Midsummer bioblitz

Cinnabar moth caterpillars on ragwort.

Poplar hawk.

Mullein caterpillar.

On Saturday 20 June to celebrate midsummer we worked with some of our talented local naturalists Mick, Paul, Dave, Andrew, John, Tim and Martin, to do a bioblitz on site. Apart from being great fun, this is was an important activity. We need to have a baseline so we are more aware of what we have on site, and this means that we can make more informed decisions about rewilding areas or making more habitat spaces. We are really grateful for the time and expertise of these lovely folks who really helped us see things that we often just walk past because we are busy!

Bioblitz day 20/6/2026 – weather cloudy and warm but with a heavy shower in the morning

Insects:

Marmalade hoverflies, cinnabar moth caterpillars on the ragwort on the verge x26+, swollen thigh beetle on the verge and on the scrub at the front of site, ruby-tailed wasp, froghopper spit/cuckoo spit, 7-spot ladybird, water ladybird, 19-spot ladybird, crickets in the scub area, shield bug, blue-tailed damselfly, broad-bodied chaser, meadow grasshopper in scrub, harlequin ladybird, buff-tailed bumblebee, green-veined white

Butterflies:

Red Admiral, Ringlet, Painted lady, Large and small skipper, Small and large white, Meadow brown, Speckled wood, cinnabar moth

Birds:

Lesser spotted woodpecker, White throat, Chiff chaff, Rosering parakeet. 6 parakeets were roosting on the night before the bioblitz, Heard on Merlin app – pied wagtail, carrion crow, wood pigeon, greater spotted woodpecker, pheasant, blackbird, skylark, robin, dunnock, wren, goldfinch, linnet

Plants:

Verbena, slender st john’s wort, lady’s bedstraw, yorkshire fog, sweet chestnut, creeping cinquefoil, curled dock, bristly ox tongue, hedge woundwort, sow thistle, musk and common mallow, common hogweed, bindweed, meadow buttercup, black medick, chocolate cornflower, yellow flag iris, reed mace, self heal, teasel, slender tare, scarlet pimpernel, yarrow, red-dead nettle, white clover, cut-leaved cranesbill, creeping and spear thistle, scentless mayweed, fox and cubs, purple toadflax.