I Love Arnside and Silverdale: Thursday September 3rd - Checking out Field Gentians and New Gentian Survey on Holme Park Fell plus photos of "Slipper Rock", Tuesday September 1st 2020 - Checking out Gentians on East side (near Trig Point), and also checking out Holly Ferns

Autumn Gentian or Gentianella amarella or even Fellwort are the names associated with this beautiful plant which frequents the worn ancient grassy tracks of our local limestone Stints and Fells. The latin name “Gentianella amarelle” does have a special ring to it! And reminds me of possible Italian ice cream vendors shouting out some sort of special flavour.

It’s been a good year for the Gentians, but certainly not the best, with most of the known sites around Holme Stinted Pastures, Holme Park Fell and Farleton and lesser amounts on the Hutton Roof side. I did a rough survey this year and managed to count 3044 on all known sites. The last really top year was back in 2017 when I probably had over 4000 plants of which there were specimens quite large at 8” tall which just looked like little miniature Christmas trees in their build with sparkling purple or white fairy lights.

It’s a special place is Holme Stinted Pastures, not just for these Gentians, but also the much rarer Field Gentians or give them their latin name Gentianella campestris which we are so lucky to have these national rarities on our doorstep. I think we are possibly one of only three sites left in Cumbria were this species still survives in close proximity to its cousin the Autumn Gentian. I often think because of their closeness (eg 6” apart in places) that one day a “hybrid” of the two may be found. But not yet, in fact a hybrid between the two is not known within the UK although there is supposed to be a record known from somewhere in Europe.

“ Watching Autumn bird migration take place” (vismig)

Writing this piece (21^st Sept), I am already 10 days into my bird migration counts which I do every day from the top of Vicarage Lane, and I am currently getting over 200 Chaffinch a morning heading in a South East direction these numbers have been known to swell to anything up to 1500 in a morning. Take this morning I had my very first Brambling calling as they went through, and will have come into this Country only this week from probably from one of the Scandinavian countries. I also had Siskin, Redpoll, Goldfinch and lots of Linnets, and that’s just the finches. I also get lots of Meadow Pipits heading South along with Skylarks. I am still getting the residue of Swallows and House Martins. Winter thrushes are also coming in with my first sightings today of Continental Song Thrushes heading to the West. Most of the Pink Footed Geese have now arrived and you do see the odd skein or two coming overhead of Burton on their way down into Lancashire or maybe some go further across to Lincoln and Norfolk. In another week or two it will be the turn of the Whooper Swans.

The Starling counts I am getting in a morning are all going out to the East for a day’s foraging, they come over every morning from their roost which will be Leighton Moss or Silverdale Moss, and at this time of year will usually arrive high above me for about 0650hrs to 0700hrs. I would by now be getting around 50 as a rule with a steady build until the end of October, but this year is a little different, I have been getting numbers up to 400 in a morning which is really early and would not normally get this number until have the second week in October, and I wonder if some early continentals are making up some of this number already.

Thursday September 3rd 2020 - Checking out Field Gentians on Holme Stinted Pastures, then find new old tracks and surveying Autumn Gentian on Holme Park Fell, and taking photos of "Slipper Rock" with 1913 comparison.

Far too windy to get good photos but did manage bits and pieces. My job today was to check out the Field Gentian and they are doing very well, quite a lot now being found slap bang next to Autumn Gentians (nearest within 8" and 14"). Over 20 plants recorded so far. I reckon it could be good in about 10 days for the Field Gentian. Nice to see them coming through now on "The Bank".

I chose a very old quarry track to investigate on the Holme Park Fell, and sure enough it proved fruitful with a further 276 Autumn Gentians over an area of about 400 yards x 20ft wide. There were mixed purple and white, probably more white, although there were lots there that were well spent. I got the impression these must have been out a lot earlier than the majority.

I finished off with a quick photo of Slipper Rock which I could compare against the original photo taken back in 1913 (only 107 years ago)

Besides Gentians and Slipper Rocks, I noted 3 parties of Linnets of 50,12 and 8 and also a party of 25 Goldfinch, heard some Bullfinch and a few Chaffinch. They all seemed happy feeding up within Holme Stints and the Fell.

Field Gentian on Holme Stinted Pastures (Farleton side of Hutton Roof)

Shows how close Field Gentian is from Autumn Gentian only 8"

Shows how close Field Gentian is from Autumn Gentian only 14"

The fabulous pavements of Holme Park Fell (Farleton) today

Slipper Rock - Holme Park Fell 2020

107 years later than the next photo

Slipper Rock - Holme Park Fell 1913

107 years earlier than the above photo

Tuesday September 1st 2020 - Hutton Roof Common (Ploverlands)

I checked out the regular spots for the Autumn Gentian on Ploverlands and it was very poor, eg: only 3 plants (1 classic purple and 2 of the white form). In the past I would have had around 30 from the same area.

Decided to go over and check out the Holly Ferns, but just as I was leaving one pavement down the steep banking I was lucky to find a few Sneezewort (achillea ptarmica) - always reminds me of "ptarmigan" the grouse type bird. It must be 5 years since I last found some Sneezewort on Hutton Roof, it just seems to turn up out of the blue. Here is a couple of photos, the leaves remind me so much of Betony.

Sneezewort

Both Holly Fern 1 and Holly Fern 2 are both doing well, but they are like small versions of themselves, this year. On my way back home I bumped into Alec and told him about the size of the Hollies and he remarked he was not surprised and showed me a specimen outside of the house and this also was stunted compared to its norm! I wonder if its the same old story, not enough water and too much heat at the wrong times, makes you wonder.

So here we have Holly Fern 2 which as always come up with a couple of fronds belonging to the "Aculeatum". Its the same every year, but the Aculeatum tends to move about sometimes the fronds may be on the left and sometimes on the right. Its strange to see both Aculeatum and Lonchitis coming out of the same root stock.

Holly Fern 2 had 10 fronds (the norm) this year which the average frond measured approx 8" x 1 1/2" wide.