What a fantastic butterfly
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The birds in the garden are settling down to nesting and the bird song of a couple of weeks ago has diminished. I haven’t heard the Blackcap for a few days now so don’t know if that means he has found a mate and settled down or if he has moved onto pastures new.
A few pictures of the gardens on our estate. we consider our selves very fortunate to live in such a green space.
Earth Day’s 50th Celebration — the clean collaborative
Posted: April 21, 2020 in Natural HistoryTags: Earth Day
Everything you need to know about celebrating Earth Day 2020
Earth Day’s 50th Celebration — the clean collaborative
Two new species singing in the garden this last week. Blackcap and Song Thrush typify two ends of the changing scene in the UK with regard to bird populations.
The Blackcap used to be a summer visitor but with the increasingly mild winters many are now increasingly being seen in the winter. It is unclear, as far as I know, whether these are UK breeding birds that have not migrated or breeding birds from further north which have just not migrated further south.
Photo by Pete Beard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/postmanpetecoluk/)
The Song Thrush was once a common bird but had sadly declined over the past years. It is now a rare visitor to the garden. when I started bird watching back in the 70’s it would be on almost every day’s bird list, but now to see, or hear one, is rare.
Photo by Pete Beard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/postmanpetecoluk/)
First Butterflies of the year in the garden last week. Holly Blue, Small/Green-veined White and a Brimstone. No Orange Tips around Tarn this year which is usually the first butterfly we see – second year running they have had a bad year.
Brimstone 
Small White 
Holly Blue
Photos by Pete Beard
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/postmanpetecoluk/48594669922/)
Statues and Monuments: The Walking Madonna
Posted: April 9, 2020 in UK, WiltshireTags: Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral
The walking Madonna by Elisabeth Frink was initially installed as a temporary exhibit in October 1981 on the lawns just outside Salisbury cathedral but remains there nearly 40 years later.
She is shown walking purposefully away from the cathedral ‘moving out from the worship to where human needs are to be met, not just in Salisbury, but in the whole world’ as the then Dean of Salisbury commented.
Salisbury Cathedral
Posted: April 7, 2020 in History, Medieval History, UK, WiltshireTags: Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral
At the end of the 12th century, relations between the military and the clergy, whose cathedral church was sited within the castle defences, at Sarum, just north of the city were bad. So early in the 13th century the clergy decided to move to a new site in the river valley a few miles to the south. The foundation stone was laid in April 1220 and the cathedral buildings were finished by 1260. The iconic tower and spire were added in the 14th century – when the spire at Lincoln cathedral collapsed in 1549, it became the tallest spire in the country. However, it has taken a lot of rebuilding work over the centuries to prevent it from going the way of many of its contemporaries and collapsing.
On my last trip to Salisbury, I had the opportunity to visit the museum, which is situated in The King’s House, which is on Cathedral Green, opposite the entrance to Salisbury Cathedral.
It focuses on the history of Salisbury and also a collection of works of art
and how the bells were cast
A small but interesting museum, I found the galleries on the city’s history very interesting.
Naturelog: 30th March
Posted: March 30, 2020 in Birds, Natural HistoryTags: Egyptian Goose, Grey Wagtail, Tarn
I am lucky to have the Tarn next to where we live and so it has become my daily exercise route. I visited this morning hoping to find some spring migrants.
There were good numbers of geese present and a sign that spring has arrived was evident by the noise and the ‘fights’ breaking out between pairs as they seek to establish their own plot within the Tarn. Our Canada / Greylag pair is back, which makes the 4 years at least that this hybrid pair have bred together. The pair of Egyptian Geese, always early breeders, already have young – 3 as best I could see without getting too close.
Greylag Goose 
Canada Goose 
Egyptian Goose 
Egyptian Goose with young
As I reached the far side of the tarn I saw a small bird on one of the nesting rafts. It was a Grey Wagtail, often a winter visitor on the Tarn, although I haven’t seen one here this winter, so maybe a passage migrant. It flew from the raft over to the weir which is often a good place to see them during the winter.
As I climbed up to the road, I saw a Nuthatch trying to get into a nest box. This is the second time I have seen this behaviour. I don’t think they can be after anything inside as their diet consists of insects, nuts and seeds, so maybe they are trying to make the hole big enough for them to get inside to use the box (the holes are usually too small).
Eurasian Coot
We are pretty much on lockdown now except for trips to the shop, to get food, and walks in the park next door. I have a few trips I haven’t written up yet so I will continue with those for the time being and then see where we are, material wise.
Looking forward to emergence of local butterflies and Dragonflies
