A quest for bluebells

This weekend saw an earnest quest for bluebells in Gloucestershire.  However this was no random sortie...but a perfectly timed military manoeuvre with destination, sturdy footwear, camera gear and refreshments carefully thought out (well the last one was a quick dip into the local CO-OP).  The destination was Lower Woods, near Westonbirt, which is a local wildlife trust reserve...and what a place it is.

There are a number of walks which take you on a circular route.  Ours started by entering a fine unimproved meadow, which supports a great array of interesting plants.  At the moment the two of note are the dainty cuckoo flower (or lady's mantle) and an unusual fern called Adder's Tongue.  The fern is especially picky and can only be found on grassland that is not only very old, but also has not been fertilised and has been traditionally managed.

Flower rich meadow

Cuckoo flower

Adder's tongue fern

The fern is only a couple of inches high, at most, and consists of a single leaf ("frond") - weird eh?

So what about the woodland then...

A bluebell woodland

The woodlands are not only exciting for their bluebells, but as they are ancient woodlands  also play host to a myriad of other woodland species.  My previous blogs show images of some of the flowers that have already been in bloom, but now there are a few more to see.

One spectacular species is the early purple orchid, which can be found as scattered individuals or small groups, where ever the woodland canopy is open enough.

Other notable plants include the uncommon herb paris and the more common yellow archangel.  Where primroses and cowslips are present they combine to form a hybrid called the false oxlip.

 Herb paris

Yellow archangel

False oxlip

An old house sits in the middle of the woodland; at one time there must have been a well tended garden.  Now only an ancient tree stands, along with a tall pear tree.  Next to the house is a large apple tree in full blossom.

Apple blossom

The woodland still provides charcoal from the charcoal burner and bean sticks from suitably straight hazel coppice.  Here are some poles cut this winter and not yet sold:

Coppicing is a practice of managing woodland by repeatedly cutting the hazel understory every few (7 -12) years to produce wood for hurdles, charcoals, bean sticks etc..  It lloks drastic but hass been practiced in the majority of English woodlands for centuries - the hazel grows back just as strong.  The large trees (the "standards") are selectedly left to grow for about 100+ years then felled for timber and replanted.


Here is what an area of open coppice woodland looks like after it has been actively managed - the ground flora loves this, as do a number of butterlies.  Without this practice the woodland becomes dark and the ground flora significantly deminished.

An ancient coppice (ash) stool

All in all a successful mission!

North Devon

A couple of days away allowed us to take in a number of wonderful landscapes: mega sand-dunes, huge beaches, bird breeding cliffs and island life (i.e. Lundy), plus woodland and moorland - what a county!

A north Devon beach

The beach always brings back childhood memories, but also opens up the opportunity to see some cracking wildlife.  The sand dunes at Braunton Burrows, for instance, are part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve and display the dynamic nature of this habitat in a stunning way...and some of the dunes are HUGE!  Somehow its always burning hot when we visit, so the place takes on a slightly arabian desert adventure feel.


Not much is flowering at the moment but the field pansies are a treat...

 Field pansy (taken 2009)

I also spotted the rather curious (and edible when cooked) morrel fungus, which is one of the more noticable spring "toadstools", although this ascomycete is very different from the traditional image of a fungus:

Morrel fungus

On our perambulations along the cliff tops around Baggy Point, the bramble, gorse and bracken form corridors in places either side of the path - these seem to be attractive to  the small copper.  This rather beautiful butterfly is one of the species who's adults emerge now from a pupa, rather than over wintering as an adult, hence their colours are quite brilliant.  Here's a rather blurred picture of one:

small copper

The cliffs also support blotches of pink thrift and white sea campion - only just now coming into flower.

Thrift and sea campion

The vast sandy, beaches are very popular thorugh out the summer months and the big rollers bring in surfers by the dozen.  However at this time of the year during the week, not so many visitors are around, and hence it is possible to see some wildlife such as waders that would otherwise probably be disturbed.

 Whimbrels

 Surfers

The grassland fringe around the coast can be very rich in wild flowers.   This little lot below was on a carpark verge!  Primroses and violets jossle with early-purple orchids.

Wall flowers

Inland Devon takes on  a very different character, though no less special.  Soft rolling fields separated by rich hedgerows, give way to the rugged Exmoor in the north and Dartmoor in the south. This view is looking south towards Exmoor:

Looking out towards Exmoor

To be honest it rains quite a lot in Devon.  Our trip to Lundy did enable us to see razorbills, guillemots, manx shearwaters, kittwakes and other gulls, loads of wonderful wheatears, a black rabbit, my first swift of the year, a peregrin and a single dolphin.  However the island wore a thick cloud hat and therefore as we walked around, the only way that we knew that the sea was there was the noise of the crashing waves!  Oh well - can't have it all.

Bright sunshine, hard rain, repeat throughout the day...

Another visit to the wonderful Somerset Levels, but spent the day dodging the showers, some rather eccentric people and swarms of mozies

One chap sang arias as he walked around the nature reserve - now I appreciate culture, but this does not help when trying to steathiliy spot stuff.  Another group were certainly enjoying themselves - you could hear them miles away; however in the hide they whispered...where's the logic?  Ho hum.

 Rain...really hard rain

Pathway around a peat cutting lake

Whilst sheltering ina hide the main photo opportunities were birds in flight.  A pair of kingfishers proved to be too challenging, but some other species (basically the big birds) were easier and can be seen below.

Heron in flight

Greylag geese in flight

Cormorants

 Whimbrel

The wetlands support alder carr (wet woodland with alder as the main tree), lots of willows and areas of sedge, rushes and reeds.  The area also supports those ancient species which have not changed much single dinosaurs roamed the earth - namely ferns and horestails.

Unfurling royal ferns

 Horse-tails