October 2023 - A Year in the Valley

Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)

This was rambling over our back fence and across the far bank towards the stream. It has become very abundant since I last strimmed the grass on the other side of the stream, which I have been doing occasionally over the summer to keep the bindweed and nettles from engulfing the alder saplings.

This was difficult to identify because it wasn’t in flower. The family that the chickweed is in also contains stitchwort, mouse-ear, sandwort, and pearlwort varieties. There were some easy eliminations. Pearlworts all have slender leaves. Sandworts grow in a dry habitat. Mouse-ears mostly prefer a rocky terrain. Stitchworts like the damp, have a mixture of leaf-shapes, but they are sessile, which means that they attach directly to the stem, rather than with a short stalk. Of the different chickweeds, lesser chickweed prefers sandy soil and greater chickweed prefers the shade.

Common chickweed sprawling over the back fence.

The plant we have here is rambling, green-leaved and stemmed, with broadly-pointed leaves in pairs opposite each other on short stalks, apart from the top pair. The growing pattern is like a common chickweed, which grows most aggressively in the winter in full sun and will bloom in autumn as well as spring, with petite white flowers. Common chickweed is known for its sprawling invasion of garden lawns. Here it is free to cover the far bank in its mat-like tangle, without fear of being mown!

Daisy D

29 October 2023

Flowers

Common chickweed

Small-flowered Crane’s-bill (Geranium pusillum)

This wasn’t in flower but has been flourishing on our ramp amongst the turf, which has now recovered after the dry September. Probably, also because we aren’t walking up and down as much. The leaves of this low-growing flower are deeply cut into 5 to 7 lobes, and each lobe has 3 smaller lobes. This makes them noticeably different from the straggly leaves of the cut-leaved crane’s-bill. It will have little pale lilac flowers next summer if we look after it.

Daisy D

27 October 2023

Flowers

Small-flowered Crane’s Bill

Flooding, a black redstart, and the weasel that got away!

After the rain yesterday evening, the middle of the watermeadow was flooded. Three paths were under water – Little Venice right in the middle, part of Diagon Alley and our left-hand path, which we are now calling Weasel Walk, due to Mr C spotting a weasel down there. Unfortunately, it sped off too quickly for him to take a photo, so it will be one of those ones that got away!

Above: Weasel Walk – and right: Little Venice.

Apart from the weasel, the other exciting thing that we have seen was a black redstart. On Monday, we spotted a small black bird on our balcony railings. I’d never seen anything like it before and rushed to take photos. The spotters guide clearly showed that it was a black redstart, with its white wing markings and flash of red under its tail, especially noticeable as it flew off. I’ve posted it because I was so pleased that we saw it, but as it was up near the house, I can’t count it on the tally. I will look out for it in the valley, but it may have been just passing.

Daisy D

26 October 2023

Birds, Views

Black Redstart, View

A Knight in the watermeadow – a Grey, Beech, or Ashen Knight (Tricholoma) Toadstool

After a few days away and the aftermath of Storm Babet, I wandered down to the watermeadow noting the muddy state of the paths and splashy fragility of Little Venice in particular. It was at the side of the steps next to the ramp that I noticed this toadstool, one of three. Its rounded cap had a slight peak on the top and a pleasing grey denim appearance and the flesh was white and fibrous. Next to it another toadstool in good condition and the third decomposed into a mess of pinky-grey gills and white flesh.

I’ve spent hours trying to identify it and as toadstools come and go so quickly, I don’t think I’m likely to find any further clues. I know this isn’t an inkcap, as clearly it would not leave a black spore-print, but a white one. That being the case, I can count it on the tally.

I asked Google Lens first of all. It told me it was either a March Mushroom (Hygrophorus marzuolus) or a Grey Knight (Tricholoma terreum). (It refused to identify the decomposed toadstool – I think it thought the amount of fleshy pink looked a bit suspect.) First, I discounted the March Mushroom, as it grows at high elevations, so we are a bit too near sea-level. I turned to my Collins guide and looked at the Tricholoma section.

The Grey Knight was a possibility, as although, like many of the Tricholoma toadstools, it likes a coniferous habitat; it will also grow near deciduous trees and is common. The cap is conical to umbonate (concave-sloped bell-shape) with mouse-grey fibres, the gills are white, turning grey and the stem is smooth white with no stem ring.

I found two other options:

The Beech Knight (Tricholoma sciodes) likes broad-leaved trees but is uncommon. The conical-umbonate cap is grey, darker in the centre with lines radiating out. They can grow up to 12 cm in diameter, which is wider than our specimins, though the decomposing one was larger. The gills are grey-white or slightly pink. The stem is quite thick and 4-8cm tall.

The Ashen Knight (Tricholoma virgatum) lives in broadleaved woodland, is widespread but uncommon, though I also read that it is “far from rare”. The flesh is grey-white, and the gills start out white and go grey-pink, as they have on the squashed one. The cap has a conical pip.

From the description, it could be the Ashen Knight, but is probably the Grey Knight, as that is more common.

Tricholoma means hairy fringe and refers to the gills, which give the cap a fringed appearance. Our specimens were too low to the ground to be able to see that.

Daisy D

25 October 2023

Toadstools and fungi

Knight, Tricholoma

Bronze Beetle (Chrysolina bankii – or banksii)

It looks like a black beetle until you see it close-up, when you notice its metallic bronzy sheen and bright crimson legs.

The Bronze Beetle, a type of leaf beetle, lives on ribwort plantain, as both adults and larvae feed on this plant. You can see that the beetle I saw was resting on some ribwort plantain leaves.

Bronze beetles aestivate during the height of the summer, which means they go into a state of dormancy to cope with the hot weather, so they can be seen from September round to June. In September, they wake up, start feeding again and lay eggs on the underside of the ribwort plantain leaves. Larvae hatch in the autumn, grow through four instars (stages) and pupate in the soil in the spring.

Daisy D

22 October 2023

Insects

Bronze Beetle, Ribwort Plantain

Planthopper (Stenocranus)species

This is a different shape from a leafhopper, with a more pointed head. There are a few types of planthopper. They all have pale brown wings with stripes running front to back. The different species differ in small details and dissection is required for accurate identification. They live in marshy habitats, especially where Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) grows. The adults can be spotted February to October.

Daisy D

20 October 2023

Insects

Planthopper, Reed Canary Grass

Kingcup Caltha palustris

Well, I wasn’t expecting to see the Kingcup in bloom until the spring, but the mild spell we had after the washout of late-summer, has also led to the blossoming of our Bramley Apple tree in the garden.

The Kingcup is one of my favourite flowers in the watermeadow! It is also known as the Marsh-marigold. The Latin name Caltha palustris means Marsh Goblet and refers to the shape of the flower.

It is thick-stemmed with round water-lily style leaves and flowers like supersize buttercups. Interestingly, it has no petals. The burst of colour comes from bright yellow sepals, which in other flowers are the leaf-like wrappers for the buds.

The kingcup is perennial, and flowers April to August with occasional blooms at other times. Ours has only flowered once every spring so far. This is the first time it has bloomed twice in a year. It is found in wet and marshy habitats, with oxygen-rich water.

On the Kingcup you will see a Marmalade Hoverfly, previously noted in August. I think the other fly is an Oscinella Frit, a type of Frit or Grass Fly (Chloropidae).

Daisy D

18 October 2023

Flowers

Kingcup, Marmalade Hover Fly, Oscinella Frit Fly

Slow Worm

We were out tidying the garden after the storms and rain of last week. I was trimming the grass on the steps, which is a bit of a trip hazard. The steps lead down to the watermeadow and are on the left of the ramp, which has a bit of dry-stone wall to stop it collapsing. Suddenly, I noticed a tiny silvery snake on the dry-stone wall next to me. Except that it wasn’t a snake, it was a baby slow worm. I was over the moon! I saw an adult slow worm, patterned in a glossy brown tweed, writhing across the lawn a couple of months ago, but because it was the top garden, I didn’t count it even though we have seen slow worms on the ramp in the past.

Also, this one was a baby, with striking two-tone colouring – silver upper and black lower – sleek as a bullet train. I called to Mr C, who came running down with a bird feeder tray, which we carefully put him in for a photoshoot – I was determined not to let the baby get away without a photo.

Slow worms, of course are neither slow nor worms. They are legless lizards, and like lizards can shed their tails if scared, so we had to be really gentle, as this one was so tiny I don’t think there’d be much left of him if he lost his tail.

The name ‘Slow Worm’ is thought to come from the Old English ‘slawyrm’ which means striking worm – wrong on both counts. They are also known as blind worms, also false, but like most other lizards, they are able to blink. Snakes can’t do this as they don’t have eyelids. This obviously led to a lot of confusion in olden times about what the slow worm actually was.

Here’s a picture of Little Venice this week, looking a bit damp. It will be a lot damper than this over the winter!

Daisy D

15 October 2023

Animals

Slow Worm

Fairy Inkcap (Coprinellus disseminatus)

I think these are Fairy Inkcaps because they are pale, slender-stemmed, with pleated, bell-shaped caps. They grow on rotting wood, and these were near the bottom of the ramp into the watermeadow, which was constructed largely from branches, logs, and dead pampas, so there is a lot of rotten wood for them to feast on.

There is a huge number of inkcaps, all of varying shades and shapes. These are quite different from the Glistening Inkcap.

We have only a small cluster here, but if you search for ‘Fairy Inkcaps’ and select images, you will see stunning pictures of fairy inkcaps clustering in their hundreds, transforming woodland nooks into fairytale scenes.

Daisy D

13 October 2023

Toadstools and fungi

Fairy Inkcap, Glistening Ink Cap

Sparrowhawk

Yesterday, this stunning sparrowhawk landed on the shed roof. Sparrowhawks are quite small compared to other birds of prey and we had wondered whether it was a kestrel, but as it took off and flew over the valley, its proportionately long tail gave it away. And on closer inspection of the photo, we could see the distinctive barring across its breast. Sparrowhawks are generally grey as well, with yellow legs and eyes.

I have just read that males tend to have an orange cast to their barring and orange shading on their cheeks, so I think this might be a male, as there is a hint of orange on his cheek.

Sparrowhawks are stealthy hunters and manoeuvring swiftly and skilfully over hedges and round bushes and trees to catch smaller birds by surprise. They are as much at home in a garden as in the countryside and I have been surprised, whilst walking along a pavement, as a flurry of air alerts me to the rush of a sparrowhawk through a suburban front garden.

Daisy D

11 October 2023

Birds

Sparrowhawk