A Birds- Eye View Of Primroses.

Spot the teeny cows.

A lovely lady from the village offered to show me the whereabouts of a quite rare species of primrose at the weekend. Leaving Wil to chill at the caravan , I met Linda by the pub and we headed along my favourite bridleway ,which connects the Eden Valley settlements of Melmerby, Gamblesby and Unthank. The flowers are growing on private land but luckily my guide knows the land owner.

Buttercups galore. The fields are covered at the moment.

Red Campions & Dandelion Clocks.

I’m glad the weather has been dry recently because we ended up walking over quite a bit of soggy ground. In the adjoining field some young bulls were having fun chasing a group of ponies , then a hare. They also showed an interest in two crazy women cautiously navigating a bog. 🤣

A covering of Great Bittercress.

Not to be put off by the curious cattle Linda forged ahead and we soon came upon an abundance of wild flowers. Now some of my photos turned out pretty blurry. I blame the bulls, the bog and the bright sunshine!

Heath Spotted Orchid. Often Confused with Common Spotted ,which has broader leaves.

Marsh Valerian.

Blurry Butterwort. These plants are insectivorous and have flat to the ground leaves that resemble stars.

What we came to see of course were the Birds – Eye Primroses. And they did not disappoint. Linda was happy to see that the pretty pink flowers had spread their territory a little further….over the brook and into the bull field. Happily we remained where we were. 😊

Birds eye primrose.

The yellow centre of the flower is the Birds Eye.

Such pretty flowers.

Close up.

Favouring both bog and limestone, the conditions here seems to be perfect for these rare members of the primrose family. The Birds-Eye Primrose tends to be found in the North and flowers in June & July. What beauties. So glad they are thriving in a tiny corner of The Eden Valley. 💗

Distant Bulls.

The Elusive Bee Orchid.

Yesterday in the scorching heat we found the elusive Bee Orchid! This one was in Cross Hill Quarry Nature Reserve in Clitheroe, which can be accessed through Brungerley park. A kind member of a local wildlife group offered to show my sister, her kids and I where it was. 😊

There are over fifty species of orchid in the UK and all are protected. Although there are much rarer orchids ,the Bee Orchid is particularly striking I think. It’s flowers resemble the insect and amerous bees can transfer pollen to them, mistaking them for another 🐝 bee.

There were plenty of insects out in the late afternoon heat yesterday. We saw lots of butterflies including meadow brown’s, skippers, ringlets, common blues, tortoishell s, red admirals, whites and comma all fluttering around the quarry.

One of many many large skipper butterflies.

An unassuming orchid found all over the quarry is the Common Twayblade. I did not even realise that these are orchids.

A beautiful Marsh Orchid.

My niece got this picture of a cute new moth ( to us) , the Latticed Heath Moth.

The only Bee Orchid ( as yet) in the reserve has three flowers.

Bee Orchid.

My niece and Yellow Loosestrife flowers.

Heron intent on tea.

As you can imagine, wandering round a quarry in the heat made us all want to dive in the river, which luckily was close by. We all went for a paddle to cool off and the above heron wasn’t bothered by our presence at all.

Have you seen any orchids this year?

Salthill Quarry Nature Reserve ~ June.

So I returned as promised to Salthill Nature Reserve in Clitheroe to look for the elusive Bee Orchid. There was a photo of one on a local wildlife group, but could I find it? Well nope! However there was still plenty to see and it was nice to wander round the reserve.

There were lots of Speckled Woods in the woodland areas.

And scented Dog Roses adorned the pathways.

The poisonous Cuckoo Pints green berry stalks cover the woodland floor.

The Common Blues looked vividly blue.

Honey scented flowers of Agrimony were once added to mead.

This rabbit sat and watched me from a woodland clearing.

A new wild flower sighting for me ~ Round leaved Wintergreen. The leaves remain evergreen through winter.

I saw a few Brown Ringlets.

Common spotted orchid.

I snuck into a gated off meadow which might not have been part of the reserve. Whoops! There were vast amounts of ox-eye daisies in there which were buzzing with bees and small dragonflies.

Daisy fest. 🌼

Small tortoishell on daisy.

And on bramble blossom.

Red Clover. This one looks particularly vibrant.

I didn’t have a clue what this was! I thought it may be some rarity, but then someone told me it was a cowslip gone to seed. 😜

Small tortoishell on wild thyme.

Cinnabar Moth.

I always get my Cinnabar’s and Six spotted Burnet’s mixed up. I should just count the spots. 😊

So despite not coming across the bee orchid, it was a successful visit. Have you visited a nature reserve recently?

30 Days Wild Days 1 ~ 6. 🐞

The Wildlife Trust is again challenging people this month to join in with #30dayswild. Every June folks are encouraged to perform a random act of wildness each day. It could be something as simple as walking barefoot in grass, feeding the birds, enjoying an alfresco coffee in the park or watching insects in the garden. Just take a little time out to enjoy nature every day, and see how good that makes you feel.

I have joined in with the challenge a few times and this year I thought I would take a relaxed approach to blogging about it as I really don’t have anything particularly planned. I will take each day as it comes.

Meadow Falls Campsite with Ingleborough in the background.

Thornton Force on the Ingleton Falls Trail.

Early Purple Orchid.

Sticks to toast marshmallows.

We were camping at Meadow Falls Campsite in Ingleton at the beginning of June with friends and their girls , so of course we just had to walk the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail, which is well worth doing if your in the area. The recent rainy weather meant that all the falls were gushing impressively. The trail meanders through 4.5 mile of woodland and hillside terrain. Remember to wear sturdy walking boots if you do it!

We could smell the aroma of wild garlic ( it covers the woodland floor) as we ambled along and it was lovely to see wild orchids growing near Pecca Falls. Out in the fields meadow pippits called and tiny yellow flowers called tormentil ( known as the walkers companion flower) dotted the hills. The kids collected sticks for toasting marshmallows on the camp fire later, whittling them smooth with potato peelers.

I found this moth ( a nice man on twitter identified it as a Clouded- Bordered Brindle ) in the tent before we took it down. It was gently removed into the hedge.

Back home and a new visitor to the feeder! A jackdaw who swings on the fat balls, making even more mess than the raucous starlings. I also have visiting bluetits and House sparrows ( some are fledglings) , blackbirds, a robin and a coal tit.

A wet walk with the dog on Tuesday and I spotted this fungi growing through the greenery ~ possibly a pleated ink cap. I think they look quite ghostly.

I planted the Thirty Days Wild seeds in pots in the back yard. There are poppies along with some scabious I bought. Hope there are signs of growth by the end of June. 🌺

Yesterday I got caught in the rain out in the fields with Hugo. We did get to see a roe deer springing through the grass at great speed. A lovely wild moment, if it wasn’t for getting soaked to the skin! Once home I decided to download the RSPB single Let Nature Sing , which I have been meaning to do for a while. I’m quite late to the party as usual, apparently this cacophony of birdsong reached number 18 in the charts. I enjoyed listening to the Cuckoo, woodpeckers, curlews etc, with my brew.

Thanks for dropping by. 🌼

Wildlife Moments in 2018.

Its December everyone! Is it to early to do a bit of a round-up post?? 2018 has been a pretty good year for spotting wildlife I’ve never seen before. I glimpsed my first Gannets plunging into the ocean for fish off Skye, my first Stonechats darting between fence posts and gorse bushes in Ravenglass and my first Great Crested Grebes fishing in the lagoon at Hodbarrow Nature Reserve. I witnessed my first Eider Ducks bobbing along an aquamarine blue sea in the Outer Hebrides and watched for the first time, wild otters swimming and playing in a sheltered cove there.

And this year I have tried to identify and record every flower, mammal, bird, butterfly and moth I have come across whilst out and about , in a Nature Diary. Doing this has definitely got me busy looking up everything in my often neglected wildlife guides. My diary has gotten quite full, though I know there are still so many plants and animals, that I haven’t had the pleasure of viewing in our beautiful British Isles.

Here are just a few photos of some of the wildlife I have managed to capture on camera this year. 🙂

Great Crested Grebe fishing whilst sporting winter plumage ~ Hodbarrow Nature Reserve, Haverigg, Cumbria.

Hugo amongst Sea Lavender in Heysham, Lancashire.

Hedgehog wandering up a woodland path, Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire Dales.

Underneath the Umbels, Clitheroe, Lancashire.

Red Grouse, Great Stone of Four stones, Bentham, Lancashire.

Small Heath Butterfly, Askham Fell, Cumbria.

Compass Jellyfish on the beach, North Uist, Outer Hebrides.

Common Seal, Isle of Bernerey, Outer Hebrides.

Pretty Linnet, Askham Fell, Cumbria.

Female Red Deer, North Uist.

Blooming Heather on North Uist.

Swallow-tailed Moth, Salthill Nature Reserve in Clitheroe.

Common Spotted Orchids in the Wildflower meadow, Gisburn Forest, Lancashire.

One of the Otters we saw on North Uist. 🙂

Corn Buntings, North Uist.

Sea Holly, Crosby Beach, Merseyside.

Painted Lady, Salthill Nature Reserve, Clitheroe.

Bugles near Derwentwater, Cumbria.

Dipper, Stridd Wood, Bolton Abbey.

Skylark with lunch, Askham Fell, Cumbria.

Hope you enjoyed the photos.

What are your own favourite wildlife moments of 2018?