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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.

Common lizard out basking in an area we cleared of Common lizard out basking in an area we cleared of scrub over winter. Every year we clear small sections of scrub to prevent it encroaching too much and to increase the structural complexity - resulting in areas of different ages, providing different reasons ecological niches. 
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#apatchwilder #mendips #commonlizard #lizard #conservationmanagement
We have just published our list of events at A Pat We have just published our list of events at A Patch Wilder for this year (see the website for full details - link in bio). 

First up, is a Dawn Chorus Walk on 2nd May. Get up nice and early to hear the feathered songsters doing their thing! Thanks to funding from the @mendiphillsnl, all our events will be free this year, so get booked on!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #mendiphillsnationallandscape #dawnchorus
A stunning Holly Blue butterfly 💙 This male is rub A stunning Holly Blue butterfly 💙 This male is rubbing it's wings together to release pheromones from specialised cells called androconia in order to attract a mate.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #butterfly #butterflyconservation #hollyblue
A rather spooky evening down at the ponds with hor A rather spooky evening down at the ponds with horror film mist sweeping across the dark waters. But looks beneath the surface and you'll see this isn't a horror film at all, it's an action thriller! These ponds are absolutely teaming with life - tadpoles, newts, diving beetles, backswimmers, whirligigs, dragonfly larvae all zooming around, feeding, eating each other, and metamorphosing. 

If you have a pond near you then I highly recommend waiting for a still, warm evening in April/early May and going out  with a torch around an hour after sunset. It is a completely different experience to seeing them in the day time and well worth spending an evening on!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #pond #pondlife #springwatch
We are absolutely buzzing. Today we witnessed one We are absolutely buzzing. Today we witnessed one of those bucket-list moments on the Patch - dancing adders! 🐍 🐍 This is Dogtooth and Mr Biscuits fighting over Noodle (a young female). 

This is something we had always dreamed of seeing here and to actually be in the right place at the right time to witness it was just magical.

Only in April and we have a strong contender for the best wildlife moment of 2026!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #snake #adder #viperaberus
Dogtooth the adder has shed his skin and is lookin Dogtooth the adder has shed his skin and is looking incredible in his brand shiny new monochrome scales. Those zigzags shooting away through the bracken are a sight that have evoked curiosity, wonder and set pulses racing in the inhabitants of this island for thousands of years and are one of my highlights of the spring nature calendar.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #adder #snake #snakestagram
Green woodpecker stopping to take a quick drink fr Green woodpecker stopping to take a quick drink from the woodland pond. With a diet comprising mostly ants, it's no wonder she gets a dry throat from time to time!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #greenwoodpecker
Reef, the bouncy stoat is back on his favourite st Reef, the bouncy stoat is back on his favourite stick and getting ready for the day ahead with a nice refreshing face wash in the woodland pond.
We've made a new map! Welcome to A Patch Wilder, l We've made a new map! Welcome to A Patch Wilder, let me give you the tour. We have:

- 10 acres of grass (managed for wildflowers through an annual end of summer hay-cut, and we sometimes graze livestock over the winter.

- 5 acres of woodland. This is almost entirely ash and most of the trees have dieback and are dead/dying. Large areas have therefore reverted back to scrub and we are planting new native trees to replace the old ones, as well as encouraging natural regen.

- 5  lined ponds that we have dug - 4 at the bottom of the meadows, and 1 up in the woods.

A traditional orchard planted with native and local hardy apples, pears, cherries and plums.

We will soon be announcing our events program for 2026. If you fancy coming to give us a visit then keep your eyes peeled and book on when available!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #map
An adder sliding silently through the undergrowth. An adder sliding silently through the undergrowth. This is Dogtooth, he is one of our regulars here but usually just spent the summer months on the Patch. Last winter he appears to have hibernated here for the first time and, given the recent warm temperatures he is probably in breeding condition now and out on the lookout for a mate.

Male adders tend to emerge from their hibernacula in February and spend the time at 2 months warming up ready for breeding season. April usually sees the females emerge and, once ready they release pheromones to attract the males. If 2 males arrive at a female then they may end up dancing (fighting) to compete for the chance to mate. This is an amazing spectacle to see and one day, we hope to witness it here at the Patch. 
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#apatchwilder #mendips #adder #snake #snakestagram
We've been seeing lots of peregrine activity over We've been seeing lots of peregrine activity over the last week or so. Peregrine's nest in just about every quarry across the Mendips so we see them fairly regularly, but during breeding season, we get a lot more aerial acrobatics, screeching and groups of 2 or 3 chasing each other.
Over the weekend, I heard a woosh of wings and looked up to see 2 peregrine's shooting past, flying low whilst another dive-bombed them from the sky. I managed to get a photo of one, which before it disappeared over the horizon a few moments later.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #peregrine #peregrinefalcon #ukbirds
Kelpie exploring the Gorse Path in the setting sun Kelpie exploring the Gorse Path in the setting sun. 
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#apatchwilder #mendips sunset
For anyone out there wondering about how to tell t For anyone out there wondering about how to tell the difference between an adder, grass snake and slow worm,  then wonder no longer! We found them all hanging out together in a cute little pile this afternoon.

Rough scales and diamond pattern on the adder (top). Yellow collar on the grass snake and shiny, unpatterned slow worm (bottom).
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#apatchwilder #mendips #adder #grasssnake #slowworm
When you're planning to spend a day enjoying the s When you're planning to spend a day enjoying the sun, it's important to make sure you get your position just right:

- Nice sunny spot ✅
- Bit of vegetation to hide in if needed ✅
- Some nice bracken for camouflage ✅
- Head in a comfortable position with good vantage ✅

Then it's time to kick back and enjoy some vitamin D!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #adder #snake #snakestagram
Incoming! Tawny owls are regular visitors to the w Incoming! Tawny owls are regular visitors to the woodland pond here.
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#apatchwilder #mendips #tawnyowl #owl #trailcam
Instagram post 18084089780214245 Instagram post 18084089780214245
Happy Spring Equinox! This newly-arrived chiffchaf Happy Spring Equinox! This newly-arrived chiffchaff hawking insects buzzing round the spectacular Blackthorn blossoms this afternoon seemed particularly spring equinox-y. Well done seasons!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #springequinox #chiffchaff #blossom
💚 Green woodpecker 💚 The lean green yaffle machine 💚 Green woodpecker 💚 The lean green yaffle machine 💚 
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#apatchwilder #mendips #rspb_love_nature #greenwoodpecker #ukbirds
Since discovering the woodland pond, this bouncy s Since discovering the woodland pond, this bouncy stoat has been visiting regularly and is it just me, or does it seem to like this stick a little too much? 😂

Caught on our Browning Recon Force Elite HP5 camera trap 
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#apatchwilder #mendips #stoat #pond #cameratrap
Common lizards are on the primary prey items of th Common lizards are on the primary prey items of the adder. So this little guys is living dangerously to say the least!
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#apatchwilder #mendips #commonlizard #adder #stayinalive
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