Signs of Spring?

Well officially, it has been the wettest January in 10 years.  I can confirm that from experience!  On the North Cornish coast, we rarely get snow and are too high above sea level to suffer from flooding.  But there certainly has been lots of rain.  Our streams are surging and high and the ditches are overflowing onto the roads.

When it is wet, we experience very low cloud which means we have to walk through a miasma of damp, drizzly all enveloping rain drops.

Despite all this, nature is beginning her regeneration.

New lambs

Mammals, such as deer and squirrels are becoming more obvious, out looking for mates and visible through the leafless branches.  We have new lambs gambolling in the fields. Birds too are becoming apparent with Nuthatch, Pheasant, Goldcrest appearing and a territorial Robin singing every 100 yards or so.

Invertebrates are beginning to appear too.  During late January I have recorded a Ruby Tiger Moth caterpillar trying to get run over on the road; it was safely returned to the verge.  

Garden Tiger Moth caterpillar

One sunny day there was a Queen German Wasp investigating Ivy and I have rescued two other species from the cold wet weather.  

Queen German Wasp

Queen German Wasp

I found a Common Earwig on our coal bunker and a 7-spot Ladybird on the house wall.  Both are now ensconced on my pop-up butterfly cage which is now serving as a hibernaculum for them and an overwintering chrysalis that I hope will prove to be a Red Admiral when it emerges.

Common Earwig and 7-spot Ladybird

Flowers are also pushing out of the verges, with buds and flowers showing.  Honeysuckle is in bud and in the last days of January a number of plants were in flower; Dandelion, Lesser Celandine, Barren Strawberry, Primrose, Snowdrop, Dog’s Mercury, Alexanders and Daffodils almost ready to pop.

Snowdrops

Honeysuckle buds

Dog's Merucry

Alexanders

There are certainly signs of Spring in North Cornwall

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

The Dark Days of December?

 

As the end of the year fast approaches, the days become increasingly shorter.  There is less time, and less light, so I don’t expect to be able to see much of nature, especially flowers or invertebrates.

I began this blog on the 21st of December; the Winter Solstice which is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Literally, one bright phenomenon to look out for was the so-called Star of Bethlehem, the Great  Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.  In the days leading up to this “once in 400 years” event, early evening cloud prevented it being visible.  We have an excellent dark sky view to our south and west from home but couldn’t beat the clouds.  That is, until the 22nd when the vision was apparent

The rain during these few days meant that even the view from our windows to the feeders was blurred and indistinct.

Saturn and Jupiter

Our daily walks were punctuated with rain, but even when it cleared, there was no much expectation of seeing anything of note.

The farmers had been using this quiet time to trim their hedges and verges, further reducing opportunities as vegetation and any insect population was trimmed back to woody branches.

Neatly trimmed hedgerows

The omni-present Red Campion was seen every day as well as its companion Herb Robert.  We were unprepared for an out of season Field Buttercup but not too surprised to see an early Primrose and a single Lesser Celandine right at the beginning of the month.  The vanilla/marzipan smell of the groups of Winter Heliotrope are a welcome Christmas flower.

Field Buttercup

Primrose

Winter Heliotrope

An advantage of trimmed hedges and verges, is that the hedge bottom is visible and in the gaps, can be seen the fields normally hidden by Cornish Hedges.

Fungi were found in the hedge bottoms but despite the wet damp weather, were not abundant.  Brackets and encrusting fungi could be see as well as a few Candlesnuff fungi (Xylaria hypoxylon) the rare, but spreading Perenniporia ochroleuca as well as Tawny Funnel - Lepista flaccida and my favourite, Cobalt Crust.

https://northcornwallnaturalist.blogspot.com/2020/11/blue-sky-experience.html

Tawny Funnel Cap

Perenniporia ochroleuca

Cobalt Crust

Invertebrates were very few, although any sunshine brought out masses of midges near the stream at Crosswater.  A late German Wasp was seen on Ivy, no doubt seeking a hibernacula.  One Green Shieldbug was also found on an Ivy leaf for three days in a row, before it either succumbed to predation or fell lower down the hedgerow.  We also had a couple of sightings of active 7-spot Ladybirds.

German Wasp

7-spot Ladybird

Green Shieldbug

The views through the hedgerow was welcome allowing us to see a Red Fox crossing a field and a Roe Deer busily eating amongst the Purple Moor Grass until it sensed us.  Two areas on our walk have quite a number of trees and here, on three or four occasions we were rewarded with sightings of Grey Squirrel.  We often see the hoofprints of deer on the paths that cut the hedges and cross the roads, but carrying the correct lens at the right time to get a photograph of a deer itself is more challenging.

Red Fox

Roe Deer

Deer slot

Another advantage was to be able to find abandoned bird nests.  We identified these as Tits, Blackbird and at least four Wrens’ nests.

A Wren's nest

Apart from the permanent presence of Gulls and Corvids, we were rewarded by the sighing of a small flock of Long-tailed Tits, a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other and, at regular intervals along the walk, a singing Robin.

Back home, there are more invertebrates with Winter Moths regularly seeking out our lighted windows and a rain speckled 7-spot Ladybird rescued from the house wall and brought into the garage.

Winter Moth

The last sighting of the year on the 31st was of a Rabbit.  It's good to know that they are surviving Myxomatosis and VHD.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Two Transects

For the first two weeks in July I was on Lundy.  While I was there I undertook two weekly butterfly transects for UKBMS.  I established this transect in 2019 to cover as diverse a selection of habitats as possible on the island.  

From the pond in Millcombe, the route ascends under trees and shrubs to Millcombe House then loops around the gorse covered slopes of Hangman's Hill and back under the trees to the head of the valley.  From here is follows a level route along the edge of the arable farm fields above the bracken covered sea cliffs to the beginning of the Quarries.

Towards the end of the Lundy Transect near Quarry Cottages

By contrast on Tuesday, I completed week 16 of my local butterfly transect - the Tidna Transet.  It begins and ends conveniently at my local, the Bush Inn and continues for half its length following the Tidna through its wooded valley and emerges at the edge of the Atlantic before climbing flowered covered cliff and returns along a Cornish hedged lane to complete the circuit.

Tidna Valley look inland from the Atlantic Clifftop

Both transects are within 20 miles of each other separated only by the Atlantic Ocean and Bristol Channel and cover broadly similar habitats.

I did my first Lundy transect on the 10th July on a really hot day only affected by a stiff North-west breeze although we were shielded from it by the field walls on the eastern side of the island.  Butterflies were recorded in each of the nine sectors with a total of 71 butterflies of seven species seen.  These were Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.  On the second transect on the 15th, the weather was poorer resulting in fewer butterflies and only five species.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Tidna Transect

By contrast, my local transect, on the 21st July was in very hot weather with clear skies and hardly any wind.  Here also, butterflies were recorded in all ten sectors with a total of 155 butterflies of 14 species.  The species recorded were; Large, Small and Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Small Pearl-bordered and Silver-washed Fritillaries, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.

Silver-washed Fritillary - Tidna Transect

With a few exceptions, both transects resulted in very similar species.  It was a little early for Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood is rare on Lundy and the Fritillaries have never been recorded.

A Lundy Grayling

I am jealous of the sighting of the Grayling though.  I have not yet seen one here on the mainland, but continue to be hopeful.

Recommended blogs

Lundy Birds

Mary Atkinson Wild

Bude’s Natural Treasures

          

On 10^th January I had an hour or so to fill in Bude so decided to look around Summerleaze Dunes in winter.

I was pleasantly surprised to see strong, fresh and vigorous growth from masses of Sea Spurge Euphorbia paralias plants.  The skeletal remains of Sea Holly Euryngium maritinum  decorated the bare sand but promised new growth later in the year.

Sea Holly

I was pleased to see that the invasive Hottentot Fig Carpobrotus edulis had been removed except for a few dropped leaves.  These were, nevertheless trying to root so I pulled them up and piled them upside down to die away. 

Hottentot Fig

Among the Spurge and Marram  Ammophila arenaria was a specimen of Rock Samphire Crithmum maritimum previously unreported on these dunes and quite out of season.  I also re-found the small but thriving patch of Sand-hill Screw-moss Syntrichia ruraliformis.

Sea Spurge, Marram Grass and Rock Samphire

Sand-hill Screw-moss

Still having some time left, I wandered towards Petherick’s Mill.  In December Bude Marsh and Valleys Survey Group had a rare sighting of a Water Rail not far from the River Life Café.  I hoped to repeat the sighting so headed there along the path from the canal basin.  As I crossed the small bridge walking towards the river bridge, I looked along the drainage channel towards the bird hide.  I was delighted to see two Water Rails between the reeds and water channel, happily feeding and tolerating each other’s company.

Water Rail

After having my fill of watching these two birds, I walked over the river bridge and spotted a Kingfisher perched in the reeds on the river bank.  My camera battery chose that moment to die.  As I changed batteries, I missed photographing a Little Egret that flew up river under the bridge.  The Kingfisher stayed long enough for me to get a photograph though.

Kingfisher

What a bounty of treasures to be found in an hour in such a small area.

Orchids and Tortoises

Bee Orchid

Southern Marsh Orchid

Every year we count Bee Orchids Ophrys apifera in an unimproved meadow in Bude.  The field is mowed once a year but despite becoming overgrown with rank grasses, it continues to be quite species rich and diverse.

We counted over 30 Bee Orchids and there were also over 80 Southern Marsh Orchids as well as Yellow Rattle, Vetches, Fleabane, Bird’s-foot Trefoil and many other flowering plants.

5-spot Burnet moth

I was supposed to be concentrating on Orchids but could not fail to notice the Sedge Warbler singing for the whole time of the survey.

Walking head down with notebook, pencil and camera in hand I also recorded all the invertebrates that I kept seeing.  This included butterflies and moths – Common Blue, Meadow Brown, 6-spot Burnet and Silver Y Moths.  The Burnet was particularly well represented with adult, larva (caterpillar) and many cocoons on the stems of long grasses.

Fleabane Tortoise Beetle

The best sighting was of something totally new to me; a strange orange and black-spotted beetle that looked like a tiny armoured vehicle.  Within half and hour of posting the image on an insect group in Facebook, I had an identification.  It was something that until then I was unaware of as there are no pictures in my insect book – the aptly named Fleabane Tortoise Beetle Cassida murraea

Spring surprise

Wall butterfly sunning

We took advantage of the forecast of good weather on this May Day Bank Holiday to walk our Cornish cliffs from Stanbury to Sharpnose Point. And what a good decision it was. The range of spring species was both surprising and rewarding.

Sea Campion, Thrift,
Kidney Vetch and Gorse,

Our first reward was to see our first Wall butterflies of the year, followed by mass flowering of Early Purple Orchids, always a confirmation that spring has really arrived. Swallows were planing over the cliff tops with the song of Whitethroats close at hand – again the first of the year and an abundance of coastal spring flowers – Thrift, Kidney Vetch, Sea Campion, Violets and Bird's foot Trefoil.

Stonechats, Linnets and Skylarks were about and I found our first local Gorse Shield Bugs on the abundantly flowering Gorse. Another first of the year was a Small Copper and Spring Squill.

Gorse Shield Bugs in spring colous

The sighting of the morning must go to a mammal though.

We are used to our Long-haired Jack Russell bitch pouncing on grass verges as she images she has found some creature. So, we let her snuffle and root about in the springy cliff-top grass unconcernedly. Until, that is, she flushed out a fox cub. No bigger than a kitten, it fell over its own feet before disappearing into a well used run that vanished into a mass of bramble and gorse.

Spring Squill and
 attendant invertebrates

A pity it was quicker than me and my camera, so no picture this time.

Morwenstow Guided Walks

On Wednesday 1st April, a friend and I walked a 3 mile circular route from Morwenstow Church via wooded valleys, agricultural pasture and the Atlantic cliffs.  We are planning to offer this as a guided walk this year.

Parish church of
St Morwenna and St John

Hawker's Hut

The two and a half hour long, fairly strenuous route takes in spectacular cliffs, Cornish wet woodland habitat with views of the Atlantic ancient manor houses and of course the Reverend Stephen Hawker.

The start of the walk follows a "church path" over stone stiles that connect the Norman and Saxon church with the 14th Century Rectory Farm, the Bush Inn - reputedly 13th Century, Tonacombe Grade I listed early 16th Century and Grade II* listed late 16th Century Stanbury Manor.  It takes in the Hawker's Hut constructed from the timbers of the Alonzo in the 1840s and incidentally Landmark Trust's smallest property with his Vicarage and the Church.

Sharpnose Point

Most of the walk is on level ground with a couple of exceptions.  The Tidna valley near its head and mouth descends almost 100m in height and climbs it again!  But the views are spectacular.  The mile stretch of South West Coast Path gives a view from Trevose Head in the south to Lundy to the North - a panorama of            80km of view in good visibility.

Wood Sorrell

The wooded valleys are full of birds and butterflies in season with floral gems - on this visit a Slime Mould and Wood Sorrell, masses of Saxifrage, Primroses, Celandine and promise of Ramsons. 

Slime Mould - Lycogala sp.

The guided walkers are in for a treat which will be well earned although a shorter totally flat route to the cliffs, Hawker's Hut and Church will be offered for those less capable of such a strenuous walk.

Bude Marsh and Survey Group Visits Tiscott Wood.

Most people hardly notice the wood opposite Tiscott Recycling Centre north of Bude as they speed along the A39.  It is a wooded habitat rare in North Cornwall that we were determined to investigate.  So on the 17th July, we arranged to meet.

With the agreement of

Dept 26 Bude Mountain Bikers Riders, who suspended their use of their circuit in the wood for our visit, nine of us walked from the junction of A39 with Ivyleaf Hill to the Iron Age fortification and back in a long lazy loop covering mixed deciduous and evergreen woods, open glades and rides.  The date was purely fortuitous but on the hottest day of the year so far, we were walking in cool shaded woodland with the occasional sunny glade.

Slime Mould - Leocarpus fragilis

In the narrow dark section close to the A39, we expected little, but were soon noting species:- the delicate flowers of the delightfully named Enchanter's Nightshade and the bright almost luminous yellow of the Slime Mould Leocarpus fragilis, The Common Earthball Scleroderma citrinum and a Robin.

 Common Earthball Scleroderma citrinum

The wood is home to a large number and diverse species of plants, invertebrates and birds.  We were fortunate to see many of each group although the birds were elusive we did hear Chiffchaff and see Firecrest and Willow Warbler. 

Many flowers were recorded, but Oxford Ragwort and Wood Sorrel were particularly notable.

The invertebrates took pride of place with Red Admiral, Green-veined White, Ringlet, Gatekeeper and Speckled Wood noted.  We rolled a few logs to look for invertebrates and were lucky on one occasion to see Julida, or snake millipedes and a pair of Lithobious variegatus centipedes with their distinctive purple banded legs.

Sightings of the day must go to our 5 minutes watching a female Southern Hawker, patrolling a woodland ride who refused to settle and be photographed and later a Golden Ringed Dragonfly.