David Dowding

Female Slowworm out hunting slugs in the garden early this morning @ARGroupsUK @ARC_Bytes @wildipswich

Out at Piper's Vale this week too!

During a successful search for larvae and pupae amongst the heather 🐛 🐜 , was not surprised to find a dozen SSB's already flying in Ipswich today, a fortnight ahead of schedule 🦋 @BC_Suffolk

The start of some exciting new wetland management work in the Bourne Park reedbed - creating ponds, scrapes and linear features to increase habitat diversity and open up views into the reedbed. Funded by a grant from @suffolkcc Many thanks to all involved. @IpswichGov #reedbed

Sawmilling local oak in Landseer Park last week, to produce boardwalk planks - already in place in Belstead Brook Park. Great volunteers also helped make a bench and stag beetle pile using waste wood in Landseer. @IpswichGov #volunteers # local timber

Preparing for installation of 2 new 'bee friendly' planters at The Street, Rushmere for the Parish Council.Wide excavations around the planters have been filled with different inert aggregates to encourage wildflowers & low growth on the highway verge. @EastSuffolk @IpswichGov

Well over 250 SSB at my local Urban heathland this year, in an area < half an acre. Shows what can be done when you understand the species life cycle/ ecology and manage the habitat accordingly ( egg laying sites, ant symbiosis, larval foodplants and nectar) . @BC_Suffolk

Always nice to find the strongly symbiotic SSB larvae 🐛 , hidden amongst ant nests within the heather 🐜 @BC_Suffolk

Delighted to find this chunky Goat moth caterpillar emerging from a veteran oak tree at Orwell Country park @neilshermanmoth

Good views of Brown hairstreaks egg laying- today at Piper's Vale

Brilliant to see so many Swifts feeding over the wonderful insect-rich @IpswichGov Landseer Park on an @IpswichRSPB walk thanks to Stephen M, 15 species of butterfly seen as well as Kestrel family & an unexpected Whitethroat singing away! @SoSSwifts @SuffolkBirdGrp @BC_Suffolk

Numbers of Marbled whites (70) meadow browns (100+) and skippers (1000's) just starting to pick up at Landseer Park today , as well as a few Brassy longhorn moths on scabious @BC_Suffolk

Nice to find a few Brown hairstreak eggs at Bourne park this morning, whilst working in the Reedbed @DavidWalsh22 @GreenwaysProj @BC_Suffolk

Lasius niger 🐜 seem to be equally fond of small blue caterpillars, tending 4 on one Kidney flowerhead! , Are we sure they're cannibalistic?! @ukbutterflies @BC_Suffolk

Landseer meadows proving popular with hawkmoths too- A heard of elephants 🐘 to light, as well as several feeding on Bugloss @mattgarnham90

Silver Studded blues 🦋 now emerging in good numbers across suffolk, remember to keep to footpaths, pupae are vulnerable to trampling - one this AM at surface of ants nest 🐜

If you've had enough of your town being turned into a sea of plastic shite, please sign both these petitions. Your voice on social media can fade away but petitions show Government that this is an issue that needs action! 1)petition.parliament.uk/petitions/6014… 2)petition.parliament.uk/petitions/6082…

2/4 - 28 Apr Visited Avon Heath Country Park and Sopley Common. Woodlark, Tree Pipit, Dartford Warbler, Cuckoo, Sundews, 2 male Sand Lizards (Lifer) and a Smooth Snake (Lifer). Which we were very lucky to see. Even managed to half decent pics of the reptiles.

Recreational disturbance is also an increasing problem for New Forest Curlews. The image below shows a dog-walker throwing a tennis ball in a Curlew territory, with the dog bottom left and the flushed Curlew just visible in the bottom right. #WorldCurlewDay2022

I think this is Yellow Rattle on my lawn. No wonder that Yorkshire Fog looks a bit poorly!

A good day in Belstead Brook Park for Brown hairstreak- As well as rescuing 70 eggs ( including 6 doubles!) from habitat management works in Kiln meadow, we also discovered several ova in Bourne Park and Ostrich meadows @BC_Suffolk @GreenwaysProj