The Secret Lake

Some years ago ,a very good friend had a dream ,he wanted to own his own lake and being a hard worker, he saved his money up and over time a piece of land came up to be sold, he purchased the land and put his dream to task and last year after many adventures ,setbacks and problems the lake was filled with stream water and his dream had become a reality.
Very kindly he has let me monitor the lake and although at the moment it is in a very raw state nature is finding its way there and over the next year i will show how over a period of time insects,birds,flowers all find there way to a new safe haven.

A view down the Lake.

The lake itself is various depths and has both shallow and deep banks ,one of the first things i noticed was the large amount of Deer tracks all the way round, and round the shallow banks where they must come down to drink.The lake is fed by a natural stream so the water level should remain pretty constant and the banks of the stream are full of wildflowers that will spread by means of seed dispersal all around the lake area.

The feeder Stream.

Some beautiful Bluebells and Wood Anemones.

The wildflowers spotted on my first visit which was a cold showery April day were
Dandelions
Cow parsley
Lesser Celandine
Garlic Mustard
Hairy Bitter Cress
Bluebells
Wood Sorrel
Wood Anemone
Colts foot
Mouse Ear
Honesty
Buttercup
Mayflower
Daffodil
Other plants that were not in flower were
Dock
Nettles
Himalayan Mountain Balsam
Horse tail
Fern
Yellow Flag Iris
Reeds

All around the open flowers were numerous insects feeding on the nectar and helping to pollinate the flowers.

Hover Flies on Dandelion.

Bee Hover Fly resting in the sunshine.

Green Dock Leaf Beetle eggs.

The insects spotted on the day were
Crane Flies
Red Tail Bumble Bee
Buff Tail Bumble Bee
St Marks Day Flies
Violet Ground Beetle
Hover flies
Green Dock Leaf Beetles
Numerous Spiders were also spotted but i need more identification on these.

Birds seen on the day were
Pheasant
Carrion Crow
Heron
Buzzard
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Reed Bunting
Curlew
Lapwing
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Canada Geese
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove.

All the surrounding trees have nest boxes in them three were occupied by Great and Blue Tits and some cheeky squirrels had been trying to gnaw the holes larger to get at the eggs inside.There where numerous Vole and Mice holes in the banks and 2 frogs and one toad spotted ,there was signs all over of Rabbit activity, and also of a Fox ,the only fungi spotted was King Alfred's Cakes.

Mouse Ear
At a time when more and more Greenfield sites are being lost it makes a fantastic change to see a new lake and surrounding area being created it will become a oasis of wildlife and i will visit every month to see what new life has started and taken residence this lake is just 3 Miles from the village of Longridge.

Horse Tail.
Have a great weekend,and keep your eyes open for the nature all around you Nature man Andy. 

The Secret Valley

Having tired the kids and wife out the last three days i got a chance to do what i love the most and go exploring new locations,this valley i went to today has always caught my eye but it was the first time i had,had the chance to explore it fully.
The first thing i found was this amazing Bracket Fungi over 2 feet in length.

Bracket Fungi
Moving on deeper in to the valley i came across a large Badger Sett with leaves and used bedding covering the front,it was one entrance of three i found and the clay banks were covered in deep claw marks where the Badgers had dug in to pull themselves up to the entrance, for obvious reasons this location has got to be kept secret.

Badger sett Entrance
And would you believe within thirty minutes i had another Sett found.

Used bedding piled up outside the Sett entrance.
Deer tracks where all over the paths and it was easy to see where they had taken off and landed jumping small ditches.

Take off point.

Happy landings.
Now the bad stuff ,i found three places where poachers had drilled out holes in trees to set snares for the deer there is usually 3 holes and they are Deer head height, not a very nice thing to see.

First example of holes.

Second example.
The floor of the woodland was full of Slugs a staple part of a Badgers diet they get rid of the slime by rolling the Slug on the floor before eating them here are some examples of the Slugs seen today.I will do a more in depth post about Slugs and species in weeks to come.

Slug.

Slug.

And then a unusual sight a pair of Slugs mating.

A new plant seen today was a Stichwort, small delicate White petals.

Stitchwort.

Another unusual fungi seen was this one oozing out from a branch.

Witches Butter Fungi.
And so ended a fantastic walk with 12 Roe Deer seen as well as 3 Hares the birds seen today included Pheasant,Carrion Crow,Sparrow Hawk,Buzzard,Chaffinch,Goldfinch,and Blackbirds.
Off to the secret lake next have a great weekend Nature man Andy.




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Easter Adventures

With the Easter holidays and the children being off school the weather took a turn for the worse with cold winds and periods of heavy rain,I have been kept very busy guiding walks and recording nature records, and with the large spring tides more and more of our summer birds have been seen after migrating from Africa and other warmer climates,Swallows,Sand Martins,House Martins,chiff chaffs and ospreys have all been seen.
Our native birds are busy nesting now and a wonderful find was a Robin nest at the base of a tree in tangled roots with 5 eggs in.

Well hidden Robin nest.

All the bird boxes in the garden are now full of Great and Blue Tits,with other nesting birds Blackbirds,Song thrushes,Green and Gold Finches and Collared Doves we even have a cheeky Jackdaw that has nested in a Owl box.Song thrushes are delightful birds often leading the dawn chorus with its wonderful melodic song,and is also the Blacksmith of the bird world who uses a prominent Stone in the garden or park as a Anvil to crack open Snail shells to get at the juicy meal inside,if you look carefully as you are out walking you should be able to find one surrounded by broken Snail shells.

Song thrush Stone Anvil surrounded by smashed Snail Shells
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Another unusual sight while out walking was a heavily pregnant female Toad walking over the field trying to get to a nearby lake to lay her strings of eggs.

female Toad heavily pregnant
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On one of the warmer days when i was out by the coast i came across a heavy hatch of Saint Marks Day flies in amongst the sand dunes they where everywhere and the local bird life was taking full advantage.

Saint Marks Day Flies.

On the Reservoir banks the spring flowers continue to flourish with the early Primroses and Daffodils now being replaced by two wonderful flowers, the first one is the earliest Orchid to emerge the Early Purple Orchid this wonderful flower with its marked leaves will be on show for the next six weeks.

Early Purple Orchid.

The other magnificent flower is called Bugle and was used in the olden days as a medicinal plant that was used to stop bleeding, this tall stem of blue flowers will also flower for the next six weeks.

Bugle.

One of the highlights of the holidays was taking a guided walk of six miles,with family and friends the weather was kind to us and among the highlights where 3 Deer's being spotted in the woodland,Herons fishing in the river and all kinds of flowers and insects.Included in the party were 10 youngsters they listened really well and when shown how to track Badgers and Deer's they where enthralled,i really think schools should teach more about the natural world so as the youngsters of today grow up they have a understanding of what is all around them.I have just been given permission to visit a secret lake that has been developed in to a wonderful site over the last three years i will let you know all about it next week,have a great weekend and keep your eyes open, Nature man Andy

Springime In Bloom

The sudden really cold snap made a coastal foray impossible so this weeks nature article is all about our early spring flowers ,with all the warm weather we have had many species of flowers are weeks early, and the woods and hedgerows are full of colour and life which in turn has meant a early showing of bees,hover flies and insects and early nesting of birds that rely on these.Already nesting are blackbirds,song thrushes,blue tits,great tits and finches.
You will probably notice that a great number of early flowers are yellow in colour,the reason behind this is that many of the early insects have a different visual spectrum to us and see the world as shades of grey apart from yellow they see this as a stand out red and are drawn towards them first by sight then by smell if you look closely at these flowers you will see all manner of flies on them,this in turn leads to spiders casting webs around these same flowers.After the early yellow flowers blue,white and red are never far behind usually in that order these flowers usually have a stronger scent to them ,if you are out and about over Easter keep your eyes open for all the following flowers and see how many you can spot.

Lesser Celandine

This early flowering splash of yellow is often confused with Buttercups,but they come out much later, the Lesser Celandine often carpets large areas down woodland paths and edges of woods.

Colts foot

Another early yellow flower often confused with the Dandelion but the stem and leaves are much different.

Dandelion

This vibrant flower is classed as a weed by some but its early showing and rich pollen makes it a favourite for early Bees and Hover flies.

Dandelion

A very early seed head from the Dandelion flower ,children love to pick these and blow the seeds off.

Cowslip

A bright yellow flower much loved by the garden Bumble bee.

Marsh Marigold

Common in ditches and marshy ground 5 sepals not petals.

Daffodil

Not primarily a wild flower but the early yellow trumpets of these common flowers are a lifeline for early nectar seeking insects.

Hedge Mustard

Very early to see this lone flower favoured by butterflies.

Gorse Bush.

early flowering prickly bush once again vital for early pollen hunting insects.

Primroses

A wonderful early pale yellow flower that can carpet vast areas spectacular but very local.

Some blue and white common flowers now once again keep your eyes open for these early flowers.

Forget Me Not

Well known common blue flower, very small but usually appears in bunches,there are many sub species of this flower.

Dog Violet

Very common small blue flower seen especially in shady ,woody areas.

Bluebells

One of our glorious spring woodland flowers ,to see the woods full of these is a memory that will live with you for ever the woods at the moment are full of them,Brockholes and Brock bottoms are great places to see them.Sometimes they come in rarer shades like these next two pictures.

Rare White Bluebell about to open.

Purple Bluebells

I spotted these in the middle of a wooded slope with no other flowers near a first for me.

Wood Anemone.

A beautiful woodland white flower a sign of ancient woodland, and once again will carpet woodland floors tends to stay closed on cloudy days.

Daisy

A well known flower that children love to make chains out of .

Hairy Bitter cress

The delicate small white flowers of this flower are common all year the plants leaves are delicious in a salad.

Ransoms

Ransoms or wild garlic you will smell before you see ,vital for insects and delicious when the leaves are used in salads please never take anything you are not sure of ,as there are some pretty poisonous plants out there.

Garlic Mustard.

The leaves very much look like White Nettles but when crushed give a garlic smell a favourite of white butterflies.

Red Campion

Very early for this wonderful flower that lasts all through summer.

I hope you have enjoyed this wander through some of our early Spring flowers ,next time you are out and about keep your eyes open for them,please do not pick them but take pictures and help your children identify them or just look for yourself ,i will every few weeks put up more new pictures as the year unfolds and more and more flowers come in to bloom, my last picture is of the wonderful Cherry Blossom what finer sight in spring time.

Cherry Blossom.

Just as i was writing this ,i took a break and went outside and looked up in the sky and saw a Osprey circling the reservoirs before flying north on his migration from Africa to Scotland and further North hope you have a great Easter and get yourselves out for a walk and enjoy the nature all around you  nature man Andy