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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.

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
Always lovely to see these little migrants on the Always lovely to see these little migrants on the farm. Spotted flycatchers used to be one of the most common birds in the UK But have suffered a catastrophic decline and are now red listed and a bird we only see infrequently.
Luckily, we see them each year here where they nest up in the woods and the woodland pond is a particular favourite spot.
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#apatchwilder #spottedflycatcher #birds #mendips #trailcam
Moths are EVERYWHERE. The UK is home to around two Moths are EVERYWHERE. The UK is home to around two and a half thousand species and they come in all shapes and sizes. Because most of them come out at night, they are masters of hiding themselves away during the daylight and have turned camouflage into an art form.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #moths #mothsmatter #springwatch
Our next event is fast approaching! We've planned Our next event is fast approaching! We've planned an Open Day on 20th June - a chance to have a tour round the Patch and see some of the positive changes for nature. There will be activities for children and hopefully we'll also spot a few of our favourite Patch residents. It's free to attend, but booking is essential to manage numbers. Book either the morning or afternoon slot at -

 www.apatchwilder.com/events 
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#apatchwilder #somersetevents #mendips #natureevents #whatsonsomerset
Meet one of the Patch's more fearsome residents — Meet one of the Patch's more fearsome residents — a giant horse fly, caught in a quiet moment before inevitably ruining someone's afternoon. These are remarkably accomplished predators, capable of detecting movement from a considerable distance thanks to those spectacular compound eyes, and the females deliver one of the more unpleasant bites in the British insect world — slicing rather than piercing skin with scissor-like mouthparts designed to get through the hide of a horse. The males, to their credit, are entirely harmless and spend their time feeding on nectar and pollen.

#apatchwilder #mendips #macrophotography #insectphotography #horsefly
We are very excited to share a BIG pine marten upd We are very excited to share a BIG pine marten update with you: Chuzzlewit is no longer alone - now there are TWO!!!

That makes this the first AND second official records of pine martens in the Mendip Hills in over 100 years. 

One pine marten is special and just an incredible to have here at the Patch.  But two, two could be the start of a new population - the real-time recolonisation of these hill by a species lost for generations. Keeping everything crossed that perhaps we have a male and female pair 🤞 They didn't sound over-friendly on that video but not all couples do I suppose...
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#apatchwilder #mendips #pinemarten #springwatch
Aaah, yesterday's tawny owl going for a quiet rela Aaah, yesterday's tawny owl going for a quiet relaxing dip suddenly makes more sense - Mum needs a bit of me-time!

Last night we heard squeaking and went to investigate to find 2 fluffy tawny owlets up in the ash trees doing a bit of flying practice.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #tawnyowl #owlet #springwatch
In this heat there's really only one thing to be d In this heat there's really only one thing to be done and this tawny owl has the right idea. Get in the water! 
The woodland pond is always busy but during a heatwave, it becomes a hive of activity with an almost constant stream of visitors hoping for a drink, a bath and some escape from the heat of the day.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #pond #tawnyowl #springwatch
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