In my previous posting I said I may go away for a short time. This however did not materialise due to my straining my back clearing up after our house improvements. I was able to get out a litte. Lots of spring flowers coming into bloom such as Greater Stitchwort, Garlic Mustard (pictured) lots more Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage and Moschatel.
Friday, April 19, 2024
Spring has sprung
Friday, March 29, 2024
A Queen a query
The renovations continue as do my efforts to get outdoors to stay sane. We are up to the ninth day, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. The Plasterer came round to start his two and a half day contribution. As I was clearing the kitchen, I saw a bee on the window ledge. Not wanting it to be disturbed by stripping wallpaper. I caught it in a pot and took it to a place of safety. It was a queen Buff tailed bee.
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Mayhem, moschatel and lunch with the ladies.
I live in a Housing Association house, and thanks to my landlord we are getting a new kitchen, bathroom and a re-wiring of the house. We are still living there while this happens. It means I sometimes need to stay in, waiting for workmen and sometimes get out of their way when they are doing electrical work. Here is the state of my kitchen after the first two days. You can see why getting out is a neccessity
On one of the first escape efforts I had a look round Cuerden Valley Park on my regular check for the signs of spring. The herons were continuing their nest re-build, still about a dozen Goosanders fishing the reservoir and I found several more groups of primroses on the reservoir wall. Lesser Celandine and Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage were by now in abundance, but I was searching to find another early flower. Moschatel is a very small flower with a green floret usually well hidded under its leaves. After about thirty five minutes, there it was. For me it is the confirmation that spring has arrived.
The following day I went to see if another spring flower had started to bloom. As we set off from the car park we met one of the people who rents an allotment from Cuerden Valley Park. As we chatted he mentioned he was a forager and had found Velvet Shank fungus, not one with which I am familiar. He also said it made excellent soup. We left him and continued our walk passing carpets of crocus and daffodils. It wasn't until we nearly finished our walk that we saw the yellow splash of our prize, Colt's Foot. Nearby was a dead branch with lots of Scarlet Elfcup growing on it. Another satisfying day of escaping the chaos in my house.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Frogs and Feeders; Bullhead and Butterbur
Spring really seems to have got underway. Already I noted Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage in flower and not too far away a frog orgy producing lots of frog spawn
Friday, February 23, 2024
Tyto, Toads and other critters
A colleague mentioned they had seen a Barn Owl emerging from a nearby building. Enthused, I went to see if I could discover any owl pellets. This serves two purposes. First confirmation of the bird's presence and second, examination of the pellets helps us to see what prey the owl has been eating. We found at least three pellets plus the farmer kindly allowed us to have a camera installed temporarily to try to obtain more evidence of the bird. Here is a photo of the pellets. They may look disgusting to some, but remember the owl ejects them from its mouth, not its backside.
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Mammal Checks and moving cameras.
It has been a frustrating couple of weeks with incessant rain and a poorly laptop meaning my blog writing has been curtailed. On the earliest drier day I went away from my local patch on Cuerden Valley Park to check out reports of badger acivity. Some supposed paths were only tracks made by dogs entering a bramble patch in a ditch, and snuffle holes on careful examination, proved to be roe deer slots.
We did find some King Alfred Cakes fungi and some Yellow Brain fungus, so our trip was beneficial.
We returned to Cuerden Valley Park so that I could change the position of one of our trail cameras. During winter I have it over the reservoir to monitor winter visiting birds such as these sleeping wigeon and often a Goosander.
wonderful creatures.
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Bearded Tits, Bitterns and Big Garden Birdwatch.
For the third time this winter some friends and I decided to go to rspb Leighton Moss to search for Bearded Tits, our previous visits having been unsuccessful. The first part of our walk took us past the moth trap which was still in its winter quarters. Scanning the trees there enabled us to note Siskins, Bullfinch, Blue Tits, Robins and a solitary Greenfinch.
We continued towards the Causeway and were pleased to see two Marsh Harriers gracefully hunting over the reeds. Two of us then took a quick look for Sweet Violets near where the Causeway meets the road. They are one of the early flowering plants but not yet visible. I suspect it was a little too early for them. We walked down towards the Public Hide, pausing at the grit trays hoping for Bearded Tit. None arrived while we were looking. A glimpse of a Great White Egret gave us the motivaation to carry on to the hide until I heard the "ping" of a Bearded Tit. Everyone was suddenly quiet listening for more. Then there it was right in front of us. A lifer for many in our group.
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Snow, songs and snowdrops
I have a couple of trail cameras in remote locations on Cuerden to monitor any wildlife that may visit when I am not there. This fox is a regular in one of the woodlands especially as it checks out the rabbit holes. You will see at the bottom right of the photo that the temperature reached -7 C. It is a still photo taken from a video clip.
The day after this we had more snow. The first day I stayed in mainly because I coukdn't get my vehicle out of the road in which I live. I managed to walk onto Cuerden Valley Park with the help of "YakTrax" on the bottom of my boots. I can assure you that though the fox clip was taken in black and white, the photo below of the stone bridge was taken in colour.