Wild Ken Hill

Thank you so much!

The enigmatic sight and sounds of Ravens at WKH will fit the emerging landscape perfectly. Fantastic project with a trio of approaches.

We are very pleased to have discovered a pair of Common Raven nesting in the Rewilding Area.

Bouncing back from persecution, these highly intelligent birds are spreading eastwards from their traditional range in the north and west of the country.

More commonly seen in summer and autumn, this Snowy Inkcap was an early surprise in the Rewilding Area today.

As its name (Coprinus niveus) suggests, this small fungus grows on dung such as these Exmoor Pony faeces. The specific epithet nivea (originally niveus) is Latin for snowy or snow-covered.

Eye to eye with a Snow Bunting today at @wildkenhill.bsky.social

A Clouded Yellow day - multiple individuals across four different parts of the Wild Ken Hill rewilding area today. Fab.

flower arrangement

plant

fruit

Thrilled to find a thriving colony of narrow-fruited corn-salad Valerianella dentata along a chalky field margin on the @wildkenhill.bsky.social estate near Sedgeford yesterday- only my 2nd encounter with the plant & the first time it's been recorded from this spot in over 25 years. #wildflowerhour

I spent a lovely few hours @wildkenhill.bsky.social this afternoon with the very knowledgeable @acorncarver.bsky.social as our group guide.Too engrossed to take photos.Really interesting to learn about returning land to nature,farming sustainably & managing habitats to benefit wildlife #RoadTrip2025

Laden hedgerows and a spattering of natural pools - seeing the rewilding team at @wildkenhill.bsky.social doing their thing is just wonderful.

Photo of a Eurasian spoonbill wading in shallow water. Credit: Martin Harvey/Wildscreen exchange

🪺For the first time since records began, Eurasian spoonbills have bred at the @wildkenhill.bsky.social rewilding site in Norfolk, with four pairs successfully raising 10 chicks.

🧵4/6

This week we were joined by the @citizenzoo.bsky.social team, led by @stuvigreen.bsky.social, to release the latest batch of our largest and rarest grasshopper - the Large Marsh Grasshopper.

A short film will be shown on The One Show on BBC One over the coming weeks.

Stay tuned!

Now is the winter of my discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun at Wild Ken Hill.
Forester Moth, Purple Hairstreak, Turtle Dove the highlights. And grasshoppers galore, including 50 Large Marsh Grasshopper nymphs (instars 4&5) introduced, with help from @awprco.bsky.social

A few from today.

📸 Lo Taylor

Five leverets.

www.facebook.com/share/p/18mh...

Home - Curlew Recovery Project Recovering Curlew through the collection of eggs from airfields, captive-rearing, and release into the wild.

4/ This work is part of @curlewrecovery.bsky.social project funded by @naturalengland.bsky.social to help this species’ survival in East Anglia. Thanks to Royal Air Force, Pensthorpe, @wildkenhill.bsky.social and Sandringham Estate for their project work. ➡️ www.curlewrecoverypr...

Checking in on ‘one of our own’ this #WorldCurlewDay -

www.instagram.com/p/DIuKEOwKZO...

A super photo from @acorncarver.bsky.social of today’s partial solar eclipse, followed by our own Timelapse from Wild Ken Hill, which shows a rather wonderful selection of clouds!

Did you manage clear skies where you are?

One of the first butterflies on the wing in early spring is the original ‘butter-fly’, the Brimstone, and we have seen several over the weekend.

Adult Brimstone can live for over ten months which makes them the longest lived of all British butterflies.

Excellent list of brand new #rewilding books for #worldbookday! Spotting stories from @kneppwilding.bsky.social and @wildkenhill.bsky.social amongst others

Sound up!

Highlights from 45 minutes in the Beaver Woods this afternoon, where a few hardy Robins sang through the rain before the sun appeared and the rest of the birds put on a treat for the ears.

How many different birds can you hear?

We think (heavy on the ‘think’) the single line tracks are Common Pheasant, and the manic footprints and probing are Woodcock. But we shall be out this week with the thermal to see just who is taking advantage of the pigs’ hard work!

Here, where the Rewilding Area meets the freshmarsh, exposed earth caused by the rootling of the pigs is peppered with footprints and probing beak holes.

Can you guess which bird might be taking advantage of the pig’s work?

Bonus point for Photo 4 !!

Nice walk at @wildkenhill.bsky.social in the sunshine (at last) - featuring a bonus Firecrest, huge numbers of noisy Siskins, Goshawk causing a ruckus, a titerama, Nuthatch frenzy, and the first large flock of Redwing I’ve seen in a while.

#speciesaday no. 537 is Anotylus insecatus. A Nationally Scarce rove beetle of light soils, I have only encountered this four times; twice on the Iford Estate in East Sussex and twice @wildkenhill.bsky.social. One of the species with a crenulated edge to the pronotum but red elytra and a shiny head.

#speciesaday no. 533 (behind with this this week) is Otiorhynchus raucus. Nationally scarce b weevil. Ground-dwelling on warm, broken turf in the east (no Sussex records - only comes as far south as North Kent). Over-sized pronotum. From Breck-like habitat at @wildkenhill.bsky.social, a lifer!

Today has been all about the blue sky.