This beautiful photograph, taken by Ann Waller on West Furlong in Bishopsteignton, tells us much about the feeding habits and the sociability of this bird. The goldfinch is one of the most common garden birds in the UK; in fact, the goldfinches’ fondness for niger and sunflower seeds in garden bird feeders is seen as one of the reasons for their strong increase in population since 1995: monitoring between 1995 and 2023 showed an increase of 152%.
Environment
Flora, fauna, geology, geography and archeology of Bishopsteignton.
Bufo bufo – the common toad
The common toad is one of only two toads native to the UK; the other toad is the natterjack, which is smaller than the common toad, much rarer, and tends to live in coastal areas, in sand dunes and sandy heaths. With photographs taken by Sally Murray, as she was preparing to clean out a plant pot in her garden near Ash Hill in Bishopsteignton, here are some other things you may not know about English toads…
Sphinx ligustri – Privet Hawk-Moth
This beautiful caterpillar, photographed locally by Marilyn Hepworth in her garden, is the larva or child stage of the Privet Hawk-moth (or Sphinx ligustri). It was seen feeding on her lilac, although as its name suggests, the caterpillar is very fond of privet.
Amanita Muscaria – Fly Agaric
The fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) is native to the UK and one of the most easily recognisable fungi in the world,
Coprinus Comatus – Shaggy Ink Cap
This common fungus (Coprinus comatus) is the shaggy mane or shaggy ink cap, sometimes called the ‘lawyer’s wig’.
Araneus Diadematus – Garden Spider
One of the most common of the 650 species of spider found in the UK, known to most as the Garden Spider or Garden Cross Spider
Rails Through Bishopsteignton
On 24 April 2019 Peter Wade gave a talk for Bishopsteignton Heritage entitled ‘Rails Through Bishopsteignton’, this article is a summary of that talk. 19th Century By 1844, the railway had reached Exeter from Bristol and the next section to Plymouth was soon being...
Butterflies
Gardeners are encouraged to plant flowers and shrubs that are rich in nectar to attract butterflies to the garden and to provide a food resource. However, when the only plants that are planted to attract butterflies are non-native species, you're not going to have...
Orchards
Old maps of the area, dating from the mid-1800s, show extensive areas of orchard throughout the Parish of Bishopsteignton1. The grounds of several of the old estate houses and farms within Bishopsteignton village appeared to be almost entirely occupied by orchard,...
Little Haldon
Next time you are on at the top Little Haldon you might like to look away from the spectacular views and gaze at the expanse of mature lowland heathland to either side of Teignmouth Golf Club, which is of a type restricted to south west Britain. This is of great...