To
recap: having lived in Crete for the past 16 years, I have now
decided to get the best of both worlds by dividing my time between
Crete and the UK. This has meant buying a property over
here,
to whit, a portion of a 200 year old corn mill, in Cockermouth,
Cumbria. This gives
me
the novelty of living close to my mother and one of my sisters. I’m
not sure what Cockermouth has done to warrant us all descending upon
it as, for the past forty years, we’ve lived as far apart from each
other as possible. As a naturalist, I am as interested in what lies
outside my front door as what lies inside. In this case it is the
River Derwent. It usually lies outside, but
in 2015 it came in through the front door, and in the ‘Great Flood’
of 2009, which put most of Cockermouth under water, it crept over the
windowsills. For that reason we’ll be keeping a close eye on the
river level. At the moment it is running at 1.479 metres, which is
just about within its normal level.
Enough
waffling, let’s go and explore our new playground. There is a
stretch of woodland on our way up to the village of Papcastle with a
helpful roadside sign instructing the red squirrels to slow down.
This is good news for me as I’m not as quick with the camera as I
used to be. No squirrels this morning but plenty of Christmasy
Snowberries. This is a north American plant which was imported into
the UK in the late 19C as an ornamental and has now become widely
naturalized. The native Americans used it as both soap and soup,
oddly enough seeing as it is mildly poisonous, but crushing the
berries between your palms gives you an instant hand lotion.
Once
into the village, which in Roman times rivalled Carlisle in size,
there is a farm track down to the riverside pastures which is full of
interesting stuff. Plenty of Ivy coming into flower, providing a good
winter harvest for birds and insects alike. Particularly these tiny
white flies this morning. I’m pretty sure that these are biting
midges of the Ceratopogonidae family, as opposed to the non-biting
midges
of the Chironomidae family. You
don’t have to stand around getting bitten (or not) to tell them
apart; male non-biting midges have feathery antennae, male biting
midges don’t.
Aha!
A log pile. Let’s see who’s about. The big fellow (1) is a
Roundback Slug of the Arionidae family. Very common slugs that are
difficult to tell apart as their colouration is influenced by their
diet. The smaller chap, sitting
on his head,
(2) is also
a Roundback but part of a subgroup, known as the Fasciatus,
which
have a false keel running down the back. Sandwiched between the two
(3) looks to be a larva of some kind, while up in the top right (4)
is an
Elongate-bodied Springtail of the Tomoceridae family. Although they
have six legs, they are not insects but hexapods. To qualify as an
insect you must have had two pairs of wings at some point in your
ancestry. (There is a section on hexapods – springtails, coneheads
and diplurans in The
Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies).
Here
we are, down by the riverside and I spot a handy seat where we can
sit and watch the river for a bit. Not much in flower at the moment,
the odd bit of Yarrow but,
thankfully, no Himalayan Balsam (see Urban
Oasis).
What we do have though, is a couple of Waxcap fungi which tell us
something about the grass at our feet. This is a habitat known as
Waxcap Grassland, which is declining throughout Europe due to modern
agricultural practices. It
is nutrient poor grazing land – sheep in the case of this one –
which supports fungi biodiversity in general and waxcaps in
particular. This
Pink Waxcap, Porpolomopsis
calyptriformis,
which appears to have been well nibbled, is
vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN red list, so that has to be our
find of the day.
Unfortunately,
the public footpath ends at somebody’s garden gate just along here
which means that we can’t get into the woodlands beyond. I’ll
have to get to know the neighbours! We have, on the opposite bank
(where all birds live), a herd of Mallards, a herd being just one of
many collective nouns for a group of ducks. Flock, team, paddling and
raft being some of the others. But
there is a stranger in the camp, the duck on the extreme right is not
a Mallard but a Goosander, Mergus
merganser,
a sea duck that breeds in Scandinavia but comes down here for some
Cumbrian warmth in the winter. They are piscivorous (fish eating)
ducks and they will often work as a team, forming a semicircle around
the fish and shepherding them into the shallows, where they are
easier to catch.
So,
that’s our first foray into our new hunting grounds and
I’m sure we’ll find many more interesting things in these diverse
habitats as the seasons turn.
Steve's
Books
The
Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies
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.
|
|
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!
|
|
Not
Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels
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.
|
|
*********************************************************************
LINKS:
Share
your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists
(the
facebook page that accompanies this blog)
Explore
the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking
and Nature Map
Cretan
Flora Flowers
of Crete
BIRDS
OF CRETE
Crete
Birding
Greek
Butterflies and Moths
Aquaworld
Aquarium
Visit
Greece (National Government Tourist Office)
