The Merlin, or pidgeon hawk, Falco Columbarius, falco meaning falcon and columbarius meaning dove, is one of the smallest birds of prey to be found in the British isles, similar in size to the Kestrel. It is also one of the fastest and most agile, flying very low to the ground at high speeds jinkingContinue reading “The Tiny yet Tenacious Merlin”
Tag Archives: #Yorkshire
Traditional Field Barns of the Northwest of England
Traditional Field Barns of the Northwest The North of England is famous for its ancient, man-made landscape of rolling fields crossed with drystone walls and dotted, seemingly haphazardly, with stone barns which are so integral to the countryside here that it would look empty without them. Many of these barns are made from the veryContinue reading “Traditional Field Barns of the Northwest of England”
Unnatural Histories, The Story of William Southworth, Landlord of the Lower Buck, Waddington
The Lower Buck in Waddington, built in 1760, is said to be haunted by a past landlord, William Southworth. The sad story of William Southworth The story of William Southworth and his demise is quite curious, he became the landlord in 1820 and quickly gained a reputation for being quick-tempered, picking arguments with all andContinue reading “Unnatural Histories, The Story of William Southworth, Landlord of the Lower Buck, Waddington”
The Hart’s Tongue Fern
The Hart’s Tongue Fern’s scientific name is Asplenium scolopendrium, asplenium meaning ‘belonging to the spleenwort family’ and scolopendrium deriving from the Greek skolopendra, meaning millipede or centipede, which the underside of the fronds is supposed to resemble. It is a small, very hardy evergreen fern with dark green fronds and forms clumps with broad, wavyContinue reading “The Hart’s Tongue Fern”
Autumn, the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”
Traditionally autumn starts at the autumnal equinox, which falls on the 23rd of September this year, ‘equinox’ meaning ‘equal nights’ as the day and night are of equal length. This event is highly significant to many cultures, to the Pagans it has the name Mabon, after the Celtic sun-god, to the ancient Greeks and theContinue reading “Autumn, the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness””
The Edible, or King Boletus
The Edible boletus, or King boletus, Boletus edulis, edulis indicating that it is edible and boletus coming from ‘clod’, as the round fist-sized caps of some of the most highly prized specimens are earth-coloured, is considered to be amongst the best edible funghi to be found in the world and is widely collected across theContinue reading “The Edible, or King Boletus”
Golden Plover
The month of September marks the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn, a season of change and movement, when our days noticeably cool and our nights become longer. For many creatures this transition from Summer to Winter triggers ancient instincts which compel them to find safety and shelter from the cold and inclementContinue reading “Golden Plover”
The Grey Wagtail
The Grey Wagtail’s scientific name is Motacilla cinerea, Motacilla originating from the Latin word mota, meaning ‘move’ or ‘shake’, which is the root for words such as ‘motive’ and ‘mobile’ and cinerea coming from the Latin for ‘ashes’ or ‘grey’, being the root for ‘cinders’ and ‘incinerated’. Unlike a lot of scientific names which reallyContinue reading “The Grey Wagtail”
Northwest Nature and History 