Leverton Nature Watch with Maureen Humberstone The beginning of May saw the first of the Painted Lady Butterflies arrive into Britain from Africa, and later to be a big influx in numbers. Another butterfly to be seen early in the month was the Holly Blue. As the May Fair moved into Boston so did the Swifts, with their scream like call; also often to be seen streaming across the marsh. Whitethroat could be heard singing with its scratchy like song along the Roman Bank, later to be followed by Chiff Chaff, a bird with its song repeating its name. The roadsides became full of wild flowers including Ribwort Plantain, a medical plant making effective cough remedies, Birds Foot Trefoil, yellow tinged with orange when in seed, and whose pods look like birds feet, Purple Tufted Vetch, Smooth Hawksbeard, Silverweed, Meadow Buttercup and loved by bees, Red Clover. Along the hedgerows the first of the bramble flowers began to bloom and the lace like White Elderflower (nice to make wine with), whilst scrambling up the hedgerows was the White Bryony with its greenish yellow dainty flowers. Wood Avens flowered along the hedge bottom, along with the sticky cleaver, known to us as children, as Sweethearts. The pretty pink and white flowers of the Field Binder Weed filled the drain sides, a haven for many insects but a pain in the garden, strangling many of your plants as it twists its way around them. Talking of gardens, I suddenly had some Foxgloves flowering from I know not where, with the bees loving them as they disappeared deep inside for the pollen. May brought many baby birds into the garden; Starling, Dunnock, Blackbird, Robin, House Sparrow and even Moorhen - and the family of the two that had fed from the bird table all winter and into spring. Whilst walking out one day two small fox cubs trundled across my path. A delight to see, but maybe not if you keep poultry. By the end of the month the first of the pretty Common Blue Butterfly could be seen flitting along the roadsides. The male, a beautiful blue and the female, brown, with a blue margin. June is a little quieter with regards to the birds as several are feeding young, or are in the stage of moult, when they hide away from predators, but you can still hear their birdsong, especially Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Wren and the delightful Skylark. On June 10th I did manage to hear the Cuckoo as I walked along the Roman Bank, but did not see it. Last year I never heard or saw one at all. Reed Warbler could be heard, with its song resembling two pebbles being rubbed together and seen in the reed beds along the Dovecote drain. Marsh Harrier were seen quite often hunting along the treetops of the Roman Bank. More flowers came into bloom along the roadsides, Nipplewort; whose leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach, Cat’s Ear, Scented Mayweed, Herb Robert, Field Poppy, Common Comfrey with many herbal uses, Hedge Woundwork whose leaves have an unpleasant smell when crushed, but has antiseptic properties and at one time its leaves were made into poultices to bind around wounds, Pineapple Weed whose leaves smell of pineapple when crushed, and the purple flower of Knap Weed. Along the hedgerow the dainty pink and white flowers of the Dog Rose came into bloom. Among the long grasses Lattice Heath Moth, White Carpet Moth and Common Blue Damsel Fly could be seen, followed in the middle of the month by the dark brown, almost black, Ringlet Butterfly, and the orange and brown Meadow Brown Butterfly. The marsh fringes saw the succulent Lesser Sea Sand Spurrey come into flower with its tiny pink flower heads. Along the hedge bottom the yellow bodied with black abdomen Ichneumon Suspiciosus could be seen flying about looking a bit like a wasp but is a sinister parasite laying its eggs in various moth caterpillars. So beware, there are sinister goings on in the world of nature as well as the real world. Indeed, and we take your point, Maureen. Thank you so much for your input, Alan.
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