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A Patch Wilder

A Patch Wilder is a conservation project aiming to benefit wildlife and connect people with the environment around them.

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Gallery

As well as documenting the sights and sounds of nature at A Patch Wilder, Charlie and Spade have built up a portfolio of nature photography from across the globe. See our other photos here.

I never tire of watching these amazing hummingbird I never tire of watching these amazing hummingbird hawkmoths, who have been busily feeding at buddleia bushes on the farm in good numbers over the last few weeks. Buddleia is not native and can be invasive but, when a few bushes appeared on the farm round the back of the barn, we left them in place as they are not nicknamed the "Butterfly bush" for nothing and are usually covered in pollinating insects when in flower. 

This video is slowed down 4x  and yet the wings still seem a blur. That's because these busy moths beat their wings between 70 and 85 times a second!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #hummingbirdhawkmoth #slowmo #buddleia
A couple of spaces left for our free pond dipping A couple of spaces left for our free pond dipping sessions this Saturday 1st August. More info and book your place via www.apatchwilder.com/events
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#apatchwilder #somersetevents #whatsonsomerset
Still a few spaces left for our free bat walk this Still a few spaces left for our free bat walk this Saturday 1st August! Book your place and full details at www.apatchwilder.com/events
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#apatchwilder #whatsonsomerset #somersetevents
Count the butterflies! These Gatekeeper butterfli Count the butterflies! 
These Gatekeeper butterflies seem to adore the wild Marjoram bushes flowering around the farm at the moment. This plant alone had dozens of butterflies, not to mention the bees, hoverflies, moths and more.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #marjoram #gatekeeperbutterfly #butterflyconservation
If you see a bright yellow butterfly flying throug If you see a bright yellow butterfly flying through the meadows, you can usually assume that it is a Brimstone. BUT, we are currently seeing large numbers of these far less common Clouded Yellow butterflies on the farm at the moment. They are a richer darker yellow colour than Brimstones with black edges on the tops of it's wings and delicate pink fringing (if you get a close enough look).
Keep your eyes peeled because these guys seem to be out in numbers at the moment!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #butterfly #cloudedyellow #butterflyconservation
Ragwort 💛 🌼  an important plant on the farm that s Ragwort 💛 🌼  an important plant on the farm that sustains a wide range of invertebrates, including the Cinnabar moths, whose caterpillars eat nothing else. But, when dried into hay, ragwort can be dangerously toxic to livestock. We therefore have to go round and pull out anything in the grass to be cut for hay. The hay cut is an important part of wildflower meadow management - removing nutrients and making space for next year's flowers. Luckily, though we leave large margins and patches when e ragwort can continue to flower and thrive and continue to offer a lifeline to our creepy crawly friends.

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#apatchwilder #mendips #ragwort
An emperor dragonfly stops by the pond edge to dev An emperor dragonfly stops by the pond edge to devour a recently caught meal. Dragonflies are among the oldest winged insects on Earth, with fossils dating back 325 million years - their ancestors had wingspans of up to 70cm! They are also remarkably accomplished hunters, catching up to 95% of the prey they pursue - a success rate that puts most predators to shame. Despite their ancient lineage, many UK species are under pressure from the loss and degradation of wetland habitats, making every healthy pond and damp corner of countryside all the more valuable.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #dragonfly #macrophotography #emperordragonfly
A few years ago we started a project tracking indi A few years ago we started a project tracking individual adders across the farm. Adders each have a unique pattern of scales on top of their heads that acts like a fingerprint. This monitoring has unlocked a whole world of hidden interactions and dramas in the secretive world of our adders. This year, we have recorded 3 new adders (Tiny Snake, Fangstorm and Long John Slither), we have seen Mr Biscuits and Dogtooth fighting, with Dogtooth winning and mating with Noodle. Noodle is now gravid (up the duff) and is spending her days basking as much as possible to raise her body temperature which helps with development of her young, which will be born live in September.
Alice was gravid last year (suspect Mr Biscuits was the father but don't know for sure) and two of the new adders (Tiny Snake and Fangstorm) are juveniles which we suspect might be her progeny.

In case you haven't guessed by now. We are bit obsessed! 🐍 🐍 🐍 
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#apatchwilder #mendips #adder #snake #snakestagram
And, whilst we're on the topic of new species, her And, whilst we're on the topic of new species, here's another FFTF (First for the Farm): a Scarce Chaser dragonfly. Another unusual species that, whilst not rare, are certainly not common either. 
After 6 years, the number of new species we record each year has really dropped off, but that just makes it all the sweeter when they do show up!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #dragonfly #scarcechaser
This BEAST of a moth flew into the house the other This BEAST of a moth flew into the house the other day. We didn't recognise it so how to get the ID books out before returning it to the night. Turns out it is called an Old Lady and is scarce or absent from much of central Somerset. It is the first one we have recorded on the farm and our 230th moth species so far.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #moths #mothsmatter #oldlady
Name that butterfly! Can anyone guess what species Name that butterfly! Can anyone guess what species this is? (A clue can be found in what it is resting on).
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#apatchwilder #mendips #butterfly #namethatbutterfly
Sparrowhawks aren't the only thing dropping up on Sparrowhawks aren't the only thing dropping up on the cameras - here's a handsome buzzard enjoying a little field vole snack on one of the old dry stone walls running through the woods.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #buzzard #trailcam #browningreconforceedge
Male sparrowhawk coming down to the pond for a dri Male sparrowhawk coming down to the pond for a drink on a hot summer's day. Sparrowhawks are quite unusual in that there is a big size difference between males and females with females being around 25% bigger. This means that they hunt different food with females taking birds such as pigeons and males going for finches and smaller birds and so they don't compete with each other.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #sparrowhawk #trailcam #browningreconforceedge
Make hay while the sun shines! And we have certain Make hay while the sun shines! And we have certainly had plenty of ☀️ recently. We've had the scythes out and begining the start of the hay cut for the year. We cut our meadows bit by bit with most of the grass cut by tractor in July and final bits scythed down in August.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #hay #sun #scythe
Well that was dramatic! I'm sure it was sunny a fe Well that was dramatic! I'm sure it was sunny a few moments ago...
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#apatchwilder #mendips #thunderstorm #storm #weather
The Paddock is the smallest of the 3 fields at A P The Paddock is the smallest of the 3 fields at A Patch Wilder and has taken many forms over the years including cider orchard and horse pasture. Currently, it is mostly daisies and it's difficult to imagine that it has ever looked better!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #wildflowers #oxeyedaisies #daisies
A fistful of beetles. Cockchafer beetles (also kno A fistful of beetles. Cockchafer beetles (also known as the Maybugs) are the largest of the 90 scarab beetle species in the UK. They also have these rather spectacular antennae which can be used to tell apart males, which have seven feathers (like this individual) and females which only have six.
Large they may be, but graceful... not so much if this individual is anything to go by!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #cockchafer #maybug
Still a few tickets left for our free Wildlife Pho Still a few tickets left for our free Wildlife Photography Workshop this Sunday. If you enjoy a mooch round a sunny meadow snapping pics of flowers, butterflies dragonflies and other critters then make sure you don't miss out!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #wildlifephotography #natureevents
Deer fawn by day and badger cubs by night - both f Deer fawn by day and badger cubs by night - both filmed on the same camera trap.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #badger #babyanimals #cub
It's that's time of year again and the farm is awa It's that's time of year again and the farm is awash with cute little.baby animals. And as much as they eat all my trees and undo days of back-breaking labour, they don't come much cuter than a little fawn.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #fawn #babyanimals #bambi
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