Long gap since my last entry... been away , and busy.
Some of these observations were made two weeks ago. I shall try to catch up by posting again soon.
North past the Palace , then onto the riveside path that passes under the ringroad.
Many years ago I recall Sandmartins nesting on that stretch of the river : and they still do.
Six or so pairs diligently flying out to catch food then back to the burrows high in the bank.
Thirty years back there were scores of nests : like everything else they are declining , but at
least still with us for the present.
Plants now flowering :
The Meadowsweet : at its height now , this attractive plant is now decorating the Ings
with great swathes of fragrant off-white flowers.
Supposedly used for flavouring Mead in the distant past.....I'm a little dubious about
that tale , but it would certainly work. There is a common misconception that everyone
in the " Middle Ages " drank Mead. They didn't , they drank ale or beer. Anyone who has tried drinking mead in any quantity will find out why pretty quickly........
Tormentil : a low-growing member of the buttercup group.
Marsh stitchwort : dense clumps in a few places:
Bedstraw: another climbing , tangling plant amongst the long grass ,and some
amongst the Cleavers or Goosegrass. This latter is also flowering , tiny white
flowers almost unnoticeable amongst the climbing tendrils.
This is the Bedstraw :
And these the tiny Cleavers flowers :
White Bryony , another very handsome climber:
Medic ; a little ground-covering plant of the Pea family, very abundant in some drier places :
And even the rather tatty looking docks are flowering , but since their flowers
are green they pass unremarked :
And growing on the unyielding concrete of the Old Bridge, the Biting Stonecrop :
Finally , a spectacular plant appearing in some numbers along this end of the cycletrack , just beyond the Old Bridge : the Viper's Bugloss . Fantastically exotic looking , but quite common here :
Insects :
Bees are nesting in a large Beech tree in the Old churchyard : they've been there before ,
but good to see them again.
Another less welcome insect now appearing : the Horse-fly.
These grey , silently approaching biters are now around almost anywhere away from the housing .
They flitter up to any exposed flesh almost undetectably ,settle for a moment , then bite hard. The one we have here is certainly one of the genus Tabanus , but I'm not offering myself to one long enough to catch it intact and find out the species.
The females are in need of a blood meal to make their eggs, and now that we have some cattle about they are becoming noticeable.
Keep an eye out , and if you react badly , wear sleeves .
To add to the joy , the Mosquitoes are with us already .
The open windows in this humid weather let them in , and they have an uncanny knack of whining round one's head in bed within 30 seconds of putting out the light.
They home in on exhaled CO2, apparently.
Since stopping breathing is not an option, bedtime becomes a trial for the next four months
A rather handsome bug on riverside plants : this one , Calcoris stysii , only bites the plants .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I try not to dwell on rarities , and they don't turn up here very often . The common stuff is interesting and often overlooked ... but this time I shall indulge myself.
Last year I found six Bee Orchids down the cycletrack , and have looked several times recently to see if they have returned this year. Lucky the other day ....if you know where the newts live , look for them there .
*************************************************************************************************************
Some of these observations were made two weeks ago. I shall try to catch up by posting again soon.
North past the Palace , then onto the riveside path that passes under the ringroad.
Many years ago I recall Sandmartins nesting on that stretch of the river : and they still do.
Six or so pairs diligently flying out to catch food then back to the burrows high in the bank.
Thirty years back there were scores of nests : like everything else they are declining , but at
least still with us for the present.
Plants now flowering :
The Meadowsweet : at its height now , this attractive plant is now decorating the Ings
with great swathes of fragrant off-white flowers.
Supposedly used for flavouring Mead in the distant past.....I'm a little dubious about
that tale , but it would certainly work. There is a common misconception that everyone
in the " Middle Ages " drank Mead. They didn't , they drank ale or beer. Anyone who has tried drinking mead in any quantity will find out why pretty quickly........
Tormentil : a low-growing member of the buttercup group.
Marsh stitchwort : dense clumps in a few places:
Bedstraw: another climbing , tangling plant amongst the long grass ,and some
amongst the Cleavers or Goosegrass. This latter is also flowering , tiny white
flowers almost unnoticeable amongst the climbing tendrils.
This is the Bedstraw :
And these the tiny Cleavers flowers :
White Bryony , another very handsome climber:
Medic ; a little ground-covering plant of the Pea family, very abundant in some drier places :
And even the rather tatty looking docks are flowering , but since their flowers
are green they pass unremarked :
And growing on the unyielding concrete of the Old Bridge, the Biting Stonecrop :
Finally , a spectacular plant appearing in some numbers along this end of the cycletrack , just beyond the Old Bridge : the Viper's Bugloss . Fantastically exotic looking , but quite common here :
Insects :
Bees are nesting in a large Beech tree in the Old churchyard : they've been there before ,
but good to see them again.
Another less welcome insect now appearing : the Horse-fly.
These grey , silently approaching biters are now around almost anywhere away from the housing .
They flitter up to any exposed flesh almost undetectably ,settle for a moment , then bite hard. The one we have here is certainly one of the genus Tabanus , but I'm not offering myself to one long enough to catch it intact and find out the species.
The females are in need of a blood meal to make their eggs, and now that we have some cattle about they are becoming noticeable.
Keep an eye out , and if you react badly , wear sleeves .
To add to the joy , the Mosquitoes are with us already .
The open windows in this humid weather let them in , and they have an uncanny knack of whining round one's head in bed within 30 seconds of putting out the light.
They home in on exhaled CO2, apparently.
Since stopping breathing is not an option, bedtime becomes a trial for the next four months
A rather handsome bug on riverside plants : this one , Calcoris stysii , only bites the plants .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I try not to dwell on rarities , and they don't turn up here very often . The common stuff is interesting and often overlooked ... but this time I shall indulge myself.
Last year I found six Bee Orchids down the cycletrack , and have looked several times recently to see if they have returned this year. Lucky the other day ....if you know where the newts live , look for them there .
*************************************************************************************************************
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