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| The Nature of Kirkbank, Cockermouth, Cumbria, UK |
Here, on the east bank of the River Cocker, sits a woodland wilderness. Cockermouth spreads out all around it, but this bit has never been developed. The reason being that there is only a couple of metres between the river bank and a steep bluff which is totally unsuitable for building upon. There is a small riverside path, wet and muddy, which can be reached by any of three sets of earth steps, held in place by plank and post. So, wellies on, and let’s go and see what we can find down there.
Plenty
of thistles being visited by insects, a stand of Rosebay Willow Herb
away to our left and a nice glimpse of the town through the trees.
Mind how you go, down the steps, and don’t trip over the pheasant.
I mentioned pheasants in passing last week at Muncaster
Castle
but
here are a few interesting pheasant phacts:
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Pheasants and chickens share a common ancestor, the Red Junglefowl of Southeast Asia which is still around today.
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The genera Gallus (which includes chickens) and Phasianus (which includes pheasants), diverged about 20 million years ago.
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The Ring-necked Pheasant is native to Asia and certain parts of south east Europe.
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The last remaining truly wild pheasants in Europe live in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains and the Nestos Forest in Greece.
The
pheasant is an introduced bird and here we have an introduced flower.
This is Himalayan Balsam and it came over to England in 1839,
according to The Open University, along with Giant Hogweed and
Japanese Knotweed. They were relatively cheap ornamental garden
plants, which would have been fine if that’s where they’d stayed.
They didn’t, and now all three are a problem. This one, for
example, grows prolifically on river banks and pushes out the native
plants. Bad enough, but it also dies down in the autumn, leaving
great bare patches of earth which can get washed away when the river
floods. I see that someone has been pulling them out by their roots,
which is all very good, but be careful not to tread on them or you
may get seeds stuck to the bottom of your boots that will undoubtedly
come off next time you’re walking along some other river bank that
doesn’t have them yet.
I
see some rotten branches up there, so let’s go and have a poke
around and see what we can find. There’s
some nice Tripe fungus here growing on this decaying Beech. It likes
Beech and Elm, but sadly, since the spread of Dutch Elm Disease back
in the 1970s,
which wiped out more
than 25 million trees
in
the UK, they are rarely seen these days. The scientific name for this
fungus is Auricularia
(referring
to the ear like shape of members of the genus)
mesenterica,
which is Ancient Greek for middle intestine – hence Tripe Fungus.
Unlike tripe however, it isn’t edible. According to First Nature,
it won’t actually harm you but it’s tough, rubbery and tasteless.
I wonder who had the job of finding that out?
Here
are some more steps, leading back up to the road, but before we
ascend, just take a look at these
pink, bean shaped lumps on the underside of these willow leaves.
These are Willow Bean Galls and they’re produced by a small insect
called a Sawfly. Like many insects with ‘fly’ in their name, they
are not flies at all [Dipterans] but related to ants, bees and wasps
[Hymenopterans]. The
Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies
puts
all these so called flies into their proper places, so that you can
at least begin to identify who’s who. The saw part of their name
refers to the saw-like egg laying tube of the female (called an
ovipositor)
which she uses to saw into the leaf and lay an egg. A
small green, caterpillar-like larva hatches from the egg and starts
to eat the leaf. This stimulates the willow to produce the gall which
feeds the larva and protects the rest of the leaf. All clever stuff.
Now
for these steps. Not so steep as I thought. I think we’ll go back
via the cemetery – always a good place to search for wildlife. Oh
look, another introduced species, a rabbit. We’ll chat about
rabbits at a later date. What with rabbits and pheasants all over the
place I’m beginning to feel hungry. I wonder what herbs would go
best with pheasant, rabbit and wild mushroom pie? I feel a recipe for
Steve's
Wild Kitchen
coming
on.
Until
next time, stay safe and be happy.
Steve.
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All
you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or
snail very simply and find out more about it.
Yvonne:
This
was a gift for a family so that the children can understand what
they see on days out. The second was for me. Logical and easy to
use. If you know anyone who likes nature you can be confident that
gifting this book will give years of pleasure.
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The
Eggs of Saramova
A
science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction.
A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and
it starts right here in Crete).
Too
new for reviews yet!
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A
light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex.
Janet:
If
you are short on time but enjoy reading and are maybe not into
long extended novels then Not Just For... Twisted Women provides
readers with concise stories that stand alone and most certainly
entertain with their ultimate twists. Loved it.
Helen:
A
very good read! Well written and entertaining!
Margaret:
Each
quick tale gives a glimpse into a character's life and has an
often humorous twist at the end. I would love to read more.
Yvonne:
These
days many people find it hard to find the time to read a novel, so
this book of short stories is ideal to dip into. It is also makes
a good gift.
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See
sample pages of all my books and latest blogs, and keep abreast of
latest publications here:
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Crete
Nature Catch-up
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