A garden rarity - Southern Oak Bush-cricket, 8 July 2022

Southern Oak Bush-cricket was first seen in the UK in 2001 and is gradually spreading. There are still only very few Norfolk records so I was somewhat chuffed to find one in our back garden in Pulham Market on Friday afternoon!

Easily identifiable from the common Oak Bush-cricket by the lack of wings (actually they are present but just as small stubs) I managed a few less than perfect shots before it hopped away.

Also around the garden our Stone Parsley is having another good year and a quick bug hunt revealed Small Dusty Wave moth, a brief visit from a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Eurasian Running Crab Spider, Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle and False Oil Beetle.

                                                                                                                       Southern Oak Bush-cricket

                                                                                                                  Eurasian Running Crab Spider

                                                                                                                        Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle
 

  

Notable Trees of Norwich, 3 July 2022

Armed with my copy of Rex Hancy's great little book Notable Trees of Norwich I spent a very enjoyable and educational couple of hours doing a couple of the walks suggested. Gettng to Norwich early meant I missed the crowds but unfortunately Chapelfield Gardens was a bit of a mess as they'd had an event there the night before and were still clearing up. 

This is the chronological list of what I saw and where:

Manna Ash - Haymarket

Turkey Oak - Haymarket

Oriental Plane - Guildhall

Turkish Hazel - London Street

Silver Maple - Dove Street/Pottergate

Pin Oak - Castle Meadow

Huntingdon Elm - Cattle Market Street

Caucasian Elm - Castle Gardens

Silver Lime - Chapelfield Gardens

Foxglove Tree - Chapelfield Gardens

Deodar Cedar - Chapelfield Gardens

Black Walnut - Chapelfield Gardens

Large-toothed Elm - Rosary Road

The latter isn't in the book, I was following up a find by Alex Prendergast. On my way out of the city I also stopped by in Bracondale where I quickly found the patch of Fiddle Dock that Louis Parkerson told me about a couple of weeks ago.  

                                                                                                                                   Manna Ash

                                                                                                                                     Turkey Oak

 

Oriental Plane

                                                                                                                                    Turkish Hazel

                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                  Silver Maple

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                     Pin Oak

                                                                                                                                       Caucasian Elm

                                                                                                                                     Huntingdon Elm

                                                                                                                                       Silver Lime

                                                                                                                                     Foxglove Tree

                   

                                                                                                                                     Deodar Cedar

                                                                                                                                      Black Walnut

                                                                                                                               Large-toothed Elm

                                                                                                                                      Fiddle Dock

 

Earsham/Bath Hills/Outney Common walk, 2 July 2022

A walk we have done many times but one of our favourites. 

It proved to be rather good in terms of wildlife too. Odonata included an obliging male Scarce Chaser at Bath Hills plus Brown Hawker, Norfolk Hawker, Southern Hawker, Emperor, hundreds of Banded Demoiselles, Red-eyed Damselfly and the first Emerald Damselflies of the year. Other insects were Bumblebee Hoverfly and Field Grasshopper. The latter on a shop window in Bungay!

Plantwise it was equally good with the Waveney having River Water-dropwort, Hoary Willowherb, Arrowhead, Flowering Rush, Water Figwort and Small Teasel with Common Club-rush and the scarce Tubular Water-dropwort on the marshes and False Brome in the woods. Best of all however were Dewberry at Bath Hills (a plant I've looked for in the past and never seen) and the strange sight of naturalised Eastern Larkspur near the sluice at Earsham. I also paid homage to the Cut-leaved Bramble on Outney Common as I was so close.  

                                                                                                                                     Scarce Chaser

                                                                                                                                Bumblebee Hoverfly

                                                                                                                                     Field Grasshopper

                                                                                                                                          Dewberry

                                                                                                                              Eastern Larkspur

                                                                                                                                    False Brome

                                                                                                                                   Water Figwort

                                                                                                                                      Hoary Willowherb

                                                                                                                           Tubular Water-dropwort

                                                                                                                                   Cut-leaved Bramble

                                                                                                                                Common Club-rush

                                                                                                                               River Water-dropwort

                                                                                                                                  Small Teasel

                                                                                                                              Flowering Rush
 

A garden in Pulham St Mary, 1 July 2022

I've been working on a house in Pulham St Mary for the last fortnight and it's a place I always look forward to visiting. The owners are like-minded nature lovers and their garden is lovely. As well as 3 Hummingbird Hawkmoths (see my last post) I have had 2 Red Kites, 2 Turtle Doves, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, nesting Swifts, Swallows and House Martins, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler and then on my last day - a pair of Spotted Flycatchers. I dashed home for my camera so I could get some shots of these charming but increasingly rare breeders.