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gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8651
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Fri May 03, 24 9:40 pm Post subject:
In today's short nature reserve walk I saw proper bluebells, violets, half a dozen cock pheasants shouting at each other, gorse in full bloom, and the orange tip (male) butterflies..a whole crowd will mature and start looking for a plain white female...I wonder how many of the females get mistaken for a small cabbage white?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45635
Location: yes

Posted: Fri May 03, 24 10:36 pm Post subject:

a bit like little brown jobbers, many invertebrates do not get named

at least by me, a worm, moth, spider, beetle etc and a description is a start

another aspect is when it got seen
a caddis fly is a caddis fly for a party
dragonflies, umm, most of their time they are aquatic monsters

bees are sneaky, one species can look like several depending on their role

it often takes more than a passing familiarity for me to be able to reliably name most critters for species and gender

does it/might it bite etc I'm often not much better at that either

on the plus side, wildlife is as confused about me

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15649

Posted: Sat May 04, 24 6:55 am Post subject:

I would think the bluebells are at their peak with you at the moment Gz. Some of ours are going over, but a lot are still in flower. The colour has stayed very good this year; a deep purpely blue, rather than fading to a paler blue as usual. We still have celandines, a few wood anemones, violets and rather a lot of wild garlic in flower. There are some early purple orchids too, and a few primroses hanging on.

Must admit I am not very good on insects either. I tend to write down a description of the bumble bees I see in the woods as we have several varieties I think.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8651
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Sat May 04, 24 2:42 pm Post subject:
Saw the first Horse Chestnut tree in bloom today (white flowers not pink)

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45635
Location: yes

Posted: Sat May 04, 24 6:15 pm Post subject:
snuffle explained

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45635
Location: yes

Posted: Sat May 04, 24 10:49 pm Post subject:
climate change and tolerance and that snake needs eating vipers with fat faces are not friendly, death noodles as my canine chums call them

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15649

Posted: Sun May 05, 24 7:51 am Post subject:
The horse chestnuts have been in flower here for at least a couple of weeks. Even here we have differences with height and exposure to cold winds. I see a marked difference going down onto the coastal plain from here where we are higher and further north, Nice they are coming out for you though.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45635
Location: yes

Posted: Sun May 05, 24 10:27 am Post subject:

there are some big ones near here, they seem to be immune to the red death that took a couple here but devastated others around the city

a few of their conkers might not have been put on strings

for a few years i distributed those strains to places near to where the existing ones had died

they might not be diverse hosts like oaks but they do support a variety of wildlife
they often seem to have desirable homes for birds or squizzers

a bit toxic, can be medicinal, the soap things are ace and very multi purpose, gone fishing aint quite legal but it will feed the village if needs be

apart from the two weeks when they make me snuffle etc i rather like them
the pink ones are far more challenging than the pale ones for pollen effect on me, i only plant white ones, does that mean i can join the rest of the rwnj WS crew at their next rally?
i can almost see the placard," wit is rit no pinks "is splendidly open to interpretation

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15649

Posted: Mon May 06, 24 8:34 am Post subject:

The ones round here seem to have escaped so far. There are a load along a road I used to use to go to school when I was a child, and they are still there and producing conkers. I think the pink ones are American buck eye, so not native anyway, even if horse chestnuts are. Not too sure if the white ones are even native but long time introduction. Just looked it up and it seems to have been introduced from the Balkans in the 15th or 16th century. Bees and other insects like the nectar and bees collect the pollen which if I remember rightly is red.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8651
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Mon May 06, 24 9:54 am Post subject:
Quite a few horse chestnuts around here have been dying off

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15649

Posted: Tue May 07, 24 7:28 am Post subject:
At present I think we are all right. Have had leaf miner for years though, so don't expect they are growing as well as they used to do.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8651
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Tue May 07, 24 8:12 am Post subject:
Saw a lot of white flowering horse chestnuts out yesterday..no pink or red

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15649

Posted: Wed May 08, 24 6:45 am Post subject:

I had a quick look at the horse chestnuts I mentioned yesterday as I passed. A few bare trees, but think they may be ash, and they are always late leafing. Others look quite healthy. The flowers are out with us at the moment. I did see one pink one, but that was planted more as a street tree and was somewhere else. The rowan is in flower with us at the moment. Could see and smell it as I walked past.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45635
Location: yes

Posted: Thu May 09, 24 8:20 am Post subject:

the odd weather has had strange effects on timings, late and early seem to be going for at the same time

not ideal for most species, a few seem thriving, quite a few new ones and a lot absent

on a happy note, a 5 min flora survey of 20M of pavement and gutter at the front of the house eyeballed 28 spp, about 23 with names or at least known as not food meds or otherwise useful

about 12 are medicinal, a few are ok as food in specific ways
if it was meadow it would be considered biodiverse

bug news, quite a few, some new ones, locals up and down in numbers

the coaltit is feeding nestlings, the new bracks are settled, sparrows busy

the new huge gulls are eating as much as they can from the pub skip and bin(see rats and return to sender)

it might be the end of an era for rat town quite soon as "matters are being attended to"

if any turn up during any future evictions, they will be returned to their owners

there is wildlife and there is vermin, i like a pub full of wildlife, i have been wildlife

lots of ways to skin vermin, EHO folk are quite good at making hats if they are offered a design

handy knowing where the legal side of things could as well

rat outbreaks are rather upsetting to several spp and to me

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45635
Location: yes

Posted: Fri May 10, 24 8:53 am Post subject:
this gen of birds are getting used to a beardy pap, some are old camera tarts, most have not known clicks and whirrs

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