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Beach Honeycombs
In my naivety I used to consider reefs as only occurring in tropical water created by corals and bejewelled with brightly coloured fish and sea anemones. But as I got older, not necessarily wiser according to the family, I have learnt that there is more to see than tropical reefs. Recently undersea exploration has shown…
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Crustacea in the Garden
At any time of year if you turn over a stone, a piece of wood, move a flower pot or look into your garden compost heap, you will almost always find a woodlouse scurrying for cover. I’m sure that not on my own in considering these common creatures intriguing. Part of my fascination comes from…
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Woodchip Mushrooms
Walking along the lane near the house the other day I came across a whole troop of mushrooms growing on a small pile of wood chip left over from some roadworks a few months back. It seems the Wrinkled Fieldcap – Agrocybe rivulosais a relatively newly discovered species of mushroom. But it was first named…
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St Mark’s Fly – Bibio marci
Walking around the countryside, even in urban gardens, during the spring you are very likely to come across St Mark’s Fly, or ‘hawthorn fly, (iBibio marci). It is long, black and shiny, and seems to hand in the air trailing long legs beneath as it searches for a suitable mate. They can often been seen…
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Thyme-leaved Speedwell – Veronica serpyllifolia
The lawnmower broke down again recently, and while I was deciding whether to try and repair it yet again or to buy a new one the grass continue to grow. Now I don’t know what your lawns are like, but mine seems to have a lot more than just grass. As it has grown up…
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Hedgerow Ghosts
Toothwort – Lathraea squamaria (Orobanchaceae) This is a strange one. A fully parasitic plant, there are not many of them around, and even fewer that occur in the UK. The Toothwort, Lathraea squamaria is one such. The common name relates to the tooth-like scales that are found on the it’s rhizomes, which according to the…
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The Day’s Eye
When was the last time you looked at a daisy? I mean really looked. Up close, not from a standing position, but getting on your hands and knees. Daisy’s are common, and can be seen everywhere. So common in fact that we see, but don’t look. And I am just as bad. As kids we…
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Mini Junipers by the Trackside
Perhaps not exactly a Juniper, not even a Juniper at all but a moss. And I think it is now going to be my favourite bryophyte. I’ve seen photos of Juniper Haircap – Polytrichum juniperinum on Facebook and in my field guide guide but never knowingly seen one before. This shouldn’t be a surprise as…
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A Yellow Star in the Hedgerow – Lesser Celandine
Now that the days are really lengthening and the temperatures is rising, it feels after a long lockdown Winter that Spring is finally here. The edges of woods, hedgerows and roadside banks are being splashed with the small bright yellow flowers of Lesser Celandine, Ficaria verna. Until recently the Latin name for Lesser Celandine was…
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Green Woodpecker
Over the past few months I’ve noticed a number of fairly large divots appearing in the lawn, and without referring to the horror movies on Netflix, I was at a loss to work out what was going on. But the culprit is now revealed. We are being visited by a Green Woodpecker – Picus viridis.…