The Loveliest Castle in the World

Hello once again to you all, I hope you've all had a splendid couple of months, seen lots of wildlife and maybe even a place or two I have mentioned. This time I will be back in Kent, looking at some of the wildlife you can find around the grounds of Leeds Castle near Maidstone.

This castle, self proclaimed as "The Loveliest Castle in the World", stretches over 500 acres and although more managed than the areas I more usually cover, is still home to some wonderful views and animal life in the parkland and gardens. The area is also currently being kept to a more wildlife friendly approach, balancing habitat diversity and the wonderful gardens loved by the visitors.

The Lake surrounding Leeds Castle

From the minute you enter the grounds, walking through the woodland pathways, a variety of water and ground-based bird life greets you. Black headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and the occasional coot (Fulica atra) feed along the water's edge and can be seen bobbing about across the area. As you carry on forward, whooper (Cygnus cygnus), mute (Cygnus olor) and black swans (Cygnus atratus) can also be found gliding through the water, with Canada (Branta canadensis) and domestic Emden geese (Anser anser domesticus) stumbling clumsily towards the water's edge.

Coot feeding in the lake

Emden goose resting on one foot

Mute swan cutting through the water

Canada geese at the water's edge

Always a pretty sight, here and there you can see male green peafowl (Pavo muticus) showing off their plumage to the public, pecking at bird feed scattered on the ground. Accustomed to a reasonable level of human presence, these birds can give a wonderful view of their coloured fan of tail feathers if you are patient.

Peacock showing it's tail fan

Head shot of a curious fella

Peacock foraging for bird feed

Following this direction, alongside the winding river, traversing the grounds will lead you to the castle itself with it's broad moat and historically significant rooms kept meticulously. Home to many an English medieval queen, this castle has stood for over 900 years and provides a really interesting look into the history of the area.

Surrounding moat of the castle

Boardwalks crossing the river

Entrance across the moat to the castle

Coot wading across the wet ground

Moorhen calling amongst the leaf litter

Arch constructed from woven trees

Whooper swan foraging on the ground

Western jackdaw curiously surveying
 from some cobblestones

Young mute swan bobbing in the moat

Travelling onward from the castle itself, there is a selection of food and drink establishments in the courtyard which borders an area of cultivated gardens. There is what I found to be quite impressively confusing maze here with the exit following into an exquisitely decorated underground shell grotto tunnel that emerges by the entrance. 

Black headed gull warding off other gulls

Female black headed gull perched
 at the edge of a picnic area

Looking down at us from a wall

Stone face in the maze grotto

Wooden face constructed from driftwood

Through the area, you can also see a variety of foraging bird life amongst the leaf litter. I in particular enjoy watching one of my favourites, the Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula). These birds tend to be a bit more tolerant of public disturbance than most species, and I really like their black with hints of blue colouration and how powerful they look when keeping watch.

Proud Jackdaw foraging in the leaf litter

Jackdaw spying on the ground below

An inquisitive look

Surrounding these areas is the sizeable lake which, whilst beautiful in the afternoon sun, has also become the focus of restoration conservation projects for European water vole populations in the area. Run more recently as part of the RSPB's Giving Nature a Home campaign, the project aims to protect and encourage water voles to both remain and return to the castle grounds. Rather broadly, this involved reaching favourable habitat conditions by thickening water margin vegetation and controlling bank erosion with coir rolls, however more information for those who are interested is shown on boards beside these areas in the grounds.

As mentioned previously though, there are many areas which have been enhanced to encourage a variety of wildlife, including continuous tree cover and veteran tree management strategies. Along with this, there is also grazing pasture regulation and encouragement of wildflower growth to foster the butterfly and insect species.

Although not personally observed, a range of other, some rarer avian species are noted to be present over the grounds and lake, including grey herons (Ardea cinerea), kingfishers (Alceda atthis) and birds of prey such as the buzzard (Buteo buteo) and sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). The wildlife is not limited to bird life though, with a range of lovely insects and butterflies, as mentioned, visible flitting between the flowers and the odd fox and water vole occasionally popping up when not shying away from the public.

Afternoon sun over the castle lake

So there it is then, my account of some of the wildlife, facilities and sights that await you should you choose to visit this lovely castle. I hope you all enjoyed this post, and for those of you who are interested, the topic of my next post will be left a mystery for now.

Until next time then, look after yourselves and if you get a chance, explore the area around you, you never know what you might find!

Stodmarsh NNR

Hi everyone! Welcome back for another exciting entry into the reserves of Kent with Invicta Zoologia. This time I will be having a gander at the Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve in the picturesque Stour Valley.

Located beside the lovely little village of Stodmarsh, this reserve comprises marshland and wetland reservoir habitat spanning over 200 hectares of Northern area of Kent.

Wetland Stodmarsh Reserve

As you begin one of the many walks around the reserve, boardwalks and bridges allow you to experience the scenic waterways and the wildlife found there. In the summer particularly, a myriad of coloured butterflies and dragonflies, including commas (Polygonia c-album), speckled woods (Pararge aegeria), common red darters (Sympetrum striolatum) and common blue Damselflies (Enallagma cyathigerum) flit around investigating your presence.

Comma Butterfly perched on a hand rail

Common red darter having temporarily landed on the stony path

Speckled Wood Butterfly resting on a leaf

Thick ledges of fungi growing on trunk

Making your way to the more open areas of wetland, bird hides allow you to watch groups of wading birds feed and socialise with minimum human disturbance, and I particularly enjoyed watching the flocks of Greylag geese (Anser anser) seen below. The site in general is fantastic for viewing bird species, with its combination of wetland and marsh habitats providing plenty of ground-level vegetation for nesting and feeding. The water bodies also provide an ample supply of invertebrates and fish to support the avian colonies. 

Interestingly, this aspect also contributes heavily to the site's status as a prime habitat for the endangered British water vole (Arvicola amphibius), although it would have to be a rather lucky day to spy a glimpse of these iconic aquatic mammals!

Geese cruising through the marsh

Pair of Greylag geese strutting their stuff

Feeding flock of Greylag geese

Greylag floating in the still water

Beautiful plumage of the Greylag goose

Looking around while you attempt to navigate the myriad of walkways, little pockets of activity can generally be seen through the undergrowth, be it in wild ponds or in the many waterways criss crossing the landscape. Coot (Fulica atra) can be seen scattered around foraging for vegetation and invertebrates such as larvae and snails, as well as distant wetland growing trees in the heavy with flocks of fishing cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). Even immobile stands such as wild fungus growing upon fallen logs allow visitors to see the ever changing life cycles inherent in these ecosystems.

A good wing beat to get rid of that excess water

New life growing from the old

Foraging coot seen through the undergrowth

Cormorants taking a fishing break 

One of Stodmarsh's many plant-rich walks

For those of you a little more botanically minded, the reserve is also home to some lovely specimens of wetland, marsh and terrestrial plants, many of which create lovely summer displays of wild flowers. Common throughout the reserve, bulrush (Typha spp.) rhizomes can be picturesque alongside a pond or through marsh and as an interesting side note are almost entirely edible, with these "cattails" often referred to as "supermarkets of the swamp" in the US. 

In terms of autumn sights, even weeds such as dandelions (Taraxacum spp.) and the conical seed heads of the teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) can, in my personal opinion, make for some beautiful seasonal photos when hit in the right light. For some foragers and florists, indeed the teasel's seed cone has even become a staple appearance in dried flower arrangements. 

Dried out teasel seed pods

Resilient dandelion in the autumn sun

Insect looking out over the landscape from its grass perch

Shadowy bench overlooking a lake

So there you have it! Although I most likely will have to come back to this reserve to experience it in future seasons, if it's within reasonable travel distance it is well worth a trip out. I'm sure there are plenty of surprises that I either haven't managed to cover here or haven't had the chance to experience yet, so if you have a few hours free, why not give them to Kent's nature and have a go at exploring Stodmarsh and the Stour Valley!

For those who are interested, next time I will be taking a short break from looking at Kent's wildlife and will instead be having a hopefully different look at the wildlife and landscapes I have experienced a bit further afield, in both the UK and abroad. Also, for anyone who fancies a gander at more of my wildlife photography, links to both my DeviantART and Flickr galleries can be found along the right side of the blog.

See you next time!

Sandwich and Pegwell Bay NNR

Following in a similar vein to my previous post, I thought this time I would have a look, albeit far more briefly than it deserves, at the wonderful National Nature Reserve at Sandwich and Pegwell Bay.

The lovely view out from the Sandwich and Pegwell Bay reserve

Managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust, this coastal reserve is Internationally important for its bird species, particularly wildfowl and waders such as dunlin (Calidris alpina), curlew (Numenius arquata) and oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus). It covers a variety of local habitat types including mudflats, saltmarsh, sand dunes and coastal scrubland and has a range of difficulty paths to suit anyone visiting.

Insect getting covered in pollen

Flies getting their fill of nectar in a lovely purple wildflower

A lovely rustic glass vase of these stunning red edged flowers
 was placed with others beside a lain wooden log

White flower of the lesser bindweed

As you walk around the reserve, there is some beautiful flora to be seen, particularly in the summer with wildflowers thriving throughout, although some of the more resilient flowers such as those of the lesser bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) still make an impressive appearance in the autumn.

Common red darter newly perched on a leaf

Common red darter perched on a dead stem

View out across the marshes on a
more cloudy day

Bunches of elderberries thriving on the reserve

The surprisingly consistent good weather this summer has also bolstered the local insect life, with flitting dragonflies such as the common red darter (Sympetrum striolatum) and summer butterfly species, which accompany the marsh and field habitat, being a welcome regular sight. Wild growing fruit can also be seen on the reserve keeping the wild bird species well fed, with apple trees (Malus domestica) and elderberry bushes (Sambucus) scattered around. 

Highland cow grazing whilst a curlew
 forages nearby

Highland cow basking in the summer sun

Exmoor pony shaking off dust in the summer sun

Herd of exmoor ponies grazing

The reserve is also home to herds of lovely shaggy highland cattle, Exmoor ponies and Polish Konik primitive horses grazing in certain areas. On one of my sunnier summer visits to the reserve in fact I was even lucky enough to spend time watching a group of highland cattle resting in the shade whilst two adventurous magpies (Pica pica) hopped around and even on top of them to peck at insects abundant in the cow's fur.

Magpie picking flies from the face of
a Highland cow

Magpie standing proud beside an inquisitive Highland cow

Magpie after hopping onto the head
of a relaxed Highland cow

All in all, this reserve offers a wonderful nature trip out for anyone in the area, with picnic seating areas and a play park for the little'uns. For those interested in more marine species as well, the harbour in nearby Ramsgate runs a boat trip along the adjacent River Stour to search for marine mammals, particularly seals, with the boats often being seen drifting up and down the river from the reserve.

It really is brilliant being able to see such a wide variety of protected habitats in a visit to one site and, with hides and viewing areas dotted around, you are exposed to a good range of what more natural Kent has to offer and stand a good chance of seeing some fantastic wildlife.  

Wilderness view down one of the reserve's paths

View out the marshes with waders and
Ramsgate visible

Bunch of Hawthorn (Crataegus) berries

Another view out over the marshes towards Ramsgate

Well then, that's my brief account of what I've experienced so far and my thoughts on the Sandwich and Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve. I hope to have done it some justice through my photographs, although to really see how beautiful it is you'll have to visit it yourselves! 

For those who are interested, my next post will be looking at another of the NNRs in Kent, the picturesque Stodmarsh Reserve in the Great Stour valley. See you then!