We’re
off to explore another one of Cumbria’s small Nature Reserves
today, Dubwath Silver Meadows, at the northern end of Bassenthwaite
Lake. This is a wetland reserve which has been thoughtfully laid out
with cinder paths and duckboards made from recycled plastic and, as
far as I can tell, it is wheelchair accessible.
We’ll
make a start by walking alongside the hay meadow and around the snipe
bog. Whether we’ll see any snipe or not is debatable as they are
very well camouflaged and have nerves of steel. They’ll keep very
still amongst this tall Tufted Hair Grass and let you pass within a
couple of feet without moving a muscle. You practically have to step
on their tail feathers before they spook, and then they take off like
a rocket. Looking at the wetland flowers in amongst the grass I see
that we have Great Burnet; some species of Woundwort, probably Marsh
Woundwort, which can help promote the healing of wounds (any plant
with wort in it’s name is a traditional healing plant);
and Bird’s Foot Trefoil which
is one of the host plants for the caterpillars of the Wood White
butterfly.
We
also have various thistles, which the Small Tortoiseshells are
enjoying; Meadowsweet, which is attracting the Sun Flies (a type of
Hoverfly) and, sadly once again, the 7-spot Lady Beetle is the only
beetle to be seen. We do however have a bug, a true bug that is,
being a member of the order Hemiptera, rather than the generic use of
the word bug to describe any invertebrate. True bugs, like this
beautifully marked Lygus Bug, have specialised mouthparts, like a
hypodermic needle, which they use for sucking sap from plants.
Females have needles at the
other end as well, which they use for piercing plants and laying eggs
in them. In small numbers they don’t do much harm, but some Lygus
Bugs can become a serious agricultural pest, particularly where you
have very large fields of a single crop and thus, no habitat for
their predators.
I’ve
heard a few vague tweetings, and there’s a buzzard mewing above us
but I see some bird feeders up ahead so, if we stand still and try to
look like tree stumps (difficult in your bright pink anorak, but do
your best), we’ll wait and see who comes along. There’s
a Great Tit on the feeder already and a Blue Tit up in the branches
waiting to come in (the Great Tit is slightly bigger, more boldly
marked and has a black cap as opposed to a pale blue one). Just over
to the left is a Coal Tit, with
a black cap which has a white patch at the back and a greyish chest.
That’s out tits sorted out (behave), but over to the right we also
have a Nuthatch. These
are more closely related to Wrens than to Tits and have a similar
crouching posture. But wait, did you see something move on the ground
beneath the feeder?
There,
just coming out of that tussock of grass, it’s a little Bank Vole.
It looks very mouse-like but it’s tail is quite short and straight,
whereas mouse tails are quite long and often seem to have a life of
their own, quite independent to what the rest of the mouse is doing.
Voles are a big favourite with birds of prey which means that they
are very cautious as a rule but this one has a couple of advantages.
Firstly, the Tits are wary of Birds of Prey too and set up an alarm
call if there are any about, and secondly, birds are such messy
feeders that there are plenty of seeds on the floor so he doesn’t
have to concentrate too
hard on finding his food.
That
was a nice find and it was good to watch the small Passerine birds up
close and personal. I think we’ll just take a seat on this
beautifully carved wooden bench and watch the hay meadow for a bit.
“Excuse
me, but is this seat taken?”
Would
you believe it, there’s a Lizard here, calmly shedding its skin,
without an apparent care in the world. Lovely
habitat for him here, plenty of insects and spiders in the hay
meadow, good
cover with old logs along the verge of the path and a nice warm bench
to bask upon. I one rescued a lizard from a cat in a Cretan taverna.
He spent the entire meal curled up in the cradle of my arm, much to
the amusement of my fellow diners. Lovely little creatures.
Until
next week, when we’ll be walking around Sale Fell, up to our left
there,
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.
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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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