August 2012

This year the weather all round the world has been particularly bizarre, which according to scientists is the result of global warming melting the Arctic ice shifting the jet stream.  There is virtually no doubt now that the root all this mayhem is our hell-bent obsession with everlasting growth to satisfy our ever rising population.

Unfortunately Holly Farm is not immune to the effects of weird weather! This year has seen fewer house martins and swallows than ever and a dramatic reductions of insects, yet life in Rookerywood seems to have held its own. While sitting at the water' edge on one of those warm early August days, my spirits were lifted after counting 8 species of dragonflies, while earlier in Spring a further 4 species could have been added to the list.  Twelve types of dragonfly living in and around a relatively small woodland pond is pretty impressive.
(southern hawker, brown hawker, emperor, banded demoiselle, common darter, large red damselfly, azure damselfly, blue-tailed damselfly, and earlier species - beautiful demoiselle, downy emerald, broad-bodied chaser, 4-spotted chaser)

Brown Hawker

On the same day my wife Liz and I made our butterfly count for 'British Butterfly Conservation', spotting 7 species (large white, green-veined white, speckled wood, meadow brown, gatekeeper and most exciting silver-washed fritillary and white admiral).  Three further species were seen earlier in the year (large skipper and red admiral) but sadly no commas, peacock or small tortoishells, the latter two becoming scarcer here as each year passes) 

Such a diverse range of butterflies and dragonflies seen in a small patch of deer protected wood is testament of what can be achieved through, enthusiasm,  gentle management and empathy with living things - perhaps small compensation for our total impotence in 'rescuing' the rest of world's wild places. Mankind will not succeed in saving habitats and the life therein by pussyfooting around the margins. As each generation follows another, the insidious decline passes unnoticed: it is just accepted. We have no real concept of what the countryside was like say 50, 100 or 200 years back, but we do know that it was indescribably richer and more diverse than it is now.

Our anthropocentricism and warped attitude to economic progress, is at the root of the problem. I am convinced that the best way to prevent futher decline is to capture the imagination of the young at an early age through nature study lessons, as at this time most children are fascinated by animals and of course are particularly impressionable. Of course this may take a generation or two to work, but it should change our whole attitude to the natural world. Humans have an instinctive love of nature, albeit usually suppressed by modern life, which according to the eminent American naturalist Edward Wilson is a part of our DNA - biophilia he calls it.

Nature study should be a central part of the primary school curriculum. Kids need to be taken outside by enthusiastic and knowledgeable teachers to experience and learn about the countryside and the wondrous life it sustains. The subject is just as, or arguably more important than any other school subject, and if taught on a large scale cauld go a long way to save life on earth. 



In spite of the huge number of frogs and toads breeding in
  Rookerypond, surprisingly I have not seen many grass-snakes
    here. Yesterday though one swam majestically from one bank
 to the other.

July

Finally, the silver-washed fritillaries and white admirals are flying around the glades of Rookerywood, having emerged a month or so late! Frankly with this shocking weather I'm surprised they bothered! My wife and I get a real buzz seeing these spectacular fast-flying butterflies gliding from one patch of bramble flower to the next, and all the result of 15 years of habitat improvement largely by fencing to eliminate fallow deer and creating glades by the judicious felling of trees.  Now it is perfect for these butterflies, with violets carpeting the open places and honeysuckle climbing up and around the stumps and rotting trees -  both these plants being the food-plants for the larvae. By contrast the remainder of the wood is virtually lifeless due to the ravages caused by plagues of fallow, the bane of my life!



Silver-washed Fritillary



Apart from being one of the few sunny days of the summer, what a memorable day yesterday was. While these butterflies were flying all around us, the first kingfisher of the year was spotted. We heard its spine tingling high pitched call first, then moment later it was fishing from a dead oak branch set into the bed of the pool. Again and again we watched it splashing into the water to return to its perch with stickleback - the action backlit by the early morning sun.  It was one of those rare and sublime moments of life when we both felt detached from the material world and a part of what real life is about, the natural world. 

Kingfisher with stickleback

Now may be a good time to describe a small project that I started during April. In front of the house I decided to experiment with a 30 square metre 'undesignated' dull and comparatively lifeless patch of grass. I began by removing the turf and 3 inches of topsoil, replacing it with two tons of sharp sand, thereby substantially reducing its fertility.  It was then seeded with a mixture of annual and perennial wild flowers and meadow grasses. 

Mini-meadow a month after sowing with wild-flower seed mix

In spite of initial doubts the experiment can be judged a success - as can be seen from these two pictures. Now in mid July this mini-meadow is full of colourful wild flowers buzzing with insects from solitary bees and small beetles to many species of hoverfly - so much more beautiful and biologically vibrant than a bed of 'dead' and gaudy displays of bedding plants so popular with councils and many gardeners countrywide. If similar projects were undertaken on a countrywide basis, the honeybee population would take on a new lease of life, as would insects generally, together with the host of birds and other vertebrates that depend on them. I really can't see much point in garden flowers unless they attract wildlife.

 The management of this, once the flowering period is over, will be crucial for its future success.

Mini-meadow 3 months later in July, with poppies, corn, marigolds
chamomile, cornflower, corn cockle, corn marigold etc