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....
********************************************************************************************************
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....
********************************************************************************************************
You're joking: I love that wild garlic too: senseless things like that make me mad!
There's another example of this sort of thoughtlessness on the riverbank opposite Naburn.
There are a few clumps of Tansy along the riverside and the much-threatened Tansy Beetle is starting to emerge, spending the rest of its life entirely dependant on these plants.
But somebody decided that one of the few well-established patches would be a great place for a bonfire. There's nothing but ash there now.
It seems that every day we lose just a little bit more...