blackbird update

things are coming along nicely in the blackbird nest. However, I think magpie predation may have started even though the nest is right next to our front door. I found a small chick on the ground. It was alive and warm. It was not under a nest, and the nearest nest is the one above. I am fairly sure that a magpie had just snatched it out of the nest and was frightened off when I returned home this morning. I am not absolutely sure it was one of the blackbirds but I have put it back in that nest. Time will tell whether it develops into a duck or a swan.

the pollinator

It is a sorry season for hay fever sufferers. The white smoke just visible in the grass is pollen released as Harriet swept through carrying medium sized branch. She is, of course, still sulking following the shock result of yesterday's over 60's beauty competition (see previous post).

Stoke Climsland Post Office 175 anniversary

well, this is probably the best and most important day of my life, I came FIRST in the over 8 years old class, and Harriet came nowhere (see link for relish). Not quite sure why I didn't win best in show but there you go.

deer view

deer in meadows at Upper Downgate, and, looking the other way, the view of our villages, Stoke Climsland and Venterdon, church and chapel, before the momentous events of 14 June 2014. The white structure in the distance is yet another wind turbine, one of many which are becoming more and more intrusive in this landscape.

more from wimalford

large red damselflies mating (top), a small heath butterfly (middle), and a miniature forest of marsh lousewort growing in the moss overlying some very swampy ground (the lush green gives it away)

wimalford marsh

This is the marsh fritillary, feeding on a spotted heath orchid at Wimalford farm (see link). It is a rare butterfly and is under a lot of pressure because of loss of habitat and possibly climate change. We also spotted a small pearl bordered fritillary (below)

and a chimney sweep moth

two is a surprise

Spot often finds one hedgehog in the garden, and has learnt to leave them alone, but this is the first time we have seen two at the same time. Our garden has become very hedgehog friendly (apart from the occasional unwanted move to another location by Spot) probably because we do not use slug pellets, and there are plenty of wood piles to provide shelter.

rainbow days

 red, green, yellow and blue, everything is appearing

 a tortoiseshell on ragged robin

  a small skipper on campion

 a female beautiful demoiselle (not that she needs to be told)

a yellow crab spider

 

the first common  blue of the year

and brown, black and white too.

fresh speckled wood

trouble

rarities

One of the great pleasures of walking repeatedly through the same places is the gradual accumulation of knowledge of what is in the environment, and learning to notice the subtle differences between seemingly similar things. There is only one place in the parish, as far as I know, where the rare pink variety of wild bugle grows, and this year there is only one flowering stem, but there it is! (With the normal bluer variety shown below for comparison).

we're still here

A pair of blackbirds have decided to nest in the wisteria by the front door. This allows me to get very close without disturbing the female who is sitting (somewhat stoically) on her eggs despite the constant comings and goings, barking and general shenanigans around her. With any luck we should be able to watch events develop.

columbine

wild aquilegia, or columbine in the Tamar valley. Garden varieties tend to have smaller nectar horns and paler colours. The flowers really are this vivid lilac blue. Columbine comes from the latin for dove because the nectar horns are supposed to look like five doves together.

black bryony

this rather magnificent climber is black bryony, the only native member of the yam family. It climbs by curling invariably in a clockwise direction (how does nature do this?). It is much more prominent in the autumn when it is covered in bright berries of varying hues (see bottom photo), but I have never seen it in flower before. I think the reason is that the little 6 petalled green-ish flowers are very inconspicuous.

out at last

Although winter and spring have been exceptionally mild and frost-free some plants have been quite slow to appear.  At long last the orchids have returned to Greenscoombe meadows, despite all the damage done to the surface earlier in the year. The top photo is of the lesser butterfly orchid, which is slender and fragrant, and below is a heath spotted orchid and a southern marsh orchid. These two species hybridise very easily and as a result of this the heath spotted orchids in the meadows are very variable in appearance.

Rowden lane

Rowden lane is marked by the red dashes, and runs from the crossroads at the top of Pound Lane (the entrance is next to the field where it is proposed to site the chicken factory) in a north easterly direction to the road that runs between Pempwell and Goosewell. The brown spot on the path marks approximately where the picture of bluebells was taken.The map indicates that the original route continues across the road towards Trecombe, and is funnel shaped which is probably related to its suggested use as a cattle drove.Only the path between the roads is now a bridal path.

bridle paths

Although the bluebells are past their best in the woods, they continue to flourish in shadier areas like this stretch of Rowden lane, an old cattle droving pathway now used as a bridle path. Buttercups and campion mix in with the bluebells to create some magic.

out with the clouts

The hawthorn is out!

and nothing goes to waste around here, exotic fallen Camelia flower tea

bit of a mouthful

It's in the genes, Spot following in his mother's footsteps (see link).

morning prayers

rabbit at prayers this morning, and this afternoon a visitation by a small flock of goldfinches. Goldfinches form flocks in the winter but are meant to be fiercely competitive  in the breeding season, so it is surprising to see so many at the same time now.

green eyes

orange tip butterfly thoughtfully displaying both sides of its wings. Also on the wing today were peacocks, tortoiseshells, green veined whites, brimstones and damsel flies.

Hi Ho Hi Ho Holiday

It's the best day of the year. The bluebell woods are in full bloom. Two Hungarian vizslas from Rezare are ambling over for a chat. The butterflies and damsel flies are out. The sun is shining. What more could one want.

bit of a stretch

Even by our standards this was a bit of a crowd. The squirrel (who looks very brown for a grey) is the new kid on the block, and the two jackdaws were most displeased and tried to drive him away, whilst the rook and the pigeon looked on.

things we find in the attic

It is little surprise that we seem to have a lot of wasps about in the late summer. There were at least three of these beautifully constructed wasp's nests in our attic. No bats thank goodness. And the martins returned today although after a brief reconnaissance of the old nest site they didn't stay.