Dr Livingston I Presume?

Well it might not have been the humid mists of an African jungle, but yesterday, on a misty Scottish morning, I was to be found scrambling my way through the Willow scrub of Blackpool Moss, looking for a rare and evasive plant – the Coralroot Orchid (Corallorhiza trifida). The Coralroot Orchid is a tiny parasitic plant, that grows on the roots of the Willows and flowers somewhat erratically.

So now I know, what it is like to look for a needle in a haystack. Only this haystack is made up of Willow scrub and the needle is this tiny green plant that grows on the Willow roots. On Blackpool Moss this means scrambling amongst moribund Willow, trying to avoid disappearing into bottomless holes hidden between the overgrown roots, or having your eye poked out by wayward twigs, as well as trying to find one tiny green shoot amongst lots.

Blackpool Moss – 29 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

So by this time of the season, much of the surrounding vegetation has also begun to grow. Luckily most of the Meadowsweet and Water Avens are large enough not to be mistaken for the Coralroot Orchid, but very new shoots of the Meadowsweet are small and fine, however, they have a fine coating of silvery hairs. Then there were new Reed shoots, but they are rounder, fatter and greyer. Even more confusing were the very young flowering shoots of the Bog Bean. Once they get more mature the differences were obvious, but when they were very young it was mainly the pink colouring that gave them away as Bog Bean.

 

Coralroot Orchid (Corallorhiza trifida) – 29 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Soon though the scrambling, the confusions gave way to clarity and the needle within the haystack was found – a number of Coralroot Orchids. Wow! It was worth, it they are so tiny and perfect. Beauty in perfection.

Flutter-by Day

With the coming of the sunshine, there was finally the opportunity to go chasing butterflies at Murder Moss last week. Until this week the weather has been far too cold, wet and windy, for any butterfly to appear on the scene up here, without disappearing rapidly into the distance never to be seen again.

The butterfly transect is very simple, follow a set route round a site, at a slow meander and record all the butterflies that occur within an imaginary 5m² box in front of you. Simple or so it seems, just so glad that I’m “up north” (as some might say) and unlike southern chalk grassland the likelihood of being surrounded by swarms of butterflies, especially after such a cold period, is unlikely, for the route is somewhat interesting in places. The transect at Murder Moss, takes you through some of the wettest and sloppiest bits of the swamp, which if walked too roughly through, will give a good coating of smelly black swamp mud.

Murder Moss – 23 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

As for the transect walk, it was as expected very quiet, in total there were five Orange Tips and three Green Veined Whites. I know somewhat lacking in body, but it has been a seriously cold and wet spring and this is the first period of warmth and sunshine since March. However, numbers it might lack, but there was time to actually take note of the butterflies, as they flitted within and through the imaginary box. The fact that the Orange Tips flitted much more purposively than the Green Veined Whites, who would flop about and then settle on a flower, regularly giving good views of their green tinged veins on the under wings.

Incy Wincy Spider

While staring out of the window this morning, dreaming of being out in the now newly arrived summer, and watching the passing of the world for a few minutes, I noticed that a large spiders web had appeared in the corner of the window. While staring at it innocently, a passing Mayfly became entangled and no sooner had it become caught than the Spider dashed out from his hiding place and bundled his catch away, already paralysed and probably wrapped. Wow! One blink and the whole sequence would have been missed, for no sooner had the insect been caught then it had been ferreted away. Further observation showed that the spider was not to be fooled by either the stronger gusts of wind that rattled the web or a number of feathery seeds that it brought with it and had got caught in the web as well.

Incy wincy spider climbing up the spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
Now incy wincy spider went up the spout again!

Patchwork Patterns

Went to Nether Whitlaw Moss the other day for the first time in a long while, and I’d forgotten how distinctively different this site is from rest of the Whitlaw Mosses complex. Apart from being much more acidic than the other three sites, there are very hard, sharp boundaries between the different vegetation communities. No graduations here. From areas of Sedge swamp, to rafts of Bog Bean, to the sudden edge of Sphagnum bog. Everything here comes with sharp hard boundaries, as a result I suspect from the air the area must look quiet like a patchwork quilt, especially as the site is surrounded by the solid bottle green of fields that have under gone some improvement. I would suggest you have a look at one of the several sites that have aerial photos of the Scottish Borders and have a look for yourself.

Nether Whitlaw Moss – 16 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Even though spring seems to be loosing itself in the wet, cold weather, of a winter that doesn’t seem to want to depart, this hasn’t stopped the vegetation from beginning to move onwards and develop a distinctive new spring feel to it. From out of the water there arises the new trifoliate leaves of Bog Bean, that need a few more warm days of sunshine to open out into their true characteristic shape. Amongst the leaves are the first signs of flower buds poking up and at one point a single flower had just dared to begin to open and show the first signs of white frilled petals. Next to the rafts of Bog Bean are the waving grey green leaves of Sedges, which have now lost the remaining brown tops of last years leaves. Then again separated by another hard boundary, are the spongy mass of yellow green Sphagnum, which due to the wet recent weather is looking most luscious. Above which sits the still mainly dormant patches of Willows, of which the occasional one was tinged with the greens of new leaves.

Nether Whitlaw Moss – 16 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Who Said That This Was Spring?

Now what gave me the impression that spring was coming?

Sunshine, warm temperatures, plant growth?

I’m not at all sure that any of these things are actually happening that much this year, apart from maybe a couple of weeks in March. So far the sun might shine intermittently, but not often. The temperatures rarely get into double figures, when they do the wind then blows from the Arctic. As for plant growth, what’s that? By this stage of May, many habitats should at least be showing flushes of new growth as the temperatures begin to rise with lengthening day lengths.

Yesterday I went west to see some species rich grassland and fens at Slipperfield, situated just south of the Pentlands Hills and part of a complex of species rich sites between Dolphinton and West Linton. Here there were no signs of spring. The site was distinctly wrapped in winter’s garb of browns and faded greens. There was no new green tinge, that would suggest that growth had begun again, and no signs of those early grasses, such as Sweet Vernal-grass, coming into flower and producing a scattering of golden spikes. Only the hedges surrounding the site with their covering of new leaves, gave any signs that spring should be present.

Slipperfield Grasslands, with Medick Hill – 14 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

 More about this site can be read here:- http://gateway.snh.gov.uk/sitelink/siteinfo.jsp?pa_code=523

Sunspots

Made the most of today’s sunny morning, and went out into the garden to project sunspots on to a piece of paper. Wow! I find them amazing, seeing what seem to be just minor imperfections on a pinhead from a distance of many million miles. Well OK we all know that the sun is many millions of miles across and that the sun spots are also many millions of miles across, but to see them all that way through space is just amazing.

And what did I see – this

 

Sunspots – Projected onto Paper – 12 May 2012 (Copyright – Ross Lockley)

Pretty neat I think!

If you’re a professional, with the correct equipment, then follow this link and this is what you would have seen – http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/synoptic/sunspots_earth/sunspots_512_20120512.jpg

A Trip to the Woods

Managed to escape the Scottish Borders on Thursday and went for a high speed tour through some of the woodlands in East Lothian.

The route began with Binning Wood, the drier part of which has now been turned into a memorial site for green burials, but which is a long established plantation, originally planted in 1707 by the 6th Earl of Haddington. The original woodland stood for some 235 years before being felled in the 1940’s and then replanted with a variety of broad-leaves just after the war. Since then the main area has begun to develop a damp loving ground flora, varying within the plantation, depending on the substrate, but much of which seems to be dominated by tussocks of Tufted Hair-grass and the long shoots of Giant Fescue. Currently the long shoots of Giant Fescue are mainly visible as last years dead flowering stalks, with the new shoots just beginning to sprout again at the base and are tinged with a rich purple colour. Shame though about the spread of the Rhododendrons through the site.

Binning Wood – 03 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Next it was to head southwards to Spott Mill, to a steep bank of Oak woodland, above Brock Burn. Here the woodland begins with a ground flora dominated by Dog’s Mercury at the bottom of the slope. As the slope is climbed the soil thins and becomes more acidic, as a result the ground flora becomes more grassy and heath-like in nature, with the smaller and finer Wavy Hair-grass tussocks become more predominant, along with patches of Bilberry. With less grazing there would have also been Heather in the sward. As it is the Heather has been grazed out and the Bilberry remains as a very low shrub but still managing to come into flower, with delicate pink lantern-like blooms.

Spott Mill Bank – 03 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

From Spott, it was to one of my favourite woods of the day, an area of ancient woodland just to the north of the village of Stenton, that runs along the banks of Sauchet Water. This is a wonderful area of Ash – Wych Elm woodland, where the ground flora is dominated by a carpet of Ramsons, with its strong garlic smell and puffs of white flowers that were just coming into bloom. Amongst which, there were also clumps of Woodruff, with it whorls of rich green leaves and the hint of the white flowers to come, as a single flower was open amongst a cluster of buds. Then there was the occasional Sanicle plant, which though part of the Carrot Family has distinctive puff balls of white flowers, which with a few days more sunshine would also be opening.

Ash – Wych Elm Woods near Stenton – 03 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Continuing south from Stenton, next stop was at Pressmennan Wood, an ancient woodland that in parts had been planted with conifers, but still has large areas of Oak woodland, with a typical Bluebell ground flora. The Bluebells were just beginning to come into bloom, so there were only a scattering of blue spots, that had yet to make that fabulous blue carpet. While here I also walked down to Pressmennan Lake, one of only four water bodies in Scotland, that are called lakes, for an introduction to wet woods, where there is Willow scrub beginning to develop over the edge area of fen. Better though was the view up the lake where the water was surrounded by a variety of trees that were coming into leaf, and producing a yellow-green highlight to the scene.

Pressmennan Lake – 03 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Finally the last woodland got rather wetter, as it was a stop at a truly wet woodland. Not exactly sure where I was at this point, other than somewhere in the depths of East Lothian. However, the Willow scrub was growing out of a fen habitat, in a scene that had an almost prehistoric feel with Water Horsetails poking their way out of the water, scattered amongst odd clumps of Marsh Marigold and tussocks of grass and sedge.

 

Fen Woodland – 03 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Horsetails and House Martins

Continuing with the theme of Marigolds and May, I was at Hoselaw Loch, which is situated within the foothills of The Cheviots, the other day. Here, though the temperatures were decidedly on the wintry side (only 6^oC on the car thermometer), the place was definitely buzzing with the feelings of spring.

The marginal vegetation had begun to sprout a number of new green shoots to replace last years dead ones. From the clumps of Reed Canary-grass on the bank, there were fresh new green shoots appearing, together with the more prehistoric looking single stems of the Water Horsetail that were beginning to appear from out of the water. Then highlighting them all were the occasional clump of bright yellow Marsh Marigold flowers. Compared to Murder Moss the previous day, the Marsh Marigolds here, were considerably further on, with loads more flowers present.

Hoselaw Loch – 02 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Across the surface of the loch there also swooped the graceful forms of a number of House Martins and Swallows, neither of whom seemed at all bothered by the coolness of the temperatures. For me, these were the first House Martins of the year, which accompanying the sightings of my first Swallows last week is a good start to the summer migrants. Also within the surrounding scrub there were the wonderful rippling warbles from a number of Willow Warblers. Their song is almost like the gentle fall of a series of water droplets, as they cascade over the edge of a full pot, and of course another one for the summer migrants list.

For more information about Hoselaw Loch please follow this link – http://gateway.snh.gov.uk/sitelink/siteinfo.jsp?pa_code=512

Marigolds and May Day

Its been a just under a month since I was last at Murder Moss, and what a difference a month has made. Since my last visit here, though the weather has remained cold, wet and windy, spring has been slowly and quietly moving forward. No longer is brown the major colour.

Many of the Willows remain firmly wrapped in winter dormancy, with buds tightly closed, still waiting for temperatures to rise before springing into life. Some, however, now have a distinctive flush of green as the leaves burst out. The browns of the sedge beds have also been replaced by a new flush of green growth, leaving just the occasional highlight of brown, remaining from where the tips of last years leaves are showing over this new flush of growth.

Murder Moss – 01 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Carefully examination, show that many plants are moving on towards flowering, with Marsh Marigold, Bog Bean and Marsh Valerian plants having formed flower buds, that seem to be awaiting a touch of sunshine and warmth to burst out. In fact, in those areas more sheltered than others, some flowers have already burst into bloom, with one fully opened Marsh Marigold flower spotted in the shelter of a wet bank. In many parts of Britain there was the tradition of hanging Marsh Marigolds over the byres of the cattle on May Day, to protect them from the evil doings of fairies and witches.

While on the grassy edges of the moss, there was a regular scattering of yellow Dandelion flowers. Then in several very sheltered areas, mainly hidden under the edges of the occasional Hawthorn bush, were a few spots of mauve from some Common Dog Violets and the yellow almost golden spikes of Sweet Vernal-grass.