During the recent cold spell we were lucky enough to be visited by a Great White Egret. This large all white heron is about the size of the Grey Heron but more elegant with a longer neck and legs. It is almost twice the size of the more familiar Little Egret. In most years the Great White Egret has started to become a regular visitor to the UK. Its numbers have increased in the recent twenty years and it has now started to nest in a few sites in GB. The snow and freezing conditions appear to have forced the egrets off frozen inland wetlands or perhaps triggered an influx from the continent; up to 9 were seen on the coastal marshes in the Faversham area. One of these visited the allotments on Sun 14th Feb. when I was lucky to obtain some photographs. It was, however, seen off by our local Grey Heron that appeared not to want to share its favourite fishing spot!

Cormorants also moved onto Stonebridge Pond during the freeze. Normally we see just one or two occasionally, but there were up to 14 on the pond during the cold spell.

Following the previous post, here is a cutting from the National Allotment Society’s recent magazine

The Stonebridge Allotments (as well as Louise and Andrew Lees, who entered their plot for Wild About Gardens and received a gold award) have been awarded a plaque “Neighbourhood with the best buzz”, as our site is full of pollinators and is managed with wildlife in mind.

Well done to all plotholders!

At a soggy mini presentation at the Abbey Physic Community Garden last week the organisers said: “Kent Wildlife Trust has been in a partnership with Bumblebee Conservation Trust & other organisations running a project called Making a Buzz for the Coast.

“This project is drawing to a close . One of the targets within the project was to find the “Neighbourhood with the best buzz” over the three year project & we are delighted to announce that whichever way you look at the maths, the town of Faversham has come out as the winner by a high margin.”

A skip will be available at the main gate of the allotment site from Friday 17th July, until it is full.

It is for the  disposal of allotment rubbish only and to comply with the terms of the hire company should not be filled with rubble, soil or compostable material.

Metal may be put in the enclosure at the end of the drive, for later collection.

If you wish to make use of the skip to clear rubbish from your plot at this difficult time please follow the Government guidelines on social distancing and hand sanitising/washing.

This spring has been particularly good for two of our native butterflies that do not overwinter as adults and are a true sign of spring, the Orange-tip and the Holly Blue. This year, owing to the exceptionally warm spring, they both appeared earlier than normal and have been abundant on the allotments. I thought I would show a few photographs to illustrate the life cycle of the Orange-tip.

The Orange-tip is a species that can be seen along country lanes, hedgerows and  woodland  edges and the allotment drive and surrounds is a favourite place to see them. The male is especially attractive with orange tips to the forewings but the female upperwing resembles other species of white butterfly. The underwing is beautifully marbled, that provides good camouflage when, for example when the butterfly sits on plants like flowering Hedge Parsley.

The female lays her eggs just below the flower head  most commonly on Garlic Mustard ( Alliaria petiolata) and Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis  ) but also on garden plants such as Dame’s Violet(Hesperis matronalis) and Honesty (Lunaria arvensis). The egg is greenish yellow when first laid but changes as it matures to a beautiful orange colour just before hatching. This egg that I photographed was about 1 mm in length and is beautifully sculptured. There are some good stands of Garlic Mustard just inside the Flood Lane entrance, which is where I have found caterpillars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The caterpillar when it first hatches eats its eggshell and also other unhatched eggs that are nearby. At first it is a brownish colour covered in warts, bristles and spines. The one below was just over 3 mm long. It has five stages or instars and in the latter stages is green, again with warts, with a horizontal white stripe along the sides. The caterpillars feed on the seed pods of the host plant and are cannibalistic. It is unusual to find more than one mature caterpillar per plant. When fully grown the caterpillar is about 25 mm long and can be difficult to spot when lying against the stem of the plant or on a seed pod.

The final moult is to the pupa that is either attached to the stem of the host plant or more commonly in nearby vegetation or on other vertical structures that provide a safe overwintering site.. The host plant often decays away in the winter. The  pupa (chrysalis) is attached by a pad of silk at the rear end. Notice the delicate strand of silk attaching the waist to the stem and the wing venation visible through the skin.The butterfly spends eleven months of the year as a pupa before emerging the following spring.

 

The Holly Blue unlike the Orange-tip is double brooded and is a frequent visitor to gardens. The first brood on the wing from March/April and the second generation is on the wing in July and August. The first generation lays its eggs on Holly, the second on mature ivy, where it lays its eggs just below the ivy flower buds.   the caterpillar then eats into the bud and feeds on the developing flower A good reason to retain some mature ivy on the allotments as a valuable food source for Holly Blue and other insects. The Holly Blue flies higher than the other species of blue butterfly and you can often see it skimming through trees or the tops of shrubs. The caterpillar drops to the ground to pupate in the surface leaf litter. Numbers of Holly Blue fluctuate enormously in numbers from year to year, over a six to seven year cycle of abundance and scarcity. This is thought to be in part caused by parasitism from a small wasp that lays its eggs in the caterpillars , with a single wasp eventually emerging from the Holly Blue pupa. The images show the upper and underwing. The female has broad blackish tips to the wing. The male has just a thin black margin.

 

All photographs © Bob Gomes

To care for ourselves we must care for nature

It’s time to wake up. To take notice.

It’s time to build back better for People  and Planet

The World Environment Day, It’s Time for Nature

Activities are going on across the world, including in Faversham, where live videos will be posted throughout the day from 10.00 a.m.

One will feature the town allotments and you may even see some photographs of the wildlife that shares the Stonebridge site with us: the best wildlife site within the town centre.

World Environment Day

 

 

Seven newly hatched cygnets that were photographed today, 23rd May 2020

Thanks to Andy Freeman for the photograph.

 

The Committee has cancelled the skip that was arranged for Thursday 26th March 2020.

 

The health of our plot holders is our top priority at this time and we will arrange to have another skip when it is safe to do so.

A skip will be available at the main gate of the allotment site from Thursday 26th March, until it is full.  It is for the disposal of allotment rubbish only, but the skip should not be filled with rubble, soil or compostable material.

If you wish to make use of the skip to clear rubbish from your plot at this difficult time, please make sure to follow Government guidelines on social distancing and hand washing.

 

A video showing four fox cubs born on the upper part of the site in 2019 and a video made by a visitor to Faversham Open Gardens 2019, full of praise for the allotments. Allotments feature at 11 mins 17 seconds.

Thanks to Jamie, Plot 13B, for providing these videos.