1st July
An exciting start to the month - Clare and John saw Tree Sparrows on the feeders in front of the hide. Their presence on the feeders suggested they were already familiar with the availability of food there, although they seemed very flighty and camera shy. John had made a nesting box suitable for Tree Sparrows and placed it behind the sheds a few years ago and not only was it not used, but the birds were never seen on Liddells, even though it would seem to offer the right kind of habitat for them. The nest box was duly moved home where Tree Sparrows are seen regularly - again, never used. Maybe another move, back up to Liddells, might see it used in the future.
John and Clare worked on preparing the shepherd’s hut for habitation. Sally, hearing of Clare’s wish to furnish the hut in as eco-friendly way as possible, donated a washing-up bowl for which she had no use.
2nd July
Another donation from friends - Gill and Mark offered a set of pans, a corkscrew and a cheese grater for the shepherd’s hut. Clare is amused that her list of essentials began with wine glasses, coffee and Marmite. Her friends are more realistically or more practically minded. John and Clare will be able to stay in fine style.
Kitchen essentials
4th July
John took to his camera as an antidote to hut interior work. He was especially thrilled to see Bullfinches on the hide feeders. While Bullfinches have been seen on many occasions on Liddells, this is the first time they have ever been seen on the feeders. John said that the feeders were particularly busy - this may be because there had been very heavy rain for the previous two to three days and birds were very hungry as a consequence.
Foxglove Digitalis: ‘The origins of the name foxglove are unclear, but can be traced all the way back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It’s thought the ‘glove’ part of the name is simply due to the flowers looking like glove fingers. Less certain is the connection to foxes. One theory is that people believed foxes wore the flowers on their paws to silence their movements when hunting. Another is that the flower is often found growing close to the earths where foxes raise their young… Foxglove contains a chemical called digitalis that can be used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure by raising blood flow and increasing the body’s defence mechanisms. However, the plant is poisonous if consumed directly, and can cause a number of health problems. Other names for foxglove include goblin gloves, witches' gloves and dead men's bells.’ (woodlandtrust.org.uk)
Dog rose Rosa canina: ‘The dog rose is a common symbol in medieval heraldry. It has a less regal connotation in Germany where it is linked to the Devil and its fruits were said to be used by fairies to make themselves invisible…Rose hips are high in vitamin C and were traditionally used to make syrups taken to boost levels. Rose-hip oil is also a popular skincare product. The hairs inside the hips are an irritant and are extracted to make an itching powder.’ (woodlandtrust.org.uk)
Orange hawkweed Pilosella aurantiaca: ‘The name of 'Fox-and-Cubs' refers to the way that many of the as-yet un-opened flower heads hide beneath those that have opened.’ (wildflowerfinder.org)
Hogweed: ‘The hollow stems of hogweed were traditionally used in many children's games as water guns, pea-shooters and swords. Its sap is less toxic than that of giant hogweed (and some other umbellifers), so doesn't cause the same skin irritation.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Ox-eye daisy: ‘The Latin name Leucanthemum is said to have originated from the ancient Greek word ‘leucos’, meaning white.
It was thought to be strongly linked to divination, particularly in France, where it would be used in romantic predictions. These links to divination have filtered down to the modern game of ‘he loves me, he loves me not’ where petals are picked to determine luck in love.’ (woodlandtrust.org.uk)
Red dead-nettle - newly spotted on Liddells, and welcome: ‘Lots of different species of long-tongued insects visit the flowers of red dead-nettle, including the red mason bee and bumblebees. The caterpillars of garden tiger, white ermine and angle shades moths feed on the leaves.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Bullfinch pair, male on the left
Female Bullfinch (John was playing with camera settings here and was rather pleased with the painterly quality of this image)
Bullinch and Siskin
Finch feeding frenzy
Common carder bee on Marsh thistle Cirsium palustre: wildflowerfinder.org shows several examples of fasciated plants (abnormal fusion and flattening of plant organs due to physical damage or weed-killers, virii, an infection, infestation, or several other causes). Clare read fasciated as fascinated and was appropriately fascinated.
5th July
Clare is enjoying the challenge of fitting whatever is needed into the hut in a way that uses least possible space. The plate rack is an example.
11th July
The shepherd’s hut now has three rooms prepared. John and Clare were delighted to see Tree Sparrows on the feeders by the hut. They may be the same birds as in the Pit Wood, or they could e a second colony.
Dining room
Sitting room
Kitchen
13th July
Another excursion with his camera for John. He particularly enjoyed taking photographs of juvenile birds round the feeders.
Redpoll and juvenile.
Juvenile Redpoll
Juvenile Dunnock waiting for food…
…patience rewarded
Juvenile Chaffinch preening
Full house - juvenile Great Tits
Treecreeper (of indeterminate age)
Ringlet
Bugle ajuga reptans: ‘Bugle is much loved by bumblebees. The ‘reptans’ in its Latin name is derived from ‘repto’, meaning ‘creeping, crawling’. It was a popular ingredient in herbal remedies, particularly for stopping bleeding.’ (plantlife.org.uk)
Self-heal Prunella vulgaris: ‘As its common name suggests, selfheal has a long tradition of being used in herbal medicine for everything from stopping bleeding and healing wounds, to treating heart disease and sore throats.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Bittersweet Solanum dulcanara: ‘Despite being a member of the nightshade family, Bittersweet (also known as 'Woody Nightshade') is one of the less toxic plants in this group, althought its berries are still poisonous…The leaves smell of burnt rubber when crushed.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Rowan blossom Sorbus aucuparia: ‘Greek mythology tells of how Hebe, the goddess of youth, dispensed rejuvenating ambrosia to the gods from her magical chalice. When, through carelessness, she lost this cup to demons, the gods sent an eagle to recover the cup. A fight ensued and the eagle shed feathers and drops of blood. These fell to earth where each of them turned into a rowan tree. Hence the rowan derived the shape of its leaves from the eagle’s feathers and the appearance of its berries from the droplets of blood… In the British Isles the rowan has a long and still popular history in folklore as a tree which protects against witchcraft and enchantment... The tree itself was said to afford protection to the dwelling by which it grew, and residents would make sure not to damage them.’ (treesforlife.org.uk)
John and Clare are relieved that the shepherd’s hut will be protected by the nearby Rowans. Also Clare’s rowanberry jelly is delicious with cheese (and a firm favourite with Neil).
15th July
Final touches to the shepherd’s hut - John made a boot rack. He was particularly pleased with his efforts as he had seen a teak version on sale for £165 (in a sale) whereas his, made from oak, cost him £8. Of course that was not taking into account building and equipping the woodworking shed in which it was created, which will have upped the costs somewhat.
16th-17th July
The OED must have known. The Word of the Day for 16th July is ‘staycation’: to holiday at home or in one’s country of residence. John and Clare set out to spend two nights in the shepherd’s hut and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Clare honoured the occasion by putting the flags out. The weather was stunning, the sunset sublime, and the night sky filled with stars. They can’t wait to repeat the experience. While Clare sat in the sun and read, John continued with his efforts to document as much of the flora (and some of the fauna) on Liddells as possible. He was particularly delighted that he finally managed to get a photograph of a Tree Sparrow.
Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker, identifiable from the red spot on the front of the head.
Spot the Pheasant
Juvenile Chiffchaff - this bird has often been seen close to the hide. It doesn’t seem to have learned yet to be wary.
And finally - Tree Sparrow. Well worth John’s persistence.
There have been more Common Spotted Orchids this year than ever before on Liddells. The area in front of the hide is particularly orchidaceous.
St John’s Wort Hypericum perforatum: also known as devil chaser, devil's flight, devil's scourge, God's wonder plant, herb John, human blood, Klamath weed, penny John, rosin rose, St Columba's flower and often used to treat mild depression.
There is a small clump on the Wildflower Meadow, however there are a large number on the island in the Big Pond though not round the margins. (gardenia.net)
Agrimony: ‘Some people use agrimony to represent thankfulness or gratitude.
Partly due to its astringent qualities, it has many uses in herbal medicine including for ulcers, to stop bleeding and for gallstones. Also for unsettled digestive systems and catarrh.
Dioscorides recommends it against snake-bite, dysentery and upsets of the liver.
Local names include Aaron's rod, Church-Steeples, Clot-Bur, Fairy's wand, Money-in-both-pockets, Salt-and-pepper and Sweethearts (from the clinging receptacles of the fruit).’ (plantlife.org.uk)
Lady’s Bedstraw: ‘Historically, Lady's bedstraw was used to curdle milk in the process of cheese-making - a convenient vegetarian replacement for rennet, which is made from the stomach lining of cows.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Honeysuckle: ‘It was once believed that if honeysuckle grew around a home’s entrance, it would bring good luck and stop any evil spirits from entering. It has also long been considered a symbol of fidelity, and in Victorian times young girls were banned from bringing honeysuckle into the house because it was believed the strong smell would make them have suggestive dreams! Honeysuckle has been used to make beautiful walking sticks which were once popular with Scots music hall performers. They were created as the honeysuckle entwined itself around branches, causing the branches themselves to become twisted.
While the berries are poisonous, the leaves, flowers and seeds have been used for medicinal purposes for a variety of conditions.’ (woodlandtrust.org.uk)
Sitka Spruce cones
Bladder Campion: ‘Bladder campion is one of the foodplants of the attractive red-and-black froghopper - an insect known for wrapping itself in a frothy mass we call 'cuckoo-spit'.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
20th - 23rd July
The good weather persisted and Tom was able to cut the Top Grazing on Tuesday evening. Wednesday and Thursday he turned it and by Friday it was made.* Tom rowed it up and Barry was able to bale it the same day. John and Clare spent an energetic hour and a half raking up before Barry arrived. There were 20 bales, 7 more than last year.
*Clare had always assumed that ‘hay-making’ referred to the process of drying, rowing, baling, stacking, however she now knows that hay is ‘made’ when it is ready to be baled. Clare learned the difference between hay, haylage and silage: ‘There are two main methods of forage conservation: controlled fermentation where the pH is reduced to a level where growth of bacteria ceases, or dehydration, where moisture content is decreased to reduce microbial activity.
Hay is an example of forage that is conserved using dehydration – the main challenge with preserving forage in this way being that it requires a longer period of dry weather to produce, whereas haylage is an example of grass preserved using controlled fermentation (and so is silage).
As a rule, when considering the digestibility of a forage, the more mature a grass becomes, the higher the potential yield, but the lower the digestibility (as it has higher levels of lignin). While very young grass in a growing state is much more digestible, if hay or haylage were to be harvested at this point, yields would be very low. There is however a point in between these two stages where a balance can be struck between digestibility and yield.‘ (haygain.co.uk)
Barry said that horses can eat hay and haylage, whereas cattle and sheep , and eat hay, haylage and silage.
Rowed up and nearly ready
The rake’s progress
21st July
While on his photography walks, John discovered deep excavations just below the west end of the Crag. There were bumble bees flying around the newly dug out earth, so the likely explanation is a badger in search of a bees’ nest.
22nd July
Clare discovered a pair of ichneumonid wasps inside the shepherd’s hut. It was difficult to photograph them because of their position on the window, however the shot of the underside from outside the hut proved more successful. Apparently they forage on Hogweed which is abundant in the strip behind the hut but not evident inside. Without going through all of the 2,500 UK species, Clare’s best guess is that this is Alomya debellator.
‘Ichneumon wasps are solitary insects which are closely related to bees and ants. Most ichneumons are parasitoids. The females lay their eggs into, or onto, the young of other insects and spiders, and the young which hatch out feed on that host insect. The host is eventually killed and consumed by the larva just before it pupates.’ (uksafari.com)
John and Clare are pleased to have the trail camera back and working. The young buck seen earlier in the summer, is still around although seems to have incurred some damage. John suspects this buck will have been in a fight with the older one. As the older one has not been seen for a while, it would seem that on this occasion youth has triumphed, which gives the lie to John’s father’s belief that, in sport at any rate, ‘a good old ‘un will beat a good young ‘un’.
24th July
John and Clare were delighted to discover that the roe deer have bred successfully. The mother is likely to be the oldest of the three does seen regularly, the two younger would not have been mature for mating until this year. It so happens that this is the time for the roe deer rut, which may account for the young buck’s presence.
25th July
Sally visited Liddells to see the Wildflower Meadow and sent some of her photographs. Her artistic way of seeing always results in beautiful shots. John is pleased she sent images of Valerian as he was finding the whiteness of this flower hard to capture in close-up.
Valerian Valeriana officinalis: ‘Sleeping potions known as Valerian were derived from this plant; they were used not only as a treatment for insomnia but also reputedly by thieves who spiked the drinks of intended victims. Valerian is still used as the source of sedatives for relaxing the central nervous system… The generic botanical name Valeriana comes from the Latin verb valere, meaning 'to be healthy'. In similar vein the specific epithet officinalis, literally meaning official, indicates that this plant was recognised as having valuable pharmaceutical /medicinal properties.’ (firstnature.com)
Hal, Beth, Juno and Juno’s cousins Charlie and Jonny visited today. As well as enjoying the hay bales as an outdoor gym, they amassed quite a collection of feathers for Mathilda’s cat - Buzzard, male and female Pheasant, Rook, Wood pigeon and Greenfinch. Charlie and Jonny’s eagle eyes also spotted a fox making its way across the Crag.
26th July
John set out to record more wildlife before the end of the month. (Clare realised she had forgotten to ask for an image of Yarrow, so took one on her phone. She would not like readers to think that John’s standards had slipped).
Yarrow Achillea millefolium : ‘Centuries ago, Yarrow was used as a charm against bad luck and illness. Although it was also used to stop wounds from bleeding, it was believed to cause nosebleeds if put up the nose.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Sneezewort Achillea ptarmica (also known as Batchelors’ Buttons)‘: The strongly pungent smell is said to induce sneezing, indeed the dried and powdered leaves have been used as a sneezing powder. An essential oil can be extracted which is used medicinally (although your author has yet been unable to track down the chemical ingredients of this oil). Although its bitter tasting leaves have been used in salads, the plant is poisonous to some farm animals like horses and cows, with symptoms slow to develop, which include fever, tachycardia, difficulty breathing, weight loss, drooling, spasms, and convulsions.’ (wildflowerfinder.org)
Betony Stachys officinalis (also known as Common Hedgenettle): ‘Betony is first referred to in a work by the Roman physician Antonius Musa. He claimed it was effective against sorcery.It was one of the great ‘all-heals’ of medieval herbalists.Betony is commonly found in old country churchyards, where it was planted in the past for its medicinal value and in the belief that it had powers that would ward off ghosts, goblins and other unwelcome spirits.’ (plantlife.org.uk)
English botanist and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, writing in the early 1600s, said that Betony (a Stachys species) '... preserves the liver and bodies of men from the danger of epidemical diseases...' which sounds credible until you read on '... and from witchcraft also.' (first-nature.com)
Marsh Woundwort Stachys palustris: ‘This wildflower has a long history of use in herbalism, and as its common name implies it was used for dressing cuts and other wounds, and it is reputed to cure aching joints when made into an ointment and to have antispasmodic and sedative properties when taken internally.’ (first-nature.com)
Wild parsnip pastinaca sativa and Bluebottle Calliphora vomitoria
‘Wild parsnip is the progenitor of the cultivated parsnip.
Despite its, to humans, unpleasant habits, feeding largely on decaying meat, rubbish and faeces, the Bluebottle has its uses - ‘females deposit their eggs on rotting corpses, making them important forensic insects, as their eggs and timing of oviposition can be used to estimate time of death.’ (wikipedia.org). This one appears to be a vegetarian.
Great Burnet Sanguisorba officinalis: ‘The crimson heads of Great burnet were once used to make wine in Cumbria, and herbalists used them to stop bleeding.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Common or Black Knapweed Centaurea nigra: ‘Common knapweed is a huge favourite of all kinds of butterflies, including Common blues, Marbled whites and Meadow browns, and is sometimes covered in these species.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
‘In days gone by eligible young women would play a love-divination game by pulling out the rays and putting the plucked knapweed flower in their blouse. When as-yet unopened florets began to bloom it would tell her the man of her dreams was near. This game to foretell the future of love is also played with Broadleaf Plantain Plantago major.
Most of the local names including Bachelor's buttons [see also Sneezewort above , though note the difference in the placement of the apostrophe. Only one bachelor benefitted from Knapweed], Blue bottle and Iron knobs are explained by the hard, knobby heads, the bottle-shaped involucre and the toughness of the plant.
Knapweed was used for ruptures and wounds, bruises, sores, scabs and sore throat, etc.’ (plantlife.org.uk)
Field Scabious Knautia arvensis: ‘Field Scabious has a rough and hairy stem similar in texture to scabby skin. According to the 'Doctrine of Signatures' - where herbalists treated illnesses with plants that resembled the body part associated with illness - this association probably led to it being used as a herb to treat scabies, mange and itches.
The juice of 'scabiosa herba' (from whence its common name derives) was given to alleviate plague sores.
In Belgium a girl would pick Scabious "buttons", give each a lover's name, and then choose her husband by the one that flowered best…
The 'pom-pom' like nature of its flower has also given rise to alternative names such as Lady's pincushion, bachelor's buttons and blue bonnets.’ (plantlife.org.uk)
Bachelors sure had a lot of buttons.
Meadow Brown on Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa
Meadow Brown in full view
Small Tortoiseshell on Marsh thistle
Small Skipper: ‘The Small Skipper almost exclusively uses Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus), although several other grasses have been recorded as foodplants, for example, Timothy (Phleum pratense), Creeping Soft-grass (H.mollis), False Brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), and Cock’s-foot (Dactylis glomerata). (butterfly-conservation.org)
This above information has reinforced Clare’s desire to know more about the different kinds of grasses seen on Liddells. As far as she can tell, this grass is none of the above!
And lest readers think that dragonflies have been forgotten this year - Common Darter
While looking at the ponds…
Upright water millefoil Myriophyllum crispatum
29th July
Mel walked around Liddells this morning and noted 71 plants in flower (Clare walks regularly back from Liddells and often makes a similar count along her route. The highest number she has seen yet this year is 63, so Liddells would seem to be doing well. Mel noticed the Water Figwort that Sue D had donated and planted, and also Enchanters Nightshade Circaea lutetiana, which is another newly seen species on the site. (Photograph to follow)
Spiked water millefoil Myriophyllum spicatum: ‘The closely related Parrot's Feather was introduced into the UK in the 1960s as a garden pond plant, but soon escaped into the countryside, probably as a result of garden waste containing fragments of it. It is now an invasive weed.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)
Water figwort Scrophularia auriculata: ‘Many emergent wetland plants, such as Water Figwort, provide resting places for aquatic insects, such as Caddis flies and Alder flies.’ (wildlifetrusts.org)