One problem with the Joy of Wildlife series is that they are usually on a Wednesday. This is great for me and the others who venture out with me as we are not seeking paid employment. So what about all those workers who would like to share in our experiences? With this in mind we have held our first Sunday outing.
The weather agreed that it was a good idea and gave us the warmest day of the year in gratitude.
The site we visited was The Hem in Telford, a remnant of ancient woodland that is now being managed by Mark Eccleston (see his website here).
Mark is now into the fifth year of a seven year coppicing cycle. This has opened out the woodland canopy exposing the floor to sunlight. And what a spectacular effect it has had as the woodland flowers have burst into life. Bluebells abound, mixed with stitchwort, wood anemone, yellow archangel (not the garden variety), wood sorrel and much more.
Including an impressive display of marsh marigold
Whilst we can marvel at nature's spectacle Mark has to make a living from the wood! This has resulted in a number of buildings springing up in the area to store wood and as working areas. The following photograph shows his work area with smoking charcoal burners.
And there are piles of logs dotted around the site as he works to clear the felled trees.
OK, enough about the site and its flora its time to look for some insects ....
How can you resist liking this cute little fellow - the springtail Dicyrtoma fusca.
What an amazing little creature this weevil is with its curved elongate rostrum. We lack a weevil expert but my best effort at identifying it is Curculio glandium which is normally found on oak not bluebells. Perhaps it decided to have a holiday in the warm sun.
Even a humble pill millipede looked magnificent in these surroundings.
Basking in the sun on a log close to the pool where the marsh marigolds grew we found a small black ladybird with two large red spots, one on each elytra. This was a kidney-spot ladybird.
In amongst the nettle a red and black bug was spotted - Corizus hyoscyami.
And then a bug that was playing hide and seek. What it did not realise was that its was wider than the grass leaf - Rhopalus subrufus.
And finally ... a mystery object ...
A disc-like fungus about the size of a 50 pence piece found at the foot of an oak tree. The photograph has been sent to our fungus expert who has referred it on to the expert's expert who has suggested that if may be the relatively rarely recorded Pachyella violaceonigra. But he needs to see a specimen to confirm. So its back to the woods to look for a 50p piece in amongst several acres of trees, flowers and leaf litter. Wish us luck.
My thanks to Mark for his guided tour of the site and allowing us to roam freely doing what we enjoy doing. My thanks also to Margaret and Stephen Mitchell, Maria Justamond and David Williams for allowing me to use their excellent photographs.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to comment on this post...