The south west is a stronghold for oil beetles which may be seen walking across paths and bare ground at this time of year. These large black beetles are flightless and slow moving so are easily spotted. There are four … Read More
There are lots of good places to see Grey Seals around the south west coast of Cornwall and we are lucky to have them on our doorstep in Falmouth. Black Rock stands in the middle of the mouth of the … Read More
Several Sloe Bug, a type of shieldbug, were seen in a hedgerow near Rosemullion Head by the Helford River in Cornwall. These were mating whilst another appeared incredibly busy but seemed to lack any purposeful strategy – see the “Sloe … Read More
Numerous purple spires rising from the grass were a reminder that it is still only spring and not high summer despite the fine weather and heat throughout April. These Early Purple Orchid were on the South West Coast Path between … Read More
Certainly makes a change from shivering to death on some bleak estuary in winter looking at dull little waders disguised as distant specs. Three Dunlin complete in splendid summer plumage were feeding in 22C and bright sunshine on a pool … Read More
At this time of year silken webs containing sometimes hundreds of The Lackey moth caterpillars can be seen in the hedgerows. Here in Cornwall The Lackey moth seem to favour Blackthorn hedges in which to lay eggs but the webs … Read More
The recent fine weather systems pulling warm air up from the continent seem to have brought migrant butterflies into Cornwall. We’ve seen several Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) (above left) and a few Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) (above right) in most … Read More
These tall plants with white flowers arranged in umbels are a familiar sight. Insight into Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris): the commonest early flowering member of the carrot family (Apiaceae formerly Umbelliferae), native and found throughout Britain. The flowers are white … Read More
Moths are often looked upon as the poor relative to butterflies but they are in fact far more numerous with over 2,500 species recorded in the UK compared to about 60 butterfly species. They are also considered by many to … Read More
The fine weather continues to encourage butterflies to emerge earlier than normal. Yesterday, during a successful and extremely eventful search for the caterpillars of the Silver-studded Blue (Plebeius argus) butterfly amongst the Penhale Dunes on the North Cornish Coast, we … Read More
It’s spring and with rare migrant birds arriving everyday in Cornwall everything with feathers is eyed with suspicion. This common Wheatear seen at Windmill Farm Nature Reserve on The Lizard certainly caught our attention. A bird that would normally be … Read More
The recent fine weather has encouraged the early emergence of dragonflies and, appropriately, on St George’s Day we went dragon hunting. Our first Four-spotted Chasers were seen sunning themselves on reeds and bramble at Windmill Farm on The Lizard peninsula … Read More