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

North Walney: findings

1/9/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureSmall copper, North Walney 31 August
Small copper is a beautiful butterfly and on North Walney this one lingered.
Where shingle merges into sand dunes we found Hare's-foot clover- a pale pink, with soft hairs almost hiding the flower itself.  A delicate clover, easily overlooked. 
Yellow bartsia is a speciality of Morecambe Bay. The sun was  too bright to photograph a yellow flower well but there are few on Walney, so here it is. Red bartsia was more abundant.
A bright and sunny day with dragonflies and damselflies breeding.

There were a few white flowers of burnet rose, fragrant flowers. The stems  are dense with rosy-red bristles and prickles.  And the plant has black hips, shown below.
Damselflies and dragonflies were  mating and egg laying at the fresh water pools, the old gravel pits.  I stood by the water's edge looking toward  the trees which gave   shelter from the breeze. Hawkers skimmed the water and rose in  the sunlit air. There were brown hawkers, common blue damselflies and emerald damselflies which Americans call a spread-wing for its distinctive habit of settling with wings outspread. Amongst the reeds fringing the pool the sun made star-bursts upon the water and hid damselflies and hawkers in the dazzle. 
Lunch was leisurely and the scene reminded me of Pieter Breughel's painting, Childrens' Games. His landscape is crammed with little figures each intent on some obscure game.  On the far bank of the pool someone brushed the vegetation with a butterfly net and sucked a tube to deliver into a glass phial his haul of frog hoppers, leaf hoppers and tiny insects.  Someone else tucked  his butterfly net under his arm to pick blackberries. Later, we looked for toadflax and huddled round to search its leaves for tiny larvae,  wriggling caterpillars.  I sat on the bank and a common darter settled on my foot.  I'll have an emerald damselfly on the other sock please. 
' Is there sea-lavender?' I asked Steve Benn, our Natural England guide.  I know it from South Walney and it's a favourite.  'Coming up,' said Steve and led us off the heather and onto the salt-marsh.  Which deserves a blog unto itself.

My thanks to Steve and his fellow guide. To Julie, for Hare's-foot clover, yellow bartsia and her knowledge of flora. To Ian and Krysia Brodie for identifying damselfly images and the spread-wing ID feature for the emerald.  To Arnside Natural History Group for a generous sharing of information.
Click on images to see fully, to read captions
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    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