Little updates on wildflowers and nature
This is where small items of news get put once they’ve been on the front page. Usually it’s small things I’ve spotted locally that don’t make it into their own post.
Squirrels, foxes and flowers
25/02/23 Very much enjoyed Leif Bersweden’s book talk about Where the Wild Flowers Grow.
I also found this handy quick wildflower ID pdf from the National Plant Monitoring Scheme which may be handy.
Spotted in 2022
28/09/22 Looking lush but autumnal in Seaford Sussex today with lots of seed heads alongside flowering plants.
10/04/22 Flowering near me: Green Alkanet, Red Dead-nettle, lots of Dandelions, Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Alexanders, various Violets, Red Valerian, Mexican Fleabane.
27/02/22 Squirrel still visiting, 2 robins displaying, 3 blackbirds, 2 jackdaws, 2 starlings, 2 dunnocks, 2 magpies, no blackcaps or tits.
20/02/22 Mike saw a fox in our front garden, younger than our regular one – a son or daughter maybe? Birds of the last few weeks in our garden: very many sparrows, 2 collared doves, 2 wood pigeons, one robin, one blackcap, 2 blackbirds, dunnocks, one jackdaw, one wren, 2 great tits, one blue tit.
05/01/22 This squirrel has been visiting our patio a lot – he has a shortened tail and has taken to begging for monkey nuts.
03/01/22 Happy New Year! In flower: Winter heliotrope, Dandelion, Daisy, Red deadnettle, Mexican fleabane, Red valerian, Groundsel, Sow thistle, Ivy-leafed toadflax.
Spotted in 2021
22/12/21 My first Winter heliotrope Petasites pyrenaicus of the season in Seaford.
6/10/21 They mowed selected areas in the Last Meadow in Seaford this week.
15/10/21 In flower in Seaford this week but not photographed – bristly oxtongue, red valerian, ivy-leaved toadflax. We have had a grey squirrel, jackdaws, doves, a pigeon, a magpie, sparrows and dunnocks on the patio and visiting the bird feeder.
25/04/21 In flower in Seaford this week but not photographed – english bluebell, geranium molle, herb robert. The ivy-leaved toadflax, wall mustard, bulbous buttercup, common dog violet and white comfrey are all flowering in abundance. The cow parsley is in flower and getting taller.
03/04/21 The fox tried to bury a ball in our garden this week, but was disturbed before she finished digging! Spotted in flower today for the first time this year – ivy leaved toadflax, spanish bluebell, bulbous buttercup, ground ivy, lords and ladies, wall mustard, common dog-violet.
04/03/21 Out and about in Seaford this week
Adding to the bird list: 2 magpies, now 2 wrens, 2 great tits.
19/02/21 Birds in my garden at the moment and for about the last month: 2 blackcaps, 2 collared doves, 2 wood pigeons, 2 robins, 3 blackbirds, numerous starlings, dunnocks & sparrows and a wren.
Here is a pic of the regular fox visitor we’ve had since early Nov.
06/02/21 Spotted in flower today on my health walk in Seaford Sussex but no pics:
Red deadnettle – Lamium purpureum, Daisy – Bellis perennis, Sweet violet – Viola odorata, Dandelion – Taraxacum, Shepherd’s purse – Capsella bursa-pastoris, Grounsel – Senecio vulgaris, Chickweed – Stellaria media, Annual dog-mercury – Mercurialis annua, Celandine – Ficaria verna, Speedwell – Veronica persica, Ivy-leafed toadflax – Cymbalaria muralis, Red valerian – Centranthus ruber, Cow parsley – Anthriscus sylvestris, Winter heliotrope – Petasites fragrans, Snowdrop – Galanthus (probably a garden escape), Winter heliotrope – Petastites pyrenaicus.
Plus loads of frothy new Cow parsley and Alexanders foliage.