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

Newborough Warren and Ynys Llanddwyn

16 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Nature, nature photography

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My dad made the journey from Leicester to visit me this weekend and we decided to visit a place that is very special to both of us and evokes many happy memories of holidays spent with him and my sisters on the Isle of Anglesey.

When we first used to spend days at Newborough Warren and Llanddwyn Island, the area was much less visited than it is now and there were many occasions when we hardly saw another person there. To reach the beach  there was just a very rough track through the then forestry commission owned pine woodland and you just parked at the end of it. Now the entrance to the forest has a barrier which costs £3 to pass through in a car, the track is tarmacked and there is a designated carpark with toilets and picnic areas. It is still a magical place, with history, myth and legend as well as wild beauty and if you ever get to visit this area, especially outside the summer months, it is a place to put at the top end of your must-explore list.

Newborough Warren and Llanddwyn Island (Ynys Llanddwyn) are situated near the southern entrance to the Menai Strait. The areas are national nature reserves holding a diversity of habitat including  dunes, mudflats and saltmarshes that support a wide range of plants and invertebrates.

The view across the dunes to Llanddwyn Island. The sand dunes around this area are known as being the largest in Wales and are amongst the finest in Europe.

Our visit this weekend was brief as my dad is no longer able to walk far and it was too cold for sitting around on the beach. Back in the day he would have walked us the length of the beach, which is about a mile long, through the nature reserve on the headland to reach the lighthouse, where we may have had a bit of a picnic before exploring the beach on the other side of the headland and walking back again.

The view across Llanddwyn beach and the Menai Strait to the mountains of Snowdonia

Llanddwyn beach

When you arrive at the beach you are confronted by this wonderful expanse of golden sandy beach and by a stretch of sea that is generally tranquil and often lake-like, but yet you can hear the sound of surf. That was always a big part of the magic for me; as on the other side of the headland you discover the source of the noise as here big foamy waves come roaring in to the beach.

Geese on the sea edge may be Canada geese or possibly pale-breasted Brent geese; both species occur here on Anglesey

The forest area has red squirrels and is locally famed for its roosting ravens. The cliffs around the island support a wide variety of nesting seabirds, including cormorants, shags and oystercatchers. Ynys yr Adar (Bird Rock), a small islet off the tip of Llanddwyn, throngs during the spring with one percent of the total British breeding population of cormorants. Waders such as turnstones and sandpipers are found along the coast and terns can be seen fishing in the bay. Today I had to content myself with those birds I could see easily from the beach in  front of the carpark and at a distance away. There were mainly oystercatchers and gulls with one or two curlew, but there were also a number of large birds that I first thought were shelduck but decided upon geese. I didn’t have binoculars with me and the light was poor, so I was relying heavily on the camera lens to help me out with a good enough shot to identify the species; Canada, Greylag and Brent Geese are all a possibility.

Oystercatchers from behind

Mistle thrush from the front holding something in its bill

Sitting at a picnic table close to the carpark I watched  a largish bird balance quite precariously on a short branch low on a pine tree before venturing down to hunt in the grassy area below.  It was a mistle thrush, which despite its size was very well camouflaged in low light and against a background strewn with dry grass and twigs.

On the forest edge a Mistle Thrush ventured out to hunt

As I said earlier this was just a very brief look at a beautiful and complex area, but now I’ve reacquainted myself with it I intend to return very soon for a proper exploration.

Other claims to fame:

CD album cover shot of Manic Street Preacher's 'This is my truth, tell me yours' was taken here

In 2004, Llanddwyn Island was used as a filming location in Demi Moore’s romantic thriller Half Light. Tŵr Mawr was used as a lighthouse which plays a key role in the film. CGI was used to create the effect of a real light on top of the lighthouse.

Bryn Terfel filmed his video for Cavatina (arranged by Chris Hazell) on Llanddwyn Island “a very beautiful romantic place” (Bryn on BBC Breakfast)

In 2009, a scene for the Hollywood blockbuster Clash of the Titans was filmed at Llanddwyn.

Bryn Euryn in preparation for Spring

12 Monday Mar 2012

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

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I hadn’t visited the Bryn Euryn Local Nature Reserve for quite some time and thought I would rectify that last weekend. The morning weather had been varying between sunshine and showers, and arriving at the site during a sunny spell I  walked first around the edge of the small quarry field to see what was growing there.

Lush growth of leaves of Arum maculatum -cuckoo pint, or lords & ladies

A very early flowering specimen of Heracleum sphondylium - common hogweed or cow parsnip. This is a herbaceous perennial or biennial belonging to the family Apiaceae. It is an umbelliferous plant, in the same group as fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed.

Dry seed heads of burdock

Swelling leaf buds

Silvery pussy willow

Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. Before the male catkins of these species come into full flower they are covered in fine, greyish fur and hence likened to tiny ‘pussy cats’. The catkins appear quite some time before the leaves, and are one of the earliest signs of spring. It is customary to gather branches of  pussy willow to decorate the house in the springtime, particularly on Palm Sunday, as a substitute for palm branches.

From the field I crossed onto the track on the edge of the woodland which passes by an open area of allotments. There is often  a robin  to be seen here, which today continued with its foraging regardless of me being very close by, even stopping to pose on a nice mossy wooden perch in a patch of  sunlight.

 

Posing robin

I had some good views of a dunnock there too as it pecked around amongst the dry leaves beneath the trees.

Dunnock -Prunella modular - almost at my eye-level

Dunnock-back view

Moving on towards the bottom of the steps, another brown bird flew past me and landed on the trunk of a big sycamore tree; a treecreeper. I was delighted to recognise it as a treecreeper, the first and only one I have seen so far in this location. I watched it or quite some time as it explored the tree trunk and higher branches, probing its beak into nooks and crannies searching or insects and spiders.

Treecreeper - the first I have sen in this location

The Treecreeper– Certhia familiaris is small, very active, bird that lives in trees. It has a long, slender, downcurved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long stiff tail feathers which help it creep up tree trunks. It breeds in the UK and is resident here. Birds may leave their breeding territories in autumn but most range no further than 20 km.

In Spain the very similar short-toed treecreeper – Certhia brachydactyla occurs. They are frequent visitors to our garden there, where they are equally as comfortable scuttling up the tall straight trunks of the palm trees as they are exploring the nooks and crannies of the native cork oaks. They are much easier to photograph there too being more in the open and in better light.

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A short-toed treecreeper on the trunk of a palm tree, Sotogrande, Southern Spain.

According to my bird books, the main points of difference between the two species are location and that the short-toed species has brownish flanks and a different voice: the short-toed’s song is said to be louder and less high-pitched and the call note louder, more piping and sometimes trilling. However, it is a possibility that there is in actuality only one species as presented convincingly in this brilliant blog:  http://10000birds.com/short-toed-treecreepers-do-not-exist.htm 

Catkin - A long, thin, indeterminate inflorescence of tiny, petalless flowers growing on willows, birches, oaks, poplars, and certain other trees. The flowers on a catkin are either all male or all female. The female flowers are usually pollinated by the wind. Also called ament.

The woodland was full of birdsong and following the track up through the trees towards the summit of the hill (bryn) I was accompanied by a chorus of robin, blackbird, chaffinch, blue tit and great tit with stand-out performances from a couple of  wrens and intermittent coo-ing interventions from wood pigeons. As I neared the top it began to rain quite heavily so I stood under an ivy-clad tree branch for a few minutes just listening until it stopped.

I carried on up to the summit, passing the trig point and over onto the open meadow or downs area that covers one slope of the hill. I was greeted by the sight of a complete arc of a rainbow that  spanned a width far greater than I could fit into my viewfinder.

A rainbow arced across the sky bridging Rhos-on-sea and Penrhyn Bay

Part of the spectacular view from the summit of Bryn Euryn (click on photo to enlarge)

A close up of golden common gorse flowers and spiky leaves

On the path back down to the bottom a female blackbird was taking a bath in a newly filled puddle, disturbed from her ablutions by, yes, you’ve guessed, a bounding unleashed dog. I had been standing watching a small number of goldfinch foraging in the tops of a stand of tall trees, but I know when it’s time to leave and let the dogs have their share of the day.

There were a few more treats awaiting me in the car-parking area however. Two wood pigeons, probably a pair, sat preening on a branch in a patch of sunlight and a pair of great tit were foraging around the fenced part of the field.

Wood pigeon - Columba palumbus

I have always found great tit elude me when it comes to photographing them, so I hung around for a while hoping to capture an image or two. They flew across the car park into the low trees there and attempting to pick up on them I found four long-tailed tits instead. A special favourite of mine, I was more than happy with that, especially as they stayed around acrobatically and thoroughly scouring the intricate twigs of the trees.

Long-tailed tit - Aegithalos caudatus

Long-tailed Tit, back view

A robin was investigating the ground beneath the shrubbery the long-tailed tit was photographed in, then unexpectedly flew up onto a branch in full sunshine and began to sing.

Another robin singing, but this time in sunshine

Fairy Glen

04 Sunday Mar 2012

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

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I am currently working in Old Colwyn and as it would have been a pity not to take advantage of some of last week’s sunny spring-like weather, so I ventured out during my lunch breaks to explore some  of the locality. In a recent blog – What a beautiful day- I featured photographs that I had taken in the small area of woodland alongside the final stretch of the river Colwyn. This is called Min-y-Don woodland and is a remnant of an ancient woodland that would once have covered the whole valley. From there it is possible to walk along a footpath leading up to the village that follows the course of the river. At the top, if you cross the Abergele Road and follow the signs to ‘Fairy Glen’, you reach a narrow wooded dell that the river runs through, bounded by roads and houses.

In present day Old Colwyn, much of which sadly has seen better days, Fairy Glen seems an incongruous name for a part of it, but it harks back to when this whole area was wealthier and hugely popular with well-to-do Victorian holidaymakers. This area of woodland was said to contain many different spirits including fairies, hence its name, which dates from the Victorian era and is a common name from that period (another local one being the “Fairy Glen” in Penmaenmawr).

The wooden road sign for Fairy Glen

Fairy Glen has recently been designated as a Local Nature Reserve and has undergone  regeneration with funding from the local council and it is now possible to walk through it easily. Presently the Fairy Glen is subject to an ownership dispute between Conwy County Borough Counciland the water company, Dŵr Cymru, each claiming that the maintenance of the area is the responsibility of the other. The trail was funded by Cydcoed Forestry Commission Wales.

“A path broadly follows the Afon Conwy which, with the Fairy Glen (then known as Y Nant), was mentioned by the traveller Edward Llwyd in 1699. He described the area as having seven wells and being completely wooded. There are, in fact, remaining indicators in Fairy Glen which identify it as an ancient woodland.”

I doubt that today’s Fairy Glen would have suited the Victorian visitors romantic aesthetic, but it is a pleasant enough place to spend half an hour. It is barely a five minute walk from work and I headed there for my first ‘reccie’ last Friday afternoon; I was very pleasantly surprised by the sightings I had there.

My first surprise was finding this violet plant flowering at the base of a large tree

A tracery of bare twigs and branches against a perfectly blue cloudless sky

Blue Tits seemed to be everywhere

Blue Tit picking delicately around the sticky leaf buds

Hazel catkins

A grey squirrel sat on a tree branch eating something held in its paws, possibly an acorn it had buried back in the autumn

A beautiful male blackbird was picking off ripe ivy berries

The blackbird contorted himself to reach a berry

The blackbird with a berry in his beak

A big surprise was the sighting of this lovely coal tit

A wren singing from a low branch

Another wren flew across the path and perched on the fence. It looked a little odd, but it took a few seconds to realise it was because he was missing his characteristic upturned tail

The missing tail did not seem to be inhibiting the little bird too much – he was bright eyed and flitting around singing enthusiastically

A robin singing beautifully, but in the shade

A pair of nike trainers thrown up into a tree. A reminder that this is a just an oasis in a small urban jungle

Daffodils and leeks

01 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Nature, Nature of Wales, nature photography

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Today is Saint David’s Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi)- the feast day of  the patron saint of Wales, which falls on March 1st each year. This date was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David as tradition holds that he died on that day in 589. The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century.

Many Welsh people wear one or both of the national emblems of Wales on their lapel to celebrate St. David: the daffodil, a generic Welsh symbol which is in season during March or the leek, Saint David’s personal symbol on this day. The association between leeks and daffodils is strengthened by the fact that they have similar names in Welsh, Cenhinen (leek) and Cenhinen Pedr (daffodil, literally “Peter’s leek”).

There are several slightly varying versions of exactly how the leek came to be recognised as the emblem of Wales, but the general theme is that it was worn on the caps of  Welshmen in battle to distinguish them from their foes. Nowadays the leek, in various forms, is often sported by welsh rugby supporters and is featured on the reverse of the pound coin issued between 1985-1990.

 1985 One Pound Coin 1985
1990		 Leek and royal diadem representing Wales.Edge Inscription:
PLEIDIOL WYF I’M GWLAD

Designed by:
Leslie Durbin

(The edge inscription roughly translates as ‘I am true to my roots’).

Welsh and Tenby daffodils

The adoption of the daffodil as a national emblem is more recent and may be that  during the Victorian era, a common vegetable such as the leek wasn’t considered glamorous enough to be the Welsh national emblem and the daffodil, whose flowering coincides with the Welsh patron saint’s holiday, seemed like a fitting replacement.

There are two varieties of daffodil unique to Wales – the Tenby and the Welsh or Lent daffodil. Both species have suffered decline over the years as a result of property development on land where they once thrived.

Tenby daffodil-Narcissus pseudonarcissus obvallaris

Tenby daffodils suffered in Victorian times from being too popular as they were regularly dug up and became quite scarce but replanting has helped and nowadays you’ll see plenty in the spring time around Tenby,  South Pembrokeshire, and also in Carmarthenshire and parts of Ceredigion. One of the biggest displays of Welsh daffodils can be seen at Coed y Bwl Wood, at Castle Upon Alun, St.Brides Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. The Welsh variety is more widespread, but still scarce.

This little daffodil only grows about 8″ or 30cm high and can be found growing wild around Tenby in Wales, hence the name. It seems no-one is quite sure if the Tenby daffodil was introduced to this country, or whether it could be a natural variation of our only truly native daffodil, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, also known as the Lent Lily as it usually flowers during the period of Lent, through February and March.

Lent lily – Narcissus pseudonarcissus

The Lent Lily is a similar tiny size and shape, but the outer petals are paler than the yellow trumpet, or corona, whereas the Tenby Daffodil has both a yellow trumpet and outer petals. Both have sword-like grey-green leaves and the plants are perennials. The species is native to Western Europe from Spain and Portugal east to Germany and north to England and Wales. It is commonly grown in gardens and populations have become established in many other parts of Europe. Wild plants grow in woods, grassland and on rocky ground. In Britain native populations have decreased substantially since the 19th century due to intensification of agriculture, clearance of woodland and uprooting of the bulbs for use in gardens.

Lesser Celandine

27 Monday Feb 2012

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

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Lesser Celandine- Ranunculus ficularia, also known in English as pilewort, small celandine, smallwort, figwort, brighteye, butter and cheese. In Welsh it is Lygad ebrill. 

Lesser celandine-Ranunculus ficaria

The Lesser celandine has been one of my favourite wildflowers since childhood. As a child growing up in Northamptonshire, a part of my walking route to school included a green lane. This was a narrow pathway with grass verges backed by hawthorn hedgerows and used as a short-cut to the village by anyone walking or riding a horse or bike. Behind the hedge on one side was a small field that was often boggy and there was a drainage ditch on the lane side to prevent it flooding. Needless to say it was damp there and generally shady; the perfect place for celandines to thrive. They were the first of the wildlowers to appear here and I looked forward to their appearance avidly. I used to think their shiny golden yellow faces captured some of the sunshine whilst it shone, then held it within their tightly closed petals to keep them warm on cold dull cloudy days. I learnt that these were not flowers to take home to my mum though, as they closed up when picked, but I remember how the sight of them used to gladden my heart, as it still does, signalling that the spring was on its way.

21/2/12-Lesser Celandines, Colwyn Bay

Lesser celandine

The plant itself is small (5-30cm tall). The dark green, shiny, heart-shaped leaves grow spirally arranged around long weak stalks from the base. The leaves are sometimes mottled with light or dark markings; they lie flat on the ground unless held up by surrounding plants.The flowers are bright, glossy yellow, fading to nearly white at the petal base as they age.

The Lesser celandine is one of the first flowering plants to appear at the end of the winter (February to May). Gilbert White, the famed author of  ‘The Natural History o Selborne’  reported that the plants came out on February 21, but it is more commonly reported to flower from March until May, and is sometimes called the “spring messenger” as a consequence. The flowers close just before it begins to rain, and are pollinated by bees, such as the Buff-tailed bumble bee, Red-tailed bumble bee, flies and beetles, but very few seeds are typically set. They open when few insects are around so not many seeds are produced and spread is mainly vegetative by tiny bulbils which develop in the leaf axils and these drop onto the soil as the plant dies back.

THE MEANING OF THE NAME

The plant’s  common name, lesser celandine, was mistakenly given to it when it was thought to be one and the same plant as the true or greater celandine, to which it bears no resemblance except in the colour of its flowers – both being yellow.

The word celandine comes from the Greek word chelidon, meaning swallow, the greater celandine coming into bloom when these birds arrive, and withering on their departure. The scientific name Ranunculus is Late Latin for “little frog,” from rana “frog” and a diminutive ending. This probably refers to many species being found near water, like frogs. The plant grows from root-tubers, which are said to look like bunches of figs. This explains the second part of the scientific name of the plant, ficaria, which is Latin for fig.

THE CELANDINE IN POETRY

The flower folds its petals on dull and wet days

A number of poems have been written about the celandine. The poet William Wordsworth was very fond of the flower and it inspired him to write three poems including the following, which are the first two verses from his ode to the celandine:

The Lesser Celandine 

There is a Flower, the Lesser Celandine,
That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;
And, the first moment that the sun may shine,
Bright as the sun himself, ’tis out again!

When hailstones have been falling, swarm on swarm,
Or blasts the green field and the trees distressed,
Oft have I seen it muffled up from harm,
In close self-shelter, like a Thing at rest.

William Wordsworth

Upon Wordsworth’s death it was proposed that a celandine be carved on his memorial plaque inside the church of Saint Oswald at Grasmere, but unfortunately the Greater Celandine Chelidonium majus,  was mistakenly used.

THE CELANDINE IN TRADITIONAL HERBAL MEDICINE

The plant used to be known as Pilewort because it was used to treat haemorrhoids. Supposedly, the knobbly tubers of the plant resemble piles, and according to the doctrine of signatures, this resemblance suggests that pilewort could be used to cure piles. The German vernacular Scharbockskraut (“Scurvyherb”) derives from the use of the early leaves, which are high in vitamin C, to prevent scurvy. The plant is widely used in Russia and is sold in most pharmacies as a dried herb.

THE CELANDINE IN NON-NATIVE LOCATIONS

In many parts of the northern United States and Canada, lesser celandine is cited as an invasive species.


Blackbird battles in Spain

27 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in bird behaviour

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I’ve just read the latest  fascinating post from one I follow – Finn Holding’s ‘Naturephile’– on the topic of the territorial battles between male blackbirds and was transported back to my garden in southern Spain, where I witnessed similar dramas on several occasions. Spring arrives slightly earlier there, so the breeding cycle and related territorial skirmishes are about a month to six weeks ahead of the UK.

The following is an extract from my Spanish blog dated January 2011; my pictures were taken in 2008 and some are not quite as clear as Finn’s, but I think they similarly portray some of the real fierceness of these encounters, particularly those of the pair on the ground.

“Blackbirds are very numerous hereabouts, thanks no doubt to year-round access to plenty of well-watered lawns, berried shrubs and trees and safe places to build their nests. We have had a pair nesting in our garden each year we have lived here so far, most years successfully raising a family of three, and a few times managing two broods. This breeding success, repeated throughout the area, often results in a local population explosion, which come the onset of the next breeding season means there’s a lot of competition for the best territories.

At this time of year I have seen as many as six males in the garden at any one time demonstrating the familiar challenging routine that generally involves a lot of following and retaliatory chasing between two or sometimes more birds, with one usually succeeding in sending the rest packing, often protesting loudly as they retreat over a wall or hedge.

The fight I photographed, (25th January 2008), took the competition to a whole new level the intensity of which  I had never witnessed before. The duelling began in pretty much the same way as usual, with one of the birds shadowing the other as it ran between shrubs or along the corridor between the hedge and the wall, then the one being followed would turn and lunge at its follower and chase it purposefully, attempting to intimidate it into leaving. This behaviour went on for days, with each challenge lasting for quite some time, which must have been very tiring for the birds. The contenders must have been very equally matched and more determined tactics called for, and chases began to be more aggressive, with the birds flying up at one another, bill to bill until one departed. This happened over several mornings, but the incidents were so brief, or in an awkward place that I failed to get anything on camera. Then one day one of them must have decided that enough was enough and that there would be no more Mr. Nice Bird, as the following pictures show……….

Despite the apparent ferocity of the attack, I don’t think either bird was seriously hurt, but as they were very similar in appearance and well-matched too, I have no idea which one emerged as the victor.

On a good note, later in the year a pair of Blackbirds nested in a fork of the branches of our big yucca tree raising three very healthy young.”

via January | 2011 | nightingale trails.

What a beautiful day

24 Friday Feb 2012

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

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Today was officially the  warmest February day recorded since 1998, with temperatures reaching 18 degrees in some parts of the UK. These are some of my views of this unseasonally beautiful day.

8.15am - Sunlit tulips

The sky was blue, birds were singing, the sun eye-squintingly bright and the sea calm and almost lake-like.

8.35am-View to Rhos-on-Sea showing the headland of the Little Orme & Bryn Euryn

8.37am-Calm, sunlit sea beneath a blue sky

8.38am-Turnstone foraging on barnacle-encrusted rocks

During my lunch break I spent a few minutes in the small wooded area at the bottom of Beach Road.

2pm-River Colwyn at the Beach Road end just before it runs into the sea

The river Colwyn flows through the original township of Colwyn. There are many brooks of the same name in Wales. It means ‘a young animal’ or ‘a pet dog’ and was probably used to describe the playful movement of the water.

Miniature daffodils flowering in the woodland garden

Carved wooden seat alongside the path

Lesser celandines open in the sunlight that filters through the bare tree branches

A wren was singing from a low branch close to the path, a chaffinch from higher up in a neighbouring tree and a robin from somewhere within the shrubbery. I caught sight of two long-tailed tits and a song thrush as it flew down onto the wall alongside the stream.

A blue tit low in a shrub beside the stream

I thought I’d missed the opportunity of a good look at the thrush, but as I was leaving there was another on the bank very close to the path that wasn’t bothered by me being there, even when I pointed the camera at it.

A beautifully marked thrush

Thrush from the front

A successful hunting blackbird

The views on the way home in the evening light were enhanced by the pink glow from the setting sun.

5.50pm - Evening view of Rhos-on-Sea

The tide was fully out and although the light was fading there were several people on the beach walking their dogs and a man probing the sand with a stick that I thought may have been searching for razor clams (?); he was too far away to see what he was putting into his bucket.

Man collecting razor clams

As I hoped, I arrived at the old pier at more or less the same time as the starlings.  The majority had already gathered into a large flock, a smaller flock arrived and blended seamlessly into the outer edges as they wheeled around across the sea then back to the pier. They settled quite quickly this evening, showering down like falling leaves to settle beneath the floor of the pier on either side of the structure.

5.50pm - Starlings arriving at the old pier to roost for the night

Starlings shape-shifting across the pink-tinged sky

Starlings flying out over the water

6pm-A final view of the rosy pink sunset

Tomorrow is predicted to be colder, ‘freshened’ by a NW wind …..

 

Bird study – Shelduck

15 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Birds, Nature, nature photography

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In my previous post I mentioned seeing Shelduck on the Conwy Estuary and thought I’d put in a bit more about this very handsome species that will also give me an excuse to use some photographs from my archives.  I have taken most of the photographs in West Wales at the Nevern Estuary where good numbers of   pairs of Shelduck have been recorded, with several pairs breeding. Other sightings in the area have been made in Ceibwr Bay and on the amazing Skomer Island.

A Shelduck male admiring his reflection

The Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a sea duck that is slightly larger than most other ducks, indeed the species is sometimes thought of as an intermediate between ducks and geese. They were originally known as “sheldrakes”, and this remained the most common name until the late 19th century. The word is still sometimes used to refer to a male shelduck. The genus name Tadorna comes from Celtic roots and means “pied waterfowl”, essentially the same as the English “shelduck”.

The colouring of common shelducks is quite distinctive. They are mainly white, with a dark head and neck, red bill, and other dark or reddy brown patches down their body. Adults also possess an orange or reddy brown band around their chest, which is absent in juveniles.

Shelduck pair, Nevern Estuary May 2007

Their diet comprises mainly small shellfish, water snails and other small invertebrates. The ducks are not natural divers but will do so to avoid predators.

Shelduck, Skomer Island May 2007

Shelducks are migratory birds and arrive at their breeding grounds in late winter or early spring. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have given the common shelduck an amber status for conservation purposes based on the historic population of ducks having fallen, although there has been some recovery in recent years. At a global level they are not considered to be at risk as in Europe alone there are perhaps as many as 56,000 breeding pairs. It is estimated that approx. 11,000 pairs of birds breed in the UK. They choose a variety of nest locations including disused rabbit burrows, haystacks and holes in trees.

Shelduck ducklings, Nevern Estuary, 1st July 2008

In 2008, during the last week of June and the first week of July I was staying in  Pembrokeshire  where my friend has a house near to the lovely village of Nevern. Every day we made a stop on the bridge over the estuary which carries the road into, or out of, the village of  Newport. There is almost always something of interest to be seen from here, but we were especially charmed by the Shelducks and four ducklings that we saw most mornings and evenings. Perfectly camouflaged against the brown mud and gravel of the river bottom the youngsters   skittered about all over the place under the watchful eyes of the adults.

A couple of years later, slightly earlier in June (2010) we discovered there were two adult Shelducks in charge of no less than thirteen tiny ducklings. We were well aware of the hard fact that the cute fluffy little things would make a tasty snack for a number of potential predators, so each time we stopped on the bridge we tried to locate them and counted them anxiously.

Swimming ducklings

Luckily for our sentimental selves the little gang remained intact until the day of our departure. We were surprised by the number of  ducklings this year, assuming them to be from one family, but later learned that once breeding is underway the ducklings are left in creches, with large numbers being cared for by one or two female birds, while the rest migrate to their moulting grounds.

The Shelducks sleeping on the muddy estuary bank

Shelducks are found in the UK all year round, mainly in coastal areas, though they can also be found around inland waters such as reservoirs and gravel workings.