Decimation

A visit to one of my favourite local ‘patches’ earlier this week did not bring me the joy I had hoped for, in fact quite the opposite. On arrival I discovered to my shock and horror that the hedgerow running the length of the stream at Plascrug ditch has been decimated! Where once there was…

Strange & Beautiful

It was back in the warm and relatively carefree days of summer that I stumbled across a rather unusual find when out searching for insects among the wildflowers. In among a cluster of corn chamomile flowers growing beside the harbour wall, was this rather unusual looking bloom. This particular stem and in a conjoined or…

The importance of wildflowers: Part 2

You may have seen my previous post about the importance of wildflowers, continuing that theme today I am looking at another small but vital habitat close to home. Just above the high tide line of the harbour is a small patch of rough ground, usually strewn with small rowing boats used by seafarers to reach…

The importance of wildflowers

Stepping just outside my back door is a small wildflower verge, a strip of long grass and a tangle of wildflowers, underappreciated by the regular traffic of dogwalkers. This area is however a small but vital habitat for many species of plants and animals and should be valued and protected. Plantains and grasses growing wild…

Plastic planet

Ever since millions of us around the world watched the heartbreaking scenes in Blue Planet II where a Sperm Whale attempts to eat a large piece of a plastic bucket, we have been increasingly aware of the impact our use of, and careless disposal of plastic is having on our natural world. This impact is…

Flight of the bumblebee

Spring has arrived late in the UK this year, and the delay of warmer weather has meant that many of our insect species have also been slow to emerge from their winter hibernation. With the long anticipated, and very welcome arrival of sunny skies, flowers have finally sprung up, ready and waiting to be pollinated…

Resourceful Jackdaws

With Spring now well under way the local birds have turned their attention to breeding. Whilst the mallards and swans get amorous down on the water the Jackdaws have been busy collecting stick and twigs with which they will construct a nest. Jackdaw nests are surprisingly large and usually built in tree cavities, on buildings…