May 2010 Archives

My predictions about the Hawthorn ( coming out around Old May Day , the 13th ) were slightly over optimistic : it is only just starting on a couple of trees.
Next week , if the weather holds,  we should have a massive display.

I've been out and about with the camera , so here are a few heartening pics.

The Blackthorn/Sloe :~



Cowslips:~



Crabapple:~

 

Greater Celandine , at the Old Churchyard :~



Not related to the Lesser Celandine, but a sort of cabbage , with a remarkable
vivid yellow sap that looks as though it could be used for painting or dyeing.
Poisonous.
Another Cabbage/Mustard ( there are an awful lot of those and most of them live in Bish ) ,
the Wild Radish :~



Living on the edge of a field of Rape :~




Dandelion : if these were a rare exotic , everyone would have them in the garden.
We have them anyway as our commonest weed , but look again.



Otherwise , the birds are the most obvious Spring sign.
Swifts are back, the Whitethroat curses disapproval from the hedge , and last week I watched a Curlew performing a display flight, trilling all the while, on the Ings near Acaster Malbis.

Just one Kingfisher this week , but I just had a report that they are nesting north of the palace.
No more sightings of the seal reported.

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We have to face the truth that Bishopthorpe is quite unremarkable in terms of its Wildlife ,
and apart from the Ouse itself , the drain along the middle of the Ings really is our most interesting area.
It runs for about 900 yards from the campsite to the Old Bridge .

There are one or two interesting plants, like the Amhibious Bistort and Marsh Marigolds,
Watervoles , and the Amphibians of course.
This week Harblow reported watching Sticklebacks , so I went and investigated :
sure enough,a very brief view , but not as good as this .



He was lucky enough to see some mating behaviour he described as a display " dance " by a brightly-coloured male.
It was probably fanning the eggs in its nest in a scrape on the bottom ,
since the males do all the brooding of the eggs.

I saw Sticklebacks there very clearly some years ago, but at present there is so much scum on the surface that it's very hard to find any clear water to observe.

I worry about threats to this drain : the last 100 yards before the bridge are obviously dead,
presumably poisoned by runoff from the houses above : a couple of big concrete drains enter in this stretch.This section is also heavily shaded .
And now, at the other end , one of the adjacent fields nearer the boatyard has been cleared,
for what reason I don't know yet , just at the point where the watervoles have most often been seen.Too much disturbance here could be bad .

Parts of the drain could perhaps do with a little excavation to improve the flow, since they are completely choked... not that the wildlife minds that much , just adapts to the swamp.
But it needs to be done with great care for the habitat and what little wildlife it does contain.
We don't have much to be proud of here : we must take great care of what little we have .

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Just for fun , a nice pic from John in Stamford Bridge :
This Wood Mouse was attempting to excavate her nest under his back step : ~

May Day Holiday :

The cold wind continues, but Nature will do what it must, regardless.

The tree-blossom is now at its height, and Bish looks at its absolute best right now,
at least when the sun shines.
We have a glorious mix of Native and Ornamental trees , and they all seem to be
flowering at once.
For the first time for years, my Apple and Pear are flowering at the same time.
The Blackthorn is making a fine display, along with the various Wild Cherries.

" May Day " is of course a bit of a moveable Feast , as I remarked last year.
I think it's going to be nearer the end of the month this time before the Hawthorn
really gets going.

I still reckon the season is about three weeks late compared with last year, when on the 2nd of May I made remarks about butterflies, and various plants which are not yet flowering.
The little iridescent green Dock-beetles are however appearing.

One plant success story : our Marsh Marigolds are doing well , flowering now, and I note
three more clumps which have appeared since last year.
There's also a new clump of Damas Violet in the wettest part of the Ings.

BIRDS :
The Whitethroats and Martins are back , though the latter seem in very small numbers.
No signs of Kingfishers, nesting or otherwise .

Sparrows : our traditional House-Sparrows are getting rarer, especially since
the EU rules about storage of grain have restricted their commensal food source.
 
But it's nice to note that Tree-Sparrows seem to be doing well here.
The difference is slight, but the Tree-Sparrow has this clear little mark on the male's cheek:

The House Sparrow is slightly less dapper , and has no mark :


Pics from RSPB
Next time you see sparrows, try and see which you are looking at.

MAMMALS :
 
The big Mammal news is really that  : our Grey Seal has returned, or possibly
been succeeded by another.
Saw him ( for it is I think a bull ) yesterday from the boatyard,and the day before.
Just cruising about like a small drifting pale grey log,with just the top of his nose showing,
then diving for about two minutes before re-appearing downstream.



Seems quite unbothered by human activity , though I doubt the fishermen are very
happy about it, since he must be taking a fair number of big fish .

Friends living on a boat say they have had one or two superb evenings watching bats in
the gloaming , a pleasure I hope to share soon.


RANT.
 Just a little one, but the boatowners who returned like summer visitors a couple of
weekends ago always seem to feel the need to show their virilty ( for they are always a man
of a certain age with power tools , while Mrs.sits in the car looking bored ) by strimming or hacking down the plants on their bit of bank, as if it were their back garden.
 
It isn't : it's a wild riverbank, if ceaselessly shaped by Man.
The plants growing there need a little help, not extermination.

Quite a number of Sallows have been not just pruned, but hacked out this Spring between the Palace and Naburn, and we have this week had our delightful plot of Wild Garlic flattened quite unneccessarily near the boatyard.
I just wish they would direct their murderous intentions towards the Himalayan Balsam....



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