Award for headline of day must go to "Stoned Wallabies make Crop Circles", about Australian wallabies eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite". With an introduction like that, the poppy fields of Alkham valley had to be photographed on the way to work. And also.......for the third year running....
........a little little owl! Yay!
My struggle to find any Late spider orchids continues, with a search of Holywell and the Sugar Loaf Hill above Folkestone. Its the first time I've climbed this hill, despite working in its shadow for nearly 20 years, and it's a restful, atmospheric place despite the nearby roads.
A spring emerges as the chalk meets non-porous gault clay, giving a welcome taste of fresh water to the pilgims and other travellers on the old track to Dover. Such a relief in the otherwise dry pastures was understandably 'holy', hence its name.
The hill has a good amount of close-cropped grass, and is home to masses of yellowwort and centuary, as well as a host of the commoner orchids, and a couple of colonies of bee orchids.
There were plenty of rabbits managing this habitat, including at least four light-coloured ones. By coincidence, the sage of St Margarets also climbed this hill on the same day, and also commented on the strange rabbits.
On top of the hill (like the houndstongue on Summerhouse Hill) there is a strange solitary shrub. It has rough leaves and stems, bizarre nut-brown nodules at the leaf-base, and small white flowers. Can anyone identify it from these poor photos?
Meanwhile, on the grassy shingle of Kingsdown beach, about 200 marbled whites make next year's generation.
Female always on top, it seems.
16 comments:
Steve, just HOW do you come across a little owl in the foliage, let alone one which poses obligingly for the camera. Is this a regular roosting place that you know of? Still struggling to spot living things amongs the foliage myself!!
Lovely pics on every blog as always.
Nicola
I have heard of lots of hills called ''sugar loaf'' do you know why they get the name steve ?
Small white flowered plant looks like Common Gromwell Lithospermum officinale
Julian Russell
Steve ,
I see the 60's theme is on going .
I've been digging to ID the strange shrub , without success , but can definitely rull out Common Gromwell - sorry Julian .
If you're passing , a couple of better shots might help ie. leaf & flower close ups .
With your new book , I thought you would be on top of these now !
Nicola,
This nestsite has produced young little owls for at least the last three years, and it's great to see the new ones emerge blinking into the light!
Warren - sugar-loaves are those strange dumpy round ones I think?
Julian (hi!) and Fred - thanks for your views. I think we're close here, but if I'm passing (it's at the top of a hill, for God's sake :-) I'll try to do better.
Steve ,
Having read your reply , I went back to the books again .
As you say , I think Julian could be very close .
Lanceolate leaves , grey/brown warty fruits , how does Corn Gromwell-Lithospermum arvense fit the bill ?
Interestingly it is in the Borage family , same as the Houndstongue you mentioned on the other hill .
I am happy to see you still have the Little Owl. Those marbled whites are really pretty, like a beveled glass piece.
Congrats on 3 years of those great little owls! Your butterflies are beautiful...never seen any like that. I like the light colored rabbits and your orchids are always beautiful. I can't imagine a whole field of poppies. Wonderful post....climbing hills with you as guide is always worthwhile.
Michele, that's a poetic description of the marbled whites....I'll try to remember it.
Ann, this is probably a good opportunity to thank you for your encouragement and kind words over the past year or so - you spread a huge amount of goodwill through the world.
On the other other hand, there's Greenie......
no but seriously, I also was surprised by the closeness of the mystery plant to the houndstongue, and also wondered about the field/corn gromwell. I need to climb the mountain again, don't I?
Steve ,
I'm afraid the answer to your last question is yes .
Like the 'Sainfoin' incident at Fackenden , I have now gone off Corn Gromwell as my old book says it only grows to one foot high , it was printed in old money .
IF we can believe your description of a 'shrub' , and it does look 'woody' , I'm afraid another climb is necessary . BUT , not in this weather , I'm skint at the moment , and couldn't afford the whip round for the flowers .
Hi Steve
I am staying near Swingate for a week house/cat sitting for my sister. Your blog is a mine of info! Thanks so much. I am wanting to see chalk flowers while I am here. Frustrating when one doesn't know anyone in the area to find best places to go. Blogs are a kind of replacement for that. Am just off to Lydden Down for a stroll and back to St Margarets later to look at some apparently stingless nettle I found Sunday.....ummmm
Mel the herbalist
Steve
Looking at your 'unidentified shrub' - it certainly looks gromwellish - I wonder if it could be field gromwell (Lithospermum arvense). Arable plant book (online here - hope link works - http://www.arableplants.fieldguide.co.uk/?PP=species_account&SPID=42&SHC=4&PSD=1&PHPSESSID=5762ab659082dbeb4ac3ab10e7c8d2e6) says it can 'sometimes be branched and scarmbling, growing up to 1.5m in length. The whole plant is bristly'
Mel the herbalist
Mel,
I'm pleased that you're finding the blog of interest, and that it's useful for your stay here.
You can't beat Lydden for chalk downland flowers, although the butterflies aren't at their best at the moment.
Thanks for the comment on the gromwell-like plant...it seems to share the characteristics of both common and field gromwell!
I look forward to hearing about the stingless nettle :-)
Hi Steve
The nettle is a puzzle. I know the stingless or fen nettle from Wicken (which is not quite stingless in my experience) viz. Urtica galeopsifolia. The nettle down the lane from St Margarets to Kingsdown looks like a fen nettle and is virtually stingless but I am not an expert botanist - it may be Urtica dioica ssp galeopsifolia - I know not - perhaps it is a variant (see BSBI Plant Crib http://www.bsbi.org.uk/Urtica.pdf). I will take photos and tell biological records centre/recorder - just incase. As a herbalist it would be jolly nice to grown stingless nettles!
I also found a broomrape on the cliffs down from the monument - not id it yet. Am really enjoying your chalkland flowers!
Mel
Mel,
Perhaps you could tell me which road you mean - Kingsdown Road from St Margarets? Perhaps you could chalk an arrow to show where it is?
And how do you know it's stingless - do you go around trying each nettle plant, just in case?
You sound pretty expert to me!
Hi Steve
I will go do that before lunch today. I only checked it 'cos it looked just like the 'stingless' nettles at Wicken. It caught my eye. Yes - Kingsdown Road - I park St Marg end at NatCycleRoute sign - and walk down lane from there. If you have email link on blog I'll send you a photo. Found fab big green beasty of a bushcricket up by monument yest too.
Mel
Post a Comment