Skylarks

Reported by Tony Weston this week -
Just to report in that the stubble fields adjacent to nature reserve and by
the drove opposite to Universal garage are heaving with skylarks. I threw a
ball for the dog and put up birds in every throw. Over 12 in one throw.
Numbers must be in the 100's.

Recent Wildlife Sightings

Recently we have seen lots of grass snakes and common lizards and as you may see even a tiny toad! It is great to see that the habitat is supporting all this wildlife.

Common Lizard

Baby Toad

Family Fun Day - 21 August

On Saturday 21 August Charlotte Lowry and the Soham Children's Centre organised a fantastic Family Fun Day which was enjoyed by all, especially the young residents of Isleham and the surrounding areas.  There was bug hunting, a seed safari game, arts and crafts, outdoor games and an area was laid out for families to enjoy picnics.  The weather was really lovely and the event had a great atmosphere about it.  Here are some photos from it.

This was a fantastic event which provided wonderful learning opportunities for the young children and their families.

Guided Walk - 5 July 10

On a lovely Summers evening Chalotte Lowry, Nigel Cooper and Alastair Burn lead a guided walk along the Isleham Nature Reserve.  Nigel shared his knowledge of botany and Alastair shared his knowledge of the insect and bird life at the nature reserve.  The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended, below are a few photos from the event.   

 

 

 

 

 

I for one can't wait for the next one :-)

Guided Walk Event

A guided walk at the Isleham Local Nature Reserve was held on the Monday evening following the Isleham Gala. A good crowd attended, and were taken on a tour of the fauna and flora by Alastair Burn and Nigel Cooper. Nigel provided a wealth of knowledge on the botany of the site, and we all learned a lot about the habitat and the plants which are growing there. Alastair demonstrated the use of a sweep net to catch insects and we identified a number of beetles, moths and butterflies. This was particularly enjoyed by a number of children who came along, and were seen running through the long grass in the adjoining field with the sweep net having a great time. We also enjoyed the birdsong on a sunny July evening.

Plants:
We saw examples of 7 species of umbellifers growing on the reserve, including cow parsley, wild carrot & wild parsnip. (I'll try to remember the others and update this). (Read more about umbellifers ).
Flowering plants identified by Nigel included perforate St. Johns Wort, Scabious, Greater Knapweed, Tufted Vetch, Lady's Bedstraw & Bladder Campion.
We found 5 examples of Knapweed Broomrape. This parasitic plant contains no chlorophyll, and obtains it's water and nutrients from the host knapweed plant. Only the flower spike is visible above ground. 
We also learned how to distinguish between several types of grasses.
(This is a small sample of what Nigel actually showed us, based on what I can recall after the event).

Insects:
We identified the following butterflies: Ringlet, Small Skipper
Several micro-moths were found on flowers, and we identified a Shaded Broad-bar moth. We also saw some caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth.
We caught a lot of different beetles, including some metallic green ones. As we were walking back to the car park at the end of the walk we were visited by some really loud buzzing beetles which seemed particularly attracted to us in the dusk!
(Read more about British butterflies & moths ).

Moth Pictures

Here are a couple of photos of moths on the Isleham Local Nature Reserve which I took last July on the day after the Gala.

I have not had a chance to try and identify them yet using my moths and butterflies book. But when I do I will update this post with the information.