GRASS SNAKE, HUNTING: 10th May 2024

Posted on May 10, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Grass Snakes are at home in the water as much as on land.The last few, warm days have been ideal for them, helping these cold-blooded animals warm-up and stay warm all day. This Grass Snake, probably the biggest I’ve ever seen, was on the Chesterfield Canal, not far from Drakeholes, where we often see Grass Snakes in summer, basking on the banks or swimming and hunting in the canal. Under one of the bridges, small fish had been active most of the day, splashing and jumping. Lynn saw something swim across so we wandered up to have a look. The snake was holding this position for many minutes, completely still, and disguised by the leafy bank. Holding its head like that for so long shows how strong its muscles are. In the end, it must have decided the fish were too hard to catch so it slipped back onto the bank without disturbing any undergrowth. A great sight. Grass Snakes can survive all year on a dozen frogs, recent research shows, but here they have a lot of varied prey to ensure they survive. Conditions: Very warm, dry few days with a gentle breeze. Temperature: Max 22 Min 12C.

Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler: 6th May 2024

Posted on May 6, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Telling the Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler apart from their song is very easy. The Chiffchaff has the two note song in the rhythm of their name while the Willow Warbler has a lovely falling song (you can listen and watch a really good video that helps tell them apart on the BTO site (British Trust for Ornithology) . But telling them apart visually is harder and once mating and territory-holding is over the songs will slowly disappear. If you get a good view (which gets increasingly hard as the leaves come on the trees) then the easiest way is from the colour of their legs. Willow Warblers are a little paler on their bellies and their legs are paler, often a pale orange-red. The Chiffchaff has darker legs, almost black. I often have a job remember which is which from any two choices (right and left for example!) so I remember the differences of these two beautiful birds by thinking willow warbler white (not white but paler in the two ways I’ve said). Maybe you don’t need this because you are better at remembering than me! Anyway, here’s a couple of images of each. Conditions: A very warm spell, with gentle breezes. Temperature: Max 17 Min C.

Bluebells: 30th April 2024

Posted on April 30, 2024 by pennyphilcox

The first warm day for a while, with the sun shining brightly meant as well as the wonderful colour, a visit to a local Bluebell wood gave us the haunting scent of Bluebells on the air. Bluebells are an ancient woodland species indicator, the Sheffield city Woolley Woods are at least 400 years old. The UK has almost half the world’s population of Bluebells which take a long time to establish. It takes around 7 years from for a single Bluebell to flower and they are easily damaged by walking on the plants, so always avoid that. It is illegal to dig them up or damage them too. Early botanists called the Bluebell ‘Crowtoes’ and they were also called ‘Witches Thimbles’. Witches were supposed to use them in potions and in medieval times that sticky fluid in the stems was used to glue feathers into arrows and tp starch cuffs and ruffs on Tudor collars and shirts. Spanish Bluebells, often growing in gardens and parks, and a threat because they cross-pollinate and produce hybrids but recent research suggests that this may only affect Bluebells on the woodland edges and not further into the depth of a big wood. However many patches of Bluebells in our countryside are smaller. indicating remnant sites of old woodland, along verges and hedgerows for example, and these can be hybridised. Conditions: Breezy, sunny dry day at last. Temperature: Max 17 Min 9C..

Sycamore Tree: 27th April 2024

Posted on April 27, 2024 by pennyphilcox

The Sycamore is not native to Britain and supports less wildlife than many of our native trees, like Oak and Birch but they live for several hundred years and, due to being fast-growing, having masses of very fertile seeds in autumn, and suffering from no major diseases– so far- are very good at colonising both open ground and woodland. Hence they are thriving in many environments, being adaptable as well as resistant to pollution and salty breezes. As other mature trees succumb to disease and pests, they may become the dominant large trees in some areas. In ancient cultures they symbolise resilience, protection and fertility. Their smooth, grey trunks can become fissured and their canopies dense as they age, which means they provide shelter and nesting sites for beetles, ladybirds, small mammals, bats, and some bird-species. The long racemes of flowers are good nectar and pollen sources for bees and other insects. The seeds provide food for birds with strong beaks- like Greenfinch and Goldfinch. And the creamy wood, which doesn’t stain and is fine-grained and easy to work and carve, is valuable for furniture-making, toys, spoons and kitchen vessels. So- Sycamore do have many redeeming features but they can take over gardens, open ground and woodland, crowding out other species so they are best when managed as part of mixed habitats. Conditions: Very chilly breezes, but largely dry. Temperature : Max 10 Min 4 C.

HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEES: 18th April 2024

Posted on April 18, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Male Hairy-footed Flower Bees emerge first in spring– you can hear these diminutive bees buzzing as they speed wildly round the flowers searching for females. Males are of a slighter build than females, and the easiest way to identify them is from the buzzing and the pale patch of hairs that show up on their faces as they whizz round. The females emerge a few days later and both are around now, feeding and looking to mate, though the males tend to try and dive-bomb the females who spend a lot of time speeding off in the opposite direction! Females of these wonderfully named solitary bees are easier to identify. They appear almost entirely black to the eye, with yellow, hairy and often pollen covered front legs. They have very long probosces relative to their size and feed on early, tubular flowers such a Pulmonaria (Lungwort) and Primroses, for which they are significant pollinators. Keep an eye and ear open for these small, buzzy early bees while they are at their most visible. They nest in crumbling mortar, gaps in brickwork and sometimes in the ground. Conditions: Mostly drier weather, though chilly with some frosts. Temperature: Min 2 Max 11C.

BUGLE: 12th April 2024

Posted on April 12, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Bugle is the other creeping plant of damp woodlands and hedgerows that can be seen at this time of the year, forming carpets through the many runners it sends out. I’m covering it now because it is often confused with the Ground Ivy I covered the other day. Both have a similar form in a similar habitat but Bugle has shiny, deep green or purple leaves as opposed to the paler green, softer hair-covered leaves of Ground Ivy. Bugle’s flowers are deep purple compared with the mauve flowers of Ground Ivy and Bugle flowers grow taller on average, in strong, upright spikes. Several cultivated varieties of Bugle, sold by its scientific name Ajuga, are available for gardens and suitable for light shade and ground cover. They are highly sought after by Bumblebees and other insects so are great for a wildlife garden, especially as they flower in early spring. Bugle was used in the past for several herbal remedies and especially prized for staunching bleeding. Conditions: above average temperatures, and a dry spell for once. Temperature: Max 17 Min 9C.

GROUND IVY 7th April 2024

Posted on April 7, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Ground Ivy is not an Ivy at all, it is a relative of mint, in the Deadnettle family. It has a strong scent, some liken to a tomcat but some think is more attractive than that! Just rub any part of this ground-cover plant and make up your own mind. Whatever you think, once you have smelled it you will remember it. It has soft, kidney-shaped leaves and spreads by runners to form low mats in damp areas, hedgerows and meadows. Its Anglo-Saxon name ‘alehoof’ references the way it was used for centuries to provide the bitterness in beer, before hops became available in England. Ground Ivy is high in vitamin C and has been used for hundreds of years to treat coughs and as an expectorant. It is still used as a herbal remedy in the form of a tea. The masses of this early flowering plant provide a great source of nectar for insects, especially bees. Conditions: bright and dry for a day. Temperature: Max 15 Min 11C.

COLTSFOOT: 31s March 2024

Posted on March 31, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Coltsfoot, often mistaken for dandelion, are back out again now. Reminding me of little chimney-sweep brushes they have flatter heads than Dandelion, and mauve-green scaly stems. The flowers also appear well before the big leaves. The buds are reddish-purple ‘ nubs’ (see photos). All in all, they should be easy to tell apart once you get your eye in. Coltsfoot grows on disturbed or damp ground and spreads by underground stems so once you have it in your garden or outdoor space it will spread, though it is fairly easy to limit simply by pulling it up. Pollinated by Hoverflies and Bees they are another good early food for insects. Coltsfoot has been a remedy for coughs for hundreds of years and is still available from many suppliers. Tune in and enjoy this lovely flower and the seedheads, and then notice the big leaves that spring up in a while. Conditions: The drier days are now giving way to rain and showers. Temperature : min 4 Max 12C.

MALE WREN SINGING: 20th March 2024

Posted on March 20, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Wren: It’s the ‘official’ first day of spring, though that may have to change as climate changes the informal arrival of many classic spring features. For me there’s no better audio arrival of spring than the increased territorial outburst of the small Wren’s loud song. Our most common breeding bird, the diminutive Wren is highly territorial and at this time of year, in all sorts of habitats, you can hear its staccato, trilling all, multi-note song. The song is usually repeated over and over again as it flits at fast speed round its chosen territory, singing from various favourite trees and posts, defending it against other males. In urban and noisy districts research has found that this already complex song becomes more complex. It’s worth listening to recordings if you aren’t sure about identifying it because it is one of the easiest to recognise and, this early in spring, there are fewer singing birds to confuse it with. It is also worth listening to its warning call which again is very loud compared with the diminutive size of the bird. Female Wrens do call, a ‘whisper-song’ mainly used to communicate to its young in the nest. Conditions: After two sunny days the rain returns but the mild temperatures continue. Temperature : Min 7- Max 13C.

PRIMROSE: 17th March 2024

Posted on March 17, 2024 by pennyphilcox

It’s the time of year to take a closer look at Primroses again. Our native Primrose is surely one of the most beautiful early spring flowers. My mum’s favourite flower, they have a lovely delicate scent and are useful early flowers for feeding insects like Bees and Butterflies, as well as for the parasitic, bee-mimic, the Bee-fly. If you look carefully there are two forms of the flowers- the Pin-eyed and the Thrum-eyed. Doing a drawing was the easiest way I found to describe why this common flower has two forms. It ensures cross-pollination which is an evolutionary development to strengthen the viability of a plant. Conditions: Still wet many days but yesterday, and this afternoon, the sun at least made an appearance. Temperature: Max 15, Min 9C.