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A Suffolk Lane

~ A diary of my life in rural north Suffolk.

A Suffolk Lane

Tag Archives: green woodpecker

This and That – Part 1

03 Fri Jun 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in Gardening, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees, weather, wild birds

≈ 70 Comments

Tags

amelanchier, blackbird, blackthorn, bluebell, countryside, cowslip, daffodils, English Elm, English Oak, garden, Goat Willow, green woodpecker, greengage, horse chestnut, Lords and Ladies, Marxh-marigold, pheasant, photography, rainbow, Red Deer, shrubs, Snowy Mespil, Suffolk, trees, white dead-nettle, wild cherry, wild flowers

I have taken a number of photographs over the last few weeks but haven’t had the time to write any posts.   Here are a few of the better pictures from April and earlier.

DSCN0205Red deer

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Back in January I was driving home from shopping when I saw this small group of five Red Deer making their way across a field towards the road.  I had to slow down and then stop because I could see that they were not only made nervous by my car but their usual path was blocked by a fire someone had lit to get rid of brushwood.  They eventually managed to cross the lane a little further along and then carried on their way.  I took a photo of them through the car window and this is the result – heavily cropped.  I had thought that I had missed them and it was only when I eventually looked carefully at the shot on my computer a few weeks ago I realised that they were there!

DSCN0330Pheasants

The Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) family wandering through the garden at the beginning of April.

This is such an untidy photo with the recycling bin out by the roadside and my former car in the way too.  This is another photo taken through glass (the kitchen window this time – you can see a reflection in the bottom left corner of the picture).  We haven’t seen the pheasants for a while now so I presume the females are busy on their nests.

DSCN0342Garden after a storm
DSCN0341Garden after a storm
DSCN0340Garden after a storm

We had a storm with heavy rain and then the sun came out.  It all looked so bright and fresh, so I stood at the front door and took three photos, to the left, straight ahead and to the right.

DSCN0344Daffodils in the garden

A few days later I stood at the end of the drive and took this photo of the ditch that runs along the edge of the garden. We have daffodils growing all along its length. The lane runs parallel with the front of our property. You can also see my new car in this picture.

DSCN0346Pussy willow

Pussy Willow / Goat Willow (Salix caprea)

DSCN0355Goat willow

Goat Willow in flower

P1000039Cowslip

Cowslips (Primula veris)

IMG_1434Stormy sky

A stormy sky. A photo of our house (and the house next door) taken standing next to our big pond and looking across the corner of the field.

IMG_1435Summerhouse

The summerhouse

IMG_2741Green Woodpecker

A Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) looking for ants in the lawn

I was quite pleased with this photo as it showed all the different colours of its feathers, even the black and white spotted feathers under the wings.  This is a female adult as the moustachial feathers are all black.  The male has a crimson centre to the stripe.

IMG_2744Blackbird

A male Blackbird (Turdus merula) was also on the lawn looking for food.

P1000038White deadnettle

White Dead-nettle (Lamium album)

P1000040Wild cherry

Wild Cherry blossom (Prunus avium)

P1000041Bluebell

The first Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) flower in our garden this spring

There is nothing quite like the scent of Bluebells.  They are wild hyacinths but don’t have the cloying scent of the garden variety.  There is a sweet freshness that lifts the spirits and is irrevocably linked, to my mind, with birdsong, sunshine after rain and hope.

P1000043Greengage

Greengage blossom (Prunus domestica ssp. italica). I hope we have some fruit this year.

P1000044Cowslip

Some of the Cowslips in our garden are orange and red.

P1000047Oak

Pendunculate / English Oak (Quercus robur). New leaves and flowers (catkins) appear at the same time.

P1000048Marsh marigold

Marsh-marigold (Caltha palustris). I found it impossible to photograph this bright yellow flower well.

P1000059Marsh marigold

More Marsh-marigold

P1000051Horse chestnut

New Horse-chestnut leaves and flower buds (Aesculus hippocastanum)

P1000053Elm

Beautiful new English Elm leaves (Ulmus procera). We have a number of small Elm trees in our garden. Sadly they will only live for a few years before they succumb to Dutch Elm disease.

P1000061Lords and ladies

Lords and Ladies / Jack-in-the-pulpit / Cuckoo pint (Arum maculatum).  This plant has many names.   Its arrowhead-shaped leaves are often dark spotted.

P1000063Amelanchier

Snowy Mespil (Amelanchier canadensis) blossom

P1000065Blackthorn

Blackthorn blossom (Prunus spinosa). This poor photo is the only image of this year’s blossom I managed to get.

P1000067Rainbow

A rainbow behind the trees

All these photos were taken in April and in my garden, except the first one.

I find I haven’t made a music selection for a while so this post’s choice is ‘Let’s Work Together’ by Canned Heat.  Excellent lyrics, great tune and the best tempo ever!

Thanks for visiting!

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July (mainly) in Suffolk

30 Thu Jul 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Gardening, Insects, plants, Rural Diary, wild birds

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

birds, butterflies, caterpillar, danselfly, dragonflies, flies, garden, garden flowers, green woodpecker, herbs, hoverflies, insects, moths, Suffolk, wild flowers

This post is made up of photos of things I’ve seen in my garden during the last month.  The first few shots were taken during the last two days in June (I did say ‘mainly’!), when the weather suddenly got much warmer and the sun appeared.  Summer arrived and we all felt much better!

IMG_2329Painted Lady on scabious (2) (640x416)

Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) on a scabious flower

IMG_2333Dog Rose (2) (640x434)

Dog Rose flowers (Rosa canina) next to the big pond

IMG_2335Common Blue Damselfly (640x423)

Male Common Blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

IMG_2341Four-spotted chaser (640x427)

Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly (Libellula quadrimaculata)

IMG_2340Small Tortoiseshell on pond (2) (640x428)

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) on big pond

IMG_2348Female Emperor Dragonfly (640x408)

Female Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) laying eggs on the big pond

We have Ground Elder in our garden.  I wish we didn’t but there is little chance of us ever getting rid of it here so we will have to try to weaken it and stop it from spreading further.  It is in the ditch between us and the school house next door and also in the ditches at the front of the house and under the hedge.  It is trying to spread into the lawn at the front but we strim and mow as much as possible and try to stop it from flowering.  We often fail in this.

IMG_2350Ground Elder (640x427)

Ground Elder flower! As you see it is a pretty umbellifer with slightly pink buds.

I eradicated it from a former garden by digging it out over a period of a few years.  It was in a flower bed so therefore easier to deal with.

IMG_2351 (2).jpgCommon Backswimmers (640x424)

Common Backswimmers (Notonecta glauca) in the front pond. This pond completely dried up while we were away on holiday but is starting to fill again because of the torrents of rain we’ve had during the past week or two.

IMG_2359Insects on lavender (640x427)

Insects on Lavender ‘Hidcote’. There haven’t been as many insects this year as last, but the lavender attracted quite few while it flowered. It is a fabulous insect magnet!

IMG_2354Lavender (640x427)

Lavender growing at the front of our house

IMG_2373Herb garden (601x640)

My herb garden

IMG_4908Bronze Fennel flower bud (640x480)

Bronze Fennel flower bud. When we returned form our week away all the leaves on the fennel had died and the flowers were drooping. I watered the herbs and then the rains and cool weather returned; the fennel is still alive (it has an enormous tap root) but no leaves at all for now. The flowers are fine and are being enjoyed by wasps and hoverflies.  A neighbour came in to water the plants in the greenhouse while we were away (tomatoes mainly) but we couldn’t expect him to water all our plants – that would be asking much too much!

IMG_2355Tumbelina Petunia (640x427)

A pretty Tumbelina Petunia in the window box.  It has a lovely gentle scent.

IMG_2356Verbena (640x427)

A very bright pink Verbena in the window box with the petunia. The hoverflies love it very much. I wish it was scented.

IMG_4917Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus on verbena (640x480)

Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus (I think!) on verbena

IMG_4926Hoverfly on Fuchsia (640x480)

A hoverfly on the Fuschia that is also in the window box. This photo was taken after we had begun to have rain at last after a long dry spell.

IMG_4923Spider on fuchsia (640x480)

A beautiful, tiny green spider on the fuschia. I think this is a Green Orb-weaver (Araniella curcurbitina).

IMG_4915Six-spot Burnet (480x640)

A Six-spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) on lavender

IMG_2358Lily (640x427)

One of my unscented Asian lilies.

IMG_2369Sisyrinchium striatum (2) (640x427)

Sisyrinchium striatum. These put on a good show this year. Many years ago I had these growing in my garden and loved them as they seemed to go with all the flowers in the border. We moved to Somerset for 18 months and then moved here in 2006. Three years ago I found a seedling sisyrinchium in the garden which appeared from nowhere.  I potted it up and grew it on; it flowered the following year and I let it go to seed. I sprinkled the seed on my border and last year I found lots of plants growing which flowered beautifully this year. Free flowers!

IMG_2370Viola (2) (640x419)

A pretty Viola. These seed themselves all over the garden.

IMG_2376Rosa Mundi (640x427)

I have two Rosa Mundi bushes ( a gift from Richard) and they both flowered well this year. It is sad that they have such a short flowering period but it is worth having them for their pretty, painted petals.

IMG_2378Perennial Sweet Pea (640x427)

Perennial Sweet Pea

IMG_2379Scabious (640x427)

Scabious flower

IMG_2382Rose (640x427)

A pretty rose from Richard’s border

In a former post I posted a photo of a mullein flower infested with Mullein moth caterpillars.  Here is another photo taken a week or so later when the grubs were much bigger.

IMG_2380Mullein (640x427)

Mullein Moth caterpillar (Shargacucullia verbasci) on what was left of a Mullein flower spike

IMG_2386 (2)Meadow Brown (640x417)

A Meadow Brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina). Wonderful camouflage!

IMG_2387Fly on Amelanchier (2) (640x429)

A fly on the Amelanchier tree. I cannot identify this one properly though it looks a little like Empis digramma, a fly which hunts other flies in long grass and other lush vegetation and spears them with its proboscis.

IMG_2404Adult and fledgling Green Woodpeckers (2) (640x411)

I took this photo of the Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) and its 2 fledglings this evening. The adult was trying to teach its young how to find ant’s eggs.

This last photo wasn’t taken in my garden but in the grounds of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital where I had to go for a check-up on the day before we went on holiday.  I didn’t know what else to do with it!

IMG_4929Lady's Bedstraw (480x640)

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum)

Thank’s for visiting!

 

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A Mild Weekend

10 Tue Mar 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Gardening, plants, Rural Diary, Uncategorized, weather, wild birds

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

chaffinches, Coffee morning, daffodils, euonymus, gardening, goldfinches, grass-cutting, green woodpecker, hedge-cutting, honey bees, honeysuckle, ladybird, primulas, Robin, rosemary, weather

IMG_1929Miniature daffodils (640x427)

These daffodils are only about 8″ tall – I like their delicate yellow colour.  The clay soil in the flowerbed had already formed a hard crust when I took this photo.

We had hardly any rain last week and as a strong breeze was blowing most of the time, the ground at last started to dry out and we weren’t sinking into the lawn at every step.  We had a few frosts that disappeared very quickly and the temperature rose progressively through the week until at the weekend we had temperatures in the mid teens (Centigrade).

IMG_1928Bee on honeysuckle (640x469)

A honey bee on honeysuckle. We have some new neighbours living near us who have bee hives. On Thursday I saw that their bees had ventured out and were enjoying our honeysuckle flowers.

Both Richard and I worked quite hard in the garden this weekend, trying to catch up with the tidying chores that should have been done in the autumn and make a start on the jobs that need to be done in the spring.

IMG_4078Rosemary in flower (640x480)

Rosemary in flower against the front wall of our house.

IMG_4079Rosemary flowers (640x480)

Rosemary flowers.  Whilst weeding on Sunday I found a number of rosemary seedlings.

The job that Richard was most pleased about was getting the grass cut at last.  He has cut it long to start with and next weekend (weather permitting) he will cut it shorter.  He had also not been able to finish cutting the Leylandii hedge last autumn and on Sunday he worked on that too.  There is only the top to cut now and if the ground continues to dry out he will be able to get on the stepladder without it sinking in a couple of feet and finish that next weekend as well.  Hopefully, before the birds start to nest in the hedge!  Richard wondered if gardening counts as exercise.  The nurse always looks at me in a sceptical way when I suggest that gardening should be classed as exercise.  I expect she imagines I wander about doing a little pruning and weeding – no raised heart-rate there, she thinks.  However, as most gardeners know, gardening can be very strenuous at times and I do my fair share of digging, raking and other heavy work.  Richard worked out that he had walked almost a mile and a half yesterday taking six barrow-loads of hedge clippings to the bonfire heap.  We have a large garden.

IMG_1924R mowing the grass (640x427)

Richard mowing the grass. The building on the far side of the hedge is the old school house. It is now a private dwelling.

IMG_1925Garden with fruit trees (640x427)

This is where we have planted our fruit trees at the front of the house. The school house beyond the hedge, the corner pond to the right and you can see our grey septic tank cover to the left. You can see from the tracks in the grass, Richard must have been practising his slalom driving.

Elinor didn’t have a good day on Friday and wasn’t able to get out of the car when I took her to college.  I brought her home again and she slept for a few hours and felt a little better when she woke.  She has had three out of four results for her mock GCSE exams so far.  Psychology A, English A and Maths E.  An E is only just a pass but we are pleased that she did as well as she did with only having attended half a dozen classes at college.  She is determined to do better and really wants to get at least a C grade.

IMG_4084Primula (640x480)
IMG_4085Primula (640x480)
IMG_4083Primula (640x496)

Richard and I went to the church coffee morning on Saturday which was held at the Rector’s house.  The Rector is still recovering from heart surgery and was pale and thin but gamely hosted the gathering.   We won a picture frame in the raffle and I bought a delicious sticky tea bread and some more of the Rector’s home-made marmalade.  We indulged in the usual chat and gossip.  There are a few events coming up soon.  Cordelia is holding her annual Daffodil Day (on Palm Sunday this year), when we admire her beautiful garden and buy food and goods from stalls in aid of church funds.  Our other friends, Pam and Ian are holding an Open Garden on Easter Monday also in aid of church funds and their garden is always a joy to visit too.

IMG_4076Ladybird on euonymus (640x480)

Ladybird on Euonymus

I had a migraine on Saturday so wasn’t able to take advantage of the fine weather.  Sunday started very fair but by the time we left church it was starting to cloud over and we had a little drizzle then rain showers during the afternoon.  The weather didn’t stop us working outside as it was so mild.

IMG_4075Flixton churchyard (640x480)

The churchyard at Flixton where we attended the service on Sunday.

IMG_1911Green Woodpecker (640x448)

Green Woodpecker

IMG_1912Green Woodpecker (640x445)

Green Woodpecker

IMG_1913Green Woodpecker (640x427)

Green Woodpecker. I am glad we have these visiting our garden because they enjoy ants eggs and our garden seems to be one enormous anthill!

I think the woodpecker is a female as the males have a crimson centre to their moustachial stripe.

IMG_1914Chaffinches and Goldfinches (640x460)

Chaffinches and Goldfinches feeding under the crabapple tree.

House Sparrows on fat feeder
House Sparrows on fat feeder
House Sparrows on fat feeder
House Sparrows on fat feeder
IMG_1919Chaffinches (640x427)

Chaffinches

IMG_1920Robin (640x460)

Robin

Just a few of the birds in our garden.

Thank-you for visiting!

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More Birds!

16 Sun Nov 2014

Posted by Clare Pooley in Rural Diary, wild birds

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

birds, black-headed gull, buzzard, dunnock, green woodpecker, kingfisher, pheasant, stock dove, Suffolk, Swallow

041Dunnock (640x427)

This is a Dunnock. They used to be called Hedge Sparrows but they are not like sparrows at all except for their brown and grey colouring. They have quite a bright jangling song and search for food mainly on the ground under hedges and shrubs.

This post will be of more photos of birds I saw this summer and autumn in my garden.  We are very lucky to have so many types of bird visiting.

042Dunnock (640x427)

The dunnock realised I was looking at it and so looked at me.

043Dunnock (640x427)

It then tried to edge behind the hawthorn leaf to hide.

062Green Woodpecker (640x419)

A Green Woodpecker also known as a Yaffle because of its laughing call. This bird is a juvenile as it hasn’t got its full green plumage yet. I hardly ever see these birds in trees. They love ants and ants’ eggs I am pleased to say, and are very welcome in our garden which is ‘ant city’.

065Green Woodpecker (640x427)

They are such attractive birds with their black masks and cherry-red, olive-green, grey-green and primrose-yellow plumage.

064Female pheasant (640x427)

I have re-posted this photo of a female pheasant to show how drab they are compared with the males. Their feathers are so good at blending in with grasses  which is very useful at nesting-time.

063Stock dove (640x427)

A Stock Dove

049Swallow (640x507)

A Swallow – one of our summer visitors. I miss them very much when they fly south for the winter. They left very early this year because we had such a cool August.

050Swallow (640x454)

Swallow

039Seagulls (640x433)

Another re-post of Black-headed Seagulls in the field behind our house. These were losing their summer plumage. During the winter they don’t have a black head only a black spot on the side of the head. And it isn’t black but dark brown!

012Buzzard (640x469)

A Buzzard flying over our house. Buzzards have returned to East Anglia in the last few years having been absent for a very long time.

I must apologise for the quality of the next photograph.  I am including it because I am so pleased and excited to have seen this bird at all, let alone seeing it in my garden.  It decided to perch in a very shaded part of the garden by the pond and I couldn’t focus on it at all.

011Kingfisher (640x467)

The orange and blue bird with white throat and neck patch is a Kingfisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I talk about what it's like living in a quiet part of Suffolk. I am a wife, mother and daughter, a practising Christian and love the natural world that surrounds me. I enjoy my life - most of the time!

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