Linnet

Linnet  Carduelis cannabina

In winter this small finch has a dark pointed bill, long wings and a forked tail.  The upperparts are uniform warm brown, and the underparts are buff with dark streaks.  The head is a grey colour, with pale areas above and below the eye.  Perhaps the most distinctive feature, though, is the white flashes on the primaries and tail, more so in flight.

Flight is undulating and flitting.  When not feeding on the ground, birds perch on low bushes and fences.  In winter, flocks of linnets can be large and it is at this time of the year that they associate with other finch flocks making comparisons interesting for the birdwatcher.

Calls are 'tsooeet', and flight call is 'chichichichit'. Also the musical fluty twittering song can sometimes be heard in winter.

Birds can be found on stubble and set aside fields.

Goldcest

Wintertime is always a good time to see small woodland birds as the trees are now denuded of leaves and, as in the case of the tits, form mixed flocks. The goldcrest, our smallest bird (8.5-9cm), is one bird that attaches itself to these flocks of great, long-tailed, blue, coal, marsh and willow ( the later now very rare) tits.

 It has a small black pointed bill, black eye, whitish underparts, green upperparts and a short tail. The most distinguishing feature, though, is the yellow/orange crest on the male bird, and yellow on the female, which is black-edged - from this the goldcrest  gets its name. Other features are two white wing bars and a dark band on the wings and dark legs.

The call is a persistent high 'zi-zi-zi' which is uttered while birds flit through the trees in search of food - which can be heard in winter, and a good way to locate them. The song, which again can be heard in winter months, is a 'cedar-cedar-cedar-sissi-pee and is likened to the coal tit's and even tree creeper songs,

Goldcrests can be found in association with tit flocks in woods, gardens and any wooded area especially where there are conifers.

It is the acrobatic behaviour of goldcrests that delights the birdwatcher as it flits from twig to twig and tree to tree looking for its diet of spiders and insects.

Wild Teasel

Wild Teasel  Dipsacus fullonum

Wild teasel is one of our easiest wild flowers to identify and a favourite for dry flower displays. It's tall, up to two metres, with strong, prickly stems and leaves. The flower heads are egg-shaped, 2-8 cm long with purple flowers which die off leaving a brown dead head which lasts throughout the winter. Basal leaves are in a large rosette, oblong unto other and prickly. The stem leaves are lanceolate and fused together around the stem forming a cup in which rain water collects.

The plant is widespread and locally frequent along river-sides, rough places and bushy areas.

Dipsacus is the Classical Greek name for the plant. As mentioned, rain water collects in the cup formed by the leaves. This gives rise to its generic name which is taken from the Greek 'dipsao', thirst. In the eighteenth century, this was collected and used as a face lotion.

Very similar to wild teasel is fuller's teasel; the bracts not ascending and overtopping the flower-heads. The name is taken from the Latin 'fullo', a fuller. The old tough flower- heads were used for 'teasing' cloth and the worker who did this was known as a fuller or burler. At one time fuller's teasel was cultivated inmany parts of the country around cloth manufacturing towns and villages.

Teasel is used in dry flower arrangement. They are often painted or sprayed with different colours for decoration.

Westonbirt

I had a meander to Gloucestershire today to Westonbirt Arboretum, which is probably the best time of year to visit because the Japanese maples are at their best.

Japanese Maple

Japanese Maple

Japanese Maple

Chinese Red Birch

Chinese Red Birch

Lime Avenue

Monterey Pine Cone

 The oldest small-leaved lime in Britain, some two thousand years old. We usually think of old trees as being large and gnarled, but, apparently, this lime has been continually pollarded every thirty years or so through those two millennia.

Small-leaved Lime

Small-leaved Lime

Small-leaved Lime Sculpture

Wollemi Pine

Wollemi Pine

Autumn Flowers

A short walk in autumn produced some flowers as below.

This sweet-scented flower is a universal favourite with people.  It is a deciduous climber, twining clockwise.  The flowers are in terminal heads, yellow, yellow-pink or red; leaves are broad, not serrated, opposite in pairs, each pair lying in a plane at right angles to the next; the berries are red.

Honeysuckle is from Old English "hunigsuce".  It is also known as woodbine.

The generic name "Lonicera" is after sixteenth-century German botanist Adam Lonitzer. Its specific name "periclymenum" is from the Greek "peri", around, and "klymenon", a tendril, which indicates its twinning habits.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle

Snowberry

Snowberry

Snowberry with Flowers

Ivy

Elder

The elder bushes are full of berries this time of the year for birds to gorge on and people to pick for elderberry wine.

The bark of the tree is corky,  fissured and internally has a soft white pith.  The large dark green leaves are opposite and pinnate. In the spring and early summer the flowers are small, umbel-like, creamy-white cluster and are fragrant. But it is the fruit this time of the year that stands out: a juicy purple and black berry.

The name elder is probably derived from the Anglo-Saxon "aeld" or "ellarn" meaning fire or kindle. The hollow stems were used for blowing fires to re-kindle them or get the fire started.  Hence its former names were pipe tree and bore tree.

The generic name "Sambucus" is probably derived from "sambuca", a kind of harp made from elder. Of course, the specific name "nigra"is Latin for black referring to its black berries.

In the past, the wood of elder was used for butchers skewers, needles for weaving and shoemakers pegs. Today, the berries and flowers are used for making wine and cordials.

Eardington Halt railway station

Sunday 28 September, 2014

Whilst driving to Chelmarsh today I noticed Eardington Halt railway station was open so I stopped and took some photos.  It seems volunteers open it occasionally for the public but the train doesn't stop there.

Severn Valley Steam Train

Ticket Office