Tag: coltsfoot
Wildwatch March 2020
New life sprung forth this March at St Nicks – as always. Despite inevitable difficulties, the Wildwatch team was still able to enjoy some great wildlife sightings. Wildwatch groups met as usual on the Wednesday mornings of the 4th and 11th of March – seventeen of us on the latter date. (What a long time ago this […]
Keeping connected to nature: even during lockdown
Hard times for us all. So many pressing concerns. Not least of these, for many of us, is the way in which our access to the natural world has suddenly become so constricted. Absence, it is said, makes the heart grow fonder. How true this seems now, regarding not just family and friends, but also […]
Wildwatch February 2020
Headline Early spring blossom brings out the queen bees, while some winter bird visitors depart. Plenty to see under logs, too. Weather February 2020 was officially the UK’s wettest February since records began 160 years ago, but happily every Wildwatch Wednesday at St Nicks in February dawned frosty and sunny. Birds 27 bird […]
Wildwatch: February 2017
Highlights Winter birds still with us, but signs of Spring.. First hoverfly of the year enjoys the snowdrops, while beetle is one-in-a-thousand Weather Cool (4 – 9C) but with some sunny intervals. The Wildwatch team stayed dry! Birds Winter visitors are, not surprisingly, still with us! Two Redwings flew over on the 8th and there […]
March 2015: Spotlight on… Coltsfoot
Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara One of the earliest wild flowers of spring, Coltsfoot is very easy to identify. It’s a member of the Asteraceae or Composite family, and the bright yellow flowers look a bit like miniature Dandelions, to which they are related. Each flower grows on its own separate stem, but unlike Dandelions the stems […]
Wildwatch: February 2015 Sightings
Highlights Snowdrops everywhere.. Water skulker and Tree “mouse” return.. a February shieldbug first, and a semaphoring fly! Weather Snow showers greeted us on the 4th, with a chilly 1C. But during the month, temperatures slowly rose and we had bright days on the 18th and 25th. Birds Last month’s statement that the December Water Rail […]
Wildwatch: 24th April 2013 – Sorting Little Brown Jobs
Weather: Warm, sunny, breezy Observers: Linda, Roger The first really warm Wednesday of the year brought out more birds than watchers. Linda and Roger rose to the challenge magnificently. Linda’s report gives the flavour of the morning: “We sat for a while on a fallen log and just watched everything around us.. went to the […]
Wildwatch: 17 April 2013 – “And The Birds They Are A-Warbling”
Thanks – and apologies – to Bob Dylan for the headline! Weather: Cloudy, 8 to 10C, calm at first, freshening SW breeze later. Observers: Ian, Janetta, Kaye, Kaj It was a grey, overcast day, but we just missed the heavy shower earlier in the morning. With the initial lack of wind, birdsong was plentiful and, […]
Wildwatch: 6th March 2013 – Mist and Mysteries
Weather: damp, misty, increasingly chilly Observers: Kaj, Doug, Kaye Another dramatic change from the previous week. It was poor weather for plant-spotting and photography, but the birds didn’t seem to mind. Kaj and Kaye started with a tour of Osbaldwick Beck then followed the traditional path along the western edge and over the Bund. After […]
Wildwatch: 27th February 2013 – Things warm up!
Weather: Sunny, warm, still! Observers: Doug, Janetta, John, Linda, Steve, Kaye Last week, woolly hats, mitts and frozen fingers. This week, basking in the sun and everything starting to happen. The slightly sad note for an otherwise delightful morning was that some of the most exciting things happened after most of the group had left. […]
