Peacock

Wildlife-Friendly Gardening Event

If you are interested in gardens and gardening, and want to make your garden more wildlife-friendly, please come along to this event on 15th October. POSTSCRIPT Thank you to all who attended this event. Cathy gave a very interesting talk, and there was plenty of opportunity for discussion before and after the event.

Orange-Swift-2

Focus on Moths

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 […]

Elephant Hawk Moth and Samuel 2 (2)

Nature: to name or to enjoy?

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 […]

Roller

Rarities – what’s the big deal?

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 […]

Risby-Wildlife-Friendly-Communities-Logo-1

We are not alone

Something is stirring in villages, towns and city districts in Britain. Residents are coming together and starting projects to protect and enhance wildlife in their local communities. Sometimes, like Bredfield, they go by the name of a ‘wildlife-friendly village’; sometimes by another name. Whatever the name, these communities are intent on making gardens, churchyards, verges, […]

Feathered Thorn

Camouflage and Mimicry

“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 […]

IMG_0357 (2)

A Walk on the Wild Side

On 12th June, we held a Wildflower Walk at Bredfield Jubilee Meadow and Orchard. After a prolonged period of restrictions, it was great to able to organize and participate in a community event. A dozen people – young and older, faces new and familiar – joined the walk which was expertly led by Laurie Forsyth. […]

Borage flower 1

Focus on Borage

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 […]

IMG_E0003

Focus on Spurge

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 […]

Wildlife Area (3)

Coming to a church near you

Wildflowers!  On the afternoon of Sunday 11th April, a group of six residents took their forks, spades, trowels and rakes to the grounds of St Andrews church, Bredfield, to clear a patch for wildflowers.  There were three adults and three members of the next generation. The Parochial Parish Council has generously given us a small […]