Tag: Dandelions

Posted in nature

More Wonderful Singing

Posted on by BITM

Last Monday lunchtime I got to hear a wonderful song. A Song thrush (Turdus philomelos) was singing loudly from an Oak (Quercus) tree. It’s repeated phrases made it easy to identify even though I couldn’t locate it visually. Their conservation status in the UK is red (see RSPB) so was nice to hear it. I have also seen one in the past but observations of Song thrushes are rare for me.

I haven’t noticed the young Bluetits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in the Rowan (Sorbus) tree for several days now. However while I ate my breakfast on Wednesday I
briefly saw a young Jay (Garrulus glandarius) instead. It didn’t remain for long, perhaps realising that it hadn’t landed on an Oak tree (a favourite of Jays as they love acorns). It was a great sighting; unfortunately in my sleepy state I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo.

The observations for the rest of the week were of insects. On my way to work I saw a Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata).

Plants which their caterpillars feed on are Wood Aven (Geum urbanum), Primrose (Primula vulgaris), dandelions (Taraxacum) and dock (Rumex). I also saw another Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) on my travels. Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) is the main food source for their caterpillars. I often see these wildflowers around this area. I love to learn about plants that are beneficial for wildlife so I can undertake wildlife-friendly weeding. I allow ‘weeds’ to flower, remove seed heads before they set seed and control them via digging to prevent them from taking over a patch. With the exception of a few (which could remain in wild uncultivated areas of a garden) I find wildflowers can complement a border. I read an interesting article about this subject yesterday (see The Guardian).

I recently discovered that the collective noun for a group of Ladybirds is a loveliness. I saw loveliness of Seven spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on a geranium on Tuesday afternoon.

They were a bit pale so it is possible they had only recently emerged; their wings not hardened properly or developed from pink to bright red. At one point I counted 10 and eventually noticed a Green shield bug (Palomena prasina) nymph too.

This wasn’t the only encounter with ladybirds last week. On Thursday a Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) larvae attached itself to my colleague’s t-shirt.

I have started noticing more moths lately, especially different species. I tried to discover the collective noun for moths. I couldn’t find an official word but one suggestion online was a whisper of moths which I like.

Another moth that I saw was a Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba).

Unfortunately it had a slightly damaged wing. It must have been disturbed because it isn’t a day flying moth. It soon sought shelter under the Hebe I photographed it resting on.

Posted in nature

Childhood Memories and Hedgehogs

Posted on by BITM

In a week of much needed rain, I remained dry while waiting for the bus on Thursday. I arrived at the bus stop with plenty of time to spare and began to notice the flowers around my feet.

The most prolific were Daisies (Bellis perennis), Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) and Buttercups (Ranunculus bulbosus). Childhood memories using these in flower based activities came back to me. Buttercups to discover if someone liked butter, Dandelions to tell the time (presumably when we weren’t wearing watches) and Daisies for making daisy chains or discovering if someone loved you (or loved you not).

Daisies remain a favourite flower of mine because seeing them lifts my spirits. Yet the thing I love most about Daisies is that the name means day’s eye (from the Old English dæges-eage) because the petals open up during daylight hours and close as night falls. Even in Welsh they are called llygad y dydd meaning the eye of day. The following photo, taken early in the morning, shows their progress as they open.

Other plants I noticed flowering were;

-Red dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum). This pretty non-stinging plant is good for Garden Tiger (Arctia caja), White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda) and Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) moth caterpillars which feed on it’s leaves, while the flowers are great for Bumblebees (Bombus) and the Red Mason bee (Osmia bicornis).

-Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). The seed pods of this resemble heart shaped purses which contain copper coloured seeds that look like coins.

-Germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys). Speedwells at one time were considered a good luck charm for travellers for ‘speedy’ travel as they are often found along verges.

Initially the last plant I saw was unknown to me. It took some time but I eventually discovered that it is Wild Turnip (Brassica rapa).

Hedgehog Awareness Week took place last week (British Hedgehog Preservation Society). It publicises the continued decline in Hedgehog numbers along with information on how to help reverse this. I decided to learn more about hedgehogs at this time by reading ‘The Hedgehog Handbook’ by Sally Coulthard as I travelled by bus. Each chapter gives a monthly account on what hedgehogs are doing and how to help them.
This is a wonderfully informative book contains lots of useful advice that I can put into practice and I loved reading it.