Discovering the flora and fauna in a small square of Portmellon Valley
The reed canary grass is growing fast. There is hardly any HWD apart from a scrawny specimen on the island, just in front of the weeping willow. Las year we had a few pockets of it on the right-hand side.
Little Venice is more visible this year – still very soft and muddy, turfed with mats of common water starwort, rather than grass. Because the watermeadow was flooded for such a long time over the winter, it has taken a toll on the footpaths, and many are still barren of vegetation.
One final picture of the valley to compare with this time last year. What do I notice? A slightly different angle, but otherwise broadly similar, with drifts of HWD taller than the reed canary grass. All seems to be at about the same stage as last year.
The reed canary grass is growing taller. There are still some tufts of dead grass and two patches of flattened dead grass. Little Venice is still really muddy and carpeted with weed at the end nearest the pond. We have clumps of speedwell, celandine, and buttercups. We’ve seen peacock, orange-tip and other white butterflies, beetles, bees, even a grasshopper – just one so far! The willows and alders are sprouting leaves. There are three alder saplings that we are keeping an eye on as they don’t have any leaves yet. Watermint is popping up, water horsetail, as well as nettles and bindweed curling up out of the mud already. There are docks and sorrels – I still think there are more types than I have noted, but they all look much the same to me! In the pond, there are tadpoles, water snails and other pondlife still to be identified, and then there have been mayfly and midge larvae in the stream.
The valley is a collage of green. The trees lining the fields are all in leaf and blossoms have finished. The reed canary grass is nearly as tall as the hemlock water dropwort, giving the valley floor the appearance of a bumpy green throw. By next month the HWD will be in flower and all the foliage will be much the same height. I am surprised that the housemartins and swifts haven’t returned as yet. I looked up when they are due and found out that it can be as early as March, but generally April and May. There are baby moorhens on the pond next door. They look like little black pompoms. We haven’t seen the herons and egrets for a few weeks, so hopefully they are nesting further up the valley. Butterflies, bees, and bugs are very much in evidence.
Although we have had periods where the water has dried up and mud prevails, this week has not been one of them. Two weeks ago, I made it down to the stream and was hopeful that the watermeadow was starting to dry out. The banks have eroded a bit over the winter. I would like to get to the pond and see if there is any frogspawn – and other pondlife. The new reed canary grass is sprouting, as in the rest of the valley. There are muddy, mulchy swathes of dead grass in the middle as you can see. The most prolific flowers are currently speedwells and lesser celandines, with a bit of wild garlic by the steps and the odd dandelion and primrose. Docks, bedstraws, and cleavers are sprouting and sprawling through the watermeadow. Bugs, bees, and butterflies are waking up – and yesterday half a dozen goldfinches visited, so maybe the other finches will return soon.
You will notice the willows are in leaf. The taller alders seem to be later to start growing. We are being entertained by sheep and lambs in the field opposite. The stream is still high and flowing fast, sometimes very brown with ‘run-off’ after prolonged spells of rain. The Hemlock Water Dropwort is looking like a mini-forest over the other side of the valley. The clumps are about a meter high now and flourishing in this wet weather. The overall look of the valley is green with only a few straw-like tussocks of last years grass standing tall. The rest has been trampled down by the weather and is now forming a mulch for this year’s green shoots. Out of the picture are lines of trees edging the fields – all with a fuzzy bloom of green and many in white blossom.
Compared to last month, Little Venice is back under water again. It is so full of pondweed and algae, that I keep expecting to see frog and toad spawn. That wouldn’t be a good thing though, as fingers crossed the path will dry out soon. As with the valley, there is a lot of new green growth sprouting through the dead grass – buttercup, cleavers, bedstraws, lesser celandines, docks, reed canary grass and a few clumps of HWD. I had thought they would come up easily through the soft mud, but Mr C said the suction was phenomenally strong and it would be easier when the ground has dried out a bit. Yellow flowers include – kingcup (still!), lesser celandine, dandelion and the first buttercup. Some of the willows have pussy willow buds on them. Soon, I will have another go at identifying our willows and the neighbouring overhanging ones. We have at least two different types, not counting the weeping willow.
There are green shoots everywhere. Fresh young grass is growing through the hay-like drifts of dead foliage. There are sizeable clumps of hemlock water dropwort across the valley and blue-green brushstrokes of iris just in front of them on the right. The line of the middle stream is visible cutting through the picture. I will be excited to venture down to our stream. I wonder what erosion there has been during the flooding. I didn’t expect us to be flooded for the best part of four months, but that is what has happened apart from a couple of odd weeks.
As with the rest of the valley, there are some clumps of HWD appearing in the middle of the wild bits. Mr C is planning on venturing into the ‘interior’ to pull them up as we don’t want such a toxic plant on our patch. They are peeping out of the dry grass to the right of the picture above.
The paths are in a fragile state of mud and algae, as evidenced by Little Venice above. We have lost the turf there, but the grass is growing back on the other paths. I am watching a couple of the plants in Little Venice to see if I can identify them when/if they flower.
So, the green foliage apart from HWD and algae, is buttercup, bedstraw, dock, and clumps of sedge, which are evergreen. It’s exciting to see plants coming back to life again, along with bees, and also wolf spiders running over dry grass heaps.
It’s very interesting comparing today’s picture with December’s. On the face of it not much different. However, the green splashes are more vibrant and luxuriant. And the reason is, I think, because they are different plants.
In December the nettles, a duller green, were still holding out over the other side of the valley. They have died back over the winter and are much greyer in colour where they are visible. You will notice the bright green patches are also lusher in texture and that’s because it’s the return of the arch-villain Hemlock Water Dropwort. HWD has an early start and early demise, sinking fast after its deceptively pretty lacey flowers have finished, and then being swamped by the beanstalk-high Reed Canary Grass.
In the picture below you can see in the top right especially, the fronds of HWD. In the centre of the picture are some remaining nettles – you can see their individual leaves of a duller green. Also, note the dead grass, looking very hay-like.
