Shedding Bricks

 

During the years that I spent on Crete, I realise now, that I unintentionally built a wall. On one side of this wall, was myself, nature and a select few members of the human race. The rest of the world, and the 21^st century come to that, was firmly on the other. Since returning to the UK, Ishbel has gradually been dismantling this wall by repeatedly dragging me, kicking and screaming, out of my comfort zone. She achieved a triple at the weekend: a mega-city, a mega-concert, and a mega-store.

The city in question was Manchester, a teeming metropolis of nearly 3 million people. We parked up a couple of miles east of the city centre and I prised my fingers from the edge of the seat. The walk into 'town' along the network of canals was most pleasant, with Geese, Swans, the occasional Moorhen, and even a Grey Wagtail to distract my attention. A little crowded through the gay village, but with a very pleasant vibe.

Our first destination was Clouds, on the 23^rd floor of the Hilton Hotel, for afternoon tea and cocktails (this was part of my Birthday treat). From there, I could see, just what a sprawling mass of humanity I was surrounded by. I looked down to street level – it was less frightening.

And now to the high point of the day. Even I, enochlophobe that I am, was prepared to venture into the 21,000 capacity, AO Arena, for the opportunity of seeing Roger Waters live. For those of you too young to remember, Roger was the co-founder of Pink Floyd, along with the late Roger 'Syd' Barrett. Lost in the music, complete with flying pigs and sheep, I was in seventh heaven. Even the walk back through crowds of revelling Manchester City supporters at midnight wasn't so bad, and Ishbel has nearly recovered the use of her right hand, which I may have been gripping rather too tightly.

And finally.. the mega-store. There was a particular item that Ishbel wished to purchase from IKEA, it was Sunday morning, and I was in need of breakfast, so we ventured into this humungous monstrosity. Ishbel came out empty handed. I for, some reason, emerged with a ladle and a yucca plant. Ah well, another three bricks in the wall come tumbling down.

Steve's Vintage Collectables. (click to visit)

Look out for our tobacconalia special over the next week. And if you haven't got your Dad a prezzie yet for Father's Day on Sunday, you'd best order today to get delivery by Saturday.

Steve's Books (click to visit)

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus and also on Twitter (@Steve's Nature), Facebook (Steve Daniels),and Instagram (Steve Daniels Cumbria)

Or why not join the 2,594 members of our Naturalists group?

All the best,

Steve

England Coast Path - Flimby to Workington

 

Last week we walked the King Charles III England Coast Path from Maryport to Flimby. This week, I thought we'd continue along the path from Flimby to Workington. It's a beautiful sunny day for strolling by the Solway and everything is bursting into bloom. Eight new flowers this week including a few of my old favourites from my time in Crete, the Yellow-horned Poppy, Kidney Vetch and European Searocket.

The butterflies and moths are taking full advantage of nature's largesse. Look for the little yellow/green packets attached to grass stalks. These are the chrysalises of the Burnet Moth, a black day flying moth with red spots (not to be confused with the Cinnabar Moth which is a black day flying moth with red spots and stripes, like this one here). There's a Small Tortoiseshell over there. Their caterpillars feed on nettles but I haven't seen any this year, have you? We saw some Common Blues last week and today there are quite a few Small Blues about. They're unmistakably smaller and grey/black with white borders. Finally some Large Skippers. Skippers have a family all to themselves, the Hesperiidae.

The Lepidoptera are not the only ones taking advantage of the flowers, so are the bees. However the bee over there on the Bloody Cranesbill is an imposter. It's actually a hover fly doing a very good impression of a bumble bee. Flies only have one pair of wings, whereas all other winged insects have two pairs. This is not always easy to see, neither is the fact that flies have compound eyes and bees don't. I find that the easiest way to tell a bee from a fly mimic is to look at the antennae. All flies have very short antennae, whereas a bee's antennae are much more robust.

The path dips down onto the shore here, so let's see who's about in the bird world. A nice flight of Sanderlings for a start, and further out, a flight of Black-headed Gulls. Last week I introduced you to the Passerines, perching birds, including the Stonechats, Linnets and Starlings that we've just left behind us. This week, I'll introduce you to the Charadriiformes, or shorebirds. This group includes nearly all of the small to medium/large birds that you see around our coasts, including the Sanderlings and Gulls as well as the Ringed Plover and Dunlin that are pootling about in the shallows here.

One of the great bonuses of the Cumbrian section of the England Coast Path, is that the west coast railway line follows the same course. This means that we don't have to walk all the way back. We can hop on the train at Workington and admire the scenery from a different vantage point on our way back to Flimby. Meanwhile, there's a nice pile of rocks ahead where we can sit and rest awhile. We'll be sharing them with a number of mobile red dots, which, on closer inspection, are a group of mites (I think these are Whirligig mites). Although mites have eight legs, they are not spiders. On the whole, these are harmless little arachnids, although the Varroa Mite is the curse of beekeepers, and the Itch Mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis) is the little devil that transmits scabies. Rest assured, these are neither of them.

And so we reach Workington, where the River Derwent flows serenely down to the port. I must confess, being a southern softie, that the name 'Workington' always conjured up images of a gritty, industrial, northern town. Nothing could be further from the truth. The 'working' in Workington has nothing to do with labour. The name is mediaeval and means simply the town or settlement of Weorc or Wirc's people. As you can see, it's actually quite a beautiful place and there are even fish in the river. Some quite good sized Mullet down there, if you fancy a spot of fishing.

Steve's Vintage Collectables. (click to visit)

We've been busy on a buying spree this last week so look out for an eclectic collection of quirky items from vintage electric bed warmers, to novelty tea pots and a WW2 Aldis lamp. SVCwithEtsy is rapidly becoming one of Britain's best loved, on line, pre-loved gift shops, with over 100 items always in stock for every occasion. (And don't forget, it's Father's day a week on Sunday, so now is a good time to start looking).

Steve's Books (click to visit)

Or if you're looking for a book for Father's Day..

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus and also on Twitter (@Steve's Nature), Facebook (Steve Daniels),and Instagram (Steve Daniels Cumbria)

Or why not join the 2.5k members of our Naturalists group?

All the best,

Steve

England Coast Path - Maryport to Flimby

 

We are very fortunate in that the England Coast Path now covers virtually all of the Cumbrian coastline. You can walk from Green Road Station in the south of the county to Allonby in the north, a distance of around seventy miles. A lovely week's walking holiday, if you fancy it. Today we're going to start at Maryport pier and walk south to Flimby, about two and a quarter miles. Right at the start of the walk, on the shingle beach next to the pier, an Oystercatcher has chosen to nest.

There are plenty of other birds about such as these Whitethroats, Dunnocks and Linnets. These are all passerines, or perching birds (Order: Passeriformes). This is a very large order of birds, all of which have three toes facing forward and one toe facing backwards. The perfect arrangement for clinging on to long, thin branches, swaying in the wind.

It's a botanist's paradise along here. We have Northern Marsh Orchids, Wild Mignonette (a source of the yellow dye called weld), and down on the beach, some Sea Kale. The forced, blanched shoots of this plant used to be a highly expensive Victorian delicacy. The leaves are good as well, so I think we'll gather a few for us tea tonight (us tea = dinner northern dialect). There are a couple of other useful plants up here too: Ribwort Plantain and Comfrey. Both can be applied to the skin to relieve bites and stings, although comfrey is better known for using as a poultice to promote the healing of broken bones (it's old English name was knit-bone). As it happens, we can do a little experiment. Ishbel was stung by one of her bees yesterday, so we can use her as a guinea pig. (I like to live dangerously). The verdict? Both work, but comfrey is the more efficacious.

The flowers attract the butterflies, of course, including the Common Blue that we saw last week down at Drigg. This week, we've a chance to study them in a bit more detail. As you can see, the female (on the left) is very different to the male (on the right), but the markings on the underwing are the same. Unfortunately the Common Blue is not as common as it used to be. One of the reasons for this being the massive reduction in it's preferred host plant (Bird's Foot Trefoil, which you can see them feeding on here) due to habitat loss. There are also some Green-veined Whites about, which for some reason, seem to be more prevalent than the ubiquitous Small White this year. Finally, we have some very small, pale moths drifting about. These are Grass Rivulets who's larvae feed on the seeds of Yellow Rattle.

Here we are, down at Flimby, and there are some fabulous rock pools about. Unfortunately we don't have time to investigate them now as the tide's coming in. Just a note on the tides here on The Solway Firth: they are big (4-5m on average), quick, and have a disconcerting habit of coming in behind you. So, I think we'll make our way back to land while we can still do so without getting our feet wet. Come on Mattie! Before you have to swim for shore.

Steve's Vintage Collectables. (click to visit)

Although you can simply boil Sea-kale as a vegetable, if you're feeling a bit more creative, here's a recipe from Mrs. Beeton's 1930s edition of her Household Management, This is just one of the books in the Beautiful Books Collection at SVCwithEtsy.

Steve's Books (click to visit)

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus and also on Twitter (@Steve's Nature), Facebook (Steve Daniels),and Instagram (Steve Daniels Cumbria)

Or why not join the 2.5k members of our Naturalists group?

All the best,

Steve

Snakes Alive!

 

A little over two and a half years ago, in October 2020, I took you down to look at the Dunescape of Drigg. We were, as you may recall, looking for Tiger beetles and Adders. There was plenty to look at, but unfortunately not those two creatures. Anyhow, I thought we'd go back there at the weekend, and see if we have any better luck in the warmer weather.

You may also recall that I had a new found friend with me on that trip. The fact that she is with me once again, this time in a campervan, speaks volumes. The dunes are a marvellous place for bird watching, and we are joined by Stonechats, Meadow Pipits and Goldfinches on every available perch. A pair of Linnets are also wandering about and, first thing in the morning, a Skylark comes down to take a dust bath.

Behind the dunes, where small streams run, we are accompanied by Common Blue and Wall Brown butterflies, as well as the diminutive Small Heaths, which are only about half the size of the other two. We also have four new flowers to add to our May collection: with Bloody Crane's Bill, Burnet Rose (which is a bit of a dune specialist), Yellow Iris, and Marsh Marigold. This makes 64 species for the year so far, if anyone's counting.

There are still no Tiger Beetles about, but we do have another little fellow that is associated with sand dunes. This  is a Marram Weevil. The antennae coming out of his snout like that, shows that he's a weevil of some kind. The snout is also short and broad, which means that he's one of the 14,000 or so broad nosed weevils, and we found him near Marram grass, so he's in the correct habitat for a Marram Weevil.

Adders, on the other hand, we do have. There are two things along this coast that frighten the beejabers out of people; Adders and Sellafield. Both are pretty overrated in terms of danger to the public. Adders bite about 100 people a year, but the last fatal bite was almost fifty years ago. They are not aggressive, but like most of us, they don't like being downtrodden. Sellafield hasn't bitten anybody since 1957, when it was Windscale Nuclear Power Station. A radioactive leak is believed to have been responsible for a couple of hundred fatal cancers. Nowadays, it primarily stores low to medium radioactive waste.

We'll walk back along the beach and see what the tide has washed up. A somewhat ferocious looking jellyfish for a start. Although the Dustbin-lid Jelly is one of the largest jellyfish to drift around UK shores, it's a bit of a gentle giant. Don't get me wrong, it will sting you, even when dead, but there are much smaller jellyfish with much worse stings. Also, they're big enough to see and avoid in the water, and they don't have metres of stinging tentacles trailing behind them.

Steve's Vintage Collectables. (click to visit)

Father's Day is coming up next month. We've plenty of gift ideas at SVCwithEtsy.

Tip: type fathers day into the search items bar in the left panel to see the Father's Day Ideas Collection

Steve's Books (click to visit)

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus and also on Twitter (@Steve's Nature), Facebook (Steve Daniels),and Instagram (Steve Daniels Cumbria)

Or why not join the 2.5k members of our Naturalists group?

All the best,

Steve

Buttermere and Crummock Water

 

Between Buttermere and Crummock Water, a small stream runs, by the name of Buttermere Dubs, which is where we are taking you this week. Dubs is a Scottish and northern English dialect word for pools of water, or puddles. There is a pleasant walk alongside where the ewes and the lambs lazily graze. With a cuckoo calling in the distance, we are being treated to a black and white birdie show, with Magpie, Pied Wagtail, a Grey Heron and even a White-throated Dipper exploring the banks of the stream. All very idyllic.

Passing through shady glades, more Spring flowers are beginning to appear. Sorrels, who's name means sour, and worts who's name comes from the Old English Wyrt, which simply means plant. Wort was often applied as a suffix to medicinal plants, with the prefix denoting the ailment it was supposed to cure. Thus Stitchworts would cure a stitch in your side and Dropworts may have been used to alleviate dropsy (or oedema, as it is now known). Pimpernel means peppery, but I wouldn't advise eating them as they are somewhat toxic.

Insects are beginning to appear in greater numbers now. Usually, insects are relatively easy to photograph, but when they decide to sunbathe on your face, it can be a bit problematic! We also have our first True Bug of the year. True Bugs are a distinct order of insects, the Heteroptera (as opposed to the generic term bug that can apply to any creepy-crawly). This one is an Hypericum Rhopalid, so called because it is a member of the Rhopalidae family of scentless plant bugs, and it feeds primarily on Hypericums, or St. John's Wort. Here, the wort still identifies it as a medicinal plant, but it doesn't cure you of overbearing saintliness, it is merely that the flowers are traditionally collected around St. John's day on the 24^th June. It is, in fact, a natural antidepressant, backed up by medical research.

We've now reached the edge of Crummock Water, so we'll turn back and make our way through the woods, back to Buttermere. Oh look, a Roe Deer. Given the general decline in British wildlife over the last century or so, it's nice to talk about a success story. In the early part of the twentieth century, Roe Deer were pretty much constrained to Scotland and up here in the Lake District. This population has spread south and east, and met up with reintroduced animals in the south of the country which have pushed northwards. They are still uncommon in Wales, but they're getting there.

And here we are, back at Buttermere, where the shallows are positively teeming with minnows. This shoaling behaviour is a defence mechanism against predation. They are only small fish so it pays them to forage in a group. If a predator approaches, some of the braver minnows will go to assess the danger and, providing they come back, will release a chemical which stimulates the shoal to bunch up. Basically it is a fear chemical, and individuals react by trying to get to the centre of the group. Safety in numbers. And now, it's time a spot of lunch. We have sandwiches, crisps, grapes and fizzy pop, but as my beloved has just pointed out, I seem to be a gateau short of a picnic.

Steve's Vintage Collectables. (click to visit)

I was originally going to specialise in old scientific instruments, but that proved to be a bit restrictive (and there was so much more interesting stuff out there). However, I chanced upon a few items at auction last week, and they make ideal Father's Day presents. Better for the planet than buying newly manufactured items. With over 100 items now in stock, at sensible prices, it's worth a look.

Steve's Books (click to visit)

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus and also on Twitter (@Steve's Nature), Facebook (Steve Daniels),and Instagram (Steve Daniels Cumbria)

Or why not join the 2.5k members of our Naturalists group?

All the best,

Steve

Up With The Lark

 

Elvis the campervan is still languishing in a garage down in Morecambe somewhere, so we took the on loan van up to Mawbray on the Solway coast at the weekend. It's a great spot for birding, and we were regaled by Skylarks from morning until night, with click accompaniment from the numerous Stonechats. Down on the beach, the sand martins were nesting, and the Oystercatchers and Sanderlings were having their breakfast. All very calming and peaceful after last weekend's shenanigans.

Flowers are beginning to make more of a show now, with blues and reds appearing among the yellow and whites of April. I'll just draw your attention to the little, inconspicuous plant at top left – Sea Sandwort. This is a marvellous little succulent, packed full of vitamins A and C. Where it grows, it does so profusely. You can cook it as a greens, or add it raw to salads to add a bit of crunch. Pick from the middle of a patch rather than the outside so that it continues to spread along the coast.

Insects continue to be worryingly scarce. Six species was the entire haul for the weekend. The Hawthorn flies had just hatched in considerable numbers, and there were other dipterans about. A Red-tailed bumble bee was looking for a nest site, and a lonely Green-veined White butterfly was flitting around in the grass. All little white butterflies look the same at first glance, but there are quite a few different species with various markings, so they're worth a closer look. A bit of stone flipping revealed a couple of beetles which I've provisionally identified, but have yet to have confirmed. I also turned up a Crane fly larva, looking a bit like a caterpillar. You can tell it isn't because it has no prolegs. You can also tell that it's not a beetle larva as it is soft headed. The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies has two pages of larvae identification keys; one for terrestrial larvae and one for aquatic larvae. A must have book for any budding entomologist.

Back down on the beach and a flight of Dunlin take to the air whilst the Sand martins cavort along the shore line. Quite a few Thornback Skate egg cases lying around (see Shark!) and a Baltic Tellin shell looking very pretty in pink. Most Baltic Tellins are white, but they also come in orange and yellow as well as this rather fetching pink example.

Mawbray is famous for it's Natterjack Toads, so we took a look in the ponds. Plenty of Common Frog tadpoles but no sign of their illustrious cousins unfortunately. Natterjacks are very vocal at night, but we didn't hear any either. In the grass around the ponds St. George's Mushrooms were reasonably prolific (a good edible mushroom) and there were a few Dung Roundheads among the cow pats.

A lovely weekend, rounded off by this beautiful sunset, reflected multiple times across the Solway Firth, with the Scottish hills in the background.

Steve's Vintage Collectables. (click to visit)

I'm still showcasing the royal memorabilia, but this will gradually be replaced as new items get added to the shop. If you're looking for the royal thimbles, they went out to America earlier this week, and the Hillstonia vase sold yesterday evening.

Steve's Books (click to visit)

A good time to buy The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies as the minibeasts start to appear in all their variations.

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus and also on Twitter (@Steve's Nature), Facebook (Steve Daniels),and Instagram (Steve Daniels Cumbria)

Or why not join the 2.5k members of our Naturalists group?

All the best,

Steve

Much-Birding-in-the-Marsh

 

When the wind is howling, fit to blow you off your feet, going out for a walk can be a bit daunting, even for the most enthusiastic of naturalists. Much better to pack a thermos of hot soup and head for one of your local bird hides.

[Tip: search 'bird hides near me' in Google Maps]

Which is where I'm taking you today. Campbell Marsh RSPB reserve, to be precise. Up on the Solway Firth. The first hide is open, facing the wind, and you can hardly prise the door open. Nothing much going on at the second, but third time lucky. We're out of the wind, and there are birds to be seen. A large flock of Widgeon, albeit a distant flock. However, we do have a Little Egret pottering about down here, and he's just been joined by a Grey Heron. Little Egrets are on the rebound in Britain. They used to be plentiful (in 1465, a banquet for the new Archbishop of York reputedly included a thousand of them). They were then slaughtered in their millions in Victorrian times, to provide feathers for women's hats, which is one of the main reasons that the RSPB came into being, and finally, they got fed up and moved south to mainland Europe. They were virtually extinct in the UK by the 1950s.

Apart from the heron and the egret, there doesn't seem to be much happening outside at the moment. Meanwhile, I suggest we take a tip from that Orb Weaver spider up there, happily devouring some species of fly, and break open the soup.

Lights, camera, action. A flock of Barnacle Geese are just honking in. Back in the 12^th century, it was thought that these birds hatched from the Goose Barnacle, hence their common English name. In Ireland, the myth persisted until fairly recently, and they could be eaten during Lent, as they were considered to be fish, and not poultry. I have a sneaking feeling that this was just a work-around!

It's all happening now. A trio of Whooper Swans have just arrived. These are larger than the similar looking Bewick Swan, and have more yellow on their beaks. They overwinter here, having bred in subarctic Eurosiberia. When they prepare to migrate, they have a sort of head bobbing competition. The bobbiest bird gets to lead the migration. Swan democracy!

And another Little Egret has just arrived, much to the chagrin of the initial Egret, who was first upon the scene. At least, this looks to be more of an aerial argument, rather than a courtship display. But who knows? This November has been the warmest on record, so maybe they think it's Spring. A wonderful display, though, whatever the motivation.

Oh, this is really the icing on the cake. A pair of Marsh Harriers. The lighter colured male is highly distinctive, whereas the darker female is a little harder to recognise. To add to the confusion, the dark one could be a juvenile. The young of both sexes look very similar to the adult female. These are wetland specialists, feeding on small mammals, small birds, insects, reptiles, and frogs. They are ground nesting, typically in reed beds. Nearly extinct in the UK by the early 20^th century, due to persecution, habitat destruction, and pesticide poisoning, they have come back strongly, and are rated as 'of least concern' by the IUCN.

So, from a slow start, it has turned into quite an exciting morning. Oh, and if the title of this post rings a bell, then you must be even older than me. Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh was a BBC radio comedy show from the 1940s and 50s. And, talking of things from the past, following on from Steve's History of Things, I have just launched a new magazine which you can find on Steve's Nature Plus.

All the best,

Steve

Beetles and Butterflies; spiders and scorpions; woodlice and worms. How do you tell them all apart? To say nothing of crane flies, dragonflies, bee flies and yet more butterflies. Are they all flies? If not, why call them so? If you're fascinated but confused by the beautiful world of the very small, then this is the book for you. 82 pages of information on all aspects of the world of minibeasts, with over 100 photographs and illustrations, this book will help you track down and identify any arthropod, in its adult or juvenile state, anywhere in the world. See all of my books at author.to/SteveDaniels

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus

and also on Twitter Steve's Nature, Facebook Steve Daniels Naturalists, and Instagram

Steve Daniels Cumbria