Osprey at Foulshaw Moss Roadside signs tell of osprey at Foulshaw Moss and by late-morning the car park is packed with eager visitors. Rarely breeding in Britain, says my Collins Bird Guide published in 1999. And out of date because osprey is a success story in the UK. A fish-eating raptor, the osprey nests in the top of pine trees on Foulshaw Moss.
We see Marsh Harrier too. I've been watching a pair nesting at Park End Moss for the last week or so.
It's great to see osprey but, for me, the moss itself and the ecology of the raised mire is full of interest, its aspect changing through the seasons.
We see Marsh Harrier too. I've been watching a pair nesting at Park End Moss for the last week or so.
It's great to see osprey but, for me, the moss itself and the ecology of the raised mire is full of interest, its aspect changing through the seasons.
Clear skies and an overnight frost, then the temperature rose. Warm enough for lizard and adder to bask in the sun and there were adder sightings in hotspots. After an exceptionally dry March into April I wonder how water-levels through the moss are affected.
Last here on 18th March, a sunny day but the incidence of light is different in April, almost a month later. Bog myrtle is radiant, its catkins now fully open and golden. In March we had to search to find twigs of catkins, most still in tight bud. Now bog myrtle shrubs illuminate the moss and they’re everywhere. There are so many more small shrubs, now gleaming as if ablaze in sunlight.
Last here on 18th March, a sunny day but the incidence of light is different in April, almost a month later. Bog myrtle is radiant, its catkins now fully open and golden. In March we had to search to find twigs of catkins, most still in tight bud. Now bog myrtle shrubs illuminate the moss and they’re everywhere. There are so many more small shrubs, now gleaming as if ablaze in sunlight.
In March, I took a photograph looking toward White Scar and Whitbarrow. At first glance, I thought it was birch carr- slender pale wands of birch topped with crowns of amethyst. Then I realised it was young birch growing amidst bog myrtle. Now bog myrtle catkins are more golden and the leaf buds of birch open like tiny fans, fresh newly unfurled and perfect before insects attack and they weather.
Since our last visit on 18 March spring had advanced apace. Willow were in catkin, many flowers already shed. Leaf buds were fat with rowan about to burst into flower, and spindle with tiny green flowers. White flowers of cotton grass had bloomed.
There’s so much more bog myrtle – in March, most of the catkins were in tight scaly buds, a deep dark red. Now they’re all fully open and ablaze of gold so we see the abundance of the shrub.
Our best bird sighting is osprey and marsh harrier but throughout the morning we hear the song of chiff chaff and willow warbler.
Since our last visit on 18 March spring had advanced apace. Willow were in catkin, many flowers already shed. Leaf buds were fat with rowan about to burst into flower, and spindle with tiny green flowers. White flowers of cotton grass had bloomed.
There’s so much more bog myrtle – in March, most of the catkins were in tight scaly buds, a deep dark red. Now they’re all fully open and ablaze of gold so we see the abundance of the shrub.
Our best bird sighting is osprey and marsh harrier but throughout the morning we hear the song of chiff chaff and willow warbler.
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