• Home
  • about
  • about the photographs
  • Rhos-on-Sea
    • St.Trillo’s Chapel
  • Bryn Euryn Local Nature Reserve
  • Bryn Pydew Nature Reserve
  • Mynydd Marian
  • Coed Pwllycrochan Wood
  • Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve
    • Grey Seals in North Wales
  • Great Orme
  • Llanddwyn Island & Newborough Warren
  • The Wales Coast Path
  • Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes

everyday nature trails

everyday nature trails

Tag Archives: goldenrod

A Windy Wildflower Trail

25 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by theresagreen in Butterflies of Wales, calcareous grassland, Nature of Wales, North Wales, North Wales Wildlife Trust, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, Wildflowers of Wales, Wildlife of the Wales Coast Path

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

carline thistle, centaury, common blue, common calamint, Gatekeeper, goldenrod, harebell, montbretia, Nature in August, ploughman's spikenard, wild carrot, wild fennel, yellow-wort

August 3rd – Weather – intermittently sunny, warm but with a very strong cooling wind. 

As August began I wanted to get out to see wildflowers. This is one of my favourite times of year for that, when there is every chance that there may be earlier flowering plants still around and the late-summer bloomers should be at or reaching their best. Most of the sites I visit regularly are good for wildflowers, but as they are mostly located on hills or headlands and exposed to the elements, they would not be particularly enjoyable on a strongly windy day like today and taking photographs would be difficult. I decided on Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, one of my favourites as it covers a range of interesting habitats within its 12 acre site and as it is located on the eastern side of the Little Orme there was a chance that much of it would be sheltered from the worst of the wind.

There are three ways to access the reserve, all of which require a bit of an uphill hike. One route is from Llandudno, another from the other side of the Little Orme, but for me the most interesting route to its main entrance is along the path at the base of a section of the Orme that runs up Penrhyn Hill. Marked as a 10% gradient, this is a steepish stretch to walk, but worth the effort as the rock supports an array of plants, both wildflowers and some garden escapees, and is a nature trail in itself. This provides me with the perfect excuse to amble up the hill and take frequent excusable pauses for breath rather than stride purposefully along.

Looking back along Penrhyn Hill towards Penrhyn Bay. The hill in the centre background is Bryn Euryn

Part 1 – Penrhyn Hill roadside to the reserve

My first sighting was of a male Common blue butterfly taking a break from his battle with the wind on the flower of a hop trefoil, low down in the vegetation. Amongst long grass and ivy, a grey leaved Yellow-wort; this is an annual favouring short calcareous grassland but is found in a variety of spots throughout the headland.

Common blue
Common blue
Yellow wort-Blackstonia perfoliata
Yellow wort-Blackstonia perfoliata

There were several clumps of a plant that was definitely a member of the mint family with strongly aromatic leaves. I don’t know what it is yet.

  • since publishing this Suzanne has kindly suggested in a comment that it is Common calamint Clinopodium ascendens. This is a mint that grows in dry grassland, hedgerows and verges, often on chalk or limestone soils, so habitat fits perfectly.

Common calamint – Clinopodium ascendens

And another aromatic plant – Wild Fennel, growing as tall as me, in front of gorse.

A pretty snail clung to the leaf of a Valerian plant; I lifted it gently to check the colour of its underside lip – brown – then replaced it. A few bees were braving the breeze, mostly Buff-tailed bumblebees. I photographed one on marjoram, which may or may not be a wild plant.

Brown-lipped snail
Buff-tailed bumblebee on marjoram

There is Wild Carrot in various stages of flowering from tight buds to maturing seedheads. Most often found in rough grassland, near the sea and again mostly on chalky soil. This is one of the easier of the white umbellifers to identify, with feathery leaves and bracts beneath the flowerheads and always a red flower in its centre.

Wild Carrot-Daucus carota

Windy days are not good for butterflies, but I did see a couple of Gatekeepers. Both sticking close within the vegetation, one found Marjoram to nectar on, the other attempted to bask on a Wild Clematis leaf. Both were faded and looking a little the worse for wear.

Gatekeeper on Marjoram- fruits of Herb Robert behind
Gatekeeper on Marjoram- fruits of Herb Robert behind
Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper

A flowering Goldenrod plant sprawled out across the edge of the path.

Goldenrod – Solidago virgaurea

So too a sprawling patch of Montbretia

Montbretia

and this one with its flowers like small dandelions, which I think may be one of the Hawkweeds. Another one to work on.

A stone wall marking the boundary of the farm’s land breaks the vegetated path edge, but behind it the small field is golden with Ragwort and long seeding grass. There were butterflies in there, mostly Whites, but it’s off-limits so couldn’t get a closer look.

Trees on the edge of the small wood in the background of the photograph now cast shade over the path and its edge and there are less flowering plants. There is plenty of ivy, Wild Clematis a flourishing Wild Cabbage, more of the not yet id’d mint and a clump of the usually sun-seeking Rockrose.

Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve

Half an hour after parking my car I finally reach the entrance to the reserve. The sun is shining and a fly basks in the warmth reflected by the glass of the narrative board.

A pretty clump of Marjoram flowers at its base.

I turned left to first walk the short length of the path at the base of the headland where it meets Llandudno Bay. The strength of the wind here took my breath away and walking into it head on was a challenge, but now I’d got this far I wanted to carry on to the far end of this eastern side of the headland as far as I could. 

Up on the cliff a patch of harebells gave a rare opportunity to get close to these lovely little flowers without having to lie on the ground. They look delicate and their thin stems seem fragile, but they are tougher than they look and were holding their own in today’s wind.

Spiky starry Carline thistles caught my eye. Kneeling to photograph them I see they are growing amongst bird’s-foot trefoil and that there is another little star there too – a tiny white flower of Pearlwort.

There is Yellow-wort flowering next to Wood sage which is setting seed.

Another Carline thistle, this time with Eyebright and an unwelcome invader, cotoneaster, one of the banes of the lives of hard-pressed reserve managers.

Nearby, more Harebells with a little pink Centaury and the grey felty leaves of Mouse-eared Hawkweed.

I was almost relieved to reach the end of the track and be blown back to retrace my steps to the beginning of the upward track.

First I went ‘off piste’ a little to reach a stand of golden yellow Ploughman’s Spikenard.

Ploughman’s Spikenard – Inula conyzae

Then a scramble back down to the start of the track proper. A badged wooden post here reassures you that you are officially following both the Wales Coast Path and the North Wales Path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Autumn

27 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, Bryn Pydew, Nature, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, nature photography, North Wales, Wildflowers of Wales, woodland walks in Wales

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

ash leaves, autumn colour, autumn leaves, eristalis pertinax, fallen leaves, goldenrod, hazel leaves, North Wales Wildlife Trust, oak leaves, puffball fungus

Autumn in North Wales is glorious this year thanks to a prolonged sunny and mild spell of weather, as yet broken only occasionally by rain. Walking between the trees in the dappled shade of the woodland along sun-striped paths thickly carpeted with fallen leaves in all the shades of the season, has been truly joyful. As October draws to an end, here are some of my views of the month.

151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 4a-Path sun-striped 151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 5a-Path leaf-strewn

Ivy is flowering now providing vital supplies of pollen and nectar to late-flying insects.

151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 2a- Ivy flower

Ivy is flowering

151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 8a-Woodland Trail

Ash trees leaves have mostly turned to a bright yellow.

151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 7a-Ash tree canopy

Ash tree canopy

Many have already fallen.

151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 10a-Woodland Trail-Ash leaves

Strings of Black bryony berries are strung between stems of lower-storey vegetation

151008-Bryn Pydew (29)

Black Bryony berries

151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 9a-Woodland Trail

151021-Bryn Euryn Woods 6a-Hazel leaves

Hazel leaves fallen

Oak trees are in varying shades, some still retaining a lot of green where they are in shade while those exposed to more sunlight have turned golden.

151008-Bryn Pydew (6a)-Oak leaves turned yellow & blue sky

Last year there was a national shortage of acorns and here at least it doesn’t look as though this year is going to be any more productive.

Sessile Oak and acorns

Sessile Oak and acorns

151008-Bryn Pydew (37a)-Cherry gall under oak leaf

Cherry gall under an oak leaf

Female Yew trees have ripening pink-red berries

151008-Bryn Pydew (53a)-Yew berry

On the woodland edges and in clearings there is still plenty to see.

151008-Bryn Pydew (2a)-Blackberries & clematis

Late blackberries and Old Mans Beard

In a sunny spot I watched a gathering of a dozen or so hoverflies. Some were hovering and darting around, others were attempting to bask in the sunshine but were deliberately disturbed by their dive-bombing peers.

151008-Bryn Pydew (11a)-Eristalis hoverfly

Bryn Pydew-Eristalis pertinax

On limestone pavement I found Herb Robert leaves that have turned beautiful shades of red

151008-Bryn Pydew (43a)-Herb Robert leaves turned red

Goldenrod is a favourite late flowering plant

151008-Bryn Pydew (30a)-Goldenrod flower stem

Goldenrod

although most plants have set seed by now.

Goldenrod seedheads

Goldenrod seedheads

Tucked into a damp sheltered corner where two quarried limestone walls meet, a maidenhair spleenwort fern remains fresh and green.

151008-Bryn Pydew (35a)-Maidenhair Spleenwort

And of course there are fungi, this is one of the few that I recognise!

151008-Bryn Pydew (48a)-Puffball

Puffball

And to finish, a corvid feather, just because I liked it.

151008-Bryn Pydew (59a)-Corvid feather

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...
Follow everyday nature trails on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

MOST RECENT POSTS

  • Conwy Marine Walk February 15, 2022
  • Blowing Away the Cobwebs January 26, 2022
  • On the Trail of the Jackdaws of Conwy Town January 17, 2022
  • The Butterfly Effect July 31, 2021
  • Wintergreens January 17, 2021
  • The Wilds behind the Sea Wall August 18, 2020

OLDER POSTS

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR?

MY WILDFLOWER BLOG: where the wildflowers are

Snowdrop

Snowdrop

Winter Heliotrope

Winter Heliotrope

MY SPANISH BLOG: nightingale trails

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca
Follow everyday nature trails on WordPress.com

Social

  • View teresamaygreen’s profile on Twitter
'But it is the common species that keep the living world ticking over and provide most of our experiences of wildlife, and I would argue that maintaining the abundance of these is as important a conservation priority as maintaining the existence of rarities'. Richard Mabey

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Top Posts & Pages

  • The blackberry bramble
    The blackberry bramble
  • Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes
    Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes
  • The life of a Yellow Dung-fly
    The life of a Yellow Dung-fly
  • Seeing red and black
    Seeing red and black
  • Grey Seals in North Wales
    Grey Seals in North Wales
  • Great Orme
    Great Orme
  • Butterflies of the Great Orme
    Butterflies of the Great Orme
  • The Foxglove - of Fairytales, Myths & Medicine
    The Foxglove - of Fairytales, Myths & Medicine
  • The Cockchafer or Maybug
    The Cockchafer or Maybug
  • Coed Pwllycrochan Wood
    Coed Pwllycrochan Wood

MY WILDFLOWER BLOG

where the wildflowers are

Recent Posts: nightingale trails

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca

Wildflowers and Nightingales

Breakfast with Lesser Kestrels

Asphodels

The Mediterranean Steps in Spring

Blogs I Follow

  • Know Your London
  • Wildonline.blog
  • definearth
  • sunshine and celandines
  • restlessjo
  • Art in Nature
  • Travels With My Aunt
  • Ray Cannon's nature notes
  • Lyreades
  • Discovering Belgium
  • westmediterraneanflora.wordpress.com/
  • wadertales
  • letting nature back in
  • Bug Woman - Adventures in London
  • Becky in Portugal
  • the crone
  • Eat Starch
  • ultimatemindsettoday
  • earthstar
  • One World, Two Feet
  • Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog
  • arctic-cycler.com
  • Everything Digital
  • NavasolaNature
  • This and That Continued
  • Nature on the Edge
  • Naturanaute
  • Brandon Hill Nature Blog
  • alder & ash
  • Winging It
  • Gardening Jules
  • GeoTopoi
  • Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)
  • Life in Kawagoe
  • Say It With A Camera
  • a green bough in my heart
  • Science on the Land
  • Dreaming In Stitches
  • 3rdstorey.wordpress.com/
  • Save Mangar Bani

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Know Your London

A good place to find out about the history of Inner London. There’s no fake-history on this Website.

Wildonline.blog

British Wildlife & Photography

definearth

writing about the environmental issues nobody is writing about.

sunshine and celandines

These are a few of my favourite things.

restlessjo

Roaming, at home and abroad

Art in Nature

The ‘Beauty of the Moment’

Travels With My Aunt

Random notes on the travels of a Welshman who has been allowed out to play after finishing his chores. OK so I don't travel with my Aunt, but I am usually under the adult supervision of my long suffering wife.

Ray Cannon's nature notes

Every picture tells a story

Lyreades

Discovering Belgium

Tips to explore this fascinating country!

westmediterraneanflora.wordpress.com/

widlfowers in the western mediterranean

wadertales

letting nature back in

at home and further afield

Bug Woman - Adventures in London

Because a community is more than just people

Becky in Portugal

The Joy of Slow Travel

the crone

opening the door to ideas

Eat Starch

Easy vegan food

ultimatemindsettoday

A great WordPress.com site

earthstar

a celebration of nature

One World, Two Feet

Explorers sharing adventures from around the globe.

Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog

Mindfulness, Philosophy, Spirituality, Meditation, Awareness, Religion, Nature Photography

arctic-cycler.com

arctic-cycler goes global.

Everything Digital

Some of my own digital photography and inspiration for my textile art - 'Hellebore Textiles'

NavasolaNature

Nature needs Nurture

This and That Continued

Jenny Diski - Writing and stuff.

Nature on the Edge

Wildlife photography along the urban edge

Naturanaute

Plants and people, from urban jungles to lush rainforests

Brandon Hill Nature Blog

Documenting Bristol's urban wildlife in and around Brandon Hill Nature Park - home of Cabot Tower and Bristol's oldest urban park

alder & ash

A permaculture plot in Suffolk

Winging It

Feathery fumblings from amateur birders

Gardening Jules

Birds, Bees, Flowers, Trees - Organic & Wildlife Friendly Gardening

GeoTopoi

Places and photographs

Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)

Coastalwalker.co.uk - walking around the British coastline, very SLOWLY.

Life in Kawagoe

Japanese daily sight

Say It With A Camera

Mike Hardisty Photography

a green bough in my heart

- rambles from a lover of nature, and the nature of things

Science on the Land

Dreaming In Stitches

a mingled yarn

3rdstorey.wordpress.com/

Graphic designer based in Sydney Australia, that isn't much for words and all about pictures.

Save Mangar Bani

Aravalli's sacred ancient forest grove

  • Follow Following
    • everyday nature trails
    • Join 352 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • everyday nature trails
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: