Category Archives: Nature

Blooming Bryn Euryn

11 Friday May 2012

Posted by in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, flower folklore, Local Nature Reserves, Nature, nature of woodlands, nature photography, Wildflowers of Wales

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The local nature reserve on Bryn Euryn is a popular venue for a wide variety of walkers and is not usually the place I head for if I fancy a long peaceful walk. But, if you happen to get the timing right there are occasions when you can meander around and almost have the place to yourself. So it was on a damp afternoon a couple of weeks ago when I went there just to see what there was to see.

The small meadow next to car park was golden with dandelions that were attracting the attention of a number of bumblebees.

Dandelion – taraxacum officinale -visited by a white-tailed bumblebee

Some of the flowers have already gone to seed.

Dandelion seed head

Harts Tongue ferns are a feature of the local woodlands here and already quite well grown.

Harts tongue fern. The plants grow on neutral and lime-rich substrates, including moist soil and damp crevices in old walls, most commonly in shaded situations but occasionally in full sun.

The new leaves are a bright shiny green

Harts Tongue Fern – Phyllitis scolopendrium. The plants are unusual in the genus of ferns as they have  simple, undivided fronds. The leaves are 10–60 cm long and 3–6 cm broad, with sori (A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) that are arranged in rows perpendicular to the rachis. ) In plants a rachis is the main axis of the inflorescence or spike. In ferns it is also the part of the axis to which the pinnae are attached.

The plant’s common name derives from the shape of its fronds, being thought to resemble a deer’s tongue: hart was an alternative  word for “stag”, from the Old English heorot, “deer”. The sori pattern is reminiscent of a centipede’s legs, and scolopendrium is Latin for “centipede”. 

This fern was recommended as a medicinal plant in folk medicine as a spleen tonic and for other uses.

Whilst still in the cover of woodland I spotted a Long-tailed Tit foraging amongst tree branches and a Song Thrush out on the  path also hunting. I saw and heard several Robins, Blue and Great Tits and Chiffchaff. A family of Magpie were also out and about, five of them up near the summit and there were Greenfinch lower down around the carpark.

I changed my route slightly today, mainly to avoid the uphill track through the woodland which was very muddy and quite slippery, choosing instead a surfaced one that leads around the base of the Bryn (hill). Happily, being more open and less shaded, there were plants growing here I would otherwise have missed.

Wild strawberry plants growing along the edge of a woodland track

Wild strawberry – Fragaria vesca very much resembles a miniature garden strawberry and similarly produces delicious tiny sweet berries. It is a very common plant throughout the British Isles and Western Europe found growing on all but strongly acid or waterlogged soils.

Hairy stalks bear 3 oval leaflets, also hairy and a bright shiny green. The leaflets have strong side veins, are broadest above the middle with sharp marginal teeth.

There is a similar-looking plant, the Barren Strawberry, which has duller grey-green leaves.

I was really pleased to find a Welsh poppy in flower along here, I used to have them in my garden when we lived in South Wales and loved them, especially where they seeded themselves amongst blue forget-me-nots.

Welsh Poppy -papaver cambricum

The Welsh Poppy has been adopted as the logo of the Welsh political party, Plaid Cymru

The Welsh poppy (Meconopsis cambrica) is a perennial plant native to south-western England, Wales, Ireland and Western Europe. Its favoured habitat is damp, shady places on rocky ground, and although its common name is ‘welsh poppy’, it is also native to south-western England, Wales, Ireland and Western Europe. In its most westerly locations, it is increasingly found on more open ground with less cover. It is also especially well adapted to colonising gaps and crevices in rocks and stones, which has enabled it to colonise urban environments, sometimes growing between paving slabs and at the edges of walls.

A grey squirrel paused in its tracks on a tree branch, keeping one eye fixed on me

Another favourite plant from my childhood, the cowslip, was also present here growing along the path edges, so I was sure there would be more once I reached the grassy slope of the lower hillside. I was not disappointed, there were beautiful masses of them.

Part of a mass of flowering cowslips

Cowslip – Primula veris

Cowslip – Primula veris, also variously known as Herb Peter, Paigle, Peggle, Key Flower, Key of Heaven, Fairy Cups, Petty Mulleins, Crewel, Buckles, Palsywort, Plumrocks.

According to folklore, cowslips first grew from the ground where St Peter dropped his keys and this is recorded in the French, German, and Old English names (clef de Saint Pierre, Schlusselblumen, and Key of Heaven respectively). The name cowslip, on the other hand, derives from the old English name, cūslyppe  or cowslop, because the plant used to grow best in meadows frequented by herds of cows.

The species name vēris means “of spring”.

Despite its pungent choice of habitat, the flowers of the cowslip have a lovely, almost-apricot scent and not so long ago were sufficiently and reliably abundant to allow them to be picked and used to make deliciously fragrant cowslip wine. (Now of course it is illegal to pick flowers from the wild so if you want to try it you’d have to find an alternative supply.) Cowslip is frequently found on more open ground than Primula vulgaris (primrose) including open fields, meadows, and coastal dunes and clifftops. Nowadays the seeds are often included in wild-flower seed mixes used to landscape motorway banks and similar civil engineering earth-works where the plants may be seen in dense stands.

Herbal medicine

The traditional medicinal uses of cowslip are widespread and the different parts of the plant are still commonly used to treat a variety of complaints as wide ranging as lung disorders, insomnia, gout,arthritis and anxiety. The herb is also reputed to have beneficial effects on the heart . (Active ingredients include saponin glycosides, including primulic acid, primulaveroside, and primveroside; volatile oil; tannins; flavonoids, including luteolin, apigenin, kaempferol, and quercetin; phenolic glycosides). Its flowers and leaves are rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, potassium, calcium, sodium and salicylates which help strengthen the immune system through its antioxidant properties and by lowering the cholesterol level.

Cowslip can effectively alleviate headaches but is not recommended to those who are allergic to aspirins, because of its high quantity of salicylates (the main basis for aspirin).

This herb is also used in cosmetics, used as an ingredient in face creams for its regenerating effects.

The cowslips were wonderful, but an even bigger treat were the orchids, masses of pretty early purple ones.

Orchids are always a special sight, especially the first ones to flower, the Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid-Orchis mascula

Finally lifting my eyes from ground level and the flowers, I was surprised to realise that the highest peak in our view from here across to the mountains of Snowdonia actually had snow on it.

The view to the snow-capped peaks of the Carneddau Mountains

Hawthorn blossom flowering in a sheltered spot

New oak leaves

Amongst some shrubby bushes, including the hawthorn, I came across a little flower I had almost forgotten about as it is so long since I saw it last, the delicate white-flowered Woodruff.

Woodruff- Galium odoratum

Woodruff –Galium odoratum is an herbaceous perennial plant  native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. Other common names include woodruff, sweet woodruff, and wild baby’s breath.

It grows to 30-50 cm (12-20 ins.) high but it is a weak-stemmed that is often found lying flat along the ground or supported by other plants it  prefers partial to full shade in moist, rich soils.

The flowers sweet smell is due to the presence of the odiferous agent coumarin; this scent intensifies as the plant wilts that persists on drying, and the dried plant is traditionally used in pot-pourri and as a moth deterrent. It is also used, mainly in Germany, to flavour May wine (called “Maiwein” or “Maibowle” in German), syrup for beer (Berliner Weisse), ice cream, and medicinally as a herbal tea with gentle sedative properties, but beware, high doses can cause headaches, due to the toxicity of coumarin.

A final view of Bluebells & Wild Garlic

Woodland plants may be pungent, prickly and even poisonous

03 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in nature of woodlands, nature photography, woodlands

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Spring is progressing rapidly and now at the end of April, the great majority of  woodland plants have come into flower, racing to achieve the maximum amount of light possible before the leaf canopy thickens and blots it out. In a more ‘normal’ year, they would reach their peak in May in southern England and a little later further north, but this year everything seems to be happening that bit earlier.

In local woodlands Ramsons, or wild Garlic has been showing blooms for several weeks now and is fast approaching its flowering peak. A wild relative of chives, all parts of the plant have a characteristic garlic or onion scent, and where there are masses of them their pungent scent fills the air; you can often smell their presence before seeing them.

Ramsons, Wild Garlic – Alium ursinum -Fairy Glen, Old Colwyn

Ramsons, Wild Garlic – Allium ursinum

Other common names include  buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, and bear’s garlic

The flower heads are enclosed within a papery two-lobed spathe

Native to Europe and Asia, Ramsons may be found growing  in deciduous woodlands with moist soils, preferring slightly acidic conditions. It is a perennial herb, growing from a narrow white bulb that produces two or three oval-elliptic leaves with pointed tips and long stalks that twist through 180 degrees. The leaves are similar to those of the lily of the valley and where the two plants are known to grow together, care must be taken not to confuse them should you be picking them to eat; those of the lily of the valley are highly poisonous.

A Ramsons flower visited by a tiny hoverfly. The flower-heads consist of six to twenty white star-like flowers held in dense flat-topped umbels atop a bare triangular scape (stem). Each flower is 16-20mm across and has six stamens.

Ramsons leaves are edible and are fashionable currently as ‘foraged food’; they have been traditionally used as an addition to a green salad,  boiled as a vegetable, added to soup, or as an ingredient for pestoin lieu of basil.  The bulbs and flowers are also very tasty.

A pretty clump of Bluebells – hyacintha non-scripta

A bluebell is visited by a small hoverfly

Bluebells are probably the most characteristic of all woodland flowers. The magnificent carpet of blue its massed blooms  produce, sometimes spreading throughout an entire woodland is a glorious spectacle. It epitomises spring woodlands, but is also a special feature of the British Isles and a rarity over most of continental Europe, either because the winters are too cold or the summers are too hot and dry.

The flowers are indisputably beautiful and release a lovely perfume, but the small bulbs they spring from are rather poisonous if eaten. Traditional medicinal uses of the bulb are based upon their diuretic and styptic properties. The toxic substances they contain also made them useful for a more unusual and practical purpose, as a source of glue used in bookbinding; apparently the toxins discouraged silverfish from eating them.  The toxicity may also be the origin of the superstitious belief that anyone who wanders into a ring of bluebells will fall under fairy enchantment and die soon after. Now I must confess that last little snippet of superstition was passed down in country areas well into my childhood- we lived on the edge of a wood, part of which was (happily still is) carpeted with bluebells in May and I spent many happy hours wandering through them. I was always very careful to make sure there were none growing in a ring.

Shrubs and bushes form the under-story level below the trees – they are woody but not normally tall enough to reach the woodland canopy. The blackthorn and hawthorn are two closely related shrubs, both members of the rose family and both contributing a great deal to our countryside. The blackthorn is usually the first of the two to flower and is familiar for its mass of white flowers produced in early spring before the leaves appear and for the purple sloes in autumn.

Sloe, Blackthorn – Prunus spinosa

The Blackthorn or sloe – Prunus spinosa  is native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America.

It  is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall, with blackish bark and dense, stiff, spiny branches. The shrub protects itself from animal consumption with particularly long and very tough thorns, which has led to a long traditional use as boundary hedging around fields in Northern Europe and Britain, to contain animals.

The flowers are 1.5 cm diameter, with five creamy-white petals; they are produced shortly before the leaves in early spring, and are hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated.

The leaves are oval, 2 – 4.5cm long and 1.2-2cm across, with a serrated margin.

Blackthorn is the larval food plant of several butterflies, including the Black Hairstreak (Strymondia pruni), which feeds on both the leaf buds and mature leaves of the shrub. This butterfly is a rare species in Britain, restricted only to ‘a narrow belt of mature woodland areas, between Oxford and Peterborough.’  Diversifying a little, there’s a fascinating account of one man’s quest to find this butterfly, together with the rest of our British species in a book I have in my collection titled ‘The Butterfly Isles – A Summer in Search of our Emperors and Admirals’, written by Patrick Barkham. I’d love to know if anyone else has read it; I really enjoyed it, but it seems to have had mixed reviews.

Back to the plants. I’ve mentioned Dog’s Mercury in an earlier post, but didn’t say anything about it. It is actually quite an interesting one as its a bit of a beast appearing alongside the host of beauties featuring in our woodlands at this time of year.

To begin with the name, a  ‘dog’s’ plant is traditionally one with no medicinal uses and it may have obtained this name to contrast it with annual mercury which was used in cleansing enemas. Other slightly less common names are ‘Adder’s Meat’ and ‘Lasting Mercury’. The Mercurialis is open to some debate, although most sources I have come across favour Pliny who said the plant is named after Mercury, the messenger of the gods, who discovered it. The word ‘mercury’ itself is, however, said to be related to ‘merx’ meaning ‘wares’. With its alleged property of being able to determine the sex of an unborn child, it may be that this plant was traded and was ‘merx’.

29/4/12 – Dog’s mercury is fully grown now and flowering

The plant is poisonous; it contains methylamine, trimethylamine, saponins and a volatile oil. This would give it  emetic and purgative properties, meaning consumption would most probably lead to nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Larger doses cause lethargy, jaundice, painful urination (apparently by making the urine acid) and coma before death. Reported instances of poisoning are few, perhaps because the plant is not particularly attractive and also because it had no tradition of medicinal use.

Pretty pink-flowered Herb Robert – geranium robertianum

Another of my all-time favourite little woodland plants is also beginning to appear, the pretty delicate and highly aromatic little Herb Robert. It is a common species of cranesbill in Europe, Asia, North America, and North Africa, and in Britain it is by no means confined to woodlands and may turn up anywhere it can get a hold, even on stony seashores.

The pungent aroma of the leaves is said to act as an insect deterrent and it does seem to be that no insect pest bothers it;  it has traditionally been used in bedding for animals for that reason.

Herb Robert is known to have many medicinal qualities, it is astringent, antibiotic, antiviral, styptic, tonic, diuretic, digestive, sedative and antioxidant. Of these properties, the main action of the herb is regarded to be astringent, which gives it the ability to treat external conditions such as bruises and skin irritations. From medieval times the herb has been applied as a compress to stop bleeding and heal wounds and because of its astringency it is also used to treat diarrhoea.

Bird study : A Chiffchaff’s year

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in Nature, nature of woodlands, nature photography, woodland birds

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I spotted my first returned migrant Chiffchaff of this year about three weeks ago, flitting about in low vegetation by the side of the river Colwyn. Since then I have heard the unmistakeable call several times in various places, but didn’t have a good sighting of one until last Thursday in the Fairy Glen. They may not be the most colourful or tuneful of our woodland birds, but their return and the sound of their repetitive and cheerful chiff-chaff  is, for many of us, confirmation that spring has truly arrived.

19/4/12 -Chiffchaff singing. The song is unmistakeable, a cheerful repetitive chiff-chaff. Call is a short 'hweet'.

The Chiffchaff, or Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) is a common and widespread leaf-warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia.

April to August – North Wales

Chiffchaffs are insect eaters, so most of the chiffchaffs we see in Britain are migratory, arriving here during late March and April, remaining throughout the spring and summer to breed, then leaving in late August/September to winter in the warmer locations of southern and western Europe, southern Asia and north Africa.

The chiffchaff is a small bird with olive green/brown upperparts, buff/off-white underparts becoming yellowish on the flanks and an off-white supercilium (eye-stripe). The beak is fine, generally dark and legs are always dark-coloured.

Habitat and breeding

The male Chiffchaff returns to his breeding territory two or three weeks before the female and immediately starts singing to establish ownership and attract a female. When a likely female is located, the male shows off his considerable aeronautical techniques, performing a slow butterfly-like flight as part of the courtship ritual. It is considered unlikely that chiffchaff select the same mate more than once, even though males and females return to the same areas each spring; but once a pair-bond has been established, any other females will be driven from the territory.

The birds’  favoured breeding habitat is open woodland with some taller trees and ground cover for nesting purposes. The preferred trees are typically at least 5 metres (16 ft) high and have an undergrowth that is an open, but consisting of a poor to  medium somewhat scrubby mix of grasses, bracken, nettles or similar plants.

The construction of the nest is carried out by the female who selects a site on or near the ground that is concealed amongst brambles, nettles or  other dense, low-growing vegetation. The outer layers of the nest are constructed from coarse materials such as dried grasses and leaves with inner layers woven of finer materials and finally an insulating layer of feathers. The nest is built in a domed shape with a side entrance and is typically 12.5 centimetres (5 in) high and 11 centimetres (4 in) across.

The male has little involvement in the nesting process, but he becomes  highly territorial during the breeding season and will fiercely defend his space against other males. Inquisitive and fearless, the feisty little male has been known to attack  even dangerous predators such as the stoat if they approach the nest, as well as large and notorious avian egg-thieves such as magpies and jays.

The chiffchaff is insectivorous, moving restlessly though foliage, constantly flicking the wings and tail, occasionally darting out to take insects on the wing. Its diet consists mainly of flies, along with other small and medium-sized invertebrates. It will take the eggs and larvae of butterflies and moths, particularly those of the Winter Moth.

After breeding has finished, this species abandons its territory, and may join small flocks including other warblers prior to migration. At this time the birds also go through a  prolonged and complete moult.  A newly fledged juvenile is browner above than the adult, with yellow-white underparts, but moults about 10 weeks after acquiring its first plumage. After moulting, both the adult and the juvenile have brighter and greener upperparts and a paler supercilium.

Etymology

The bird’s common English name is onomatopoeic, derived  from its simple and distinctive ‘chiff-chaff’  song. The Welsh common name is very similar, being ‘siff-saff’.

The binomial name, Phylloscopus collybita, is of Greek origin; Phylloscopus comes from phyllon, translating as ‘leaf’ , and skopeo ‘to look at’ or ‘to see’, presumably referring to the fact that the species spends most of their time feeding in trees, where they pick insects from leaves: collybita is a corruption of kollubistes, or ‘money changer’, with the song being likened to the jingling of coins.

September to March – Southern Spain

Although there is an increasing tendency amongst the species to winter in western Europe, well north of the traditional areas, especially in coastal southern England and the mild urban microclimate of London, the majority of chiffchaff  breeding in northern Europe migrate to the warmer climes of western and southern Europe, southern Asia and north Africa.

One of the joys of living in the south of Spain is to have the privilege of the company of some of the migratory bird species that breed in the north of the continent at the other end of their journey, during the autumn and winter months. Chiffchaff are one such species, arriving in great numbers from around the middle of September. Many are just passing through on their way to north Africa, pausing in their journey to take advantage of local feeding opportunities, but for others the area is their winter home and they can regularly be spotted in a wide range of habitats from gardens and woodland to reedbeds, scrubland and even on beaches where they are backed by  vegetation.

11/9/06-Chiffchaff on fennel plant picking off small insects; Manilva, Southern Spain

The appearance of newly arrived individuals often varies considerably; some have noticeably more yellow in their colouration, particularly in the underparts, but in general all appear sleek and well-fed.

October 09-A chiffchaff, most likely a juvenile. My garden, Sotogrande, Southern Spain

The behaviour of the birds outside the pressurised breeding season is quite different; in my garden they will readily leave the trees and cover of shrubs, venturing down  to pursue insects at ground-level. This is delightful to watch as they skip and flutter across the grass in an almost butterfly-like manner.

November - A particularly 'yellow' chiffchaff on the lawn in my Spanish garden

I have also been entertained by as many as 9 or 10 of the little birds at once that have perched on palm leaves then launched themselves off to pursue insects demonstrating their considerable aeronautical skills. Clouds of gnats are another target for them and they fly at the tightly packed circling insects, hovering in the air to pick them off.

They are keen bathers too, regularly using the bird bath in the garden as well as any available puddles. In shallow water they drench themselves, flicking and fluttering wings and tail, but if the water is too deep for them they flutter delicately across the surface, splashing themselves as best as they can. After their ablutions they sit on a nearby perch to dry themselves and preen meticulously.

30/1/08-Chiffchaff come to the birdbath regularly to drink and to bathe; Sotogrande, Spain

The local reserve, where an extensive reedbed backs the beach, is always  popular with chiffchaff . Many roost here amongst the reeds and use the area as a ‘staging post’ before making the relatively short flight across to North Africa. It is impossible to tell whether the birds you see regularly are on passage or here for the winter, but the spots I see them in are pretty consistent.

1/1/08 - Chiffchaff on Sotogrande beach, perched on debris washed up by a winter storm

Migration

The flow of migration is spread throughout the autumn months as birds in no particular hurry take feeding opportunities as and when they are presented along their route. Many of the birds leaving northern Europe at the end of August or beginning of September may not make the crossing to North Africa until November. Chiffchaff are amongst the most numerous birds to be caught and logged by ringers working at the bird observatory on the Rock of Gibraltar. The majority of those crossing the Strait to Africa on this route will have originated in Scandinavia, with maybe a few from Great Britain.

311011-A newly-ringed chiffchaff about to be released-bird observatory, Gibraltar

The return migration begins as early as January – the following is an extract from the gonhs recent records:

18 Jan:  After a few days with some heavy rain showers the weather cleared a bit but temperatures had dropped substantially and an influx of Chiffchaffs arrived on the Rock with many birds seen in the Botanic Gardens feeding on the nectar of flowering Aloes.

Iberian Chiffchaff

It would be remiss of me not to mention that Spain is also home to a similar but distinct species of chiffchaff, the Iberian Chiffchaff. This species breeds in Iberia and has been noted quite frequently on our outings with the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society, although most of us would confess that recognition is mostly on song and  known breeding areas.

P. ibericus, the Iberian Chiffchaff is brighter, greener on the rump, and yellower below than P. collybita and has a tit-tit-tit-tswee-tswee song.  This species is found in Portugal and Spain, west of a line stretching roughly from the western Pyrenees via the mountains of central Spain to the Mediterranean; the Iberian and Common Chiffchaffs co-occur in a narrow band along this line. Apart from the northernmost section, the precise course of the contact zone is not well documented. A long-distance migrant, this species winters in western Africa. It differs from P. c. collybita in vocalisations, external morphology, and mtDNA sequences. There is hybridization in the contact zone, almost always between male P. ibericus and female P. c. collybita, and hybrids apparently show much decreased fitness; hybrid females appear to be sterile according to Haldane’s Rule. Regarding the latter aspect, it is interesting to note that the Iberian Chiffchaff apparently is the oldest lineage of chiffchaffs and quite distinct from the Common Chiffchaff.(extract from wikipedia)

Spring greens

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in Local Nature Reserves, Nature, nature of woodlands, nature photography, wildflowers

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Recent rainfall has given a boost to the growth of  new vegetation and in the woodlands fresh greenery, in a myriad of shades and forms abounds….

Perfect new leaves of Sycamore - Acer pseudoplatanus

Oak before ash, in for a splash

Ash before oak, in for a soak ..

Leaves of the Ash tree are breaking from their tight buds

Horse chestnut trees seem to be in differing stages of growth; some still have new leaves breaking from their ‘sticky-buds’, others are in full leaf , while yet others are flowering.

Horse chestnut leaves breaking from their 'sticky-bud'

A fully open horse chestnut leaf

Horse chestnut tree with flower buds

Eristalis pertinax -Tapered drone fly - basking on new leaves of bramble - rubus

A fern frond unfurling

Another 'garlicky' plant; Garlic mustard -Alliara petiolara is an erect herb of open woodlands and disturbed soil that has dark green, heart-shaped, scallop-edged, deeply veined, long-stalked basal leaves that grow up to 5" across. Leaves are a food plant of the Orange Tip butterfly larvae.

Garlic mustard flower buds

Ferny leaf of Cow parsley - Anthriscus sylvestris

Dog's mercury-mercurialis perennis

The furled green spathe of a wild arum (cuckoo pint, lords & ladies)

The green spathe unfurls to reveal the purple spadex

Butterfly study: Holly Blue

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in butterflies, Butterflies of Wales, Nature, nature photography

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I have mentioned that my first butterfly sighting this year was of a beautiful little Holly Blue skipping along the sunny side of the privet hedge, but at the time I couldn’t catch it being still long enough to photograph. Last weekend though there were more, and from their pristine condition and the fact that they stayed basking in one sunny spot for quite a while I think it is safe to assume that they were very newly emerged.

Holly Blue on an ivy leaf

Holly Blue on an ivy leaf

  • Common name: Holly Blue
  • Latin name : Celastrina argiolus
  • Family group: Blues

The Holly Blue is the earliest of the blue butterflies to emerge in the spring, so for that reason alone is easy to identify. It also tends to fly high    around trees and bushes while other blues are more likely to be found at grass level.

Distribution and status

In Great Britain the Holly Blue is largely confined to England and Wales, although there are very sporadic records from Scotland and Ireland, but its population numbers fluctuate greatly from year to year. Worldwide it is widespread throughout Europe, reaches Japan and is also found in North Africa and North America.

The conservation status of the holly blue is presently of no concern in Britain; population levels are secure and the species’ range is increasing, although it is protected in Ireland. Similarly in Europe the range is rated as stable, with recent expansions in some countries.

Habitat

The Holly Blue occurs in a wide range of habitats, including hedgerows, field margins, woodland rides, gardens, and parks, including those in urban and suburban areas. In England, it often breeds in churchyards, many of which have Holly and Ivy. In Ireland, it is limited mainly to deciduous woods with Holly and, occasionally, country gardens.

Wings are bright blue. Females have black wing edges. Undersides pale blue with small black spots which distinguish them from Common Blue. Antennae & legs are striped with black.

Life-cycle

The lovely little holly blue has a strange but interesting life-cycle. The first generation of the year emerges quite early in spring and the females of this generation will lay their eggs singly, mainly on holly, but also on dogwood, gorse or buckthorn. The green slug-like caterpillars feed nocturnally on the flower buds, developing seeds and berries of the various foodplants, and rarely on the young tender leaves. They habitually sit on the skin of a berry, with their head buried inside it. The caterpillar is easy to find, either by searching directly, or by looking for half eaten berries in which the caterpillar has left a distinctive circular hole. As well as the plain green form of the caterpillar, there are also forms with prominent whitish and purplish markings.

The adults emerge in August and these second-generation females lay their eggs mainly on ivy, which flowers and fruits in the autumn and winter, but also on privet, gorse, heather, rowan and  snowberry. The adults of this generation are the ones we are seeing now. The eggs are almost also laid on bushes growing in sunny and sheltered locations and hatch after about a week.

Adult behaviour

Adult Holly Blues commonly feed on the aphid secretions ( honey dew ) which coats the upper surface of ash and oak leaves, but also sometimes settle on the ground to feed at bird droppings or take moisture from damp paths. Additionally, in spring they nectar at hawthorn, daisies and wood spurge. The second brood nectars on a wider range of plants including bramble, hemp agrimony, fleabane, bell heather, cross-leaved heath, hogweed and burdock.

When feeding they always keep their wings closed, but in the low sunshine of early evening they may settle on bushes to bask, holding their wings partly open.

Relationships with other insects 

In common with most Lycaenids, the larvae are attended by various species of ants, which obtain sugary secretions from a gland on the caterpillar.

The larvae may be parasitised by a host-specific  ichneumon wasp, listrodomus nycthemerus, which is thought to be an important factor in the population fluctuations of the species. In certain years, when climatic conditions favour the wasp, the butterflies can be extremely scarce. However when mild winters are followed by hot summers the wasps emerge out of synchrony with the caterpillars, and consequently in such years the butterflies are far more common.


Love your weeds – Red Deadnettle

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in garden wildlife, nature photography

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Red deadnettle-lamium purpureum

Red Deadnettle, Purple Deadnettle, Archangel, Bee Nettle (Lamium purpureum) is a herbaceous flowering plant.  A member of the Mint Family, the plant accordingly has the characteristic four-sided square stem and the crushed leaves a sharp, pungent scent. The plant  is a short-lived annual, but seeds can germinate at any time of the year, including during spells of mild weather in winter.

Red dead nettle - Lamium purpureum

A short, spreading  plant that usually reaches  from 5cm  to 20cms tall, very occasionally to 30cms, that produces several square, upright stems and opposite leaves. The lowest leaves are very small with long stalks; higher leaves are larger, held on short stalks and become heart-shaped with wavy to serrated margins. Stems and leaves are often flushed with purple.

The flowers are bright red-purple and arranged in whorls often up to ten individuals around the axis of  the stem. Each flower has a top hood-like petal, two lower lip petal lobes and minute fang-like lobes between.

Habitat and status

Found growing on cultivated land, including gardens, roadsides and waste ground, Red Deadnettle is generally considered to be a weed, as it is an undesired and uncultivated plant. A true native of the Mediterranean basin, comprising Europe, North Africa and Western Asia, it is likely that its introduction into Britain coincided with that of early agriculture; evidence of red dead-nettle has been found in Bronze Age deposits. It is likely to have been similarly introduced to North America, where the plant is regarded as an invasive weed.

Importance to insects

A bee-fly taking nectar from red-dead nettle

The early production of  flowers allows bees to gather its nectar for food when few other nectar sources are available. It is also a prominent source of pollen for bees in March/April when the insects need the pollen as protein to build up their nests.

The name

Although the plant is superficially similar to a stinging nettle in appearance, it is not related and does not sting, hence the name “deadnettle”.

The plant commonly flowers in April and the alternative name ‘Archangel’ refers to this traditional first appearance. May 8th is dedicated to the Archangel Michel, which historically was 11 days earlier on April 27, prior to the Gregorian calendar change of 1582 (which took until 1752 to change in Great Britain).

Scientific Name: Lamium purpureum – The generic name is from the Greek lamia which means ‘devouring monster’ in reference to the galeate, or helmet shape of the flower which has the general appearance of open jaws. An alternative etymology is that Lamium is derived from the Greek lamios, meaning ‘thread’; the corolla of the flower is “threaded” through the lips. The species name is from purpureus, the Latin word for purple.

Traditional medicinal uses of Red Dead Nettle

The whole plant is astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, purgative and styptic.

The dried leaves have been used as a poultice to stem hemorrhaging whilst the fresh bruised leaves can be applied to external cuts and wounds. The leaves may also be made into a tea and drunk to promote perspiration and discharge from the kidneys in the treatment of chills.

Fairy Glen Friday

07 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in Local Nature Reserves, Nature, nature of woodlands, nature photography, woodland birds

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Friday seems to have become my day for a walk around the Local Nature Reserve of Fairy Glen, Old Colwyn. It is just a short walk from my current workplace, the busy post office, and very handy for an hour of fresh air and a chance to catch up with the progress of the season. The following pictures are those I took on the last Friday of March in less than an hour.

Bluebells are beginning to open

The wild garlic, or ramsons, is also showing one or two blooms

The horse chestnut leaves have grown significantly since last Friday and there are already flower buds appearing

It was quite a dull, cool day compared with last Friday and shady in the woodland. I didn’t have very long to linger, so I headed straight for the sycamore tree where the nuthatch and  blue tit pairs are nesting. I was hoping to get some better views of a nuthatch, but although I could hear the male’s distinctive calling from close by and followed his movements through the trees, he stayed away from the actual nest site. However, the blue tits were working hard furnishing the nest box and I had some lovely views of them both with beaks stuffed with moss.

The blue tit was waiting to carry material into the nest box

I carried on along the path, watching out for great tits, a species that I have heard calling and singing and seen here, but that continues to elude my camera. There was a pair flitting about in the trees and shrubbery close to the path, but they don’t stay still or visible for long. I did manage to get a quick shot of the male which is not great but included for the record.

The male great tit has a much broader black breast stripe than the female

Following after the great tits I stepped off the path a short way and caught a glimpse of bird in a tangle of brambles that turned out to be a male blackcap, yet another species to add to the list for this small area of woodland. He disappeared very quickly and quietly, but then I realised there was another bird in there too, a single long-tailed tit. As I stood watching it emerged from its cover and spent quite a few minutes foraging around the twiggy branches of a nearby small tree, allowing me some lovely close views.

Long-tailed tit, front view

Long-tailed tit from the back

A privileged view of a lovely bird. Long-tailed Tit – Aegithalos cordatus

The recent dry and warm weather has been a treat, but the effect of lack of rainfall is very evident in the current shallowness of the river. I wandered along the path,  lost in contemplation about water levels and was taken completely by surprise when, rounding a bend I spotted a pair of grey wagtails hunting in the shallow water. I have  no idea if this was the same pair that I have seen lower downstream, although I suspect it may be. I watched them flitting gracefully over the water, balancing on small rocks and darting out to chase flies, flashing their yellow underparts as they lived up to their name, wagging their long tails. A man and a dog finally disturbed them and they flew up into  nearby trees before heading back downstream.

Male grey wagtail showing a small amount of black around the throat area

Where the kingcups are  growing there is now also a large clump of  yellow flowered arum. This is an exotic plant of South African origin, but clearly flourishing in the boggy ground of this part of the riverbank.

An arum with large leaves and a yellow sheath; this is Lysichiton americanus

Close by I watched a male chaffinch hunting around an area of shallow water that then flew up into some twiggy shrubbery overhanging the water. He was gorgeous, plump and healthy and with a shiny beak and strong vibrant colours.

A colourful male chaffinch that was foraging on the riverbank before flying up onto a low shrub

The vibrantly coloured chaffinch from the front. Chaffinch – fringilla coelebs; the ‘coelebs’ translates as ‘bachelor bird’.

Further along the path I stopped to watch a subduedly plumaged female chaffinch searching the ground for nesting material. She picked up what I think may be strands of dog hair; holding them in her beak she flew up to a tree branch away from me.

The female Chaffinch is much more subtle in her appearance

Fair weather gardening

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in garden wildlife, Insects, Nature, nature photography

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There are times when life takes precedence over blogging and I’m lagging behind a little with my postings as a result, only by a week or so, but at this time of year when nature is pressing on apace, an awful lot can happen in a very short time, so I’m trying to catch up.

The hot weekend of 25-26th March brought the incentive I needed to finally get out and cut the grass for the first time this year before its height exceeded the capabilities of my daughter’s little Flymo. My antics attracted the curiosity of  a few of the neighbours, who peered down from their penthouses to see what the racket was about.

An imperious stare from the beady yellow eye of one of 'our' herring gull pair

A wood Pigeon chose an aerial view of proceedings and seemed quite surprised by them

The starling was more preoccupied with posing

The starling, recognisable as a male by the blue base to his bill, looked so gorgeous I am putting in another shot of him.

He was whistling and singing, hence the fluffed out throat feathers

“I’m only a poor little sparrow, no colourful feathers have I, I can’t even sing when I’m nesting in spring……”

The garden hedges were bursting with House Sparrows, and I can see that at least two pairs are beginning to nest within the spiny pyracantha; more are occupying a space they have found high up in the eaves of the house at the front. Their constant cheerful cheepings and chatterings ensure I am aware of their companionship. They may not be colourful, nor can they sing, but I love them.

The male House Sparrows are all bright eyed and in their mating best plumage now

They may be brown, but how can you not appreciate the subtlety and detailed patterning of a female Sparrow's wing?

A weed is just a flower out of place

I’ve never been a fan of closely mown and weed-free lawns, partly because I never had the time or the inclination to spend hours on nurturing such a sward, but mainly because I could never bring myself to mow down daisies and would always leave little archipelagos of them strung throughout mine. I have a slightly different attitude to dandelions; whilst I do appreciate their golden beauty, they go to seed so rapidly and spread like wildfire so although I will leave a few, the majority do have to go. They are a very important source of nectar for early pollen and nectar foraging insects though, so I’m not too hasty to give them the chop.

Dainty blue speedwell is another wild flower I hate to cut down. They don't take up much space and are so pretty.

Hoverfly on lesser celandine

There are a couple of patches of lesser celandine in the lawn in this little garden that I am loathe to cut , even though I know they are just going to continue to grow and spread and probably get out of hand, but whilst I’m care-taking here they’ll stay. I was gratified to see a small hoverfly on a flower and delighted by a visit from one of my all-time favourite insects, a crazily-constructed bee-fly.

A favourite insect of mine, the bee-fly has a permanently projected long proboscis and ridiculously long legs to balance it

Bee-fly – Bombylius major

A very distinctive fly, a bee-mimic, these fascinating insects are most frequently seen in the early spring, from April to June when they may attract attention as they hover for several seconds at a time in the same spot, either over bare ground or over a  flower then dart off and return to the spot facing in a different direction.  Their hovering may be accompanied by a high-pitched buzz.

The body is rounded and furry,  the legs appear disproportionately long and spindly, but are probably required to balance the long rigid proboscis which is permanently fixed on the front of the head. Their boldly patterned wings have a distinct dividing border through the horizontal middle between the dark and clear portions. Their antennae are typically very short and pointed. The bee-fly’s behaviour belies its cute appearance though. The adult female lays her eggs close to the underground nest of a solitary bee 0r wasps, then flicks them towards the entrance. After hatching, the bee-fly larvae find their way into the nests to feed on the nest owner’s larvae.

A bee-fly resting on the ground showing better the patterned wings

There were lots of drone  flies about and a lesser number of smaller species hoverflies. Surprisingly my first butterfly sighting of this year was a little Holly Blue, followed a while later by the species I had expected to see first, a Speckled Wood. Neither obliged by resting for long enough for me to photograph and it feels like cheating to use ‘one I made earlier’, so I’ll have to wait.

Drone-fly-eristalis pertinax

An early marmalade fly

Inside the house, a large queen wasp had become trapped against the kitchen window: I had watched it earlier  flying back and forth along the bottom of the hedge. After taking the photograph I let it out. Must clean that window.

Wasp trapped on the inside of the kitchen window

On the living room window a pair of flies were mating - underside view

The upperside view of the flies on the outside of the window. Difference in size between the sexes is appreciable, the male considerably smaller.

Lunchtime nature ramblings

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in Local Nature Reserves, Nature, nature photography, wildflowers

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I first spotted two  Grey Wagtail one morning last week when they flew across the road in front of me as I was driving to work. They landed somewhere close to the water of the river close to the footbridge that crosses into the little woodland area called Min-y-Don, near the promenade at Old Colwyn. I looked out for them each time I passed since then, but with no luck until this Thursday when I walked there to look for spring flowers. Both birds must have been down close to the water as they flew up to a nearby shrub as I approached, taking me by surprise. I was pleased to see them but thought I had missed an opportunity to photograph them, but then luckily one returned to resume their hunt for food.

Grey Wagtail-Motacilla cinerea

The grey wagtail is similar in size, shape and to some extent, behaviour, to the pied, or white wagtail, but has an appreciably longer tail. They are very attractive little birds with upperparts that are always blue-grey and a greenish-yellow rump contrasting with whitish underparts makes it distinctive. The breeding male is a brighter yellow than the female and has a black throat that is edged by whitish moustachial stripes. I had assumed the birds were a pair and thought the one I was watching was a female, but looking at my photographs there are definite moustachial stripes and  the throat area looks quite dark: not black though.

Watching the water closely for prey; the birds feed on a variety of aquatic invertebrates including adult flies, mayflies, beetles, crustacea and molluscs.

The grey wagtail’s breeding season is April to July and the nest is placed near fast running streams or rivers, naturally on an embankment between stones and roots or opportunistically on convenient man-made structures such as walls or bridges.

A front view of the bird perched atop an indeterminate piece of plastic

Woodpecker carved into the side of a dead tree trunk

The woodland is at the bottom end of the Old Colwyn Nature and Historical Trail and forms part of  the North Wales Coastal Path.  It continues up into Tan y Coed Gardens, described as ‘ a very pleasant public open space on a sloping site, consisting of deciduous and coniferous trees, lawns and a network of paths. The park extends for most of the eastern side of the valley from behind the property on Abergele Road to near the promenade’. Tan y Coed garden is regarded as a valuable part of the conservation area which it is vital to sustain. The gardens themselves have been recognized as an important habitat that holds a great deal of wildlife and are recognized for their biodiversity.’ Much of the garden space has been left in a natural state and I found the wildflowers I was hoping  for growing on the banks beneath the trees.

Primrose-primula vulgaris

The harbinger of spring, creamy yellow primroses are amongst the earliest and best-loved wildflowers, flowering well before the trees come into leaf.  The name “Primrose” is originally from  Old French primerose or Latin  prima rosa, meaning “first rose”. 

Wood anemone-Anemone nemorosa. The presence of these beautiful wildflowers is often an indicator of an old woodland

Usually appearing slightly after the primrose, the sight of the bright starry flowers of the wood anemone on a sunny spring day leaves you in no doubt that spring is truly here. However, on a dull or wet day they seem  to disappear as the flowers remain closed and hang their heads, protecting their delicate and precious pollen from rain. When the sun shines again, stems straighten and the flowers are held aloft, fully open, their faces following the sun’s course across the sky.

Wood anemone's are also evocatively known as 'windflowers'.

This old pine tree is magnificent, very straight and tall and has the most amazing bark

The amazingly deeply textured bark of the pine tree

A snippet of local history

The Folly

At the top of the hill, at the Cliff Road access to the gardens, is an intriguing small castle-like building known locally as ‘The Folly”. It was built by Sir Charles Woodall, a Manchester shipping magnate who lived in the now demolished Tan-y-Coed mansion. It appears that Sir Charles had it built as a retreat so he could indulge his pipe-smoking habit which his wife wouldn’t allow him to do  at home. The tower has been restored in recent years, but remains unoccupied.

On Friday, after a morning  spent catching glimpses of the sunshine through the window, I just had to escape for a while at lunchtime and headed for the nearby Fairy Glen.

The River Colwyn flowing through Fairy Glen, Old Colwyn

The sound of the river and the birds singing were an instant tonic, and the sight of masses of golden yellow celandines interspersed here and there with blue violets  was a delight to the eyes.

Masses of celandines beneath the trees

Common Dog Violet - viola riviniana

Sycamore leaves unfolding

There were birds singing all around me, but none that I could really see properly until I just caught a glimpse of movement and a flash of black and white     from a tangle of shrubbery. It was not till a bird emerged and flew up into a tree that I realised it had been the tail end of a long-tailed tit that I had seen. There were at least two flitting about, but this was the best view I had; a very brief one, and the photograph was almost good – it really shows the length of the tail shame it was looking away from me.

Long-tailed Tit- Aegithalos caudatus

As always I was thrilled to catch sight of the delightful little birds and to add another species to my list of birds seen in this small local nature reserve. Whilst watching the long-tailed tits I was half aware of another bird calling; it was a call I recognised but could not place until I traced it back to a bird quite high in a tree almost next to me – a nuthatch.

Nuthatch - Sitta europaea, with something in its beak, possibly mud

I was even happier now, with two new species for my list and things just got better; there were two nuthatch there and it quickly became apparent that they were in the process of working on a nest hole. This was located on a kind of ‘elbow’ of a branch high up on a very tall tree, a sycamore I think, and well covered with ivy. Both birds were working away in turn and occasionally small pellets of material fell to the path beneath them.

One of the nuthatch pair at the nest hole

Very acrobatic birds, this one is working upside down

The nest hole of a nuthatch is beautifully crafted. Firstly they select a suitable hole in a tree, usually near to a source of water. The hole is then excavated and cleaned out and lined with dry grass, leaves etc. When the interior work is finished the birds then fetch mud which they mould around the entrance hole until it is the perfect size and shape for them to pass through. The best views of this process I have had were in Southern Spain on a gonhs* member’s outing to a part of the Alcornocales Natural Park known as el Picacho (March 2007).

A newly-completed nuthatch nest hole in a cork oak tree, with mud in the process of drying

We watched a pair of nuthatch finishing off their construction with mud from the nearby lagoon, went off on our walk then stopped for another look on our return a few hours later. The job was clearly completed to the satisfaction of the female as now she allowed the male to mate with her.

I moved from one side of the tree to the other to try to get a better view of the nuthatch, and as I did so a blue tit flew down to the nest box fastened to the same tree much lower down. Deciding I was just a nuisance rather than a threat, it went in, rummaged around a bit, threw out some rubbish then left to be replaced by its partner. So now I know the location of two nests to keep an eye on.

The blue tit was not happy that I was so close to the nest box

One of the blue tits throwing out the rubbish from their new home

On the way back to work I made a stop to photograph these glorious golden marsh marigolds, or to me King Cups.

Marsh Marigolds- Caltha palustris, or to me King Cups, growing on the muddy river bank

In the UK, Caltha palustris is known by a variety of common names. These include Marsh Marigold and Kingcup, Mayflower, May Blobs, Mollyblobs, Pollyblobs, Horse Blob, Water Blobs, Water Bubbles, Gollins. Balfae (in Caithness) and the Publican. The common name of marigold refers to its use in churches in medieval times at Easter time as a tribute to the Virgin Mary, as in Mary gold.

I couldn’t  ignore the beautifully singing Robin either

The robin was singing a few phrases then stopping to listen with his head on one side as another responded.

I heard a Wren singing and located it; it was my 'tail-less' one from the last time I was here. Looks like the tail may be growing back.

* gonhs – Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society

Farmland fields,rooks, ducks & waders

20 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Nature, nature photography, wading birds

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On a recent drive back from the supermarket in Llandudno. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the countryside looked so beautiful I made a couple of stops to take these photographs. I love this time of year when the shape and structure of the fields and the architecture of the trees and hedgerows is visible and highlighted by the bright sunlight.

There is a rookery located in a stand of  trees close to the road I was driving along; rooks are early nesters, sometimes having eggs in the nests by the end of February. I was hoping to get a couple of  pictures that would show them in some detail to compare against the related carrion crow, but although there were plenty about they were all either  flying or  foraging in the nearby fields.

Three Rooks flying contrasted against a white cloud

Rook – Corvus frugilegus. The species name frugilegus is Latin for “food-gathering”. The adult rook is the only large black bird with a bare grey/white face patch. They can be told from the similar-looking Carrion Crow by the purplish gloss to its  plumage and the baggy appearance of the thigh feathers.

The UK has the largest population of rooks in Europe. They are gregarious throughout the year, characteristically nesting communally in the tops of trees in ‘rookeries’ and collectively known as a ‘parliament’. Nests are built from twigs freshly picked by industrious individuals and are very likely to be plundered by unscrupulous neighbours. There is a distinct ‘pecking order’ in the community; the oldest bird lives at the centre of the rookery, best protected and sheltered from the wind. When the flock is feeding, rook sentries are posted to warn the others when danger threatens.

In folklore they are reputed to be able to predict the weather; rooks feeding in village streets or close to nests in the morning means inclement weather is to come – usually storms or rain. Conversely, rooks flying far from their nest means fair weather.

The presence of a rookery on your land is considered to be lucky in many parts of the country and that should the birds decide to abandon the rookery ill-fortune would befall the family. Rooks used to be told of a landowner’s death. The new landowner would stand under a rookery and give the news, usually adding the promise that only he and his friends would be allowed to shoot the birds in future. If he neglected the ceremony, the birds would desert the rookery – an evil omen in itself. This forecast the loss of the land and downfall of the family through poverty.

A Rook & a wing tip

Passing by the  field the curlew occupy I noticed a number of ducks on the water that pools there when it rains. As I already mentioned, it was a very bright sunny day and unfortunately the only vantage point I had from which to photograph the birds involved shooting into the sunlight, rarely a good move, but I wanted to record the sightings. I thought the ducks were Pochard, but could not really see properly. As I watched they left the water and began moving over the grass, heads and beaks down, almost perfectly synchronised. I’m not great at duck identification, so if anyone can tell better  from my rather blurry image that they are not pochard, please let me know.

The field opposite the golf course, Llandudno Rd. Herring gulls, Lesser Black-backed gull, grazing Pochard & a Curlew

I had no problem identifying the male shelduck there all alone.

a single male Shelduck making for the water

Redshank