg

This is just one of hundreds if not a thousand or more in our 4 acres.  Pyramidal Orchid. (Anacamptis pyramidalis) I even found a pure white specimen a week or so ago.

Changes to my Blog

Hi,
I've decided to have a fresh look at how I present my Blog. I've started by stripping out one or two features like the list of labels which filled up a lot of space. Each post will still have labels and you can still click on any shown on a post to see other posts on the same subject. I've taken off the heading and photo which was a bit old news! Ironically as the orchid and Ladies Bedstraw shown are just about to come into flower again!!
It will be interesting to see if I get any comments or if the viewings change. Its all a big experiment really.
I must also find the time to update my 365 photo coverage of the year but maybe there is a better way of showing you an album on Picasa or similar.
Any advice you can offer is welcome.
Best wishes to all,
David

Pictures below from my visit to a nature reserve on the south coast. There are three Turns here all squabbling about nesting space. The aerial acrobatics display was very impressive!

Brownsea Island

Just back from a visit to this well known and lovely Island Nature Reserve. Owned by the National Trust with about 20% managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust.
Lovely warm day with a little cloud and a lot of sun.  A big attraction was the possible sighting of the rare Red Squirrels, leaflets say they are more active in the Autumn and we wern't lucky. We did see the half eaten cones as shown below. The range of habitats is quite remarkable in such a small area. With my new interest in Lichens I found plenty of interest and different to those in  Somerset, also shown below.

The star display of wild life were the noisy and very active terns nesting and rearing chicks on the lagoon islands created close to the Mac Hide. This is in the area managed by Dorset Wildlife Trust which has its headquarters in the "Villa" located in the centre of the reserve.

The Lichens shown I will try to get identified and add details to this post.

Monster from the murky Pond

Have'nt got time to write much about photos taken this morning showing  life in our small pond. Add some details later.

Pyrrhosoma nymphula and a small wildlife garden

Last year we created a very small pond about 2m long by1m and in its second summer I took some photos today which I'm really pleased with.
Last year the Somerset Wildlife Trust started encouraging members to create a wildlife garden however small and that's what we have done and its great to see it attracting new wildlife. An Orange Tip butterfly also flew by whilst I was taking these shots but didn't stop for me.

Dont forget if you click on the photo it will give you a larger picture.

My guess is that the Damselflie is Pyrrhosma nymphula , Large red damselfly. Later on I saw a pair mating and laying eggs in the pond vegetation which I had added only a week ago!

These two flies came and rested on plants close by. Idents still needed. Any ideas please.

This is not a very good picture but is good enough to illustrate that while watching the damselflies we noticed that this bug climbed up the stem of a plant recently added to help the dragonflies. It sat there in the sun for quite a few minutes aqnd then suddenly whent back into the water and we could see it was a Water Boatman!

and finally, this is a  small sign sent me by the Wildlife Trust which is now proudly displayed on the garden shed. Notice the fly stopped to see what it was all about!

Lessor Swallow Prominent, Pheosia gnoma., and a Caddisfly

Found both these insects after dark The first one just at rest on the front door frame. This  insect may not be a moth  at all, perhaps a Caddisfly?

This moth was close to an outside lamp by my front door the other evening. Is it the species known as the Shark?  Hoping to get an identification soon .

We now belive on good authority that the first photo is as I suspected a Caddis Fly. The second is the moth,  Lessor Swallow Prominent , Pheosia gnoma.

Curry Rivel Community Website.

Click here to visit the web site

As a contributor to this web site I am interested in trying to find ways to make it more interesting for the local community especially as far as wildlife is concerned.

Along with other Parishes we will be getting to grips with Neighbourhood Planning , the Governments new initiative to give local communities more involvement in planning matters.

Any comments from readers would be welcome.

Great Crane Project

Last Wednesday  our group organised a talk to hear all about this great new project on our local moors. On Friday two of us went on a visit to a secret location organised by the RSPB to see the new flock of cranes in the wild. Here is my write up.

Summary report on HLG public meeting on the Great Crane Project. 22.02.12

Another very good meeting. There were 28 members in the audience for an excellent presentation by Roger Lucken. Roger is a volunteer with the RSPB who has been involved with the project for some time.

The talk included a general description of the project and the history of Cranes in the UK and world wide. Roger explained details of the implementation of the project and the latest news about progress in establishing a new population of Cranes on the Somerset Levels.

Good slides and excellent photographs enlivened the one and half hour talk. We learnt a great deal about these fascinating birds.

Cranes first appeared on Earth around 40 million years ago and were last seen in the wild in the UK around 400 years ago. Loss of habitat due to drainage of the wetlands and their attraction as a source of food for human consumption were to blame.

The reintroduction of the birds in Somerset followed a detail assessment of the available wetland areas.

The project was developed with several partners bringing together experience of rearing animals in captivity so that they do not become humanised was an important requirement. The WWT at Slimbridge were vital for the initial rearing of chicks from eggs imported from Germany.

Looking after the young chicks after they were brought to Somerset involved dressing up in clothing which loosely resembled adult cranes and walking around with a stick with an imitation Cranes head.

The whole talk was filled with such detail and it was very appropriate that two of our committee were able to visit the Aller Moors on Friday 24^th Feb to see the young flock for real.

The photo attached was taken during the visit. Further information can be found at the Project web site shown here.

www.thegreatcraneproject.org.uk

Photo by D. German

A Moment In Time Photography Alaska

A Moment In Time Photography Alaska

Its a little chilly here in Somerset and I am trying to get one or two photos in our garden each day in 2012. After the second warmest year ever its not surprising that we have no snow. Whilst I sort out my photos the link shown above should take you to Alaska and some snow covered trees. Happy new year!

Common Blue butterfly

To say this butterfly is common is often only one step away from ignoring it. So this Blog is simply paying a tribute to the evolutionary process which has resulted in a most amazing small insect. The patterning on the under side of its wing is fabulous. This particular specimen happened to come to rest in the late afternoon today on a lavender bush. It wasn't feeding and it just sat there in the late sun whilst I got my camera together . A tripod to minimise hand shake and a 90 mm Macro lens and also a remote button for extra measure. I even had time to experiment with auto, AV and auto macro. The best results with the sharpest and clearest image was definitely using the tripod and macro lens. Click on the picture to see a larger image. Can you tell which one used a 50mm standard lens and which used a macro  90 mm lens and tripod and remote control? Both images are shown with a reduced file size for faster uploading.



Image A

Image B