DEADNETTLES: 17TH MAY 2024

Posted on May 17, 2024 by pennyphilcox

Deadnetles are nettle lookalikes , evolved to look as though they will deliver a sting, to deter predators. In fact they have no sting and are members of the mint family. Here are three forms that are about right now and easy to identify. The young tips of all three can be cooked a bit like spinach, and are rich in minerals (as are the young tips of stinging nettles, which make a great tonic when drunk as a tea). All Deadnettles have square , hollow stems– you can easily feel the ridges on the stems. Bumblebees are the main pollinators– they land on the lip of the floor and reach for nectar, and as they do so they coincidentally gather pollen on their backs, which they then distribute to subsequent flowers. As with some other flowers like honeysuckle, you can suck the end of a flower and sip the sweet nectar in the base and some short-tongued insects, which can’t reach the nectar through the flower tube, cheat the plant by biting the base and extracting the nectar that way. Bluebells are ‘raided’ the same way. As well as being used as a pot herb, dead nettles were useful for pig swill for the pig many cottage-dwellers raised in their yards (My grandmother raised a pig a year in this way, so supplementing the year’s meals cheaply). White Deadnettles were believed to guard against evil and to treat the “KIng’s Evil’– Scrofula, a terrible form of TB that was so named because it was also believed that the touch of a King could cure it. Figwort was another plant believed to cure Scrofula.

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.