Adventures of an Amateur Naturalist

Common name: Mute swan Species name: Cygnus olor   Bird type: waterfowl Origin : Temperate Europe to Western Asia When to see: all year round Description: Adults are large white birds with a long neck, an orange bill with a black base and nob, and black feet. They are territorial during the breeding season but more gregarious during the winter. The cygnets are fluffy and grey, and the juveniles are less fluffy and grey, with patches of white as the adult feathers come through. Their bills are black, only turning orange in adulthood. Mute swans on the North Drove Mute swan juveniles with some adult feathers showing Location: Common. In summer there is often a pair on the North Drove and at least one other on 10-foot. During the winter they congregate in the fields around the End Drove. They also like to gather in field 115 when it's flooded.

It's been a quiet week with little to report. There has been lots of overnight rain, raising the Parish Brook and leaving the water full of silt. The gateways are getting even more treacherous - the soil has a lot of clay which means that when it gets wet it gets slippery. Very slippery. And as people look for alternative paths the grass gets worn away and the area of mud expands. In places the fields are completely waterlogged, and you slosh as you walk across the grass. Basically, it's wet. Muddy gateway between fields 124 and 125 It's also rather mild. So mild that there are plants in flower. The white dead nettle hasn't stopped flowering, I just forgot to mention it in my last post. It normally flowers until December but here it is, still going strong in January. It's around in several places but the largest flowering clump is on the North Drive between the turn-off for the Middle Drove and the barn. White dead nettle in flower More surprisin...

Common name: Hogweed Species name: Heracleum sphondylium Plant type: perennial herb Origin : Europe, central Asia and North Africa Flowering period : June to October Description: Tall umbellifer with white or pinkish flowers . It can reach 2m in height and has hollow, ridged and hairy stems. The flower-heads are large and are popular with insects, particularly flies, hoverflies and common red soldier beetles.  Hogweed in flower Young hogweed plant Flies and hoverflies on hogweed flowers Common red soldier beetles on hogweed flowers Location: common . In the SSSI they can be found in hedgerows, on banks and along the Drove. Possible confusion: there are several other umbellifers that are common. Cow parsley, rough chervil, hedge parsley, and stone parsley are all similar in appearance. I will try and create a comparison chart as they come in flower to show the differences between these species.

Common name: white dead nettle Species name: Lamium album Plant type: perennial herb Origin : Europe and Asia, native to the UK. Flowering period : March to December Description: Very similar to a stinging nettle, but the leaves do not sting and are softer. The flowers are large and white. It grows in patches, mostly in hedgerows and along paths and verges. White dead nettle, 08/01/2020 Location: common . In the SSSI they can be found in hedgerows, by gates, on banks and along the Drove. Possible confusion: stinging nettle and red dead nettles are similar. Stinging nettles are larger, with rougher leaves that sting. Red dead nettles are the same height as white dead nettles but have dark pink flowers.

Welcome to 2020! The walks so far this year have been characterised by mud, lots of it. The gateways to access the fields along the parish brook are well-used and have turned into mires that suck at your wellies and leave them caked in thick, sticky mud. This is an annual problem, usually eased by frosts that turn the earth as proverbially 'hard as iron' yet this winter has been notably lacking in frosts so far. The rain, on the other hand, has been abundant and boggy areas abound in response.  The island (in field 160, just by the drove off West End Lane) has been flooded for at least a couple of months now, though the water appears to be (at least temporarily) subsiding. It was very deep before Christmas with the footpath completely invisible beneath the water. The flooded island on 13/12/2019 Unsurprisingly for the middle of winter the flora is largely dormant. The trees are bare, the hedgerows are bare, the waterways are largely clear, and the fields are doin...

Common name: winter heliotrope Species name: Petasites fragrans Plant type: perennial herb Origin : southern Europe, naturalised in the UK in the early 1800s . Flowering period : winter (November to March) Description: heart-shaped leaves which can grow up to 20cm across . The leaves are evergreen and form dense mats which can crowd out other species. The flower spikes are quite short, reaching no more than 30cm tall, and have clusters of pale pink or mauve flowers which have a strong sweet scent that fills the air . Cluster of winter heliotropes Winter heliotropes Location: common around the south and west of the UK and Ireland. Within the SSSI I have currently only seen them on the middle drove just down from the gateway to field 160. There is a large cluster on the west side and a smaller cluster on the east. I haven't seen any other patches so far (as of 07/01/2020) but I'm keeping my eyes (and nose!) out for more. Location of winter h...