Stars of Shugborough
Shugborough Hall was home to the famous socialite and photographer, Patrick Lichfield. It is now owned by the National Trust. We decided to walk from the site to Shugborough, which gave us the chance to explore the wildlife not only of the estate but also along a section of the Trent and Mersey Canal.
Metallic blue-green damselflies flew buoyantly from the leaves of wych elms and hornbeams, where they basked in the sun beside the canal towpath. They landed momentarily on waterside vegetation before heading off in pursuit of prey, tiny insects which buzzed the surface of the water. The dark patches on the wings of the males indicated that these were banded demoiselles.
It’s lucky there were so many small insects about because swallows were also targeting them by flying low along the canal. As if inspired by Barnes Wallis, at times they skimmed the water to take a drink, occasionally plunging still deeper for a wash.
Joining the demoiselles on the rushes and grasses beside the canal were a phalanx of mayflies. Unable to feed themselves, these ephemeral insects had just the day, maybe tomorrow if they were lucky, to enjoy their new-found freedom of the air. Also scooting across the canal were large red and blue-tailed azure damselflies, their wings so thin and translucent that all I could see were their thin, colourful bodies levitating over the water below.
Along the canal and onto the parkland of the estate, we found a good variety of trees, some veterans with holes, cracks and fallen branches to add to their character. These trees support a good variety of beetles; we saw the bright red black-headed cardinal beetle, for example. Woodpeckers feed on the larvae of such wood-boring larvae and other insects so it was no surprise to find great spotted and green woodpeckers along the way. Within the estate we saw a large herd of fallow deer. These are wild animals, still existing here from the days when the Chase was a hunting park. The fallow deer, as well as roe deer, exist throughout the area but are usually shy and difficult to spot.
The hall is situated at the confluence of the Trent and Penk rivers. The family also created their own stretch of river in front of the house and this is now a lake. Together, this watery area adds significantly to the wildlife opportunities, with a variety of common waterbirds nesting. I even found some otter spraint on the ornamental steps leading down to the lake.