Snippets of Wealth - Saturday 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags - Hypericum Montanum/Scollies etc

 Hypericum Montanum (Pale St John's Wort) - Click over to enlarge and see the spots

Photo: Dalton Crags 27th July 2019

I decided for the odd hour I had to visit one of my favourites DALTON CRAGS.  It is always good for thrushes holding up during the Winter, but never did I expect to see a party of about 40 Blackbirds including one or two other thrushes as well eg: a Mistle Thrush and a Song Thrush at this time of year.

I love the word "merle" of Blackbirds which is one of the nouns, but neither forgetting 'A cloud of Blackbirds' or a cluster of Blackbirds, or extending the range to thrushes we can have 'a hermitage of thrushes' or even a 'mutation of thrushes'

A young Dunnock party with contact calls as though they were all over the place, but I did manage to see the sentinel parent looking down on her circle of offspring...

I made my way to check out the irregular scollies which included the beauty that forks over at the end which I am told is a variety called 'Ramosum' and nearby a terrific area with lots of 'marginatum' variety, you just can't go wrong for ferns just in the couple of hundred yards or so of the lower Dalton Crags eg: Male Ferns, Lady Ferns, Hard Ferns, Brittle Bladder Ferns, Harts Tongue Fern, Rigid Buckler Fern, Limestone Fern and Wall Rue.

I also wanted to check out our rare Hypericum Montanum (Pale St. John's Wort) of which we are lucky enough to have one of our three Hutton Roof populations within the lower Dalton Crags area, and to see if I could get a photo of one of the perforated leaves - remember according to the books they are not supposed to have translucent spots on the leaves... (humbug!!) all ours on Hutton Roof show them..

 Hypericum montanum (Click over to see spots)

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

Each photo taken from different plants

 Hypericum montanum (Click over to see spots)

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

Each photo taken from different plants

Hypericum montanum (Click over to see spots)

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

Each photo taken from different plants

A fantastic display of Rigid Buckler Fern (Dryopteris sub-montana)

 can be seen on Dalton Crags (Click over to enlarge)

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

Asplenium scolopendrium var Ramosum (Harts Tongue Fern)

Click over to enlarge

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

 Asplenium scolopendrium var Marginatum (Harts Tongue Fern)

Click over to enlarge

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

Asplenium scolopendrium var Marginatum (Harts Tongue Fern)

Click over to enlarge

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

Asplenium scolopendrium var Marginatum (Harts Tongue Fern)

Click over to enlarge

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

 Asplenium scolopendrium var Marginatum (Harts Tongue Fern)

Click over to enlarge

Photo: 27th July 2019 - Dalton Crags

Snippets of Wealth - Thursday 25th July 2019 - Swifts/Epipactis Helleborine/Ploughmans Spikenard/First returning Wheatear

Ploughmans Spikenard

Ploughmans Spikenard

 Gorse Tree

I could hear seeds popping in this warm weather

And here you can see the small seedlings settled on the ground

And with this photo you can see a close up of the actual new growth

Birds last night (Wednesday):  Perhaps up to 50 Swifts all along the Main Street in Burton, the skies were full wherever you looked up with odd screaming parties up to 20 birds at a time.  

Birds today included a party of young Willow Warblers with their hou-whit contact calls, but of interest was hearing the parents giving alarm warning to their young and on my approach they went quicker with their calls until it went into a sort of superquick "whit, whit, whit".... also heard Nuthatch, had a small party of Long Tailed Tits with the si si si calls, One Chiffchaff calling, but really special was seeing a early returning Wheatear resting up on Burton Fell before its continuation journey back to Africa

Butterflies today included: Small Heath, Dark Green Fritillary (really worn with most of its wings missing - almost translucent), odd Ringlets, several Meadow Brown, Large Whites, Green Veined Whites, Small Heaths, and numerous Grayling on the Fell, Speckled Wood in the shade, and my first of this new hatch of Peacock. 

Ploughman's Spikenard can be found at several places on the fell and still plenty of work with the Orchids (read further). Whilst sat having lunch at the side of a Gorse bush, I could hear popping noises, and thought perhaps the heat was popping open the seeds. When I looked to the base of the bush I could see open seeds with new growth popping out (see photos)

Diary page for Thursday 25th July 2019

I decided to make a start on quantifying the atrorubens for the area which I survey on Hutton Roof. I did manage to complete 50% but the heat was so strong today, I felt like I had enough by mid afternoon, so 50% still remains to do. So far counted in totals is: 272 Atrorubens (which includes 13 predated, also 11 hybrids and 4 pallens). I suspect we might be a little down on numbers this year. I would have expected a total of somewhere between 600 and 800 for this particular area of Hutton Roof, but hopefully over the next few days I will have the new totals. 

Here below are some of the photos from today:

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This is a absolute beauty which has lots of red/purple

on the petals and especially the epichile. 

Epipactis helleborine

Photo 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This one is a very small specimen and comes up the same every year,

it is quite near to the 33 population

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This is a lovely specimen I have been watching

 and it's come through with plenty of red/purple 

on both the petals and especially

 around the epichile areas

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This is a lovely specimen I have been watching

 and it's come through with plenty of red/purple

 on both the petals and especially

 around the epichile areas

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

Always comes through as such a large specimen with lovely

large helleborine leaves and good example of the spiralling.

Always a little late with the flowers opening, and this year

just covered in ants, see next picture for close up of spike.

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

Always comes through as such a large specimen with lovely

large helleborine leaves and good example of the spiralling.

Always a little late with the flowers opening, and this year

just covered in ants, see next picture for close up of spike.

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This is a beautiful small helleborine, which is never more than around 12" high and is quite close 

to Escarp 13 (bicolor). It's such a little beauty

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This is a lovely helleborine, also pictured below. 
 I did manage to catch the pollinator at work -
 In fact all the pollinators I have seen so far
 this year on helleborines have been wasp
 and here it shows the pollinia stuck to the 
head of the wasp 

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This is a lovely helleborine, also pictured below.  I did manage to catch the pollinator at work -
 In fact all the pollinators I have seen so far
 this year on helleborines have been wasp

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

Epipactis helleborine

Photo: 25th July 2019 - Hutton Roof

This is one of the larger helleborines which is in the 70s population. I mentioned yesterday that quite a lot of the helleborines in this area come through here with 

odd burn leaves. This one has come through 

with variagated leaves.

Another wasp pollinator in action on this large helleborine
again (as usual) you will note the pollinia of the flower
is stuck to his head.

Epipactis atrorubens var: Pallens No.6

Photo: Hutton Roof on 25th July 2019

This is another photo of the Pallens No.6 which

was only confirmed yesterday. A very late arrival

but certainly better late than never....

Snippets of Wealth - Wednesday 24th July 2019 - Hybrids, Atrorubens, Helleborines, etc etc.

Birds today were represented by 2 family groups of Willow Warblers calling with their contact calls "hou-wit", also had a calling Chiffchaff (in song), 4 Ravens overhead to the South and then came back on themselves half hour later. A very loud Green Woodpecker coming close and calling so loud.  Also heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the nearby woodland. Insects must have been flying above the fell and I had the great pleasure of enjoying at least 14 swooping Swallows and even a Martin and a couple of Swifts.

Butterflies have also been good with 5x Meadow Browns, a couple of Ringlets, 2x Painted Ladies, 1x Small Heath, 1x Common Blue, 3x Large Whites, 19x Grayling, but not getting any of the large fritillaries over the past week or so. 

Diary page for Wednesday 24th July 2019 Hutton Roof Epipactis

I continued with my Broad Leaved Helleborine survey and now completed.  On my research area today I finished with a total of 132 which included 18 that had been predated. In fact at the last survey in 2017 I finished with a total of 136 which 88 were active and 48 predated.  So we have more or less got the same quantity, but done a lot better with non-predation numbers this year.  

Still finding one or two atrorubens, but not a lot on offer.

However! I did know about a Pallens which I found about two weeks ago but never mentioned it until now, but until it actually flowered I could not be too sure which it might have been, but now I can confirm it is our Pallens No.6 which I am pleased its come through again, and brings our Pallens up to 10 flowering this year. 

I don't know whether I will get around to surveying the quantity of atrorubens, will try to sort it later this week but just for today I thought I would count the schmalhauseneii area No. 17s and did manage the following: 6 confirmed hybrids, 52 atrorubens (some hybrids suspected in this number) plus 9 snipped.

I noted that when I was surveying the area 70's for the helleborines, lots of the plants were suffering with a burn to odd leaves, this has also been the case over the past 2/3 years so they are either diseased or I wonder if the area is a sort of sun trap and catching some of these leaves. Also today I am finding lots of plants throughout all areas which suffering with Black aphids together with their patrolling large ants.

Here are some of the photos from today:

Epipactis atrorubens
Photo: 24th July 2019
A beautiful plant near to the 70s populations 

Epipactis atrorubens
Photo: 24th July 2019

Epipactis atrorubens
Photo: 24th July 2019

Epipactis atrorubens
Photo: 24th July 2019
A bonny duo hidden at the base of a hazel tree

Black Aphids and ants on a helliborine
Photo: 24th July 2019

A beautiful helleborine

This is how close the different helleborines get, its no wonder we have hybrids!

Schmalhauseneii Specimen 17 nipped, but still managing some nice ovaries

More hybrid ovaries filling up

More hybrid ovaries filling on Schmal 17k

This is area near to the 17s and 70s and shows nice helleborines 

This is a beautiful light coloured helleborine

This is a beautiful light coloured helleborine

This is a beautiful light coloured helleborine

This is a beautiful light coloured helleborine

Schmalhauseneii 69

This is Pallens No.7 first found in 2017

This is Pallens No.7 first found in 2017

This is my regular call off for dinner place, looking across to the 9s populations
Lots of hybrids here!

Pallens 2
but maybe hybrid?

This is the rare hybrid No. 67

This is the rare hybrid No. 67