Cumbria Naturally
  • Home
  • Blog
  • My Books
    • Cumbrian Contrasts
    • A Lakeland Experience >
      • Introduction
      • Derwent
      • Langdale
      • Ullswater
      • Kentdale
    • About Scout Scar
    • Atlantic Odyssey
  • Other Writing
    • What Larks!
    • Further - Explore Shetland
    • Autumn Migration
    • Rydal and Nab Scar
    • Perspectives
    • The River Kent
    • Wings
  • Gallery
  • Contact

Swallows 24 August 2020

24/8/2020

1 Comment

 
PictureFledgling swallows

After three days of rain, a morning fair and bright.
Storm Francis is imminent  and should make landfall in the early hours of Tuesday.  After so much rain there is mud underfoot on Scout Scar.  Swallows skim the grass over Kendal Race Course, gathering insects. 
​On my return, I watch them feeding their  fledglings.  It is three weeks since I found an earlier brood of young swallows here.

Read More
1 Comment

Whitbarrow

19/8/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureWhitbarrow, looking north to the Hervey Monument
On Whitbarrow, the track to the Hervey Monument is an air-strip and my reconnaissance  plane  gathers pace, takes off and soars  through  cloud into blue sky. Perspective from the airy ridge suggests it. 
A day of vistas. Perhaps we'll complete our walk before heavy showers reach us on strengthening south-east winds.  If we wait  for the wild weather of the coming days this exposed track will be just the place for flights of fancy.
​


Read More
0 Comments

Making Hay Whilst The Sun Shines

15/8/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureMaking haylage in the Lyth Valley
An August heat-wave is not yet over. The morning is hotter than forecast, and humid.  From Scout Scar escarpment I see  the Langdale Valley filled  with luminous mist and LImgoor, Side Pike and the Langdales Pikes rising above it.  In the mist  it will be cooler than here on Scout Scar where flocks of goldfinch twitter. And a few meadow brown butterflies alight on rock and are lost, unless you keep your eye steadily on them. It's their vanishing trick.


Read More
0 Comments

Bumblebee with corbicula, a pollen-basket

12/8/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureBumblebee with pollen-basket on her hind leg
With a buzz, a bumblebee alights on a flower - seeking pollen and nectar. Which it stores in a corbicula, a pollen basket visible on its hind leg.
There's a heat-wave and the early morning sun is strong. I see strands of spider silk strung across the flowers of Japanese anemone. But my camera cannot see them-  the spider needs his web to be invisible to his insect prey.
In summer 2014, I was writing Cumbrian Contrasts, and studying pollination.  That was the first time I photographed a Bumblebee pollen-basket. 
​Today's image is clearer 



Read More
0 Comments

Quest for Autumn Gentian, Gentianella Amarella

9/8/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureAutumn Gentian, Felwort, Gentianella Amarella
On a quest to find Autumn Gentian, think habitat,  geology, and season.  On the limestone grassland of the Scout Scar ridge, in the short turf, they're looking good right now.   From finding the plant a fortnight ago, they have put on growth and now show as a short, erect plant with dark, linear leaves and dark buds..  I glimpse them on approach, standing proud of short grass.  The bud is deep pink to purple, the tiny flowers are lilac or white.  From year to year the distribution may vary, they relocate,  One worn  path is fringed with them.


Read More
0 Comments

Foulshaw Moss and Meathop Moss

6/8/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureCross-leaved heath with pink flowers fading to ochre
Foulshaw Moss and Meathop Moss  were  out of reach- until today.  Raised mire is a rare habitat and here are species I have not seen this year.  What a joy to return!
A prolonged spring drought and a wet summer affects the vegetation of the raised mires and in early August it’s rank.  There's the sound  of running water and raindrops stand proud on the Meathop  Moss reeds. The morning is cloudy, hot and humid, so it’s ideal for a close-focus on the special plants and insects of the Reserves. 


Read More
0 Comments

Autumn gentian and frog orchid

3/8/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureAutumn gentian, felwort, Gentianella amarella
Autumn gentian and frog orchid can be hard to find.  Both are delicate and lovely flowers but they are not showy and you need to look closely to appreciate them. 
Autumn gentian is a short, erect plant with dark, lanceolate leaves . It is found on short turf of the limestone grassland.  The flowers open to the sun so many are still in bud during overcast days. Its flowers are pale lilac in colour, occasionally white. And they are tiny, easy to confuse at a glance with flowers of thyme. 
​Today, I found a single frog orchid. And several new gentian plants.


Read More
0 Comments

Swallow migration

2/8/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureAll aboard for South Africa
In September, swallows will migrate to South Africa and these enterprising fledglings have  booked their passage on a boat.  Good luck with that! 
They're clamorous and all a-flutter as  parents fly in with food.  A pale, wide gape, a hint of down in their plumage and a food=begging posture  define  the young birds whose tail streamers begin to show- picked-out in shadows as the sun comes out. 


.


Read More
0 Comments

Scout Scar 1st August

1/8/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture
Scout Scar escarpment is the perfect spot for watching rain clouds flow east from the fells,  across the Lyth Valley, toward you - and here comes a squall.  The wind roars, lashing trees, and the temperature drops.  Rain and hail, perhaps.  The sun is gone, light fades and the raven calls in a deep gurgle.  A kestrel rides the wind, wind-hover,  against dark clouds.
Trying to spy out autumn gentian and frog orchid in poor light, hoping to identify birds drained of all colour, is a challenge.  On such rainy days you may find solitude and the weather is volatile and thrilling.


Read More
2 Comments
    Picture

    Author

    Jan Wiltshire is a nature writer living in Cumbria. She also explores islands and coast and the wildlife experience. (See Home and My Books.)

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    November 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    April 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009
    January 2009
    January 2004

    Categories

    All
    A Local Patch
    Birdlife
    Butterflies And Moths
    Flowers
    Locations
    Views
    Walks
    Weather
    WIldlife

    RSS Feed

Website
Home
Blog
Gallery
Contact



​Cookie Policy
My Books
  • Intro - My books
  • ​Cumbrian Contrasts
  • A Lakeland Experience
  • About Scout Scar
  • Atlantic Odyssey
    ​
Other Writing
  • Intro - Other Writing
  • What Larks!
  • Further - Explore Shetland
  • Autumn Migration
  • Rydal and Nab Scar
  • Perspectives
  • The River Kent
  • Wings
Jan Wiltshire - Cumbria Naturally
© Jan Wiltshire 2019 All rights reserved
Website by Treble3