Category: 2026

Summer started early this year and we had foxgloves flowering from the 26th May. We have never known them to be this early before. On one of the graves there were lots of the white hybrid. We found a Drinker moth caterpillar.

 

The adults are an odd-looking moth that flies from July. Its name evolved because of the caterpillar’s habit of drinking drops of dew from grass stems. Its lava can be found throughout the year.

 

Interesting sightings, since May, have been the bracket fungus by the main gate and the many butterflies, mainly meadow browns, speckled woods and painted ladies. We were very pleased to see numerous caterpillars from the Peacock butterfly on two patches of nettles. The very pretty Small Yellow Underwing moth was spotted flying in June. This is a day-flying species which prefers sunny weather, frequenting meadows, grassy downland and other open areas in May and June. The larvae feed on the flowers and seeds of mouse-ear (Cerastium spp.), especially common mouse-ear (C. holosteoides) which is abundant here. At the end of May there was an influx of Silver Y moths, flying during the day and named after the silver ‘y’ that can be seen clearly on each wing when they settle. This species is probably the UK’s most common immigrant moth. They are usually most numerous from late summer into autumn, but this year they are early and more of them. They can occur in any month with those in the winter generally associated with warmer southerly winds. Not so welcome are the grubs of Viburnum Leaf Beetles which consume the leaves of the Guelder Rose. There are a lot on some of the plants and the leaves have been well stripped.

 

We were very pleased to see the Butterfly orchid back in its usual place. Still no sign of any others. The Southern Marsh orchids Have come up again on the grave in the meadow where they have been planted.

 

We managed to get Nellie, one of the working horses on the farm, to assist in taking a bench down to the side of a grave. It is never an easy task working them in the summer because of the many horseflies and heat. These have been abundant on the site this year and included the Dark Giant Horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus).

 

A highlight at the pond was the Beautiful Demoiselle dragonfly. It was a male we saw as it had a metallic blue body with dark wings. The female has a metallic green-bronze body with translucent pale brown wings.

Spring came with an abundance of blossom on many of the trees and wonderful floral smells. We plant spring flowers on the graves and as there are now graves in most locations, so many areas are full of colour. One customer planted the stunning Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes-head Fritillary) on an ashes plot and it is the third year they have come up.  This species is said to be native to the UK, although some do question this. The species can now only be found growing wild in a handful of meadows in southern and central England. Apparently, the first reference to it growing in the wild is as relatively recent as 1736, despite already being known from gardens some 150 years earlier.  But whatever its origins, the sight of a field ablaze with the drooping, chequered patterned, wine-red heads must be a wonderful sight. Under ideal conditions the plant will multiply and naturalize, spreading readily by seed. Hopefully the ones here will spread into the adjoining wildflower meadow area at some point. They flower from March to June.

 

The starlings and fieldfares went in March but we welcomed back the blackcap, willow warbler, garden warbler, swallow and whitethroat. We have seen goshawks a few times. Butterflies seen included the brimstone, peacock, red admiral, comma, small tortoiseshell, orange tip, ringlet, specked wood, small and large white.

 

The hawthorn fly or St Marks fly was out in abundance on St Marks day on the 25^th – living up to its name. Hundreds of this long, black, shiny fly were flying amongst the small lime tree blossoms in the sunshine.

 

The tadpoles are developing well and we found a large frog that had deposited itself in one of the prepared graves. We check prepared graves carefully before each funeral to ensure that any creatures that have dropped into the holes can be safely retrieved and released a safe distance from the hole.

A couple of inches of snow appeared on the 20^th November, turning the whole site into a beautiful winter wonderland. The dead angelica plants and burial posts were topped with pom poms of snow and there are lots of wonderful photos on our Facebook page, kindly provided by the aptly named ‘Snows’!

By the 22^nd of November the snow had cleared. The starlings had arrived the week before. They replaced the leaves on the trees! With the abundance of starlings, we were able to watch thousands flying overhead each night to their communal roost a few miles away. We were also treated to murmurations as they flocked together to create their beautiful patterns in the sky. No one knows exactly why murmurations occur. This phenomenon could be a defence against predators, information exchange, or social bonding. Sadly, the UK starling population has decreased by 57% since 1995 and is continuing to decline. We do have a few native starlings here but the ones we are seeing are mainly from northern Europe. They spend the winter here, arriving during September and October. They will return home during February and March. In December around fifty redwings were enjoying the berries on a mature holly tree and at the end of January there was a fieldfare regularly seen guarding a tree that still had plenty of apples for it to enjoy. A pair of bullfinches have been seen regularly near the pond and woodcock and snipe are regularly flushed from the scrub areas. The first frog spawn was laid on the 3^rd February and by the 15^th February there were 30 clumps.

The hazel catkins this year have looked incredible, with their creamy yellow ‘lambs tails’ providing a flash of colour.  To us they look more like hundreds of  chunky  caterpillars suspended from the trees. They were early this year, starting to appear at the end of December and by January there were hundreds of them hanging down from the trees. Hazel is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree. The female ‘flowers’ are tiny but their bright red stigmas make them easier to spot. Hazel flowers must be pollinated by pollen from other hazel trees.

On the 4^th January there were two foxes, in fairly close proximity. Foxes tend to be solitary animals, coming together only to breed. Both were in excellent condition.