Good news, there was a juvenile robin on the patio yesterday. I’m convinced it’s from the nest in the hawthorn (no good reason, I just want it to be). Fortunately, there hasn’t been too much magpie activity in the garden (our only regular chick eater), there’s been no shortage of magpies, they just haven’t been in the garden – perfect.
Don’t get me wrong, I like magpies, they’re smart looking birds and they rattle with attitude. I’ve noticed a couple of ‘SOS’ car stickers around Leeds. SOS stands for Save Our Songbirds, an unpleasant campaign or organisation that promotes the destruction of corvids, like magpies, and birds of prey, under the guise of protecting the ‘songbirds’ whose chicks they eat. In reality, it’s gamekeepers, pigeon fanciers and the gullible, trying to put a respectable front on killing for their own benefit. I say 'campaign or organisation' because I don’t know which it is. Try searching for it or them on the internet, there isn’t even a website. Strange.
Magpies can be predators, live with it. Magpie numbers respond to prey (songbird) numbers, not the other way round. High magpie numbers is good, it means that songbird numbers must also be high, and vice versa. The percentage of chicks eaten will always be about the same. Songbird numbers are more affected by loss of suitable habitat.
At work, a couple of weeks ago, I was looking out of the window and counted 18 magpies on the field. Every time I see magpies I subconsciously say the rhyme, even though I only know as far as ‘4 for a boy’. Maybe it’s ‘18 for a successful breeding season’.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Mr McGregor's Garden
At the end of June, Barwick has an open gardens day, where a dozen or so residents open their garden to the public for a small entrance fee (which goes to charity). Deb and I have been for the last few years because we love gardens and we love to nose in other peoples' gardens.
Obviously, all of the gardens are well kept and many offer ideas for our own ideal garden, but there was one garden that stood out. Situated in a part of the village that looks like it is of post-war construction, and generally looks less well cared for, the front garden looked ordinary enough with marigolds, petunias and a neat lawn, but the back garden was the surprise. It was like stepping into Mr McGregor's garden, of Peter Rabbit fame, row upon row of regimented vegetables, carrots, cabbages, beans, lettuces and so on. At the end of the garden was a ramshackle greenhouse, full of tomatoes and cucumbers. It brought back many happy memories of my grandad's vegetable patch.
As I drove into Barwick at the end of last week, a large white butterfly flitted along the hawthorn hedge, next to the cornfield. I thought of Mr McGregor's cabbages as his garden isn't more than 200 yards away, and because they aren't called 'cabbage whites' without reason. Fortunately, he was going the wrong way.
Obviously, all of the gardens are well kept and many offer ideas for our own ideal garden, but there was one garden that stood out. Situated in a part of the village that looks like it is of post-war construction, and generally looks less well cared for, the front garden looked ordinary enough with marigolds, petunias and a neat lawn, but the back garden was the surprise. It was like stepping into Mr McGregor's garden, of Peter Rabbit fame, row upon row of regimented vegetables, carrots, cabbages, beans, lettuces and so on. At the end of the garden was a ramshackle greenhouse, full of tomatoes and cucumbers. It brought back many happy memories of my grandad's vegetable patch.
As I drove into Barwick at the end of last week, a large white butterfly flitted along the hawthorn hedge, next to the cornfield. I thought of Mr McGregor's cabbages as his garden isn't more than 200 yards away, and because they aren't called 'cabbage whites' without reason. Fortunately, he was going the wrong way.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Taxonomy by Nathan
Last week I took my 6th formers outside to do some fieldwork. Although the school is an inner city one, there is a surprisingly diverse band of scrub and rank vegetation around the edge of the school field, including gorse, hawthorn, elder, bramble, nettles and, believe it or not, bluebells. There are a number of mature trees scattered around, such as ash, field maple, oak, goat willow and a variety of more ornamental plantings like Lombardy poplar and cherry. There used to be more but half a dozen got cut down the other year because they blocked the sight lines of the then newly-installed security cameras, a great shame.
In reality, we counted dandelions, plantain and white clover because that was all they could recognize easily (after instruction) and it was all that was present in sufficient quantity to require quadratting to estimate numbers.
Whilst they were counting , I scanned the taller vegetation for anything interesting. Having read the bit on ladybirds in this months’ BBC Wildlife magazine, I was pleased to find a 2-spot ladybird. In my ignorance I thought I’d found a rarity, but the magazine told me it was ‘common and widespread’. Not in my garden, I’m sure I’ve only seen one on two or three occasions. I’ll certainly look more carefully in future.
Nathan will help me look, he’s interested in all things living, an interest I intend to fuel. At 20 months he’s already got a taxonomy system that would put most of those up to Linnaeus to shame. Two legs is a ‘quack-quack’, four legs is a ‘doggy’, six or more legs is a ‘spider’ unless it flies off, then it becomes a ‘bee’. Next stop, Cladistics Department at the Natural History Museum.
In reality, we counted dandelions, plantain and white clover because that was all they could recognize easily (after instruction) and it was all that was present in sufficient quantity to require quadratting to estimate numbers.
Whilst they were counting , I scanned the taller vegetation for anything interesting. Having read the bit on ladybirds in this months’ BBC Wildlife magazine, I was pleased to find a 2-spot ladybird. In my ignorance I thought I’d found a rarity, but the magazine told me it was ‘common and widespread’. Not in my garden, I’m sure I’ve only seen one on two or three occasions. I’ll certainly look more carefully in future.
Nathan will help me look, he’s interested in all things living, an interest I intend to fuel. At 20 months he’s already got a taxonomy system that would put most of those up to Linnaeus to shame. Two legs is a ‘quack-quack’, four legs is a ‘doggy’, six or more legs is a ‘spider’ unless it flies off, then it becomes a ‘bee’. Next stop, Cladistics Department at the Natural History Museum.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Room with a view - Thursday
After the awful events of Thursday, I just didn’t know what to say or do. Everyday folk, like me, just have to get on with it or bombers achieve what they set out to do.
For a few minutes, I escaped into the landscape, this is the far view from my window at work. Drawn with a black biro left by one of the kids on cartridge paper, it’s fairly pastoral, considering the fact that I work at an inner city school. The tallest building on the horizon is Morley Town Hall, I believe.
(Read Simon Barnes' column from the Times on Saturday, about the solace to be gained from nature).
Room with a view - Scarborough
On a lighter note (and in a separate post because I can’t work out how to put two pictures in one post), we went to Scarborough on Saturday and stayed at the Crown for the night. Deb’s mum and dad were staying too, so we got to go swimming and to go the beach together. The sea breeze tempered the heat and made it a really pleasant weekend. It was a wrench to come home on Sunday afternoon, to the sweltering inland heat and to the thought of stifling work clothes like socks and ties.
We didn’t have a sea view as it cost an extra £25 (and I’m too mean) but as the receptionist said to us, understandingly, “well, I suppose you only need to step out the front door, don’t you?” During quieter moments I managed to draw part of the view from our hotel window. This view is fairly urban, considering the proximity of the North Sea. I sketched the chimney pots and roof, then I had to wait an age until a herring gull landed on it so I could complete the drawing. I struggle to leave even a sketch without something living in it.
We didn’t have a sea view as it cost an extra £25 (and I’m too mean) but as the receptionist said to us, understandingly, “well, I suppose you only need to step out the front door, don’t you?” During quieter moments I managed to draw part of the view from our hotel window. This view is fairly urban, considering the proximity of the North Sea. I sketched the chimney pots and roof, then I had to wait an age until a herring gull landed on it so I could complete the drawing. I struggle to leave even a sketch without something living in it.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Massive Skies
Went to a wedding at the weekend. Deb’s cousin got married and the reception was at Thurcroft, near Sheffield. It was a nice day, with nice food and lots of kiddies for Nathan to go and play with. Again there were swifts everywhere I went, with a top count of well over fifty, hawking for insects, above one of the road junctions between the church and the reception.
Driving home in the evening along the M1, you could see the Peak District, beyond Sheffield, backlit by a low sun and beneath a towering tiered bank of grey cloud. It made me think of the BBC series – Picture of Britain. Having had no artistic or literary training myself, I wouldn’t know cubism from impressionism, I’m a great fan of this program, I feel like I’m getting just a little bit of an education. I also envy David Dimbleby getting paid to drive round in a Land Rover, and a Defender at that – dream transport! But, and this is the thing, top marks go to the photography, it’s fantastic, it doesn’t seem to matter where he is, he’s always topped by massive skies and the most awesome cloud formations. Words don’t do it justice, you’d just have to watch the program.
I must finish this post with a tale of Yorkshire folk. Deb helped her mum and dad to book a weeks’ holiday in Scarborough at the Crown Hotel. Deb was just saying how they’d need to get a taxi to the hotel from the railway station, as it’s a bit far to walk with bags, when her mum said “Aye, but I’m not telling them I’m staying at the Crown – they’ll charge me double! I’ll get them to drop me at the Belmont, round the corner and I’ll walk from there.” There’s no answer to that.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
A Blaze of Red
It's a great time of year for two wild flowers that give a really impressive display - ox-eye daisies and poppies.
Ox-eye daisies are common in these parts. Just about every roadside bank is covered with a drift of daisies. Common certainly doesn't mean ordinary, they're spectacular and, for me, a sign of high summer.
Less common, and far harder to predict their location, are fields of poppies. Not a few along a verge, I mean a field FULL of poppies, a blaze of red. This year there's just such a poppy field on my way to work between Barwick and Scholes. It's definitely not there every year - I've travelled that route for over 8 years, so those poppy seeds must have laid dormant for some time, as poppy seeds often do. There's a few daisies in amongst the poppies and some yellow flowers that I haven't even tried to identify (I'm a poor botanist). The field isn't very big but the impact is.
Wild flowers, wild man!
Ox-eye daisies are common in these parts. Just about every roadside bank is covered with a drift of daisies. Common certainly doesn't mean ordinary, they're spectacular and, for me, a sign of high summer.
Less common, and far harder to predict their location, are fields of poppies. Not a few along a verge, I mean a field FULL of poppies, a blaze of red. This year there's just such a poppy field on my way to work between Barwick and Scholes. It's definitely not there every year - I've travelled that route for over 8 years, so those poppy seeds must have laid dormant for some time, as poppy seeds often do. There's a few daisies in amongst the poppies and some yellow flowers that I haven't even tried to identify (I'm a poor botanist). The field isn't very big but the impact is.
Wild flowers, wild man!
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