If you build it …
If you build it …
Almost exactly 4 years ago, the Headley Down Nature Reserve Trust was set up with a very small band of local volunteers. Through local support, tenacious fund raising, vision and a lot of hard work, the nature reserve has become a ‘go to’ place to visit.
I don’t mean just for humans …. I mean for wildlife.
Although it is clear that we are all enjoying it a lot more too. Especially over lock down it has been a safe place to go to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air and nature.
Four years on ….
Over the past four years, so much nature is finding a home in the brambles, wooded areas, and wildflower zones. We’ve seen gold crests, white throats, black caps and a host of other beautiful song birds. Kites and buzzards have started circling overhead. There have been deer, mice and, from their tracks through the bracken, I suspect badgers (although I’ve not seen them for myself, nor have I managed to capture them on the nature camera). The woodchip pile has also formed a perfect warm place for slow worms and in the big butterfly count, I saw a variety of beautiful winged bugs.
Recent treasures
On Saturday, whilst up on the reserve raking up the scythed wildflowers with the other Trustees and volunteer Caroline, we discovered more treasures!
Caroline and I stopped for a brief moment and in the grass we spotted a host of beautiful small creatures.
First there was a little brown moth which caught my attention, but this drew our focus down and in to the freshly scythed ground. Gradually we started seeing all sorts of things, a lady bird, snails, a slug, shield beetles Have you ever noticed the amazing flash of orangey-red when the sheild beetle opens it’s wings?
Suddenly I noticed what I thought was a moving brown stone … yes, you guessed it, a toad! We saw two: one very young one and an adult. Amazing to watch the way that they a do sort of walk/hop.
Then Caroline noticed a delicately marked cricket. Now I’ve had a chance to google it, I think it was a Roesel’s Bush-cricket – Metrioptera roeselii. I’d never noticed how beautifully colourful they are! Google it!
For those of you who are scared of spiders … look away now!
Don’t worry, this one is completely harmless to humans!
The absolute high light for me was a huge stripy spider. Caroline immediately said that she thought it was trying to look like a wasp. It turns out that it IS doing just that. It’s called the ‘wasp spider’!
Quite the most beautiful spider I’ve ever seen and I was astonished to find such an exotic arachnid on our nature reserve.
The photograph featured here is the female, the male is smaller and a pale brown.
I’ve learned a bit more about it on the following website: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/spiders/wasp-spider
Although harmless to humans, the female is deadly to the male of the species! The male dices with death when it wants to mate with the female. She sees him as a bit of a tasty snack!
What discoveries have you made?
We would love to see photos or pictures of anything that you have found on the reserve. Why not send your pictures to us at headleydownnaturereserve@gmail.org or share it on our facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/HeadleyDownNatureReserve
