I love ecological journeys. I love discovery. I love digging deeper. But I have a simple mind and I can never remember things. In my youth, I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees, identifying plants. But now, as I am occupied with other things, I tend to forget. I used to care that I couldn’t be an expert, that I didn’t have the patience to identify mosses, for example. I worried that I didn’t understand all the patterns and processes. Now I don’t give a fig.
Still, I am torn between naming and not naming things. Does it matter if you know the name to enjoy the smell, the colour, the shape? At the same time, naming can help to connect and understand.
Well, as it happens I can identify these plants. Is the buttercup, just an average buttercup? Well, it has down pointing sepals (the green parts that sit below the petals) and that makes it bulbous buttercup (creeping buttercup is more common and you’ll often find it in your lawn). That tells me something about the bit of field it chooses to live in. It’s a plant that doesn’t like grass that’s had lots of cow poo or fertiliser on it.
So, at Coombes we have a small number of cows and we don’t put fertiliser on. That’s why our fields are special fields – they are technically called ‘unimproved grassland’. It scared me when I heard some outrageous statistic on the radio – think it was that only 2% of our unimproved grassland is left. This sounds extreme and as I write this I can’t confirm whether it's perfectly correct. There’s no doubt though that this habitat is disappearing all the time and is relatively rare. For more information have a look at http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/key_habitats/grassland/
Anyway, regardless of statistics, I am privileged to walk these fields on a sunny Wednesday afternoon (even if it is on the pretence that it’s a great place to have a meeting!) You, of course, are also welcome to lie in the grass (don’t squash the orchids please!) and contemplate life (to name or not to name perhaps?!).
So, from bulbous buttercup to bugle (top left to right) and pignut to meadow foxtail (bottom left to right) come and enjoy the colours of the Meadow Meander to Valley Viewpoint.
Cheers
Jarrod
RSPB Coombes Valley is a beautiful place to explore all of nature, or simply to walk in the peace and tranquility of our wooded valley. If you come at this time of year, the signs of spring are everywhere, new life is bursting through, wild flowers are emerging, and the dawn chorus is at its best. What's more, all this is free; there is no admission charge!
This year our special reserve is 50, giving us a really special reason to share its magic with you. To help capture that magic we've launched a Flickr photo group where you can upload your pictures of RSPB Coombes Valley, share them with like-minded people and comment on other people's photos.
To get the group off to a great start, we're holding a photography competition! The competition is open now, and will run until Tuesday 31st July. On that date we'll pick a winner who will receive a copy of 'Saving Planet Earth' by Tony Juniper.
The next time you visit RSPB Coombes Valley, bring your camera along and capture what this beautiful place means to you. All you need is enthusiasm and something to take pictures with, it's amazing what you can do with a camera phone!
To submit your pictures, you'll need to sign up for a free account at www.flickr.com and then join the 'RSPB Coombes Valley Nature Reserve' group.
If you need more information, pop in and see us at the information centre or the office and we'll point you in the right direction
.
Thankyou Jacqui. She has kindly written this blog with her photographs after her visit to Coombes on the 8th May.
I particularly like this sentence ..... 'The path led ever downwards, a bit like a page from Tolkien, wending through light woodlands and open grassy patches'
Come and discover the journey into the entrancing woodland that is Coombes
Top left to top right - small copper butterfly, male orange tip butterfly and an orange tip on it's foodplant - lady's smock
Bottom left - male great spotted woodpecker Bottom right - male pied flycatcher
'My friend, Jan, has had an overwhelming desire to see a pied flycatcher at close quarters for as long as I can remember. So, when she read on the Coombes Valley Nature Reserve blog that there was an excellent chance of seeing one there, the decision was made! We drove over from Nottingham on a sunny morning, through the Derbyshire Dales, and reached Coombes Valley at 9:00 am on an unusually sunny May morning. As we drove in through the gates, we were met by one of the wardens on the site. She couldn't have been more helpful, as she saw me unloading Jan's mobility scooter from the boot. With her cheerful words ringing in our ears - "Don't worry, if you get stuck, I'll come and get you" - we set off.
The path led ever downwards, a bit like a page from Tolkien, wending through light woodlands and open grassy patches where we could hear the warblers striking up a tune and caught some glimpses of a few of them. As we reached the bottom of the hill, we came to a bridge over a stream where we set up camp, in the hope of the elusive pied flycatcher or a redstart or two. We didn't have long to wait before we were treated to the sight of not one, but a pair, of pied flycatchers, swooping up to the branches overhanging the stream and giving us excellent views.
As we sat down on the carved bench to eat lunch, my eye was taken by a flash of black and white and there, less than ten feet away, were a pair of great spotted woodpeckers, popping in and out of their nest hole in the tree. Again, excellent sightings. The sun was getting warmer by now and soon we were seeing the unmistakable flash of an orange tip butterfly, resting briefly on the flowers near the stream.
Unfortunately, we could go no further than this, because the bridge was unsurmountable by Jan's scooter. We had heard stories from other visitors of the meadow and the building where the redstarts were nesting but, for us, this was not a possibility. So, reluctantly, we turned back towards the centre. The first part of the upward slope was particularly daunting, as the recent rain had left it muddy with loose debris, but a very kind photographer manhandled the scooter up to the clearing for us!
We stopped to rest halfway up the hill in a grassy clearing, where we finally saw our redstart at the top of a tree. There was a peacock butterfly fluttering round and, as we stood up to go, a charming small copper came to rest in the grasses in front of us. Back at the centre, again we met friendly and helpful staff, one of whom actually brushed the wheels of the scooter for us. Great service!
All in all, we had a wonderful day out at Coombes Valley and would like to return often. The big drawback for us is that there are no facilities or concessions made for disabled people, so we will have to choose a time when there has been a prolonged dry spell to venture down on the scooter. A ramp across the stream would also be wonderful, as then we could have enjoyed the whole reserve. Nevertheless, we will be back and look forward to our next visit.'
If you wander across the field to Valley View Point - just nr the information centre - you'll see dock leaves being muched on by lots of this beetle. I don't think it's got an English name but it does have a fancy latin name - Gastrophysa viridula. It's shiny green and a cute little thing - not as scary as this picture might suggest!! Coombes is a great place for beetles - not just birds
A lot of this is happening within a few metres of the residential volunteers accomodation. Check out what Nick Godden, one of the TOP TEAM at Coombes (who is lucky enough to live on site) has to say. Then read below that for a summary of bird sightings in the last week.
'After what has felt like weeks of icy cold winds howling up the valley, today has been a very welcome change. Glorious sunshine bathed the woods which are now starting to turn green with the long-awaited spring leaves. Beneath this cloak of green is a different story however – beautiful carpets of bluebells and many other woodland flowers can be found on the valley slopes.
It has been great to help many of our visitors to see two of our special birds – redstart and pied flycatcher – for the first time. There are now several pairs around the valley, with a bit of patience you should get lucky. Visitors to the reserve also found butterflies in abundance for the first time this year, these included orange tip, green-veined white, small copper and comma.
A lot of our summer visitors are returning to Coombes now after a winter spent in Africa. New arrivals this week include whitethroat, tree pipit, grasshopper warbler and spotted flycatcher. The males are already busy fighting over their favourite tree, clearing or patch of bramble ready to attract a mate when they arrive.
As a residential volunteer it is amazing to have such amazing wildlife in my ‘back garden’. So imagine then my excitement this morning when I topped up our bird feeders this morning and discovered two male whitethroats building nests right outside the window of our dining table! No doubt we will be keeping an eye on them over the next few weeks.'
And now for a succint summary of birds in the last week:
lots of pied flycatcher – first bridge over the brook and the pond area are good places
Redstart – down by the first bridge, nr the cottage, in the woodland below Buzzard Bank
Tree Pipit – singing and displaying on the Woodcock Trail (nr the carved mushroom along the trail/box 22)
Spotted flycatcher – can be seen nr the first bridge – but staff haven’t seen there yet in 2012. There have been sightings this year but away from the trail network I’m afraid
Wood warbler – been a decline on the reserve in the last decade – no records to date – recorded in Coombes in 2010 (1 singing male away from the trails) and at our other landholding in the Churnet (3 singing males away from the trails). You are unlikely to see this species but appreciate any records if you do
Lesser Whitethroat – below Valley View point and around the meadows
Whitethroat – around the car park and top meadows
Grasshopper warbler – singing last week in Clough Meadow
Woodcock – males roding almost guaranteed from Clough Meadow as the evening light fades
Lots of garden warbler, blackcap, willow warbler, chiff chaff, nuthatch..............
Willow tit around the feeding station
Great spotted woodpecker – nest hole visible nr the first bridge over the brook
Send any records/images (not too big) to our e-mail address