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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 22h

The collective term for ladybirds is a loveliness.

Have you noticed that ladybirds have been taking advantage of the dry, sunny conditions to find a sheltered spot to hide for winter? The summer's warm conditions are responsible for this autumn's ladybird explosion.

📸 Mike Selby, Anglesey Abbey

Statue in the grounds at Anglesey Abbey covered in ladybirds.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 2d

Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast had a rare visitor last week - the Turkestan shrike, also known as a red-tailed shrike, was first reported on 2 October and has now moved on. We believe it's the 13th time this species has ever been recorded in the UK.

Brian Small @cach22.bsky.social · 4d

A surprisingly glorious day on the Suffolk coast for my @naturetrek.bsky.social day walk ended with ace views of the Turkestan Shrike on Dunwich Heath #ukbirding

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 7d

📣Good news!
Wicken Fen Nature Reserve has recorded 10,000 species of wildlife making it the first known UK site to do so. Records date back 200 years, in the 20th century 13 species new to science were discovered, and in the last 25 years records have surged as the reserve expanded.
buff.ly/EEmfTjc

a moth with light and dark brown markings sat on a green reed

a brown water vole eating a green stalk at the waters edge

sunset behind the windmill at Wicken Fen

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Reposted by National Trust - Midlands & East

Jill Orme @ormejks.bsky.social · 9d

A Grey Heron in flight at NT Croome. @midsandeastnt.bsky.social
#birds #UKBirds #BritishBirds #birding #UKWildlife #NaturePhotography #Croome #NationalTrust 🪶

A Grey Heron in flight over a misty scrub field, with an autumn-leafed tree in the upper background, and a reed bed with bulrushes below. The bird is a large predatory wader, with an ash-grey back, tail, neck and wing coverts, dark blue-grey flight feathers, a white face, a blue-black crown, and streaky black and white markings on the front of its neck. Its long, sharp bill is orange, and its legs are brown.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 8d

We're pleased to hear you enjoyed your visit Jean. Looks like you had a lovely day for it.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 8d

We can confirm that the dahlia to mother ratio is pretty impressive this year Tia 😜

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 14d

We've just celebrated 10 years of Trust10. Our free monthly 10k Trust10 trail runs are a great way to exercise in nature: buff.ly/oYKF3u0
The medals are pretty special too. They're made from biodegradable paper embedded with wildflower seeds, so you can plant your medal and watch it grow!

Plantable medal. With pink ribbon attached. The medal has Trust 10 printed on it, with trail runs, in nature, for nature written at the bottom.

Two ladies laughing together. They're standing next to a pink banner with the words Trust10 written on it.

A group of runners with signs of autumn colour on the trees above.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 14d

We were excited to welcome Time Team back last week to Branodunum Roman Fort on the Norfolk Coast. Geophysics experts used Ground Penetrating Radar on parts of the site and now have a huge amount of data to analyse and interpret. We look forward to finding out what they found in the new year.

Two people from Time Team filming, whilst another stands talking to someone sitting in the small buggy that carries the Ground Penetrating Radar equipment.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 15d

#ClumberPark needs your help to create their annual #Remembrance display in the Chapel. Their Poppy packs include everything you'll need, or collect a simple pattern sheet to follow using your own materials (suggested donation £1). Please return all poppies by 31 Oct, for display from 1-23 Nov.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 16d

Asters or Michaelmas daisies provide vibrant, colourful blooms well into autumn and are a vital source of nectar for bees and butterflies at this time of year. Named after the Christian feast of St. Michael (Michaelmas), celebrated on 29 September, look out for them flowering near you.

tens of purple flowers with yellow centres

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 17d

If you need a mindful moment or a few minutes to relax, why not listen to the tranquil sounds of the River Bure in Norfolk, one of only 200 chalk streams in the world? Listen above and below the water, via microphone and hydrophone at buff.ly/tGPixjK
#WorldRiversDay
📷 Rob Coleman

a nine spined stickleback fish in the river

visitors on a wooden bridge over the river with dappled sunlight through trees

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 20d

Colourful carpets of cyclamen are putting on quite the show at Anglesey Abbey and Gardens in Cambridgeshire.
📷 Mike Selby
#LoveAutumn #Cyclamen #NationalTrust #Cambridgeshire #AutumnWalks

pink and white flowers in dappled light under trees with brown leaves on the ground

close up of pink and white flowers in dappled sunlight

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 21d

Good news 🥳 For the 3rd year in a row, since the 2023 project to lower the sea walls and create new saltmarsh, surveys at Northey Island have shown an increase in fish such as sand smelt and bass - an essential food for other fish, mammals and birds on the island and the wider Blackwater Estuary.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 22d

It's a bumper year for apples and pumpkins. Despite the drought and record-breaking hot summer, many of these crops are ripening weeks earlier than usual.

At Wimpole Estate we're hoping for over six tonnes of apples, which will be pressed into juice, while still leaving plenty for wildlife.

Apples hanging from a branch of an apple tree at Wimpole

A table with apples and two bottles of apple juice

A wheelbarrow full of pumpkins at Wimpole Estate

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Reposted by National Trust - Midlands & East

National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 28d

Check out this gourd-geous display.

These knitted, crocheted and felted pumpkins at Charlecote Park sustainably celebrate the autumn season and were handmade by local community groups, staff and volunteers.

📸 Camille Francois

A cascade of brown, orange, white and speckled knitted gourds and pumpkins with green stalks piled on a table. In the background are copper and silver kitchen implements and a yellow wall.

A selection of brown, orange, white and speckled knitted gourds and pumpkins with green stalks piled on a table surrounded by ivy and fairylights. Behind them is a window, ornate blue wallpaper and a blue vase.

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Reposted by National Trust - Midlands & East

National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 26d

Asters add a burst of colour to the cloudiest of days.

At Upton House and Gardens, Warwickshire, they take centre stage in September with their vibrant purple petals.

A garden border filled with purple blooming flowers and tall grasses. They are growing against a warm red brick wall.

Photo of purple flowers growing in a garden border.

Purple Aster flowers in bloom in a garden border. They are growing against a red brick wall.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 23d

Happy first day of autumn 🍂

Close up of leaves showing their autumn colour

Two fly agaric fungi (red fungi whit white spots) surrounded by autumn leaves

Blickling Hall appearing through the trees surrounded by mist

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 24d

Archaeologist, Angus, shares his top three finds from the big dig at Wimpole Estate's parterre:
- decorated flagon imported from Cologne, featuring tiny warrior heads
- Tudor pipkin (three-legged cooking pot) still marked with the potter’s thumbprint
- metal hooked tag once used to fasten clothing

a hand holds a sand coloured fragment with warriors head on

fragments and finds with labels in a black tray

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 25d

Have you tried our Scone of the Month? Golden Bramley Apple Crumble – inspired by Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, in cinemas now!
Two British classics, reimagined. You can even make it a cream tea with whipped custard and apple compote, at a National Trust café near you: buff.ly/YxS8LHA

Scone of the month on a plate, with whipped custard and apple compote. Behind the scone are some of the ingredients used in bowls.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 25d

Rangers and volunteers on the Norfolk Coast will be rounding off The #GreatBritishBeachClean on 28 September with a clean-up at Blakeney Point to remove items that could be hazardous to grey seal pups ahead of pupping season.
Find out how you can get involved at buff.ly/VQoe839
📷 Hanne Siebers

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 27d

From the gardens of Benthall Hall in Shropshire to the Atlas Mountains, George Maw (1832-1912) left a remarkable legacy as a Victorian botanist, artist, and plant collector. Autumn-flowering crocuses at Benthall highlight Maw's passion, documented in his 1886 book 'A Monograph of the Genus Crocus.'

Purple flowering crocuse on the grassy floor with autumn leaves and trees beyond. Image by National Trust/Nick Swankie.

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 28d

Thanks to the hard work of staff and volunteers, and your support, this special landscape is well on its way to once again being a healthy and thriving habitat for nature and wildlife. 🙌🏽

#DunwichHeath #Conservation #NatureRecovery #Suffolk

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 28d

📣With careful management of the heathland, including trailing some new techniques, the heathland is now seeing wildlife return, with species including the True Lover’s Knot moth and the Dartford Warbler recorded at pre-2022 levels. 👇

Breeding pairs of Dartford warblers, which are an amber-listed species on the UKs conservation list, have increased following several years of decline. Credit - National Trust Images

True Lover's Knot moth, which has been seen in high numbers at Dunwich Heath this year. Credit - Rebecca Shaw, National Trust Images

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 28d

📣Drone surveys carried out in 2023 after the heatwave revealed a 60% loss in heather, but thanks to increased rainfall in early 2024, the heather recovered by more than 10% and by similar amount again this year. 👇

Drone survey showing the 2024 heather coverage at Dunwich - Credit EcoAnalytics Ltd (2024)

Drone survey showing the heather coverage at Dunwich in 2023. Credit - EcoAnalytics Ltd (2024)

Drone survey from summer 2025 showing profound recovery of the heather. Credit - EcoAnalytics Ltd (2025)

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National Trust - Midlands & East @midsandeastnt.bsky.social · 28d

Good news in from National Trust Dunwich Heath 🥳 Three years after extreme heat and prolonged drought devasted the heathland, thanks to careful management, the heather is continuing to bounce back, as well as the wildlife that depend on it. 👇

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