Heligan Wild Weekend - Saturday 25th - Monday 27th May 2013
14th May 2013
Saturday 25th - Monday 27th May
Join us for a weekend full of discovery, wildlife and adventure for the whole family to enjoy.
Explore the gardens and estate and search out all of the bugs, butterflies and beasties as we discover what wildlife is hiding out there.
First Barn Owl egg of 2013!
7th May 2013
We are very pleased to announce that our female Barn Owl finally laid her first egg on Monday 6th May about 7pm.
We would now expect her to lay several more eggs, each approximately 2 days apart. She can lay up to about 6 but this amount will entirely depend on the amount of food available.
The female will incubate the eggs straight after laying them, which results in the first chick sometimes hatching up to 10 days before the last.This behaviour is to ensure that if supply of food decreases throughout the season, the older chicks have a greater chance of surviving.
The eggs will be incubated for roughly 30 days, so we will expect this first egg to hatch around the 6th June.
Saddleback Piglets
4th May 2013
We have just seen 8 Saddleback weaners arrive on-site! They will initially be kept in an electric fence enclosure on the Woodland Walk.
Saddlebacks are a native breed and are also known as Wessex or British Saddlebacks. They are characterised by the bold white stripe which runs over their shoulders, contrasting with the black colour of the rest of the body.
These pigs will help us clear over-grown bramble areas in our woodland and disturb the seedbed, aiding germination of woodland plants and flowers. The pigs will stay with us until they reach around 70kg, and will then supply the Willows restaurant with high quality free-range pork - from pigs that have had a truly outdoors existence!
Heligan Dexter Cattle
11th April 2013
Our herd of Dexter cattle are in the later stages of pregnancy now, and we expect our first calf at the end of May. We think that 14 cows are definitely in-calf, but you can never tell until the last minute.
The 2013 calves have been sired by our new stock bull (Penhayes Fredee) so it will be very interesting to see how they turn out.
The girls have been eating our own hay over the Winter (cut from our wildflower meadows), but they are eagerly looking forward to the first flush of Spring grass!
Estate Walk
8th January 2013
Join our Estate Manager on a chance to go on a walk into the outer reaches of the estate that are normally closed to visitors.
Have a chat about today’s estate management priorities whilst gaining a glimpse into the past by discovering forgotten crumbling structures and veteran trees.
Please collect your tickets from the Ticket Office on the day.
Duration of walk – 2 hours.
Depart from Horsemoor Hide at 11am. Tickets: £2.00 plus Garden Admission Charge.
Winter visitors to Heligan
22nd November 2012
With the nights quickly drawing in and the temperatures starting to drop, it’s a sure sign that winter is on its way.
Here in Cornwall we are lucky that it never really gets that cold; Scandinavia on the other hand gets very, very cold. And for birds that usually spend the summer over there, it all gets too much and they pack up and travel in large numbers, long distances to a warmer climate, namely the UK, especially the South West.
The most recognised will certainly be Fieldfare and Redwing; arriving in large flocks and can often be seen flying overhead, foraging in fields or stripping berries from hedgerows and will also come into gardens when the temperatures drop. They are fairly unmistakable birds of the Thrush family.
Fieldfares are large colourful Thrushes; similar in size to the Mistle Thrush, they have a reddish-brown back and striking cold grey head and rump with a heavily spotted underside and rusty-yellow breast.
Redwings are smaller than Fieldfares, about the size of a Song Thrush. Very similar to the Song Thrush but with a distinctive cream-coloured strip above the eye and an orange-red patch on its flank – hence the name Redwing. In flight they often make a “Seeeep” sounding call that is easily recognised.
The other regular winter visitors are Siskin and Brambling; they are unmistakable finches that will regularly visit gardens if bird feeders have been made available.
Siskins (Carduelis spinus) are small, colourful finches with a distinctly forked tail and a long narrow bill. The males have a streaky yellow-green body and a black crown and bib, with yellow patches in the wings and tail. They often squabble for a place on bird feeders, particularly if Niger seed is supplied. They can also be seen at the tops of trees feeding on any natural seeds. There are numbers of Siskin that are resident all year round, although large flocks of “foreign” birds arrive in the winter.
Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) are similar in size to a Chaffinch, and are often seen with large flocks of Chaffinches. The males have a black head in summer and an orange breast with white underside and in flight they show a white rump. When food is short they will readily come to seed feeders in gardens.
Meadow Pipits have also started arriving in larger numbers. These small birds spend a lot of time on the ground, usually the only sign that they are there is when disturbed and they fly from their grass cover sounding their alarm call. They are small, brown birds with well streaked plumage. Again, large numbers arrive in the South West in winter where they will often be seen in flocks around large farmland fields. We are starting to see quite a few around the Heligan estate recently, which is a great sign as these birds are in decline due to intense agricultural practices.
A bird that we haven’t yet seen this year is the Lapwing, an unmistakeable bird that flies in large flocks with a black and white appearance, characteristic wavering flight due to its heavily rounded wings and distinctive “peewit” call. They are often seen in large, open fields feeding on insects and worms. Again, these birds are in decline due to agricultural practices but we are hopeful to see them arriving here soon.
Heligan Barn Owls 2012
31st July 2012
We have now taken our Barn Owl cameras offline for this season as the owlets have fledged and are no longer using their nest box as frequently. We have had some enquiries as to how they have been getting on and thought it may be an appropriate time for a final update.
Three owlets out of the initial five that hatched, survived to fledging. On average about 80% of owlets that hatch survive; so they did not do too badly! All three look healthy and do still occasionally use the nest box to roost, but are predominantly roosting in one of the other barns in the complex.
We have had good weather so far and assume they are feeding well and getting ready to finally disperse from the site within the next few weeks or so. Unfortunately the greatest dangers for young Barn Owls are in this dispersal period, where they leave the area surrounding the nest site to find new roosts. They have had a strong start, and we hope for the best.
We will be carrying out routine maintenance on the nestbox and cameras over winter, to get ready for when the parents hopefully move back in, early next year!
The winner of our Heligan Wildlife Photography Competition
23rd July 2012
The Lost Gardens of Heligan are pleased to announce the winner of their year-long Wildlife Photography Competition. Starting back in May 2011 the competition invited Heligan visitors to capture images of Heligan wildlife and enter them for the opportunity to win a bounty of photographic and wildlife prizes worth over £1000; Sigma Telephoto lens, a Nikon photographic backpack, a gift voucher for Wildlife Watching Supplies, a signed book by Charlie Hamilton James and a signed copy of "Lenses for DSLRs" by Ross Hoddinott.
Each month a finalist was chosen from the entries with their image being displayed on the Heligan Wild website www.heliganwild.com before an overall winner was chosen from the 12 finalists by BBC wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James.
After much consideration Charlie chose the winning photo, a stunning image of a Heligan Grass Snake swimming across the wildlife pond, outside Horsemoor Hide. The image displayed all the winning qualities, great composition, colour and focus as well as one of Heligan’s iconic and not so often spotted creatures. Delighted amateur photographer Robin Leath from Mevagissey was announced the overall winner.
“I was totally stunned to hear from the Heligan Wild Team that I had won as the quality of entries was so high” said Robin
“Over the last few years I have developed a real passion for photography and Heligan has been a great place of inspiration for me. I had only just acquired a new camera lens when I heard about Heligan’s Wildlife Photography Competition. One day whilst taking advantage of Horsemoor Hide and its wildlife viewing potential I spotted the unmistakable shape of a snake crossing the pond. I didn’t have long to get my shot but my efforts have really been rewarded!”
The Heligan Wild Team have been thrilled with both the quantity and quality of entries for the competition with a staggering number of photos being entered over the 12 month competition period.
“We hoped that the competition would raise awareness of Heligan’s abundant and diverse wildlife as well as encouraging visitors to take the time to observe and enjoy both wildlife and habitat. We certainly haven’t been disappointed” – said Richard Stafford, Heligan Wild Team.
“I would just like to thank Charlie Hamilton James for selecting my shot from all the other fabulous entries. I would also like to thank all the staff at Heligan for putting on such a great competition!” – added Robin.
Heligan would also like to thank all of the prize sponsors: Sigma, South West Optics, Wildlife Watching Supplies, Ross Hoddinott and Charlie Hamilton James for making this competition so successful.
New Heligan Wild logo!
17th July 2012
In recent years Heligan Wild has been going from strength to strength, cultivating an identity that stems from The Lost Gardens and the diversity of life that exists within and around them. Particularly since the birth of the Heligan Wild website, which has had nearly 400,000 visits in the past twelve months! This exciting project has attracted a wide audience from all over the world who come to view the wildlife that thrives in the wide range of habitats in this tiny yet beautiful part of Cornwall.
The Heligan Wild team have joined forces with the Heligan Design team to completely revamp the Heligan Wild logo in a way that we think best demonstrates our aims at Heligan Wild, and we are pleased to announce that it has just been finalised and is ready for publication!
Now, almost certainly the questions you’ve all been asking are: “What beetle is it?” and “Why use it?”
The beetle is known as a Golden-haired Longhorn beetle or Hornet Longhorn (Leptura aurulenta) and is a member of the Longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), aptly named because of their long antennae. The females are larger than males and much more impressive with golden and black wing covers, orange legs and antennae, whereas the males are smaller with reddish orange and black wing covers and black legs and antennae.
They are found in localised areas throughout England with a stronghold in the South West, their preferred habitat is developed woodland, as the larvae require dead wood for protection, food and to safely grow into adults.
We chose to use this beetle on our logo as it is a fairly unusual beetle that most people would not see. We have a very good population of them here at Heligan, thanks primarily to our mature, well developed woodland and woodland management techniques, and we will continue to preserve areas of dead wood specifically for the welfare of such insects. Using this beetle has given the logo a much more eye-catching look; with an attraction to both children and adults alike.
A major part of the work we do at Heligan Wild is providing intimate views of behaviour that wouldn’t normally be seen or species that wouldn’t normally be seen, by using this Longhorn beetle within our logo we hope to promote thought about some of the species that require our help but are too often overlooked.
Bee Walks
10th July 2012
Following the success of our “Buzz ... A celebration of British Bees and their flowers”, exhibition last year, we are proud to announce the launch of our own bee walks with our bee expert and gardener Laurren. Learn all about the many different species of beautiful British bee during our specialist walks through the Northern Gardens. These informal and informative walks will help you learn more about our little garden friends, which flowers they need and how to protect their habitats.
Bees need us and we need bees!
FREE TO GARDEN VISITORS
Places are limited to 30 persons per tour and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
New Swallow Webcam
16th June 2012
Swallows are a summer visitor to the UK and spend their winters in Africa. They usually arrive here in about March each year and stay until October. They like to nest in confined spaces in places such as eaves of buildings where it is quite dark. Nests are made from a mixture of mud and plant fibres, although the nest on our webcam is actually an artificial one. Swallows lay between three and eight eggs and can have several clutches in a year. The chicks usually fledge the nest when they are about three weeks old. The Swallow is amber listed by the RSPB because of a decline of numbers in Europe.
The webcam can be seen on the webcam section of our site.
Heligan on Springwatch
7th June 2012
Peter Stafford's award winning mole photograph
Peter has always had a fascination with moles and took some amazing pictures of their nests as a teenager, which won him Wildlife Cameraman of the Year in 1967. Thanks to an advance in technology, Peter and Sam were able to film the first ever footage of moles living naturally in their underground tunnels! If you are interested in viewing this footage and learning more about moles, the full story can be found on the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/2012/05/first-ever-footage-of-a-mole-i.shtml
Barn Owl webcam
30th May 2012
There have been some recent concerns from viewers of our Barn Owl webcam about the welfare of our owlets.
This webcam we provide is to give a better understanding of the day to day lives of our native wildlife; we would by no means interfere with the owls for various reasons. The main reason being that Barn Owls are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and so it is an offence to disturb adults, chicks, eggs, nesting or roosting sites at any time of year, we cannot go anywhere near the site or box until all the owls have fledged. If we were to have attempted to do anything to save the younger chick it would potentially jeopardise the welfare of the other chicks.
Yes, the younger chick has died as it was weak and was therefore out-competed by its elders but you should understand that this is nature, and on a positive note this now gives the other chicks a better chance of survival. Barn Owls lay their eggs in 2-3 day intervals, known as "asynchronous" hatching. So the firstborn chick starts being fed before its siblings have even hatched. Due to this, the firstborn grows bigger and stronger than the younger chick therefore having an advantage when food is delivered by the adults; the younger chick can eventually become weak and is likely to die because of malnutrition. This provides a very valuable meal for the stronger chicks, as well as reducing the workload for the adult owls; we can assure you that this is perfectly normal behaviour particularly in a clutch of three or more.
Update 03/07/2012: To all those concerned about the youngest owlet, we have been to the barn and searched the entire area but we are unable to find the chick anywhere! As you know all the chicks are ringed so if we hear of anything we shall be able to trace it back. Sadly the chances of survival on the ground are slim but we can still be hopeful!
We are pleased to announce the launch of our Bug Explorer Trail
24th May 2012
This summer we invite you to become a Bug Explorer at Heligan, simply follow the clues around the estate, through both hay meadow and woodlands to discover some of the amazing bugs that Heligan is home to.
Collect your Bug Explorer Trail at the Ticket Office on arrival.
FREE TO GARDEN VISITORS
Wildlife Photography Competition finalists
24th May 2012
Wildlife Photography Competition
Back in May 2011, in celebration of 21 years since Heligan’s discovery and the launch of our website heliganwild.com, we launched a “Wildlife Photography Competition”
The competition has now ended and we are left with twelve finalists who are in with a chance to win!
The images will now be judged by BBC wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James with the overall winner receiving fantastic prizes worth over £1000!
Prizes:
Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM Telephoto zoom lens worth £850!
Nikon photographic backpack worth £90.
£50 gift voucher for Wildlife Watching Supplies.
Signed book by Charlie Hamilton James.
Signed copy of "Lenses for DSLRs" by Ross Hoddinott.
Congratulations to all who have made it this far and good luck!
Heligan Barn Owl Update
17th May 2012
All five of our Barn Owl chicks successfully hatched and the youngest is now one week old. The size difference between the chicks is quite striking and the oldest one is getting to the stage where it does not need so much warmth from its mother and is beginning to explore its surroundings!
April Photography Competition winner
7th May 2012
The final month of the Photography Competition has now gone, and we are pleased to announce the final winner to be shortlisted for a chance to win the grand prize!
Congratulations to Tania Crow for her very impressive portrait of a male Pheasant.
Greenfinch by Matthew Oxley
Cranefly by Viv Chapman
Jay by Graeme Willetts
March Photo Competition winner is announced
3rd April 2012
Congratulations to Greg Mickelborough for his shot of a Robin on the Jungle boardwalk. A nice composition, complimented by a shallow depth of field has made for a fine image of our "Gardener's Friend".
A selection of "Highly Commended" entries for this month
Jane Grimshaw
Viv Chapman
Paul Jenkins
Heligan’s first Barn Owl egg of 2012!
30th March 2012
At approximately 8:30am this morning our female Barn owl laid her first egg!
Female Barn Owls generally lay four to six eggs each year, at intervals of 2 or 3 days. These will take about 31-32 days to hatch. Most bird species don’t incubate until they have laid all their eggs, but Barn Owls incubate straight away. The female does all the incubation and the male will provide her with food throughout this period. This incubation technique results in the eggs hatching asynchronously, one after the other. The gap between oldest and youngest chick can be up to 3 weeks.
The number of eggs laid will vary from year to year depending on how much food is available. More food will mean more eggs. The female will now stay in the nest for the next 9 weeks or so, caring for her eggs and young. Make sure you check out our webcam around the end of April when we will expect to see this first egg beginning to hatch!
Spring with Heligan Wild
29th March 2012
What glorious weather we have been having lately, a fantastic start to Spring 2012! The gardens are starting to bloom, and out with Heligan Wild, things are starting to get busy… The birds have starting nesting; in fact one pair of Blackbirds already have a nest full of four demanding nestlings. The bees and other invertebrates are emerging from their winter hiding places to make full use of these hot temperatures and blooming flowers. Grass Snakes are being seen regularly again, which is always great to see. The Heligan Wild staff were fortunate enough to spot a pair of Grass Snakes mating at the side of Horsemoor Hide pond, something they feel privileged to have witnessed and hopefully a keen eyed visitor to the hide may have spotted them too! For the majority of you that won’t get to see such a thing in the wild, we will, of course get a film together! The Buzzards have also been seen mating close to Lost Valley, so we can expect to see more of these impressive raptors over the coming months.
After many weeks of waiting, on the 13th of February our fox box saw its first visitor! What we believe to be a male fox spent a few minutes scoping out the base of the earth. He continued to visit the box for the next week or so but has unfortunately not been back since. The fox has been sighted several times in the vicinity of the earth and we are hopeful that now it is aware the box is there, it may consider using it in the future. Footage of the fox can be seen on our Facebook page.
The Barn Owls are continuing to provide endless entertainment on our webcams. The male has recently been bringing the female prey items before mating with her; this is one of the final stages of their courtship so we are hopeful she will have laid some eggs before too long. Both the male and female are frequently in the box during the day, you can check them out at http://www.heliganwild.com/webcams
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Our Tawny Owl nest box is not fairing quite so well. The female has been making fairly regular visits to it during the evenings but has not yet settled. She did not take up residence until late march last year though and so we are still being patient and holding out hope.
Over the winter we have been planning some more improvements to Horsemoor Hide. What used to be our projector room at the back of the hide will be transformed into a brand new display all about the history and decline of the hay meadow, and its importance as a habitat to British wildlife. The room will see the hide heading in a slightly new direction and will officially launch on Monday 7th May. On this date we are also launching our brand new ‘hay meadow themed’ Wildlife Trail, we hope you enjoy them!
As it is Spring, birds are starting to nest and the bluebells are almost out so why not pop over here with your camera? We are entering the last few months of our Wildlife Photography Competition and always enjoy seeing your photos. The final closing date for this is 31st May, for more information please visit: http://www.heliganwild.com/wildlife-photography-competition/.
Don’t forget, that to keep up with the day to day happenings at Heligan Wild please check out our Facebook and Twitter pages!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heligan-Wild/232313850163086
https://twitter.com/#!/HeliganWild
February photo competition results
20th March 2012
Congratulations to Michael Batten for his shot of a Robin in the Veg Garden. A combination of fantastic detail and vibrant colours really made this image stand out.
A selection of "Highly Commended" entries for this month
Great Tit by Sam Stewart
Great Spotted Woodpecker portrait by Graeme Willetts
Blue Tit by Paige Dickens
Robin photographer by Viv Chapman
January Photo Competition winners are announced.
26th February 2012
Due to some technical difficulties the announcement of our January Photo competition was delayed but we are pleased to reveal this month's winner!
Congratulations to George Rogers for his shot of a Blue Tit taken from Horsemoor Hide. The combination of good composition, an interesting pose and that it was taken in very wet conditions has made a very eye-catching shot!
Winner: George Rogers
Highly commended entries for January
Sam Stewart - Coal Tit
Nicola Oakley - Robin
December Photography competition.
4th January 2012
Viv Chapman is the well deserved winner this month, with her very impressive, beautifully composed photo of a Hummingbird Hawk-moth taken in the Melon Yard.
Viv Chapman
Well done to David Stringer with his lovely shot of a Goldfinch outside Horsemoor Hide. A well deserved runner-up.
David Stringer
November Photography Competition is judged
1st December 2011
Congratulations to Andrew Johnson for his shot of the Fly Agarics, his use of a low point of view has resulted in a very eye catching image.
Nuthatch by Graeme Willetts
Peacock Butterfly by Stella Wilkes
Southern Hawker Dragonfly by Ruth Martini
Grey Squirrel by David Stringer
Wood mice
14th November 2011
Scentific name: Apodemus sylvaticus
Other names: Wood mouse, Long-tailed field mouse/field mouse
Identification: Light brown fur that gets darker towards the spine. White/grey underside, large ears, protruding eyes and a long tail.
Size: 81-103mm; tail 71-95mm.
Weight: 13-27g.
Lifespan: Few survive more than a year.
Wood mice can be found throughout the British Isles, being our most common and widespread rodent. It is a highly adaptable and tends to frequent woodlands and fields but is found in most habitats, provided it is not too wet or very exposed. They are primarily nocturnal, although they can be seen during the day if there is a shortage of food. It is closely related to the Yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) but is generally smaller, with smaller ears and does not have the band of yellow on its neck. Yellow-necked mice are very rare if not absent from Devon and Cornwall.
Wood mice tend to live in complicated, underground burrows that include nest chambers and food stores. The nests are usually made of grass, leaves and moss and tend to be built below ground in root systems but are often found in holes in trees, buildings and bird boxes.
During the winter they will nest in groups for warmth, just like in our nest chamber.
In spring the females will find their own nest site and nest on their own. They are incredibly fast breeders, giving birth to 6 litters of 4-7 blind, hairless young in one year. They can breed way into October, although these litters tend to be considerably smaller. The young are fully weaned after 18 days.
Being at the bottom of the food chain they have a wide range of predators including owls, foxes, stoats, weasels and domestic cats. They are an invaluable prey item for owls, particularly Tawny Owls.
Photography Tips - Part 2
10th November 2011
So last month we talked about the very basics of digital photography, explaining how your camera works, what a DSLR is, various lenses etc.
The next step now is exposure; what it is and how it works.
Exposure is essentially the amount of light recorded by your camera’s sensor whilst taking a photograph. It is governed by three things: Aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Aperture: Aperture is the size of the lens opening. Aperture is measured in f/stops - a very wide aperture is f/2.8 and a very small aperture is f/22.
Shutter speed: Is the amount of time that the shutter is open during a single photograph. The shutter speed is measured in seconds and fractions of a second - 1/8000 of a second is very, very fast and 20 seconds is very slow.
ISO: ISO is your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive the sensor will be to light, and vice versa.
These three aspects work together to create the desired photograph, a change in any one of these will impact on the others.
You will quite often hear the terminology, underexposed and overexposed. When an image is underexposed it appears too dark and when it is overexposed it will be too light. Modern DSLRs have built in light meters, which accurately measure the amount of light in a scene and show it on your cameras display.
At first you will depend almost entirely on the light meter but once you know how to control your exposures you will be able to take better photos. Even though aperture and shutter speed both control the amount of light getting to the sensor they will also change other aspects of the photo.
Shutter speed can be used to freeze motion with a fast shutter speed or it can be used to blur motion with a slow shutter speed. The photo of the coast was taken using a shutter speed of 30 seconds at ISO 100, f/11 whereas the photo of the Puffin was taken using a shutter speed of 1/1600 of a second at ISO 400, f/5.
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Aperture also controls depth-of-field (DOF). Depth of field is basically the amount of distance between the closest and farthest objects that are in sharp focus. This can be used to draw viewers’ attention to one focus point by blurring the background by using a wide aperture (low f/stop). It can also be used to focus everything in the photo by using a narrow aperture (high f/stop), essential when photographing a vast landscape.
Below: The top photo was taken using an aperture of f/2.8 and the bottom photo was taken using an aperture of f/22
The final factor is ISO. All modern DSLRs offer the ability to change the ISO. The most common span of ISO speed is from 100 to 800. The higher the ISO the faster the camera is able to collect light. To achieve a fast shutter speed in most UK weather you will probably need to use a higher ISO setting (ISO 400 and above), also using a low f/stop will allow more light to reach the sensor, therefore resulting in a faster shutter speed. On the other hand when photographing landscapes etc. using a tripod you can get away with using a low ISO (ISO 100), you would then use a high f/stop to get a sharp image throughout, which in turn would give you a slower shutter speed. So in general, the lower the light levels, the higher the ISO should be.
One thing to bear in mind when using a higher ISO is that the image will get more digital noise. Noise is the digital equivalent of film grain, which shows up as lots of tiny coloured dots, which are much more noticeable in the darker areas of your photo. Note how the bottom photo (ISO 2500) has noticeably more noise than the top photo (ISO100)
One other factor that will affect your final image is White Balance.
White Balance is a part of photography that many digital camera owners don’t use, purely because they don’t understand it. It really is the difference between a good photo and a very good photo. White Balance is simply the control of the colour balance within an image, to get the colours as accurate as possible. Each scene and the different sources of light within that scene will have a slightly different colour (temperature). For example a photo taken in fluorescent lighting will add a blue cast to your images, therefore not accurately representing the scene. Our eyes automatically adjust for this change in temperature so we don’t notice it; the camera does not have this ability so we will sometimes have to help it out!
Many modern digital cameras have certain White Balance settings to make it easier. Below are some of the most common settings:
- Auto – Your camera will evaluate the scene and automatically set the white balance, this tends to be very accurate except in the most difficult situations.
- Daylight – a basic setting that will give a slightly warmer cast to your images, perfect for sunsets.
- Cloudy – this setting tends to warm colours up a bit more than ‘daylight’ mode.
- Flash – Used when using your camera’s flash. The flash of a camera tends to be quite a cool light, so this setting warms it up slightly.
- Shade – the light in shade is quite blue, so this mode will warm the scene up a little.
- Tungsten – this mode is for photographing indoors, under artificial light where the colour cast needs to be “cooled” down.
- Fluorescent – this will “warm” up your photos by compensating for the ‘cold’ light of fluorescent lighting.
Below are two photos taken at the same time under the same light but using a different White Balance setting; note how the right-hand image has a nasty orange colour cast to it.
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Hopefully that has given you a basic understanding of what is required to achieve an accurately exposed photo, to truly understand it I believe that experimenting is key. So get out there and play around.
Next time we will start to show you how you can use this knowledge to start taking great images at Heligan!
November Wildlife Team update
9th November 2011
It seems hard to think that we are now into November, although we are finally getting the winter weather we are due! The weather so far has been very mild compared to previous years and that has reflected in the wildlife we have been seeing. Southern Hawker Dragonflies can still be seen flying low over the Lost Valley ponds, Red Admirals are still very active and a sight we did not expect to see on the 1st November, a Humming-bird Hawk-moth feeding on a Fuchsia outside the Steward’s House! It is clearly starting to get colder in Scandinavia though, as we are seeing quite a few of our winter visitors turning up. A flock of 15+ Siskin were busy feeding in the trees surrounding the Steward’s House, large flocks of both Redwing and Fieldfare are showing up in the fields surrounding the gardens, lots of Firecrests are around, although seeing them is always a challenge! Our Kingfisher has also returned to fish the ponds in the Lost Valley and Jungle, so keep your eyes peeled for that flash of blue when near any of our water courses.
One of the most exciting things this month has been the addition of our “Mouse Cam” which was initially set up as a feeding station for the resident rodents in our Barn Owl Tower. A pair of Wood Mice (otherwise known as Long-tailed Field Mice) have since moved in and brought with them a lot of bedding, so it would appear as if they are very content with their new abode! They can be viewed 24 hours a day on our live webcams, views of which have quadrupled since the introduction of this new camera! Wood Mice are known to sleep communally, so we can expect to see more arriving as the weather gets colder…..keep up to date with these new arrivals at http://www.heliganwild.com/webcams
The Photography Competition is still proving very popular, with plenty of regular entries. To help anyone interested in entering our competition, the Heligan Wildlife Team have started a “Photography Tips” section on www.heliganwild.com which will show you the basics of digital photography before showing you how you could take fantastic photos of the wildlife to be found at The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
We have been very busy getting things ready for next year; a new Tawny Owl box has been made ready with in-box sound, so fingers crossed for the owls moving in and Horsemoor Hide is in the process of being updated with new displays etc. which we will keep you up to date with as it progresses.
Heligan Wild has now joined the social networking community by launching our very own Facebook and Twitter pages, so it is now even easier to keep up to date with the Heligan Wildlife Team. Just follow the links below:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heligan-Wild/232313850163086
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/HeliganWild
October Photography competition has been judged!
6th November 2011
Congratulations to Serena Stewart for this great macro shot...
Highly commended entries for this month:
Swallow by Paige Dickens
Bee by Robin Leath
Dor Beetle by Amy Hine (Age 15)
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Honey Bee by Revd Tricia Gibson
Sheltering Earwig by Viv Chapman
Heligan team help protect Pearl Bordered Fritillary butterfly
1st November 2011
On Tuesday 19th October, the team used to maintaining the habitats and walks around the Heligan Estate were off to a site near Cardinham, Bodmin for a change. The site is managed by the Cornwall branch of Butterfly Conservation group for a number of important plant and animal species. The Heligan team went with our specialist mower/flailing equipment to help improve conditions suitable for the rare and declining Pearl-bordered Fritillary Boloria euphrosyne which has one of it's few remaining strong-holds in the county there.
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is the earliest fritillary to emerge and can be found as early as April in woodland clearings or rough hillsides with Bracken. It flies low to the ground, stopping regularly to feed on spring flowers such as Bugle or violets. The butterfly was once very widespread but has undergone a rapid decline of over two-thirds in the last two decades and is now a national Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Priority species. It was almost certainly present at Heligan at one time, especially when the practice of coppicing was more common-place in the woodlands, but has not been recorded here in recent years, if at all.
The exercise was mutually beneficial to us and the guys from Cornwall Butterfly Conservation (not to mention the butterflies!) as we got to learn about the kind of habitat and work needed to maintain the Pearl-bordered Fritillary population, whilst they got some welcomed help from our skilled staff and equipment that they do not normally have access to. The work was done in order to prevent scrub encroachment and open up sunny, sheltered patches which the Pearl-bordered Fritillary can use as a new breeding habitat.
Although we too have limited resources, and tend to pour all of our efforts into improving and maintaining our own plot, it is only by considering and supporting other local sites of conservation importance that species such as the Pearl-bordered Fritillary will have any chance of building up it's population to stay stable, never-mind increase and spread – effectively – we're in it together.
Monitoring of butterflies has been on-going for some years on the Heligan Estate, and whilst we have not yet spotted anything really unusual here, we have had sightings of Brimstone, Small and Large Skipper, Clouded Yellow and Silver-washed Fritillary to name but a few. During the summer visitors have enjoyed the chance to go on butterfly tours with one of the estate team staff to learn about the habitats and habits of these beautiful and important creatures. For us, one of the most important habitats are our traditional hay meadows – an all too rare habitat nowadays due to modern farming.
With dropping temperatures, the butterfly spotting season has all-but passed bar a few species like Red Admirals which can still be seen on odd days right through the winter. We are looking forward to being invited back to Cardinham in the spring to see the Pearl-bordered Fritillary in it's improved habitat. You might like to learn more about Cornwall Butterfly Conservation by visiting www.cornwall-butterfly-conservation.org.uk and hope you will look out for the 2012 Heligan Events Diary and join us on future butterfly events here – who knows, there may be Pearl-bordered Fritillaries here again one day?
Heligan Wild is now networking!
27th October 2011
The Heligan wildlife team are now on Facebook and Twitter, so it will be even easier to keep up to date with the goings on from around the Estate.
Please follow the links for more.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heligan-Wild/232313850163086
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/HeliganWild
Heligan Wild photography tips - Part 1
19th October 2011
What is a digital camera?
A “digital” camera is a camera capable of taking either video and/or still photographs digitally by recording the images via an electronic image sensor. The majority of cameras nowadays are digital and they have all but superseded traditional “film” cameras.
The main advantage of digital cameras is the ability to view images on a screen immediately after they are recorded as well as storing hundreds of images on a relatively small memory device (memory card) and also able to delete images to free storage space. The majority (including most compact cameras) can record videos and sound as well as still photographs.
The optical system works in a similar way to traditional film cameras. Light passes through the lens and onto a sensor made out of silicon (as opposed to the film in a film camera). This sensor is made up of millions of tiny photosites that are very sensitive to light. Each photosite is called a pixel. I will not go into detail about how a sensor works as this is far too complicated and not necessary at this point but in general, the higher the megapixel count, the larger the overall image and the higher the image quality.
There are plenty of different kinds of digital cameras out there but I will focus on “DSLR” cameras as these are the most commonly used for wildlife photography.
A DSLR (Digital single-lens reflex) is a digital camera that uses a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera. The mirror reflects the light coming through the lens upwards at a 90-degree angle. It is then reflected three times by the pentaprism and directed through the viewfinder to your eye (see diagram). When you press the shutter button to take a photo, the mirror assembly swings upward and the shutter opens, allowing the light onto the image sensor. A second shutter then covers the sensor, ending the exposure, and the mirror lowers while the shutter resets. This happens in a matter of milliseconds, with some cameras capable of doing this 10 times per second (known as shutter speed).
DSLRs are preferred by professional photographers because they allow the user to choose from a huge variety of interchangeable lenses, depending on the type of photography.
Lenses
As I have previously mentioned, the beauty of a DSLR is that you can attach a different lens to your camera depending on the photographic circumstances.
The first things to bear in mind are focal length and sensor size. All lenses are defined in millimetres, known as its focal length. This measurement is the distance between the sensor and the optical centre of the lens when the lens is focused on infinity.
A short focal length (e.g. 10mm - 35mm) enables the photographer to be quite close to their subject, filling the frame, while making things in the background seem further away.
A long focal length (100mm or above) allows the photographer to stand further away from the subject. It will still fill the frame but things in the background will seem closer than normal. The focal length range will be printed on the lens.
Now let’s move onto sensor size. Some top of the range DSLRs come with what is known as a 'full-frame' sensor. This is equivalent in size to a 35mm film negative. Most of the entry-level DSLRs have a less than full-frame sensor because they are easier and cheaper to manufacture. This will need to be accounted for when choosing lenses. The photograph below was taken with a 500mm lens attached to a “full-frame” camera; if this photo had been taken using the same lens on a smaller sensor camera it would have captured the image inside of the small black box, which is the equivalent of having a 750mm lens on a full-frame camera. Smaller sensor cameras have an advantage when it comes to wildlife photography because it enables you to get closer to the subject, full-frame sensors on the other hand tend to have a much higher image quality.
Lenses are grouped into different types; below are the main types, although there are other “specialist” lenses.
Wide angle: 28mm or less. Mainly used for landscapes and architectural photography. These lenses enable you to fit a lot into an image. They are useful for landscapes where you need to include a lot of foreground and background. Be aware though, that using a wide angle lens at its widest will distort the image slightly.
Telephoto: from 100mm to 300mm, used for sports, portraits and wildlife. These are perfect when you are unable to get close to the subject, particularly wildlife.
Macro: These lenses are specialist and allow you to get very close to your subject to produce images that are life size or larger. Perfect for insects and flowers.
Lenses are available in two different forms; “prime” and “zoom”
Zoom lenses have variable focal lengths, which can be changed by twisting the lens barrel. There are very useful all-round lenses, ideal for re-composing images without having to change the lens. Typical focal length ranges are shown as the minimum and maximum focal length, 24-70mm and 70-200mm, for example.
A prime lens on the other hand has only one focal length. The most common ones are 50mm (known as a Standard lens), 85mm and 300mm. They’re not as convenient to use as zooms because of the fixed focal length, the advantage of primes is the quality of them is very high. They’re often referred to as 'fast', meaning that the apertures on them are large, for example f2.8 or f1.4. (I will explain aperture later on).
A typical lens for wildlife photography would be a 500mm f4, these are heavy and expensive but they have a fantastic focal length and un-matched image quality.
A general all-round wildlife lens would be something along the lines of a 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6, allowing a wide range of focal lengths at the twist of a lens!
Other equipment to bear in mind:
The list of photographic equipment is endless but one thing is considered essential; a tripod. Tripods are a must-have, especially when using large telephoto lenses as camera shake can be the main cause of poor quality images. Tripods are essentially a three-legged support but choosing one can be tricky. The heavier the tripod the more stable it should be but can be a nuisance when carrying it. On the other end of the scale, carbon fibre tripods are strong, yet very light but come with a serious price! The other factor to take into account is the tripod head; there are a lot of different types for different jobs and choosing one is down to personal preference or the type of photography you are interested in.
Next time:
Our next photo tips session will focus on the basics of exposure and all things relating to it, such as ISO speed, aperture, shutter speed, white balance and the various modes available on a modern DSLR. Thereafter we will concentrate on the wildlife that can be seen at Heligan and the ways in which you can capture them on camera and possibly impress the judges of our Wildlife Photography Competition!
We would be very happy to receive feedback on anything relating to this article. Please email wildlife@heligan.com
September Photography Competition results
6th October 2011
This months winner is Paige Dickens, with her fantastic photo of a juvenile Stonechat. With the combination of a well composed photo and an interesting subject matter, this shot really stood out and is a well deserved winner.
This months "Highly commended" entries:
Toad by Edward Kirk
Swallows in flight by Graeme Willetts
Lizards by Steven Boyes
Robin by Grace Boyle
Red Admiral feeding on Hemp Agrimony by Viv Chapman
August Photography Competition results.
18th September 2011
After a lot of thought the judges have announced this months winner. Congratulations to Dave Brenton for this captivating shot of a wasp.
Here is a selection of "Highly commended" photos from other entrants:
Brian Knibbs - Southern Hawker dragonfly
Samantha Harrison - Bee on Allium
Jeff Belringer - Swallow feeding chicks
Serena Stewart - Bee on Coneflower
Robin Leath - Hoverfly
September wildlife update
18th September 2011
There are very few swallows around now; a sure sign that autumn is upon us! Wet, windy and dull days are on their way but so are the arrival of our winter visitors, such as Fieldfare, Redwing, Lapwing and hopefully the Kingfishers will return to fish the ponds of the Lost Valley and Jungle. Wheatears have been spotted around the estate, which are always very nice to see.
We are in the process of establishing a new wetland/pond habitat close to Horsemoor Hide. The ponds are dug and we have started to collect clay from the surrounding fields to line the ponds. Running alongside the ponds will be a wild bird seed crop that will attract large numbers of finches including, Goldfinches, Linnets, Yellowhammer, Siskin and Brambling. There have been a few Quails flushed from the dense wildflowers and grasses but they prove very tricky to see, other than a fleeting glimpse! There have also been a few sightings of a Hobby; presumably hanging around, making the most of the last few Swallows.
Our barn Owls have now fledged but we may still get a few sightings of them returning to the nest site throughout the coming months. On a sad note, we had a Barn Owl brought to reception on the 13th September with a suspected broken wing; it wasn’t one of our Owls but unfortunately it died at the vets the following day.
We have had a sighting of an unusual moth down in the Lost Valley. A full story can be seen about this “Yellow-legged Clearwing moth” on the homepage at www.heliganwild.com
Our hay meadow in Horsemoor Hide has been cut for hay, so its appearance appears very bland compared to back in July, but it is all part of its annual cycle.
For those of you who didn’t manage to see it; the Natural World programme “Heligan: Secrets of the Lost Gardens” was very well received, with plenty of very positive comments and I think I speak for everyone employed here, when I say I feel honoured to contribute to this amazing place.
A nationally scarce moth found in Lost Valley!
25th August 2011
Yet another exciting find for us here at Heligan, a Yellow-legged Clearwing moth - Synanthedon vespiformis
The Yellow-legged Clearwing is an Nb* Scarce List species and has not been recorded in Cornwall since 1973. With only 7 recorded in this area (VC2) since 1931. Most of these have been recorded in June/July, with only one being in August, so this is a very good record!
Adult clearwings are not often seen in the wild and the majority of the group, including the Yellow-legged, is a nationally scarce species and is primarily distributed over the southern half of England. They fly from May to September depending on location.
Britain’s entire resident clearwing moths fly by day and this Yellow-legged clearwing was no exception. It was found busily feeding on Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) in Lost Valley in between torrential downpours.
Clearwings are small, fast flying moths that are patterned to mimic wasps and hornets for protection from predators, even their wings are clear unlike typical moths. This probably means that they are often overlooked! The common wasps scientific name is Vespula vulgaris, hence the clearwings name vespiformis; vespi being wasp and formis derived from the Latin word forma meaning form, shape, likeness, figure or appearance.
The larvae feed internally on the wood of Pedunculate/English Oak. We purposefully leave decaying stumps and logs, including Oak lying around to attract and provide a suitable habitat for many species, so the fact that we have recorded this moth on site is fantastic news!
* Nb – species are nationally scarce and have been recorded in 31 – 100 ten kilometre squares in Great Britain.
Summer 2011 wildlife update
16th August 2011
It has been quite a while since our last wildlife update and a lot has happened in that time.
The webcams have proven very popular this year with lots of people watching the development of our Owls. The Tawny Owl has now fledged and will spend the next few months with its mother learning the skills it will need to survive. It was very entertaining watching it grow from a small white blob into a very inquisitive owlet, consuming anything its parents brought it; from moths to moles and everything in between!
The other webcam view has obviously been our ever popular Barn Owls, which have successfully raised three youngsters. All three have now fledged but will return to the nest site until they are confident enough to venture off and find their own territory.
The Outer Estate is looking brilliant at this time of year, with plenty of growth in all habitats. The Lost Valley is full of foliage, perfect for many species of bird and insect. Bullfinches, Goldcrests, Nuthatches, Blackcaps, woodpeckers (both Green and Great Spotted), various species of Tit, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers can be spotted flitting about in the dense foliage. Again this year we have had a good number of Spotted Flycatchers successfully nesting here, which is fantastic news. Butterflies can be seen fluttering along the Georgian Ride and the Lost Valley ponds are alive with Dragon/Damselflies. The Toadlets have ventured from the ponds in a mass exodus to find a suitable place to hide away and grow; an amazing sight to witness.
Our traditional hay meadow (Horsemoor Field) has had another very successful year with our record number of Southern Marsh Orchids and together with other flowers such as Meadow Vetchling, Cranesbill, Hawkbit and Red Clover; it provides a beautiful display as well as a fantastic habitat. Our annual hay cut is due as part of our year round habitat management, so soon our fields will be full of bales.
Slightly different sightings from the norm these past few months include; a male Cuckoo calling from the trees surrounding the Lost Valley, Red Kites soaring above the estate being pestered by guls and a Grasshopper Warbler singing from the dense Willow copse on the edge of our overflow car park. Again this year we have found a very good population of Golden haired Longhorn beetles (Leptura aurulenta). A very impressive beetle that is found on dead wood, with a particular stronghold in the South West of England; elsewhere it is fairly scarce. A photo of a female laying her eggs into dead wood can be seen on our “Wildlife Images” page. http://www.heliganwild.com/gallery
We finally managed to locate the Green Woodpecker’s nest; a day before the young fledged! Fortunately we managed to get both film footage and still photographs of the young at the nest site before they cleared away from the area.
Grass Snakes can be seen all over the estate. Either basking in the sun in quiet spots or swimming through water in search of frogs and newts. I am sure they will have laid their eggs in the Jungle compost again this year, so we should soon be seeing lots of young snakes!
The fields surrounding the estate are being grazed by our herd of Dexter cattle. The cows and their newly born calves are currently in West Lawn and are well worth a visit. Linnets, Yellowhammers and Meadow Pipits can be seen flitting about in the grass, feeding on the various insects that are disturbed by the cattle or attracted to their dung.
Our “Wildlife Photography Competition” is proving very popular with lots of very good entries coming in each month. So, if you do visit, make sure to bring your camera. Remember “wildlife” can be anything from a wild flower to a Green heron, the possibilities are endless.
July 2011 Photo Competition
2nd August 2011
Congratulations to Jonathan Bliss with his winning shot of a snail in an Allium; proving that it doesn't have to be a tricky subject to impress the judges!
A selection of highly commended entries for this month:
RED ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY BY DAVID CHAPMAN
FROGLET BY PAUL ANDERSON
SNAIL BY GORDON BAISLEY
GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER AND POND SKATERS BY ROBIN LEATH
ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH BY WENDY RONALDSON
HUMMINGBIRD HAWK-MOTH BY VIVIENNE CHAPMAN
HELIGAN; SECRETS OF THE LOST GARDENS
20th July 2011
Heligan; Secrets of the Lost Gardens
NATURAL WORLD BBC2 60 mins
Transmission date 17 August 2011, 8pm
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BBC2’s Natural World kicks off this summer with a stunningly beautiful look at one of the most picturesque and intriguing gardens in the UK. Shot by award-winning cameraman Charlie Hamilton James and produced & narrated by Philippa Forrester (both from Halcyon River Diaries), Heligan; Secrets of the Lost Gardens uncovers the secret lives of the wildlife the visitors rarely see.
We take a look behind the scenes of the award-winning restored gardens, from its enchanting history since Tim Smit (right and founder of Heligan and subsequently the Eden Project) cut away the very first bramble 21 years ago, to the wonderfully traditional and sustainable gardening techniques which enable the very best of British wildlife to flourish.
We are taken on a journey of discovery, introduced to some delightful characters with touching stories along the way including a one eyed fox and her cubs, toads having an orgy in the Italian Garden, a rare green heron who has made the Jungle his home and the badgers that clean up the tea rooms at night.
It’s winter….. the gardens are lifeless, but if you know where to look wild creatures are everywhere. The common toads are spawning, which is a highly competitive affair. Toads do migrate to the same breeding pond every year and considering they may live to 50, for those who are unsuccessful this time…. there’s always next year!
Pied Wagtails are beginning to nest in the Melon Yard. Pineapples need heat to grow and like pineapples the pied wagtails are known for the love of warm places. The wagtails have chosen the only working manure heated pineapple pit in the UK to bring up their young, even though it’s one of the busiest place in the whole garden.
Part of the magic of Cornwall is that spring comes early. A pair of great spotted woodpeckers are feeding their young - only two chicks this year, perhaps this common predator of nests has had his own nest raided. A grey squirrel, commonly blamed for the decline in our woodland birds, lurks and waits… has he visited before and will he be in luck today?
We follow a family of badgers on their nightly foray for food into the gardens, tea rooms and the woodlands which surround them. We also meet a family of foxes, including this year’s cub, who has much to learn, but seems far more interested in playing with his older sibling on the lawns at dusk.
The barn owls are being kept busy with three chicks this year and even though they are just a few weeks old have already eaten their own bodyweight in mice and voles!
Then one beautiful dawn tragedy strikes as the youngest fox cub is discovered dead on the lawn. He has been killed, but no one knows how… a badger, another fox, or perhaps a dog… we can only guess.
Summer is upon us and we watch as the birds begin to fledge. In the barn the mother barn owl is doing her very best to encourage her chicks out of the safety of their nest but they are reluctant to face the big wide world. We follow the woodpecker chicks on their very first venture out of their nest and watch their poor mother fretting for their safety and the wagtail chicks finally find out what that wagging tail really can do, when they attempt onto aerial acrobatics and fly catching.
Flowers were the peak of horticultural achievement in the Georgian era and now the flower garden is at its best, bustling – not only with people, it is a nectar rich heaven for all sorts of insects, including the declining bumblebee.
Some of the tiny insects here are touching down here for the first time after crossing the channel - a red admiral feeds on the Echinacea flowers and a hummingbird hawk moth from as far away as Africa. These insects in the flower garden are vital, not only pollinating the plants – making sure they will set seed for next year but also providing food for insect eating birds.
Although Autumn comes later in Cornwall, it does happen, the growing season eventually comes to an end, and so begins a new season of gathering for the birds, animals and humans alike.
All over the estate birds like black caps and song thrushes which often struggle to find food and nesting sites are making full use of the food left for them – stocking up for winter.
One wildlife secret here in the Jungle doesn’t remain so for very long. Although he is making the best of it, just like the exotic plants, the green heron doesn’t belong here. He should really be hunting the waterways of North or Central America – but has been blown hundreds of miles off course, to this Cornish peninsula and, as were the unfamiliar plants in days of old, he has become a curiosity in these parts. Unperturbed by all the attention, he has decided to stay.
Heligan, seat of the Tremayne family for more than 400 years, is one of the most intriguing estates in England. At the end of the nineteenth century its thousand acres were at their zenith, but only a few years later bramble and ivy were already drawing a green veil over this ‘Sleeping Beauty’. After decades of neglect, the devastating hurricane of 1990 should have consigned The Lost Gardens of Heligan to a footnote in history.
The estate is now a wonderful metaphor for sustainable living; in the days before food imports and supermarkets the gardens here supplied everything, both to the family at the manor house and the community of workers. Today the productive gardens are managed as they were in their Georgian prime, using the same combination of practicality and waste not want not philosophies. The same amount of gardeners follow the same seasonal rota – and all this has means that Heligan has other secrets to reveal. It is not just the plants but the humans and wildlife that thrive here.
This charming documentary is a delightful look at what is the very best of British living together in harmony.
JUNE 2011 WINNER OF OUR WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION IS ANNOUNCED
18th July 2011
Robin Leath has really upped the stakes this month with this very impressive shot of a Grass Snake swimming in Horsemoor Hide pond.
Here is a selection of highly commended entries for this month:
Frog by Stephen Lobley
Great Spotted Woodpecker by David Chapman
Broad Bodied Chaser by Ria van den Berg
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Kids Go Wild With New Wildlife Trail.
14th July 2011
In celebration of 21 years and its abundant wildlife, Heligan is inviting kids to ‘Go Wild’ with a new Wildlife Activity Trail, which is FREE to all family groups. The Wildlife Activity Trail is being launched to encourage families and young visitors to get involved with the fascinating world of wildlife waiting to be discovered within the gardens and estate at Heligan.
“Sam from the Wildlife Team has found signs of wildlife around the gardens and estate, but he’s muddled up his notes and lost his map! Can you help Sam by becoming a Wildlife Detective? You will need sharp eyes to identify the wildlife and good orientation skills to mark the locations on the map.”
The Wildlife Activity Trail launches on 29th May and will run until 4th September.
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Woodland Magic and Mystery
14th July 2011
Discover the secrets of the Lost Valley with ‘The Woodsman’
27th July, 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th August
Embark on an exciting journey back in time to meet ‘The Woodsman’ who will lead you through Heligan’s ancient broad-leaved woodland revealing the practices and woodland magic of old.
These tours are set to be a real addition to your Heligan experience; unveiling sides of Heligan’s historic landscape that you may not otherwise have enjoyed.
Free to Garden Visitors
Departing from Hide Park Corner at 11am & 2pm
Summer with Heligan Wild
3rd July 2011
It has been quite a while since our last wildlife update and a lot has happened in that time.
The webcams have proven very popular this year with lots of people watching the development of our Owls. The Tawny Owl has now fledged and will spend the next few months with its mother learning the skills it will need to survive. It was very entertaining watching it grow from a small white blob into a very inquisitive owlet, consuming anything its parents brought it; from moths to moles and everything in between!
The other webcam view has obviously been our ever popular Barn Owls, which currently have three very healthy chicks. The parents now don’t stay with the chicks but can be seen delivering plenty of food throughout the night. It isn’t long now until David Ramsden from the Barn Owl Trust comes to ring our owlets. This is very beneficial to both the Barn Owl Trust and Heligan Wild for monitoring purposes.
The Outer Estate is looking brilliant at this time of year, with plenty of growth in all habitats. The Lost Valley is full of foliage, perfect for many species of bird and insect. Spotted Flycatchers, Bullfinches, Goldcrests, Nuthatches, Blackcaps, woodpeckers (both Green and Great Spotted), various species of Tit, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers can be spotted flitting about in the dense foliage. Butterflies can be seen fluttering along the Georgian Ride and the Lost Valley ponds are alive with Dragon/Damselflies. The Toadlets have ventured from the ponds in a mass exodus to find a suitable place to hide away and grow, an amazing sight to witness.
Our traditional hay meadow (Horsemoor Field) has had another very successful year with our record number of Southern Marsh Orchids and together with other flowers such as Meadow Vetchling, Cranesbill, Hawkbit and Red Clover; it provides a beautiful display as well as a fantastic habitat. Soon though it will be a field of bales as our annual hay cut is due as part of our year round habitat management.
Slightly different sightings from the norm these past few months include; a male Cuckoo calling from the trees surrounding the Lost Valley, Red Kites soaring above the estate being pestered by guls and a Grasshopper Warbler singing from the dense Willow copse on the edge of our overflow car park. Again this year we have found a very good population of Golden haired Longhorn beetles (Leptura aurulenta). A very impressive beetle that is found on dead wood, with a particular stronghold in the South West of England; elsewhere it is fairly scarce. A photo of a female laying her eggs into dead wood can be seen on our “Wildlife Images” page. http://www.heliganwild.com/gallery
We finally managed to locate the Green Woodpecker’s nest; a day before the young fledged! Fortunately we managed to get both film footage and still photographs of the young at the nest site before they cleared away from the area.
Grass Snakes can be seen all over the estate. Either basking in the sun in quiet spots or swimming through water in search of frogs and newts. I am sure they will have laid their eggs in the Jungle compost again this year, so we should soon be seeing lots of young snakes!
The fields surrounding the estate are being grazed by our herd of Dexter cattle. The cows and their newly born calves are currently in East lawn and are well worth a visit. Linnets, Yellowhammers and Meadow Pipits can be seen flitting about in the grass, feeding on the various insects that are disturbed by the cattle or attracted to their dung.
Our “Wildlife Photography Competition” is proving very popular with lots of very good entries coming in each month. So, if you do visit, make sure to bring your camera. Remember “wildlife” can be anything from a wild flower to a Green heron, the possibilities are endless.
We are pleased to announce the May 2011 winner of our Wildlife Photography Competition!
8th May 2011
Congratulations to Robin Leath for his superb shot of a Large Red Damselfly in the Lost Valley. Robin's image is now in with a chance to win the grand prize!
To view Robin's winning photo please follow this link http://www.heliganwild.com/gallery/category/30
Heligan Butterfly tours
8th May 2011
Join Estate Warden Graham Bugg on an informative tour giving you an insight into our habitat management techniques and the butterflies that benefit from it.
Tours are free to Garden Visitors.
Owls at Heligan
5th April 2011
Here at Heligan we are particularly keen on owls. For a number of years we have had Barn Owls successfully nesting and raising young in our purpose-built boxes.
Barn Owls are struggling nationwide, due to loss of suitable hunting habitat. The best habitat for Barn Owls is rough grassland which holds large populations of Field Voles (a Barn Owls main prey). Unfortunately, due to intensive agricultural practices rough grassland is normally destroyed to make way for "improved" or "semi-improved" grassland which tends to be void of rodent life.
Fortunately, thanks to conservation work much of the country’s rough grassland is being saved. Many land owners are now leaving field margins solely for the purpose of increasing rodent populations, therefore creating more areas suitable for birds of prey to hunt.
At Heligan our Estate and Wildlife Team work together, using various land management techniques to provide a range of habitats that will enhance the biodiversity within our estate. To create an ideal situation for Barn Owls, we have provided them with nest sites, using purpose-made boxes which have proved very successful. In a disused barn on the outskirts of our estate there are two Barn Owl boxes, one of which we replaced this year with a larger box, high quality camera and lighting. We also improved the interior by making it look like a cob wall and thankfully the Barn Owls seem to appreciate it. Since the beginning of March 2011 there have been regular sightings of a pair and they now spend all of their time in and around the box; live views of which can be seen on our webcams page or at Horsemoor Hide. We have recorded footage of the pair mating, so are expecting to see eggs in the next few days.
Back in February 2010 we decided to design and build a Barn Owl tower, to be made from Chestnut felled and planked on site. After a year of no activity, the Jackdaws started to bring twigs into the box ready to make their nest. At least there was something using it even if it wasn’t an owl. Then, all of a sudden there was a female Barn Owl in the box! She has stayed here ever since, patiently waiting for a male to find her and her excellent nest site. We are keeping a close eye on her and maybe soon we can claim that we have two nesting pairs on site!
Because of the huge success we have had with the Barn Owls, we thought we could concentrate on the most common species of owl in Britain, the Tawny Owl. So we built three Tawny Owl boxes and situated them in various trees around the estate. On the inside of one of these boxes we have made it look like the inside of a hollow tree (a Tawny Owls natural nest site).
Yet again the Jackdaws moved in and started to destroy all of our interior decoration! Three days passed and it appeared as if the Jackdaws were planning on staying, until one morning we turned the camera on to be greeted by a Tawny Owl fast asleep in the box! The owl has stayed there ever since. Looking back at recorded footage from previous nights we were able to tell that the owl in the box was in fact a female and had a male bringing her food throughout the night. Obviously we have been monitoring them closely and on the evening of the 3rd April, she hopped onto the entrance hole to reveal an egg! Tawny Owls lay between 1 and 7 eggs, so we can expect to see more in the next few days. She will incubate the eggs until they hatch in about 4 weeks time. Live video footage of this owl can be seen at Horsemoor Hide.
So it really is proving to be a very interesting time for our Wildlife Team, with the possiblity of having three pairs of owls within quarter of a mile of each other.
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Grey Wagtail nest box
31st March 2011
Grey Wagtails are a fairly common partial migrant. They are a usual sight here at Heligan, especially near the Lost valley and Jungle ponds.
In the last few weeks we have had regular sightings of a pair of Grey Wagtails together in various locations around the site.
Grey Wagtails (Motacilla cinerea) are far more colourful than their name might suggest, with a grey back and strikingly yellow underside, with tails noticeably longer than that of a Pied Wagtail. Their preferred habitat is near water, especially fast flowing rivers. Although they frequently visit ponds and water fountains, such as those found in the Italian garden and Northern Summerhouse. The Lost Valley provides a great habitat for Grey Wagtails, with a moderately fast flowing stream and the two large ponds, where they are able to find plenty of aquatic invertebrates and other insects on which to feed.
Since we have been seeing the pair together recently we decided it would be a good idea to encourage them to breed here. Their typical breeding season is April-July and they seem to make good use of man made structures in which to nest. Holes in brick work under bridges for example make an ideal nest site for Grey Wagtails.
Down in the Lost Valley, the Eastern Drive crosses the stream by means of a Georgian culvert/bridge. This appears to be an ideal location for them to nest, except that there are no ledges or missing bricks, so we came up with the idea of making a nest box.
The box itself is a very simple design, consisting of a base and two sides with the back edge scribed to the arch of the bridge. We have then built the inside of this box with stone and cement with a small compartment to resemble a missing brick.
We shall then mount the box onto the wall underneath the bridge and install an external camera looking directly into the nest chamber.
If the Wagtails choose to nest here it will enable us to provide visitors with close up views of these very interesting birds but only time will tell if our nest box is successful.
Kestrel boxes
8th March 2011
Over the past few months we have had regular sightings of both male and female Kestrels. Heligan is perfectly situated in a sheltered valley, close to the coast with a mixture of woodland and open pasture. The way in which we manage the land here creates ideal habitats for rodents such as Field Voles and Shrews, which, in turn provides great hunting territories for birds of prey, in particular Kestrels.
Kestrels hunt beetles, worms, a variety of small mammals and occasionally small birds. Their favourite prey though, is the short-tailed or field vole, which are in abundance here at Heligan. Kestrels were once regarded as our most common bird of prey but in recent years their numbers have declined rapidly. It is unsure as to why there has been such a dramatic decline in this species. At one time this could have been blamed on agricultural practices but in recent years, with the introduction of agri-environment schemes many landowners are leaving areas uncultivated.
There is a possibility that a lack of appropriate nest sites may be to blame. Kestrels nest in holes in old trees, buildings and on cliff ledges. Fortunately they take readily to boxes. With that in mind we have made four boxes and situated them high up in trees overlooking open land.
In the usual Heligan fashion we have fitted our boxes with cameras so that we can monitor any activity. Lets hope that we can encourage our local population of Kestrels into nesting here, in turn bringing you excellent views and hopefully protecting the future of this magnificent bird.
New artwork for Horsemoor Hide.
8th March 2011
The Wildlife team have been busy improving various aspects of Horsemoor Hide recently including updating the interpretation within the Hide and setting up new cameras etc. Probably the most noticable change will be new artwork in the entrance foyer.
Janet Shearer a local and well known Mural/Trompe l'oeil Artist has been commisioned to do the artwork. After spending some time getting to know the site and picking up on areas of interest, Janet then worked with the Wildlife team to create the spectacular mural.
Our aim was to compose a work of art that would deliver a sense of open space when first entering Horsemoor Hide. Within that we wanted to use actual views taken from Heligan, then slightly modify them to make a more pleasing image, whilst incorporating as many of the varying habitats found at Heligan.
So, the final mural will incorporate traditional hay meadows and pasture with Rhododendrons added as foreground interest, this will be contrasted by the opposite wall, which will be a view of the Jungle/Lost Valley ponds, including Tree Ferns,Gunera etc. To add extra interest there will be a few species hidden amongst the foliage; Spotted Flycatcher, Kingfisher and Barn Owl to name a few.
The mural is due to be installed in March, in readiness for the Easter holidays, so keep your eyes peeled for an update.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan on Facebook
4th January 2011
In January we launched the official Lost Gardens of Heligan Facebook page. The page is frequently updated with photos, videos and news from around the gardens. We would also like you to post your thoughts about The Lost Gardens or upload any Heligan photos you may wish to share with others. If you are not already a member and would like to join please click the following link.
Rare Green Heron Sighted in Lost Valley
25th November 2010
View footage of the rare Green Heron sighted in the Lost Valley here.
A wave of excitement spread across The Lost Gardens of Heligan, on the morning of Wednesday 6th October, as an incredibly rare sighting of a Green Heron in the Lost Valley was recorded by Heligan’s wildlife team.
Friday 31st December - After two months with us, the Green Heron has not been spotted for a few weeks, so we assume the bird is no longer with us at Heligan.
Wednesday 8th December - The Green Heron has not been seen since the cold weather set in last week...has it retreated into the undergrowth or has it flown in search of warmer temperatures?
Tuesday 30th November - The Green Heron was spotted in the Jungle
Monday 29th November - Now moved up to top pond in the Jungle.
Saturday 13th November - Back in Lost Valley today. It seems the mysterious Lost Gardens have encouraged the bird to develop a Rare Green Heron Boogie. Visit our Heligan Scenes page to view for yourself...
Tuesday 26th October - The heron was spotted today back in the Lost Valley, now with us for day 21, making the stay 5 days longer than the last, to Kent in 2008.
Friday 22nd October - The Heron has now moved for a quick dip in the Flower Garden dipping pool!
Friday 22nd October - Green Heron still here at the gardens and today has moved up from the Jungle into the Italian Garden.
Thursday 21st October - Still here in the Jungle on day 16!
Saturday 9th October - The bird has now been seen for a fourth day, this time in the Jungle.
Whilst taking his daily wildlife checks of the gardens and estate Bob Mitchell spotted an unusual looking bird on the edge of the lake in Heligan’s Lost Valley. On further investigation Bob and the wildlife team discovered that the images Bob had captured were in fact of a Green Heron, only ever seen 1 other time in Cornwall!
“My eye was first caught by the unusual plumage of the bird and I realised it deserved closer investigation, on doing so I realised it was a heron but not one that should be here at Heligan or even in fact in the UK. It was a very exciting experience and I was totally elated to be in the presence of such an unusual bird.” Said Bob Mitchell from Heligan’s wildlife team.
The first ever sighting of a Green Heron in Cornwall was recorded in 1889. With a total of only 7 sightings in the UK since records began this is a truly extraordinary sight. The bird has not been spotted in the UK since 2008 when one was seen in West Hythe, Kent.
Although the birds are quite widespread across their native countries of the United States and southern Canada, they are certainly not expected to purposely make the long and arduous journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the UK. It is thought possible that the Green Heron may have been blown off course during its annual winter migration.
This fascinating fish eating bird has an unusual means of hunting for food. It commonly will drop bait onto the surface of the water to attract small fish for it to catch. Hopefully the well stocked and unpolluted water courses at Heligan will have supplied it with a welcome feast after its incredible journey.
Derek Julian from the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society came to Heligan to see the bird for himself and commented that, “it really is extremely rare to see a Green Heron in the UK and is incredibly exciting because it has come from so far away. The distance this small bird has travelled is amazing and we think it probably came in ahead of gales on Tuesday night.”
It is unsure how long the bird will remain with us, any bird watchers interested in visiting The Lost Gardens of Heligan can do so between the normal opening hours from 10am to 5pm – last admission 3:30pm. Garden admission Adult £10, Senior £9, Child £6, Family £27. You can also catch a glimpse of the bird here where some footage captured by Heligan’s wildlife team has been displayed.
The Rare Green Heron Boogie
13th November 2010
A rare Green Heron residing in Heligan’s Jungle and Lost Valley has now been at the gardens for over a month. It seems the mysterious Lost Gardens have encouraged the bird to develop a Rare Green Heron Boogie.
Visit our Heligan Scenes page to view for yourself...
Second Rare Wildlife Sighting
22nd October 2010
Only once recorded in Cornwall in 1948 and considered one of the UK’s largest and rarest Noctuid moths, the Clifden Nonpareil Moth or 'Blue Underwing', was sighted on Tuesday 19th October resting on a gardener’s shed in the Northern Gardens.
This is the second rare wildlife sighting at Heligan since the arrival of the rare Green Heron in the Lost Valley just over two weeks ago!
Once the Victorian collector’s classic all-time favourite, the ‘Blue Underwing’ is now only an immigrant species with only a handful of recorded sightings in the UK each year.
Speckly grey/brown in colour and with a wingspan of up to 10.5 cm the Clifden Nonpareil’s initially caught the attention of Heligan’s Wildlife & Estate Manager, Jim Briggs.
“Although relatively well camouflaged against the gardener’s shed it was the size of the moth that made me think it deserved more investigation and we were delighted to have it confirmed as the Clifden Nonpareil Moth and another rare sighting at Heligan!” Jim Briggs
Cornwall Moth Recorder, Tony James who confirmed the sighting, also speculated the possibility that if it were a female moth she may have laid her eggs at Heligan and that we may see some baby ‘Blue Underwings’ in the Spring!
However, since the moth only lays its eggs on either Poplar and Aspen trees and Heligan only has two of either – the Wildlife Team know where to keep a watchful eye!
Heligan Owlets Fly the Nest
10th August 2010
Pictured left: one of the parent owls bringing food to the chicks.
On Wednesday 4th August the first of the Heligan owlets began venturing outside their cosy nest box to explore the outside world...
Since then all three of the gorgeous chicks have made the jump from the box onto the ledge outside and on Friday 6th the first chick who is the female successfully fledged. The following night a second chick fledged, leaving only one remaining, who is being watched carefully to see when he will follow their lead.
All three owlets will remain around the nest box, being fed by the parents, for the next couple of weeks. A new view of the outside of the nest box can now be seen on heliganwild.com.
Keep an eye on heliganwild.com or visit Horsemoor Hide for the latest images of the Heligan Owlets.
Heligan Owlets on Camera!
29th July 2010
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Pictured left: one of the Heligan owlets out of their cosy nest box whilst being ringed by the Barn Owl Trust.
The Heligan wildlife team have discovered three gorgeous barn owl chicks living in a special nest box. The chicks are now on camera and pictures from the nest box are being broadcast on Heligan’s dedicated wildlife web page heliganwild.com. The Heligan wildlife team are eagerly waiting to see if the chicks will successfully fledge in around three or four weeks.
Keep an eye on heliganwild.com or visit Horsemoor Hide for the latest owlet news.
Kids Go Wild! New Wildlife Activity Trail
29th July 2010
To celebrate the summer wildlife at Heligan, kids are being invited to ‘Go Wild’ this August with a new Wildlife Activity Trail, free to all family groups.
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The Wildlife Activity Trail is being launched to encourage families and young visitors to get involved with the fascinating world of wildlife waiting to be discovered in the gardens and estate at Heligan.
Everyone who successfully completes the trail will be rewarded with a special “I Went Wild at Heligan” badge!
The trail includes a Bird Bingo section, as well as 'Nature Fun for Younger Children', so all the family can join in 'Going Wild' at Heligan.
Charlie Hamilton James Podcast
29th May 2010
Charlie Hamilton James and Philippa Forrester are currently making a documentary at Heligan. Listen to our interview with Charlie.
