Following in the Footsteps of an "Edwardian Lady" - Part 3: Olton Mill Pool

Olton Mill Pool

In her "Nature Notes" written in 1905 Edith Holden writes that on 3rd April she saw 2sand martins flying over Olton Mill Pool catching flies, she also saw her first Willow Warbler of the year and found 2 blackbirds' nests - one built in brambles containing one egg and one built in a whin-bush with 3 eggs. On the 24th April she walked across Olton Golf Course to the Mill Pool where she saw a water-hen (this would probably have been a Coot or Moorhen) sitting on a nest built in the centre of a reedbed. Edith went on to mention that the nest was about 2 feet high and it looked like a small floating island.

As there are no public footpaths crossing the private Golf Club (and I don't play golf!!) it doesn't seem possible to walk across it today. Between the Golf Course and the Mill-Pool is a small wood called Mill Pool Spinney. A Scout Group now appear to use this area as its not possible to access the area around the pool or spinney as its marked private property.

The only place to view the pool is from the side of the road.




I didn't see any hirundines or Willow Warblers! but I did spot a few Blackbirds, Blue Tits and a Robin. No sign of any Coots or Moorhen although I imagine they could well still be found on this pool. There were, however, several Canada Geese and it looked as though one may have been sitting on a nest. I am not sure though how familiar Edith Holden would have been with this species. Canada Geese (a North American species) were introduced to St James Park, England initially in 1665 as an addition to the waterfowl collection of King Charles II. They were kept through the centuries in waterfowl collections but their numbers remained low until the 1950's when their numbers began to increase dramatically.



Mill Pool and the Spinney



This pool originally fed Olton Mill which was built during the sixteenth century. It is not clear when the mill was actually demolished but it is recorded as still standing in 1937 so would have been there when Edith used to visit the pool. Although the Golf Course and Spinney still remain today Mill Pool is surrounded by housing developments rather than the farmland that Edith would have recognised.




Later as I drove past the village of Catherine de Barnes (a place Edith Holden mentions visiting and walking through several times in her Nature Notes) I spotted this grassy bank full of cowslips.

Cowslips









I am not sure if these are truly wild cowslips or if they have been planted but it was still a lovely sight especially seeing a male Orange Tip butterfly dancing above the flowers - just magical.

"The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their saviours.
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear."

From "Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare

Reference:

"The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady" by Edith Holden

More Flower Photos from the Gardens

Brian wanted to visit Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens last weekend so we went along for a walk round last Saturday. The Gardens were bathed in sunshine when we arrived but half way round the heavens opened so I wasn't able to get any more photos of the Snakeshead Fritillaries.

I had put the macro lens on the camera to experiment yet more and I think you probably need to use a tripod and have a day with no wind to get really sharp pics. The trouble is me and tripods don't mix as I usually manage to fall over the legs with possible dire consequences for the camera so I suspect sharp photos will remain a dream.

I only did a post last week on the Gardens so have tried to cut down on the amount of photos (slightly!).

Brandon Marsh NR

I visited Brandon Marsh NR, Warwickshire, yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours. It was cold but pleasant walking in the Spring sunshine and I managed to start catching up with some of the summer visitors. I put the 70-300mm telephoto zoom on the camera before leaving home but the birds were too far away really for attempts at photography so the photos below are a few poor "record" shots!.

As I drove along the entrance road I spotted a couple of Pheasants and tried to get some more photos of this species for Chris at Las Aventuras. My field skills aren't up to much and this is the view of the male Pheasant "legging" it away as I got out of the car.




Mrs Pheasant wasn't keen on my presence either!



There weren't many birds around as I started my walk through Horsetail Glade but plenty of bracket fungi growing on trees.



As I walked across Central Marsh I spotted my first Peacock butterfly of the year and the Marsh Marigolds are coming into flower.




On the path by Teal Pool there were more bracket fungi



and one of the species of Speedwell is flowering. No sign of the mining bees I saw digging burrows in the sandy soil under one of the Oak trees around this time last year.





There were plenty of Teal be seen on the appropriately named Teal Pool and I saw my first Redshank of the year. I spent a while in East Marsh Hide overlooking East Marsh Pool watching Oystercatchers, Lapwing, Shelduck, Shovelers, etc., and had my first sighting of Little Ringed Plovers.


I carried onto Carlton Hide overlooking a small pool and Newlands Reedbed and saw my first Swallow and Chiffchaff of the year. I managed to get a few shots of Coots - you might be able to make out the nest hidden amongst the reeds with the female in situ and the male is carrying some twigs to add to the nest.






There is a new short footpath to a viewing screen over Newlands where you can see the Osprey Platform that has been erected in the hope of attracting this species. It would be wonderful if it was successful. I did try to get a photo but I'm not very tall and couldn't see properly out of the viewing holes in the screen let alone get my camera to focus!

I retraced my steps stopping off at the John Baldwin Hide where I usually manage to get some photos but today the only bird remotely close enough was this Canada Goose.



There were more butterflies along the path - 2 more Peacocks and a male Orange Tip but no sign of the tame Robins on the corner by Goose and Grebe Pool.

I didn't have time to walk the full Onyx Nature Trail which goes by the golf course and through New Hare Covert but I walked around Grebe Pool seeing Great Spotted Woodpecker and a female Blackcap. The Wren in the photo below was singing its heart out seconds before.



A view of Goose Pool from by the Wind Pump



Ths windpump is used to transfer water to the top reed bed.



More Marsh Marigolds around the Dipping Pool near the Education Centre



and an Insect House



A couple of sculptures located by the entrance to the Visitor Centre






Map of Reserve



I managed to see 31 species during my walk which I was pleased with in the short time I was there.
I'm still hoping for a Water Vole sighting after their re-introduction to the Reserve last year - but it was a shame to hear from one of the ladies on reception that herons have been seen disposing of some of the voles.

Easily Side-tracked! - Moths, Garden Birds and EarthScience

Garden Moths - GMS Week 7

I'm still not catching many moths! I ran the trap on Friday night and with a minimum temperature of 1.8 degrees centigrade, the only moth was an Early Grey.




I think these moths are rather cute and teddy bearish and its a new species for the year.



Garden Moth Species for 2012 = 11

Hopefully, the nights will get warmer soon and bring out a few more moths!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my photos weren't bringing out the colours and features in the lbj's of the moth world and Stewart from "The Orthosia Enthusiast" and "From the Notebook" (see links on the right under my blog list) kindly suggested trying a slate background. Initially I couldn't find any slate in the house and then I found lurking in the back of a cupboard a souvenir I once brought back from the Lake District. You know the type of thing - it seems a nice purchase at the time but when you get home you can't find the right place for it so it ends up being shoved away.



The reverse of the above has provided me with a nice slaty surface for moth photos - although I haven't had chance to try it with brown moths I think it works well with the Early Grey!

It says on the packaging that the piece of slate is 500 million years old and this is where I got very easily sidetracked into slate formation and moth evolution!

Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock formed when an original shale type sedimentary rock or volcanic ash underwent low grade regional metamorphism leading to recrystallisation of the original rock type. Regional metamorphism occurs as a result of an increase in pressure (and/or temperature). These conditions occur due to deep burial and mountain building and can affect large area of rocks. This is a gross over-simplification of the process but luckily for all concerned most of my geology books are buried at the bottom of a pile of storage boxes and are not easily accessible!

There would, of course,have been no moths around when this particular piece of slate was formed. Around 545 to 505 million years ago the "Cambrian Explosion" took place when the diversity of animal forms increased dramatically including the evolution of marine shelly fossils. My favourite organisms of all time - the Trilobites first evolved around this time.






So when did moths first evolve? Apparently there is a lot of variation in estimates of when the Lepidoptera first appeared and the fossil record of moths and butterflies is poor. Insects first evolved around 400 million years ago but the earliest reference I can find to a Lepidopteran fossil (although I stand to be corrected!)is that of a few wings of a moth species named Archaeolepsis mane found in a rock from Dorset and dated to around 190 million years ago. Lepidoptera only began to increase and diversify when flowering plants appeared and began their rapid evolution about 80 million years ago during the mid Cretaceous. Moths evolved well before butterflies.


Garden Update

To return to the present there has been a lot of nesting and breeding activity seen in the garden recently.

House Sparrows are still to be seen taking nesting material into the eaves.

Robins are still indulging in courtship feeding.

Blackbirds are taking nest material into a conifer.

The Blue Tit is still taking nesting material into the nestbox and then removing it. Although today there seems to be a lot more moss being collected and left in the box.

The pair of chaffinches is still around and have been seen mating so there must be a nest somewhere close by.

The wren has been seen entering the hanging basket with yet more nesting material.

Long tailed tits have been indulging in recycling - collecting feathers from the lawn from yet another sparrowhawk kill (another house sparrow we think).

And I saw my first orange tip of the year on Thursday - a male flitting across the garden.

Millennium Wood and Fairy Door

I haven't been to Millennium Wood for a while so I stopped off yesterday morning for a quick walk. Its only a small nature reserve covering 10 acres and takes about 20 minutes to walk around. It was planted in the year 2000 with over 9000 trees and shrubs and the habitat includes grassland, heath, shrubs and woodland.




There are hundreds of silver birches on site and I was hoping (probably rather optimistically!) that there might be orange underwing moths about and possibly even a summer visitor like a chiffchaff!



It was very quiet though wildlife wise - certainly no moths or butterflies and the only birds showing were the inevitable blackbirds, blue tits, wood pigeons and magpies. Still it was a nice stroll in the Spring sunshine.



The Fairy Door in an oak tree not far away has had yet more additions!



To be honest I preferred it less adorned when it looked like this!