Back on the patch....

Yesterday I had (hopefully) my last medical test for my Hydronephrosis. It involved being injected with a radioactive substance and going through an hour long scan. It was fine, but I did feel a little queasy this morning so didnt get down to Cranford CP until after lunch. Normally I'm there between 1030 and 1100 to carry out the butterfly transect, today it was 1pm. 

The transect was just below average with quite a few species still not yet emerged. I would expect to see Large and Small Skippers by now, and the first influx of Meadow Browns, but didnt see any of them today. 

09/06/21

Brimstone x 1

Large White x 4

Common Blue x 3

Peacock x 1

Speckled Wood x 2

To be honest, I did wonder if the heat of the afternoon had most of the butterflies hunkered low, and I maybe would have had better results if I had carried out the transect earlier. 

 As always I finished my count at the wildlife pond. Last week I noted Large Red, Azure and Blue-tailed damselflies. Today I added this little stunner, a young male Broad-bodied Chaser. He kept perching just out of my camera range, so for the first time ever I risked walking carefully around the edge of the pond. So if anyone in the park saw a blondish middle aged woman, with a brown rucksack, heavy looking camera, and trousers rolled up to her knees, nearly falling into the pond....well, that would be me ! 

But just look at him ! Isn't he a handsome little critter ? 

Front view..

 

close up wing view ... 

and under neath view ...

There are two permanently occupied wild honeybee hives in the courtyard. The one in the bricked up arches was very active today, and the submerged log in the wildlife pond was again covered in bees absorbing the water through the bark ... 

Have you ever wondered why Brimstone butterflies are so common, yet so hard to spot and photograph ? 

If you catch one head on, like below, you'd probably think it was a leaf .... 

Clever, eh ? 

I also saw our resident male Kestrel and a Little Egret by the river and heard several Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Green Woodpecker, and quite a few Goldcrests in the woods. No photos of any of them sadly. A few weeks ago I thought I had found a Buzzards nest, but today there were no signs of any birds anywhere near it, but I'll check again next week. 

All in all, whether there is wildlife to see or not, Cranford CP is still my favourite place to go when I want 'me' time. The meadows, the ancient woodland, the pond, the river, the orchard, they all fill me with 'good feelings' and I can lose hours when I'm there. Cranford CP is special.