Friday is normally litter pick day so Chris and I went over to Lodmoor and as well as litter picking we also decided to spot how many plants we could find in flower on this sunny mild January day. All these photos were taken today.
The surprise of the day was Blackthorn flowering. This shrub normally flowers from late March to May before the leaves. I recorded this event on the phenology website.
Sweet Violets normally flowers from February to March. These are coming into flower now on both Radipole and Lodmoor. It is our only fragrant violet.
On both sites the Alder trees are starting to come into flower which is from now until to April. The male catkins are yellow and the female catkins are purple. Flowers appear before leaves appear. Often last year's cones are also present.
Another plant merrily flowering away was the Scentless Mayweed. Normally flowering time is from April to November so obviously enjoying the mild winter. We found several plants still in flower on the path at Lodmoor.
Another plant enjoying the mild winter is the Bristly Oxtongue which normally flowers from from June to November. There are many flowers on the plants at Lodmoor near the Viewing shelter.
We found one lonely Hedge Bindweed overwintering in the hedgerow. This plant normally flowers from June to September.
We were delighted to find a Creeping Thistle plant in full flower which is normally from June to October. It is our only fragrant thistle with purple flowers.
Other plants we found flowering today were hedge mustard, red dead nettle, dovesfoot cranesbill, daisy, dandelion, common field speedwell, herb robert, black medick and red clover.
Some of you folks out there in Twitter world may have noticed that, among other offerings, Luke and I like to throw in the odd joke, lately with an ornithological slant, on https://twitter.com/RSPBWeymouth. Lovingly, laboriously (and perhaps hastily) crafted, and possibly of limited appeal and durability they may be, but we mean well. Perhaps there are more out there on the same theme...
Anyway, here's one which can't be crammed into a Tweet, but which we'd like to share anyway:
A chap goes into a record shop and selects from the rack an LP called The Sounds of Wasps, and asks if he can listen to a sample before buying it. Shopkeeper agrees to play a few tracks and tells the man to go into a booth where he can put on headphones and listen.
A couple of minutes later the man emerges from the booth and says “I am the world’s expert on wasps and the sounds they make and I don’t recognise anything I’ve heard so far. Something’s wrong with this record!” The shopkeeper says “Sorry, sir, maybe the record is a bit dusty, I’ll clean it and we’ll try again.” So the bloke goes back into the booth and puts the headphones back on.
He soon comes out again, looking more frustrated, and says “I am the world’s expert on wasps and the sounds they make and I still don’t recognise anything I’ve heard so far. I’m sure something’s wrong with this record!” The shopkeeper apologises again and says he’ll check the speed of the record player, then invites the customer to settle down in the booth again and listen to some more tracks.
It’s not long before the man emerges from the booth again, still looking very disgruntled, exclaiming “I am the world’s expert on wasps and the sounds they make and I still don’t recognise anything I’ve heard so far. I’m sure something’s wrong with this record!”
The shopkeeper checks the record player again, and says...
“I’m terribly sorry sir, but I’ve been playing the B side.”
Life as a fish on Radipole Lake isn’t the bowl of cherries that many folk might have you believe. Fair enough, you have the freedom of the lake that your ability to respire underwater grants you and added to this freedom is the boon of plentiful invertebrate life to feed you and your entire extended family - can't be all bad..? However, the cruel downside of a piscatorial existence on Radipole is that almost every other inhabitant of the lake and its margins is hell-bent on capturing and consuming you as the following clips will amply demonstrate.
One minute you and your brethren are rootling around the rushy margins sifting up a bit of passing detritus when a heron makes its deadly, dagger strike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TW6lv21O_4&context=C30530fbADOEgsToPDskJj_vm90HKqYbRcKqDTpo7t
Or, in a blur of iridescent neon and gold, a kingfisher pins you in its bill, removes you from your watery familiarity, thwacks you on a stick and swallows you whole – all in the blinking of an eye thus availing scant opportunities for final fond farewells.*
The cormorant even has the audacity to swim you down and then eat you - surely the ultimate humiliation for a fish? Being out manoeuvred underwater by an animal that flies... the shame of it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=413m9hvB1uw&context=C358966cADOEgsToPDskJqOdOvBygO2WEDz1SotsRQ
Even outsized fish cannot be too smug now that otters are resident and even predatory fish like pike don’t have things all their own way as the following photograph shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEeJPeM0PPw&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Heron and pike by Allan Neilson.
The presence of such an abundance of fish eaters on the lake is an indication of the health of the reserves waterways. Electric fishing allied to casual observation of the newly created ditches and pools have shown that the fish population has expanded enormously to fill the enlarged capacity. All of which is good news for the fish themselves – who just need to phlegmatically accept that being eaten occasionally is an occupational hazard - as well as for the fish eating multitudes..
Thanks to Chris E-E for his great undertaking in gathering all of our footage - and there is a glut about to hit your screens so as always watch this space!
*Clip to follow when Chris completes the editing procedure... it will be very good!
Firstly, the Radipole Visitor centre is now closed for improvements. Never fear the reserve is still open as is the hide and events are still up and running. And what a time to visit too. As Nicks previous blog suggests it's a great time to get down to see the majestic marsh harrier hunting on the reserve but there are also great opportunities to see our resident kingfisher, bearded tits, snipe and if you're very lucky you may even spot a water vole or otter!
If you want to contact us at the reserve whilst the VC is closed you can look out for staff and volunteers around the reserve or ring us at the office on 01305 773519.
In just a few years the marsh harrier - it could be argued - has become the signature bird of Weymouth Wetlands having successfully bred twice on each reserve since 2009 following a Dorset-wide breeding absence of almost half a century. The early weeks of 2012 have seen a steady stream of harrier activity with three individual birds active across the two reserves. The harriers provide a welcome reminder of an ongoing conservation success story and provide ourselves and our visitors some spectacular wildlife activity to witness.
Regular visitor Danny Dench had his perseverance rewarded with the capture of the following sequence of remarkable images witnessed from the Radipole viewing shelter. The raptor was in pursuit of a teal which eventually made good its escape having (unsurprisingly) proven itself to be a superior swimmer to the 'water harrier'.
All pictures © Danny Dench.
Many thanks to Danny for the photos. To sample more of his excellent pictures click this http://www.flickr.com/photos/51906028@N07/
For a reminder of last summer's harrier antics and to whet ones appetite as regards to what may lie in prospect as the year unfolds, click the following:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/weymouthwetlands/b/weymouthwetlands-blog/archive/2011/06/23/a-fearful-symmetry.aspx