A Fjord By Any Other Name - Solway Firth

 

Wrap up warm. It's bitter out there and we're off to the coast. In particular, to the eastern end of the Solway Firth, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. England lies on one side of the firth (which is cognate to the Scandinavian word fjord) and Scotland lies on the other. There's an RSPB Nature Reserve which we'll pop into, but first, let's just take a little walk along the shore and see who's about. I think we'll leave the splashing about in the rock pools until it's a bit warmer, but in the meantime, we've a flock of Sea Pies probing the mud flats. That's an old name; for the past few hundred years we've known them as Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus). Individual birds have different bill shapes, depending on their preferred diet. Those who like worms have pointed bills, those who incline towards molluscs, including oysters, have flatter bills for prising them open. Evolution in action?

This is Campfield Marsh Nature Reserve. Probably be quite nice when it's finished. For the moment though, it mainly consists of one long track, bordered by thick hedgerow, which effectively blocks all views of the scrapes where the birds are. There are a few view points, but betwixt them and the scrapes, there is a long electric fence which the camera has no problem in focusing upon. All we can see from here are distant blobs on the water, which I'm pretty sure are birds. However, there are some magnificent viewing hides... which are closed due to Covid restrictions. This one at the end of the track appears to be unlocked... so I suggest we don't sit in it for half an hour and warm ourselves up, out of the biting wind. Oh, another couple have turned up with a picnic.

“No, we don't mind if you don't sit in the hide with us, just keep to the far end. There's a grey heron out there, and a Little Egret just flying in to join him.”

Back to the car, I think. I can't feel my fingers on the camera controls. Our intrepid local guide has just gone to photograph the first snowdrops of the season, so I'll just snap these house sparows on the feeders in the car park. Even Jack the Navigator Hound is shivering and seems disinclined to photobomb this week.

News From The Old Cornmill

Earlier this week, I decided to take a stroll over to the nearby cricket ground: The pitch is frozen, but I look forward to the occasional summer Sunday afternoon, relaxing back to the sound of leather on willow. A group of Black-headed Gulls in winter plumage (hence no black heads) are posing at various angles to give 360^o identification. What I'd really like to do, is get into those woods back there and view the river from the opposite direction.

Hmm, not sure that it's actually a public right of way, but we're here. Some beautiful colours in the harsh winter sunlight. The gorse has a golden glow, the Red Osier Dogwood is particularly striking against the deep green Holly and even the Mistletoe (sadly, uncollected this year, for obvious reasons) is a vivid pale green. Look at the way the sap has run down to the base of that icicle. Here we are, at the river. The building opposite is The Old Pump House. The Old Cornmill is just to the right, obscured by those bushes. The river is at mid level at the moment but Storm Christoph is due to arrive. At present we are only under a general Yellow alert but I'm glad that the flood defences have now been fitted. I'll keep you posted.

Steve'sWild Kitchen

The kitchen at The Old Cornmill is now fully functioning to my satisfaction, so It's high time for some more recipes from Steve'sWild Kitchen starting with Crispy Wild Duck and Spicy Jewelled Rice. You cannot go out and shoot ducks in the UK any more as all wild birds and their nests are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 but you can still legally hunt them down in supermarkets which is where I tracked mine down (near the chicken section). The ducks are farm bred Mallards, just like these on the river. Recipe here.

Until next week,

Stay happy and stay safe

Steve 

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.

Winter Waterfowl, Siddick Ponds Nature Reserve

 

We haven't been to a nature reserve for a few weeks so let's head out to Siddick Ponds, a local nature reserve, just to the north of Workington. Apart from the waterfowl, I'm sure we'll find some interesting plants and fungi and maybe even the odd creepy-crawly, if we're lucky.

We'll walk over to the ponds from the village of Seaton because there's a lovely walk, bounded by hedgerow, along the course of the old Cleator and Workington Junction Railway which carried coal and iron as well as limestone back in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The times, they are a-changing and the coal mines are now closed with our power needs increasingly being provided by the wind turbines you can see over there. There are plenty of small birds about, particularly blue tits, sparrows and the ever present robin and plenty of hips and haws, providing winter nourishment. This big, red hip, I believe, is what is commonly known as a beach tomato although it is actually a rose hip and it looks to be Rosa rugosa, a particularly salt-spray tolerant rose, brought over from Japan in 1796 and now considereed an invasive species of northern European coasts. Talking of invasive species, I see that Jack the Navigator Hound has managed to sneak into shot again. This blog is getting a definite 'Where's Wally?' feel to it.

Here we are at the ponds, which incidentally, were created when the railway embankment was built up, and we have a fair few birds to look at. Out in the middle we have some Merganser and Wigeon; closer to the path (looking for humans with food) we have Mallards and Mute Swans; no less than four grey heron, dotted around the margins; and out on its own, taking social distancing to extremes, a Whooper Swan. These fly in for the winter, mainly from Iceland, so I'm told and are recognisable by their beaks which start yellow and then change their mind half way and decide to be black for the business end. The Bewick's Swan is similar but has more black on its bill and overall is a smaller swan with a more rounded head.

Aha! I see we have more mushrooms under this tree. They look to be Oyster Mushrooms of some kind (see Into The Woods Of Portinscale). The lab is nearly ready back in the Old Cornmill so we'll soon be able to take specimens and identify our fungi with a grgeater degree of certainty. I'm particularly keen to find some oyster mushrooms within walking distance of the mill as, apart from being rather tasty, they contain lovastatin which reduces LDL cholesterol (although how many oyster mushrooms you have to eat to get an effective dose is another matter all together!).

We've found birds, plants and fungi but alas no insects or their friends. However, I did have a visitor to the mill the other night in the shape of this Mottled Umber Moth, Erannis defoliaria which came to the kitchen window. A quick tip for photographing moths and other insects on windows: go round the other side and prop a bit of cardboard behind it. It helps the camera decide where to focus. The river is still behaving itself but beginning to rise as we've had a fair bit of rain on the fells over the past couple of days. No flood warnings as yet though.

All that remains is for me to wish you all a Super Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever else you may be celebrating at this time of year, however limited those celebrations may be.

See you all in January,

Steve

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.	Not Just For Twisted Women 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.

Crete Nature Catch-up
Series 1 - Welcome to Lasithi	Series 2 - The Rhythm Of Life	Series 3 - A Journey Begins
Series 4 - The Milonas Valley	Series 5 - This Is Ferma	Series 6 - Upland Villages
Series 7 - The Forty saints	Series 8 - Sunday Strolls	Series 9 -Stormy Weather

*********************************************************************

LINKS:

Share your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog).

Explore eastern Crete with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking and Nature Map

The Art of Stream Dipping

To read in other languages use:  Google Translate and copy and paste the web address into the translation box.

We haven’t been out to Red Butterfly Gorge  together for almost a year so it’s high time we took another look. Particularly as last time we went hiking up the track to the gorge (like most tourists do) and missed all the wonderful stuff not a hundred yards from the car park.

Slippery Jack, Red Admiral, Nematocera Larva

You’ll have noticed that we’ve swapped the sweep net this week for a pond dipping net and scientifically selected glass sample jars (yes, I know yours has still got a Hoeseradish sauce label on it but I assure you that I scientifically selected it myself). Now the idea is that you wade out into that raging torrent using the wobbly stepping stones provided whilst I sit here on the bank with the magnifying glass and the inspection tray (or upturned one litre ice-cream tub lid as it’s otherwise known). You’ll need the net and this big stick as well. Steady as you go. Place the net on the floor of the stream and muddy up the bed in front of it with the stick. Marvellous, now bring it back to the bank – watch that stone it’s loose – oh dear, never mind, you held onto the net and that’s the main thing. We can get another stick and that sunny branch looks ideal for drying your socks. Let’s have a look and see what you’ve found. Now that looks like the larval form of one of the Nematocera, a suborder of flies that includes mosquitoes, gnats and midges among others.  We’ll have a few more tries and take the results back to the lab. No, you go, you’ve already got wet feet.

Anemone

I think we’ve got time to explore some of this lovely pine woodland on the way back. The Red Admiral Butterflies are out in force as usual and the ground is quite littered with these Slippery Jack mushrooms. As you can see they decompose quite rapidly and the caps soon become quite slippery and slimy. Some species are considered quite a delicacy in parts of Eastern Europe but I believe they only pick the very young ones. Ah, here’s a flower that can sometimes be confusing. This is an Anemone (Anemone coronaria) which comes in violet, pink and white and looks very similar to the Persian Buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus) which comes in yellow, red and also white. Anenomes however have this whorl of leaves a little way below the flower and no sepals below the petals, Persian Buttercups are the other way around. We’ll get these samples back to base now as I’ve a new project for you to get involved with and I’ll update you with the ongoing projects we’ve already started. Don’t forget your socks, are they dry yet?

The Snails and their initial routes

Last week , as you no doubt recall, we were looking at animal personality and I thought it would be fun to have a closer look at snails and see if they have individual personalities. Are some more adventurous than others? If so does this swashbuckling, devil-may-care attitude make them more attractive to other snails or does like attract like? Accordingly I grabbed a handful of snails that were all resting together under a rock up the lane and put them in a box in the garden and waited to see what would happen. As you know, snails are hermaphrodite so we don’t have to worry about the whole male/female attraction thing and that’s why I’ve given them non-specific gender names. Let me introduce you. Ashley took a day or so to get moving, found a plank of wood on the ground beneath the box, explored half the length of it before coming back to the other end of the plank the following day where it met up with Vivian who’d also found the plank, travelled a few centimetres to the right and thought “that’s enough exercise for one week” and stopped. 

Ashley and Vivian with Big Mark and guests

The following day two baby snails had appeared between them and there the group has stayed and started receiving visitors in the form of two Julid millipedes (whether by invitation or not is unclear). Beverley has had a hard time of it. It also took a day to get out of the box and the following day was lying on its back directly beneath it looking rather forlorn. Since then it has climbed laboriously back into the box and out again, fallen over once more, closed its shell in a fit of despair and finally attached itself to the underside of the box in an apparent sulk. Sam on the other hand is the most adventurous of the bunch. First out of the box within six hours it sprinted three metres to the base of the grapevine on the first day, explored the right door jamb the following day, found this unsatisfactory and on the third day I found it lodged behind the air conditioning pipe 1.58m above the ground. After such a marathon eight metre trek it’s taken a four day break to catch its breath. And Leslie? I’m still looking. Six hours after the start it was still happily in the box, the following morning nowhere to be seen having been away on its toes overnight. 

The Boys

So that’s the snails, come upstairs to the terrace and I’ll update you on the other ongoing projects. You met Alice and Beatrice, our female House Sparrows, last week; now meet the boys. I haven’t named them yet as I can’t quite distinguish between them. Maybe you can? Those of you who know your European sparrows will have spotted that they have brown caps and white cheeks like the Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) rather than the grey caps and cream cheeks of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). The truth of the matter is that the distribution of sparrow species and subspecies in the Mediterranean is highly complex and I suspect that only DNA testing and cladistic analysis  will sort out the true relationships and ancestry of these birds.

European Wasp

As to our other ongoing projects: the moss continues to grow in the mossary but the insect egg still hasn’t hatched and I’m beginning to see why this was such a passing fad in the nineteenth century. Even in the days before television, watching moss grow couldn’t have been the most exciting of pastimes. And on the Phenology front I’ve added the European Wasp (Vespula germanica) to our January sightings which still leaves us with a couple of dragonflies and a grasshopper to try and spot on the insect list before the end of the month.

Well I think that just about wraps it up for this week so until next time – happy hunting.

***********************************************************************************

LINKS:

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)