Home to many creatures

Over the past few weeks, we have made a few visits to weed around the tree spirals and to plant a further 20 trees donated by The Woodland Trust.  These included some Spindle, Silver Birch, Osier Willow and Field Maple.  We have also added a few primroses in the far corner. Last week I saw a Willow Warbler along the hedge-bank. But the most exciting find was a Harvest Mouse nest inside a tree-tube!  It was the solitary nest of a young mouse and could have been there since 2021, or the previous Summer, as that particular tree was planted in late 2019.

Solitary Harvest Mouse Nest

 

Later on I found another nest, this time it was closely packed at the base of the tree-tube and made of leaves, some grass, fur and chewed polythene.  This was most likely the nest of a Wood Mouse. They like the warm, dry tree-tubes and treat them like an underground hole. It is difficult to see, but here is the photo:

Wood Mouse nest

There were Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queens scouting around for holes.  Some trees are in blossom now, such as Crab Apple and Wild Cherry, with Hawthorn, Rowan and Whitebeam not far behind.  Today was warm and sunny.  Maggie was taking advantage of the dry weather to cut the grass path for the first time.  We saw several butterflies, including Peacock, Holly Blue, a pair of Tortoiseshell, Brimstone and a female Orange Tip.  The Lady's Smock (food-plant of the Orange Tip) is in flower both in the Biodiversity Area and in the field outside. Maggie also saw a couple of lizards.

Peacock butterfly

Drinker Moth caterpillar

Oak Marble Galls

It is wonderful to see how each year we are finding different creatures settling in.  We have insects (bees, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps) breeding on site.  We have small mammals (voles, wood mice, harvest mice). Also reptiles (lizards and slow worms) and a plentiful population of snails - white-lipped, brown-lipped and Garden Snails, which are a good food source for voles and thrushes.