Tuesday 17 February 2009

Some good, some not so good

A selection of safari photos from the weekend.

First up a gang of hibernating Garden Snails holed up in a very old looking Hawthorn tree.


Late winter/early spring is the time Gorse starts to flower most prolifically, although some flowers can be found at any time of year hence the expression 'Kissing goes out of fashion when the Gorse stops flowering! '


This patch of Snowdrops not far from Base Camp is stunning, better than the pitiful tiny patches in some more natural woodlands - are these planted or natural - don't know but they are within a very old orchard.


Dunnocks are not often seen far from cover. This one was many yards from the nearest bush fossicking around in some rather sloppy mud.

Found 'em - a couple of Bee Orchids - have to wait until the first week of June to see them in flower though...patience is a virtue.

Another one with only two leaves so far.


Song Thrush - will they ever become common again?



Now for something I never knew! Not that I know much about marine life. This bundle of Whelks eggs came as a bit of a surprise. I saw them but didn't realise they were actually stuck to the sack. Normally they are seen in small tennis ball sized clumps rolling around on the beach. I didn't know that they stuck their eggs to a substrate...and in the absence of Kelp fronds a fibreglass sack will do just fine...you learn something new every day!

This Redshank wasn't for being photographed - it was too nervous to get just quite close enough and wouldn't keep still, better luck next time!


Where to next? Wherever the wind blows I guess.
In the meantime let us know what you haev learned about your outback this week.

2 comments:

Monika said...

Wow, that's pretty crazy about the whelk eggs!! I've never seen anything like that.

Mary said...

Love the snowdrops! I've never seen snails in a tree...cool! Those whelks eggs are interesting, too! Thanks for explaining about them.