Appearance The Hebrew Character, Orthosia gothica, is a member of the Noctuidae family and named after the prominent mark on each of its wings which resembles the character ‘nun’ in the Hebrew alphabet or the form of a gothic arch (hence the scientific name gothica). It is a medium sized moth about 3.5cm long withContinue reading “The Hebrew Character Moth, and a few notes about moth migration”
Tag Archives: #Spring
A Woodland Walk, by William Billington
‘A Woodland Walk’ by Lancashire Poet William Billington (1825-1884), born at the Ribble valley village of Samlesbury on the 3rd April, 1825 A Woodland Walk I wandered forth to watch the infant Day Sow diamonds over plain and woodland copse; The Sun, just glancing o’er the mountains gray, With slanting beams, illumed their grassy slopes;Continue reading “A Woodland Walk, by William Billington”
Little Owls in Lancashire
In Lancashire’s rolling green countryside you can find every species of owl that is native to the British isles, even one species which some might argue isn’t technically native yet, despite having successfully bred here, the Eagle Owl. So far I’ve written about the Tawny Owl, the Short-eared Owl and I’ll get around to sharingContinue reading “Little Owls in Lancashire”
The Comma
Commas (Polygonia c-album) are named after the comma shaped mark on their white underwings and are very striking butterflies in appearance. Orange and black with ragged looking wings which break up their outline they look just like dead leaves, which protects them from hungry birds when they hibernate. They are a bit of a generalistContinue reading “The Comma”
Wood Sorrel, the original Shamrock
Wood Sorrel is one of the earliest spring-flowering plants of the woodland floor, along with Wood Anenome, Bluebell and Wild Garlic and is characteristic of old woodland, forestry plantations and shaded hedgerows. It only feels at home in moist, shady areas and no other native flowering plant thrives on as little light as this speciesContinue reading “Wood Sorrel, the original Shamrock”
Bumblebees and how to encourage them
Bumblebees are often confused with Honeybees but are larger, furrier, and generally black with either white, yellow or red bands across the end of their tails. There are 24 different species of bumblebees to be found in the British isles, many of which can be seen in the Northwest of England including two which I’veContinue reading “Bumblebees and how to encourage them”
Caring for newborn calves
Spring is a very busy time for the livestock farmer when lambing and calving both get well underway, there are just so many jobs to do. It’s also a very intense time in terms of keeping up with changes in the industry and maintaining a competitive edge, as factors like improvements in cattle and dairyContinue reading “Caring for newborn calves”
The Chiffchaff
The Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita, has what is called an onomatopoeic name, meaning descriptive of its song, and its scientific name, Phylloscopus, coming from the Ancient Greek phullon, meaning ‘leaf’ and skopos, meaning ‘seeker’, aptly describes its behaviour as it hops about the trees seeking insects for its dinner. For a lot of people the arrivalContinue reading “The Chiffchaff”
Northwest Nature and History 