Picking this up again in early July. With 30 Days Wild completed and another week off work, it seemed like a good time to head out and tick some of the places off my ever growing list of where I want to visit.

New Places

RSPB The Lodge

The first place this week was RSPB HQ at The Lodge in Sandy. This turned out to be much bigger than I thought, with two large heathland areas either side of a large house and gardens. In one of the heathland areas there were a pair of hobby birds nesting in one of the trees. Unfortunately, although I could see them through the camera they were just too far away to make a good photograph. Still interesting to see though. There was plenty else to see, lots of butterflies around as well as quite a few 6 spot burnet moths around the plants in the gardens.

Red admiral feeding on a buddleja flower. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

A lot of cinnabar moth caterpillars devouring a ragwort plant. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

Sandstone cliffs in the old quarry. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

Hydrangea flowers in The Lodge gardens. I think this is a hydrangea paniculata called Limelight. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

Water lily flowers and leaves on the main garden pond. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

A red admiral butterfly feeding on hemp agrimony in the wildlife garden at RSPB HQ. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

Another angle of the 6-spot burnet moth in the wildlife garden at RSPB HQ. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

I’m not normally a fan of begonia’s, but this Apricot Shades variety may be changing my mind. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

A deep red pelagonium flower in the midday sun. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

Small Copper butterfly perched on a dead plant stem, out in the Sandy Ridge heathland at RSPB HQ The Lodge.

A brown argus butterfly feeding on a ragwort flower, out in the Sandy Ridge heathland at RSPB HQ The Lodge.

One last photo from this trip, since this is the RSPB HQ the gardens just wouldn’t be complete without a bit of topiary in the shape of an avocet.

Not completely clear against the green background, but this is a small yew that’s been trained into the shape of an avocet. Photos from a visit to RSPB HQ The Lodge at Sandy.

National Trust Stowe Landscape Gardens

A Capability Brown designed garden, this is a place I’ve been meaning to visit for years but somehow never quite got round to. It’s a large garden with numerous small temples, monuments, statues, and such like, representing various gods and goddesses, as well as some famous people from history. The house is quite impressive but not always open and not included in the National Trust members entry, so I didn’t go in there.

There is far too much of it to include here, but I have a lot more photos in my Flickr album for the visit.

Stowe House at the top of the lawn, relfected in the Octagon Lake below. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

The Rotunda through the trees, and partially reflected in the Eleven Acre Lake. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

A couple of the greylag geese that were wandering around the lake. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

The Temple of Venus across the Eleven Acre Lake. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

The small Hermitage on the side of the Eleven Acre Lake. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

A pink echinacea flower in The Sleeping Wood. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

Yellow lily flowers in The Sleeping Wood. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

Pink tiger lily flowers in The Sleeping Wood. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

One of the two lions either side of the Stowe house steps, the level of detail is quite impressive. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

The Gothic Temple through a gap in the trees. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

The Temple of Concord and Victory from the other end of the Grecian Valley. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

Pathway leading through the trees, over the Palladian Bridge and off toward the Gothic Temple. Photos from a trip to National Trust Stowe in July 2017.

Coton Manor Gardens

A relatively small place compared to the sprawling gardens of the National Trust and RHS, but after 2 days with quite a lot of walking this made for a nice break. These are your more traditional gardens, divided up into small areas with lots of plants of flowers along different themes. Plus there are flamingos.

Two of the flamingos that live in the garden. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

Sedum growing up the steps and flowering in the sunlight. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

The long hanging flowers of what I think is Fuchsia ‘Corale.’ Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

Lamiums growing between the bricks along the bottom of the garden wall. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

Metal sculpture of a deer stag, out in the wildflower meadow. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

Water flowing over The Rill, running down through the garden orchards. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

A bumble bee inside the flower of a shoo-fly plant. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

Flowers of clematis jackmanii, growing over a trellis tunnel. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

An overflowing pot of single flowered pink pelargoniums on the garden wall, outside the house. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

The house at Coton Manor Gardens, taken from the end like this it just looks like a small country cottage, looking out over the garden. Photos from a visit to Coton Manor Gardens in July 2017.

Holme Fen

Not a new place, but a nice place. I’ve written about Holme Fen before, so I won’t repeat myself. The usual array of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies were out and about, although there wasn’t a lot of bird life to be seen from the hide.

A red admiral butterfly getting minerals from the damp ground. Photos from a trip to Holme Fen in July 2017.

A red-tailed bumblebee having a rest on a bracken frond. Photos from a trip to Holme Fen in July 2017.

A female ichneumon wasp, ovipositing her eggs into whatever unfortunate insect larvae were inside this thistle flower. Photos from a trip to Holme Fen in July 2017.

Male ruddy darter dragonfly perched on a leaf. Photos from a trip to Holme Fen in July 2017.

A mating pair of common blue damselflies, forming the characteristic heart shape. Photos from a trip to Holme Fen in July 2017.

A blue tailed damselfly resting on a blade of grass. Photos from a trip to Holme Fen in July 2017.

Something that was new since my previous visit is a memorial stone that has been placed for the Spitfire pilot, Officer Harold Penketh, who sadly crashed here in 1940.

The spitfire was located and excavated during 2015 and the stone placed in September 2016, prior to work beginning to return the land back to being wetland and reed beds as part of the ongoing expansion of the Great Fen. You can read the full story on the Great Fen website here – Great Fen Spitfire.

Fermyn Woods Country Park

One of Northamptonshire’s Country Parks and the only one I’ve been to so far. Jointly managed by the council and Forestry Commission, the site consists of grassland, meadow and ponds around the lower area near the carpark, then woodland stretching up the hill beyond. There were a lot of skipper butterflies about in the clearings and silver washed fritillaries on the brambles along the sides of the paths, as well as 6 spot burnet moths in the meadow areas.

Hoverfly on an umbellifer flower. Photos from a trip to Fermyn Woods Country Park, in Northamptonshire.

A small skipper butterfly feeding on a betony flower. Photos from a trip to Fermyn Woods Country Park, in Northamptonshire.

A pair of large skipper butterflies in the sun on a bramble leaf. The male (on the left) can be identified from the dark black lines on his wings. Photos from a trip to Fermyn Woods Country Park, in Northamptonshire.

Sunlight shining through the wings of a silver-washed fritillary feeding on a bramble flower. Photos from a trip to Fermyn Woods Country Park, in Northamptonshire.

Light shining through the abdomen of an ichneumon wasp with a red tail. Photos from a trip to Fermyn Woods Country Park, in Northamptonshire.

A 6-spot burnet moth on a ragwort flower. Photos from a trip to Fermyn Woods Country Park, in Northamptonshire.

This is one of the places where Purple Emperor butterflies are found but I didn’t see any on this day, they’re elusive at the best of times and it was a bit too early in the year to really warrant hanging around to look for them. I’m planning to go looking for them this year, maybe a walk including both Fermyn and the nearby Lady Wood at Lyveden New Bield where they’re also reported to be found.

Summer in the Garden

Late July into August and early September was a bit of a lazy time for me, mostly spent relaxing in the garden, enjoying the flowers and the minibeasts they attract. I had some new plants this year including honeywort, cornflower and rudbekia, which I’d grown from seed, so it was nice to see them flowering and watching the bees visiting them.

Male speckled bush-cricket out in the sunlight on a buddleja.

A thick-legged hoverfly (syritta pipiens) on a tansy flower.

A 7 spot ladybird in the garden, hiding in amongst the leaves of a tansy plant.

The hairy nymph of a hairy shieldbug.

One of the bright pink flowers of Sweet-William Catchfly, open in the garden.

A deep red cornflower flower catching dapled sunlight in the garden.

A small solitary bee in amongst tansy flowers.

Oxeye daisy flowers in the afternoon sunlight.

A common carder bee feeding from a honeywort flower.

A mint moth, pyrausta aurata, on a buddleja leaf.

A tiny solitary bee in a mass of yellow tansy flowers.

A carder bee feeding on Canon Went flowers.

A Rudbeckia hirta ‘Autumn Shades’ flower soaking up the sun.

Female long hoverfly on an aster flower.

A false sunflower soaking up the evening sunlight.

I also had a couple of interesting finds in the garden this year. The first was an aphid turned cocoon, a characteristic of an aphid predated by a tiny parasitoid praon wasp. I know this happens but I’ve never seen it first hand before.

A parasitised aphid complete with cocoon, a characteristic of the praon (aphidiinae) wasps.

The second find was an unusual ladybird, for me at least. Not a species I’ve encountered before, this is hippodamia variegata otherwise known as Adonis’ Ladybird. I spotted two of them last year and apparently numbers are on the rise, so hopefully I’ll see more in the future.

An adonis ladybird. Not a species I’ve seen in the garden before, but spotted two of them so far this year.

A Week in the Woods

In early September with autumn just around the corner I decided to take another week off work and spent it visiting the local woodlands. No new places this time, just revisiting places I know to look for the colours starting to change.

The first place I headed off too was Wildlife Trusts Brampton Wood, where I’ve been many times before. Some of the trees had already lost their leaves and others were on the turn, with the warm sunlight bringing out the colours nicely. The woodland rides were filled with the flowers of devils-bit scabious which were attracting lots of butterflies as well as quite a lot of hornets, which I’ve not seen in those numbers before. This also lead to another new encounter for me this year with my first sighting of Hummingbird hawk moths, of which there were quite a few visiting the scabious flowers. Very hard to photograph as they never stop flying and don’t stay in one place for long, but I was quite pleased with the photo I did get.

Defocused spots of light coming through the woodland canopy. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

Sunlight breaking through the trees and just catching a cluster of Hawthorn pomes. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

Leaves starting to take on autumn colours beyond a branch that’s already lost its leaves. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

Spots of gold on the branches from the autumn leaves. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

A conker shell lying amoungst fallen leaves on the sunlit woodland floor. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

A flower on a devil’s-bit scabious plant. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

The fully open parasol of a pleated inkcap mushroom. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

A finished flower of a devil’s bit scaboius. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

Lots of lots of devil’s-bit scabious flowering along the woodland rides. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

Sunlight shining through the coloured areas on the wings of a red admiral butterfly. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

Sunlight breaking through the trees and falling on a clump of moss on the woodland flood. Photos from a visit to Brampton Wood in September 2017.

A hummingbird hawk moth feeding on devils-bit scabious. Taken at Wildlife Trusts Brampton Wood in Cambridgeshire.

For the second trip I headed back to Short Wood and Southwick Wood, another Wildlife Trusts nature reserve that I’ve been to quite a few times before. The weather was a bit hit and miss on this day, mostly sunny in the morning though I did have to shelter from one passing shower under the trees. The periods of sunlight created some nice scenes with shafts of light coming through the trees and illuminating patches of the woodland floor, there was also a lot of fungi about with some fantastic parts where hundreds of tiny ink-caps were cascading over fallen trees.

A mushroom growing from a moss covered log. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

Blue sky and sunshine through the leaves of the tree canopy. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

Slightly nibbled hazel leaves lit up by the morning sun. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

Bracken fronds lit up by the morning sunlight. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

A sunlit bracken frond starting to turn brown as autumn arrives. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

Patches of sunlight on a woodland path. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

Fungi on a rotting tree stump. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

A tiny discus snail on King Alfred’s Cakes fungi. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

A dock bug nymph out in the sun. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

A solitary inkcap mushroom opening up alongside the footpath. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

Seeds on an umbelifer flower head. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

Inkcap mushrooms cascading down the side of a fallen tree. Photo taken during a visit to Wildlife Trusts Short Wood and Southwick Wood, earlier this month.

With intermittent wet weather I only managed three trips in this week, and for the final outing I headed off to a somewhat damp and overcast Wakerley Great Wood. I’d only been here once before in 2016 as part of Wild October, though the weather was a lot better that time. I also found it quite hard to follow the trail this time as some of the marker posts seem to have disappeared. Despite this and the weather it was still a nice walk, with plenty of signs of Autumn to be seen from fungi to berries to the changing colours of bracken. I even spotted a gnome having a snooze in a tree!

Walking into Wakerley Great Wood through the pine trees. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

Moss growing on the top of a fence post. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

Bright red berries on a guelder rose. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

A gnome having a nap in the middle of a tree. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

Gills on the underside of a mushroom on the woodland floor. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

Flower buds and seeds on an agrimony stem. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

A bracken frond turning brown as the green colouring fades away. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

White flowers covering the flowerhead of an umbellifer. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

A fir cone lying on the woodland floor. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

Brown leaves on a finished bracken frond. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

Bright pink flower of lesser knapweed. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

The cracked bark of an old silver birch tree. Photo taken during a visit to Wakerley Great Wood in Northamptonshire.

End of Part 2

Time for another break now, I’ll be back soon with a slightly shorter part three to see out the rest of the year, including an autumnal trip to Hampshire and a coating of snow.