Longest Day, some wildlife noticed, what is a plant, monitoring squirrels and a book to read.

21 JUNE

Today is the Summer Solstice.

Longest day of the year with a full 15h of daylight ... plenty of time to see birds and smell the flowers. Mind you, the forecast here is rain - of which we have had just a bit too much recently. Where will you be “Noticing Nature” today?

Topics this week:
Wildlife encountered this week
Notes from the garden
Just what is a plant?
Red Squirrels and Senior Citizens
A nature book to read - suggested by the OLD Bookshop owner

The White Admiral butterfly Limenitis arthemis arthemis, is seen here working the flower/berry clumps on a Rowan tree. These insects have been studied for their evolution of mimicry, and for the several stable hybrid wing patterns within this nominal species; it is one of the most dramatic examples of hybridization between non-mimetic and mimetic populations. There are two major groups, mainly based on one physical characteristic: the presence of a white band along the wings. Individuals of the northern group, called White Admirals (the one in this photo), have a conspicuous white band that crosses both the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the wing, while those of the southern group, called Red-spotted Purples, lack that trait as they have evolved to mimic the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail.

An extremely small fly, no more than 3mm long at most. Probably in the genus Desmometopa with the common name “Freeloading Flies”. The name comes from the observation that they are kleptoparasites, to be observed feeding on prey captured by spiders, and some insects. They appear within seconds of a predator securing prey, taking advantage of the kill without contributing to its capture. Predators generally ignore them due to their minute size.

Female Purple Finch enjoying the first ripening Amelanchier berries. The Waxwings are circling, and the Robins are always present for them.

A species of Ground Crab Spider (Xysticus sp.). They do not build nests but ambush their prey and usually to hunt near the ground (hence the common name “ground crab spiders”). They move slowly, and station themselves where they think food might pass so they can grab whatever arthropod comes within reach. They seize prey with their enlarged front two pairs of legs and kill with a venomous bite.

Now we have arrived at mid June, the wildlife garden is coming into its own. Nine years after we decided we had had enough looking after a boring lawn and decided to replace our suburban plot with predominantly native plants. During the past six or so weeks, the annual northwards bird migration has come and gone with some fine specimens of birds - many of them homing in on the waterfall to refresh themselves. Meanwhile the mead is thrusting upwards with extensive areas of plants currently around waist height and heading upwards - many would usually be taller, but this year the infamous but effective “Chelsea Chop” has been effected by J … it will result in slightly shorter plants with more flowers than would otherwise be the case.

The public entrance to the garden does not show any native species at the moment - we are not entirely pure in our works and, like many, we can always find space for a rose or two. None of those hybrid florists’ rose though, ours are predominantly variants of Rosa rugosa and Rosa glauca (formally known as Rosa rubrifolia) with a splendid scent. Recent heavy rains have not affected the sterling efforts of a family of White-breasted Nuthatches who are introducing their several youngsters to the nutritious nuts we provide for them. As our Amelanchier berries start to ripen Waxwings have circled the garden to see if there are enough to snack on.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) - neither native nor planted, just comes up year after year tucked in beside a raised tomato bed.

Do you really know what a plant is?

I happened upon this very interesting article. Just what is a plant? That’s not a silly question any more, as the tools of modern science and the wilder shores of modern taxonomy enable us to learn more and more about the relationships of all living things. This article carefully explains to us that “not all plants are actually plants”.

We hold these truths...

(Quote #1): I admit it is confusing that scientific understanding keeps changing, and we can’t be sure anymore what a plant even is. But isn’t it great to live at a time when kingdoms are gone and have been replaced by a tree of life where everyone is equal and just as evolved as everyone else? I think it is wonderful, and I hope that you do, too.

(Quote #2 - making matters as clear as mud for average readers): In my scientific opinion, a plant is an organism that has cell walls of cellulose, has chloroplasts that resulted from primary endosymbiosis of a cyanobacterium, and has the pigment chlorophyll B in addition to chlorophyll A. All the others belong elsewhere today.

What is a plant indeed? I see posts on the socials from a few gardening groups asking for help identifying plants that are new to them. This is good, it’s how you learn, but I have recently been struck by a small number of people asking “Is this a plant”? Well, yes, is the very obvious answer … it took me some time, but I eventually realised that there are those who distinguish between plants and weeds. Weeds, it seems, to them are not plants. Not clear quite what they think they are, but eyes have been rolled in this household. I am very curious as to where these folk get their ideas. The world needs an education campaign.

Euro Squirrels and projects for aging naturalists.

I have spent much of my life out and about, taking note of the creatures and plants that we live beside - I also, sad to say, have a soft spot for squirrels. As I get older though, I am aware that I will slow down and not be able to walk quite so far on each outing but will always want to keep doing citizen science things … and then I learned of this group. Wrong country, wrong continent, but a cheerful thought for all that.

In the north of England, in a forested area named Coquetdale, live some of the last remaining European Red Squirrels in the country. They are larger than our reds, and come with cute tufty ears but they are less territorial and prone to some nasty diseases which have pushed them to the margins - not helped by the booming population of North American Grays that competes with them. Anyway - there are groups working to protect the few Euro Reds left. The Upper Coquetdale Red Squirrel Group, a charity (link below), have funded the installation of 50 motion-activated cameras in this area of woodland monitored by volunteers.

https://www.coquetdalesquirrelgroup.co.uk/

Conservation work doesn’t always require being out in the field. Community volunteers, many of them grey-beards sitting at home with their internet connections tuned to the feed from these cameras are monitoring the videos remotely, tracking squirrel populations and, importantly, catching early signs of grey squirrel invasion earlier than would otherwise be possible. They call it the “virtual ranger” project .

Councillor Steven Bridgett said the initiative puts the local community at the heart of conservation. “It will produce real-life data that will enable strategic conservation measures to be directed at areas most in need, a great example of what can be achieved by teamwork between those monitoring and those on the ground,” he said.

Subscribers to the OLD Bookshop newsletter who have joined the Whilst Out Walkers this week, have been enjoying brief suggestions of recommended nature and wildlife books that they might like to borrow or purchase for their libraries. This week, the bookshop owner has picked out:

Chasing Plants: Journeys with a Botanist through Rainforests, Swamps, and Mountains by Chris Thorogood

Chris Thorogood dreamed of becoming a botanist and would stop at nothing to feed his growing addiction to plants. In this fascinating book the author describes how his career as a botanist has taken him across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. These scientific travels have taken him along death-defying paths over cliffs, up erupting volcanoes, through typhoons, and into the very heart of the world’s green wildernesses. Along the way, he encounters pitcher plants, irises, and orchids more heart-piercingly beautiful than could ever be imagined (say his publishers, the university of Chicago Press).

Thorogood is also an acclaimed botanical illustrator and his are featured throughout the book. They bring plants out of the shadows, highlighting their intrigue and their character, and forcing readers to understand why plant species must be protected. This truly is a splendid book - not everyone is seized by plant sciences, even if they do like smelling the roses, but this book gets the balance right mixing solid botany with what is in fact an enthralling travelogue.

To quote from the book:

“ I’ve chased plants for as long as I can remember: I’ve learned the language of them, how to read the land with them and how to speak to its people through them. Knowing plants lets you see a place differently, read the forest’s mind, and listen to the mountain. Once you’ve thought of something long and hard enough, you can’t unthink it. Right? Once you’ve hauled yourself up a wet mountainside in pursuit of a pitcher plant, macheted your way to that orchid, or divined the world’s largest flower in your mind’s eye, you have to do it for real, don’t you? Find them, whatever it takes.

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Footnote: WOW subscribers coming to the bookshop for the first time may not know that the word OLD that is capitalized in the bookshop’s name derives from the fact that it is located in what was once the Old Lame Duck public house. They specialise in books related to nature, the environment and similar topics.

Post Scriptum - a moth with unusual habits.

Last minute addition - this is a new moth to my life list that was sitting on the doorstep. It is Aglossa pinguinalis, the Large Tabby or Grease Moth.

Not native to this continent - the larvae of these moths indulge in coprophagy. That is to say consume animal feces, especially the fats. Larval development takes around two years, with strong habitat affinity for caves and sheltered environments.

The Bookshop and Café crew have been extra busy this week putting together this newly combined edition of the newsletter. We expect to have some local news next week, including our testing of the first bread from Amy’s Bread Shop oven and sightings of Marsh Harriers and Reed Buntings in the Mirkmere Nature Reserve.