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A Patch Wilder Photos and stories from our wild little corner of the Mendip Hills, Somerset

02/10/2026

A little blackberry thief scrambling through the brambles up in the woods this week. When we chanced upon a dormouse out in the open last week, we decided to set up a camera trap (adapted with a macro lens) onto a juicy patch of blackberries nearby in the hope of catching another glimpse of one of the cutest residents of the Patch - the Hazel Dormouse. Whilst they may have Hazel on their names, they could equally have been called a bramble dormouse as they have a real sweet-tooth and just can't resist a big juicy blackberry. But then, who can? 🐹🌿

Stonechat perched amongst the bristling plates of hogweed flower heads. We don't have any resident Stonechat on the Patc...
25/09/2026

Stonechat perched amongst the bristling plates of hogweed flower heads. We don't have any resident Stonechat on the Patch but every autumn we get a handful passing through and often stopping over for a couple of days to refuel and refresh. Hopefully one day we will attract a pair of our very own!

23/09/2026

Wowee, that's something you don't see every day! We were out for an evening stroll round the patch and caught a flash of movement near one of the dormouse boxes in the woods. A closer look revealed this unbelievably cute little mouseball just chilling and having a little wash up in the top of a scrub patch. We have previously seen dormice here whilst surveying for them but this is the first time we have ever seen one out and about behaving naturally.
Hazel dormice are listed as a high-priority endangered species in the UK (as well as a Mendip champion species) and are protected from even being disturbed in this country (unless you have a licence) so we were careful to stay back and just watch the little dormouse doing its thing.

What a year it's been for clouded yellows! A species we'd only seen here a handful of times previously is now often the ...
22/09/2026

What a year it's been for clouded yellows! A species we'd only seen here a handful of times previously is now often the most frequently seen butterfly on our walks! And today, we were treated to this. The rare white helice form of the female clouded yellow. Stunning!

17/09/2026

Golden hour on the Patch, presented to you by a pair of long-tailed t**s splashing about in the pond.

17/09/2026

Lovely visit from Axevale Climate Action

11/09/2026

Sparrowhawk stopping off for a drink at the wOodland pond. This male has been a regular visitor here over the last few months.

We seem to have been flooded with Spotted Flycatchers recently. Not long ago this species would have been a familiar sig...
11/09/2026

We seem to have been flooded with Spotted Flycatchers recently. Not long ago this species would have been a familiar sight across the UK - they nested in gardens, on houses, in creepers, hedgerows and parks. Sadly, they have suffered over a 90% drop in population since the 60s and have now become an infrequent and special bird to see. They do nest in the woods here but seem to be very sneaky and hard to see until migration starts and then suddenly start popping up everywhere! And we are enjoying every one one that passes through.

Comma, our resident pale-morph Buzzard, looking absolutely stunning as she cruises effortlessly over the Patch in search...
11/09/2026

Comma, our resident pale-morph Buzzard, looking absolutely stunning as she cruises effortlessly over the Patch in search of her next meal.

A rare visitor to the Patch - this Tree Pipit is the first I've ever seen here. We seem to be doing well for rare migran...
11/09/2026

A rare visitor to the Patch - this Tree Pipit is the first I've ever seen here. We seem to be doing well for rare migrants birds this year Spotted and pied flycatchers, Whinchat, Stonechat, Whitethroat and Tree pipit have all been stopping off on their way South. hopefully this is a sign that our habitat regeneration works are finally paying off. Tree pipits (despite the name) are more of a scrub and heathland bird and we have been encouraging patches of scrub to pop up all over the place creating a habitat mosaic in order to entice just this sort of bird in. Perhaps next year they will stay for the summer... You never know!

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Allerton Lane
Axbridge
STONE ALLERTON

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