Botany, Bugs and beautiful Birds

In the last weekend in April, I organised a flower walk to try to catch the Bluebells at their best. It was a lovely sunny day . Some highlights of the morning were Lesser Stitchwort in flower, Bluebells by the Reservoir, Bugle and finally a flower I have not noticed before on Cuerden, Cornsalad. In total 44 plants.

Since we also crossed the WI bridge on its 24th birthday we sang "Happy Birthday"

The Bluebells did not disappoint especially when we could enjoy the amazing perfume.

The Bluebells did not disappoint with their amazing perfume. The following weekend was another of the wildlife highlights of spring, our annual Dawn Chorus walk. Starting at 5.00am, We noted Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Garden Warbler, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron with young, Grey Wagtail, Jackdaw, Jay, KingfisherLong Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon and Wren, The two birds that excited me were, a tawny Owl hooting about 50 yards away as we started and a Common Sandpiper at the edge of the reservoir. We completed our walk by nine o clock when most of us went into Cuerden View Cafe for a well earned breakfast. Below is a photo of a Common Sandpiper.

Real Science..Real surprises.

 Spring seems to have slowed down a little. There has been a cold air stream from the north which is keeping the temperatures low. I have had very few moths and butterfly sightings are also low. Thankfully flowers are making steady progress and I was delighted to see my first bluebell in mid-April

Later on that survey of the Park I also noticed Ramsons in a place not noticed before. It has become one of the flavourings of a few of the delights offered in Cuerden View Cafe

                                                    .

We are also noting some of the summer bird migrants around. Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap have been anouncing their arrival to all and sundry. One bird that has been heard, that has not been on Cuerden for several years is called Grasshopper Warbler. It sounds of course just like that insect. Lots of people have heard it, just not me. 😒

April is also the time when newts move back to ponds to breed. This is the best time for surveying to confirm whether or not we till have them on Cuerden Valley Park. The method we now use is an eDNA check. Several samples of the water in the pond are collected and put in a small tube containing ethanol. This is then taken to a nearby forensic laboratory for testing and we wait a few days for the result

           

There is always the unexpected. I attended a function ot the University of Central Lancashire celebrating volunteering, representing the Lancashire Badger Group. The unexpected was that I was declared the Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award. After the event one of the Professors said to me " I want to do what you do when I retire"

 

Then when I went home I checked the post and was even more amazed to see I had an invitation to a Royal Garden Party at Buckhingham Palace. It means I will have to get a new suit. To avoid having to decide which of my two daughters would be my guest, I asked my grand-daughter to accompany me.

I will let you know how I get on.

Spring has sprung

 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.

                                                             

Next day I went to the trail camera to change the batteries and check what, if anything had been photographed. On the way I noted this deer slot. It is from a roe deer.

 

When I checked the SD card later I was thrilled to see our hedgehogs have started to return regularly to our feeders. We do get some woodmice, lots of magpies and the roe deer themselves.

 

That night I put the moth trap out again and while I was out I used my bat detyector to see if tey had also returned. As you may see from the next photo, the answer is YES.

These are Noctule Bats, our largest and earliest to emerge, often before sunset,

The following  morning I had caught more Hebrew Character moths plus Twin Spotted Quaker and Small Quaker

                       

My Back is starting to ease now so I hope to get out and discover more of how Spring is progressing.

 

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.

Despite more rain, I had to get out to avoid the workmen putting in kitchen cupboards and new kitchen sink. I went to collect one of the SD cards from a trail camera on Cuerden. It had a good clip of a fox. Occasionally going out when you don't really want to, has advantages. This photo is a screen capture of that video clip.

Still restricted to weekends on when I can go out, I walked to Cuerden and collected the SD card from Ice House Wood. It was good to see a variety of spring flowers starting to blossom. Fritillary, Wood Anemone and Cowslip all within a small area.

  

 

The following weekend I walked to fill up the hedgehog feeder. When I arrived it had been disturbed see photo below. The brick that was on top had been discarded. I know it was too heavy for any four legged mammal so I suspect homo stulti. It would not be sapiens. I corrected it and re-filled the feeder.

 

 Lots of chiffchaffs singing that Sunday morning and the spring plants continuing to be in flower include Wood Forget-me-Not, Wood Speedwell, and Ivy-leaved Speedwell. The photos show the latter two

The improvements to my home are nearing completion so I may go away for a week to get refreshed

 

  

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.  

 

I was able to have two more days "escaping", one of which I showed a good friend from the Forest of Bowland team where to find more signs of spring. We did notice that the amount of frog spawn was increasing. 

The second day was spent showing a group from one of the local WI's round the Park. We started by having a quick look in our Walled Orchard. and a distant look at Cuerden Hall. It meant that I was able to give a condensed chat about the history of the estate and of Cuerden Valley Park Trust.

Continuing our journey, I  took them past the reservoir to see some waterfowl as well as the Herons starting their nests. By taking them through Dog Kennel Wood, I ensured their walk took in our WI bridge.Their appreciation to me was an excellent lunch in Cuerden View cafe. This is not my photo, but gives a good illustration of their superb menu.

 

 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.          

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

 

I usually start reducing the bird food I put out once spring begins. I checked one of the bird feeders and found after six years it was no longer fit for purpose. I will need to buy a new one in September.

Still on Cuerden Valley Park, we had our first education visit of the year delivering river studies. Our Education officer covers the river geography and I don wellies to help the school children search for river invertibrates. 

     

It was a nice dry day, except for those who forgot they only had short wellies and had the river come over the top of them despite our several warnings. Good job they brought spare dry socks. Lots of Mayfly nymphs and a rather gorgeous Bullhead fish. It's an indicator of a clean river and was returned back to the water once the photo was taken.

 

I decided to walk home and spotted some Butterbur just in flower at the bottom of our Meadow Path.

 

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.

 

I had a good week in the middle of February with a few surprises. At a meeting of the Lancashie Wildlife Trust Speaker Team, I was given a special certificate in recognition of 35 years volunteering for LWT. Only a few of those were on the speaker team. In the afternoon, the Friends of Cuerden Valley Park gave me a Lifetime membership for the work I do for them over the year. Finally when I arrived home, I checked the mail and saw that someone had sent me a Valentine. It is a Leap Year after all.

At the weekend I went to say a sad farewell to one of the Watch Leaders who has felt it right to retire after 30+ years of running the group. It was a great session. She had  asked https://crittersinteractive.co.uk/  to bring some of their animals. There were snakes, stick insects, toads and a slow worm. My favourite was this large frog. 

 

The day after this I went checking round Cuerden valley Park and found Lenten Rose flowering and also  Lungwort. Spring seems to be getting earlier.

     

 A visitor to Cuerden had noticed some bees going to and coming from a tree that had recently been blown down in a storm. She asked if she could contact a bee expert to see what they could do. As a result a lady from the Bee Centre, which is based not too far away came to rescue the bees and take them to a place for TLC and placed in a new hive. We are very grateful for their involvement. I believe caring for creation involves insects as well as cuddly creatures.