Nature Chain Winsley

  Apple blossom ID’s 28 th April 2025  Blossom explosion! Young green sprouts of leaves are near invisible behind walls of flowers on Cherry trees, hawthorn hedges and apples... an abundance not seen for many years. Bounty for pollinating insects which in their turn are now creating bounty for all of us in autumn... and for wildlife too. (see previous posts of winter and early spring feasting - badgers, muntjac, roe deer, squirrels and birds). The minute the sun breaks through a roof of cloud, our apple trees are abuzz... these photos were taken while standing still by a Bramley bough caught in last beams of sunlight within the space of four minutes, starting at 16:57. First, a fast flitting thirsty   Common Carder Bumblebee (apologies the bee is not quite in focus, but its diagnostic colours, stripes, shape and fluffiness are visible, and that’s what matters!) Then a quieter, small fly caught my eye - probably some kind of small, narrow Hoverfly.   Black an...

April 21 Facebook 2025 Golden Easter Time  Golden for Easter – a hopeful shaft of light; an early flower of sunshine and insect riches (but sometimes a little too enthusiastic in its dispersal!); a golden daffodil showering its pollen onto a feasting Bumble Bee; a carpet of woodland gold – Yellow Archangel,  feeding another bumble and a flash of fungal gold amongst the surrounding carpet of dead leave Forget-me-not’s central golden rings guide a freshly emerged Red Mason Bee to vital nectar energy whilst a Beefly hovers in to join the banquet  In the herb bed amongst the wild marjoram, targets of gold against white promise wild strawberries to come... for birds, molluscs and humans. And in the veg patch, more promise of summer bounty... a Honeybee gathers nectar for honey, so pollinating Red Currants for the delight of humans and Blackbirds ... all photos of the week before Easter. Enjoy the end of April full of joy in wild plants and creatures! Wild Gardening Ti...

  April 15 Facebook 2025 ‘Meet and Greet’ has happened! The celeb has arrived – the pollination celebrity that is - a male Red Mason Bee emerging last week in the hot spring sunlight! Five of them at the last count, before Wednesday’s warmth gave in to the cold east wind. They are already squabbling over potential fatherhood. They emerge from their nursery, warm themselves, but as they bask, a competitor flies at them and they both whizz off in frenetic flight... a photographer’s nightmare. These three photos had many false starts and ‘deletes’! Rosemary, in flower and feeding Honey Bees since February, is now at its peak  with lush aromatic leaves for cooking, clever bright blue flowers to inspire, and old gnarled woody stems twisting and contorted to fascinate the eye. Wildlife Gardening Tips: This one (R. officinialis Prostratus or Trailing Rosemary), at 30 years old is an ancient retainer of our herb strip and only takes up tiny soil space – a pocket in the top of a ...

  April 7 2025 Before we beegin: This Friday - 11th April - the documentary - Wilding is being shown in Winsley Village Hall - please see  https://www.winsley.org.uk/news/film-club for full details  Bee hotels Getting ready for the ‘Meet and Greet’?  This is what it’s all about! A tiny face emerging into a new world of April flowers... apple blossom in waiting to be pollinated, optimistic males squabbling over potential fatherhood, creating a safe haven for the next generation! This solitary bee, a Red Mason Bee, has spent the winter protected from wind and weather in our ‘store everything shed’ – an eighteenth century animal shelter . It’s rough old stone walls offer shelter for others too, unofficially... Once a robin’s nest in the coil of a stored hose, a Brown Long-eared Bat hanging on the vertical wall... and, of course, spiders and others emerge from the crevices eager for a meaty bee snack. Hence the protective wrappings of veggie mesh, remnants of a thin ...

Spring Comings and Goings Comings and Goings - first day of Spring gone by, daffodils pushing through (regardless of obstructions like dead leaves... cut right through them!). Primrose carpets bloom. Cherry blossom hums with Honeybees and full-blown spring is coming!  Meanwhile winter sights are going... last year’s stored apples are finally running out and the wildlife that creep and feast and argue over them will now find their expectations elsewhere. Their activities caught on the remote night camera have been a winter entertainment full of unexpected animal interactions and regular recognisable visitors.   Quick dash through by a Roe Deer – white rump a bit blurred but visible!  - A photo from previously shows better view of high held head and erect ears and the diagnostic features of elegant long legs and white warning flash on rump.  Female Muntjac – Smaller compared to Roe, bulkier body and hunched look due to longer hind legs compared to front legs. No projec...