Fern unfurled.

After the curiosity on the colour that my unfurling fern photo provoked, I dashed out this evening and took a photo of it unfurled. Here is it in all its green glory! (-: When I said 'a few days ago' in my last post, it must have been quite a few days, maybe last week! I lose track of time! (-:I actually have two of these and this one was easier to photograph as the other one is under our cherry tree. It's a really lovely foliage brown or green!

Unfurling fern

I caught this unfurling fern in the garden a few days ago with the early morning sun on it. There's something very satisfying about seeing these plants shooting.

Wildflower fest at work.

Earlier this year I started a new job part time. At first our office was situated in a portacabin in the grounds of Frome Football Club (not the greatest environment). Then a couple of months ago we moved out of Frome to offices on a farm in the countryside (about 15 mins drive). The great thing about this is that I can now use my 1/2 hour lunch break by walking the country lanes looking at the local wildlife there. I already have a pretty good work bird list going (of course) (-: and there are also some great wildflowers along the lanes. This post is to show some of those flowers.
On the way to work, I can see the Westbury White Horse (in the distance)!Here's a cropped photo to show it more clearly. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the history of this chalk horse, but if you're interested I guess it could be googled!This is my work area, in the afternoon the sun comes right in that window hence the blinds being down in this photo.This is our office area from the outside, we are in the building with the sloping roof with the lovely farmhouse at the end.So, here is one of the lanes that I walk down during my lunch break. As you can see it is so narrow that it is deemed unsuitable for vehicles! Perfect! (-:And so on to the flowers..... this is Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) Common name of Jack by the Hedge. It is an abundant herb of hedgerows and woods. It smells mildly of garlic and has been used in sauces for fish or lamb for centuries. Nowadays it is used as a spring salad ingredient. Its common name alludes to its habit of growing by the side of the hedgerows in Britain. It is the food plant for the caterpillar of the Orange Tip butterfly.Bluebells need no introduction! They are one of the most loved sights in the English countryside.A close up of this beautiful spring wildflower.Red Campion (Silene dioica) Common names...Adder's flower, Robin Hood, Cuckoo flower. In Greek mythology, Silenus, the drunken, merry god of the woodlands, gave his name to this plant. It grows in woods and hedgerows all over Britain. I'm not sure why it is called red when it is so obviously pink!Ramsons (Allium ursinum) Common names...Stink bombs, stinking nanny, londoner's lilies and wild garlic. As the latin name suggests, this is a member of the onion family and has a strong onion smell when walked on. So widespread was it in the past that many places were named after it. Ramsey Island off south west Wales, Ramsbottom in Lancashire, Ramsdell in Hampshire, Ramsden in Essex, Ramsholt in Suffolk and Ramshorn in Staffordshire. Here's a memory shared by a lady during World War two. "Onions were rarer than gold when we were evacuated to Ayrshire in 1940, but this was no problem as we just went up the banks of the river Afton and picked as much Wild Garlic as we wanted."Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula) Common names.... Adder's meat, bloody butchers, goosey ganders, kecklegs, kettle cases and Kite's legs). This reasonably common Orchid can be seen in a variety of habitats including ancient woodland, old banks and chalk downland. Concoctions of this Orchid root used to be given as an aphrodisiac. Robert Turner in Botanologia (1664) wrote that 'enough early purple orchids grew in Cobham Park in Kent to pleasure all the seamen's wives in Rochester' ! The plant was also said to grow beneath the Cross, and the spots on its leaves were drops of blood from Christ when he was crucified. Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea) Common names.....Stinkwort, Wedding cakes, Milkmaids, Brassy buttons, poor mans buttonhole. A familiar wildflower of hedgerows and woodland rides. Apparently in the past, the plant was used to cure stitches in the side and other similar pain.Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) Common name....Weasel snout. A plant of ancient woods and old hedgerows. Supposed to guard against evil spirits and spells. To end this post, here is the sunken lane down which most of these wildflowers were photographed. I feel very lucky to have such a lovely area to walk as a break from work! (-:

Somerset Levels again

Another morning spent on the Somerset Levels (it is one of my favourite local birding spots).
This photo is taken at Shapwick Heath. Shapwick Heath is one of the best places in the country to come to see Hobbies. This charismatic falcon is one of the fastest birds of prey, specialising in taking dragonflies on the wing and also Barn Swallows and House Martins on occasion. At its peak, up to 70 can be seen in the air at a time. As I watched between 20 and 30 Hobbies on this particular day, it brought to mind a WW2 film of the battle of Britain. They looked like they were having dog fights up there! An amazing sight.

This is a path to one of the several hides at the reserve. In the winter, you can sometimes see Marsh Harriers and Bitterns from here. It is also a very good place to see Otters which have made a welcome comeback to the Levels.I was surprised to see both Beautiful and Banded Demoiselles on the wing. It is pretty early to be seeing them. Here is a male Banded Demoiselle with its amazing iridescent blue sheenI think this is a female Beautiful Demoiselle as the wings have a brownish tinge rather than the green of the female Banded Demoiselle.A pair of Southern Damselflies just about to get it together.In the last week or so Common Whitethroats have come in to the country to breed here. They winter down south of the Sahara desert and only stay with us for the summer. Their scratchy song is often sung from the top of a small tree or shrub or during a brief song flight.A Grey Heron making its way across Tadham Moor.Several Mute Swans on a rhyne at Tadham.I just liked the colours in this photo of lily pads in one of the acidic rhynes, again on Tadham Moor.That's all for now from the Somerset Levels.

Up at Mums

Here are a few images from my couple of days up to see Mum in the Cotswolds. First from a short walk along the lane........
A beechwood in spring is one of my favourite sights. The fresh green silky leaves contrasting with the dark trunks and branches is special to me.A spring lamb taking its early morning breakfast.Siblings.......so sweet, I love the pink ears!On the feeders on Mums patio, this male Siskin is still hanging around. It should be off finding somewhere to breed by now I'd have thought!One of my Mum's favourite birds. She has a pair of Collared Doves coming to the patio at the moment.Here are some of the trees and flowers blooming in the garden right now........Crab Apple.

More Crab Apple blossom. If we don't get a frost these trees should be covered in small red apples this autumn.Mum has lots of Cowslips in the garden growing wild. I tried taking some for my garden, but they just seem to disappear. I suppose the soil isn't right for them.Forget me not, kind of a weed, but a very pretty one!Polyanthus, a nice blaze of colour at the front of the house.Down by the river Churn at the bottom of the garden these Marsh Marigolds are in full flower and look wonderful.Here's a close up. I should be going up for another visit later on this coming week, it will be interesting to see what else there is to photograph since this last visit.

Early Spring Bird Survey

The other day I did my third visit for this particular area at Stourhead for the British Trust for Ornithology Bird Atlas. Two visits are made over the winter period and two during the breeding season. The idea is to note all birds seen and heard in a two hour time period while walking a route that will cover as many different habitats in your given area (tetrad). During the breeding season walks, you are also asked to assign possible, probable or definite breeding status by way of various codes as well as whether a bird is on migration.I know this female Wheatear was on migration as it doesn't breed in this area of the country.This Barn Swallow is a possible breeder as it was in an area of suitable habitat for breeding.I pass through some lovely countryside on this walk, but didn't really have time to stop and take loads of photos. The birds and survey take precedence on these walks.I did however, take this shot of the early morning sunlight on these Bluebells. (-:I was able to assign this Great Crested Grebe with definite breeding status as it was showing courtship display with another Grebe.This male Chaffinch was singing in suitable habitat so was put down as a possible breeder.My last survey walk for this area will be just at the beginning of June and so should show up more evidence of breeding I hope. I've really enjoyed doing these surveys around my local area, they certainly make me walk around places that I wouldn't normally go to. I'm sure I'll put my name down for more tetrads in the next couple of years. The survey goes on till 2011.

Sky Watch Friday

I got up one morning earlier this week to go to my local nature reserve on the outskirts of Frome and found this lovely sky sweeping across the reserve.It was amazing seeing the leading edge of this weather front slowly smothering the blue sky ahead of it.The quilt effect is magical I think! Thanks to the team that keep the SWF up and running. For more amazing skies from around the world, click on the icon on the right hand side.Nearly forgot, I promised to include this link to listen to the sound of the Cetti's Warbler. It's not the best or most pure rendition, but gives an idea of this powerful song. http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/cettiswarbler/index.asp