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January |
| River Brue at Burnham Roger Cornfoot |
Competitive Botanising… At the close of last year I attended my first Winter Flower Hunt in and around the seaside town of Burnham, with a ‘team’ of about sixteen other botanists – very competitive! The simple rules set by the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland require the team on foot to search one area for three hours for any plants in flower, and scores of teams ‘compete’ from across the British Isles. With 74 species we were head of the online British and Irish leaderboard by the end of that day… but as subsequent teams surged ahead we dropped to fifth. One friend wrote, ‘Ah, the curse of the competitive urge, the botanical rollercoaster ride between elation and despair…’; and another, ‘I always prefer what botanist JW White wrote - “…the keen anticipation of discovery adds zest to the pursuit, and stimulates each fresh generation of workers to outdo those that have gone before…”
A friend wrote,
‘Excellent - you really are branching out
(can't believe I just said that). Must get myself a copy to keep me occupied
over the winter months, although there's some new science that suggests trees
can feel distress when their twigs are snapped so I will be very gentle with them……’
I replied, ‘Seriously - I was much influenced by hippy bible of 70s, ‘The Secret
Life of Plants’, a lot of which I think has newer science now to reinforce its ideas.
But the older I get, the more I take issue, scientifically/conceptually, with
the idea that stationary beings feel
pain for things they can't do anything about, or that must happen routinely to
them, like animal and insect damage. Though I still don't discount TSLoP's idea
that they feel discomfort if others have bad intentions towards them...? So I
can't believe you plucking a twig with good intentions is an issue... I'm
probably taking all this much more seriously than you intended...’
 |
| Yellow Brain Fungus |
Quantocks
Moss & Fungi: On a recent geology trip to the Quantock Hills in
Somerset, I saw some
extravagant mosses. A helpful botanist said they were probably Thamnobryum
alopecurum (Fox-tail Feather-moss), ‘a common woodland species and quite
noticeable’.
 |
| Fox-tail Feather-moss |
And some lovely fungi – another helpful
mycologist identified them as Yellow Brain fungus.
Easter
Compton walk: There is a paved lane behind the small village of Easter Compton that
makes a lovely quiet but fruitful walk in winter, and is never too muddy
underfoot. Today it was full of the bird species I regularly see here, but also
of ones I haven’t seen here before - a Sparrowhawk sitting on a gate right in
front of my parked car, a Stonechat, and a flock of Linnets…
 |
| Short-eared Owl Jongsun Lee |
Northwick
Oaze Owls: A beautiful bright winters afternoon. Walking back along the Northwick estuary
embankment, a Short-eared Owl suddenly appeared hunting in the fields inland of
the embankment; then two more appeared over the salt marsh. I had lovely close
views – their light yellow-tan and deep-dark-patterned plumage looking
incredibly lush and velvety in the low sun, and those wonderful faces, full of
interest and curiosity!
Pussy Willow
buds: High
in the hedgerows were young glossy-
 |
| Glowing Pussy Willows |
The riches of Marshfield: On a group
walk we saw - big flocks of Lapwing, Common Gull, Jackdaw, Skylark, Fieldfare (and
Winter Thrushes flying in hundreds on the drive in), Pied Wagtail, Meadow
Pipit, Goldfinch, Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer; as well as smaller numbers of
Red-legged Partridge, Buzzard, Rook, Raven, Chaffinch and Linnet…
‘Improvers’: Our fine bird club, the Bristol Ornithological Club, started running classes
for beginners and improvers and asked for suggestions. I wrote from the heart:
‘These are the things I would find most
valuable to have tutoring on:
· Small calls!
When I do my Breeding Bird and Winter Bird Surveys (for the
British Ornithological Trust), more often
than not these are the only signs of birds I will have! - often just one or two
little mips or cheeps... Blue tits, dunnocks, reed bunting, on and on... and
loads that I have never satisfactorily IDd. I think there is a lot more
variation in this lot than is sometimes acknowledged...
· Small calls that can be mistaken for others: I still don't reliably distinguish between
and chaffinch and a great tit 'chink'... and there are others.
· Calls that I have historically wrongly IDd as a
'subset' of a known call: little grebe as a version of moorhen call; grey
plover as a curlew having on off day!
· Calls that my hearing is bad/faulty about: for
instance, I find it particularly hard to distinguish between a short burst of
harsh corvid-type calls - jay, magpie, even pheasant and angry squirrel have
got confused in these ears...
A
whole other sphere that I think is under-taught is what birds look like as
females, juveniles and in eclipse. No use always just showing examples of male
teal and wigeons in their glorious breeding plumage, when so much of the time
we are looking at females, juveniles and eclipse birds, and feeling thoroughly
confused!’
By
Avebury: In Wiltshire, a field of gone-to-seed crops attracted big flocks of Chaffinch
& Yellowhammer, Wood Pigeons, Rooks & Starlings, and Linnets…
 |
| Moscahatel Christophe Parot |
Moschatel: A friend asked for local places to see
the wonderful plant Moschatel – also known as the ‘Town Hall Clock’ flower
because of its extraordinary 'cubic' flower heads! I had been shown it in local woodland a few
years ago, and like my friend was captivated... It is fascinating rather as
Snake's-head Fritillary flowers are fascinating with their geometric checks…
Feeling the Bridge: At this time
of year I often feel the need to flee seasonal festivities and escape for some time alone, and this year I booked into a nice budget chain hotel that is
literally next to the old Severn Bridge by the estuary at Aust… As I walked across
the mile-long bridge I experienced loud
songs created where strong wind was blowing through small holes in the bases of
the lofty lighting posts… And leaning on the pedestrian balustrade I could feel
the whole bridge thrumming and resonating from the wind and traffic…
 |
| Old Severn Bridge Phillip Halling |
‘The Nyatts’ below Almondsbury - Another
remote-feeling piece of the South Gloucestershire levels above the estuary… a
walk included four Little Egrets in a flock with two more by a large rhine with
Moorhens, three young Swans together on the rhine meadow bank, and a Sparrowhawk
zipping low along another waterway and through hedgerows…
Our birding blog ‘Avon Birds’ said:
‘ Nice to have a report from somewhere
less-frequently covered’. I replied: ‘That's me - taking 'The
Road Less Frequently Covered'...!’
 |
| Turnstone Derek Harper |
Cheeky
Turnstones: I enjoyed a television piece on the cheeky Turnstone waders of St Ives
(I’ve also seen them being cheeky in Penzance and Newlyn…) But I didn’t know they were the most
omnivorous of all our shorebirds – even being seen eating corpses and faeces! Blimey
– usually you just see them turning over stones and seaweed for small prey – or
begging for a prawn sandwich!
Welsh
Cobs:
Some years ago I attended the Monmouth Agricultural
Show, and saw displays of magnificent
small strong black horses – Welsh Cobs; I was captivated by their fiery
attitude, the hint of Arabian in their heads and gait… Just now I watched more
on a TV programme set at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show and finally read up
on them: they are indeed a cross of native wild ponies and Arabian steeds
brought back by Crusaders, which created a horse that was extremely strong, fast,
fiery, intelligent – but good-natured! What a lineage!
 |
| Welsh Cob Amanda Slater |
Snow: On the last day of
January snow began to fall through the evening and into the next day. I was at
a geology course in a neighbouring town and drove the nine miles home late in
the evening on empty roads though the falling snow – so peaceful and lovely when normally I
wouldn’t have ventured out...
 |
| Falling shed |
February
Sheds
and Apples: Walking the long lane below Almondsbury, there was a most ‘amusing’ derelict
shed - falling but not down yet! It seemed impossible that the building’s
blockwork piers could have leaned to such an angle - yet still standing it was.
Looking down a side rhine was
the beautiful image of a wild apple tree still holding on to its tiny golden
fruit which studded it all over like jewellery.
 |
| 'Golden Apples' by Lois Pryce |
I took a photo which has become
a painting…
Stace: The newspapers just
had an article about the great botanist Clive Stace who more or less
single-handedly produced the most definitive Flora of the British Isles, and his
Fourth Edition is about to be published. The group of botanist I go out with
use his books constantly to key out plants,
yet till now I hadn't properly registered
his name or appreciated the wonders of what he has achieved (though I had
actually read with interest some of his work on non-native plants - I liked the
non-snobbiness of his approach to including them). He is a shining example of
what just one person can achieve...
 |
| Clive Stace ParkyWiki |
I print my Blog: Finally I girded my loins and
arranged for older numbers of this Blog to be printed off and bound professionally
– all the way from the first one in 2005. So even if the InterWeb fails and
falls, I will at least have a hard copy to enjoy in my twilight years and to
press on other people!
 |
| My printed Blog |
Ellipsis: I was listening to author Lynn Truss (of ‘Eats Shoots and
Leaves’ fame) being interviewed on the radio, and of course talking about
grammar. In her rather posh voice she revealed that what I do with three
little dots at the end of a sentence -
'...' - is called an ellipsis
- it has a name! I use it to enigmatically fade out a sentence so there isn't a
hard statement, letting the reader's imagination fill it in...
Cornwall Field Trip:
 |
| Cape Cornwall Andrew Bone |
- Hayle
Estuary: Mediterranean Gulls - one pair posturing to each other with necks
stretched up… Bar-tailed Godwits clearly showing prettily streaked brown-grey
winter plumage backs in comparison with the Black-tailed’s plainer backs… a
strapping Spoonbill with head plumes.
- Drift Reservoir near St
Just: Four Cattle Egret in a field of cattle (my first in this country) - at one
point joined by a Herring Gull who followed them in a line, showing its
surprisingly larger size… a Black-necked Grebe.
- Dramatic cliffs of Cape
Cornwall with south-westerly winds and great breakers rolling in. Pale beige first-year
Iceland Gull,
amongst rock and beach roosts of mostly Herring Gull; where a
descending stream formed beach waterfalls and pools and a delightful ‘gull spa’
was revealed with much splashing and preening in the freshwater – as our leader
said, you could almost hear the cries of ‘Pass the soap’! Up to 16 Choughs calling and airily bouncing
in the wind, rafts of Guillemots and Razorbills – the largest at least 500 –
around 100 Gannets, Fulmars, Shags, a Great Northern Diver, Kestrels, Ravens
and seals.
 |
| Porthgwarra Hugh Venables |
- Walking down the sheltered
road from the exposed Coast Guard station above Porthgwarra, small birds
created a wall of twittering sounds in the dense scrub and sycamore woods -
Chaffinch, Linnets and Goldfinch.
- Helston public park and
boating lake, with a smart pinioned Ferruginous Duck amongst gulls and Tufted
Ducks. Hunting for and finding Yellow-browed Warbler in the patchy hedgerow and
woodland by the adjacent sewage works, moving restlessly about with Chiffchaff
and Goldcrest.
Greenfinch, and Grey Wagtails
on the sewage works. Searching for Glossy Ibis in the adjacent valley to the
sea…
 |
| Purple Sandpipers SAT |
- At Penzance’s dockside
Jubilee Pool, over 20 delightful Purple Sandpiper scurrying amongst rough waves
or jumping up onto the rough granite wall where they nestled in the tiniest
indents. Further along the jetties scores of Turnstones scuttled and scavenged
amongst the humans with their cheeky air. A first-year male Eider flew fast and
low from open water, looking large and heavy with white patches visible on
overall dark plumage.
- At the pretty village of
Chapel Amble just past Wadebridge, a Temminck’s Stint had settled into the wetlands
formed by the little River Amble making its way to the Camel Estuary via the
new wetland reserve of Walmsey Sanctuary. We found this
inconspicuous but rare wader
in a wet field with the tiny river flowing through it, with Teal, Green
Sandpiper, and Meadow Pipits.
 |
| Temmink's Stint SAT |
Spring is coming: In Cornwall in late February - prunus, blackthorn, camelia, magnolia,
primrose and daffodils were all flowering and hawthorn leaves emerging – and
returning to Bristol we also saw a sudden cloud of white tree blossoms and
green on hawthorns, and wrens & dunnocks starting to sing like lunatics…
Extra-high
tide at Aust: The sea came across the salt marsh up to but not over the road; when it
was halfway across, the rapidly-moving backs of little mammals could be seen
swimming fast to the next piece of grass (‘Probably mostly Short-tailed Field Voles which form 90% of
Short-eared Owls' diet…’)... a Water Rail jumped up in reed bed as the tide rose… The Crows were
there first, casually picking up small rodents like hors d’oeuvres and flying
off with their limp bodies. Two Short-eared Owls and two Kestrels sat on logs
and branches and seemed less interested – maybe they’d already had a glut? And
unlike the other times I’ve witnessed this phenomenon, only a few Black-headed
Gulls arrived and again were less predatory…
This profusion of small mammals only
seems to be so prolific at the Aust end - where the salt marsh is ungrazed and
leaves cover for the little creatures, and the reed beds are more abundant which
the Short-eared Owls like…
March
I am an Existentialist! Listening to the radio
as I drove to my geology course, I heard comedian Rob Newman’s programme on
Existentialism, part of his ‘Total eclipse of Descartes’ philosophy series. It’s the first
time I have properly understood the concept, and realised – I’ve been an
Existentialist all along! My inner life is indeed dedicated to working towards Freedom
and Authenticity!
Violets: On the levels
below Almondsbury – some wonderfully scented white violets…
 |
| White Violets Evelyn Simak |
The tide turns... I
viewed a second extra-high tide at Aust, the sea crossing the entire salt marsh
and just spilling onto the little coast road at its lowest point. This time I
observed a small but extraordinary phenomenon as the water spilled out on the
tarmac-ed road edge: usually at sea or up a tidal river there is a lull as the
tide turns; here however the water pushed fast up the road for some minutes –
then within seconds - started to flow back again… In that gentle spill
of water you could see the exact moment of the tidal turn…
Unusual mob: Gulls were mobbing a
heron flying over – that’s unusual!
 |
| Liverwort S Rae |
Rookeries: On a drive up to
Evesham in Worcestershire and back, along main roads and motorways I noticed a
pleasing and hopeful number of rookeries. My rookery survey partner said she’d
seen the same on recent trips down to Devon and Cornwall… good!
 |
| Tewkesbury water meadows Stephen McKay |
Nesting
Curlews:
We visited the beautiful little cathedral city of Tewkesbury inland from the
Severn. Between the cathedral and the estuary are the Tewkesbury Hams water
meadows, popular with local people and dog walkers – yet right in the middle were
two curlews, presumably – hopefully - nesting.
Arlingham: On a lovely still, warm
clear day we walked round the Arlingham peninsula, formed by a profound bend in
the River Severn north of Bristol. Butterflies were out - Peacock, Tortoise and
Brimstone. The woods by the river contained great tracts of
beautiful large
white wood anemones…
 |
| Arlingham Derek Harper |
Tawny
Mining Bees: At one point, the landwards slope of the river embankment was covered
with scores to hundreds of the small soil-surrounded holes I associate with solitary
bees. I sent a photo to our insect expert who identified them as the Tawny
Mining Bee, Andrena fulva. It’s a lovely bee which I learnt only flies briefly between
March and May. The females make underground brooding chambers, provision them with
pollen for the young they lay there, then seal the
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| Tawny Mining Bee Gail Hampshire |
Angle
Shades Moth: There was a beautiful
moth in my attic bedroom, about 4cm long. I took this photo with difficulty as it sat on my hand and
didn’t want to get off! Our entymologist identified it as an Angle Shades
moth - apparently a common moth (for a moth person). What had attracted it to
my room?
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| Angle Shades Moth |
April
The Gordano
Valley Ringing Station: The Bristol Naturalist’s Society newsletter reported that the
local Gordano Valley Bird Ringing
Station (where I’d been lucky enough to be taken ringing a year or so before) had
to cease its activities when high winds felled a large tree on top of it, with
touching photos showing the destruction. However the station volunteers
immediately organised a rebuild… and the Phoenix has re-emerged from the ashes
(or twigs…) to carry on its valuable work…
Aust
embankment trees: The groves of tall trees running behind the Severnside
embankment seemed covered in green-white blossom – but no, it was the White Poplars just coming into leaf…
Eye-opener: I have been taking an eye-opening
geology course, ‘Advances in Understanding Earth’s Structure & Operation’. We studied the
different methods of understanding the inner structure of the Earth – a place
more inaccessible than outer space – and the extraordinary recent advances in
picturing such things as the mighty plumes that rise from the core/mantle interface
that may be almost as old as the planet itself… This might be the only course
I’ve taken where after virtually every slide, with their serious-looking graphs
and facts, our tutor would say – ‘Of course, hardly any of that is considered
correct any more’…
Forest of
Dean: A
bird walk in the Forest of Dean, up the Severn. It’s mid-April, yet the Forest
looked far more wintery than the world outside, with trees remaining leafless
and very little new green growth below… probably because it’s rather higher
than one thinks. There were Greylag Geese, Swans on nests, Tufted and Mandarin
Ducks, Little Grebes, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, gangs of young Jays,
Raven, Coal Tits, Marsh Tit, Chiffchaff, Willow Warblers, Blackcaps, Goldcrest,
Nuthatch, Treecreepers, Mistle Thrush (whose song is a mix of Blackbird &
Song Thrush, but with only two motif repetitions rather than the three of a
Song Thrush…), and Stonechat, Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Greenfinch, Linnet, calling
Crossbills flying over, and Siskin. And I may have seen a Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker (a rarity) – our leader thought so after I described what I’d seen –
a small pied bird flying low and straight in the sort of habitat it likes…!
 |
| Forest of Dean Xboxrocker84 |
And Coltsfoot flowers, Tortoiseshell
butterflies, a deer, and a lizard and adders seen by others…
 |
| Crossing pylons at Latteridge |
Latteridge: I visted Latteridge, a
hamlet in a little-visited area a few miles north of my house. On an adjacent
hilltop are three large wind turbines, and across the road two lines of pylons
intersect and somehow thread through each other in a way I found quite
hard to understand…
Humble
Plants:
All through autumn and winter, and then into this spring, Red Deadnettle and Ground
Ivy have been abundant and flowered continuously… Their bright foliage and purple-red
and -blue flowers have cheered these months!
 |
| Red Deadnettle Emoke Denes |
‘The beat
goes on’: A recent New Scientist review of a book on the evolutionary sources of
human musicality says that though animals evince strongly rhythmic beats in
their flights or gaits, only strongly social animals, from songbirds and
parrots to elephants and humans, have ‘beat perception’, and apparently we are
the only primate with a sense of rhythm. And language itself might derive from
music…
A colleague said: ‘I’ve
been reading a book called ‘A very short Introduction to the Psychology of
Music’ and one of the question asked is – are non-human
animals musical. Evidentially the skill of listening, moving and making
sounds is shared across a number of lines of animals, the common thing being
how the senses and brain are wired up. But there are two interesting
examples of movement: Snowball, an Eleonora cockatoo could dance in
different tempos to a number of its favourite songs – matching the different
speeds. And for those who appreciate more refined music, apparently Pigeons
and Carp can be trained to recognise the difference between Stravinsky and Bach...’
 |
| Eleonora Cockatoo Elises Muniz |
New
Passage saltmarsh: It was a lovely to see Yellow and White Wagtails,
Wheatears and Little Ringed Plovers all foraging about together in the
saltmarsh grass… And the Yellow Wagtails - what colours – if dandelions were
plumage, that would describe them!
 |
| Yellow Wagtail MPF |
Leisurely
Fox: In our back garden at 7.30 this morning, a handsome fox was giving the whole
area a leisurely inspection, then sat down for a scratch on my newly-sown
spinach bed…
Holly
Blues: A pair of Holly Blue butterflies were on the south-facing ivy fencing
in our back garden, where they always appear each year at this time, the first of the
butterflies…
 |
| Holly Blue Charles J Sharp |
Botany at
Bentham: I went on a botanising day east of Gloucester, starting in the grounds
of an unfeasibly large Greek Orthodox church on the edge of a tiny village,
with a large heathy brownfield site behind. I subsequently learnt this site was of remarkable historico-industrial
interest, yet is unmarked or commemorated. For this was the design and
development site of the Gloster Aircraft Company which did important work in
both the first and second world wars; but more interestingly worked on producing the first successful jet aircraft privately
for the great aviation engineer Frank Whittle at the start of World War II,
when the Ministry of Defense had refused to support his pioneering work!
Now there’s
a new housing estate by the church where the actual factory buildings had stood
– and not a plaque to be seen! (Perhaps because the MoD are embarrassed?...)
 |
| Frank Whittle Imperial War Museum |
Ouch: I wrote to a friend, ‘Some
lucky times birding down on the estuary, I either meet no-one, or meet nice and
helpful people whom I already know, or nice, funny, helpful strangers willing
to share but also interested in my contribution. Other times like today, every
encounter seems to come with its small jellyfish slap-n-sting - generally male
birdwatchers jockeying for position on the 'I know more than you' greasy pole...
I feel well pin- cushioned!’
He replied: ‘That's interesting - I was there on Friday and bumped into a
few people, mostly nice, but a non-birder annoyed me when he asked me what I'd
seen. When I said Little Ringed Plovers and Wheatears, he said he'd never heard of them and actually
YAWNED and wandered off as I was talking! SO rude.’
New Scope: For
years I have put off buying a proper birdwatching telescope - like ‘a real
birdwatcher’ should have - as I so hate carrying heavy gear. Finally I bought a
second hand spotting scope & tripod as light as I could find them, and a
compact canvas bag to carry them. Last week was the first time I took the
whole shebang out to try in the field, as the weather was fine though still with
a freezing east wind to get in the eyes and vibrate the optics; and with a friend
along for morale support. It all worked fine! And it was extremely noticeable how
much more respect I got from other male
birdwatchers! Honestly…
Leitmotif: Our current
resident blackbird’s song leitmotif is the first phrase from The Sweeney’s
theme song – ‘Te Dah da…’
Next scope outing: There was big
wind without rain, so I went to do a ‘sea watch’ (birdwatching to
sea during
storms) at Severn Beach. It was my first solo outing with my new telescope amongst
all the serious twitchers, and I think I didn’t make a fool of myself. I was joined
by an expert colleague who encouraged me to carry on to adjacent New Passage
where some rare migrants were sheltering – Citrine and Channel Wagtails. Other
birdwatchers had spent hours to see just a brief glimpse of these pretty bright-coloured
little birds (who can virtually hide behind a grass blade and like popping up
and down behind earth clods…) but we strolled up and got great views
immediately! Apparently a Citrine Wagtail is considerably rarer than the Temmink’s
Stint we made so much of in January!
 |
| Citrine Wagtail Gary Thoburn |
Sad Fox: On Severn
Beach high street in the middle of the day – a pathetically thin, pallid fox was
just standing on the pavement…
Clever Fox: Yesterday I’d
put chicken carcass remains wrapped in newspaper into our lockable food bin. But
I can’t have closed the lid properly, because this morning I found torn
newspaper wrappings, the bin on its side – and not a scrap of the chicken left…
Nicely and neatly done, Mr/Ms Fox.
Mistle Thrushes: On a large
grassed and treed roundabout on our busy local Ring Road, a pair of Mistle
Thrushes were chasing off a crow with loud churrs… they probably have a nest in
there, protected as if on an island...
My 70th Birthday: It was a
very big one this year: my 70th birthday. I'd spent all the previous
year thinking (& saying) 'I'm nearly 70', but now it's happened it's
actually a bit of a shock - I think my 60s felt like the last bit of middle
age, but the 70s definitely feels like the start of Old Age... yikes. Even if
it is all just a number / cultural artifact...
Grooming Fox: Seen from my
loft at 3am this morning - a fox lying down in the middle of the road, having a
little groom…
May
 |
| Brown Argus Charles J Sharp |
Walton Common
Invertebrates: I went on an afternoon’s Invertebrate study on Walton
Common with our best inverts expert. I saw a Large Red Damselfly - the earliest
damselflies to fly each year; a Hairy
Dragonfly - the earliest dragonflies to fly each year; a Brown Argus butterfly –
my first – with strong deep brown and bright orange upper wings, and underside like
the Common Blue’s ‘fairy dress’. And got a better understanding and recognition
of a range of insects families and species… including the ticks which infested
the place and were found in every scoop of the catching nets…
Young
Starlings: Young Starlings were racketing across our back gardens…
Stoke Lodge Spring
snippets: In the grounds of Stoke Lodge - a Song Thrush having a bath in a car
park puddle… two pairs of Mistle Thrush… and more racketing groups of young Starlings…
Geology round
Charfield: A geology walk round the gentle landscape of Charfield, a few miles
north of Bristol, held such wonders as:
 |
| Basalt lava & Celestine from Charfield area |
- A field full of nodules of bladed crystal Celestine (strontium sulphate)
- the mineral that gives fireworks their brightest red, and now is an important
catalyst in sugar beet extraction. For a while this modest area produced 90% of the
world’s supplies…!
- The tiny disused Cullimore quarry, dug for roadstone from its Silurian
basalt lava, from flows dating back 430 million years. With a hot-spot volcanic
origin in the Cotswolds, this was the furthest the liquid lava reached…
… Oh Britain, ever full of surprises!
Fox Noises: Looking from
my loft windows before 4am, I could see three foxes in the front road area with
a pulled-over bin, and two in the back gardens. They made the most extraordinary
and unlikely noises: a crooning keening which I think has been waking me and
recently made me ask house-members if anyone had been whistling plaintive tunes
at 4am…; and a screaming so like a seagull’s that I had to visually check it
was foxes not birds…
Wild: I have
Common Vetch self-seeded in my back garden! – a first for this lovely wild
flower with its small single brilliant magenta flowers…
Abundance: An abundance
of birds at New Passage - 90 Shelduck including an apparent 'lek' of
about twenty
mainly males, posturing and facing up to each other..., two Coot
families with four chicks each, Lapwings calling, display-flying and fighting
off a crow, about sixty Starlings including many young - one youngster begging for and receiving food
like a ‘real’ fledgling though generally Starlings seem to fledge straight into
noisy, independent adolescence… A female Hairy Dragonfly ‘sunbathing’ on the hedgerow
by the pools, its upper wing edges reflecting the sun with a brilliant shine...
and Orange-tip and and Peacock butterflies…
 |
| Hairy Dragonfly Airwolfhound |
And at nearby Severn Beach – my first Swifts of the year…
 |
| Sanderling Paul Bowerman |
(*Previously
in the UK I’ve only seen Sanderlings on very clean sand beaches with little or
no human activity – on the Gower and South Coast – hurrying along in that
endearing rather anxious way - and rarely over the last few years… so this was
a great treat!)
Fighting Shelduck: At Severn
Beach two Shelduck were having an aerial fight, trying to force each other to
the ground… I’ve never seen them fight before, they generally seem a very
placid bird!
 |
| Pied Flycatcher Mark Medcalf |
Quantocks: I girded my loins for the long drive down
to the Quantock Hills for a bird walk with one of our best local naturalists -
and it was so worth it in lovely weather. At last I have seen Pied Flycatchers
- something that has eluded me all these years; and Tree Pipits - another first.
The Quantocks
are a long ridge of ancient red sandstone, oak-wooded round their bases with
moorland on the top and spectacular views down the Bristol Channel, home to red
deer and much other beautiful wildlife. In the woods were Wood Warblers, Blackcaps,
Garden Warbler, the Pied Flycatchers (striking little black and white birds –
but so much smaller than I had thought!), Redstarts, Stock Doves crooning in
background, Nuthatches, Treecreepers, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Green & Great Spotted
Woodpeckers, and Cuckoos flying and calling. On the heath tops, a pair of female
Sparrowhawks put on a thrilling display of aerial fighting; with a Hobby and
Swifts, Stonechats, Whitethroats, Linnets, and Tree Pipits singing & displaying.
We found Common Heath Moth, Longhorn Moth, and Small Heath & Peacock butterflies… and Yellow
Pimpernel, Common Cow-wheat, white Heather and Heath
Milkwort… so many uncommon
and beautiful plants and insects…
 |
| Yellow Pimpernel Mick Lobb |
Bees in Pine: There were many bees busy
high up in next door’s tall pine tree... they are probably collecting resin to make
their wonderful propolis (‘bee glue’),
which they use to seal small gaps in their hives, as a disinfectant, or to
entomb dead creatures there…
‘My Square’: Our bird club asked members
to write a short description of their kilometre squares which they survey annually
for breeding birds and winter birds. This was mine:
‘Part of the ‘Forgotten Landscape’ levels between
Almondsbury & Aust, the M4 & M48 in farmland just east of the tiny
hamlet of Ingst – I have been doing this square since 2016. It’s mainly grazing
meadows crossed with rhines and hedgerows, with stands of trees and a couple of
farms and cottages.
All year round are chiffchaff, skylarks and linnets,
robins, wrens and dunnocks, shelduck and mallards, woodpeckers, buzzards, once
a snipe, a heron. In Spring – blackcap, whitethroat, sedge warblers.
 |
| Ingst |
I was 67 when I started and I’m only 5’ with short
legs and small hands – it’s often been difficult! The little stile bridges get
overgrown with brambles – I have to prune them. The arable field crops grow
taller than me and cover the footpath – and are always soaking first thing in
the morning. A field of bullocks won’t leave me or my clipboard alone – I have
to retreat. And it’s taken me 3 years to find a way to hold and fill in the
form and manage my bins while struggling across frozen or soaking fields –
without losing my only pens - once into a rhine… It’s a relief to get onto the
quiet road I walk for the second transect – and now the day is warming and I
can pull off the waterproofs and extra clothing and just enjoy the birds…’
Our Swifts: Swifts have returned to
their traditional spot over Filton Millennial Park opposite our house, on 23
May - incredibly late as usually they
are here by 8 May. They did a flyover of four birds yesterday, with six circling
this morning. Will they really have time for the full breeding cycle? Will they
leave later?
 |
| Hornet Keith Gallie |
Hornet: At the historic Bristol building
where I take my art classes, I saw a hornet entering a stone wall crevice – my word,
they are BIG!
Extra big: Many plants are growing extra
big & lush this year, including flowering Ribbed Plantain, Hawksbeards, and
Smooth & Prickly Sow Thistle – with massive straight stems on the Prickly
ones…
Brambling? Returning from my survey
square, I saw what could only have been a male Brambling in a hedgerow – yet they
should all have gone north to Scandinavia to breed long before… (locally the
latest seen have been in early April). This is what I reported: ‘From about
3m away: a Chaffinch-appearance bird with pink-orange breast but dark/black
head and back, with white wing-bars/marks. I didn't see the beak properly.
Impression of paleness under, but didn't clearly see a coloured shoulder or
white rump.’ One of our recorders said: ‘They always say that it's a Scandinavian
breeding bird and doesn't NORMALLY breed in the UK; but breeding has
occurred and pairs in breeding plumage are seen. If you are confident of
what you saw, stick with it.’ Not confident, but did stick with it – let’s
see if it becomes a record!
 |
| Brambling Dunpharlain |
 |
| Bank Vole Peter Trimming |
Cute! I was sitting in my car in
an out-of-the-way spot when I caught movement in a nearby flowering elder tree.
But it wasn’t a small bird as I’d thought - but a little brown Bank Vole daintily
eating the elderflowers with its ‘hands’ as though they were the greatest
delicacy! It is hard to imagine a sight prettier or cuter than that - apparently
they love a nice elderflower snack at this time of year…
Rare Plants at Marshfield: Botanising, we walked from
the
churchyard through town and down into deep little Cotswolds valleys below.
I was shown two genuinely rare flowering plants on the limestone slopes: the
Marshfield Pea or Dragon’s Teeth (Tetragonolobus maritimus) – a big patch of
striking, strong flowers, acid yellow going paler; and Long-stalked Cranesbill
(Geranium columbinum) – another abundant patch of lovely bell-shaped
magenta-pink flowers on long slender stems.
 |
| Marshfield Pea Jean Tosti |
 |
| Sharpness Canal by Celuici |
June
 |
| Cinnabar Moth Charles J Sharp |
Cinnabar Moth:
There was an elegant Cinnabar Moth in our conservatory, with its 'bar' markings
clearly visible…
Swifts: In the last two years I
have seen swifts rushing shrilling low down in streets in St Andrews, Severn
Beach, Marshfield and Chepstow. Yet I’ve been following our local swifts
centred on Millennium Green Park in Filton for over 15 years, and never yet
seen them low in the streets around, or seamlessly ducking into roof eaves… so
where they nest still remains a mystery.
Over
that time I have watched their numbers decrease almost every year (they have
remained at between 6 and 8 for the last three years), and this year when they
didn’t arrive till nearly three weeks late I was fully resigned to them not
arriving at all. So it was joyful to see them back on the 23rd May,
and I’ve seen them nearly
every day subsequently (often in recent years they would arrive in early May, but then disappear for days and almost weeks on end…). I shall just continue to enjoy them as much as I can while they continue to grace our local area…
every day subsequently (often in recent years they would arrive in early May, but then disappear for days and almost weeks on end…). I shall just continue to enjoy them as much as I can while they continue to grace our local area…
A friend said, ‘You've hit the
nail on the head! It's like a personal loss to witness the Swift population
decline - something to do with those swift-filled childhood summers I guess, as
if my memories are equally in danger of fading. Every spring I think of the Ted
Hughes poem, but even those lines seem less hopeful and celebratory these days
-
'They’ve made it again,
 |
| Reed Bunting Ken Billington |
Which means the globe’s still working, the
Creation’s
Still waking refreshed, our summer’s
Still all to come'’
 |
| Shelduck ducklings Andrew Morffew |
Spring at Aust Wharf: I could just see twelve
adult Shelduck with a creche of fourteen adorably
spotted ducklings at the far
end of the little tidal creek as it enters the estuary... six Reed Warblers formed
a family group in the reeds… three Whitethroats included a youngster being fed...
ten Meadow Pipits were singing and parachuting… eight Linnets were bathing in a
puddle… and there were three Reed Buntings with one singing, head thrown back in
full bunting-style… More Shelducks flew over calling with odd grunty and
wittering sounds - they are usually so quiet, but apparently call during
courtship… And the salt marsh was studded with Sea Plantain with its lovely
little circlets of light yellow flowers…
 |
| Sea Plantain Derek Harper |
Oxeye Verges: The verges of the M4 motorway
intersection at Almondsbury were covered with incredible sheets of Oxeye daisies, subtly mixed with other flowers…
 |
| Shelduck eggs Roger Culos |
Little things at Aust Wharf: - A Reed Warbler was
singing close to the boardwalk: it was clinging to a reed stem and though I
couldn’t see the bird, I could see the stem shaking to the rhythm of its song!
- A
large creamy-neutral Shelduck eggshell…
- Horseradish
flowering – handsome tall flower spikes that look as though they form a separate
plant…
Little things at Chapel
Farm: I
walked along the Severn Estuary from Chapel Farm on the Welsh
side beyond Magor,
and saw these little things: - Another Shelduck eggshell!
 |
| Dark Roses |
 |
| Cutleaved Cranesbill Fornax |
-
Two cute fox cubs peeking out of a hedge and watching the world go by!
- Abundant
cutleaved cranesbill with intense little magenta flowers… abundant wild roses – many flowering a most beautiful
deep pink…
 |
| Zigzag Clover J C Svenning |
Botany at Wapley Nature
Reserve: On
the south edge of Yate with all its housing estates and bounded by a railway, is
the well-hidden gem of Wapley Nature Reserve.
The
gravelly areas at the entrance by the railway line were sown with a wildflower mix,
with Corncockle with its striking bright
pink/purple
flowers, Corn Marigold & Mignonette, Caper Spurge, Corn
Marigold and Fern-grass... Everywhere along edges were bountiful displays of
Rough & Beaked Hawk’s-beard…
 |
| Yellow Shell Moth |
On
the unspoilt damp sloping limestone meadows beyond the railway were fine
grasses including Timothy, Meadow Fescue, Tall Fescue, Upright Brome, Quaking,
Sweet Vernal and Hair Grass… Common Spotted Orchids leaves showed horizontal spots
looking as if they had been strongly stained with dabs of purple watercolour… At
the top a a steep meadow were the biggest areas of Zigzag Clover I’ve seen by far
– I love this uncommon
clover with its fluorescent Art-Deco-styled pink-&-white
flowers and elegant leaves…
We were shown one discrete area of rare Adder’s
Tongue Fern, those strange plants with a single leaf enclosing a small but
statuesque spore-bearing spike, all in matching bright shiny green
(unsurprisingly their closest relative is Moonwort)… and a patch of Spiny
Restharrow… one area of Saw-wort whose hard dark round buds were palely
latticed… and we looked for the Sneezewort that is there though didn’t find it…
This phenomenon of some unusual plants being abundant but only in a limited
area, is a strange one!
 |
| Adder’s Tongue Fern John Wilson |
We were shown one discrete area of rare Adder’s
We
found the skeletal remains of a Slow-worm… and a Brown Hairstreak butterfly, pretty
Yellow Shell moth, and an Elachista
biatomella moth like a small silky piece of
ermine…
 |
| Meadow Vetchling Sannse |
Not Water Dock…Having been shown Water Dock last year with
its big horizontally-pleated
leaves, I have spent this Spring thinking that young Teasels were a smaller
version (as they too have horizontally pleated leaves…) till the flowers
started to emerge. Oh dear…
 |
| Water Dock Henry Brisse |
Meadow Vetchling: Along the embankment at New
Passage is much lovely clear yellow and green Meadow Vetchling, scrambling
through the long grasses…
Starling chattering: It’s a lovely soothing
noise, like that of bees – the constant background of young starlings
chattering softly to each other…
Oldbury Power Station Spring
bird abundance: Two Shelduck with six well-grown young, two
Tufted Duck with 3 small
young, Green Woodpecker, Swallows, Linnets, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaffs, Sedge
Warbler and Reed Warblers, two Whitethroat families with three or four young
each, and a Bullfinch family with four young…
 |
| Rough Hawksbeard AnRo0002 |
 |
| Tufted Vetch |
‘My Square’ by Des Bowring:
A friend
was one of the first to have his ‘My Square’ piece published in our bird club newsletter,
and he's allowed me reprint it here as I found it so poignant:
‘It’s 6.30am on a Sunday morning and eerily
quiet. I walk to the start of my first transect. A homeless guy carrying a
blanket shuffles past. I feel hopelessly out of place, standing on the street
corner with bins round my neck and clipboard in hand while the world sleeps.
What am I doing here? Then I spot the first Feral Pigeon of the morning and
feel a surge of enthusiasm - bring on the birds! Square ST5974 covers Montpelier,
St Andrews and St Pauls. Habitat is easy to assess - mainly large
and small
gardens - but I also pass railway land, the edge of a park, a tiny school
playing-field and a few allotments so it’s quite diverse. There have been big
changes in the 22 years since I started doing this square. I don’t see or hear
a Greenfinch or Chaffinch these days. Starlings were plentiful in 1997 but I’m
lucky to see any now, just a pair or two in Ashley Road. Worst of all, Swifts
are almost a rarity - gone are the roof-level screaming parties I once took for
granted. On the plus side, Goldfinches twitter and twinkle among the street
trees and Jays and Ravens have moved into the area. Mercifully, House Sparrows
are still doing OK, chirping cheerfully from sprawling privet hedges. The only rarity
I’ve recorded was a Wood Warbler singing in Montpelier Park in 2004. Mammals?
Although my first transect takes me past a Badger sett I only see domestic cat,
Grey Squirrel and once, a pair of Foxes. I end my second transect in City Road.
Putting my bins and clipboard away, I wander home as the city wakes.’
 |
| Footbridge in Montpelier Des Bowring |
I wrote: ‘That is lovely – though I wish it wasn't so sad (having only done mine
for three years, there’s been no time yet to log disappearing species...). I particularly
like the opening with its vivid evocation of a very urban setting with the
homeless man... I expect many of these pieces will have that compelling story
arc - of starting so early, with very different dawn weather, atmosphere,
other-worldly quiet - through to the warming, the lightening, the intrusion of
the everyday world...’
More massive plants: Down the sheltered side
lane at Pilning Wetlands, plant growth has become enormous – there’s a prickly
sow thistle over five feet tall with a stem like a tree trunk, and mighty hedge
parsley and spear thistle…
 |
| Swifts flying Keta |
(* ‘One of the world’s premier aerobatic display teams, the Royal Air Force’s elite team flies Hawk-jets in close-formation and precision displays…’)
 |
| Timothy Grass Blokenearexeter |
Timothy grass: Lovely Timothy grass,
with heads that are both firm and dainty…
First Swim: We had a mini heatwave
so I went for a swim in the River Avon at Sea Mills a couple of miles above its
mouth to the Severn Estuary. Over the last few years I have swum there a few
times at high tide, but always with friends; however this time I felt
sufficiently confident to go it alone, and had my first swim of the year –
lovely, though I could feel the chill of the water still un-warmed beneath the
surface… My friends at home assumed there would be crowds of people because of
the hot weather - but of course there weren’t, not even on this Saturday
afternoon, because it is such a deeply eccentric and potentially dangerous site
if you’re not very sensible...
Young Starlings: There were twenty or
so very young starlings clattering about on our roof and rooflights, and in the
garden with sparrows…
July
Grey Wagtails in town: There were two Grey Wagtails on the roof of the
petrol station on the busy corner of the main Gloucester and Berkeley Roads.
Where had they come from? - possibly the Cran Brook of which an unculverted but
very hidden length runs behind the houses between the lower end of Cranbrook
& Elton Roads… Our bird expert who lives there said, ‘I know of a
breeding pair in the Cran Brook. I think it's in the wall that holds up the
garden from falling into the brook by No 54.’ I walked the block, peering
through gaps in the houses – and seeing subdued traces of a watercourse but
little more…
 |
| Hillend, Rhossili John Duckfield |
Hillend behind Rhossili
Beach, the Gower: The huge dune areas of this spectacular part of South Wales,
had these marvellous flowers in profusion: Pyramidal Orchid, Sea Stock (lovely
furled furry frosted leaves with a spike of lilac-pink 4-petalled flowers), Bloody
Geranium, Vipers Bugloss, bright Hawkweeds, Kidney Vetch & Bird’s-foot
Trefoil, all tangled through with a carpet of dark-pink-striped prostrate Sea
Bindweed… And two Turnstone waders on the four mile length of beach…
 |
| Sea Stock Muffinn |
Bird Lures: A colleague wrote about
the use of recorded bird calls to lure live birds (usually abroard). I replied, ‘Since I first
saw the use of bird calls as lures I felt it was wrong, and thought it showed a
great lack of common empathy not to realise why. It’s as though a man came back
to his family home and walked in to find a big beefy bloke lounging on the
sofa, saying – ‘F**k of mate – this is my gaff now’. To then subsequently realise
it’s just a dummy with a voice recording wouldn’t lessen the initial shock –
and birds will never understand that the call and the threat weren’t real…. And
I think
it's a vicious circle to treat nature like some sort of product, charge lots of
money to get the wrong sort of visitors – and then manipulate nature to conform
to their erroneous expectations...’
Nosy Foxes: A fox in our back lane at 9pm
last night; and another coming right up to back door at 6am this morning to investigate our compost bins…
 |
| Enchanter's Nightshade Ceridwen |
Evocative: Many common – and modest -
wild plants have incredibly evocative names, two of my favourites being Pellitory of the Wall and Enchanter’s Nightshade… (apparently
older herbalists thought the latter was the herb Circe used to turn Odysseus’
shipmates into pigs…!)
Odd Places! Botany can take one to
some odd places! Our group rendezvoused at the large sewage works on the edge
of salt marsh south of Weston-super-Mare, which includes a visitor centre and
has a conservation policy – including encouraging Oystercatchers to nest on its
green roof! There are water vole burrow holes in the rhine banks, and brown
hares are seen…
Avonmouth ‘hedge’: Along the main Severnside road
down to Avonmouth are fantastic eccentric natural ‘hedgerows’, comprising five-foot
tall flowering blue chicory and yellow hedge mustard…
 |
| Mediterranean Gulls Ian Kirk |
Bits at New Passage: Four Shelduck with two young – the parent pairs swimming along the sea edge, whilst the youngsters trotted along the mud beside them! One Mediterranean Gull amongst Black-headed Gulls in a field – this being the first time I have ever identified one on my own – smug! And a Comma butterfly…
Rarities: Recently we’ve had local reports of some very rare bird sightings –a Nightingale on Severnside, a Dotterel, and a Golden
Oriole – birds I never thought to
see here…
 |
| Golden Oriole in Leigh Woods, Bristol Dave Hanks |
The Gully: Down ‘The Gully’, the steep limestone
valley cutting down from the Clifton Downs to the Avon Gorge below – were Yellow-wort, and carpets of wild marjoram studded
with valerian…
 |
| Yellow-wort Cwmhiraeth |
Young Jackdaw: In the back garden today, a young jackdaw was noisily begging and being fed by its parents…
More Oldbury Power Station
abundance…
Walking through Oldbury Power Station and along the Severn downriver to Oldbury, were many lovely sights -
including twenty five Shelduck with thirteen spotted young, a Song Thrush bashing
a snail on the path, a Bullfinch, abundant Meadow Brown and Marbled White
butterflies, and a pretty feather which I correctly identified as Green
Woodpecker - a lucky punt just because of the subtle khaki green colour tinting one half. But in particular I was overwhelmed with the beauty of
the flowering verges, hedgerows and embankments:
- A
field of curled dock, massive flower spikes red to crimson…
- Lushly
coloured embankment meadows displaying a bounty of pea family species – pink
and white clovers and restharrow, yolk-yellow bird’s-foot trefoil, lovely clear
green-&-yellow meadow vetchling still twining through big soft grasses with
the beautiful purple-blue of tufted vetch…
Frothing
clouds of pale yellow lady’s bedstraw and white hedgerow bedstraw. Plumes of
cream meadowsweet…carpets of self-heal…
 |
| Sonchus arvensis Carl Hansen |
- Another
long row of lovely light purple flower plumes – from a distance we thought they
were lush sea asters – but they were creeping thistles!
- Apparently
endless species of the ‘hawk’ tribe (-bits, -beards, -weeds…) and their ilk,
ringing the yellow changes on the ‘dandelion/thistle’ format from the neat and
petite to the big, spiky and rangy…
- The
deep magenta-purple of purple loosestrife flower spikes, some so dense they
outrivalled the pyramid orchids…
- Extensive
hedgerows of flowering blackberries, many of a deep ornamental pink…
- And
all set off by a backdrop of tall frothing white umbels of umbelifera species
and studs of bright purple marsh thistle and knapweed, purple-pink mallow and
willowherb …
 |
| Orchard Pools |
 |
| Asphalt works |
Industrial Raven: There is a firm of asphalt
processors with impressive towering buildings on the edge of industrial Avonmouth.
Today a juvenile Raven was sitting atop the towers, softly cronking… while I
painted below…
Crash: Gardening in the back - a
fluffy young sparrow just crashed into a soft fruit bush beside me…
 |
| Camel Estuary Tony Atkin |
A Cornwall trip
Camel Estuary: Exploring the muddy River
Camel estuary at Wadebridge on the opposite bank from the cycleway – what a
funny scruffy place of semi-industrial and maritime plots, without the exciting
waders I had hoped for! So it seemed extra odd to see a group of Red-legged
Partridges on the salt marsh estuary edge under the A39 bridge over the Camel… I’m
much more used to seeing them on the upland Costwold fields…
Porthilly (south of Rock
opposite Padstow): Sand Martins were nesting in the glacial sediments
atop low cliffs
along the estuary… very long-stemmed scabious atop the cliffettes… Ravens calling…
 |
| Black-tailed Skimmer Charles J Sharp |
Nature Reserve on the River
Amble: a medium-sized
dragonfly, khaki-green eyes, light-green frons, black legs, black pterostigma,
shiny silvery-khaki body and sitting on low vegetation – probably a female
Black-tailed Skimmer…
‘Bouquets’: huge high swathes of
meadowsweet, great willowherb & marsh woundwort… and bright dark-pink candy-striped
field bindweed twining through the ground…
Chapel Amble north of
Wadebridge:
Walking in the warm pouring rain! Bullfinch, yellowhammer singing, linnets,
chaffinches, buzzards on poles…
 |
| The mighty Brahmaputra River... Joli |
Memories: The lane was finished
with those pale blue-grey chippings, lovely in the rain, like our Bristol road always was in my childhood – presumably from igneous Cornish rock
now superseded by more local Mendip limestone... Sheets of clear water sluiced
down the slopes, and the verge edges held the mighty flowing rivers of
childhood imagination – braided Brahmaputras that I would let myself be carried
down…
Casper the Cat: My Cornwall friend’s
neighbour has a large deaf white cat, Casper – notorious for his love of
climbing into vehicles for a snooze without the owners realising… His fur is
long and dense with a pronounced leonine ruff, and the story goes that in
centuries gone by, these cats came from exotic foreign parts with raiding
pirates and then made Cornwall their new home…
 |
| Field Bindweed Paul Glazzard |
Bindweed barriers: Where chain-link fencing
borders a bridge over a small river in Bristol, flowering Hedge Bindweed has
woven itself entirely through, to form an extravagant barrier studded with
large white flowers. Elsewhere I saw the same effect but with the smaller pink-&-white
candy-striped flowers of Field Bindweed…
So many butterflies: A bird walk north of Bristol
– on a hot hot day – and so many butterflies, including Small Tortoiseshell,
Comma, Red Admiral, Peacock, Silver-washed Fritillary, Meadow Brown, Marbled
White and Brimstone…
 |
| Silver-washed Fritillary Gail Hampshire |
Five Ravens: Five Ravens were flying
into and through the large pine next door and putting up the local birds. One was
making that strange high ‘I haven’t got the hang of this cronking’ sound… was
it a young family party? Over the last few years we've definitely had more Raven flyovers
here, but what was unusual was having five - something I'm not used to seeing
anywhere!
A colleague wrote: ‘There
must be nest sites within your area, and the family group is most likely.
On a walk at Hawksbury Upton in August 2016 - there were 29 in one gathering - like
a ribbon!’
 |
| Scarlet Pimpernel Sannse |
Scarlet flowers: It is surprising how few
truly scarlet or crimson wild flowers there are in this country. Pink, purple,
magenta -yes. Scarlet/crimson stems, leaves and berries – yes, showing that
these pigment compounds aren’t apparently that energy-expensive for plants to
produce. But of flowers I can only immediately think of Poppies, Scarlet Pimpernel,
Pheasant’s Eye and Fuschia…
A colleague commented: ‘I think it is to do with the lack of bird
pollinators in N. Europe. In Western North America you have a lot of red tubular
flowers Ipomopsis spp.,
Castilleja spp., Penstemon spp. etc. which are Humming bird pollinated,
in S. America Fuchsia spp., Desfontania, all the hardy
bromeliads with red bracts, Gesnerids etc. In S. Africa Gladiolus spp. and
"Montbretia" etc are Sunbird pollinated.’
Dragonflies: This year I determined to
learn more and better about Odonata (Damsel- and Dragonflies), and was lucky
enough to find a good course (rare as hen’s teeth) quite locally. So I have
just attended a one-day Field Studies Council workshop in Worcester with Sue Rees Evans. It rained so was
all classroom based, meaning we didn't get the
chance to net, hold and inspect a dragonfly in the hand as planned; but it was very good and I learnt a lot. Hopefully I
will now be better at giving the sort of supporting evidence that recorders
want, rather than those things that I find striking...
Moorhen
legs at Gloucester Services: Stopping at the posh Gloucester
Services’ lake area at the
rear, on the way back from the dragonfly course, I
observed two generations of Moorhen young tottering unafraid amongst the
customers’ tables. They all showed their wonderful long green snakeskin legs
with enormously elongated toes - but the youngest’s are darkest green, the
adolescent’s a bright mid-green, and the adults have almost neon hues…
 |
| Moorhen Adrian Pingstone |
Tickenham Odonata: A friend had guided me to an
excellent dragonfly-hunting spot, a lane just off the main road through the
Tickenham levels, with rhines and the little Land Yeo river running through. I
parked at the end of the lane and established a ‘viewing post’ on the arch of one of the
little rhine bridges – picnic chair, field guides, bins, water all to hand, and
sat and watched the many Odonata in comfort! But I realised how little I yet
know… Ruddy Darter dragonflies are only a bit longer than Azure damselflies, while
the Beautiful Demoiselle is much longer than either – and I thought all dragonflies
must be bigger than damselflies! And I have been mistaking female Beautiful and
female Banded Demoiselle for years – now was the time to learn the differences!
I managed to pin down some crucial identifying features, but as usual struggled
with the ‘blue’ damselflies (Azure, Common etc)… they are so small, their ID-ing features miniscule for me now with
poor vision, and they just won’t perch
where I can peer closely at them! But courage, mon brave – onwards!
-
The Land Yeo was full of lovely Pink Water-speedwell…
Train Café: I finished my Tickenham odonata session with fishcakes at a nearby garden centre, which has a whole steam train
and station on its premises converted to café use. I sat in luxury on the plush
old-fashioned train banquettes, little table in front – something I’ve been meaning
to do for years!
New Passage – more youngsters
& families: - One Little Grebe with a minute chick, one juvenile Sparrowhawk
standing on earth bank on skinny long legs, 1 juvenile Moorhen…
- I’ve
been following the fate of a single female Mallard in the Pill who has been
rearing just one duckling – it seemed a precarious situation for them, but the
youngster looks almost adult now so well done them!
- And
one Kingfisher up & down the Pill, calling loudly, then perched on the sluice
ironwork where I could look directly down on it…
- Nice
butterflies - Peacock, Painted Lady, Comma, Green-veined White, Gatekeeper and
Meadow Browns. A male Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly with ‘gripper’ mating
marks on its abdomen…
- Calves: There were two delightfully
decorative little calves with the herd on the salt marsh. One was pure ‘red’
except for white socks on its disproportionately long back legs; the other was
pure donkey brown except for a perfectly symmetrical triangular white forehead
blaze from its poll to its nostrils…
August
 |
| Female Migrant Hawker Christian Fischer |
Frog Pond, Portbury Wharf: Continuing my dragonfly
education, I visited another recommended local dragonfly hot-spot on a nature reserve
by the Severn, to see Emperors over the ponds, and Common & Ruddy Darters
sunbathing on the boardwalks – constantly disturbed by those annoying cyclists,
dog walkers and and parents with
buggies pushing through…
 |
| Ruddy Darter Gail Hampshire |
Arctic Terns: I’d never seen Terns in
this part of the world before (though others do of course) – but a high tide
and powerful southerly winds had a lot
of birds sheltering and hunkered down at Pilning Wetlands… including my first
ever local Terns – eight short-legged birds on the side of the wetlands pools. They
were Arctic Terns that I correctly identified and flagged up, confirmed by
other birders’ photos. I wrote ‘Oh that's fantastic, I feel so proud of myself! I try my best
to give definite IDs, while so often feeling out of my depth and doing so much
on my own... it's
lovely to get it right! And those are the first Terns I
have EVER seen in the west / southwest - sightings for me have always started on
a longitudial ‘midway point, like the Thames at Reading, or down at Poole...’
 |
| Arctic Terns at Pilning P Waug |
Car-camping trip in
Devon:
-
I first visited Stover Country Park,
a large estate near Teignmouth noted for its dragonflies (more of my drive to
improve my Odonata knowledge…). It
comprises lakes and streams, woodland and heathland.
-
I saw my first lovely male Red-eyed Damselfly sitting on water leaves on a
large pool, and my first equally lovely male Emerald Damselfly on a small pool
nearby, Whirlygig beetles whirling. Emperor dragonflies were flying, patrolling
and asserting high in the
surrounding trees…
 |
| Emerald Damselfly Charles J Sharp |
-
There’s a colony of Mandarin Ducks across the main lake, in eclipse or juveniles
but still with ‘spectacle eyes’, in an area of stately Pickerel plants with
blue poker flowers…
-
On the verges of the heathy ‘droves’ were masses of flowering Cornish Heath,
Eyebright and Hawksbeards…
- The River Teign above
Teigngrace:
A Sand Martin colony in the high sandy vertical river banks… A solitary Mandarin
Duck and a Dipper... A chilly swim – the river formed of rainwater straight off
Dartmoor… Banded & Beautiful Demoiselles in profusion...
 |
| Wall Brown Ceridwen |
 |
| Mandarin Duck - juv or eclipse Gail Hampshire |
- Labrador Bay: Just south of Teignmouth
on the coast – the protected reserve for rare Cirl Buntings, but also the first
place I have seen the beautiful and now sadly rare butterflies - Wall Brown (richly
orange and brown with wings bordered with eyes), and Grayling (subtly, ‘barkily’
beautiful, also with many eyes)…
 |
| River Teign David Smith |
 |
| Bar-headed Goose Airwolfhound |
New Passage: The Severn foreshore on a rising tide was full of Dunlins, Turnstone & Ringed Plover… Two Bar-headed Geese were amongst Canada Geese – Bar-heads are the magical geese that can cross high mountains at tremendous altitude, particularly because their blood has special oxygen adaptations... A Kingfisher flashed down from the inland to the tidal Pill. On the salt marsh was a Wheatear, and young Yellow Wagtails foraging amidst the grazing cows – almost into their mouths! They look like young Grey Wagtails but have olive backs, not grey... a Hobby was flying high, looking for dragonflies... and a pair of Peregrines were hunting together, with the lower one putting up Crows…
Wildlife along Tickenham Moor: - Amongst Red Admirals,
Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Ladies and
Small White butterflies - one Painted
Lady must have just emerged, with its colouring so brightly unfaded, and a
beautiful rosy heart and bright patterned buff tips to its forewing underside…
 |
| Painted Lady Fir0002 |
 |
| Male banded Demoiselle Orangeaurochs |
- Migrant
Hawkers were mating on the wing, and Blue-tailed Damsels mating too, Southern
Hawkers patrolling the lane, and Common Darters settling in sunny patches on the tarmac.…
-
One of the larger rhines was a luminous alley of yellow-flowering Fringed
Water-lily…
 |
| Fringed Water Lily Teun Spaans |
Sensing life into death: As I was pruning an
overgrown fuchsia in our back garden that was full of bees, from the moment I
cut a stem it seemed the bees then wouldn’t touch those flowers. There must be
a sense, which I expect all creatures have in some form, that can detect when an
organism passes from life to death… I imagine organisms of all the kingdoms –
plant, animal, fungal etc – pulse with circulating fluids and electrical
impulses that can be ‘seen’ externally and stop immediately on death…
A
colleague pointed out that bees are sensitive to the electrical field of a plant, which must change when
cut, and cease to be attractive…
 |
| Fuchsia & Bee Mike Pennington |
 |
| Grey Plovers John Martin |
High
tide at New Passage: High tide over the salt marsh - two pretty Grey
Plovers stood right by the path, showing the remains of their summer plumage, with
Ringed Plovers and Yellow Wagstails… and a young Peregrine stooped to attack
near ground level – very close to us!
Staying
still! A Southern Hawker dragonfly sat conveniently still for me, so I could
inspect some of its technical identification characteristics – the anti-humeral
‘shoulder straps’, the abdomen patterns of green and blue domes, and the blue
eyes…
Long-tailed
Tits: Seventeen Long-Tailed Tits came one - after another - after another - out
of next door’s big pine tree…
House
Martins: Under the eaves of a large house in inner Bristol, were a group of House
Martin nests - and birds still
feeding their young this late in the year!
Highlights: New Passage highlights
included my first Wigeons of the autumn… a group of Pintails shown to me out at
sea – in eclipse but showing long greyish necks and dainty bills… Teal down in the
creek mud… lots of Blacktailed Godwits
on the sea edge with Knot round their feet… a young Peregrine scaring
everything into the air with its lunges… two Wheatear – amazingly well
camouflaged by their pink-buff fronts against pinky bare earth behind… a young Yellow
Wagtail... Linnets bathing on the edge of the pools... and my first Great White
Egret on this site – or in this country (though
I could easily see them on the Somerset Levels…) – standing magnificently
tall and proud before it was spooked and rose to drop into the little river
next door…
 |
| Great White Egret at Pilning Paul Bowerman |
Abundant Southern Hawker dragonflies,
and five Ruddy Darters with their wings going to gold…
The
virtues of Canada Geese: A colleague put a different spin on my knee-jerk
dislike of Canada Geese coming here in ever-larger numbers. He pointed out that
these big groups can confer natural advantages – especially when rarer geese or
waders see Canadas contentedly settled, they feel safer to come down to
settle themselves…
 |
| Spotted Flycatcher Ron Knight |
But the biggest display was the Yellow Wagtails. There’s a large herd of
cows on the Common that can wander freely over an extensive area, and we passed
through them on our return to the car. Almost every one had a Yellow Wagtail by
its feet or mouth, and some had two or three! - we counted at least thirty, including
many juveniles, but there must have been many many more…
Afterwards we climbed up to the nearby escarpment to meadow uplands east
of Horton, where
more than three hundred House Martins were hunting… We lay on
the grass and let the birds rush across and between us… settling on lengths of
power line, a hundred to two hundred at a go… We stayed for almost an hour, immersing
ourselves in their world with migration on their minds…
 |
| House Martins Juan de Vohnikov |
Southern
Hawkers shopping? As well as seeing many Southern Hawker dragonflies
in predictable spots like the Pilning Wetlands, I’ve been seeing singletons in
more unusual places – for instance, yesterday at a huge edge-of-town shopping mall;
and the day before, one down a bustling inner-city street. Our invertebrates
expert suggested these latter may have been migrating – rather than shopping as
I had postulated…
Back to the Neolithic… A friend wrote that he had been on a weekend
course on the historical ecology of grazed meadows and woodland – ‘a heady mix
of natural history, geology, social history, agriculture, archaeology and
habitat management.’ It must have been fascinating - if people have been
grazing and coppicing since the Neolithic, then these are most ancient practices
that have consistently marked our landscape...
 |
| Magpie Arnstein Ronning |
October
Visiting North
Norfolk:
I and a friend attended a short art course in North Norfolk, but took a cottage
for a week so we could walk, cycle and explore – particularly the north coast
which I had last visited many years before but not traversed much of its length…
- The local stone was a richly iron-banded rusty-ginger
Cretaceous sandstone called Carrstone
or Gingerbread… Sometimes hard and sometimes disintegrating, its eccentricities
made the character of many local
buildings…
 |
| Carrstone Ironimp |
- From our cottage one evening – a view of
hundreds – then thousands - of Jackdaws and Rooks flying north-west to roost…
- Our art ‘plein air’ day was set in the drove
road and rhines of the Norfolk/ Lincolnshire/
Cambridgeshire fens – my first experience of these extraordinary landscapes
– so plain yet so beautiful, and amazingly bird-rich…
- I visited Snettisham, the shingle beach bird reserve forming the south side
of the Wash, with its lengths of ramshackle holiday cottages (unimproved because
of constant flooding risk…). Knot, Pink-footed
& Barnacle Geese on the lakes; yellow-horned poppies
and brilliant tiny
Storks-bill Geranium on the shingle banks….
 |
| Fen landscape by Lois Pryce |
 |
| Snettisham Beach |
- North Norfolk coast path: The rhythm of this landscape is of great depths of saltmarsh (yet often completely covered at high tide) running seawards from the man-made embankments, the sea visible in the distance as just a line of breakers often a mile or more away, glimpsed between the lines of dunes
 |
| Holme-next-the-sea Andy Peacock |
 |
| Black-headed Gull 'nymph' Rob Hargreaves |
But sadly (for me), this coast has been greatly
developed for tourism and flood protection since I first started visiting and
has lost much of its remote scruffy charm…
- Naturalists: As I was walking some of the coast
path south of Wells, I met two naturalists foraging in the salt marsh strand line
left from the recent very high tides, looking for invertebrates. One of them
was an ecologist, Steve, who said he had worked with our expert Bristol entymologist
Ray, twenty five years previously! – and his companion was the North Norfolk
coleoptera county recorder. Ray confirmed that Steve is ‘one of the
very best beetle experts in the country…’ – so I was keeping illustrious
company with those two, who were yet typically kind and helpful…
 |
| Willow Emerald Thomas Bresson |
‘Tick Bird’: In a field at New Passage, Jackdaws were foraging
amongst Jacobs sheep grazing there. One was acting like a Tick Bird – picking off
edible material from around and within a chewing sheep’s mouth, as well as from
its fleece and the ground below. The sheep seemed utterly relaxed and
unconcerned - even when its mouth was closed and the bird actually prised its
lips apart to poke within!
Daytime Fox: Once again, a fox came
right up to our back garden patio – but this time it was 10 in the morning -
much later in the day than usual…
A
bird trip to Kent
 |
| Avocets in flight DeWittehaas |
Day 1: Oare Marshes – 81 hectares of
grazing marsh with freshwater dykes, open water scrapes, reedbed, saltmarsh and
seawall, on the north Kent coast facing the Isle of Sheppey across The Swale.
We concentrated on the modest pools
next to the access road, that yet had a full selection of waders in close view,
including eight Spoonbill standing together with heads tucked, 180 Avocet who took
off to wheel in a magnificent show of flashing white and black, some large
flocks of Lapwing, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Bar- and Black-tailed
Godwit who could be heard ‘muttering’ together, Turnstone, Knot, Ruff,
Sanderling, Dunlin, Snipe, Common and Spotted Redshank, and Greenshank. We
heard Bearded Tit and Cetti’s Warbler in the reed beds, and saw Marsh Harrier and
Swallows
 |
| Dungeness Ed Webster |
beachline and extensive areas of scrub
and gravel extraction pits behind, including the large RSPB
reserve. Our sea watch by the nuclear
power station produced Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Great Crested
Grebe, auks, Mediterranean Gull – and
‘bird of the day’ if not ‘of the trip’ – a close-up juvenile Sabine’s Gull
flying low along the surf line and showing how small it was when sitting in the
waves. Further along at the power station’s warm water outfall ‘Patch’, gulls
fished in a frenzy or gathered in species groups on the beach – including the
extraordinary sight of about a hundred Great Black-backed Gulls all together
with Cormorants (Leader’s factoid: GBB Gulls are only found in the North
Atlantic, unlike many other gull species which have a much more extensive range).
Again we saw a few Swallows – mild weather and plenty of insects probably keeping
them here.
 |
| Sabine's Gull A Reago, C McClaren |
The RSPB reserve has a large circle
of hides overlooking a series of pools surrounded by dunes and
scrubland. Our watches there produced
Greylag and Egyptian Goose; a selection of Ducks including
Pintail, Pochard and Long-tailed; a
Red-throated Diver in close view clearly showing its fine uptilted bill; Common
Tern; Little and Great Crested Grebes; Cattle and Great White Egret; majestic
views of Marsh Harriers - particularly a boldly-patterned female; a Little
Stint in a small woodland pool; a flying flock of forty Stock Dove, and lots of
Cetti’s Warblers. Another birdwatcher surprised a Short-eared Owl literally
outside one of our hides, while in the distance the local one-third scale steam
engine (‘the world’s smallest public railway’) chuffed away…
Day 3: Cliffe Pools Reserve on the
south bank of the Thames estuary below Tilbury, is an extensive area of
semi-industrial gravel extraction lakes and scrubland, with ponies and huge
cranes and ships
visible in the distance. The large lakes held scattered
treasures, including large flocks of Lapwing; Golden Plover, Ruff and Greenshank;
Greylag Goose; many Little Grebe; Pintail and Pochard; a charming flock of Avocet
running to keep closely together as they fed; and Common Gull, Kingfisher,
Green Woodpecker and Marsh Harrier. As we’d seen elsewhere, groups of Starlings
were gathering into larger flocks to perform ‘mini- murmurations’.
 |
| Starlings Andreas Weith |
Magpies
& Sparrows: It’s the time of year when I see magpies performing
extraordinary acrobatics, as they scavenge house gutters and facias for edibles
– hanging upside down, or balancing awkwardly on thin phone wires…
It is also the time when the Sparrow flocks’
winter chorus strikes up – that inimitable dense cheeping ‘wall of sound’
emerging lustily yet tunefully from pavement-side bushes or walls of creepers…
November
 |
| Golden Plover Sylvan Haye |
Golden
Plover at Marshfield: I and a friend walked a lesser-known part of the beautiful ‘Marshfield
triangle’ – upland Cotswold hills north of Bath, farmed in a bird-friendly way
and famous for its Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Quail, Red-legged Partridge and
much more… It was wintery and I was hoping we might see migrating Golden Plover…
And almost immediately we saw great clouds of birds in the sky – the deeper we
looked with our binoculars the more skeins we could see - and then in the field
right by the road we were traversing, scores – no, hundreds of inquisitive long-necked
heads - were poking above the battered winter grasses. These were certainly
Golden Plover – and now more poured down from a skein above, and we could see
that the birds above were all Golden Plover too, stretching far into the
distance. There must have been over a thousand – far more than I have ever seen
together before… And scores of Linnets, Skylarks and Rooks…
 |
| Fieldfare & apples Gail Hampshire |
Oldbury Power Station: The orchards at OPS held the first large group of Winter
Thrushes I have seen this season – about fifty Redwing and Fieldfare busy
amongst the apples – and a family group of six glowing Bullfinches. These are
some of the birdy joys of winter…
Unpopular Berries? I watched a Magpie taking berries from a low-growing pyracantha bush.
It reminded me that though we have both pyracantha and cotoneaster in our
garden, I have rarely seen a bird actually eat them – and even this Magpie didn’t
seem that delighted and soon moved on…
Pigeons at Sea Mills: At Sea Mills on the tidal River Avon below Bristol, a train and a road
bridge cross the little Trym river where it debouches muddily into its bigger
sister. The train bridge in particular with its complex iron lattices, is the favourite
roost of local pigeons who often gather there in large numbers. But today a
Sparrowhawk swooped past, putting up all two hundred residents who fled to the
less welcoming stone road bridge upstream…
 |
| Field Maple leaves Anemone Projectors |
Maples: The Field Maples had dropped their bright
dainty leaves all at once, to fall in a golden pool at their feet…
‘Viz’ goes birding: ‘Viz’ is a fabulously
scatological comic magazine, found on the top shelves of newsagents, and
bringing us shock, idiocy, scathing parody and social comment. It looks like
something the cat dragged in, but has consistently been one of Britain’s
best-selling mags since its inception in a bedroom in 1979, with characters
quoted as widely as Harry Enfield’s. I was surreptitiously scanning the Xmas edition
in a shop just now - and found an ornithological item. The Fat Slags (two
mature Tyneside ladies usually out for a good time) had discovered that birds
need feeding through the winter, and went and bought fat balls at a pound shop.
As they were stringing them up in the garden they got curious about the
ingredients, and found they were full of yummy nuts and seeds. They nibbled a
bit – ‘This is better than Nutribars, Shaz’ – and ended up on the sofa,
scoffing the lot… This is the closest to altruism I’ve seen them practice yet!
Wentwood Forest: We visited Wentwood Forest in
South Wales - 'part of the largest area of ancient woodland in Wales', covering
a long high ridge of old red sandstone rising to a thousand feet beyond the
Severn Estuary. It has many of the rarer birds also seen in the nearby Forest of
Dean upriver, plus some other rarities like Turtle Dove; yet oddly I never saw
it mentioned until recently, and don’t know anyone who has visited or birdwatched
there. Some areas are cleared with lovely acidic regrowth – broom, gorse,
whinberries – and spectacular views up and down the Severn Estuary eastwards, and
to the winding River Usk below a violently steep escarpment to the north-west…
December
 |
| Uphill A P Williams |
Uphill below Weston-super-Mare: At the shore
and river mouth, two Avocets were swimming and looking strangely different from
their wader personas with a boat-like profile almost like a larger Phalarope… A
magnificent Marsh Harrier was putting up the other birds - and even hunting out
to sea which is unusual... A female Redstart on the quarry meadows was being harshly
harassed by a Robin till driven to perch on the sheer quarry face… Then a
startling flash of blue – was ‘just’ a Blue Tit flying onto the rocks next door!
Over fifty Swans camped on a field beyond
the winding river... and a Kingfisher
on the lake bank plunged smartly in and out for fish…
 |
| a very blue - Blue Tit Gary Zambonini |
Rookery Activity: Along the Easter Compton
Road, we noticed that rook nests were already appearing in the rookeries –
whether new or refurbished we didn’t know – with rooks busy around them… A
colleague wrote, ‘Though we think of spring
as the time for birds to nest etc, I'm sure the resident birds do look after
their nesting sites and their mates, and pair bonding seems to go on all
winter. The Mallards on (Bristol’s) Henleaze Lake were copulating last month, Goldcrests
were displaying, and a Long-tailed Duck is displaying to all the Tufted Duck
females... I guess Rooks have to guard their nests from their pilfering
relations too!’
Gabions: Where the lane behind Easter Compton used to cross the M49
into the Dyers Common industrial estate, there are now some very large new
flyovers and tunnels with almost vertical embankments up to 40’ high (you can’t
turn your back on this area for a day without some huge new development appearing…).
These have been finished with gabions with grassed faces – it will be
interesting to see how those mature, plant-&-wildlife-wise…
Aust on Xmas morning: I went down
to the coast very early on Christmas morning, with the
sun just over the
horizon and the day completely still and clear… A male Bullfinch brilliant in
the sun, glowing persimmon…
 |
| Bullfinch Ian Stapp |
Hares: On a Cotswold walk near Marshfield,
in fields full of Red-legged Partridge, Linnets and Corn Buntings, we saw a
pair of hares. It’s been a long time since I last saw these fabulous animals – looking
so much larger and more athletic than rabbits, their imposing tall ears tipped
with black. They were lolloping across the field - having a little lie-down -
having a peer into the road - before disappearing
into the woods…
 |
| Hare B R M Marshall |
 |
| Anglers at New Passage |
END
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