DOWN TO EARTH in The City

How absurd, the idea that a plant is anything other than a life giving, life preserving entity, the essence of life, without which there is no life. Richard Mabey provides a terrific account in 'A Cabaret of Plants' (BOTANY AND THE IMAGINATION) PROFILE BOOKS 2015. And whilst many of us celebrate plants  intensely and  joyously, some are preoccupied with total disdain towards certain species; the 'Triffid syndrome' might be applied here as a concept approaching an 'irrational fear leading to a concern that certain plants will, if left to their own devises, consume human babies'. A few local 'triffids' are evident at this time of year, notably Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam and the most recent traveller, Giant Hogweed. Side by side, Rea Valley Hogweed at Ten Acres (foreground left) and the giant cousin (middle ground and left) Photo 8th June. Our friendly hog, Heracleum sphondylium , seems to be an accepted plant at the edge of river, woo...

A park of many corners Highbury Park features somewhat disproportionatley in the 'Rea Valley Woodland Consultation' Blog, two reasons, one it's close to home and work and two it's interesting, that might be three, but nevertheless it's a fascinating area with lots going on almost everyday, and there are enough landscape features combined with a geographical declivity to make it seem much larger than it is; a park of many 'corners', thanks to Milner's 19th century landscape design and this, together with a mixed arrangement of Park's management additions, changes, abandonment, cut backs and nature improvement, thanks to volunteers, Friends, Rangers and the B&BCWT NIA funding, makes it an intriguing subject. http://www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/NIA Author and journalist Barbara Copperthwaite also has much to say about the area in her blog - https://www.gobewild.co.uk/wild-blog  Great photos accompanying. Every now and again, I dawdle the time ...

The 'rural idyl', a 'pastoral' setting, 'rus in urbe', 'an escape to the countryside', 'village bliss';   illusional and nostalgic concepts maybe, and the ideas were hopelessly romanticised by artists during the 18th and 19th centuries, offering a modicom of hope to those in 'dark satanic mills', and yet it seems that in the 21st century, urban dwellers have never before met with a greater need to escape the pressures and stresses of city living, to wallow in that little parcel of "green and pleasant land", to cast aside the tumult of daily anxiety, if only for a while. In reality of course the masses are 'permitted only' to view the great green expanse, look but don't touch, 'private', keep out, keep to the footpath, no right of way, 'beware of the bull' (there's still a sign to this effect near Bordesley Station, once a cattle station), and here I'm cynical, but thank god we have portions ...

 The term 'ecotone' cropped up this week as a Tree Officer colleague and I looked at Holders Woods in an exercise to describe the woodland structure, composition and current management. Meadow and woodland at Cannon Hill An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes . [1] It is where two communities meet and integrate. [2] It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and grassland ecosystems ). [3] An ecotone may appear on the ground as a gradual blending of the two communities across a broad area, or it may manifest itself as a sharp boundary line. The word ecotone was coined from a combination of eco(logy) plus -tone, from the Greek tonos or tension – in other words, a place where ecologies are in tension. (Wiki) Ecotones are generally recognised for ecological richness and a good place to observe the 'tensions' and interactions between certain animals and plants. ...

The Time of Year - April-May The 'finest' time of year in fact - the all too brief period from the peep of a snowdrop to the wilting of daffodils - a period of yearning for the end of winter, the slight, but significant lengthening of the day, the Blackbird's early morning regale, a tentative suggestion of comfort and warmth, although frost, wind and rain give frequent reminder of the time of year, changeable weather conditions persist. Highbury and bluebells Then we think on to the dawn chorus, the first bat night, eyes on the ground, impatiently identifying the meadow plants, inspired by the bluebell displays and talk of bees, hoverflies and the strange  territorial behaviour of our garden and woodland birds. Springing forward - May 12th - there's talk of drought, but today it rains, "much needed", the gardeners insist - It's raining in Spain too, as George and his school chums head there for a five day football feast. (I miss him already, for t...

4.45 am looking east over Cannon Hill Park A cool morning but not unpleasantly so, and dry. At precisely 5.00 am a north westerly breeze blows by adding some discomfort.   5 of us wait at the gates, expecting more and  thinking most have overslept - often the case with dawn chorus promises. 30 more eargerly awaiting souls are inside the gates - we meet up and early morning greetings are made. 'The Dawn' is a somewhat primitive time of day- and what a strange moment and place to meet, yet, although we mostly know each other, we are briefly strangers in the twilight -  Sunrise by Sahira   Dawn has no precise time, we figured, and is dependent on weather conditions; if the sky is full of dark clouds the daybreak may be thwarted for a while.  By 5.15 am the day began to break, leading me to think that perhaps dawn is from the moment the light changes until Sunrise, which is predictable and today it was precisely 5.54 am photo by Sahira "We...

The Ten Acres site is a historic backwater on the west bank of River Rea at Stirchley; a seemingly 'unloved' area with no immediate neighbouring human community, although, somewhat contradictory, a much loved site by those in the know. In terms of wildlife, Ten Acres is a veritable haven, with much of the site receiving little in the way of footfall or disturbance - a single, unkempt and at times muddy path being the only option of traverse, with thorny blackthorn either side keeping walkers on track. Therefore there is little 'off the beaten track' exploitation. East side of the River Rea East bank -  On the east side of the river we have another largely undisturbed swathe of land, containing grassland scrub and tall herbaceous vegetation, together with a number of planted fruit trees. Bullfinches thrive here, feeding on the early spring blossoms. The site as a whole (east and west of river) is therefore rich in both plant and animal species, and a great...