Easter Activity Day and more
Wednesday, April 6th 2016
The wind blew me to the reserve this morning, the conifer plantation was swaying to the gusts, but at least the rain held off for most of the morning, especially as we were having the second of our Easter Holiday Activities.
The team of volunteers really pulled out the strings for the children today. Activities such as charcoal bark rubbing, using the charcoal from one of our burn sites, as well as drawing with it.
Various arts and crafts from sculptures of toads under the supervision of Glennis
to jelly printing and mask making
Not just the children were entertained
And looking for any bugs in the bug pit fall traps
examining Common Toads up close
plus a visit to the pond dipping platforms to see the Toads mating, and their spawn
Don't let the sunshine in the above photo fool you, 5 minutes before this was taken we were in sleet and snow!
The moth trap was put out last night, and we recorded a couple of new moths for this year. The Satellite, with its main dot and two smaller satellite dots,
and The Clouded Drab,
It is not just moths that come to the moth trap, quite often you get Ichneumons like this one below caught this morning. Ichneumon wasps are parasitoids; females lay their eggs on a caterpillar and the wasp larva burrows into and develops inside this host, eating its internal tissues and eventually killing it after it pupates. They are normally seen later in the year. There are over 1500 different types in the UK, and identifying them is quite often requiring a microscope.
Thank you to all the volunteers that helped out in their many guises.
(0) Comments:
There are no comments for this blog post yet. Why not start the discussion? - use the form below:
Help Support Foxglove

Friends of Foxglove
The Friends of Foxglove Covert is for those individuals, families and organisations who would like to support the reserve through an annual membership subscription. Friends receive a regular newsletter and invitations to attend our various activities and social events.
More DetailsUpcoming Events
All About The Bugs! 2
Wednesday 17th August 2022 | Various sessions throughout the day - starting on the hour
Come along and find out which minibeasts are living in some of the habitats at Foxglove. Book a minibeast session for your family bubble. There will be a socially distanced brief to set you off and then you can use the equipment for the remainder of the session. You will be requested to use hand gel on arrival and the equipment will be cleaned between sessions.
Please call the Reserve Managers on 07754 270980 to book your allocated slot. You are advised to arrive 15 minutes before your allocated time.
A donation in advance (card payment by phone) of £5 per family bubble is required in order to secure your booking.
Pond Dipping 3
Wednesday 24th August 2022 | Various sessions throughout the day - starting on the hour
Come along and find out which animals are living in some of the Foxglove ponds. Book a pond dipping session for your family bubble of up to six people. There will be a socially distanced brief to set you off and then you can use the equipment for the remainder of the session. You will be requested to use hand gel on arrival and the net handles will be cleaned between sessions.
Please call the Reserve Managers on 07754 270980 to book your allocated slot. You are advised to arrive 15 minutes before your allocated time.
A donation of only £5 per group in advance will confirm your time slot.
Undergrowth Newsletter
View All The Newsletters
Recent Blog Posts
- Pond Maintenance
- New Additions
- Hay Time
- The Dream Team!
- Foxglove 30 BIOBLITZ
- New Species
- Summertime
- Short-eared Owls
- Celebrate 30 Years of Foxglove!
- Butterflies And Moths Treasure Trail
- Busy Wednesdays
- Wildlife and Warm Days
- Yet More Moths
- Mainly Moths and Butterflies
- Blustery Days
- Working On The Wetland
- Beautiful Barn Owls
- Beaver and Cub Scouts
- Holt’s Military Banking
- Trinity Academy Richmond
- Butterflies and Moths
- Foxglove 30th Anniversary Raffle
- Nature Roundup
- Moths
- The Beginning of Summer
- Royal Garden Party
- More Nature
- Tread Quietly, Tread Gently
- Plenty To See
- No Snow, No Hail
- Tawny Owls and Grey Herons
- More Flowers
- Nature
- Moving Slowly Through Spring
- Nesting Time
- Winter Spring
- Warm Days
- Biscoff Cheesecake, Brownies and Bakewell Tarts!
- A Busy Day for Some
- Volunteers at Work
- Around the Reserve
- A Ringing Day
- Flowers at Last!
- More Spring Photos
- Moths!
- A Special Visit
- Spring Has Sprung!
- Reducing, Reusing and Recycling!
- Almost Spring
- Thank you!
- Ringing Resumes!
- Arrival of Spring
- Strong Support
- Back To Work!
- We Are Open!
- Update
- Temporary Closure
- Large, Little and In Between
- The Weather
- A Wild Worky Day!
- Malik and Corrie
- Forest School Fun
- Winter Work
- Preventing The Spread of Bird Flu
- Thank You and Congratulations!
- Job Jobbed!
- Hazel, a Hedge and more High Vis!
- Moths
- Many Happy Returns!
- Winter Scenes at Foxglove
- Sheer Dedication!
- Back to Work
- Happy New Year!
- All Kinds of Weather
- Last Volunteer Day 2021
- Pillwort
- Volunteers at Work
- Winter Work Continues
- Edward the Elf Returns!
- Sunshine and Blue Skies
- More Clearing Up
- December Winter Worky Day
- Dangerous Trees
- Tidying Up After Storm Arwen
- Storm Damage
- Willow Weaving
- Considerate Contributions
- Storm Arwen
- Look Both Ways
- Never Work With Wildlife
- Traditional Woodland Skills
- Technicolour Nature!
- November Worky Day
- Woodland Work
- All About Fungi
- Look North
- Autumn Views at Foxglove
- Happy Halloween
- Bat Monitoring
- Forest Fun
Blog Archive
- Blog Posts from - 2022
- Blog Posts from - 2021
- Blog Posts from - 2020
- Blog Posts from - 2019
- Blog Posts from - 2018
- Blog Posts from - 2017
- Blog Posts from - 2016
- Blog Posts from - 2015
- Blog Posts from - 2014
- Blog Posts from - 2013
- Blog Posts from - 2012
- Blog Posts from - 2011
- Blog Posts from - 2010
- Blog Posts from - 2009