Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2016 | Page 79

Country life Green Army goes Wild about Wight! keeping the trees and scrub in check in the glades or bee hot spots is another (winter) job. For more information on how to get involved with The Green Army recently joined the Hampshire & Isle Wild About Wight: Email: [email protected] of Wight Wildlife Trust in one of their newest Island or [email protected], Facebook: Natural reserves, Martin’s Wood in Newchurch. While part of Wight and Green Army Isle of Wight, Twitter @ the reserve is managed for its relatively new woodland VectisHA & @downtothecoast benefitting red squirrels and woodland birds, the really special thing about much of this site is that it’s 2016 Bioblitz an absolute magnet for bees and wasps! 112 species of bees and wasps have been discovered The National Trust hosted the 2016 Bioblitz at in the open glades between the woodland here, Newtown’s National Nature Reserve. The day was a making this patch of land internationally significant! wonderful success, with over 200 people taking part. The reserve needs regular management for the bees The main event started at 10am with a series of walks - making sure that the turf is turned over in patches and activities taking place across the site. Experts and the bees can nest more easily is one job and provided opportunities for people to sift through mud, hoover up bugs or dissect owl pellets. The steady stream of participants recorded species all day, with nearly 1500 observations submitted giving over 600 different identified species. Some of the most exciting species found include: the sea gooseberry (Pleurobrachia pileus), and the violet leaf midge (Dasineura affinis) which was the first record of this species for the Isle of Wight. Overall it was a tremendous showcase for the breadth of wildlife found on and around the Island. The full report will be available from www. wildonwight.co.uk WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR... TEASALS A favourite of many wildflower lovers, found in rough grass, wood edges and hedgerows and often encouraged in the garden. They readily grow to six feet, with every bit of them having spikes; stem, leaves and seed heads! Having flowered in the late summer and been a poplar pollen source for bees, they now produce seeds that attract goldfinches. COMMON SEA LAVENDER DEPARTING MIGRANTS This can be found in our salt marshes around the coast, often covering large areas and giving a spectacular colourful display. The flowers are small, bluishviolet in dense, one-sided branched spikes that form flat topped clusters. It is the lesser known ‘cousin’ of the more popular thrift that we also see around our coastline. Many different birds fly to our shores and spend the summer here to breed before flying back with their young. We all know of swallows, house martins and swifts, but also departing this autumn are warblers, flycatchers, redstarts and yellow wagtails. All insect eaters! They will fly south, in search of a warmer climate. COMMA BUTTERFLY The Comma can look rather ‘tatty’, with its ragged wing edges. It is bright orange and brown, the underside being a dull brown, with a white mark, shaped like a comma, hence its name. The butterflies hatching in summer, and being of a lighter colour, will breed again, with their young hatching now, before hibernating over winter. www.visitilife.com Aug/Sep 2016_MASTER .indd 79 79 16/08/2016 15:21