Summer has certainly arrived at the farm this month, with warm temperatures and long sunny days during the month of June. Many of the trees we saw in blossom in the early spring have now developed seeds and fruits, and reddening cherries are particularly conspicuous at this time. However, there are many more summer wildlflowers coming into bloom at this time. Over the past month we’ve seen elder fill with white blossoms, fields of poppies and irises surround our ponds. These are just a few of the many blooms on the farm, and their arrival has been matched by an increase in pollinators, including bees, beetles and butterflies. The Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper butterflies will be emerging soon as well as Large, Small and Essex Skippers who will all be on the wing in July.
We have also seen lots of birds fledging over the past month including great tits, blue tits and crows. The short grassy fields are filled with juvenile starlings, who have a dull brown colour compared to the glossy iridescent and black adults.
More photos of some of our highlights of June and ones to watch this July below and hope you have a fantastic month of spotting wildlife! Remember, you can always share your finds with us via facebook, twitter or flickr!
- Sunshine and blossoms.
- Many of spring’s cherry blossoms are now developing into fruit.
- A thick-legged flower beetle on spurge.
- Spurge in flower.
- Bumblebees pollinating bramble flowers.
- Bramble flowers will be forming blackberries soon.
- A bumblebee on red campion.
- Red campion.
- Irises circle the wildlife ponds.
- A crab spider preys on would-be pollinators.
- Buttercups continue to flower this month.
- A bumblebee on poppy.
- A rose in bloom.
- Roses in flower across the farm.
- The tiny blossoms of elder (Sambucus sp).
- Young starlings and monk parakeets forage among the short grass.
- Turkish irises (Iris orientalis) flowering on the big field.
- Elderflower in bloom.
- A flower beetle on rose.
- Large-flowered Nipplewort
- Roses of all varieties are in bloom across the farm.
- White campion (Silene latifolia) in flower.
- Trellises across the farm are filled with flower.
- Many of last month’s flowers have now gone to seed.
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