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Blossom of the horse chestnut tree. |  | | •
A St Mark's fly. |  | | •
A cock blackcap singing in a sycamore grove. |  | | •
A bee-fly visits the flowerhead of ground ivy. |
Nature's
charmsNATURE NOTES BY STEWART BEER Email:
stewart.naturalist@btinternet.com
SURE enough, on April 19, the month's fickle weather patterns brought us a blackthorn
winter, with bouts of hailstones and strong blustery winds. And, from time
to time, the blustery winds have wrenched the tender leaves and flower-spikes
from a great number of trees and sent them sailing to the ground. During
the past week or so the leaves and catkins have appeared on the deciduous oaks,
but a great weight of these have also been shorn from the mighty boughs by the
buffeting winds. Without doubt an appreciable volume of arboreal matter falls
in the springtime and will, in the fullness of time, be converted into soil enriching
humus. On April 21, on the bank of the Taw by the Leisure Centre, I saw
a common blue butterfly. April 24 saw my first swift of the year, which was flying
over St John's Chapel near Eastacombe. Later the same day, at Kingsley Tor, I
also noted house martins and whitethroats. On the Tor a rather incongruous
sight befell me - a full-berried holly tree - normally a winter scene - isled
in a sea of wild hyacinths, the flowers of late spring. Here on the Tor also,
and a day before St Mark's Day, the distinctive, leg a-dangle black fly named
after said saint was already showing. (St Mark's flies are now thronging loosely
together over many of our hedgerows and grasslands .) From dawn 'til dusk
town and country alike are steeped in spirit-lifting birdsong. All a-gleam, cock
pheasants are registering their presence with frequent, explosive "cur-kuucks"
followed by rapid but short wing "thrubbings". The first blackbird broods
have flown the nest and the robin, songthrush and mistlethrush tend to their hatchlings.
Shelley wrote: "Tender bluebells, at whose birth the sod scarce heaved.
" However, amazingly, many plants will butt a way through firmly trodden
bare soil (even asphalt) to reach the sunlight. The prostate pea species birds-foot,
which I found a couple of days ago by the side of a footpath, is not a wildflower
robust enough to do this. However, it does seem to thrive on the shallowest, driest
of terrain. It's small pinnate leaves and even smaller white, red veined flowers
make it a delightful find. Soft comfrey and common vetch have been flowering for
some time - more recently common wintercress. Yellow archangel is one of many
latest additions to the floral displays. At every turn there are new sights to
make one stand and stare. Nature's charms …. are free alike to all.
Contact
Stewart Beer at: stewart.naturalist@btinternet.com
•
Stewart’s anthology An Exaltation of Skylarks, now with four
colour plates added, is published by SMH Books ISBN 0 9512619 7 5. It can be ordered
from all good bookshops.
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