Cuckoo Flower

The subject of this photo is Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis), also known as Lady's Smock. This flower likes damp areas of grassland and woodland, or even the edges of ponds; although common throughout the UK it has seen some reduction in range due to drainage of wetlands (see naturescalendar.org.uk). This plant should become obvious soon as it starts flowering in April, showing four pale, pink (or sometimes white) petals that are slightly cupped. The Cuckoo Flower is an important foodplant for the Orange Tip Butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines - spot the link between the two in their scientific name!).

It was believed these flowers were sacred to fairies, and therefore it was unlucky to bring them indoors or include them in May Day garlands (nature's calendar, wikipedia).

Essex Forest Fragments: Hatfield Coppice

Hazel Coppice in Hatfield Forest

This photo was taken in Hatfield Forest in Essex, a medieval royal hunting ground now owned and managed by the National Trust. This is a fragment of the Forest of Essex, that once covered most of the county. The site is over a thousand acres in size, and is managed using traditional techniques such as coppicing, pollarding, and grazing with livestock.

Coppicing, a technique used for thousands of years to produce useful wood products, has resulted in the interesting growth forms of the trees. Many native trees will regrow with multiple stems after being cut down, producing these distinctive, dense thickets in the photo above. Spring also brings a splash of chartreuse green to the picture, with fresh foliage on both hazel thickets and the ground layer.

Coppicing is often used in modern times as a tool for maintaining the biodiversity of woodlands. It can add variety to the structure of a woodland, and allows light to reach the woodland floor.

Fallen Limb

Taken in Epping Forest, "Fallen Limb" shows a veteran Oak pollard with a large fallen bough. The forest is starting to show autumnal colours here, with hornbeam showing yellow tones in the background of this picture.

Pollarding is a traditional woodland management technique which involves cutting back the tree to head height, to stimulate growth and produce useful lengths of wood. This often results in unusual shapes as the tree grows, particularly if the cutting regime isn't continued. Eventually, an unmanaged pollard can become unable to support the weight of its limbs, dropping branches or even being split in twain.

Read more about Epping Forest and Pollarding on the City of London website.

Fading Comma

"Fading Comma", resting amongst the Speedwell flowers, May 2013.

The sun is finally shining on us here in the UK, or so it seems. The butterflies are making the most of the bright weather, with many of these bold and beautiful creatures flying around the woodlands and meadows of the countryside, or visiting gardens. Here is a shot from last Summer, of an old Comma butterfly, starting to look ragged but still beautifully coloured, resting on the grass amongst the Speedwell flowers. This shot was taken on the walk between Admiral's Park in Chelmsford and the village of Writtle.

Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) is an interesting flower. Some attribute the name "Speedwell" to its use as a traditional remedy, where it was supposed to cure a person quickly (see article here). It may not be enough to restore the Comma butterfly in the face of climate change however.

The Comma butterfly, and other darker insects like it, may soon be fading away as a result of climate change. A study published last month found that global warming is favouring lighter coloured insects over darker ones; Zeuss et al. looked at a wide range of butterfly and dragonfly species across Europe and found that their colouring affects their ability to cope with temperature. The current distribution of these insects is linked to their colouring, and as temperature increases their distribution will too. Darker insects, like the Comma, retreat northwards and lighter insects appear in their place. “Until now we could only watch the massive changes in the insect fauna during the last 20 years. Now we have an idea of what could be a strong cause of the changes," said Dirk Zeuss, lead author of the study. This will help to predict future changes to insect populations in Europe.

Tor View

The Dartmoor landscape as seen from the ancient rocks of Sheeps Tor

tor  (tôr)

n.

1. A high rock or pile of rocks on the top of a hill.

2. A rocky peak or hill.

(thefreedictionary.com)

This photo shows the view over Burrator Reservoir from Sheeps Tor, Dartmoor, Devon. The ancient granite rocks of this Tor were formed hundreds of millions of years ago as magma slowly cooled beneath the Earth's surface. These rocks have since become uncovered by erosion, but being more resistant to erosion themselves, they are left standing like silent sentinels upon this hilltop and many others in the Dartmoor National Park. Dartmoor has the largest area of granite in Britain and is full of these tors, or "rocky peaks". 

Serotinal Shots 2013

 

Here are two shots of late Summer that I have picked out to share. Autumn colours are coming to some of the trees already, such as the willows, sycamores and field maples. The Summer is still lingering in a few places however, and with some serotinal sunshine at the beginning of October I caught these pictures in the stunning Constable Country around Flatford Mill and Dedham Vale. This area sits at the edge of Essex and Suffolk, and has been popularised through the artwork of John Constable.

The flowers in the picture above, an unexpected splash of bright colour found lingering in the Cattawade Marsh area (between Flatford and Manningtree), are a yellow which recollects the easy sunshine of the high Summer months now past. These were more beautiful for their evanescence, as the cold weather would soon close in and cause their disappearance from the countryside.

The image "Oak and Granary" below sums up to me the pastoral beauty of the Flatford area, bathing in the afternoon light. The oak tree, a veteran full of character and cavities, looks yet Sumer-strong in its green foliage, and frames the fields and the 18th Century wool-store-turned-granary (now a bed and breakfast) behind it.

 

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Images of Summer

A selection of 2013 Summer pictures, from those taken so far (in spite of the weather which has been decidedly indecisive). Some feature flowers, some insects, and others just luxuriate in the glorious Summer sunshine. Here's hoping there will be more Summer weather to come!

 

Hedgerow Damsel

This Large Red Damselfly (the species name, not just a description!) rests on a thick stem of hawthorn, in a traditional hedgerow at the Roding Valley Meadows nature reserve in Essex. This nature reserve, although only a mile and a half long, contains almost ten miles of thick hedgerow. The value to wildlife of so much habitat is incredible. Hedges make good Edges, I like to say. The Large Red Damselfly is one of the first species of Damselfly or Dragonfly to appear in the Spring. Damselflies can be distinguished from Dragonflies in a number of ways, primarily by the way they hold their wings at rest (Damselflies hold them in line with their body) and by the way their eyes are set (Damselfly eyes are separated, on either side of their head).

The vibrant, rich red of the damselfly's body is reflected by russet tints in the bark of the hawthorn. Set against the backdrop of vibrant green foliage and creamy white May blossom, this makes for an attractive palette. This macro shot highlights the beauty of some of our invertebrate species; it is certainly worth the time to explore hedges and long grass to find some of the mini-beasts that are making use of these habitats.

"Damsel" arrived in our language via Old French, and meant "a young lady". It still hangs on in the English language in archaic expressions, such as "a damsel in distress". The damselfly in this photo looks far from distressed however!

Spring Blues in Epping Forest

Native Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in Epping Forest

We're starting to see that beautiful sign of Spring: bluebells are popping up in old woodlands, hedges, and other spots in the countryside. With the lush greenery clothing the trees and flowers lighting up the countryside, it's easy to get enthusiastic about the change in season. Spring is the thing! These photos were taken while walking from the southern-most end of Epping Forest (near Snaresbrook), through Walthamstow Forest and Highams Park, on 11th May (after attending the BNA Conference - read more about it here). UK woodlands have half of the world's bluebells, so ancient woodlands like Epping Forest and Hainault Forest are really crucial to their persistence. We're lucky in South-West Essex to have so many valuable habitats on our doorstep!

Ancient woodlands such as Epping Forest are a common
haunt for bluebells, which do well in shady places

But the peak of bluebell flowering is late this year - The Guardian were certainly worried back in April when they hadn't appeared! The late arrival of bluebells is attributed to the weather we had in March, the coldest March since 1962! According to a recent Guardian article, the bluebells have flowered four to five weeks later than last year. There may be a silver lining to the poor March weather, however. "There is a really good link between late springs and very good summers" says Matthew Oates, nature expert at the National Trust (read the full article here).

There is an imposter in the countryside however, a blue alien. The imported Spanish bluebells have been very successful, hybridising with the native flowers and spreading to many of our gardens and other green spaces. It's even invading the woodland strongholds of the native bluebells, and I found some suspicious bluebells on my walk! How do we tell the two types of bluebell apart? The Guardian offer a few tips, and there is a very useful page on the Natural History Museum website which explains how to identify your bluebells, but some of the basic differences to look for are: Spanish bluebells have paler flowers, no scent, and an upright stalk; native bluebells are scented, they arch or droop over, and their leaves are rolled up.
  

 

Spanish bluebells are paler and more upright, and these specimens on the edge of Epping Forest seem to fit the bill

Native bluebells have a stem that
arches over at the end

The bluebells may have arrived late this year, but they are here now - so why not go explore your local countryside to see them! Talk about your own sightings and favourite bluebell spots, or discuss other signs of Spring! Post on our Facebook page or  tweet to #SpringIsTheThing!

Dedham Vale, Spring 2013

It would seem that Spring has finally begun in England. The hawthorn and cherry are blossoming, the willow catkins are covered in bright yellow pollen, the daffodils have sprung up on roadsides, birdsong fills the air. To make the most of the clement weather a week back, I visited Dedham Vale on the Essex-Suffolk border, and walked from Flatford to Dedham (and back) along the River Stour.

River Stour in flood near Flatford Mill, Constable Country

  

"Still I should paint my own places best;
painting is with me but another word
for feeling, and I associate “my careless
boyhood” with all that lies on the
banks of the Stour; those scenes made
me a painter, and I am grateful ..."

 - John Constable

The blue skies, the unusual contortions of the willow trees along the river, the flood-waters on the Suffolk side, and the wildlife that is becoming more obvious as the weather warms up; all of this meant a variety of photo opportunities, and a beautiful Spring walk. A selection of photos from the day are found below; I have written more about the natural history interest of the day on my Far-Ranging blog.

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Epping Forest Ancients

Two veteran trees in Epping Forest, one leaning against the other, as they slowly succumb to old age.
This is a photo I took this year, of one of my big interests: trees. Veteran trees are trees that, either through old age or a "hard life", have a huge interest for wildlife and for conservationists. The gnarls, hollows, decay and even sheer size that may be seen on such a tree mean that it can harbour many different kinds of animal, plant, and scientist.

Such trees can be used to deduce past conditions or management practices in an area; for example, these two trees show signs of pollarding, a traditional practice leading to a distinctive shape and potentially extending the life of a tree beyond its natural span.

Aesthetic value can be high in veteran trees, with their added architectural and textural complexity. They can also contain interesting little ecosystems for those who look closely, whether it be seedlings developing within a hollow or a swathe of enterprising mosses and ferns colonising the broad branches.

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