Grasmere & Rydal Water: The most loveliest spot than man hath found

Welcome to 'The most loveliest spot than man hath found’ as Wordsworth described Grasmere whilst staying at Dove Cottage just outside the village. Our walk today will take us down the west side of the lake, along the River Rothay then on to Steps End Wood via the south side of Rydal Water to the village of Rydal.

There are cormorant, heron, ducks and geese upon the water but the most prominent wildlife as we walk along would appear to be these marvellous midges. Granted, they are a bit of a nuisance, but at least they're not bloodsuckers. These are Chronomid, or Non-biting Midges, and we can tell this, firstly by the feathery antennae of the males, and secondly by the fact that they are not biting us. This is a male mating swarm that we are walking through, all out looking for partners. Most of their lives are spent as aquatic juveniles, quite often feeding on detritus, generally keeping ponds and streams clean, and providing a banquet for their local community.

At the end of the lake we enter Deerbolt Wood along the banks of the Rothay, full of Chaffinches, Robins, Great Tits and this little fellow which I've not come across before. This is a Marsh Tit, Poecile palustris, which looks very similar to a Willow Tit and pretty much like a Coal Tit. Luckily, he's just sneezed at us, which is a bit of a giveaway. Marsh Tits begin their song with a 'Pi-tchoo' which is very distinctive.

We also have little pools of water to investigate. No frog or toad spawn as yet but we do have an adult common toad lurking in the shadows. I reckon that this is a female. She appears to have a couple of reddish warts on her hind leg, which females are prone to, whereas males are not.

The same set of waterfowl on Rydal Water as on Grasmere, but here at the swampy end, apart from a pair of apparently house-hunting Mallards, we also have a patch of very showy, yellow flowers. You may well have these in your garden pond. They are American Skunk Cabbages, brought over from The States after the second world war and are very popular. The problem is, that they spread and totally take over, and have to be ruthlessly controlled. Sometimes, unwanted plants are dumped in the wild, but their seeds are also quite capable of finding their own way to nearby wetlands. As they out-compete native plants this is rather worrying. They are already considered an invasive species, just over the border in Scotland. If you are looking for an alternative, non-invasive, addition to your bog garden, the Asian Skunk Cabbage with its elegant white flowers, is a good bet.

And finally, as we cross the footbridge over the Rothay and into Rydal we are joined by, of all things, a bat. He's flying very fast, swooping low over the water, even flying beneath the footbridge, and pretty obviously feeding on the plethora of midges. This may explain why he is out so early in the afternoon, as I'm pretty sure he's one of the Vespertilionidae, the so-called Evening Bats. The flight seems too rapid for a Pipistrelle and, given that he is feeding in this manner and we are in woodland, I would hazard a guess that he's a Daubenton's Bat.

So, here we are in Rydal village and there's a regular bus service to take us back to Grasmere. I have to agree with Wordsworth, it is certainly one of the most loveliest spots than man (and midges) hath found.

Until next week, we'll enjoy our new found freedom as lockdown begins to ease, here in the UK.

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. Now available for free on The Author Reads podcast. https://anchor.fm/author-reads	£7.50 Paperback edition
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.	£4.99 Paperback edition

LINKS:

Share your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog) or join me throughout the week at Steve's Nature Plus.

Series 13 Welcome To The Old Corn Mill

 

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.

See sample pages of all my books and latest blogs, and keep abreast of latest publications here: http://author.to/SteveDaniels

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

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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)