Despite being well into December, it was T-shirt weather in the garden today and there were some welcome reminders of warmer seasons.
Hoverfly taking advantage of ivy (Hedera helix) in the winter sunshine.
This was the first time in many weeks that I have had a chance to do some much needed maintenance in the garden, so I was fortunate to be favoured by a glorious and very mild December day. First amongst the jobs was to rake fallen leaves from the lawn. Instead of collecting these together in a pile to form leaf mould as I used to,
I now prefer to rake the leaves directly onto beds where they do a good job of modifying the microclimate at ground level - making conditions suitable for many over-wintering invertebrates
I now prefer to rake the leaves directly onto beds where they do a good job of modifying the microclimate at ground level - making conditions suitable for many over-wintering invertebrates. I used most of them around the base of the holly hedge I planted earlier this year. I came across a remarkable number of caterpillars as I did this job and the ever-watchful robin (
Erithacus rubecula) appeared get his (or her) share too.
The oldest ivy (
Hedera helix) in my garden, which over the past couple of years has matured enough to start flowering, is putting on its best display yet.
Queen common wasp (Vepula vulgaris) hibernating in a 'bug block'.
Today the flowers, bathed in sunlight, were proving a magnet for many flies that, even at this late stage of the year, were on the look-out for a sugar-rich meal.
A big surprise today was to see a pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) hunting in full sunlight over a neighbours gardenA big surprise today was to see a pipistrelle bat (
Pipistrellus pipistrellus) hunting in full sunlight over a neighbours garden. The animal really did seem to be doing to the normal quartering around the house which I see more normally at dusk in the summer months. Perhaps the bat had been disturbed - though there were no obvious signs of that. Whatever the reason, it was a great chance to watch this animal in good light.
Whilst a number of animals were out and about today, I did not have to look hard to see others which were lying low. I've already mentioned the caterpillars, but
just as exciting for me was a hibernating queen common waspjust as exciting for me was a hibernating queen common wasp (
Vespula vulgaris) which has taken advantage of a commercial 'bug block' - a birthday present from a friend. This wasp was first noticed back in November and I would dearly love to see it emerge next year - though it's very unlikely that I will be fortunate enough to witness the event.
