Money spider Every September my front doorframe is bridged by a spider's web. It is built, seemingly overnight, by a garden spider, a beautiful orb web with the spider, probably a female, sitting in the middle, awaiting whom she can devour. As spiders go, she's a likeable beast, her bloated body adorned with white spots in the shape of a cross, or, as some say, like a diadem. She goes scampering into the hedge when I open the door. I'm reluctant to disturb her, and so, touchi

Tawny Owl Sadly, one of our favourite garden birds is under threat. Many of us have seen dead and dying blackbirds around the village recently. They are being decimated by Usutu, a deadly disease carried by mosquitoes, This was first noticed in the London area in 2020 and has now spread throughout southern England. The spread of this disease seems to be another result of global warming. We can help by cleaning out bird baths and bird feeders every week. We will expect our aut

As Autumn approaches, there are still plenty of things you can do in your garden to help wildlife. Even the smallest things can make a big difference to the wildlife in your garden. Ponds Male frogs often spend winter in the muddy depths of ponds, breathing through their skin. But if the pond freezes over, gases caused by decaying plant material can get trapped and poison them. Remove debris from ponds now, and float a tennis ball on the surface to prevent ice from sealing i

As the summer comes to an end, there are lots of things you can do to help wildlife survive in the winter. Provide Shelter Providing shelter in your garden really makes a big difference to the wildlife in your garden. Put twigs, small sticks at the back of your border. These provide excellent shelter for small mammals and invertebrates such as spiders, snails and beetles. It’s also tempting to tidy up your herbaceous borders but leaving plants can also provide much needed s

Fool's Watercress The summer heat and drought produced an early season for fruit. We picked a bowlful of blackberries on the first day of August, and of good size despite the lack of rain. Ivy was coming into blossom weeks early, apples and plums were ripe for picking. The verges were the same straw colour as the harvested fields. What does the future hold for our lawns? There is still wild colour on our watersides: speedwells, forget-me-nots and monkeyflower, along with tw

Buzzard This has been a bumper month for sightings and reported sightings, many involving raptors. Some friends were enjoying tea in their garden when they heard squealing from above. Looking up they saw a squirrel being carried off in the talons of a buzzard! Walking to Littlecote we were first treated to the sight of a peregrine falcon sitting in a tree, and a few minutes later to a kestrel swooping and catching a vole. The wonderful ability of kestrels to keep their heads

Purple Emperor This prolonged hot weather has produced a landscape I last saw in 1976 (as a young man): a chiaroscuro pattern of light and dark with the deep green shade of late summer contrasting with parched straw- coloured grass. Our parks are coming to resemble the savanna of east Africa, and you could easily imagine a giraffe or zebra wandering into view. Is this what the future holds for us? The insects seem to like it. I have seen more butterflies this slimmer than for

Spotted flycatcher This long hot, dry spell doesn't suit everybody, but the swifts seem to be very happy. They are out every evening, screaming through the sky in search of food. We have regularly seen over 20 at any one time, which must be made up of both adults and their young. Most of their nests are high up in the eaves, but one nest on the High Street is much lower, with the entrance just a small hole in the brickwork. In August they will all head off to Africa, with the

In late summer there are still plenty of things you can do in your garden to help wildlife. Even the smallest things can make a big difference to the wildlife in your garden. Continue feeding and providing water for birds The RSPB recommend feeding birds all year round. Ideally pick bird food for all ages and you might be lucky enough to have lots of baby birds tucking into the food you put out. Water is just as valuable for bathing and drinking so keep it topped up dur

Grizzled Skipper Leading a butterfly walk to Spring Hill on 25th May, I wasn't expecting to see many species. For this was the first really hot day after a period of cool weather, during which I supposed the butterflies would be inactive. But no, our rarest species, the Duke of Burgundy had obviously been on the wing for some time, & some were already looking worn. Over 2 days I saw about 12, which is about average for this elusive butterfly. The equally elusive Grizzled Skip

Tawny owl chicks The last few weeks have been dominated by many young birds fledging & leaving the nest. We were surprised & delighted that the wrens nested in our nest box for the 4th year running. The parents have been feeding the 4 youngsters at close to 5-minute intervals for the last 2 weeks. They have now left the nest & are hiding under a hedge while the parents are continuing to feed them. The sparrows fledged earlier & the flock has more than trebled as the youngster

In July, your garden will be teaming with youngsters from fledgling birds to baby frogs and other amphibians and there are lots of ways you can help to look to them: Provide food and water for birds The RSPB recommend that you continue feeding birds throughout the summer. In the hot weather it’s also a good idea to leave water out for birds to drink and bathe in. Large, shallow terracotta pot saucers are ideal but make sure they aren’t positioned too close to hedges where p

Summer is here at last! June is when you can make the most of your garden and enjoy the long summer evenings. There’s also plenty to do to help wildlife in June when there are lots of baby mouths to feed. Keep the bird baths topped up Water is so important for wildlife and when the sun shines it’s easy to forget that birds and small mammals need to find watering holes. Insects and pollinators, such as bees, also need water but it needs to be shallow so they don’t drow

Woodlark The swifts duly arrived a few days after the house martins and are now entertaining us with their screaming flypasts on the warmer evenings. They were closely followed by the first cuckoo that has taken up residence in the Seven Bridges area, awaiting the arrival of a mate. That area continues to be one of the most bird rich patches in the parish, and on one morning we watched a pair of reed buntings and a pair of grey wagtails plucking flies out of the air in bright

Red Campion May - or Floreal in the old French Republican calendar - is the floweriest month. What other wildflowers provide such sheets of colour as bluebells in our woods or buttercups in our meadows? The verges are livened by the froth of cow parsley, which some people know better by its folknames, Queen Anne's lace or 'keck'. One of the brightest of our Maytime flowers is red campion. Though 'shocking pink' rather than pure red, the flowers mass together on verges, accomp

Dandelion Folk name: wet-the-bed! April is the month for first sightings of spring. We watch the world around us greening and unfolding by the day. The dawn soloists swell into a chorus, the hedgerows burst into leaf, the lovely flowering of the 'blackthorn winter' is followed promptly by the blossom of wild cherry and wild apple and the first tender leaves of oak and beech slip from their buds. Only ash is still bare, apart f

Raven The swallows arrived over the Easter weekend, and have already been joined by the house martins, both a little earlier than last year. The swifts should be joining us in the next few weeks and will hopefully take up residence in the Square. Some may also accept the offer of the brand-new swift boxes on the South side of the High Street. Fingers crossed. Many birds return to the same nests year after year. These include the red kites that are at home here. We are aware o

May is one of the loveliest months in the year as the countryside starts looks its best after the winter. It’s a time when we really start to spend time outside making our gardens look their best for the summer months ahead. No Mow May If you’ve never done it before, ‘no mow May’ means no grass cutting for the whole of the month! This is undoubtedly a challenge for those of us who love our lawns to look neat and tidy. However, by not mowing for just one month your lawn

Woodlark April is a peak month for nest building and egg laying. One of the busiest birds at this time is the male wren which can build up to seven or eight nests before trying to persuade a female to choose one and produce a family. We have had a wren nesting in a bird box for the last three years, and a male has already built the beginnings of a nest and is singing its heart out to try and 'sell' it. We shall see if the offer is taken up. The wren is our commonest bird, wit

Whitlow grass After a mild, if excessively wet, winter, spring came early this year. Frogs were spawning as early as February, ladybirds were emerging from hibernation, and over-wintering butterflies were on the wing, mainly peacocks, commas and male brimstones. It never ceases to amaze me that these brimstones are still fresh and bright despite being seven months old (they emerged from the chrysalis last July). By the beginning of March there were bees about, both newly emer