On this day 30 June 2020

Pyramidal orchid  Anacamptis pyramidalis

 Had a walk with my son and his girlfriend, a fine day after a few days of rain but the wind was cool across the plantation.

Highlight was finding all the young froglets leaving the pond at the far end of the forest. The tiny tiny Newt was so cute and a great find.

We do did see some Deer through the trees, a lovely walk round.

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet  Zygaena lonicerae

Common Twayblade (Neottia ovata)

Hoverfly Sericomyia silentis male

Deer

The Footballer Hoverfly  (Helophilus pendulus)

Ringlet Butterfly Aphantopus hyperantus

Pellucid Fly - Volucella pellucens

Grasshopper 

Cranefly

Buzzard

Froglet

 Expect the change from tadpole to frog to take approximately 12-16 weeks. This change is called ‘metamorphosis.’ First, back legs will emerge from the tadpole. Gradually the tadpole will develop lungs and you’ll see some changes to the tadpole’s head like elevated eyes and a wider mouth. When the tadpole’s front legs develop it will stop feeding on tadpole food and its tail will begin to shrink. At this time it will start climbing partially out of the water. A tadpole that has front and back legs but still has a tail is called a “froglet.” A froglet may stop eating tadpole food but not be ready to eat adult frog food yet. The froglet will get its nourishment from its tail as the tail is absorbed into its body. When the tail totally disappears it is now considered an adult frog and ready for it’s first frog meal.

Great Pond Snail - Lymnaea stagnalis  ( Most likely)

There are about 40 different kinds of water snails in Britain, varying in size when fully grown from the tiny Nautilus Ram’s-horn – just 2 or 3 mm across – to the Great Pond Snail which grows up to 4 cm.

We all know snails can’t fly but the common water snails are good at getting around from place to place. Most are probably carried accidentally by birds or perhaps amphibians, and they are often introduced to ponds when people bring in the sticky eggs attached to bits of plants.

It’s sometimes said that snails are important for keeping a pond clean. It would be nice if this was true: collect a few snails, drop them into your mucky polluted pond and, hey presto, out comes a sparkling shiny wildlife habitat.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like this. Snails will thrive in polluted ponds, grazing on a superabundant growth of algae stimulated by excess nutrients. But the chances of the snails cleaning up your pond are nil. To get a clean pond you need to take away the pollutant and the snails don’t do that – they just recycle them around the pond.

Snails naturally need a bit of calcium in the water to grow their shells so in naturally acid ponds – which have very little calcium – they are either absent or a small part of the fauna. Where there is calcium for them, they will arrive in due course.

Some of our water snails are amongst the most sensitive and endangered of freshwater animals. The Glutinous Snail, for example, which looks pretty similar to the very common and tolerant Wandering Snail, is one of the most endangered animals in Europe. We found some of the last ones in England in a pond near Oxford in the 1990s but sadly it’s gone now. A once quite widespread animal has now become extinct in here – one population is hanging on in Wales. (Freshwater Habitats Trust)

Palmate Newt - Lissotriton helveticus

Most newts lay eggs, and one female can lay hundreds of eggs. For example, the warty newt can lay 200 to 300 eggs. However, they lay them one at a time and attach them to aquatic plants, Frogs, on the other hand, lay their eggs in clumps that float close to the surface of the water. A few newt species lay their eggs on land.

Newt babies, called tadpoles, resemble baby fish with feathered external gills. Much like frogs, newts evolve into their adult form. Some go from egg to larva to adult, while others evolve from egg to larva to juvenile to adult.