January - brings more snow

1st January

John and Clare chose a site on the Wetland for 7 Scots Pines, one of which is a memorial tree for land neighbour Kay. John removed posts and rails from outside the sheds, no longer needed without the ponies, ready to make a protective cage for Kay’s tree.

Rails for recycling

First post in place

Clare, to mark her bird hide’s first birthday, recorded the visits made to the bird table within 5 minutes. The Coal Tits (lowest in the titmice pecking order and therefore speedy opportunists) made 63 visits; Blue Tits 16, Great Tits 12 and Nuthatch(s) 8. 99 visits in total. Meanwhile all the other feeders were being visited too.

2nd January

John worked on the Scots Pine cage and then enjoyed using his camera.

Walking on thin ice

Walking on thin ice

Evidence of secret skaters

6th January

John counted 130 visits to the bird table within 5 minutes. He is frustrated by the holes he has dug for the Scots Pines filling up with rain and melt water as soon as his back is turned.

7th January

John panted the six small Scots Pines with tubes and stakes.

9th January

John needed height to drive in the posts for the tree cage and decided standing in the trailer would work. Accordingly he set off to collect the quad bike in order to tow the trailer into place. He discovered that the first of the two locks to the container was frozen, and after much huffing and puffing, risk of hyperventilation and of becoming a Big Bad Wolf, the lock gave. John then discovered the second lock was frozen too. More lupine activity. After freeing the locks, John found that the mechanism enabling reverse gear had frozen too, so he had to push the quad out of the container over frozen mud, into a position where he could go forwards. Having mastered this challenge he arrived at the first of the field gates on the route to Liddells. This was shut and held in place by deeply frozen muddy ruts and ridges. Undeterred he dug the gate free and proceeded to the next gate. Same process. At last he arrived at Liddells only to find that the lock on the bottom gate had frozen too. Lesser mortals might have given up at this point. John remembered he had a flask of peppermint tea with him and sacrificed it to the icy lock. The lock gave. After all this, John managed to get two posts driven into place. What a hero. And a modest round of applause for peppermint tea.

10th January

Spurning any need for a rest after the previous days efforts, John returned to the tree cage challenge and made good progress in spite of the water filling the hole.

12th January

Monica came to help plant the tree for Kay.

15th January

John checked on the bees’ fondant supplies again. Mathilda has given Clare another rich source of words and etymology in Word Perfect by Susie Dent. Dent has several usable words today alongside the main one, ‘hibernacle’: the place a hibernating animal passes the winter months. Bees don’t hibernate but are ‘dormative’ (inclined to sleep through the winter) and they are definitely ‘smudging’ at the moment (remaining snug and quiet). Alternative snuggling words she offers are ‘croozling’, ‘snerdling’, ‘snoodling’, snuzzling’ and ‘neezling’. Clare thinks the bees probably try them all.

21st January

The snow melt and rain have made Liddells very wet. John found that water was running from the old site of the spring, several metres from its current position. The stream below the spring was running very fast and full.

The old site of the spring

Downstream

26th January

Storm Christophe has brought down a Hawthorn in the Scrub. You can see from the photographs that there had been a ‘smirr’ (a smattering of snow, Word Perfect 12.01.21). Mel came to help John and together they removed the last fence posts from the west end of the Wetland, moved the reclaimed posts to be used for quad bike gateways into the Top Strip, dealt with the fallen Hawthorn and rescued a frog. Clearly the last task was the most important. John and Mel were walking past the scrape pond on the Wetland and John spotted the frog, which was perfectly still and John and Mel wondered if it was stuck and frozen into the ice. Mel tapped the ice round the frog with his spade and the frog reacted but didn’t move away, so Mel continued to cut round it, made a little ice plate and lifted the frog out and put in on the grass. After a moment or two, the frog freed itself and slowly hopped into the grass.

Fence fully removed

Post on its way to the Top Strip

30th January

It’s the weekend of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and Clare opted to do her watching and counting at Liddells. She recorded the following largest numbers of species during the hour: 3 Pheasants, 2 Blackbirds, 3 Robins, 2 Dunnocks, 4 Chaffinches, 9 Coal Tits, 6 Blue Tits, 5 Great Tits, 2 Nuthatches and 5 Bullfinches. The Bullfinches were a particular treat. They didn’t come to the feeders but were perched in a nearby Hawthorn. The Marsh Tits stayed away on this occasion however Clare had watched them a couple of days ago. While she was there she experienced a ‘flindrikin’ (a slight snow shower, Word Perfect, 12.01.21).

31st January

Inspired by gardener Alys Fowler’s column in The Guardian yesterday, Clare went to have a look at the Hazels and Alders. She was not disappointed, however this far north the female flowers are a little later to appear.

Clare also visited the hide again and was delighted to see 8 Long-tailed tits on the feeders. They didn’t make it into The RSPB count, however it is always a delight to see them.

Welcome glimpses of life on this last day of the month.

Male Hazel catkins

Male Alder catkins …

…an cones

December -

1st December

George and Gavin returned to Liddells to work in the Top Strip. They cleared a one metre strip along the inside of the road wall, thus reducing Clare’s five year plan to a possibly more manageable two. They completed all of this by 4pm. The work will certainly make pulling brambles out of, and repairing the wall considerably easier. They created windrows with the cut material that was too small for logs. The windrows add additional habitat.

A wall awaiting repair

Chain saw sharpening for the last stretch

Windrow

2nd December

The path from the bottom gate appears to be a roe deer highway.

Dave arrived ready to play fast and loose with the rest of the earthfasts. He removed four more boulders.

Rob continues his efforts to subdue the mole population on the Top Grazing. He has caught six moles to date. Wetter weather makes his job more difficult as the moles dig deeper. When the moles surface after this the molehills compete in size with the boulders.

John saw the first Woodcock of the year in the Pit Wood.

Hal and Beth arrived for a foraging session.

Roe roads

Mole subways

Clare threw down the gauntlet and Dave accepted the challenge

This earthloose enabled a new small pond to fill up

Beth transformed her foraged material

10th December

Clare set about a project she had been putting off for a long while and tackled the large bag of wax she had collected over four years left over from honey spinning and frame replacement. The wax first has to melted and filtered. An old pair of stockings proved to be ideal although the photo does make the process appear more sinister than it is. After no more wax can be squeezed out, the bundles are removed; the wax cools and sets on the surface of the water and can be lifted off. It then needs to be reheated and filtered a second time. The clean wax can be used for cosmetics, polish or, Clare’s choice this time, waxed food wrappers. The residue is called ‘slumgum’ (a sure candidate for an OED Word of the Day), and can be used to make fir cone fire lighters.

Recovered wax before processing

First melting and straining

Cleaned was

17th December

Rachel and Adele returned to the hide for some music making and treated the birds to a carol concert.

21st December

John has been continuing his work on the interior of the shepherd’s hut and made a foldaway table.

Mel arrived to help John free some of the Junipers from their tubes and create alternative protection. This should help the shrubs grow to their natural form which is bushier at the base than the tubes allow.

The padlock enjoying its very own table

Freed Junipers

22nd December

Several blog readers have commented on the absence of John’s photographs recently. Spurred on by this and by his attempts to address his NRS (Non Relaxation Syndrome), John spent a happy few hours wandering around Liddells with his camera.

27th December

Dave brought what he likes to call ‘his beheading axe’ to some of the wood George had taken out of the Top Strip. The log shed is the beneficiary.

30th December

The last footage of the year from the trail camera which is back in the Pit Wood. Two roe does seem to be playing Follow My Leader and a hare is perhaps trying to catch up with a tortoise.

John and Clare wish all Blog readers a less complex New Year!

24th December

John did a wintery walk.

Looking into the Orchard

The Big Pond. John has no skates.

November - a concerted effort

1st - 11th November

Clare put her efforts into preparing the path in the Top Strip ready for new chip, This is another way of saying she was weeding the path. AGAIN. John worked on the interior of the shepherd’s hut, completing the fire surround.

John moved the trail camera back to a much used place in the Pit Wood, overlooking one of the main and much used paths. The trail camera often captures deer seemingly bemused by its small red light.

12th November

Dave arrived with his chain saw and set about the stack of branches that Hal had helped bring up to the shelter. In a concerted effort Dave and Clare worked their way almost through the whole pile and stacked the logs ready to dry for next winter. Clare started adding chip to the path.

13th November

Thanks to a gift from Pat, Clare has been reading John Lewis Stempel’s The Private Life of the Hare, a delightful compilation of history, mythology, religion, literature, science, anecdote and statistics. Clare has discovered that the Scottish ‘malkin’ or ‘mawkin’ means both cat and hare, and a common general name for the hare in England was ‘puss’. Apparently hares are interchangeable with cats when it comes to those who opt for broomstick travel. Maybe Clare and John should be more concerned about Pit Wood activities.

14th November

Clare continued working on the path. John constructed a hinged work top from one of a pair of benches he had made to go with a table he had also made for Hal and Beth.

The trail camera captured several deer movements in the Pit Wood. The three that follow show three different deer a few minutes apart. When John and Clare first saw the clips, they thought it was one deer and couldn’t understand how it had managed to keep going back to the same place. See if you can spot the differences.

17th November

Mel came to help and he and John turned their efforts to weeding round the trees in cages on the Top Grazing and in the Scrub.

18th November

Another mound of chip spread on to the path. Here is one photo to show Clare’s achievement, though she acknowledges it is very similar to several photographs over the years showing the freshly chipped path. For a variation she took a photo of the tarpaulin that she and John use as a base for both brash and chip. Some readers might recognise it. When John and Clare got married in July 2009, they decided to have a celebratory party in their garden at home. Mindful of the vagaries of British summer weather, John constructed magnificent roofs for both lawns. It was just as well he did. The rain began in the early hours of the morning and continued heavily, and without respite until well into the next day. Several guests arrived in wellies and one wag turned up in a snorkel. The tarpaulins in use at Liddells were the covers for the garden. They continue to give excellent service.

Still going strong, just like John and Clare

19th - 21st November

Dave finished sawing and stacking the last of the logs then John directed Dave’s efforts into digging up several boulders on the Top Grazing that are a hazard when it comes to cutting. Clare had noted the OED Word of the Day on 11th of this month - ‘earthfast’ (Especially of a stone: fixed in the ground). Today one became earthloose.

Although knowing that gorse can flower throughout the year, Clare has noticed more in flower this month than ever before. Presumably this is down to the mild weather.

John and Clare made a concerted effort to bag up chip and move it on to the path.

Birds are arriving in great numbers at the hide. John decided to see if he could tempt one to feed from his hand.

A pheasant tried to seduce the trail camera with some sweet sounds. Clare thinks it sounds like a cat purring - could this be another witchy transformation.

The doe on the trail camera displays a perfect example of what is called ‘being on alert’. You can see her lift her head and neck and stare intently at something which has grabbed her attention. She is also lifting one foreleg, which is also typical.

To give an idea of just how big the stone is, the boot is a size 9

John failing to channel St Francis of Assissi

Socially distant kissing is in fashion. Certainly no ‘slummocking’ (OED Word of the Day 29.11.20: to kiss amorously n aparticularly wet and slobbery way)

28th November

Jane E and Pat spent some time in the hide and Jane saw Redpolls - this is the first record of them this season.

29th November

John did some tidying up and planning in the shepherd’s hut, designing a table and benches. Also, he had spotted an imminent bit of wall collapse in the NE Strip so pre-empted disaster by taking a section down and rebuilding.

Clare hefted all the hives to check the bees had sufficient stores (they did) and left them with fondant in case supplies run low. With the mild weather, the bees are more active and eating more than usual at this time of year.

Meanwhile in the hide, Adele and Rachel put their concerted efforts into making music. They had asked recently if they could play at Liddells and John and Clare were delighted to make the space available. As well and nurturing wildlife, John and Clare wish to provide a space for the arts and the imagination. Clare enjoyed a private concert while she was attending to the bees. The recording shows the birds enjoying Adele and Rachel playing Telemann’s Sonata for Flute and Violin. Adele and Rachel played for about three hours and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. What an excellent ending to the month.

Hut with shelves and mug storage

Another stone on the wall

Adele (flute) and Rachel (violin)

October - trashing the brashing (aka hauling and chipping)

1st October

The lone doe has appeared on the trail camera again. John’s long term stalking buddy Mike thinks she might be last year’s kid. That would explain her following her mother and hanging around near the new family. And maybe her rather forlorn expression.

2nd October

While Clare tackled what she has now decided is a five year plan working on the south boundary wall, John worked on trailer refurbishment.

Clare is less than convinced that John has thought through the implications of his repairs.

Better, though still room for improvement

He worked it out in the end

4th October

The sheep have eaten off the Top Grazing and been moved to a neighbour’s field. They will return to eat off the Meadow in a few days.

8th October

Clare knew that her birthday would be incomplete without a trip to Liddells. Just before leaving after a leisurely stroll round, she and John saw a hare sitting out in the afternoon sunshine by the beehives. Clare was certain it was a birthday gift from the land.

9th October

Clare planted wildflower plugs grown from Juno’s third birthday seed packet round the Shepherd’s hut. While lunching in the hide, Clare expressed concern that the Marsh Tits hadn’t been seen for several weeks. Minutes later two appeared on the feeders, as did a Redpoll. It’s as if they had heard.

10th October

The sheep returned to graze on the Meadow. Clare sowed Yellow Rattle seeds round the Shepherd’s hut.

11th October

Clare planted more plugs donated by friends. John did some maintenance on the larches in the West Verge. Long-tailed tits visited the feeders for the first time since early summer. Three Redwings flew into the Hawthorn in front of the hide. Although climate change means that seasons are less well defined, there is still a noticeable shift in seasonal patterns. For the birds, winter is on the way. They are also beginning to take more food from the feeders.

The trail camera revealed another first for Liddells - two badgers appeared going through the Scrub.

While Clare was sowing Yellow Rattle seeds in the outside verge where she has been removing nettle and bramble, a woman stopped to say that she had seen a red squirrel in the drive of the neighbouring house just a few days earlier. This is only a few hundred yards from Liddells.

12th October

John had a lightbulb moment this morning. He had booked a chipper for two days in order to tackle the brash piles. For once, the weather forecast was correct and the rain Biblical. Shortly before it was time to collect the chipper, John suggested that he could cancel the hire. In a state of some wonderment, Clare agreed that this was indeed a choice they could make. Hire cancelled. John and Clare walked around in a bit of a daze all day. And dry. This could be life-changing.

The sheep have obviously decided there is insufficient food left on the Meadow so some have gone looking for pastures new.

It is always a delight to see evidence of hares. Clare and John hope this one is leaping for an equivalent joy.

13th October

Farmer John came to take the sheep off.

Hal, John and Clare worked on moving more logs and bringing brash up from the Pit Wood ready for chipping when the weather is suitable. Hal was rewarded for his efforts by seeing a hare on the Top Grazing.

15th October

John and Clare called on Mel’s help for hauling the brash. Clare reckoned that by the time it is spread on paths as chip or on the garden as mulch, it will all have been moved six times and some seven. There is an adage that firewood warms us three times - in cutting, in splitting and stacking and in burning. The brash could be responsible for quite a rise in temperature.

Clare sowed the remaining Yellow Rattle seeds in the west end of the Top Grazing in the hope that the prevailing wind will contribute to the spread of the plant.

The trail camera captured images that are sure to delight.

A small portion of the brash after its journey over the fence

16th October

The bales were taken off the Top Grazing. John P sent a photograph of what happened next.

Delicious!

20th October

Footage from the trail camera is helping to offset the hard work involved in moving the brash.

24th October

Clare and John are definitely hearing more blackbirds on Liddells now. The trail camera has captured some in the Scrub together with a small flock of foraging Redwings. Towards the end of the footage you can see the identifying stripe over the eye of the Redwing in the bottom left corner of the scene. The Tawny Owl is also looking for food in the Scrub.

26th October

Well, the weather forecast was for rain, however, undeterred, John, Clare and Mel tackled the brash. Clare, seeing the mountainous piles that lay waiting, was concerned that John had only booked the chipper for one day. John and Clare began at 9am and finished one group of mounds by the time Mel arrived at 10.30. John, obviously thinking the work was not hard enough, went and fetched three more trailer loads of brash from the North-east Strip. Two hours later a lunch break was allowed. Readers can draw their own conclusions as to who authorised this. The weather changed shortly after lunch and rain began of the kind that had brought about the cancellation of the chipper earlier in the month. John, Clare and Mel pretended not to notice and by 2pm no brash remained - anywhere on Liddells. Clare was astonished and very relieved, however the land had not joined in the weather denial; Clare got her car stuck in the mud and had to call on John and Mel’s pushing services to leave the site. A slight dampener on the chipping triumph.

John starting off

Tier 1- the lowest level of chip; no restrictions on movement

Tier 2 - to be applied to central and western sections of the Top Strip path; may be transported in bag or barrow; may be taken home to be used as mulch …

Tier 3 - the highest level of chip; this can only be used in the Top Strip carried in bags or on barrows and can only mix with chip from other chip bubbles

27th-31st October

Recovery from chipping exertions.

September - log slog

Corrections

Many thanks to Chris Wren for both his support of this blog and for sharing his extensive knowledge of the natural world. Chris noticed that the female ‘Ruddy Darter’ on the July blog was a female Common Darter as it had yellow lines along its legs. Also the insect on Sneezewort in the same blog post was not a wasp as ‘it didn’t have a wasp waist’ - it seems so obvious when pointed out - and likely to be a sawfly, possibly Tenthredo arcuata. If readers haven’t visited Chris’ blog https://trogtrogblog.blogspot.com/ - a name to delight bird lovers, it’s well worth the time. Chris is a naturalist, bee-keeper and superb wildlife photographer, offering still and moving images of the natural world backed by experience, knowledge and statistics. He also has a fondness for the Sparrowhawks that visit his garden.

1st September

John and Clare worked on some wall clearing and repair on the south boundary. While removing some weed from the big pond, Clare inadvertently scooped up a dragonfly which she manipulated onto the net handle as it needed to dry its wings. There was an ideal opportunity for a photograph. It flew off after a few minutes and resumed its habit of frustrating John’s pursuit of a photograph by being constantly darting about, or in this instant, hawking.

Female Southern Hawker

4th September onwards

With the quad bike now a part of the Liddells workforce John set about sawing in the Pit Wood, creating piles of logs both to dry in the log shed and to take home ready for burning this winter.

Logs awaiting transport

4th/5th September

The deer are still favouring the stump circle for their food and make frequent appearances on the trail camera. John was intrigued by footage of the doe behaving warily when the buck appears. He has not seen this behaviour before and can think of no reason why the buck should be a threat to the doe. Suggestions?

6th September

John managed to work out a system to connect guttering on the sheds to the bowser; this will mean that there is rainwater available for the shepherd’s hut when needed. Clare split a clump of Purple Loosestrife in the wet area of the Meadow and replanted it on the banks of the big pond. She also pounced on new mint growth and continued Mel’s eradication work.

Adding to the multifarious uses of duct (or duck) tape

13th September

68 sheep arrived to eat off the Top Grazing. Some of them have used posts placed to alert drivers to the presence of protruding bedrock, as back scratchers.

Aid for sleeplessness

Guess whose backside was itchy

14th September

Friends Chris and Mac visited and Mac’s hat played host to a dragonfly. Frustratingly it was hard to get close enough for a detailed photograph without the probability of scaring it away - the dragonfly not the hat. Later their dog sniffed out a bird carcass, or broken bird as Juno would say. Chris and Mac happened to look up and saw Crow wings in the tree above. Mac thought this might suggest a Peregrine kill although it could have been a female Sparrowhawk. Next day Clare took John to see the wings and noticed below them a twig covered in a black jelly fungus that is known as Witches’ Butter. So raptor or coven. Clare favours the more imaginative explanation.

A death has occurred

Sorcery dairy produce

Clare thinks the dragonfly resembles a raised eyebrow on the hat face

15th and 22nd September

With little opportunity for stand-up comedy at the moment, Hal has generously offered time to help on Liddells, however he revealed his true motivations in a post-script to his offer: ‘Now a cynic might suggest that this coincides suspiciously with the acquisition of your new four-wheeled friend, and to that I’d say, “Yes, yes it does”.’ So everyone’s a winner. Hal has worked phenomenally hard and helped bring large loads of logs out of the Pit Wood and North-east Strip for drying in the log shed at Liddells and stacking at home, and he has moved dumpy bags of chip to the Top Strip for Clare to top up the path. Much as John and Clare miss Paul, they have to admit that Hal power is more productive that one horse power. The sheep proved to be interested in Hal’s activity and so Hal had a go at shepherding.

Transport awaiting logs

A small fraction of the logs carried, stacked and awaiting splitting. (Hal’s next job.)

19th September

Clare bought a broom for the hide. John was proud of his caption choice.

Hide and sweep

20th September

Clare decided it was time to risk checking on supersedure progress in Hive 1. She was surprised to see capped brood that had obviously been there a while and then delighted to realise why - there was the Scarlet Pimpernel queen quietly going about her business. Either the supersedure larva failed, or a new queen hatched and was dispatched by the reigning monarch. Either way, the colony is in a strong state to go into the winter. Clare also decided to begin the process of removing the remaining honey super from Hive 2, which still had some honey not stolen by robber bees. She added a clearer board under the super. The clearer board has two "tunnels" leading to each end and a centre chamber in which the bees gather when initially leaving the super. The bees pass through the opening in the board and into the escape. The tunnels are soon discovered and the bees quickly stampede into the chamber below created by the deep rim and attracted by the scents of the brood body through the latticed structure of the escape. The idea being that the bees descend to the brood chamber but cannot quickly work out how to get back up again. (Thanks to Thorne bee-keeping suppliers for this explanation.) Or so the theory goes. Clare and bee-buddy Barry have had varying degrees of success with the boards.

21st September

Clare returned early in the morning to see if the clearer board had done its job. There were still quite a few bees in the super however they were quite docile (or tired from a night on the honey), and easily brushed off the frames. Clare then had to remove the clearer board and queen excluder - the bees must be left with syrup to replace the removed honey and the queen must have access to this in case there is insufficient for her in the brood chamber. The bees were not quite so docile during this procedure, presumably annoyed that a) they had been woken early on a cool morning b) they were not best pleased that their honey had disappeared and c) they don’t enjoy puzzles, mazes in particular. Fortunately Clare and her assistant John left with no stings.

Concerned that all the logging activity would deter the deer from visiting the stumps, John moved the trail camera to the main path through the Pit Wood.

22nd September

Clare planted Ragged Robin plugs that she had grown on from seedlings Lesley had kindly donated, Lesley having grown them from seed she had collected.

John and Clare finally got round to adding the capping stones to their wall repair. Apparently one of their land neighbours had thought the stones had been stolen and was pleased to see their return.

26th September

A tick for one of the items that has been on the to-do list for a long time. John repurposed another of the insulators from redundant telegraph poles as an outside door handle for the shepherd’s hut. Clare has discovered that not only do people collect these insulators but that there is a Professor of Telegraphpoleology at the Faculty for insulators, crossarms and dropwires at Frome University, whose garden ornamentation is made entirely from scrap telegraph pole parts. A door handle seems quite unimaginative in comparison. Clare thinks it is splendid.

26th - 29th September

The trailer has needed attention for some time and the log loads this month left the base pretty ropey with logs falling down the gap between the floor and the sides. Clare has noticed bits of trailer base and sides strewn on the ground wherever the quad bike has gone. John set about making the trailer sound again after wondering whether he could propose it as a challenge for The Repair Shop.

Meanwhile Clare made progress on her plan to eradicate as many bramble and nettle roots from the south boundary wall as possible, repairing any stonework as necessary and creating a path on the inside of the wall. She was a bit disconcerted to find stones fallen away from the base at one point where the wall was very high and she was working below, however she was able to dig up some uncut stones from near by to fill the gap and shore the wall up. Working on the outside of the wall she discovered that the medieval cross base had not been hewn as she had thought, but the rectangular hole for the cross had simply (or not so simply) been chiselled out of a large lump of bedrock. The base does not extend through the wall, rather the wall has been built to incorporate the bedrock.

For a while John has sensed there have been more deer than he previously thought on Liddells. The trail camera has confirmed his hunch. As far as John can tell, the deer are all does. John and Clare are delighted to see evidence of the hare again though not so happy to see the squirrels. John has ‘broken’ at least twenty in the last few months. There is clearly more work to be done.

All bottomed out. A bottomless pit of work.

Shoring

A section of bramble and nettle free wall with the cross base excavated

30th September

The firm that were due to fit the wood burner in the shepherd’s hut tomorrow asked if they could do the work today. An excellent way to end the month. John occupied himself with trailer improvements while the stove went in. Clare photographed evidence of more digging, this time in the Orchard. Unfortunately the site would mean miles of footage of wavy grass if the trail camera were to be positioned nearby. Although the weather had turned cold overnight, once the stove was lit the hut warmed up very quickly. One of the workers who installed the stove went the extra mile and finished John’s painting on the trailer while John and Clare enjoyed watching the fire in the stove. Superb service!

British Racing Green is John’s colour of choice for the trailer. He likes the irony

Rather than Bentley’s Sand Over Sable, John has gone for Moss Over Leaf

Nearly ready

The chimney has a good view

It works!

There’s no smoke…

August - seven years on

Insect identification update:

Keith (wknean) has come up trumps, though did say I had set him a difficult task. The insect on the Scabious is a Dipteran (a true fly). There are 5500 species in the UK. At least that’s fewer than beetles. Clare wonders what an untrue fly might be; presumably a fly that suffers from impostor syndrome. The creature on the Spear Thistle is a Pine Weevil (congratulations to Barbara for suggesting Weevil), and the insect on the Sneezewort is a Solitary Wasp, possibly a Digger Wasp. According to Keith, Digger Wasps nest in the ground and feed their larvae with paralysed insects -nature yellow in tooth and sting.

1st August

A good start to the Liddells month - John and Clare went to view a second-hand quad bike having decided one would make a significant difference to working on Liddells. A deal was struck. On the way home they called in at Liddells and saw a Spotted Flycatcher on the fence near the big pond. Unfortunately neither Clare nor John had binoculars or camera to hand so decided to return later in the day with the necessary bird-watching and recording equipment. The Flycatcher, inconsiderately in Clare’s view, had not hung around and waited for them, although they could see one from the hide at a great distance high up in an Ash tree. The pursuit of a photograph has begun. Clare also found an addition to the Meadow plants - Agrimony. Clare thinks the name suggests a financial settlement after a particularly hostile divorce, a government subsidy for farmers or the profits from agribusiness.

2nd August

Mysterious holes have appeared in the Pit Wood. Unfortunately setting the trail camera here would result in scores of pictures of waving foliage. The holes look big enough to have been made by a badger. Perhaps an overnight stay in the Pit Wood is called for…

Probably not made by a Digger Wasp

3rd August

While John strimmed to keep paths under control, Clare went round with Mel on his monthly wildflower survey. They found several that had not yet appeared on Mel’s list, bringing the total to 148. Mel has set a challenge to bring the total to 150 before the surveying year is out. Since Mel is determined to identify more of the many grasses on site, he’ll probably get there. Clare learned a new variety of thistle, which she had noticed the day before but wasn’t confident in its difference from a Marsh Thistle. It is a Welted Thistle and clearly an option as a garden plant. Mel confirmed Clare’s identification of the Agrimony, and pointed out differences between Male Fern and Lady Fern. For some of the minute differences between species, a jeweller’s loupe or similar would be needed. Clare has such an object, provided at a conference on wildflower meadows, however she is not sure that she has the patience or the knees for the necessary close examinations. You can see Mel’s survey here.

Another Pit Wood mystery - the trail camera has captured the kid, the doe and…

Is it another kid or the buck?

John thinks the third deer was most likely the buck as another kid hasn’t appeared on any of the other footage. Here the doe is attending to the kid’s hygiene.

4th August

Dave took over strimming duties and worked his way through the Orchard and both paths down to the spring in the Pit Wood. Dave thinks the strimmer and harness make him feel like a rock star -Bruce Springsteen with air strimmer. Meanwhile, Clare and John, both having come a cropper on the muddy dip on the way into the hide, set about making the route safer.

Dave priming the air strimmer - just like a rock star

Assembling the materials

Joining up the pieces

Admiring the result

6th August

Clare’s niece and family came to visit. Tristan was very engaged with pond-dipping and bird-watching, Bron preferred the bridge to the hide. After they had left for Housesteads, John and Clare built the seat for the last Willow Arbour. John tried it out.

Look, there’s a bird

Look, there are baby newts

Look, there’s a bridge

Told you so

Look, here’s a seat

7th August

Stephen has very kindly donated a pair of binoculars to the hide. He was given them for his 21st birthday and they have obviously been treasured.

Tim and Jane had a stroll round Liddells and saw a female Common Darter in the damp part of the Meadow.

John decided to have a day out with his camera. Clare can’t decide whether he was in the pink, in a purple haze or feeling decidedly unwell.

And here’s the male resting on a stone near the big pond

Common Hemp-nettle, also known as Hemp Deadnettle, False Hemp, and because of its popularity with bees, Bee Nettle

Marsh Woundwort ‘has a long history of use in herbalism, and as its common name implies it was used for dressing cuts and other wounds, and it is reputed to cure aching joints when made into an ointment and to have antispasmodic and sedative properties when taken internally…Marsh Woundwort has only a slight smell; nevertheless bees and many other kinds of insects are attracted to the flowers, from which they obtain nectar.’

Herb Robert - traditionally used as an antiseptic, as well as to treat stomach upset and nosebleeds. Its leaves are edible and used by some to make tea. They have also been used crushed and rubbed on the skin as an insect repellent.

Ragged Robin was used in the belief that it would alleviate jaundice and more common illnesses such as headaches and toothaches. The roots and petals were also used, boiled, to wash clothes and hair.

Knapweed was historically used to treat flesh wounds, sore throats, bleeding gums and catarrh. Some physicians mixed it with other herbs to create antidotes for snake bites. The flower head is edible and when taken with pepper, it's said to be a way of restoring lost appetite.

Purple Loosestrife ‘got its name for its similar insect-repelling actions to that of yellow loosestrife. Farmers used to hang the plants around the yokes of their oxen and workhorses to keep biting insects from agitating their animals. Traditionally, the leaves were used as a vulnerary to stop active bleeding either as a poultice or taken as a tea.’ (There is a monograph on this plant from which the quotation is taken.)

Self Heal has a long tradition of being used in herbal medicine for everything from stopping bleeding and healing wounds, to treating heart disease and sore throats; the young leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads; the plant in whole can be boiled and eaten as a potherb; and the aerial parts of the plant can be powdered and brewed in a cold infusion to make a beverage.

Marsh Thistle - perhaps surprisingly eaves and young shoots an be eaten raw or cooked; the stems also, raw or cooked like asparagus or rhubarb. The flower stalks are peeled and eaten raw or cooked. The seed fluff is used as a tinder. The seed of all species of thistles yields a good oil by expression.

Meadow Cranesbill has stringent, styptic and antiseptic medical properties, Meadow Cranesbill and its close relatives were used to relieve a range of diseases including cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery; to treat nosebleeds, ulcers and haemorrhoids and to staunch bleeding wounds.

Teasel - the root is most known for its use in treating Lyme Disease. It is also used as a stomach aid, an analgesic for pain relief, an anti-inflamatory, and a stimulant for the nervous system.

Foxglove - ‘The Foxglove was employed by the old herbalists for various purposes in medicine, most of them wholly without reference to those valuable properties which render it useful as a remedy in the hands of modern physicians. Gerard recommends it to those 'who have fallen from high places,' and Parkinson speaks highly of the bruised herb or of its expressed juice for scrofulous swellings, when applied outwardly in the form of an ointment, and the bruised leaves for cleansing for old sores and ulcers. Dodoens (1554) prescribed it boiled in wine as an expectorant, and it seems to have been in frequent use in cases in which the practitioners of the present day would consider it highly dangerous. Culpepper says it is of: 'a gentle, cleansing nature and withal very friendly to nature. The Herb is familiarly and frequently used by the Italians to heal any fresh or green wound, the leaves being but bruised and bound thereon and the juice thereof is also used in old sores, to cleanse, dry and heal them. It has been found by experience to be available for the King's evil, the herb bruised and applied, or an ointment made with the juice thereof, and so used.... I am confident that an ointment of it is one of the best remedies for a scabby head that is.' Strangely enough, the Foxglove, so handsome and striking in our landscape, is not mentioned by Shakespeare, or by any of the old English poets. The earliest known descriptions of it are those given about the middle of the sixteenth century by Fuchs and Tragus in their Herbals. According to an old manuscript, the Welsh physicians of the thirteenth century appear to have frequently made use of it in the preparation of external medicines. Gerard and Parkinson advocate its use for a number of complaints, and later Salmon, in the New London Dispensatory, praised the plant. It was introduced into the London Pharmacopoeia in 1650, though it did not come into frequent use until a century later, and was first brought prominently under the notice of the medical profession by Dr. W. Withering, who in his Acount of the Foxglove, 1785, gave details of upwards of 200 cases, chiefly dropsical, in which it was used.’

Bittersweet or Bittersweet Nightshade - the stem is used to make medicine. The leaves and berries are poisonous. People take bittersweet nightshade for skin conditions including eczema, itchy skin, acne, boils, broken skin, and warts. They also take it for joint pain (rheumatism), other types of pain, and fluid retention; and as a calming agent (sedative).

This juvenile wren proved to be irresistible to the photographer. Medicinal uses undocumented but considered to be excellent for mental health

And the Robin is working on his colouration to be ready in time for Christmas

Further fliers - a pair of Emerald Damselflies mating

A sextet of Emerald Damselflies!

Green-veined whites looking rather Art Deco in their mating

10th August

Clare invited Juno to have a look at the bees with her. Juno accepted and was astonishingly calm during their visit. Clare opened one hive to show Juno a frame of brood. They had both been looking at grass seeds in the Wetland earlier so describing the eggs as like looking like grass seed (a commonly used analogy) made perfect sense. Clare was both delighted and a bit envious at how easily Juno saw the seeds! The rewards of bee-keeping are, of course, a taste of honey.

The best use of a hive tool

12th August

Exciting news - while John and friend Mike were out in a patch of woodland less than a mile from Liddells, Mike saw a red squirrel.

Clare added another plant to Mel’s list - Bittersweet is in flower in a Hawthorn in front of the hide.

14th August

Juno has been very keen for her cousins Charlie and Jonny to visit Liddells and today was the day. Juno helped initiate them into the art of bird pizza making.

Pizza triumph

15th - 21st August

Work in progress - strimming the sides of the Top Strip path, high pruning in the Pit Wood, bramble removal from south wall, weeding round tree planting in the Top Strip and the commencement of weed eradication (with Dave’s help) in the ponds. Work progress interruption - John learned that he will have to rethink the stove siting and installation in the shepherd’s hut. Further news when upset subsides. Clare has noticed some of the fungi appearing on the land and that this year the field mushrooms had migrated from the Top Grazing to inside the shelter.

Strimming in progress - please note creative repurposing of John’s homemade marquee for his and Clare’s wedding

Work completed

Stinkhorn or ‘Witch’s Egg’ (Phallus impudicus) ‘edible but not recommended’!

John has generously added his boot to this photograph to reveal just what a large specimen of Meadow Waxcap (Hygrocybe pratensis) this is

You can see the Waxcap gills here

Fly Agaric (Amanita musaria) - its common name is associated with its earlier use as a fly killer; the toadstool of illustrations to fairytales, probably because of its hallucinogenic properties. This one reminded Clare of the poisoned apple given to Sleeping Beauty

Slippery Jack Suillus luteus, apparently edible although ‘with no distinctive smell or taste’ - not a description that stimulates the appetite

22nd August

Dave’s digging has proved to be instantly effective. John and Clare went to see the results of his work and were treated to the sight of a Grey Wagtail feeding in the mud. This is a first for Liddells. Unfortunately John had decided only minutes before, to leave his camera in the car as the weather was poor. It was there again the next day but flew off the minute it saw John’s camera.

Pond waiting for water and Grey Wagtail

27th August

Mel arrived plus waders and set about the unwanted weed in the big pond. He pulled out several sackfuls of weed, including Bulrush and Branched Burr Weed, neither of which have been planted but simply arrived,

Mel contemplating the enormity of the task

Branched Bur-weed

Mel, as ever, has worked phenomenally hard and the pond is transformed

28th-30th August

While John reinstated the broken rainwater collection system, Clare made progress on her chosen task of tackling the bramble through the roadside wall, making a path inside the wall at the same time. It is hard going with opposition from brambles and gorse, however she has completed about thirty metres so far although there will be some wall repair to carry out - not as a result of her efforts. Eating the ripe blackberries helps as she works. She has found a Robin’s nest, a creative repurposing of a Soda Stream bottle, and an example of inosculation - two branches of a tree rub against each other so that their bark is worn away and they unite in a natural graft. The word derives from Latin osculari: to kiss.

Ready for the rain again

Inosculation in a Hawthorn

Should this be included in the social history of Liddells

Clare has down-tooled and left her gloves as an eerie reminder of her presence

Looking east, the path has nearly reached the Medieval cross base

29th August

John and Clare discovered the answer to the question posed by trail camera footage on 3rd August. The doe has had twins. After seeing the following footage, John lowered the camera in the hope of better footage with which to end the blog. Needless to say, the deer went nowhere near the camera. Maybe they will reappear for next month.

31st August

A Bank Holiday visit revealed that John is not the only person to enjoy his new motorised helper. Juno gets to grips with her new swing.

July - the young ones

First a further note re the trail camera videos. If you read the blog posts in the monthly email you receive, it is unlikely you will be able to see video footage as most email networks omit this since it takes up too much space. If you would like to watch the videos, can we suggest you use the email as a prompt to catch up with the blog on the Liddells website: www.liddells.co.uk This month the footage from 27th and 28th is particularly endearing.

4th July

Thanks to Hal and Beth and their social bubble, Clare and John were able to host a mini Forest School session. Six families arrived with enthusiasm and picnics. Hal and Juno acted as chief guides. Clare had left individual pots of honey in the dead letter box for each of the children, which, according to Hal, ‘went down a storm’. Even the child who professed he didn’t like honey proclaimed it delicious. Elora decided to set off on a hunt and found a Gruffalo house. Juno demonstrated her learning and did her best to instil quiet in the hide, however excited chatter won out. A good day was had by all.

The Gruffalo was out when they called

A keen group of pond dippers

Early stages of ornithology

6th July

Juno had another investigative day at Liddells.

Small Tortoiseshell under scrutiny

Baby newts from the big pond. They are too small to tell at this stage whether they are Smooth, Great Crested or Palmate

Juno absorbed by something in her hand. History does not relate what it was however it was clearly interesting

7th July

Mel completed his monthly wildflower survey (see the Surveys page of the website) and is confident that not only are there more flowers present on Liddells than when he first surveyed the flora in 2014, but there are more species in evidence. John and Clare are much encouraged by this.

8th - 15th July

Further evidence of newt presence. John helpfully turned this adult newt over so that you can clearly see the bright orange underside with black blotches which identifies this as a Great Crested Newt.

Topside

Underside

Clare has been looking for different species of insect on flowering plants. Some are proving hard to identify.

This may be a Soldier Beetle and it may not

Possibly Heath bumblebee smothered in pollen on Spear Thistle

Red-tailed bumble bee on Spear Thistle

This is possibly one of the 4000 British beetle species. Clare will try and narrow this identification down

This shot is included simply to use John’s caption - Two bees or not two bees

Extra pollinator food - the roses in the hedge by the bee hives have come into flower for the first year

Is it a bee (4000 UK species),or is s it a wasp (9000 UK species)? Clare continues to work her way through identification guides

Whatever it is, it’s on Sneezewort, this much Clare knows

Let’s not forget the Common Wasp, Vespula Vulgaris, on Hogweed here. At least it’s identifiable

Let’s not forget the Common Wasp, Vespula Vulgaris, on Hogweed here. At least it’s identifiable

Common Red Soldier Beetles doing what they have to do a lot because they have such a short life; this activity has led to their other name - Hogweed Bonking Beetle

On the 12th Juno introduced yet another of her friends to Liddells and is clearly supremely confident now in the art of marshmallow toasting, leaving Hal to initiate Mia.

15th and 19th July

The wildlife on Liddells seems to have been secretly watching and learning from Juno’s stump jumping games. Unless the camera has captured early signs of a pending election with candidates choosing suitable sites for their stump speech. The doe seems to be shaking her head at the idea. John and Clare’s money is on a Parliament of Owls.

While digging out pondweed, Clare spotted a Great Diving Beetle, a ‘large and voracious predator’, in the roadside pond, which obligingly stayed near the surface long enough for John to take a photograph. Clare also saw a creature she didn’t recognise and called on Keith (HWKNEAN) for help. The next day Clare witnessed the GDB driving the creature round in circles before eating it. Keith guessed that when alive it had been an unusually pale Notonecta glauca in its flying phase. After some pond dipping, John was able to photograph another of these backswimmers that has, thus far, survived.

The culprit…

…the victim…

…and the escapee

This female Ruddy Darter stopped darting for long enough for a photograph

As did this Small Skipper - you can see how it it is holding it’s forewings half open, typical of Skippers. Clare thinks it resembles an origami creation

19th - 26th July

Alongside all of this observation, John, Clare and Mel have been continuing with Liddells Routine Maintenance. John has felled a couple of trees and done some high pruning in the Top Strip, strimmed paths in the Scrub and Pit Wood and done some clearing in the North-East Strip; Clare has attacked the weeds in the Top Strip path, sickled the growth either side of the path and cut the flowering heads of the Hogweed, which has been slowly taking over; Mel has tackled the Mint on the Meadow which has threatened a land grab. Clare has also set about her annual Yellow Rattle seed collecting - this year the seeds are going to friends with land near Sandhoe, Hallbankgate and Codlaw as well as going back onto Liddells at the west end of the Top Grazing and round the Shepherd’s Hut.

Clare called on Bee Buddy Barry’s help to go through her hives again and managed to do so this time without being stung. There are two strong colonies and a third that is building more slowly. The fourth, as suspected, had a queen that had not mated successfully, so Clare has added a frame of eggs from one of the thriving hives and left it in purdah for a month in the hope there will be time enough for the bees to make another queen and for her to mate and start building a colony.

John has manufactured the most splendid pond rake and he and Clare are slowly extracting some of the algae that has built up in the two larger ponds. The rake is proving its worth and the water quality in both ponds seems already much improved. Clare is using the shorter pond dipping net to skim off some of the surface algae, and finding more creatures in the process. As well as innumerable young newts, she found an, as yet, unidentified insect. Froglets are also emerging, though thus far too quickly to be photographed. John and Clare have added plants to the roadside pond (last year’s plants were compromised by the digger activity in the autumn and plants ordered earlier this year got caught up in lockdown so were not in the best state when they arrived). Clare and John have realised they need many, many more plants than they had ordered for the size of the ponds - more to add to the learning curve as well as to the ponds.

Angle iron head with tines of long bolts

On the 19th John noticed a flower in the Scrub that he hadn’t seen before. Clare thought it was a Nettle-leaved Bellflower and asked Mel for confirmation. Apparently Mel was doubtful as it is unusual to find the plant north of the Humber, however on close examination he agreed with Clare. Clare has sent Mel to look at what she thinks are more of the same plant about half a mile from home, although they might be Giant Bellflower, which is more commonly found locally.

Campanula trachelium

Clare and John received an offer they chose not to refuse - a local Longhorn Cattle breeder offered them beef for haylage. Tom, who has cut the Wildflower Meadow in the past, arrived on 21st and cut the Top Grazing, although Clare and John decided to keep the area round the new tree planting and a section at the west end uncut to preserve forage for pollinators. The next day it rained however Tom was able to return and do the rowing up ready for local farmer Barry to bale and wrap on 25th.

Cutting

On 24th Tim was pleased to see more butterflies than recently on his weekly transect survey, particularly as these included Common Blue and Small Copper on the Meadow. He and Mel have both encountered the Tawny Owl on their walks round Liddells - presumably the owl is canvassing.

Common Blue (topside) on Fleabane …

…and underside

Small Copper on Greater Knapweed

Meanwhile at the hide…

…juveniles are using the feeders and emptying them daily.

Seeing red

In the pink

Goldfinch not yet red in the face

This juvenile Blue Tit has yet to learn that toe-nail picking in public is to be discouraged

Coal Tit buffing up

The RSPB bird guide says that the juvenile Siskin resembles a ‘greyer washed-out female’. Clare thinks this is a rather sexist comment. The Chaffinch is saying nothing.

Nuthatch colouring up

While on the Top Grazing…

Of course hay bales are not only good for fodder…

The approach…

…the preparation…

27th July

John and Clare were delighted to see this footage on the trail camera.

John thinks that the mother is the doe kid seen on Liddells last year - young mothers usually only have one kid rather than twins. John also thinks she has had her kid late in the season. As you will see in the following clips, the buck is showing interest in her (it is the time of the rut) while the doe doesn’t yet seem receptive. When the buck appears, the kid gets quickly out of the way.

June - out of gear

1st June

Disaster has struck, the strimmer gear box has broken and needs replacing. Fortunately the service centre reopened in Hexham today so John could take the wounded machinery straight down; unfortunately there are seventy jobs in the queue before this one. A turn in the weather is bringing lots of rain and the paths will grow furiously. John is furious.

2nd June

John has painted the tiles for the woodburner stand in the shepherd’s hut. The blackbirds in the shed nest have hatched and are hungry.

3rd June

Mel set about the June Wildflower survey and discovered that there are different Avens in the Pit Wood - Water and Wood Avens have hybridised. You can read his report here or on the Surveys page.

Wooter Avens? Watood Avens? Unseasoned Avens?

6th June

The trail camera has captured footage of a doe in the Pit Wood. John says she looks like a youngster - her legs are quite spindly and her neck is very thin. She is possibly the one that was raised on Liddells last year.

7th June

John is channelling his strimmer frustration into more camera action. The trail camera is capturing much blackbird foraging in the Pit Wood and some competition.

“I smell a rat”

“I smell a Chaffinch”

Acrobatic Siskin

“I told him not to show off”

Juvenile Woodpecker (rusty red patch on the top of the head) learning to play Hide and Seek

16th June

The bad weather has eased and Juno visited Liddells again for pond-dipping, Foxglove fittings and gate-climbing.

Water Boatman

This is a newt larva. It is very hard to determine at this stage of development whether it is of a Palmate or Great Crested Newt. John discovered a source of information in the Amphibian and Reptile Groups website

They fit!

Learning to climb at the hinge end of the gate

With an easing in lockdown rules, Kathryn, who leads Tynedale Community Choir, suggested that a Tiny Choir might meet and sing together at an appropriate distance. Clare offered Liddells for this experiment and six singers enjoyed reconnecting to the experience of singing with each other at the Point of View rather than on Zoom. Photos from Jane B and Clare.

17th June

The weather confounded the forecast and Tim was able to conduct a butterfly transect. Butterflies have been notable for their absence over the last two weeks or more so it was good to hear that Tim had seen ‘not many butterflies but a few less common ones’ - a Small Copper, a Small Heath and two Large Skippers. This is his photo of a Large Skipper on a Marsh Thistle.

Clare also grabbed the chance to have a look at the bees. One nucleus colony was full to bursting so she moved it into a full size brood box; the other nucleus has an older queen and was not so full and needed stores; Clare then looked in one of the hives that has been in purdah and discovered three frames of capped brood which indicates that a new queen has emerged and successfully mated. Clare did not spend time looking for the queen since she might still be a bit flighty. After disrobing Clare had a look back at the apiary and noticed that the brood box she had put in place was not properly on its supports and was leaning; she also realised that rather than feeding syrup to the hungry colony, she could take a frame of ready-to-eat stores from the hive with plenty of stores. Clare put her bee suit back on and then made A Bad Mistake. She thought that as these would be fairly quick procedures, she wouldn’t bother putting her wellies back on but would tuck her bee suit trousers into her walking socks and boots. The tilted hive was easily remedied, however having only recently been disturbed, taking a frame of food from the other hive evoked a mass protest, round about ankle height. Clare has understood and now feels, the error of her ways. Wellies from now on.

21st- 28th June

John has discovered that the strimmer is no longer the seventy-first job in line at the repair shop, because the new gear box has to be shipped from Sweden and may take Some Time. Meanwhile Clare has taken her sickle to some of the paths to help keep them nettle and thistle free. She is getting into the swing of things. Clare also looked at the last of her hives this week, only to have her fears confirmed that the new queen will have become ready for mating in the recent cold, wet weather and has clearly not been able to mate successfully and start laying. The bees might raise another queen from eggs taken from another hive.

The trail camera has captured a roe deer, a doe, apparently rubbing a sapling. John is puzzled by this behaviour since it doesn’t seem to fit any known pattern. John will investigate further - watch this Blog space. At the end of the clip the deer jumps. John thinks it might have seen a squirrel. The next clip is of a squirrel jumping…

John spotted a very large Tawny Owl pellet (80 cmm long, 30 mm diameter at its widest; Tawny owl pellets are usually greyer and more obviously ‘furry’ than those of the barn owl. They are medium sized pellets (20-50 mm long) with a bumpy surface. The shape is long and narrow, but irregular and they tend to taper at one end.) on the top of the Dirty Dancing Bridge - Clare can not recall similar behaviour on the part of either Johnny or Baby. Still she’s enjoying imagining a Tawny Owl spreading its wings as it remembers that ‘the most important thing is balance’. Clare has decided that another owl pellet dissection is unnecessary.

John has been photographing more juveniles from the hide.

Robin - black eye, mottled brown body. This one is too young to be showing the red blotches which will start to appear soon

Dunnock - brown eye, uneven grey and brown streaking below, line of pale spots across wings (hidden by the twig, readers will have to take John’s word for it)

John was talking to a local historian who told him a tale about a ghost rider who appears on misty mornings in November. She is a young woman on a runaway white horse, travelling east from Liddells in the direction of Doctor’s Wood. If readers wish to visit the area on such a morning, John and Clare wish it to be known that ghost-hunters do this at their own risk.

29th June

Just as John had decided to hire a strimmer (Clare wonders if there is a Strimmaholics Anonymous group he might be persuaded to join), John called in at the repair shop only to discover his very own strimmer, resplendent with a new gear box, was ready for collection and immediate use. Clare thinks John had been subjected to the air sucked in through the teeth/head shaking in doubt/slight amusement that anyone could imagine a job could be done quickly/”It’s not going to cheap”/eyes raised to the heavens response, and fell for it. The upshot is paths were strimmed today and will be tomorrow and probably several days after that.

May - surveying the situation

1st-2nd May

On 1st May John continued clearing in the Pit Wood, felling a couple of trees that were compromising the growth of ones next to them, and brashing/path-making. The next day Clare and John had a bonfire to burn all the brash from this work and from when John and Robbie had felled over a dozen trees in the area a few years ago. It was a mighty bonfire. All the clearing revealed a readymade seat from which to watch the conflagration. During the clearing John saw several deer slots in the area so left the trail camera to see what it might capture. He was pleased to know there are still deer around however he has clearly misremembered their size.

First the work…

…then the fire…

…then the relaxation

There’s no smoke…

3rd May

Clare’s choir has a tradition of singing in the sunrise from the bandstand in Hexham on the first Monday May Bank Holiday, followed by a shared breakfast. Last year Clare offered a post-breakfast walk round Liddells to listen to the birds. In the absence of that event this year, Clare decided to join in with International Dawn Chorus Day on May 3rd and to make some recordings of the birdsong on Liddells to share with the choir. Dawn that day was at 4.40. As Clare left the house she heard antelucan (OED Word of the Day 5th May: Of, belonging to, or occurring in the hours just before dawn) birdsong from a Blackbird and Thrush in the surrounding trees. Here are a couple of the four videos. You will see how it gets lighter during her walk. The first video opens with a Garden Warbler singing. The second ends with a Lapwing and Curlew calling from the neighbouring farmland as Clare went back to her car. In total she heard and/or saw twenty-five different species (not all are represented in these two clips). Here they are in the order you would find them in a bird book:

Greylag Goose, Buzzard, Pheasant, Lapwing, Curlew, Woodpigeon, Tawny Owl (possibly), Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Marsh Tit, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer.

After the walk, Clare was able to warm herself by the remains of the bonfire. Tim took a photograph of one of the Snake’s Head Fritillaries on the Meadow and John captured this image of new Spring life.

4th-5th May

Clare and John put edging round the membrane of the third Willow screen and removed the camouflage netting from the meadow fence and the protective tubes from the hedging in front of the hives. The growth is now sufficient to screen the hives and shed from the road. Mel moved barrowloads of chip from the North-east Strip and added it to the Willow screen so all that remains is to build the seat.

Edged

Hedged

Fetched

Clare and John have been perplexed by noticing that on more than one occasion the letters making up Juno’s name on her dead letter box in the hide have been removed and some have vanished. They set up the trail camera to see if it would shed any light on the mystery. The hare seems to be innocent however several clips showed squirrels enjoying the hide’s facilities so Clare and John can only conclude that they are out in the wood playing Bananagrams. At least Liddells has literate squirrels.

7th May

An unusual butterfly was seen flying over the Top Grazing; thus far Tim has been unable to make an identification. Juno practised tree-hugging and tree-climbing. The cleared area in the Pit Wood enabled games of Stump-jumping and Musical Stumps. Clare discovered that a Blackbird had built a nest next to one of the RSPB Swallow nest cups in the old pony shelter.

Agreed best caption - Twig of the Stump

Cup and saucer

8-15th May

Mel has sent the first of his monthly wildflower surveys which is available on the Surveys page of the website. He saw a Short-tailed Field Vole near the hide. He has also been working on eradicating some of the Mint that has taken over in the wet patch on the Meadow. Clare embarked on her annual Thistle Eradication Programme - total so far 735. John continues to collect images of the birds round the hide. One image might reveal why the Blue Tits have abandoned the nest box nearby.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

Ruffled Jay

14th May

Dave G came to help John with the strimming and they made paths through the Orchard and into the Pit Wood.

16th May

Clare chose Building a Fire Pit as Juno’s activity for the day. Juno was first tasked with ‘woolgathering’ - one of the words from Uncommon Ground by Dominick Tyler. ‘When children were sent out to gather the snagged tufts of wool left by sheep in hedges and on fence posts it’s fair to assume the task, which provides the opportunity for aimless wandering, wasn’t always approached with the focussed attention that parents might have wanted. Hence ‘woolgathering’ became synonymous with absent-minded daydreaming and generally letting one’s mind wander from the matter in hand.’ Tyler believed that the children would have given the bits of wool a name, however he didn’t have any luck finding any words so speculated that they might be called ‘cotymogs’ (a derivation from the Welsh ‘cotwym’ meaning ‘having dags or locks’).

NB Clare wrote up this episode on Wednesday 27th May. That evening, in an extraordinarily synchronous way, the BBC programme The Repair Shop (if you don’t know it, have a watch) featured a spinning wheel from Shetland that needed restoration. The woman who had inherited the wheel spoke of how she and her sister were sent out woolgathering for their Auntie Annie, the spinner, and she then said that in Shetland, the bits of wool were called ‘hentilagets’. Dominck Tyler take note!

Juno and family gathered other kindling and wood for fuel, and marshmallows were toasted.

Woolgathering

Digging the pit

Watching the blaze or maybe woolgathering

Making sure the chef does a good job

She awarded it *****

17th - 24th May

The lino floor in the shepherd’s hut seemed to have stretched over the winter. John has cut it down to size and it looks a better fit and much chastened. John then set about cutting the tiles for the woodburner surround, using his birthday angle grinder. He has formed a perfect relationship with this new tool and says he is in love with it.

Keith was inducted into the art of bumble bee surveying today and did his first transect. We look forward to hearing his reports. Clare had discovered that the nesting box which is visible from the hide has been taken over by a bumble bee however she is not sure which species. On his way past the ponds Keith saw a Large Red Damselfly.

John did more work on the tiles; Clare suspects this was because he wanted to use his angle grinder again. She dug some of the pondweed out of one of the ponds that has dried out.

Clare found that wasps have been nest-building in one of the sheds. They seem to have done this as a teaching aid to demonstrate the stages of construction. Her discovery was on the day the OED Word of the Day was simplex munditiis. (Elegantly simple; unostentatiously beautiful.) Exactly.

Clare has been checking her bees for signs of imminent swarming. Both colonies have produced queen/swarm cells so Clare has stepped in to create artificial swarms by removing the queens and some of the house-bees (the ones too young to go out foraging) and putting them with some stores and a frame with eggs and brood, into a nucleus hive. This leaves the remaining bees with the queen cell; the cell should produce a queen who will emerge, mature and mate, ready to start a new colony. Unfortunately the bees do not always read the same textbooks as beekeepers.

Dave G came to help with more strimming, clearing more of the paths through the Pit Wood.

Stages 1, 2 and 3

Stage 1

Stage 3

25th May

Keith had offered to help with an annual breeding bird survey again. He and Clare went round early morning to listen for singing males as well as spot birds whenever possible. Given the number of Titmice round the hide, very few made their presence felt, however Keith and Clare heard and/or saw 22 species. You can read the full results on the Surveys page. Keith took the two photographs of warblers.

As Keith and Clare were getting close to the hives, there were many, many buzzing bees in the air over one of the hives; this is what bees do when they are about to swarm. The likely explanation is that the new queen had emerged and matured, just as the textbooks say, and then she had skipped the bit about going off for her mating flights and returning to found a new colony, and had gone straight to the trouble-shooting pages which describe virgin queens leaving with a swarm. So much for so-called swarm control. Fortunately the bees usually leave a queen cell behind when they do this, so another colony should develop. Clare is holding her breath while she waits to see if the second colony have read the books or have a different one, clearly been written by a bee, with the express purpose of dispelling any illusion bee-keepers might have that they are in control.

Garden Warbler in full song

Willow Warbler pausing mid-song

26th - 30th May

John and Clare completed the last of the month’s nesting box surveys. The results are on the Surveys page. You will read that John and Clare were concerned that they might have caused too much disturbance by inspecting the boxes weekly, however John has found on the BTO website that weekly inspections are advised throughout the year, so there may be a different cause for the two abandoned broods on Liddells.

The Roe buck has appeared in the Scrub. John says the final frame of the video shows a well-balanced three-pointed right antler with brow, top and rear points, however the left antler is less well-developed with only a rudimentary brow point and no significant branching. This imbalance may be due to damage sustained while fraying or fighting, or simply a genetic factor. Next year he may grow a completely differently shaped set of antlers. John hopes readers of the Blog appreciate their developing knowledge of the Roe.

The trail camera has revealed a new mammal on Liddells. People have often asked whether there are hedgehogs on site - the answer is now, “Yes”.

John, relieved that the tiling in the shepherd’s hut is largely finished, has taken his camera to the ponds.

All that remains is to paint the tiles to match the stove

Tadpole consuming a meal

Tadpole digesting

Identification unclear - this is either a dragonfly or damselfly larva

Large Red Damselfly (male)

Common Blue Damselfly (male)

Broad-bodied Chaser (female)

31st May

The last visit of the month. John took several photos of a Linnet perching on gorse and of a Swallow on the shed roof, before realising he had forgotten to replace the disc in his camera. He swallowed hard. Happily the Swallow returned and settled even closer on the fencing rail. John hopes the Linnets will pose again next month.

April - an absence of sweet showers

We recognise that we are fortunate that going and working on Liddells falls within ‘driving to the countryside for exercise’. We are also making Liddells available for other people to do the same - we keep an eye on visits and make sure overlaps don’t occur. We are appreciative that you are sensitive to this.

Some of you seem to be experiencing difficulty seeing the videos in the emails that arrive. This might be to do with either your browser or your email settings (John’s and Clare’s IT understanding stops at those words). The videos do appear on the website, so when your monthly blog email arrives, go to www.liddells.co.uk and access the blog there. Another possibility is that you have an Ad Blocker at work. If you use one, try disabling it when you go through the blog post.

1st April

John and Clare completed the framing and seats for two of the willow screens. They discovered that one had already been occupied for bird-digesting rather than bird-watching - an owl pellet lay right in the middle of the membrane. As you can see, it fits the description of a tawny owl’s pellet.

Clare, unusually, without binoculars

Owls do not need binoculars

John with imaginary binoculars

2nd April

Pat went to the hide today and let Clare know that she had seen a Siskin keeping Greenfinches off the feeders. Clare, who has never seen or heard Greenfinches on Liddells, assumed that the finches were gold.

3rd April

Clare thought she heard the first of the returning Willow Warblers but couldn’t be sure. There is moss appearing in some of the nesting boxes.

4th April

John spotted a Chiffchaff in a hawthorn near the big pond and he and Clare spent a delightful quarter of an hour watching it, although John was regretting his choice not to take his camera. The Willow Warblers are not yet in full throat; they are calling (Wheet-wheet) but not singing.

5th April

Lunch in the hide and a pair of Greenfinches were using one of the peanut feeders! Another new species for Liddells. Clare let Pat know that she was the first to record these birds on Liddells and felt suitably chastened. John was able to get a photo of the male.

6th April

John is worried that Clare, having eradicated every weed in the garden, is at a loss for ways in which to occupy herself. He came into the kitchen to find her using two cocktail sticks to dissect the owl pellet. Clare thinks this is a perfectly understandable activity and would like to share the results.

All of these and many smaller fragments that were too tiny to pick out…

…were inside all of this

6th April

Mel, deprived of his usual work outlets due to Northumberland Wildlife Trust reserves being shut, kindly offered to contribute his energies to Liddells. John and Clare asked him to start removing a superfluous fence on the western boundary. Mel might have been distracted by the urge to create a sculpture. John and Clare realised that the fence Mel had removed was indeed superfluous. Mel has offered to return to remove the fence John and Clare had had in mind.

Mel’s title - ‘Standing for the leadership of the Labour Party’

7th April

Nesting box activity is increasing. John positioned the trail camera perfectly on No 32 in the Scrub. If pecking order applies to accommodation as well as to food, the Blue Tit may have to look elsewhere.

8th April

One of the female pheasants is getting bolder round the feeders and so John was able to add her to his species list. John also spent some time extracting algae from the ponds ready to add oxygenating plants, and was delighted to see tadpoles. Returning to his car he saw a hare sitting out in the sun.

Here hitch-hiking hare here

9th April

Today John did have his camera with him by the big pond and …

Pecking order seems to have been overthrown.

10th April

While Clare delved, John spun wonders with the strimmer in the Scrub, creating pathways and easier access. Unfortunately, since then he has been in strimmer pain. Clare thinks the strimmer (you guess whether she means the machine or the machinist) is a pain. Clare is, however, delighted with the improvements to the Scrub.

Completed ditch, augmented by lawn edge trimmings from home

Clare had another attack of pareidolia

A new path through the Scrub

11th April

John witnessed the origin of new life in the butterfly kingdom.

Birds do it, bees do it, even peacock butterflies do it

Cherry blossom out in the Top Strip

14th April

The second superfluous fence no longer exists - thanks again to Mel. More wildflowers are in evidence.

An ex-fence

The first Cowslip opened on the Meadow

Wild strawberry in the Scrub

Dandelions provide early forage for the bees

15th - 22nd April

The emerging wildflowers and wildlife have given John the chance to spend more time with his camera. Clare was disappointed but not surprised to discover that the weakest of her bee colonies has not survived. The remaining two are going strongly. Both Clare and John were delighted one evening to watch two hares crossing the Wetland into the Pit Wood. It is highly likely they are a pair. The trail camera shows more visits from the Blue tits to Box 32 however they still seem undecided. Maybe they were hoping for a garage or extra bedroom. Some birds are never satisfied.

Female Cranefly (Mummy Longlegs) laying in soft mud at the edge of the roadway pond

The primroses on the south facing slope in the Pit Wood are particularly good this year. Recently Linda France suggested that John and Clare might rethink how they name different areas of Liddells. Clare thought ‘Primrose Side’ would be a fitting name for the bank, because she recalled this was the name of the farm where John had been brought up.

A round table meeting of our cabinet

Someone has done a runner - Dom?

Clare is enjoying creating Liddells based activities for Juno and family. She has set up an Easter Egg hunt, making a pizza for the birds and a stile challenge. Juno added her own activities such as swinging and bridge-jumping.

Juno familiarising herself with Grandma Clare’s instructions

All our own work

Watching an appreciative Blue tit

The Great Liddells Stile Challenge involved going over all 13 stiles, in order for the route to work, some had to be crossed more than once. Juno crossed 17 times. Very stilish!

26th-30th April

When John and Clare arrived at the hide today, a female Lesser Redpoll was perched on one of the feeder supports. She was far too quick for John to get his camera ready however it was lovely to see the bird and to know that at least one is still around. Lesser Redpolls are resident all year.

John has recovered sufficiently from his attack of Strimming Syndrome to embark on a new project. He is clearing a path though the eastern area of the Pit Wood. The work involves a chain saw. Ear defenders are in use. Hearing aids have been safely boxed during the process. The work has thrown up new discoveries - a large Hazel in flower, a Wild Gooseberry and Oxlips. Clare helped.

Now Spring is well under way, there is abundant evidence of new life. About a third of the nest boxes appear to be in use with eggs evident in a couple. Mel had a botanical stroll and combined with or own observations there are about thirty plant species in flower.

March - Liddells-lew and hide-lew

1st March

Clare and John wish to begin with an apology. On 22nd February you will have read that John ‘has mastered the art of enlarging and cropping’ his photographs. Missing from this sentence was ‘thanks to teaching from his patient and forbearing step-daughter’. OK now Mathilda?

Here is further evidence of the excellence of Mathilda’s tuition.

Clare has long had a wish to see hare’s boxing and when she saw the next bit of trail camera footage she became really exited that she might see this phenomenon on Liddells.

Then another first ever trail camera capture.

3rd March

Today a thrush was singing in the Scrub, Clare saw a Yellowhammer from the hide, two Mallards flew off the big pond and there were bees flying around three of the hives.

4th March

John enlisted help from Dave G (and Wilf) again. Together they cut logs for seats and cleared much of the quarry area in the NE Strip.

Giant Jenga?

Wilf assisting with quarry clearance

5th March

A Woodpecker was drumming in the Pit Wood - Watts that you ask? Was it by the light of the Moon? What a Starr!

Clare has noticed that on much of the trail camera footage, animals seem to prefer a west-east route through, sometimes appearing more than once in the same evening, going in the same direction, but not coming back the other way. Either there are several different animals or their routes are circular.

Clare learned today from the excellent book she is reading The Overstory by Richard Powers, that seeing the face in the beech tree (December blog post) is due to pareidolia - an adaptation that makes people see people in all things. Clare prefers her explanation that she has a tree guardian.

6th March

Thanks to both Mathilda and Sue B, Clare has enjoyed reading Uncommon Ground by Dominick Tyler, a visual glossary of the British landscape. Among several words and phrases stored away for future use, Clare found two with immediate relevance.

Witches’ brooms…

…and Witches’ knickers

7th March

8th March

Just days after John said no rats had been seen on Liddells, the trail camera proved otherwise.

9th March

A long overdue task, dealing with overhanging branches on the northern boundary, was on today’s to-do list. Fortunately Clare and John found George Clouston, tree surgeon and arborist, the perfect person to tackle this, and watched him work in awe of his skills. As did Juno. George so obviously loves his work and is especially attentive to how he can protect and enhance habitat for wildlife. He’s also a mighty fine tree climber. Clare and John found it slightly alarming to note that his risk assessment noted ‘helicopter landing options are extensive’. George said that one of the worst risks was not amputation but encountering a wild bees’ nest. They don’t take to chainsaws.

Clip art

Hanging around

Hanging around

In suspense

“I can see him!”

Helping to entertain Maggie

George made coronet cuts (see below) and specific bore holes after he had cut branches, to create habitat.

‘When trees are damaged in nature it’s usually due to some catastrophic event (i.e. severe wind storm). Branches damaged in this way have wood fibres break and tear, while bark is pulled away from limbs and jagged stubs are left behind. In the aftermath all manner of fungi and arthropods make a home in the tattered remains.  Fungi feed on the newly exposed wood, insects eat the fungi, birds eat the insects, and so on.

In landscapes, trees eventually mature to where their risk of failure reaches a threshold that some mitigating action must take place.  For conservation arborists, this is where retrenchment pruning comes in.  By using coronet cuts to mimic naturally damaged limbs after reduction pruning, conservation arborists invite the natural order of things to take place.’ 

Wood for next year’s burning

10th March

This cat has appeared on the trail camera before. This time it made the same trip at 21.06, 22.07 and 03.27. Was it going round in circles.

14th March

John and Clare were delighted that growth from Liddells contributed to another wedding.

Heather and Kris’s wedding design team transformed these…

…into these

15th March

The first frogspawn has appeared although some has already gone brown and sunk which is possibly because it has been laid too early and suffered from the cold.

This patch appears to be fine

Pheasant strutting his stuff

16th March

Today’s OED Word of the Day is house-lew: shelter of a home. Enough said.

After quite a while with no sightings, a roe doe has been caught on the trail camera. It might be last year’s kid. While working in the Pit Wood, John found a particularly charming patch of Scarlet Elf Cap Fungus. Perhaps the trail camera will capture images of a scarlet elf.

17th March

Clare and John set about making fewer mountains out of the molehills on the Top Grazing, top of the Crag and the Meadow. They had thought there would be between one and two hundred. There were slightly more than that, to say nothing of the ones elsewhere on the land that remain unconquered. Small ones were included in the count as it seemed only right and proper to make mountains out of some molehills. Here’s a challenge to our readers - including the ones John and Clare found over the next four days that they’d missed, guess how many there were. The answer is at the end of this blogpost together with a further guesstimate challenge.

A small mountain range

John hoe-hoe-hoeing

A plateau is created

After John had finished with his hoe/got bored/decided Clare was winning in the molehill demolition stakes/was suffering from strimmer withdrawal symptoms, he went off to start strimming a path down which a quad bike could go with a trailer to extract all the timber George had felled. Imagine Clare’s surprise when she went to help John later and found him apparently praying to the woodland floor. With sinking heart she knew what had happened. We suspect regular readers will too and will know why, which John appeared to have forgotten. No need to scroll to the end of the blog post. The answer is, of course (Clare typed through gritted teeth), that he had lost one of his hearing aids. Again. A third time (teeth gritting harder as telling the story retraumatises the typist). Thankfully for Clare’s sanity and John’s survival (there was an idle strimmer lying close by), John found the very small and surprisingly faded leaflike in colour, object. Clare is considering her response: confiscating the strimmer; putting the strimmer on Ebay; putting John on Ebay.

Fortunately Clare’s spirits were lifted by hearing the first Chiffchaffs of the year and by seeing the first Celandine in flower.

There is a way through the woods, with apologies to Kipling. Clare is getting ready for World Poetry Day.

‘‘Tis the little Celandine”

18th-21st March

The first of the Daffodils are out in the Top Strip. On 20th Clare tackled the Liddells equivalent of painting the Forth Road Bridge by starting to weed the path in the Top Strip. She started at the east end and made it all the way to the flat length at the start of the west end. Watch out for reports on progress. On 21st, after a particularly buttercuppy stretch, which slowed progress, Clare went for a wander, wondering whether there would be Primroses out in the Pit Wood. She was not disappointed.

Daffodils

23rd March

John and Clare both woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so went for, if not a dawn chorus visit, at least a pre-breakfast one. On the way Clare asked John what was keeping him awake and he made an ornithological slip of the unconscious, ‘CORVID anxiety’, he claimed. Unless of course the crows are after him. It was frosty at Liddells so too cold for much bird-singing, however Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Great tit, Blue tit, Coal tit, Long-tailed tit, Rook, Goldfinch, Wood pigeon (making display flights) and Chiffchaff were all audible. Clare was particularly pleased to hear several Chiffchaffs as, after hearing them last week, they had been decidedly silent.

24th March

Another 12 metres of path in the Top Strip are now weed free. Clare saw a first Peacock Butterfly near the big pond. John made a bench for one of the willow arbours. John and Clare tend to take lunch up to Liddells to eat in the hide while bird-watching. They have noticed that one of the several male pheasants who have learned that food appears on the ground shortly after the picnickers arrive, has a habit of talking with his mouth full. None of the others do this. The trail camera captured a pair of male pheasants vying for territory.

25th March

Another few weed free metres in the Top Strip - Clare is regretting her habit of starting at the easier east end. Since there is always something else more appealing than weeding, the west end often doesn’t quite get the same attention and consequently is much weedier. Clare keeps telling herself that the sense of achievement will be worth the effort. John did preparation work for more benches and saw a Small Tortoiseshell on his way. The weather was so warm Clare decided to open the hives for the first time this year. As she suspected, one of the hives had not survived. It had been a small colony going into the winter and this is probably the reason since there was no evidence of disease. Two of the colonies are thriving; these queens must have started laying a while ago as there is capped brood (after 3 days eggs hatch into larvae, after 6 more days the cells are capped and the larvae become pupae and 12 days later the new bee emerges). Clare is uncertain about the fourth colony - there were very few bees and she couldn’t see a queen. The bees were good-tempered, which suggests there might a queen. There could have been a few eggs however Clare wasn’t entirely sure - sometimes the sun can produce a glint in the bottom of a polished cell which can then look like an egg. She’ll have another look in a week or so. Her records show that this is nearly a month earlier than she has ever opened hives before.

26th March

The recent hurricanes managed to dislodge one of Juno’s swing supports so John and Clare repaired it today, or rather John did the repair while Clare footed the ladder and handed him things. They then had lunch in the hide (does this habit mean they are hidebound), and watched a Blue tit going in and out of the nesting box nearby. It spent about 5-10 seconds inside each time and made dozens of visits in the time it took to eat a sandwich or two. Clare had a quick peep in and there was a substantial amount of nesting material in place. Unfortunately the trail camera, carefully placed to record this activity, ran out of batteries before the bird began. New batteries will be inserted asap. Clare spotted the first daisies out on Liddells today. and noticed that lots of the wild garlic Sue R donated last year is coming up in the Pit Wood. She also weeded another ten metres of path in the Top Strip and reckons there are just under forty metres left.

Walking home Clare heard the first skylarks of the year singing.

27th March

John and Clare stayed away from Liddells today so that Hal, Beth and Juno could have their daily ‘park’ exercise there. Clare set an i-spy challenge in which Juno was entirely successful, finding frogspawn, feather and fir cone. She helped top up the feeders, making sure the bird food was tasty, entertained Hal and Beth with the story of Goldiblocks (sic), enjoyed the newly repaired swing and began rehearsals for an iconic movie scene with co-star Beth, direction and cinematography Hal.

28th - 30th April

Clare decided that she wanted to get the path-weeding finished by the end of this month’s blog. With this endeavour in mind, and after only a short stretch completed on 28th, the next day she worked till cockshut: twilight (OED Word of the Day 29th March) achieving a wondrous nineteen metres. On Monday, in a push for the end, she finished, however was so engrossed in measuring her achievement (140 metres), she forgot to provide photographic evidence. During the pacing she noticed that sycamore seedlings were sprouting in the refreshed seed bed she had inadvertently provided. Heigh-ho. Back to the east end.

While John was getting materials ready to build more seats, he watched a pair of Tree creepers on an oak near the Orchard, and saw a Chiffchaff close by. Clare heard the first Blackcap of the year singing.

There is nesting material in at least two of the bird boxes, however the trail camera has failed to capture any of this activity. More adjustments needed. To the camera not the birds or boxes.

31st March

Hal and Juno had another Liddells day today. Mathilda came up with the excellent idea, having seen ‘Little Women’, that Juno, Clare and John could have a box on Liddells where they could leave messages. For today, Clare left bug hotel building instructions, some straws and string. Hal and Juno undertook the activity with some speed and considerable effectiveness. While Clare was typing up the answer to the molehill challenge (see below), Juno, at Liddells at the time, and apparently through some telepathic communication system, announced that there are no moles on Liddells because they are shopping for peas. Well that explains it.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it…

Juno sees no ships

Mission accomplished

This is Hal’s last photo of the day. Clare and John are wondering what he saw…

And the answer to the molehill count - 1343!

Next question - how many moles does it take to create 1343 molehills? (John and Clare do not have the answer to this one.)

February - colds, wind and rain

1st-2nd February

John and Clare carried out bird box cleaning and maintenance ready for Spring. They also moved some that had never been used, and lowered some that were out of Clare’s reach, even with a ladder. Clare now has plans to make sure there are steps added to stiles that have been built for persons under six foot tall. Clare was delighted to put up the new box that David O had made for her birthday last year. No 25 remains missing and presumably has fallen into the Liddells equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle.

Strong winds had ripped some of the sheeting for the rainwater collection so that needs further repair.

The first snowdrops of the year have appeared in the Top Strip.

5th-6th February

The trail camera is back in the Pit Wood and caught a hare, a vixen and the sound of a Tawny Owl calling and then flying off. The vixen appears to be scent marking.

7th February

John and Clare are delighted that this year Sue Dunne, a local ceramicist, and Linda France, a local poet, are going to be making monthly visits to Liddells. Linda has recently been announced as Climate Writer in Residence by Newcastle University and New Writing North.

Sue made her first visit of the year today and filled a bag with things that had caught her eye. As Neil was on the land planting nine trees he had grown at home, Sue did not escape work detail. Neil has added Limes, Horse Chestnuts, Maples and Ash to the Top Grazing.

Sue and Clare spent some time in the hide and both were delighted to see a female Siskin on the nyjer seed - another first for Liddells.

Gorse out in time for Valentine’s Day

8th February

John and Sue W visited with grandchildren William and Annabelle who had to find and learn about animal homes for their homework. Liddells provided plenty to discover - squirrel dreys, a buzzard’s nest, mouse and vole holes, the bee hives, the bug hotel and more besides.

William looking every inch the experienced birder

Negotiating the Dirty Dancing Bridge en route to the squirrel dreys

Annabelle in charge of note-taking

10th February

John and Clare learned that Storm Ciara had taken its toll - a stretch of wall on the north boundary had collapsed - annoyingly it included the patch John and Mel had repaired only a week ago.

11th February

John had help from Dave G to start the wall repair - they started with sorting and organising the fallen stones before tackling the base layers.

Juno inspecting the damage

Day 1’s repair work

12th February

With the stormy cold weather, the birds are getting through the food in the feeders very quickly. John and Clare went up to replenish them and were happy to see a Siskin make several visits. It would seem to be one of last year’s juveniles that is now developing its male colouring.

14th February

Today marks the start of National Nesting Box Week and while Clare was at the hide, she saw a Blue tit investigating Box 8 which can be seen from the hide. It was as if he knew.

16th February

George C came to visit Liddells with a view to taking down the overhanging branches on the north boundary. Clare enjoyed the contrast in woodland working garb.

John and Clare have seen the hare in daylight several times recently. The trail camera has too.

George will be seen clearly while John will merge into the landscape

18th February

Neil and Lesley make the most of half term with family and take some of them to the bird hide. Clare gave Juno, who shares this birthday with Lesley (and Pat) her first pair of binoculars.

Bird watchers with intent

Juno bird-watching at home. History does not relate what she saw

20th February

Nikki and Megan, two teachers from a local First School, came to visit with a view to a Forest School day. Clare and John are crossing all available digits.

The trail camera has captured the hare again, this time ruffled by the storm.

21st February

Storms, wind and bouts of what Clare’s sister refers to as ‘there’s-a-lot-of-it-about’ has meant little activity on Liddells this month, however John has been given permission to collect some Broom regeneration from a local woodland and today he and Clare planted 11 small Broom plants on the Crag.

New brooms, too young to sweep

22nd February

John is pursuing his photography challenge and has mastered the art of enlarging and cropping, so here are some of his results.

Bank vole banking on scattered bird food

Tree creeper showing clearly that it is not the short-toed variety

The RSPB says:

Accentors are small, inconspicuous, streaked birds, with sharp, pointed bills and a slightly robin-like, pot-bellied shape. They live mostly close to the ground, with a quick, shuffling and hopping action when feeding.

Dunnocks are often overlooked, not only are they small, brown and grey with a slender beak, they also like to creep around under bushes in a mouse-like way.

Keith points out the vermiculation, a quality he particularly enjoys in avian plumage.

Male siskin

Goldfinch and Siskin feeding together - often the Siskins will fight the Goldfinches off

This might be a juvenile male coming in to adulthood - an immature male will have a dark bill; this one’s bill seems to be turning yellow

Marsh tit

Coal tit showing some of the differences from the Marsh tit - the colouring on the cheeks and the white streak on the back of the head

Male chaffinch withstanding storm Dennis

Female chaffinch looking much calmer

Great tit looking great

25th February

Finally wind, rain and viruses had abated sufficiently for John and Mel to tackle the partly rebuilt wall. Clare and John habitually use excellent thick leather gloves for work on Liddells and between them, have got through several pairs, however when the gloves get wet, they can leech warmth from hands. John transformed his working experience today by discovering some heavy duty waterproof gloves in a local store and wore these over fleece liners. The gloves were so efficient that John probably worked longer than was wise and now has a sore back. Maybe there are advantages in having wet, cold hands. However, much more importantly, the wall now stands.

Mel at work in the remains of Monday’s snow

Through stones, ‘through’ in this context is pronounced locally as ‘thruff’

Through Mel, pronounced locally as Mel

Finishing touches

Repair complete

26th February

Clare went to change the disc in the trail camera and was amazed to see a lot of water bubbling out of the original site of the Pit Wood spring; there was also considerable water running into this stream from the path under the Dirty Dancing bridge.

Clare found clear evidence of a badger’s presence very near to the camera, however it seems to have evaded the camera’s gaze.

A quick visit to the hide to top up the feeders and Clare saw four Redwings that seemed to be investigating the feeding station but were not quite bold enough to partake. Another species for John to photograph and they bring the total number of bird species seen from the hide to 26.

Maybe footprint casts have to go on the to-do list

27th February

John and Clare decided it was time to finish the half-made drainage ditch leading away from the new pond. They are making a french drain so first Clare gathered up the rubble left from the wall repair to repurpose as a bed for the drainage pipes, then she and John set about excavating more of the ditch. It was very muddy however neither managed to fall over although there was a fair amount of mud slinging. The ditch is now fully dug however needs more rubble in which to bed the pipes.

The two side pipes will feed into the central ditch which currently awaits its gravel and pipe

Peppa Pig is not the only one who likes muddy puddles

January - The Birds!

‘Tiresias, grieve no more. From this day the deathless ones will speak to you in the song of birds.’

from Where Three Roads Meet, Salley Vickers

1st January

John and Clare have put their favourite photographs from 2019 on to the Gallery page of the website.

Clare sat in the hide for the first time and there were birds already interested and doing a recce. Two coal tits proved to be the boldest and risked feeding from the fat balls feeder. Result!

2nd - 4th January

Clare made daily visits to the hide and over these few days recorded 15 different species on or around the feeders. The most exciting viewing was two Marsh Tits, although for a while Clare havered in their identification between Marsh and Willow Tit, settling in the end for Mallow tit until she was more certain. She had seen a couple from her pop-up hide a couple of years previously but not one since. Apparently they don’t fly over open fields and since Liddells is surrounded by those these particular birds may have little option but to remain. And hopefully breed. The birds are definitely getting bolder, with a Nuthatch seeming to make the most individual visits, and so far a flock of eight Long-tailed tits being the most numerous species feeding at any one time.

5th January

Two further posts with feeders put up. Today’s treat was seeing a weasel emerge from brash in front of the hide.

8th January

Well it was inevitable - Clare heard a flurry of alarm calls and the birds vanished from the feeders followed closely by a Sparrowhawk swooping in front of the hide. No bird was harmed on this occasion. Clare saw a Marsh Tit on the feeders for the first time.

10th January

Another first for Liddells - Clare watched a male and a female Lesser Redpoll feeding on the nyjer seed. They stayed for several minutes at a time and made many visits during the hour and a half Clare was there. A wood mouse appeared from a hole near the tree trunk and after about seven tentative movements forward, its courage was rewarded as it returned to its burrow with a peanut.

11th January

Clare and John put up the last of the feeders - a slice of a felled tree trunk on top of a length of telegraph pole. Clare added some peanuts and seeds and birds were on it before she had returned to the hide.

12th January

Clare and John added signage for the route to the hide. John was amused that Clare had to go back to the drawing board with a couple of the signs as she had written them with the arrows pointing the wrong way. This served to confirm his belief that she has no sense of direction.

Two Marsh Tits arrived and fed today, and two wood mice benefitted from the food the birds drop on the ground.

Clare would like it to be known that there is a left turn at this point. She is not attempting to confuse visitors.

13th January

Clare and Juno had a wonderfully messy time making bird food, mashing up a paste of peanut butter, pear, dried fruit and seeds and squishing it into pine cones, then making flour and lard ‘maggots’. They then went up to Liddells, helped finish the signage and watched the birds come and eat it.

It’s a Blue Tit

Clare indulged her sense of humour…

15th January

Clare took two friends to visit the hide and was delighted that the Marsh Tit appeared; Sue wondered how Clare had been able to distinguish the bird from a Willow Tit. Clare mentioned the difference in the black ‘bib’ and the glossiness of the black on the cap and was just referring to the difference in call when the Marsh Tit obligingly called. Lesley thought it was a bit of witchery. There was another first - a Great Spotted Woodpecker appeared and did a recce of the feeders from one of the hawthorns close by. Clare is enjoying her new Bird Song App. Fans of The Archers may well think she is channelling Philip Moss . Clare believes it is the other way round however she would never describe herself as a ‘bird junkie’; the scriptwriters have been independent with that one. Also, to the best of Clare’s knowledge, no proposals of marriage, or indeed of anything else, have taken place in the hide at Liddells. Yet.

There may not be a coffee machine however Clare recognises that bird-watching is improved with the availability of a hot drink. And biscuits.

16th January

John took his camera up to the hide for the first time. The trail camera was doing a wonderful job of recording squirrels failing to get into the feeders, however this was at the expense of footage of the birds. Clare has set John the task of recording as many visiting species as possible.

Great Tit poised to eat some of Clare’s lard/peanut butter/dried fruit/pear/seeds paste

Female Chaffinch plucking up courage to visit the feeders

Robin apparently re-enacting one of the legends that seek to explain its colouring

18th-19th January - Green Gym Days

Clare had been saving a quotation for these two days. When she visited the hide, Sue B-H had shared words from Nan Shepherd (author of The Living Mountain) which are printed on the Scottish 5£ note. Clare heard: ‘It’s a grand thing to get leaves to live’, and immediately thought they were apt for the weekend plan to plant trees. When Clare looked the quote up, she discovered her unconscious hearing slip (or her deafness). The original quote is: ‘It’s a grand thing to get leave to live’. Both sentiments seem laudable.

The plan for the two days had been to plant the 22 trees (Sweet Chestnuts, Horse Chestnuts and Oaks) that John and Clare had grown in pots from seed, and to make a second woven Willow screen with cuttings from our neighbour Sylvia. Not only was all this achieved in fine style, with great good humour and a wealth of baked goods, but John M arrived with a further nearly twenty Oaks and Horse Chestnuts that he too had grown from seed and a bucketful of about 500 acorns. By close of play/work on Sunday, everything had been planted and Liddells now has two more Willow screens. These are so beautiful that Clare feels embarrassed about her first effort. All the screens will have chip on the membrane and edging logs put in place. Another Green Gym Day anyone?

The acorns were planted in the west end of the Scrub and along the Crag; the trees were planted on either side of the bottom roadway and at the east end of the Top Grazing.

As ever, Clare and John are touched by their friends’ generosity, hard work, good humour and general all round support. Fifteen people came and helped over the weekend, some on both days, including two new adult recruits and three children. John and Clare were particularly delighted to have children involved and hope for more of the same in the future.

Trees ready to be planted

Spades ready for planters - which would Goldilocks choose?

A forest in waiting

Cutting the wire

Tying the protection round the tree

Pat planting

Adele planting

Leela planting; Neil and Lesley supervising

Willows team 1 - the membrane is stapled down…

…the uprights are tied together and go in through the membrane…

…a bit of inning and outing…

…et voilå! Team 1 rightly proud of their screen

Team 2 repeating the process in the Pit Wood…

…et voilå!

Not the most telegenic (OED Word of the Day 18.01.20: Of a person or thing: that comes across well on television; that provides an interesting or attractive subject for television) activity, however Clare did not want the acorn planters’ efforts to go unrecognised

Baked goods seem to be an essential part of a Green Green Day and participants are generous with their offerings. Barry brought owl pellets

20th January

Jane E had taken some of the short Willow offcuts home after the Green Gym days, and this evening at choir, presented Clare with decorations she had made. They will look great in the shepherd’s hut.

23rd January

John and Clare saw a Goldfinch was on the nyjer seed feeder - another first for the feeding station. Clare returned home to discover she had dropped the disc from the trail camera.

24th January

John found the disc glinting on the ground today; Clare would like to think it was because of today’s OED Word of the Day - apaugasma: Something that shines with or reflects a brilliant light; radiance, splendid brightness.

25th January

Clare put Jane’s Willow decorations in the shepherd’s hut - they will be more aesthetically placed when the interior is finished. John and Clare planted a dozen Ragged Robin plugs round the big pond, saw two Goldfinches on the nyjer seed feeder, and a Bank Vole benefitting from seed spillage.

Seeing some damage on a Willow whip near the Scrub, John had thought the deer were fraying earlier than usual this year however trail camera footage might suggest that the culprit is a lagomorph (thanks to Clare’s brother-in-law Norman for extending the blog’s vocabulary with this word).

One of the two stars

Jane used Wisteria to bind the wreath

29th January

The wall on the south boundary has some damage, probably due to the trees that have grown up close to the wall since it was built. John and Mel set about repair work, then headed to the north boundary where several overhanging branches need removing. Clare meanwhile set about digging a drainage ditch that will take the water that trickles out of the new pond and which is currently making for a very muddy crossing place. After a couple of hours’ work in which nothing was as clear as mud, there was plenty of mud-slinging and she almost became a stick in the mud, she overrode the idea of stopping and very soon afterwards fell flat into the aforementioned ooze. She looked as though she had been dragged through the mud and decided it was not a lark. She then walked home looking very like a swamp monster. Happily no-one was on hand to document this experience.

Coping stones have fallen in two places, this is one of them…

…and the inner side of the wall has collapsed onto the top of the Quarry in both places

John inspecting the damage

Another collapse waiting to happen

After the repairs

Coping stones and inner collapse repaired however the bulge will have to wait for another day

Mud!

30th January

The trail camera has been picking up very little footage of deer recently, however a last minute check before publishing this blog post showed a roe doe crossing the bottom path in the Pit Wood. The trail camera has been left near there to see if the kid is still around too.

31st January

In one month the following birds have been seen on or around the feeders:

Sparrowhawk, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Marsh Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Tree Creeper, Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, Goldfinch, Bullfinch.

Not bad for the first month! Clare is delighted. John is building his album of species.

Blue Tit with its Spring colours looking strong

Long-tailed Tit

Several Long-tailed Tits - they call to each other while they are feeding

December - boardom

1st December

Encouraged by identifying the type of spider’s web last month, Clare photographed a web with a different structure but found it hard to decide what kind of web it is. It most resembles the kind of web created by a spider after a dose of caffeine.

Work on the bird-watching screen (which is becoming more substantial than Clare had originally envisaged and is now more like a hide), involved adding floorboards.

See the image on the right towards the bottom of this page

5th December

More framing.

6th - 7th December

Although the deer have not been captured by the trail camera for a while, badger, fox and hare are all evident in the Pit Wood. The hare appeared on the camera in exactly the same spot, at exactly the same time on consecutive days - so hare today and hare tomorrow.

9th December

As Clare is doing her share of the building, she insisted this contribution be noted for the record.

Framed!

10th - 11th December

Work progresses. The hammer is a shadow of itself. The fox is still around and the camera catches the hare in the dusk.

12th - 13th December

The lower boarding at the front is complete and the roofing sheets are in place although awaiting a few more fixings.

18th December

Adding boards for the opening at the back of the shelter means that the frame is complete. The secondhand timber from the Mart Sale has been nearly enough for the whole structure, however John and Clare will need to buy a bit more to finish. There are some thicker boards left that will be used to make the benches for the inside. Sadly this grand design does not run to a coffee machine.

23rd December

While Clare was involved with things seasonal at home, John decided he was able to work on the screen without Clare’s oversight.

John says it’s quirky. Clare will be micromanaging in future

26th December

Many people go for a walk on Boxing Day. Not Clare and John.

Ready for work

27th December

While Clare looked after Juno, John headed for the gramadoelas (Remote rural region, the backwoods, the sticks; OED Word of the Day 3.12.19). He did some brashing, tree tube maintenance and cleaned out bird boxes in the Top Strip. Clare was pleased he was morigerous (Obedient, compliant, submissive; OED Word of the Day 30.12.19) and resisted further attempts to introduce quirkiness to the screen, since she tends towards being perjink (Exact, precise, extremely accurate; OED Word of the Day 28.12.19).

The trail camera captured a deer on its way through the Pit Wood so at least one is still around. You can see how well it is camouflaged in its winter coat.

28th December

The outer structure is nearly complete. Clare and John turned their attention to the furnishings. They are hoping that they will be able to complete the - well it really is more than a screen, so has been upgraded to a hide - by the end of the year.

John bringing supplies

Trying out bench heights

29th December

Walking down to road to the bottom gate, Clare felt she was being watched. Beech is associated with femininity and thought to be the the queen of British trees. Clare hoped this tree was casting a kindly eye on her. Back at work John wrestled with finishing details on the boarding while Clare dug holes for a pole and a dead tree trunk that will support feeders. Together they fixed a bench along the front and imported two chairs for the side openings. Clare was suitably zealous with her new broom.

Pole and tree trunk in place

A new broom really does sweep clean

Almost ready

30th December

John fixed poles into the posts, added shelving and tried out how the feeders will hang.

31st December

A sunny, frosty day to end the year on Liddells. Clare filled the feeders then grappled with the guardian for the ground feeder which eventually surrendered to her efforts. She then fetched the last two telegraph poles from the sheds and part rolled and part dragged them to the hide site. They will support the remaining feeders. Thanks are due to Eilidh for the poles which she originally donated for Paul’s training. We are pleased to have been able to use so much secondhand and repurposed timber on the hide. Clare dug holes for the last two posts and left with the hope that the birds will not take too long to find the food.

A Happy New Year to all our readers. We are always delighted to hear that people read and follow this blog. Thank you for your support.

Awaiting birds

Soft rush on the Wetland

November - dig this

1st November

Along with familiar footage of deer, badger, fox and grey squirrels, John and Clare were delighted to see some birds captured by the trail camera. Although John and Clare have seen Redwings most winters, this is the first time the birds have been caught on camera.

Jays are often heard and sometimes seen on Liddells, however this is the first movie footage to show one.

2nd November

An addition to life on Liddells has arrived. It is not as tall as expected and is not clad in bright colours. We do believe it is capable of work of great strength. Its feet are conspicuously free of curly hair.

Pass the parcel 1 - the crate

Pass the parcel 2 - the inner box

Pass the parcel 3 - the bindings

It really is very small

The Hobbit revealed…

…and it comes with its own tiny dustpan and brush, seen next to normal size ones

Moving the stove out of the car boot, up the shepherds hut steps and into the hut took all of John and Clare’s combined strength.. It is made of cast iron. They worked their way through all the layers of packaging (see above) and John initially thought the instruction manual was missing, however found it cunningly concealed in the ash can. On Page 4 Clare found vital information. If only they’d known!

9-11th November

There are noticeably more blackbirds visible and audible on Liddells now. The overwintering birds from Scandinavia must have arrived.

John has almost finished laying the lino floor in the shepherds hut. As it is best cut when not too cold, he and Clare had to empty their kitchen and spread it out on that floor in order to have enough space to unroll and cut it almost to size.

John loves the Collective and Farmstock sales at the local Mart and has picked up many bargains there for Liddells - roofing sheets for sheds, fence posts, flat bed trailer, and more besides - having created a design for the bird-watching screen and hence a shopping list, he was prospecting even more purposefully than usual at the recent sale and discovered that not only was there plenty of the kind of timber that was needed, but also roofing sheets. He was successful at bidding and he and Clare then made three journeys with their little trailer to collect it all.

Load number 1 waiting to be stacked behind the bottom gate

12th November

John’s pool playing has unexpected dividends - two fellow players volunteered to help carry all the sale timber and roofing sheets to where they will be needed. This was no small undertaking - hauling wet and heavy boards and awkwardly-shaped sheets along several hundred yards of sodden and slippery ground and then over a stile. Clare thinks John must be such an asset to the pool team that they will do anything necessary to keep him playing.

Employing strong arm tactics

The trail camera has captured the following footage. John thinks this is the roe buck that has been around for a while and that it has recently shed its antlers and may be scratching where they have been.

13th November

John made the final cuts to the lino in the shepherds hut and worked on the support for the stove.

A fox came closer to the trail camera than ever before. It looks as though it has either a thick winter coat or is pretty well fed.

14th November

John and Clare were particularly pleased to discover that along with the familiar footage of deer, badger, fox and squirrels, the camera had captured a Sparrowhawk perched in the Scrub. Sparrowhawks will eat anything they can manage, including squirrels, so this squirrel was lucky. It is just possible to see the barring on the Sparrowhawk’s tail.

18th November

The sheep have eaten all they can from the Top Grazing so have been moved to the Meadow for a few days.

Juno is going through a phase of interrupted sleep. John is teaching her to count sheep.

There has only ever been one badger captured at any time by the camera. This may be a lone animal for whom Liddells is within its patch. Clare read that badger territories are roughly hexagonally-shaped areas, each border touching that of a neighbour's range, such that they form a honeycomb mosaic. Each sett is roughly in the middle of the territory and badgers forage closest to the sett first, moving further away as they exhaust the food reserves. The hole that John and Clare found near the Meadow has not been further excavated so may have been made by a badger unearthing a bumblebee nest.

22nd November

Having discovered that there is no spring at the base of the Crag, which John and Clare had thought a possibility, and that the wet area there is due to drainage from the land above, plans for an even larger pond at the base of the Crag had to be scrapped since there would be insufficient water flow to maintain such a pond. However John and Clare took advice and realised they could extend and improve the big pond instead. An 8 ton digger with operator arrived today and Carl set about the work. By the end of the day, he had enlarged and landscaped the borders of the big pond, enlarged both roadside and crag ponds, created a new pond, opened some of the grips and improved the roadway east of the roadside pond. While supervising all this activity, John saw a Woodcock fly out of the Pit Wood so at least one has arrived for the winter. Clare marked out the site for the bird-watching screen and was pleased to note that the willows woven into a screen were showing plenty of signs of life.

Arriving for work

Working

More working

The new pond seen from the Crag

Signs of life

23rd November

There had been substantial rain overnight so John and Clare went to check on the ponds and were delighted to see that they had already filled to their newer capacity.

Here’s the big pond 364 days ago. Note the rain

And here it is now

And from the south

The trail camera has captured footage of the roe buck again and here you can clearly see the remains of the pedicles where the antlers were attached.

24th November

Work began on the bird-watching screen. Clare dug holes for the first two posts and, with John’s help, put them in.

One post

The not-8-ton digger

Two posts

25 and 29th November

Work on the screen again - the second two posts in place, the subframe finished, the first floorboards fixed.

Liddells is saturated at present and not very appealing, however the rushes on the Wetland were covered in spiders’ webs and looked beautiful. Clare wondered if it might be possible to identify the kind of spider that would create this kind of web. The Natural History Museum came up trumps and Clare was able to recognise the webs she saw as sheet webs built by the spider family that includes the money spider. Coincidentally The Guardian’s Country Diary on Friday 29th was written by Susie White, who lives near Allendale, and she too commented on ‘the delicate hammocks of money spiders’.

Three posts and John thinking

Three posts and John thinking

Four posts and level checking

Sheeting

Flooring

30th November

Today was chosen by the Woodland Trust for their Big Climate Fight Back tree planting campaign. It just so happens that Clare’s friend Barbara had generously offered to give Clare trees to mark her recent birthday and they would only be ready at the end of this month. A plan was hatched: Barbara would come up from West Sussex in time to plant the trees on the 30th. The tree nursery’s delivery date was set back because the ground was so wet that they couldn’t lift the trees, then the haulage company’s scanner broke and they could give no assurance that the trees were loaded for delivery, however the tree gods and goddesses were obviously on The Woodland Trust’s side and the trees arrived on the 29th and were duly planted today. Clare had chosen a Hornbeam, a new species for Liddells. Barbara had generously bought two and a Rowan, so Barbara, Clare and John had a tree each to plant. Liddells was looking particularly beautiful in the heavy frost.

Dig a hole and insert tree…

Dig a hole and insert tree…

…with help if need be…

…hammer in stakes…

…well done John…

…wrap netting around the stakes

A localised climate fight back and three fewer trees for Corbyn to plant

Clare has long recognised Barbara’s artistic and creative abilities and was delighted Barbara left her mark on the shepherd’s hut

October - screenings

2nd - 3rd October

Clare began the tough task of clearing mint from the wet patch on the Meadow, where it was threatening to smother other plants. If anyone has grown mint, you will know the task she is facing. John was frustrated by a strimmer failure while trying to clear a patch for a willow screen. The screen will offer some cover for bird-watching.. John took the strimmer in for repair only to discover a small leaf was blocking the fuel flow. Hmm, Conan Doyle had a point: ‘the little things are infinitely the most important.’ Strimmer restored, Clare and John cleared the area for the screen and put weed-restricting membrane down. Although the official weekly butterfly survey season has closed, there are still butterflies around.

Speckled Wood on speckled stone

Pre-screen shot

Small Tortoiseshell on Creeping Thistle

5th October

Clare and John set about creating the willow screen, largely by trial and error. They are quite pleased with this first go and are grateful to their neighbour Sylvia who needed her garden willow pollarded and donated the cuttings to Liddells.

You put your left canes in…

…you put your right canes in…

…in, out, in, out, weave them all about

7th October

The trail camera is back in the Pit Wood. The deer seem to sense its presence and often stop right next to it and groom. The doe clearly has no need for osteopathy.

Every now and again the camera captures the unexpected. A month or so ago a complete stranger appeared in the footage, carrying a dog lead. We assumed he had lost his dog while walking along the road. Maybe this is the missing dog. Maybe the joker in the pack. Or ahead of the pack. There seems to have been no pack drill.

The doe and kid are still frequently seen together. Here you can see that they are now fully in their chocolatey-brown winter coats. The next clip shows two white patches on the doe’s neck and chest. They are known as gorget patches.

11th October

John turned his attention back to the shepherd’s hut, adding fireproof board behind where the wood burner will go and a thin layer of wood over the floor which should even out any lumpiness under the lino.

In their absence, it has quickly become apparent just how much the ponies ate. A local farmer has loaned John and Clare sixty-two sheep to eat off the Top Grazing.

15th October

Clare is committed to providing photographic evidence of life on Liddells, however she wondered exactly what message John was sending when he suggested the blog could include a link to this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition winners. While she ponders on this, here is the link:

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/october/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2019-winning-images.html

19th October

Clare has recently had a Big Number Birthday. She expressed a wish to mark this event by creating a bird-feeding station and watching screen on Liddells, having seen a similar arrangement at a local nature reserve. Thanks to the generosity of those who knew about the idea, she is getting under way with the scheme. There is an ideal site in the Pit Wood which provides plenty of cover for the birds to retreat to if necessary. Clare is currently drawing up designs and shopping lists. Synchronously, the RSPB has feeders on offer at a good discount, so purchases will be made.

There are plenty of birds to watch on Liddells at this time of year - the Fieldfares and Redwings are back, and the Scandinavian blackbirds are likely to arrive soon.

The feeding station site.

Possible bird-watching screen design. Possible bird-watcher.

Another screen shot.

22nd October

Mel joined John and Clare for a walk round Liddells with his ‘consultation lunch’ hat on and added to our list of valuable ideas for the future. They saw a Tawny Owl and the roe doe in the Pit Wood. Mel also suggested a way of improving the willow screen by weaving the end whips back into the main structure.

23rd October

One of John’s pool-playing companions, Phil, his wife Sarah and Sarah’s nephew Lucas visited Liddells. Phil has a wealth of geological knowledge and was able to answer the question that many have asked - are the quarry and crag on Liddells outcrops of the Whinsill. Apparently not. Phil could see that the rock on Liddells is sandstone, while the Whinsill is hard black dolerite. Lucas, from London, quickly got over his initial shock at the quantity of sheep ordure and entered into the spirit of things, politely tolerating Clare morphing into nature teacher mode. He contributed hugely to the bug hotel, spotted a ladybird on the thistle, waded up the stream to the spring and did an excellent job of algae clearing in the big pond. He also helped top up the hives with sugar syrup.

Creating a luxury suite for passing insects

The algae that didn’t get away

25th October

Mel advised that some of the guard tubes could be removed to prevent the trees becoming too spindly, although they still need protection from deer fraying. John worked on six larches in the Verge.

30th October

Clare mused on the turn her life has taken. John arrived home announcing he had a gift for her and it was outside. A new car? A water feature for the garden? A gardener? Wrong. A slice of tree trunk. It will make a perfect top for a bird table at the feeding station and Clare was absolutely delighted.

Not quite as old as Clare but perhaps more weathered

31st October

John and Clare may as yet have made no plans for approaching seasonal festivities however they are ahead of the game when it comes to swallows returning next year - John put up two clay swallow nests on the shelves in the sheds in the hope that next year the swallows will see them and be inspired to either use them, or enter into competitive nest-building mode.

And finally, the PONDS page is up on the website at last!

September - on the turn

2nd-6th September

Having reached the heights of the spoil heap for the Open Day, John and Clare set about making a way down. They spent some time working out whether it was better to work from the top or the bottom. In the end they did both. Happily the steps joined up.

Let’s start from the top

Or maybe the bottom

Ok, the bottom

And the top

3rd September

Clare was delighted to discover that the bees in the nucleus hive, long after the textbooks would suggest was likely, had a new queen that had started laying. This means that there will be four colonies going into the winter.

Leaving Liddells that same day, Clare and John were surprised to see a couple investigating the south boundary wall. They were delighted to discover that Ann and Andrew were on a mission to find all the ancient cross bases in the county. To their knowledge no-one had ever been interested before; Ann and Andrew were delighted that their efforts were so appreciated.

7th September

The first of the grandly called Consultation Lunches in the Shepherd’s hut. John and Clare had asked a number of people with relevant experience among their friends, to come and share ideas about how Liddells might be developed in the future, both enhancing what is already there, and offering new opportunities for engaging with the project. Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the day was the discovery of an Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar as Tim, Jane and Linda were leaving, on pretty much the exact spot where Linda had been telling Clare a couple of hours earlier about seeing one of these creatures near her home. Before the Consultants arrived John and Clare saw a charm of about fifty Goldfinches chasing off a Kestrel over the sheds.

8th September

The steps were finished. The OED must have known. The route over the spoil heap is no longer a mauvais pas (an area that is difficult or dangerous to negotiate; OED Word of the Day 8th September).

Stairway to Heaven…

…or descent into Hell? It all depends on your point of view

Clare is particularly pleased to have finished this task

10th September

The doe and her kid, which John is now convinced is also a doe, are regular users of the path through the Scrub, as is a fox who demonstrates his masculinity for the camera.

13th September

Tim forwarded the results of this year’s Butterfly Conservation Big Butterfly Count which shows a huge influx of Painted Ladies on the north-east coast. Tim’s counts over the summer reflect this surge in numbers too.

14th September

A badger joins the Scrub path users group; a roe buck marks his territory even though the rut is over; the roe kid has grown and lost her markings.

17th September

Clare and John sowed wildflower seeds in the shepherd’s hut enclosure hoping they will vernalise successfully and emerge in the Spring.

19th September

The fox can be seen boldly going about his business in daylight.

21st September

Clare spent some time preparing her bees for the winter, treating them for varroa mite (most honey bee colonies suffer from these now and if present in large numbers, the mites weaken the bees leaving them prone to infection and disease, particularly Deformed Wing Virus), and checking on the colonies’ stores. The newest and smallest colony is being threatened by robber bees (not everything is sweetness and honey in bee world) so Clare smeared the brood box with a eucalyptus rub, placed a sheet of glass over the entrance and added several small leafy branches. The home bees will be able to make their way through this obstacle course, the robbers may retire defeated and if they don’t, the delay caused to their activities will give the guard bees more time to attack.

23rd September

Juno was employed as a bug hotel builder and was satisfied with her work. Payment was made in blackberries.

26th September

Clare walked round with Sue D who is one of those people who are attuned to nature and therefore see and hear more than most. Together they saw a hare in the Top Strip, a roe doe in an adjoining field, a Goldcrest in the Orchard, a juvenile Goldfinch (wing markings not fully developed and a grey head) eating Knapweed seeds in the Meadow and a juvenile male Great Spotted Woodpecker (large red cap rather than red patch on the back of the head) on Sitka cones in the North-east Strip.

27-29th September

John has turned his attention to the inside of the shepherd’s hut, working out how best to fit a wood-burning stove and how to proceed with the chosen flooring. While he wrestled with measurements and paper patterns, Clare got down to the nuts and bolts of the matter and requested that a bolt and handle be fitted to the door so that it could be closed from the inside. As John often says, it’s all in the detail.

Frame in place for the insulation boards that will be behind the stove

Interior fixing to prevent hut users bolting

Getting a handle on things with a teleramic

Look closely at the handle - any guesses as to its origin? It’s repurposed from an object mentioned in an earlier blog post. While finding out whether this object had a particular name, Clare was delighted to discover that there is a Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society. She probably won’t join.

The trail camera, now moved to the Pit Wood, has captured the kid again and the images show very clearly how it has grown, but how it is losing its summer coat revealing the darker chocolatey brown winter coat below.

August - an open invitation, shut and reopened

1st - 8th August

John and Clare decided to celebrate Liddells’ sixth anniversary with an Open Day on August 10th. This turned John and Clare into preppers (OED 4th August: A person who or thing which prepares or readies something; a preparer). John set about strimming heroically to create paths round the site, Clare devised activities to keep visitors entertained, copious lists and notices were created, tables and chairs were imported, the sheds were smartened up and the shepherd’s hut was fitted with its very first furnishings - two book racks. So much more important than beds or heating. There was even a bit of MacGyvering : To construct, fix, or modify (something) in an improvised or inventive way, typically by making use of whatever items are at hand; to adapt expediently or ingeniously.(OED Word of the Day 08.08.19) - see photos below. There had been considerable rain over these few days however Clare and John remained optimistic and dedicated to prepping. The last task was to put up signs and make maps. This all occupied most of their time, however there were still opportunities to enjoy Liddells’ delights. Tim had managed to glimpse a Purple Hairstreak butterfly (first seen on Liddells last year) at the end of last month, on a roadside oak, and told John and Clare that if present, the butterflies were likely to be seen at around five in the afternoon on a sunny day at the very top of oak trees. In spite of several attempts and much cricking of necks, Tim and Jane are as yet the only ones to spot the butterfly. Good to know it seems to have returned though. Tim is also on the lookout for White Letter Hairstreaks which feed at the top elms which we have in the north-west corner of the Pit Wood. More neck-cricking involved. New dragon and damselfly species have arrived on the ponds, including Blue-tailed and Emerald damselflies and Common Hawkers.

Priorities

Final shed path weeded and chipped

Common Red Soldier Beetle (PG: only read on if you have permission from an adult) also apparently known as the Hogweed Bonking Beetle

“You’re turning violet, Violet!” This Violet Ground Beetle was trying to evade Clare’s weeding activities

Small Copper on Ragwort. John and Clare remove Ragwort from the Top Grazing and Meadow. Although animals naturally avoid eating it, if it ends up in hay they have no knowledge of its presence and that’s when there is a risk of poisoning. This small patch of the plant is on the Wetland and has been given a stay of execution because it is attracting so many butterflies.

Male Common Darter - even though these dragonflies bask for a few seconds, it is very hard to get a clear photographic image with a phone camera. This is probably the best of several taken.

Here is the female. One wildlife photographer commented that he reckoned to take 250 photographs to get 1 good one, and that’s with state of the art equipment.

Hotel under construction - no planning permission needed. Please note recycled pallets…

…carpet…

…and turves. All ecologically sound…

…and well signposted

This honey bee appeared to be foraging on the tow rope. It spent some time there. Maybe the fibres were similar to stamens…

This is a male Emerald damselfly

9th August

The rain began in the night and continued ceaselessly; the forecast for Saturday was atrocious - thundery storms and heavy rainfall. Clare received an email offering an inflatable kayak and discretion being the better part of most things, John and Clare regretfully cancelled the Open Day. They had lovely messages of support in response including Jane K who was relieved not to have to aquaplane to the event.

10th August

The forecast was right - heavy rain through the night and up till mid-morning then again through the afternoon and all the next day.

12th August

Tim and Jane managed a butterfly transect today and great excitement - a new butterfly for Liddells. Tim said the Dark Green Fritillary was a bit bedraggled. Apparently the caterpillars of this species eat dog violets, of which Liddells has plenty. Jane also found an exceptionally well camouflaged young frog near the Crag pond.

Dark Green Fritillary …

…and the underside

Even with Jane’s guidance, the frog is hard to see

Still hard to see in close up

13th August

John and Clare visited Liddells for the first time since all the rain, expecting to see a lot of standing water where none had stood before. Surprisingly there wasn’t that much, although the spring was running with great force and water was emerging from the original site of the spring and from a different site close by - neither of these have run with water in the last six years. John and Clare spent a long time by the big pond hoping for dragon and damselflies to settle, in particular the Common Hawkers that were around. Frustratingly this particular species seems to the the swift of the dragonfly world and never settles, so we can offer no photographs. Instead there are good images here. There were also Emerald damselflies, several of which were mating. There was a new insect on thistles on the Top Grazing that prompted an enquiry to the Royal Entomological Society; an enquiry that met with another prompt response from Professor Jim Hardie.

Brown-lipped snail on Hogweed

Another of the same, demonstrating how they may vary in colour

According to Professor Jim Hardie, this is a female Great Pied Hoverfly. Apparently they are widespread in the Uk and good pollinators.

A Comma on Creeping Thistle

This is the first time all but one of the stepping stones in the Crag pond have been submerged

John found this owl pellet on a fence post. You can see fragments of shiny beetle cases and at the top, the distinctive colour of a Violet Ground Beetle. Clare is hoping it was not the one she disturbed

Fungi are starting to appear and here is, if not a fairy ring, at least a fairy semi-circle

The trail camera has captured evidence that the roe buck and doe are still around, however there is no footage of the kid during the last three days. Let’s hope it is somewhere dry.

Taking a less explored route through the Pit Wood, John was particularly excited to find evidence of a roe ring. Roe rings provide evidence of repeated chases, the buck chasing the doe, around tree trunks or broken stumps, chases that leave a circle or figure-of-eight of bare earth liberally sprinkled with slots and often remnants of hair. In this instance, there was a figure of eight around two Norway Spruces. Unfortunately the ring would not show up well on a photograph.

17th - 18th August

John and Clare decided to tackle one of the projects that has been on the Liddells to-do list for quite a while - creating a series of steps over a large spoil heap in the Top Strip. It’s a clichéd task - taking flight one step at a time, the only way is up, until of course what goes up must come down while in the meantime trying not to get the hump.

Chips with everything

John at work having just freed the enormous boulder that is in the foreground. It will be incorporated into a cairn nearby

Things are looking up

This is the downside

19th August

Followers of this blog will know that photographs of rainbows have featured before. Here is another. Rainbows help compensate for all the rain and Liddells has good rainbows. This is one of Tim’s pictures and he adds that his kids used to call the road bend between his house and Liddells Rainbow Corner because that was the name of the owners of the house near the bend and because there are often rainbows there.

Tim’s caption - somewhere over the rainbow

20th August

The trail camera has captured evidence that the kid is still around. John thinks it is a buck.

21st August

While watching the big pond for dragonflies, Clare managed to identify another new species - a Brown Hawker (also seen recently in the Pit Wood) and in checking it out on the British Dragonfly Society’s website, realised she had wrongly labelled a photo in the June blog post. The subject in question was a Four-spotted Chaser, not the female Broad-bodied Chaser. This means that to date the ponds have attracted nine species of dragon and damselflies.

24th August - OPEN DAY!

The forecast for today had looked good for a while so John and Clare decided to go ahead with the Open Day and make best use of all John’s path strimming. The shepherd’s hut became a Liddells Information Office for the day with lists of the wildlife recorded thus far and some illustrations; visitors were provided with a map and list of suggested activities and an invitation to discover their inner child. Much fun appeared to be had by all. John and Clare were delighted to let everyone else do the work. Keith identified an additional dragonfly ovipositing- a Southern Hawker - which brings our species total up to ten. Thank you to all photographers for their contributions.

Also on offer was ‘Build a cairn’ to make use of some of the rocks excavated during the step making

Pat and Kate undertaking the challenge. Pat later suggested the provision of a swing for adults as well as children; Kate told a story about ‘a little soggy doggy with a very waggy tale’ - this might have had something to do with Maggie the cocker spaniel who joined in the day

Sabre wasp enjoying the view from inside the hut

Follow the sign…

…and this is part of what you can see

Making seat and orientation board now added to to-do list

Gloves thoughtfully provided

Does anyone use them…

…no

Are they looking for the pond or the pond-dipping equipment?

Here it is

John has found the pond and is looking for dragonflies

Juno and Hal get to have a go a couple of days later

Jane and Gill seem to be looking for the way through the woods

Here’s one…

…and here’s another

Maggie found some textbook examples of Grey Coral Fungus

Kate started to build herself a shelter

Neil and Lesley this Painted Lady on Knapweed in the Meadow

Jane E found another Wolf Spider with egg sac

Follow the sign…

are you sitting comfortably…

…then Mark will begin

Bug hotel building materials…

…building site…

…and instructions

Nathan decorating one of the rooms…

…and within minutes he had spotted our first guest. It’s a Four-banded Longhorn Beetle. We are hoping it gives a good review on TwigAdvisor (thank you Mark!)

It wasn’t all work!

There had been a large number of flying ants around the shepherd’s hut during the day however everyone politely ignored them. Later Kathryn sent a message to say that it had been Flying Ant Day. That wasn’t on either the biodiversity or Open Day plan yet seems wholly appropriate that they shared the celebration.

25th August

After all the enchantments and delights of the Open Day, Clare made her own discoveries. Enchanting? Delightful? All part of nature’s rich pattern.

These are both examples of the slime mould Fuligo Septica, also known as Scrambled Egg Slime Mould…

…and less appealingly as Dog’s Vomit Slime Mould

However she was also able to take a slightly better picture of a Common Darter than previously.

31st August

Clare started the process of removing honey from the bees yesterday. This involves adding a clearer board in the evening. (The board has a rhombus shaped escape insert which has two "tunnels" leading to each end and a centre chamber in which the bees gather when initially leaving the super) The board is positioned between the brood box and the honey super . The bees will naturally cluster in the brood box overnight and if the super is removed early the next morning, they haven’t had a chance to work out how to get back up to the honey. This morning only three bees had to be persuaded to abandon their honey which made the collection quite easy. There’s not as much honey this year as last as the bees needed it during the cold and wet spells when they couldn’t get out to forage. While Clare and John enjoy honey on their toast, they hope the bees will be satisfied with their sugar syrup substitute.

July - we kid you not

1st July

After the sadness of the ponies leaving, Clare and John were especially delighted by footage captured on the trail camera. They had placed the camera in the Pit Wood on the path where Clare had seen the roe doe and her kid. Since it is very unusual to see a roe kid (the doe usually hides them in long grass) there are several clips included here. The cuteness factor is very high.

3rd July

After a longer delay than expected, John and Clare borrowed a horse box and took Paul over to Cumbria. They were concerned he might not be willing to go into the box having not been in one since he arrived at Liddells, however at Sally and Becky’s invitation he walked straight up the ramp. Becky (Rowbeck) was pleased to see him again and emailed the next day to say that he had settled in just fine.

The doe and kid continue to enchant and the Pit Wood path proves to be a main highway for wildlife.

Everything’s leading to this box

In there?

Can I come out now?

I’ve a feeling we’re not in Northumberland anymore

Pleased to see each other again

Settling in

4th July

Clare received a parcel - the postie thought it was a shovel and was rather disappointed to hear it was a pond-dipping kit. Perhaps the thought of a shovel based crime was more appealing, though probably not to John.

Creative parcelling skills

5th July

Mel generously offered John and Clare an anthomaniacs’ day (OED Word of the Day 3rd May - a person who is (excessively passionate or enthusiastic about flowers). They reckon to have found about 110 different species in flower. Mel was struck not only by how many more species there were, but also how more numerous the flowers were since his last survey in 2014. John and Clare felt very encouraged. You can see Clare’s list, arranged by habitat here. On the way across the Top Grazing, Clare had another look under the newt’s log and thought she was seeing double, if not treble - look closely at the top left corner of the photograph and see what you think.

Tim sent Clare a copy of the North East England Branch Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Summary 2018 and she discovered Liddells gets a mention in relation to Green-veined Whites:

‘Spring generation notable counts came from Ian Findlay with 33 from Upper Teesdale on 18th May, Andrew Craggs, 31 on Lindisfarne on 15th May and Tim Wrigley with 25 at Liddells Wood near Hexham on 20th May.’

Any lepidopterists among this blog’s followers might like to read the whole report.

…then there were two, or maybe three…

6-11th July

The ponies’ departure means that the area round the sheds and shepherd’s hut does not need to be proofed against mud and post damage. John spent some time rethinking and building new fencing. He has also adjusted the height of the steps into the hut so that persons of smaller stature can use them more easily. Clare is grateful and considers it to be an act of bonification (OED Word of the Day 2nd May: the action or an instance of making something good or better; esp reclamation of land for cultivation, construction, etc..) The kid continues to offer entertainment.

Clare was pleased to see John taking the business of levels so seriously…

…and to great effect

12th July

Hal came to help John put up a swing in the Pit Wood. Juno approved. Clare, Beth and Juno had a first go with the pond-dipping net and tray. Juno took her responsibility as identifier very seriously.

John appears to be stuck inside the ladders

Meanwhile by the pond

Waiting a swinger

13th July

Clare, while hiding behind a hawthorn tree for Juno to find her, noticed a large hole in the bank near the roadside pond. There were a lot of white-tailed bumblebees in the entrance however the hole was far too big to be a nest for them. It did look the right size for a badger. The trail camera was moved…

16-18th July

John and Clare had three days away near Easingwold in Yorkshire and were dismayed to experience almost a complete absence of birds, even in the Yorkshire Arboretum. On return they went straight up to Liddells to reconnect with the birds there and almost immediately in the Pit Wood saw a family of Goldcrests and moments later a Spotted Flycatcher, a species they had not seen on Liddells for three years. This did a lot to offset their Yorkshire related dismay. They also collected the disc from the trail camera.

19th July

Having seen swallows fly in and out of the sheds, John fixed some shelving to make it easier for them to build nests should they choose to. Coincidentally, John and Clare have discovered there are swallows nesting at home for the first time in the fifteen years they have spent in their house. The badger hole site continues to attract visitors.

Swallow nest shelf in the log shed…

…and in the shelter

23rd July

John completed the new gate into the shepherd’s hut enclosure. While John and Clare were working there, a bat flew from behind the hut in broad daylight. There are no signs of bats nesting there, however it was good to see one. Clare changed the protection for the Field Maple on the Top Grazing; the tiny tree had become very lost in the growth around it. Clare put chip down round the tree as she had seen at the Yorkshire Arboretum.

Smart new gate

Field Maple under less threat

25-26th July

John saw 7-spot ladybird on Creeping Thistle. Clare saw a Common Darter , probably male, flying round the big pond. Tantalisingly, the only place it came to rest was on a stone on the island which was too far away to take a photograph. The trail camera showed how the roe deer rut has started. The video clip shows the buck pursuing the doe. Maybe there will be more kids next year.

7 spotted ladybird

28th July

Clare and John have been smartening up the area round the sheds and shepherd’s hut. John has been levelling off the fencing and Clare has started weeding the paths before putting down membrane and new chip.

Weeds to be removed

Phases 1 and 2, weeded and membrane down in one section

30th July

Mike, a long time friend of John, brought his quad bike over for the day. Much wood was moved. While Mike and John were loading and ferrying the wood, Clare continued with her efforts to smarten up the shed area.

Lots of horsepower plus one dogpower

Phase 3 begins - adding the chip

Now isn’t that better

One row finished

Plenty more to saw and split

Still more, though this may be planked

31st July

Bee update:

Yet more rain today so no work on the land. Instead Clare has produced an update on the apiary:
There are now three thriving colonies. Two are headed by this year’s queens, both marked green (this mnemonic helps remember the right colour: Will You Raise Good Bees/White, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue). The third has one of last year’s queens and was created by taking her, some frames of eggs and some nurse bees and setting them up in a new hive, while allowing a queen cell that had been created in the original hive, to mature and for that queen to hatch, be mated and start laying. This third queen is marked red and eluded being spotted for a long time. Clare finally saw her and was able to mark her. Clare’s bee buddy Barry named this queen The Scarlet Pimpernel. There is a fourth colony created by taking a frame with a queen cell from one of Barry’s hives when his bees had made several queen cells, and putting it in a 5 frame hive, called a nucleus hive, with frames of brood and stores and some nurse bees. The queen must have hatched because the queen cell had  vanished (bees recycle the wax) but was nowhere in evidence when Clare looked, so she gave them a frame of eggs from The Scarlet Pimpernel from which they drew up two queen cells. Clare left one and that hive is now in purdah to leave the new queen time to emerge, mature, be mated and start laying. Unfortunately the wet and colder weather means that this might be unsuccessful. A new queen needs a few hot dry days to be sufficiently mated.

Although two colonies produced a lot of honey in the spring, so much so that Clare added extra supers (boxes with frames exclusively for honey into which the queen cannot go and lay eggs because she is kept out by a queen excluder). However there was a longer than usual nectar-gap in June because of poor weather, and the bees needed to draw on their own stores for food. This seems entirely fair, if a bit disappointing for honey lovers. If not much honey remains, Clare might leave it on for the winter bees which will reduce the need for sugar feeds.