In the depth of winter, the sights and sounds of nature seem in short supply. However, there are winter birds to be seen out and about in the gardens, trees and fields of Bredfield. Though a few are loners, most birds become very sociable at this time of year – gathering in flocks, some as little […]
Leaf lines and blotches Come autumn, something starts to happen with our leaves. Not only are they changing colour to rich browns, yellows and reds; they also often show blotches and lines. These blotches and lines are often (though by no means always) signs of life within the leaves. It is difficult for us to […]
This is an article in praise of a plant that is great for wildlife, but sometime gets a bad press in other respects: Ivy. In this article, we’ll be talking about the variety of Ivy named ‘Hedera helix ssp. Helix’; this is the variety that climbs; not the other variety which spreads along the ground. The nectar, […]
Should we feed our garden birds all year round? It’s a question that is often asked. The best answers suggest that, though some times of the year might be more important than others, we shouldn’t be too concerned about when to feed the birds. Rather, we should be paying more attention to what, how and where we […]
Where butterflies are widely loved and welcomed, moths seem to share our affections much less. This makes little sense scientifically, because they both belong to the same order of insects – Lepidoptera. Perhaps they are not loved so much because they are (largely) denizens of the night; or perhaps because we fear they are going to […]
In a recent Facebook post, Julie Crabb spoke about a Great Spotted Woodpecker that had come to a feeder near her window: “A wonderfully entertaining visitor at my working from home office window this morning.” In another post, Thomas Anderson said about deer running past his kitchen window: “Felt very privileged to see these two […]
What’s the big deal about finding or seeing something that is rare? What does it tell us about the local natural environment when a rare species turns up? The answer is that sometimes the presence of a rarity signals something significant about the local environment, but in other cases it has no significance in this […]
“Gosh, that looks just like …. “: a bee, a leaf, a flower, a stick, or something else. “But, it’s not!” Sometimes, nature can deceive you into thinking you are seeing something else, or not seeing anything at all. A moth, sat on a branch, may blend in so well with the branch, that you […]
Borage and Bees It is sometimes known as Starflower because of the distinctive shape of its flower. However, the other name for Borage reveals why it is considered to be such a wildlife-friendly plant: Bee’s Bread. All sorts of bees will visit this plant. No bee-friendly garden should be without at least one Borage plant. There are three […]
An acid-green, wildlife-friendly plant When I first moved to Bredfield, I was on the lookout for plants and flowers to put in the garden. With many other house-moving matters to think of, I wasn’t always very systematic about what I chose. Whilst driving though Boulge one day, a house there was selling plants outside. I […]
