Nature in your local patch
OPAL West Midlands: Nature in your local patch
March
March 09 notes
15/03/09 20:13
The last few days of warmth seem to have done the trick. Life is abundant in my local patch. I went off for a walk today with one purpose, to photograph an early flowering and interesting riparian plant. You’ll all know it, certainly in late summer when its large rhubarb-like leaves coat the banks of the local rivers. The plant in question is Butterbur. It is an early flowering species, sometimes as early as February (like last year) and it flowers before producing those huge leaves.
The banks of rivers are now dotted with small yellow flowers belonging to Lesser Celandine and Coltsfoot. The former has been flowering for a few weeks. I saw my first solitary flower on March 2nd, but it is much more evident now. I didn’t see any Coltsfoot last time we were out (Mar 13th) so it has arrived in the last few days. Both of these flowers are sun lovers and Lesser Celandine even tracks the sun and closes its leaves when the sky darkens.
The other good news is that the migrant warblers are returning from Africa. I have heard Chiffchaffs singing the last few weeks. We are now waiting for the others, Wilow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat and the like. In some areas in the West Midlands Chiffchaffs (and some other warblers) overwinter but not deep in the city.
The ponds of your local patches should be home to mating amphibians and many full of spawn from frogs, toads and newts. They will develop quickly into tadpoles as the weather warms. Amphibians have been in the news lately because of the collapse in their numbers. Ponds and lake in cities, towns and gardens are important habitats as rural dew ponds are being removed at alarming rates.
The banks of rivers are now dotted with small yellow flowers belonging to Lesser Celandine and Coltsfoot. The former has been flowering for a few weeks. I saw my first solitary flower on March 2nd, but it is much more evident now. I didn’t see any Coltsfoot last time we were out (Mar 13th) so it has arrived in the last few days. Both of these flowers are sun lovers and Lesser Celandine even tracks the sun and closes its leaves when the sky darkens.
The other good news is that the migrant warblers are returning from Africa. I have heard Chiffchaffs singing the last few weeks. We are now waiting for the others, Wilow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat and the like. In some areas in the West Midlands Chiffchaffs (and some other warblers) overwinter but not deep in the city.
The ponds of your local patches should be home to mating amphibians and many full of spawn from frogs, toads and newts. They will develop quickly into tadpoles as the weather warms. Amphibians have been in the news lately because of the collapse in their numbers. Ponds and lake in cities, towns and gardens are important habitats as rural dew ponds are being removed at alarming rates.