Guide to Geese, Part Two

Guide to Geese Part Two In part one of my concise, two-part guide we looked at Canada, Brent and White-fronted geese, in this part we look at Pink-foot, Greylag and Barnacle geese. Pink-footed Geese, Anser brachyrhynchus The ‘Pinkfoot’ visits us from October through to March and usually associates with other geese such as Greylag andContinue reading “Guide to Geese, Part Two”

The Wood Anemone

I was inspired to write this article after a short walk around the grounds of Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham yesterday, where Wood Anemone and another flower of the woodland floor which I have recently written about, Lesser Celandine, are abundant. Plant of the Ancient Woods The Wood Anemone, Anemone nemorosa, is a plant of theContinue reading “The Wood Anemone”

‘Tis true, ‘tis true, the Swallow’s here

The Swallows are back in the British isles and although the saying goes “Two Swallows do not make a summer” quite a few have been seen around the country so I think we can safely say that summers on its way! I always like to tip my hat, (so to speak as I don’t usuallyContinue reading “‘Tis true, ‘tis true, the Swallow’s here”

First Swallows of the year!

I just heard and then saw two Swallows flying over on my way into work here in Padiham in Lancashire. It’s always means a lot to me when I observe this as it’s a sure sign that summer is not far off and I have always been in awe of the enormous distances and tribulationsContinue reading “First Swallows of the year!”

The Cross of Greet

The Cross of Greet, or Top o’ Cross, is located on the highest point of the fell road between the villages of Slaidburn and Bentham at 1400 ft above sea level, marking both the watersheds of the Ribble and Lune rivers and the old, pre 1974, Lancashire/Yorkshire boundary. It sits at the top of theContinue reading “The Cross of Greet”

Guide to Geese, Part One

Guide to Geese, Part One Around about this time of year you might see, or hear, Skeins of geese flying overhead, as they head back north to their summer breeding grounds. In this two-part series of articles we look at how to identify some of these species, including the migrant species which call these islesContinue reading “Guide to Geese, Part One”

The Cuckoo

The Eurasian Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, has an onomatopoeic name, cuculus simply refering to the sound of its call and canorus means ‘pleasant sounding’. The call of the Cuckoo is indeed very pleasant to hear and evocative too, conjuring images of spring in the minds of most people, even those that might never have heard theContinue reading “The Cuckoo”

Lesser Celandine

Lesser Celandine, Ficaria Verna, (ficaria meaning ‘of a fig’ and being a reference to the root structure of the plant, and verna being a girl’s name of Latin origin meaning ‘springtime’), is one of the first flowers to raise its head in the spring. Its common name Celandine comes from the Latin chelīdonius, which inContinue reading “Lesser Celandine”