Category Archives: nature photography

Late summer on Bryn Euryn

08 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, bumblebees, Local Nature Reserves, Nature, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

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The soggy conditions created by the rainfall this year have not been ideal for many late summer wildflowers and, perhaps as a result of that, it seems to me that there has been a drop in some insect populations. I was on the lookout for flower beetles, in particular soldier beetles, which in  previous years have been prolific, and struggled to find many at all.

I spent a couple of hours roaming the pathways of Bryn Euryn on one sunny afternoon in mid-August, ignoring grey clouds rolling in at my peril, getting caught right at the top in a proper downpour. There is  almost always something interesting to photograph here whatever the weather though, and these are my offerings for that day.

There were very few plants still flowering on the lower field edge, but the first one, the Great Willowherb, often mistaken for Rosebay Willowherb, is one I’ve wanted to mention for a while and will do at greater length soon.

Great willowherb is often mistaken for rosebay willowherb

Common Mallow-Malva sylvestris

banded Snail on a bindweed leaf

Greenbottle fly-Lucilia caesar on Hogweed flowers

Most of the hogweed plants are setting seed


Self-heal- Prunella vulgaris

In the clearing at the top of the steps that cut through the lower woodland is a bramble patch that always seems to attract an array of nectar-seeking insects. Today there were a good number of hoverflies, most the one photographed below, but there were a few other Eristalis species too.

This attractive hoverfly is Helophilus pendulus, common names are Sun Fly as it does enjoy basking in sunny patches, and The Footballer referring to its colours and stripy patterning

Eristalis on Wild Carrot- Daucus carota

I headed a bit round to the open grassy area that this time last year was covered in purple flowered knapweed and buzzing with dozens of insects,  but now was looking quite bedraggled and bereft of colourful blooms. There was some knapweed, but hardly enough to go around apparently as most of the flowers had more than one bumblebee or hoverfly competing for its bounty.

Black Knapweed-Centaurea nigra

Red-tailed Bumblebee on knapweed flower

Common Carder bee on knapweed

In amongst the long damp grass was a pink flower that I recognised from last year but didn’t get around to identifying. This (I believe/hope) is an unusual plant of the allium family, common name Nodding Wild Onion or Allium. The pink bell-shaped flowers are  tiny and have protruding stamens; very pretty.

Nodding Wild Onion-Allium Cernuum tangled in amongst the long damp grass

A closer look at the pretty little flowers

There were a few plants of Agrimony – Agrimoniia eupatoria

The other staple of late summer nectar, Ragwort, is also flowering of course. I can’t not include it here, so thought I’d just put in a close-up of an individual flower to show how pretty they really are.

Close up of Ragwort flowers

One flowering plant that is relishing the damp conditions and flowering prolifically here was Hemp Agrimony. Its flat, open flowers are very attractive to insects; great for butterflies.

Hemp Agrimony-Eupatorium cannabinum

A partially-open flower head of hemp agrimony

There were a few butterflies about, but as the clouds came over and the air cooled those that were out and about were not very mobile. Meadow Browns were most numerous but most were fluttering about low down in the long grass. I spotted one on Hemp Agrimony, also a single Gatekeeper and was taken by surprise when a Peacock (butterfly!) flew right in front of my face. I did photograph them all, but by now it was minutes away from the onset of the downpour and quite dark, so the resulting images are a bit grainy, but there for the record.

Meadow Brown on Hemp Agrimony

Gatekeeper – Pyronia tithonus

Peacock – Nymphalis io, looking a bit faded and worn, on hemp agrimony

Tiny acorns are beginning to show on the oak trees

Meadowsweet

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in flower folklore, flower mythology, Nature, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

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Meadowsweet–Filipendula ulmaria; also known as Queen of the Meadow, Lady of the Meadow, Dollof, Bridewort.; Welsh – Brenhines y Weirglodd  

Meadowsweet growing on the sea side of the railway embankment, Colwyn Bay

Family:Rosaceae. Flowering: Late June to September.Distribution: Throughout the British Isles and Western Europe. Habitat: A wide variety of damp places- fens, marshy meadows, stream and riversides, wet rock ledges in mountain areas, but not in very acid bogs.

Meadowsweet

Meadowsweet is a perennial herb, has stems up to 120cm tall often reddish-tinged and dark green pinnate leaves. It bears delicate, graceful, creamy-white flowers that are tiny at 4-6mm across, but gathered in large numbers in dense irregularly-formed branched frothy ‘cymes’ or ‘corymbs’ at the stem apices. Leaves are dark green, pinnate, with deeply toothed ovate leaflets, pairs of larger ones (up to 8cm long) alternate up the leaf-stalk with pairs of tiny ones (1-4mm long). The terminal leaflet is usually 3-lobed.

Meadowsweet leaves wet with rain

Etymology

The name ulmaria means “elmlike”. There is no visual resemblance to the elm tree (Ulmus) in any way, but in common with the bark of the  slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) meadowsweet contains salicylic acid, which has long been used as a painkiller, and this may be the source of the name. The generic name, Filipendula, derives from filum, meaning “thread” and pendulus, meaning “hanging.” This is thought to describe the root tubers that hang characteristically on the genus, on fibrous roots.

Importance to insects

Meadowsweet  is moderately attractive to bees, including bumblebees. The plants play host to numbers of  aphids, leafhoppers, mites and caterpillars, so in turn is very attractive to predator insects and spiders,  including both crab and jumping spiders; soldier beetles that eat aphids and other insects; plant bugs that prey on leaf beetles; ladybirds and ichneumonid wasps, parasitic wasps that prey on beetles and caterpillars.

Historical and Traditional uses 

Meadowsweet has a long history of use by humans. Traces of it have been found with the cremated remains of three people and at least one animal in a Bronze Age cairn at Fan Foel, located in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. It is thought that this may have been either from a honey-based mead or flavoured ale placed with food as nourishment for the passed ones onward journey, or that the plant had been placed on the grave as a scented flower. The whole plant has a pleasant taste and flavour, and was venerated by the Druids for flavouring mead. It is still used for this purpose in some Scandinavian varieties of mead. It has also been used to flavour wine, beer, and many vinegars. The flowers can be added to stewed fruit and jams, imparting a subtle almond flavour.

When it was customary to strew floors with rushes and herbs, both to give warmth underfoot and to overcome smells and infections, Meadowsweet was a favoured choice as the leaves are aromatic as well as the flowers, and was reputedly the favourite herb of Queen Elizabeth 1 for that purpose.

A natural black dye can be obtained from the roots.

Folklore

There is some fascinating folklore based around this plant. In some parts of the country it was believed that the heavy scent of the flowers had the power to induce a deep sleep from which a person would never wake. Its sweetness, perhaps not unexpectedly, made it unlucky to bring indoors, and redolent with death; possibly linked to its use as ‘grave’ flower.

The old custom of strewing at weddings gave rise to the alternative name of “bridewort”; the flowers were also used in bridal garlands. Cynics maintained that the plant symbolised courtship and matrimony because of the changing scent of the flower before and after bruising!

In Welsh Mythology, according to the Mabinogion, Gwydion and Math created a woman out of oak blossom, broom, and meadowsweet and named her Blodeuwedd (“flower face”).

Another valued attribute of the plant was that if it was laid on water on St.John’s Day, (most probably June 24th, Midsummer’s Day), it would reveal a thief; a woman if the plant floated, a man if it sank.

Medicinal uses

Meadowsweet has many medicinal properties and a long history as a healing herb. This plant contains the chemicals used to make aspirin, a small section of root, when chewed is a good natural remedy for relieving headaches.The whole plant is a traditional remedy for an acidic stomach.

Chemical constituents include salicylic acid, flavone glycosides, essential oils, and tannins.

Importantly, in 1897, Felix Hoffmann created a synthetically altered version of salicin, derived from the species, which caused less digestive upset than pure salicylic acid. The new drug, formally acetylsalicylic acid, was named “aspirin” by Hoffman’s employer Bayer AG after the old botanical name for meadowsweet, Spiraea ulmaria. This gave rise to the class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Playing host to some noisy summer visitors

03 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in bird behaviour, Nature, nature photography, Rhos-on-Sea

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The sight and sound of Herring gulls are an integral part of the local community here and as I wrote last year, you either love them or you loathe them. Personally I rather like them, but having just endured this year’s breeding season and had them as very close boarders, I may have gone off them slightly! The Edwardian building we occupy the centre part of played host to two nesting pairs this year, one pair on either side of us, each settling into the top of a tall terracotta chimney pot. I can see the appeal for them, quiet neighbourhood, excellent panoramic penthouse views, just a minute’s flap from the sea, a wide variety of eating opportunities close by. .. Unfortunately from a landlady’s viewpoint, they were not the ideal ‘guests’ and the noise levels were, frankly, unsociable. Stuck in the middle of the two nests sites we were subjected to frequent sessions of raucous territorial shrieking in stereo. Requests to pipe down a bit fell on deaf ears.

Once the offspring hatched the sessions became even more frequent, then reached their peak once the youngsters fledged. That was when they  moved down onto our flat roof, which is just below my bedroom window, and really made their presence heard.

A very newly fledged gull, the offspring of pair number two

Herring gulls herald the crack of dawn very loudly, which at the time was around 4.30am, so that’s when I woke up too. They are much louder than cockerels and even less tuneful.

Even persistent rain does not dampen the desire to squawk

The proximity of the gulls definitely disturbed the usual peace of the neighbourhood, but on the positive side it also literally gave me a window into part of their daily lives. I soon realised that the bouts of loud calling are not a random act, the birds use their powerful voices to call to their partners and offspring as well as to declare their possession of a territory and to warn off intruders. As the youngsters grow in confidence and flying ability improves they leave their ‘home’ area to explore, but parents still return there with food and summon them back to eat it.

The adults always called loudly before delivering food to their young, perhaps it stimulates regurgitation?

The adults had a ritual; each time they arrived back with food they began calling loudly, starting off with their heads lowered, then raising them, cranking up the volume until they reached a crescendo with head thrown back and beak opened fully.

You would not want to be on the sharp end of that beak

They are vigilant and attentive parents and deal patiently with  harassment by their young ones that persistently beg  for food. I’m not sure they are very well versed in nutrition though; ever the opportunists I saw them bring forth a variety of foodstuffs, including french fries, raw chicken, bits of crab and a still-wriggling starfish.

This starfish was definitely fresh, still wriggling in fact

The gulls took time out in the afternoons to rest together, the pair work together to raise their young and appear to be well bonded. Although they would appear to be relaxed, they were ever-vigilant and well aware of the presence of other birds in their airspace, taking it in turns to issue warnings.

The male of the pair starting off vocal proceedings . *note the sunlight show through the thin membrane below his beak

Your turn dear …..

All squawked out

Teaching junior how its done – a family session

A postcard to our summer visitors: “Thank you for an interesting and educational few weeks, but I’m glad you’re no longer here. Perhaps you might enjoy trying a new location next year? I understand the chips are rather good in Llandudno, or how about Rhyl …..?”

August on the Little Orme

19 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by in coastal habitat, Little Orme, Nature, nature photography, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, Wildflowers of Wales

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You probably do not need me to tell you that the weather this month has, so far, been rather un-summery, particularly in this part of the country, so I won’t bore you with unnecessary details. However it has impacted on the opportunities I have had to get out and about and record the effects it has had on the local wildlife, if any. That’s not to say I haven’t been keeping my eyes open and looking for opportunities to record what I am seeing, but rainy and windy days are not very conducive to taking photographs of insects or indeed flowers that are being buffeted by the weather.

An expanse of long grass on the clifftop blown by the wind against a background of very blue sea

The first day of August brought a mixed bag of weather conditions, but I  tried to make the most of a sunny spell towards the end of the afternoon by visiting the Little Orme. It was windy up there, but there were a few butterflies out feeding in odd places sheltered from the wind. In the majority were Meadow Browns, staying well down in the long grass, but there were a few Gatekeepers enjoying the abundance of bramble flowers, but not settling for long enough to photograph, one of two whites and one gorgeous Tortoiseshell. There were hardly any bees or hoverflies or indeed any insects flying.

A beautiful Tortoiseshell butterfly on bramble flowers

A large white (f) butterfly settled on a bramble stem very low to the ground. I love the mossy background.

Ragwort is flowering now; this somewhat contentious plant is an invaluable source of nectar for a myriad of insects and the host plant of the unmistakeable black and yellow striped larvae of the Cinnabar Moth, many plants are already supporting numbers of them.

Ragwort flowers with Cinnabar Moth caterpillars

Ragwort flowers with insects

There are some interesting plants flowering here at the moment; one is the pink-flowered Centaury and the other is Yellow-wort-Blackstonia, neither of which were showing open flowers today.

Common Centaury – Centaurium erythraea. Welsh, Bustl yr daear

Centaury flowers tightly closed

A member of the family Gentianaceae, common centaury thrives in dry grassy places and is especially common on stable sand dunes and on dune slacks.

A small plant of the gentian family, with flat-clusters of  star-shaped rose pink flowers, which open only when the sun shines. The stem is four-cornered and grows to a height of 4-20 inches (10-50 cm).

Etymology & traditional medicinal uses

Centaury takes its name from the Greek centaur, Chiron, who was half  man, half horse. Chiron was a teacher of the gods and skilled in the uses of medicinal herbs, and legend has it that when he was shot accidentally by Hercules with a poison arrow, he healed himself using common centaury.

This is a truly versatile herb that apparently may be used for nearly any problem. It is a bitter-tasting herb, which Culpeper noted “Tis very wholesome; but not very toothsome.”  It is used for a variety of digestive problems, including colic, bloating, heartburn, dyspepsia, to stimulate appetite, ease constipation, and to aid the proper assimilation and digestion of food. An extract prepared with vodka (!) is given for high blood pressure, liver and gall bladder problems. Lotions containing centaury have been used on the skin to remove different kinds of blemishes. It is used as a treatment for muscular rheumatism, gout, convulsions, tuberculosis, cramps and snakebites.

Externally, the juice applied to the eyes will clear the vision, and applied to wounds, ulcers, old sores, bruises, will help promote healing.  It kills worms as do most bitters and a decoction externally applied will destroy lice and other parasites in the hair.

Bach Flower remedy

I am familiar with Centaury through my work as an Holistic therapist, having studied and extensively used the Bach Flower remedies. It was one of Dr Edward Bach’s original ’12 Healers’.

The Centaury remedy is for people who find it difficult to say ‘no’ to others, usually  kind, gentle souls who like to help that may find themselves being taken advantage of and becoming resentful. The willing servant ending up the slave of another’s wishes. The remedy doesn’t harden or make us callous,rather it supports the development of courage and self-determination. We are better able to draw a line and make space where we can be ourselves, free of the desires and commands of others.

Yellow-wort – Blackstonia perfoliata. Welsh, Canri felen

Yellow-wort keeps its flowers tightly closed when the sun is not shining

A distinctive plant with grey-green leaves arranged in pairs to form ‘cups’ up the stem and bright yellow flowers that only open in the brightest sunshine. Yellow-wort is lime-loving and in Wales occurs in the greatest numbers dunes along the northern and southern coastal strips, particularly on marshy dune slacks. It generally flowers from June to October in Britain where it is widespread but not common.

In common with the afore-mentioned Centaury, Yellow-wort is a member of the family Gentianaceae, but is distinguished from all other family members, which have flowers with either four or five petals, by having six or even eight flower petals. It is tricky to catch the flowers open as even on the brightest, sunniest days they close very quickly if as much as a cloud passes over them.

Etymology & use

Yellow is self-explanatory as the colour of the flowers of the plant and wort was commonly used in the names of plants and herbs, especially those used formerly as food or medicinally. In this particular case I have been unable to discover any history of the plant being used medicinally, but a yellow dye can be obtained from the plant extract, so that may cover it.

The Latin Blackstonia refers to the 18th Century botanist and apothecary John Blackstone. Perfoliata.. through-leaved .. referring to the leaves which are fused together at the base with the stem threading its way through.

John Blackstone (1712–1753).  Blackstone worked in London and spent his holidays at Harefield, north Middlesex.  His major work was Fasciculus Plantarum circa Harefield sponte nascentium. Cum Appendice, ad Loci Historiam spectante which catalogued plants he found in Harefield and included the precise location of the rarer plants.  He was working on a second work when he died prematurely aged 41.

Robin’s Pincushion

Robin’s Pincushion

The Rose bedeguar gall, Robin’s pincushion gall, or Moss gall develops as ” a chemically induced distortion of an unopened leaf axillary or terminal buds” occurring most commonly on Field Rose (Rosa arvensis) or Dog rose (Rosa canina) shrubs. This fascinating distortion is caused by the parthenogenetic hymenopteran gall wasp (Diplolepis rosae (Linnaeus, 1758))

To find a wasp you would have to look around the new green leaf buds in late May as it prepares to lay its eggs. Then the female diplolepis lay up to sixty eggs within each leaf bud using her ovipositor. The asexual wasps emerge in the spring; less than one percent are males.

The bedeguar gall is surrounded by a dense mass of sticky branched filaments, giving the appearance of a ball of moss. Its filaments start off green, gradually becoming pink that turns crimson and ages to a reddish brown. They are at their most attractive from about now to September, as from then they begin to lose their hairs, although they remain in place until the new gall wasps emerge in the spring.  A large specimen can achieve up to 10 cm in width.

Etymology 

The term ‘Bedeguar, Bedegar or Bedequar’ comes from a French word, bédegar, but that originated from the Persian, bād-āwar, meaning ‘wind-brought.’

The Robin in ‘Robin’s pincushion’ refers to the woodland sprite of English folklore, Robin Goodfellow, otherwise known as Will o’ the wisp and Puck.

Folklore & traditional medicinal uses

Folklore tells us that if a Robin’s Pincushion is placed under one’s pillow it aids sleep and the gall was therefore known as the ‘Sleep Apple’.

The galls have apparently been used in the treatment of whooping cough and carried as an amulet to ward off toothache.

Rosebay willowherb

18 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by in Nature, nature photography, wildflowers

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Stands of this glorious, showy plant may begin flowering as early as June, but are at their best now, gracing the margins of woodland, bogs, railway embankments and roadsides from June to September. A member of the Onagraceae family, Rosebay willowherb is native to the British Isles ; it is a vigorous perennial and can reach a height of almost 2 metres.

Rosebay Willowherb – Epilobium angustifolium  Other common names  include Fireweed, Bombweed and Ranting Widow. In Welsh it is Helyglys hardd.

Rosebay Willowherb was voted the County flower of London in 2002 following a poll by the wild plant conservation charity Plantlife.

 

Rosebay Willowherb

The flowers are slightly unequal, notched and have 4 deep pink/purple petals, 15-25mm across that grow up a long spike

A hairy plant, it has oblong to lanceolate, coarsely toothed leaves. In autumn the downy seedpods split into four and release long plumes of featherweight hairs, which in warm dry conditions open up like parachutes, carrying the attached tiny light seeds great distances; each plant is capable of producing up to 80,000 seeds.

The flowers are a very good source of nectar for bees. Bee keepers sometimes move hives to newly opened forestry land where the plant is quick to colonize.

Etymology

The species name angustifolium is quite straightforward, simply made  up of the Latin words angusti meaning ‘narrow’, and folium meaning ‘leaf’.

Nowadays Rosebay Willowherb is widespread and common across the British Isles, but as little as a century ago Rosebay Willowherb was a relatively scarce woodland plant and up until the mid-eighteenth century most writers seemed to consider it a garden plant which occasionally escaped into the wild. The first authoritative wild records are all from rocky or riverside sites.

The following are extracts from Richard Mabey’s  Flora Britannica:

In Northumberland in 1769, rosebay could be found ‘Among the rocks and bushes under the Roman wall on the west side of Shewing-sheels, and by the Crag Lake. … It is introduced into some of our gardens under the name of French willow; but being a great runner, it makes a better figure in its more confined situation among the rocks, than under culture…. It is reputed a scarce plant. In Hertfordshire, in the 1840s, it was described as ‘rare’ in woods on a moist sandy soil, and in osier beds. Other noted botanists of the time, including the author of  ‘Flowers of the Field (1853), the Revd C A Johns made similar reports.

But by 1867, the Worcester botanist, Edwin Lees, had begun to notice a change in its habits: ‘Quite recently the Rosebay Willow-herb has become numerous in several parts of the Vale of Severn, and promises to spread, incited to take possession of new-made roads and embankments. I have observed it by the side of a diverted road near Shatterford, and in the cutting of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, near Croome Perry Wood.’

‘Fireweed’ or ‘Bombweed’

During the First World War (1914-18), populations of rosebay exploded, especially where extensive woodland had been felled (and often burned) to supply timber for the woar effort. In World War 11, there was a second wave of expansion. Rosebay relishes areas where there have been fires, and the summer after the bombing raids of 1940, the ruins of London’s homes and shops were covered with sheets of rosebay stretching, according to some popular reports, as far as the eye could see and generating the popular name ‘bombweed’.

In Gloucestershire there were mixed feelings about the plant. In 1948 the new county flora edited by H.J. Riddelsdell says:

‘This species has  spread with great vigour since about 1914 owing to the clearing of woods…. The seed is easily carried, of course, and the railway has been a great agent in its spread. Beautiful as the plant is in its flowering season, when it is in seed it creates desolation and ugliness over the whole of its area.’

Flowers, seedpods & seedheads

Traditional Medicinal uses

The roots may be peeled, pounded gently and used as a poultice for skin damage such as burns, sores, swellings, boils and other similar afflictions.

An infusion of the leaves, drunk as a tea act as a tonic for the whole system, helping digestion and inflammation, but take moderately as  they are also an effective laxative.

The dried pith may be dried and powdered and applied to the hands and face for protection against the cold.

Practical uses

In autumn the downy seed hairs can be used as fast lighting tinder (similar to thistle down), very effective with flint and striker. Make sure you have a secondary tinder ready as the down burns away quickly.

The down has been used to stuff mattresses and mixed with cotton or fur to produce warm clothing.

The fibre from the outer stem is used as a material for making cords.

 

 

Conwy Mountain

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Nature, nature photography, Snowdonia National Park, wildflowers

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Conwy Mountain is beautiful now, it’s rocky cliffs and crags are coloured and softened with masses of pink/purple heather and the lower slopes are clothed with a mantle of ferny green bracken.

Heather softens the rocky limestone cliffs of the mountain

Heather is mixed with gorse which is just beginning to open its flowers

Bell Heather- Erica cinerea

Erica cinerea – Bell heather, is a species of heather that is native to western and central Europe. It is a low shrub growing to 15–60 centimetres (5.9–24 in) tall, with fine needle-like leaves 4–8 millimetres (0.16–0.31 in) long arranged in whorls of three.

The plant’s common name is taken from its pink/purple bell-shaped flowers that are 4–7 millimetres (0.16–0.28 in) long, and produced during mid to late summer.

This species occurs mainly on dry heaths where the soil is acidic or peaty; it tends not to be found in wetter places, where it is likely to be replaced by the similar-looking Cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix. Its growth is not as large or dense as that of common heather or ling.

PRACTICAL USES

Bell heather has been used extensively over centuries in a wide variety of ways, including use as bedding material for both livestock and people. Bundles of the dried stems have been used to make brooms and to thatch roofs; it has been burnt as fuel, wound into ropes and used to repair holes in tracks and roads.

TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USES

Heather has a long history of  use in traditional or folk medicine. In particular it is a good urinary antiseptic and diuretic, disinfecting the urinary tract and mildly increasing urine production.

Part used : flowers
Uses : Particularly used for urinary infections.
Antiseptic, Cholagogue, Depurative, Diaphoretic, Diuretic, Expectorant, Sedative, Vasoconstrictor

Heather and gorse shrubbery accented by spikes of foxgloves

Foxgloves that have flowered prolifically this year are still bearing flowers at the tips of their elongated stems.

Foxgloves open their flowers starting with those at the lower end of the stem, which continues to lengthen.

The heather-covered rocky slopes give way to bracken at their base. Grasses and other plants surround the pool creating a rich tapestry of lush vegetation

The large mountain pool is currently full to overflowing and the ground for some distance around it is soft and boggy, with large pools of surface water covering the walking tracks. On what would have been the edge of the pool a few weeks ago, I was excited to spot some spikes of Bog Asphodel. I wanted to get a photograph of  them of course, but they were now surrounded by water and very boggy mud. I managed to get fairly close to them, but as there was no way I was going to kneel to put myself on a level with them, the resulting picture is not as clear as I would have liked, but you get the general impression.

Bog Asphodel –

Bog Asphodel – Narthecium ossifragum

A fascinating and unusual plant that grows in short wet grassland on acid soils, Bog Asphodel has bright yellow flowers with six narrow widely-spaced petals and six long stamens that are surrounded by yellow hairs, like a miniature bottle-brush, with a prominent orange anther on top.

There were just a few flowers to be found here, but in other places where the appropriate habitat occurs, during July and August carpets of the deep orange yellow flowers may be seen, to be replaced later in September by a carpet of orange and russet-brown as the flowers fruit.

Despite the plant’s English name, it is not particularly closely related to the true asphodels. The Latin name means “weak bone”, and refers to a traditional belief that eating the plant caused sheep to develop brittle bones.

In Northern climes it was once used a yellow hair dye and as a cheap substitute for saffron.

Bog Asphodel may be poisonous to both sheep and cattle, although not all stands of the plant are toxic, and the toxicity may be the side effect of the plant’s response to a fungal infection. However, affected plants , if ingested, cause serious kidney problems and a photosensitive disorder which is variously called ‘alveld’ (elf-fire), in Norway; ‘saut’ in Cumbria; and ‘plochteach’, ‘yellowses’ and ‘head greet’ in Scotland that are brought about by tri-saccaride saponins, ‘narcethin’ being the major one. 

Waxcaps

A real surprise was to find this little collection of mushrooms, which I’m fairly sure from mushroom forages in Spain, are Chanterelle’s, but not sure enough to risk picking them!

Spear Thistle – Cirsium vulgare

And finally, thistles.

Cotton Thistle – Onopordum acanthium

New gulls on the block

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in bird behaviour, Birdwatching on North Wales coast, Nature, nature photography

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I’ve been away quite a bit lately, so there’s quite a bit of catching up to do  here in Rhos-on-Sea. The weather here, as everywhere else has not been conducive to venturing far, but I have been able to do some very productive birdwatching from my bedroom window, which I probably would not have done had I been out and about, so some clouds do have silver linings. In this case the silver has been in the shape of Herring Gulls – (the scientific name larus argentatus translates as silver gull). The activity has been brought about by the recent fledging of the single offspring produced by the pair that nested atop our next-door neighbour’s chimney pot.

At first the young gull spent a lot of time resting on the flat roof, where it is surprisingly well camouflaged.

The newly-fledged gull resting

In between bouts of resting it wandered around the rooftop picking at the odd collection of sticks, shells, bones and other random items brought there by its parents hoping to find something edible it may have missed.

First portrait of the new arrival

I don’t need to sit and watch and wait for the parents to arrive with food as both adult and their young one set off such a cacophony of noise at the sight of one another I can hear them from wherever I am in the house. Once a parent lands the youngster automatically adopts the typical crouched, hunched shoulder begging posture that makes it look a bit like a small vulture.

In begging posture

The loud communication between the two birds continues for a minute or so, then the parent allows the young one to approach and finally to tap the red spot on its beak to stimulate the regurgitation of the food it has brought.

The young gull approaching its parent

Getting into position

The young gull taps the red spot on its parent’s beak  to stimulate regurgitation of its lunch

What follows is not pretty as the parent brings back whatever food it has managed to find and deposits it in front of its youngster. It seems to be thriving on a diet that does not always look particularly healthy; in the following pictures the meal is raw chicken, but on another occasion it was a pile of french fries. There have also been more natural offerings of crab, which is consumed shell and all and small fish.

The adult regurgitating raw meat, maybe chicken

Fortunately the young gull is not a fussy eater

Once the food has been swallowed by the young one the parent leaves immediately, its departure once more accompanied by more loud cries.

Over the course of the last few days the young gull has gained much in confidence and now flies off  to spend much of the day elsewhere, but it is still returning to the high roof in the evenings with its parents and to the flat roof for intervals, maybe to rest where it feels safe.

The young one is gaining in confidence and strength daily

Dale beach and the Gann Estuary

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in coastal habitat, Nature, nature photography, Pembrokeshire coastal path

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We returned home via the village of Dale which is situated on the south eastern tip of the Pembrokeshire Heritage coast and is also on the route of the Coastal Path. Its beach is located on the Milford Haven estuary between St Ann’s Head and St Ishmael’s in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. There is a lot of history attached to the village and surrounding area, but we had come to have a quick look  at the unique habitat that lies at the back of its shingle beach.

The view across Dale beach; the refinery at Haverfordwest is just out of sight behind the headland on the left of the photograph

The beach is mainly shingle with some sand at low tide.

The shingle beach is a colourful mixture of red sandstone and grey/green silurian stone

The gritty sand is pink and stones on the beach occur in an infinite variety of shades of pink/red, grey and green

The red soils of the area are derived from old red sandstones seen at Lindsway Bay and Sandy Haven that are some 395 million years old. There are also occasional exposures of even older rocks, aged at 420 million years.  The cliff tops are covered with glacial till made of unconsolidated material dumped by melting ice around 20,000 years ago and fields that have been ploughed are visible for miles as the soil is a bright red in colour.

At the back of the shingle beach is a sand ridge and behind that an area of low lying land and the brackish artificial Pickleridge Lagoon, formed by the flooding of gravel pits that operated between the 1950s and 1980s. This has now become established as a saline lagoon and together with the  extensive salt marsh in the Gann river valley, the area has become a haven for wildlife, particularly for wading birds and plants.

There were very few birds around today, a few Oystercatchers were out on the tide line and a number of Mute Swans on the edges of the lagoons, but other than that we saw only crows, a pair of raven flying overhead and a magpie or two.

A beautiful mute swan on the edge of the lagoon

There are some interesting plants growing here though, including  the largest expanse of yellow flowered Kidney Vetch I have ever seen.

View across the grassy meadow and lagoon

Grasses

The largest expanse of kidney vetch I have seen

Kidney Vetch – Anthyllis vulneraria

Kidney Vetch-Anthyllis vulneraria

The small yellow flowers of  Kidney Vetch are held in a cluster atop little woolly cushions, at first glance resembling a clover. The plant flowers from June to September and is a distinctive feature of sand dunes, chalk grassland and cliffs across the UK where it may spread to cover bare ground if it finds the right conditions.

The flowers are mainly yellow, but can also be found in orange and red forms. Each flower has its own hairy calyx (containing the sepals), giving the flower cluster its woolly appearance. The leaves of Kidney Vetch are divided into narrow leaflets that are silky and white underneath.

Kidney Vetch &  the Small Blue Butterfly

Kidney Vetch is the sole foodplant for the larvae of the Small Blue Butterfly – a seriously declining insect which is classified as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Although Kidney Vetch itself is not threatened, the habitats in which it grows are becoming fragmented and being lost at a rapid rate; for example, it’s estimated that we’ve lost 80% of our chalk grassland over the last 60 years.

Traditional medicine

Kidney Vetch has long been used in herbal medicine as an astringent; the  name ‘vulneraria‘ means wound-healer and applying it to wounds reduces bleeding. As the common name implies it is also used in the treatment of kidney disorders.

A Stonecrop – Sedum caeruleum

Further information:

The habitat formed here and the wildlife it supports have been the subject of several field studies over the years that have included the Feeding Patterns of  Wading Birds on the Gann Flat by the Field Studies Council in 1973 http://www.field-studies-council.org/fieldstudies/documents/vol3.5_91.pdf  that was followed up thirty years afterwards in 1992  http://www.eco-challenge-xtra.org. ; another on invertebrates The Gann Flat, Dale; Studies on the Ecology of a Muddy beach   and another on the flora and ferns http://www.eco-challenge-xtra.org/fieldstudies/documents/vol1.3_18.pdf

The Foxglove – of Fairytales, Myths & Medicine

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in coastal walks, flower folklore, flower mythology, Nature, nature photography, The Wales Coast Path, wildflowers, Wildlife of the Wales Coast Path

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June is the month when elegant Foxgloves are at their best in many parts of Wales. I took most of the photographs in this post in Pembrokeshire where they adorn woodlands, roadsides and cliffs of the mainland and some of the offshore islands. Beautiful to behold, poisonous in the wrong hands yet life-saving when used for good, they have a long-held and fascinating place in our natural history.

Foxglove-Digitalis purpuraea

 

Foxglove–Digitalis purpurea – Welsh – Ffion or Maneg Ellyllyn — The Good People’s Glove

The graceful Foxglove is a downy biennial herb that thrives in acidic soils in a wide range of habitats. In their first year large downy basal leaves are produced, followed in their second year by impressive flower spikes from 3-6 feet (1-2m) tall. The plants die once they have seeded, but if the flowers are picked before they go to seed, the basal leaves will last another year and they will attempt to seed again.

 

Flowers open first at the base of the stem and graduates upwards

A stand of Foxgloves in a Pembrokeshire woodland

Three basic colours self-seed – pink, purple & white. They can come true to the parent plant where colour forms are isolated, but they cross-pollinate freely & many stands of foxgloves include all three shades.

In a Pembrokeshire woodland

 

In Wales the Foxglove  is a characteristic plant of early summer, thriving on acidic soil in the shady conditions of open woods, woodland clearings and hedge banks. But it also tolerates the open and exposed habitats of moorland and heath margins, sea-cliffs and rocky mountain slopes.

It may also  appear where  ground has been disturbed, such as in newly cleared woodland, or where the old vegetation has been burnt.

 

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path

ORIGIN OF THE NAME

There have been many suggestions for the derivation of the name “foxglove”. It is an ancient name and exists in a list of plants as old as the time of Edward III (King of England from 1327-1377). The prefix ‘fox‘ has most likely been commuted over time from “folks”, who to our fourteenth century ancestors were the fairies, but so-called as to speak of them  explicitly was believed to get their attention & cause them to do mischief.  ‘Glove‘ may have come from the Anglo-Saxon gliew, which was the name for a musical instrument consisting of many small bells. So, put the two together and you could make it ‘Fairy Bells’. However it came about, Foxglove is the English  common name we all know and love it by.

There appear to be two Welsh names for the Foxglove, one is Ffion, from which the popular Welsh female name is taken and the other Maneg Ellyllyn which translate as  “The Good People’s Glove.” Similar then to Folk’s Glove and its association with fairies.

In Gaelic they were Lus Mor, the Great Herb, for being the most magical of all herbs.

Plants that are widespread & medicinally potent invariably acquire a large number of folk-names, & the foxglove’s many names are a case study in our ancestor’s imaginations.

A whole host of alternative common names reflect the association with fairies Fairy Caps, Fairy Gloves, Fairy Thimbles, Fairy Herb, Fairybells, Fairy-fingers, Goblin Gloves, Fairy Petticoats, Fairyweed.

Another name, Dead Man’s Bells served to warn of the plant’s poisonous disposition.

The names Flopdock, Floppydock, Flop-a-Dock, Flapdock, Popdock, Flop-poppy, Flop-top, Cowflop, Gooseflops, Rabbit’s Flowers or Bunny Rabbits all allude to the foxglove’s large soft downy leaves.

Mythology and legends

One story has it that fairies would hide themselves inside the flowers. Mischievous children, wanting to hear fairy thunder, would hold one of the flower bell then strike the other end on their hand. The poor fairy, rightly upset and probably rather cross, would make a snapping sound, a clap of fairy thunder, while she escaped from her retreat.

Another Welsh legend explains why foxgloves bend and sway so gracefully. It has nothing to do with the wind, but that as the flower is sacred to the fairies, it has the power of recognising them, and indeed all spiritual beings who pass by, and that it bows in deference to them as they waft along.

Foxgloves supposedly bowed to Fairies

IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

At least two great poets, Wordsworth and Tennyson were moved to immortalise the foxglove in words; the former clearly aware of  the deadly qualities of the plant. In The Borderers, a tragedy, a woman describes a dream she had:

“My poor Babe
Was crying, as I thought, crying for bread
When I had none to give him; whereupon,
I put a slip of foxglove in his hand,
Which pleased him so, that he was hushed at once:
When, into one of those same spotted bells
A bee came darting, which the Child with joy
Imprisoned there, & held it to his ear,
And suddenly grew black, as he would die.”

Sounds more like a nightmare to me!

Tennyson names the flower in the poem ‘In Memoriam’ –

” …. Bring orchis, bring the foxglove spire…”

and also in ‘The Two Voices’ –

”  ….The foxglove cluster dappled bells …”

MODERN MEDICINAL USES

Foxglove-digitalis purpurea. A plant that is beautiful on the outside but toxic at its heart. All parts of the plant are poisonous.

Foxglove is the source of  digitalis, derived from several cardiac glycosides produced by the plant, and widely used as a heart medication. It is used to increase cardiac contractility and as an antiarrhythmic agent to control the heart rate, particularly in individuals affected by irregular (and often fast) atrial fibrillation and especially if they have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Which basically translates to it regulates the heartbeat.

The use of Digitalis purpurea extract containing cardiac glycosides for the treatment of heart conditions was first described in English language medical literature by William Withering, in 1785, which is considered the beginning of modern therapeutics.

With careful usage and expert pharmaceutical  guidance, doctors have subsequently used digitalis and saved thousands of lives, but it is at the same time a dangerously toxic plant. Used wrongly it can cause heart palpitations, delirium, hallucinations, vomiting, & possibly death.

TRADITIONAL, FOLK & HERBAL MEDICINE

Modern-day herbalists have largely abandoned the use of digitalis because of its narrow therapeutic index and the difficulty of determining the amount of active drug in herbal preparations. Once the usefulness of digitalis in regulating the human pulse was understood, it was employed for a variety of purposes, including the treatment of epilepsy and other seizure disorders, which are now considered to be inappropriate treatments.

The Doctrine of Signatures

The openings of the bells were thought to resemble an open animal’s mouth

Foxglove flowers were supposed to look like an animal’s open mouth. Within the doctrine of signatures this meant it must have some medicinal value in treatment of injuries of the mouth & throat. The speckles in the mouth of the flower were, according to the Doctrine symbolic of inflammation of the throat. Another array of folk-names reflect foxglove’s association with the mouth: Throatwort, Rabbit’s Mouth, Bunny Mouths, Tiger’s Mouth, Duck’s Mouth, Gap-Mouth, & Dragon’s Mouth.

Another, less charming name of Scabbit Dock came about as in Culpepper’s day Foxglove was used in an ointment or shampoo for treating impetigo or “scabby head”.

Midwifery

An association with midwifery probably gave rise to the names Granny’s Gloves or Granny’s Bonnets, & Witch’s or Witches’ Gloves. Witches & grannies, or at least midwives & other herbal practitioners, had many uses for this plant. Dr William Withering, the aforementioned man credited with discovering digitalis as a heart remedy circa 1775, apparently learned of its potency from an unnamed midwife.

September – The dried seedhead of a Foxglove still stands-Conwy Mountain

 

A Trip to Pembrokeshire:Part 3: Woodland walk

17 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in ferns, Nature, nature photography

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Our plan had been to head off to Skomer Island on Friday, but clearly we were thwarted in that by the extreme weather conditions and then constrained further by the fallen tree. We returned to the house after our ‘reccie’ of the tree situation, hung our waterproofs up to drip dry and headed indoors to warm up in front of the Aga.

Leaves ripped off the trees littered the ground and guessing that caterpillars and other tree-dwelling fauna may have come down with them, we thought some of the smaller birds may have been struggling to find food. On previous visits here we have always baited the bird table, usually with seeds and nuts, mainly to bring down the Nuthatches, who’s presence is surprisingly easy to buy. All we had to offer today was left-over bread (it was the more wholesome stuff), so we put it out anyway to see what was still around despite the rain. Within minutes a Nuthatch appeared, picked out what it fancied and took it back to a nearby tree. They don’t share well, so Blue Tits had to wait to dive in the cover of shrubbery till it was gone. A lone Chaffinch, I think it was a young one, pecked around beneath the table, as did a Robin. The Nuthatch made repeated visits, then the big boys arrived, crows and a gorgeous jay that grabbed great beakfuls and carried them off. A squirrel was not far behind them.

Grey Squirrel sitting cheekily beneath the bird table

A young blackbird in odd-looking transitional plumage hunting worms on the lawn in the rain

The song thrush was out hunting in some very heavy rain

The Pilgrim’s Way

By mid-afternoon the wind and rain had subsided enough for us to venture outside for a proper walk. We thought that if we stuck pretty much to the woodland that we would be protected from the worst of the rain and sheltered from the wind.

A pathway runs close behind the property, partially cutting through its private woodland but part of a publicly-accessible circular walk beginning and if you like, ending at Nevern Church. The church, dedicated to St. Brynach is at the end of an historic Pilgrim’s Way from St.David’s cathedral, dedicated to Wales’ patron saint and regarded as the holiest place in the country. (More detailed Nevern history to follow in a later post.)

The route of this walk has become familiar over the last few years, but each time I have visited there has been something different to see. This year I have resolved to take more notice of ferns and make a proper effort to identify the ones I see and learn more about them. The damp woodlands of Wales is a great place to find them without having to try very hard at all and I spotted one I was looking out for within a very short time, a Hard fern.

A lovely specimen of Hard fern-blechnum spicant growing from the rocky bank

Most ferns produce their spores on the mature fronds, but the woodland hard fern is one of a few species that does it differently. This plant has developed special fronds, the sole purpose of which is to bear spores, so they resemble a flowering plant in form with a rosette of leaves and some spore-producing structures in the middle.

The most abundant species here is the Lady Fern – Athyrium filix-femina, which forms large graceful clumps with the fronds arising from a central point rather than along a rhizome. The fronds are a light yellow-green and very dissected.

The frond of a lady fern

Ferns lining the steep banks of the woodland path which is cut into the rock and roughly follows the course of the river.

The river runs along the bottom of a valley that is bounded on ‘our’ side by the steep rocky hillside that is thickly wooded with a variety of tree species including beech, ash, sessile oak and sycamore. On the opposite side is a narrow belt of trees with grassy farmland beyond. This combination of  old mature woodland, the river and adjacent farmland has created the perfect habitat for a wonderful variety of flora and fauna.   In April and May, before the tree canopy closes over there are masses of colourful wood anemones, primroses, bluebells and ramsons (wild garlic), but now we were surrounded by lush greenery in a myriad of shades and forms broken surprisingly often by the flower of the moment, the glorious foxglove.

A beautiful display of foxgloves in a clearing

More foxgloves on the side of the path

Navelwort and moss growing on a shady length of the stone wall that bounds woodland from the farmland

There were birds singing despite the rain, Song Thrush and Wren mainly, but also Blackbird, Chiffchaff and a very tuneful Garden Warbler. On other occasions we have had lovely sightings of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, an array of Tits – blue, great, coal and long-tailed. Some of my all-time favourite sightings of birds have occurred here; the three following photographs are all from our May 2007 trip.

A Coal Tit with food for chicks taken in Nevern woods in early May 2007

We had gone out quite early one morning and reaching the point along the path where there are two, now tumbledown, old stone buildings, we heard a sound from the roof of one and looked up to see a young Tawny Owl watching us.

11/5/07 A young tawny owl peering down at us from the chimney of an old tumbledown stone cottage

The end of this section of path intersects with a wider access track. Turning left onto it brings you to a bridge that crosses the river that is just wide enough for one vehicle to cross. Today the river was in full flow and deep muddy water rushed through the arches of the bridge, but usually at this time of year the water is shallower, although still quite fast flowing and it splashes over rocks that are now submerged. We have had lovely views of Grey Wagtails here, balancing on the rocks and chasing after flies; beneath the bridge has been a favoured nesting site for them and one year we were treated to views of  newly-fledged young perched on nearby vegetation being fed by their parents.

It has also proved an excellent spot from which to see the charismatic Dipper, a bird that is present along this stretch of the river all year round. Sadly we had not even a glimpse of either bird this time.

9/5/07- Looking down on a Dipper from the bridge

We didn’t linger long on the bridge as it was raining again and crossed the stone stile to take the slightly higher farm track where we had some cover from more trees.

Stone stile

Frothy elder blossom

Further down the track passes between some old stone farm buildings, no longer in use, which we had a little nosy around. We have done this several times before, always hoping we may find evidence of a Barn Owl nesting there, but still no luck with that.

More navelwort, this time in a more open spot, but overhung by pine trees

Maidenhair Spleenwort -Asplenium trichomanes

At the end of the surfaced track there is a gate that leads into an open meadow; much of it is marshy and supports a lovely array of flora that thrives in such conditions, including the glamorous Yellow Iris, or Yellow Flag Iris as it is also called and an abundant amount of Water Horsetail.

Yellow Iris-Iris pseudacorus

Passing through the gate at the far end of the field brings you out into Nevern village, almost on the bridge. It is a lovely old stone bridge, dating back to medieval times and is a Grade 2 listed building. The rain had eased by the time we got here and we stood for some time watching a party of young House Martins practising their fly-catching skills over the river. They seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, swooping through the arches of the bridge and skimming low, sometimes perhaps a little too low over the surface of the water. It was hugely entertaining and a real treat to watch them, but a bit risky too – more than once we had excited birds passing at great speed by our ears, close enough to feel a change in the air pressure.

Nevern Bridge has been a Grade 2 British listed building since 1952.

Moving on we continued walking towards the church, another fascinating building that again I will describe in more detail later.

The tower of St.Brynach’s Church, Nevern

Just before reaching the church we turned left to continue our circuit and return home. A short way up the first hill is the Pilgrim’s Cross that it is thought may have been a way marker to reassure Pilgrims of old that they were on the correct route to or from St.David’s.

The Pilgrim’s Cross is set quite high up in the rock face and can be difficult to see.

 

Quite difficult to spot initially, it is set just above head height on a rocky outcrop ; coins pushed into the cracks in the rocks may help to pick out the outline. There is a legend that behind this rocky outcrop is a hidden cave that contains the remains of Merlin, King Arthurs Wizard and one theory has it that the cross is not carved into the rockface, as such, but into the stone of a bricked-up entrance to a cave….

Even I know of several sites spread throughout Wales that reputedly hold the remains of the fabled King Arthur, but who knows? This is as  likely a spot as any other.