Tag: Autumn

Cemetery Wildlife – November 2023

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife4 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife – November 2023

November was very wet and windy, with so much rain that the footpaths throughout the cemetery have remained muddy all month.  A lot of the time it was quite mild, but the month ended with two cold, sub-zero frosty days.  One of those might have included a light dusting of snow overnight, but the next morning it just looked like a very heavy frost. On the final day of the month there were some light falls of hail and snow.  The ground didn’t freeze though, so the cemetery wildlife had no trouble finding food and water.

Birds

There were decent numbers of the regular small birds around.  It seems to have been a good year for them, especially the chaffinches, great tits and blue tits.

A great tit looking for insects on the bark of a tree branch
Great tit looking for insects behind the bark. Note the jelly fungi towards the bottom of the branch.

I also started seeing a pair of coal tits almost every day.  It’s great to see them back in the cemetery.  They’re just slightly smaller than blue tits.

Two photos, one showing a blue tit and the other showing a coal tit
Blue tit (left) and coal tit

I’ve also seen Goldfinches regularly too.  This is a bird than can occur in large flocks, but the most I’ve seen together in the cemetery has been four or five.

A goldfinch perched on a branch in the cemetery
Goldfinch. The males and females are difficult to tell apart – the difference lies in the amount of red above the eye. As the red extends a way back, this is probably a male. 

I’ve also seen quite a few wrens in the cemetery.  These tiny birds move so quickly, and usually disappear into the ivy on the trees, that they can be quite a challenge to photograph.  And sometimes I only hear them, as they have quite a loud and distinctive call.

A wren on a log
Wren in the Quaker Burial Ground

An even louder bird is the carrion crow.  But they’re usually very easy to spot!

A carrion crow high up in the branches
Carrion Crow

Whilst I don’t have anything rare or unusual to report, I did catch a very brief glimpse of a pair of bullfinches.  I also caught a quick glimpse of a goldcrest.

Plants

There were very few plants in flower this month. The most distinctive of those in flower was the musk mallow, growing on the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West.  New flowers were still opening late in the month, although the frost might now have finished them off.

Two photos showing the pink flowers of the musk mallow - one before the frost and the other after it
Musk mallow before and after a heavy frost

A few dandelions were in flower but they might fare a bit better in the frost.

A frost-covered partially opened dandelion
Dandelion after a heavy frost

Trees

It has been quite windy this month and a number of branches, some of them quite large, have fallen from the trees.  But no significant trees were damaged.  Most of the deciduous trees are starting to look very bare now.  However, the leaves that have managed to cling on despite those high winds have now turned to lovely autumnal shades of yellow and orange.

The autumn colours of a beech sapling in the cemetery
Beech sapling (above)
The bright autumn colours of an ash tree in the cemetery
Ash

Fungi

I didn’t find much in the way of mushrooms and other fungi this month which was a bit surprising when I look back on what I saw in the November of previous years.  I didn’t see any of the velvet shank I normally see growing on a particular fallen log. But I saw some candlesnuff and some coral spot, both growing on rotting wood.

Candlesnuff fungus growing on a rotting log
Candlesnuff fungus (above)
Coral spot fungus on a fallen branch in the cemetery
Coral spot

Insects

The smallest branch of the cemetery wildlife has been very quiet this month.  I’ve seen a few flies, hoverflies and ladybirds, but no butterflies.

Conclusion

The last full month of autumn has been a very wet one.  As we head into winter there is still plenty of autumnal colour left, but plenty of greenery too.  We are hoping the Council will give the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West one last cut for the season. This is because lots of new thistles have already started to grow there and these could stifle the growth of the spring flowers that are essential sources of nectar for early insects such as butterflies, some of which can appear as early as February.

A squirrel in a tree, looking directly at the camera
Your squirrel of the month. See you next time!

 

Cemetery Wildlife – October 2023

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife – October 2023

October was a typically autumnal month, with some misty mornings leading to sunny days.  It was quite mild at times, but it was rain that dominated the month with some quite heavy and prolonged showers, especially towards the end of the month.  As a result of this higher than average rainfall, all the footpaths in the cemetery are very muddy.  At least the cemetery wildlife wasn’t short of drinking water! 

Plants 

Small Flowering

Many of the cemetery’s plants have now died back, including the Hogweed shown above. It’s good that some of the seed heads remain upright even after all the seeds have been eaten because they make a great focal point for us photographers!  However, I also found one still in flower.

The white flowers of Hogweed inside the cemetery
Hogweed

Elsewhere in the cemetery I found lots of Ivy still in flower and attracting plenty of small bees and hoverflies.

Ivy flower in the cemetery
Ivy

The main place for flowering plants is the grass verge along Spring Bank West.  As I mentioned in last month’s report, the Council cut part of it during the hot weather early in September.  Then we had lots of rain and the verge looks green and lush as a result.  Unfortunately this has allowed lots of thistles to start regrowing, but the verge is due for one final cut of the season, hopefully soon.

Despite this I found several plants still flowering, including Tansy, Feverfew and Smooth Sow-thistle.

Bright yellow Tansy flowers on the grass verge alongside the cemetery
Tansy (above)
The daisy-like flowers of Feverfew
Feverfew (above)
Freshly opened Smooth Sow-thistle flowers
Smooth Sow-thistle

That small patch of Ragwort I mentioned last month is still in flower.  I’ve also found White Campion, Wild Basil, Toadflax, Dandelions and Musk Mallow still flowering.

An opening bud of a pink Musk Mallow flower
Musk Mallow

Trees and larger shrubs

The heavy rainfall on the trees has saturated the bark, making it appear very dark.

An old Horse Chestnut tree in the cemetery, with bark darkened by heavy rainfall
Horse Chestnut

It isn’t just the flowers that add colour to the cemetery – the leaves on the trees look equally colourful, especially on the Forsythia growing near the cemetery gates.  It gives us masses of bright yellow flowers in the Spring, and then this in the Autumn.

The bright autumnal colours of Forsythia leaves
Forsythia

The Dogwood growing inside the cemetery is very colourful too.

The autumnal colours of Dogwood, with raindrops
Dogwood

The leaves on some of the trees have started to turn autumnal, but it looks like their main colour will come through in November.

The berries on the trees also add splashes of colour all over the site, and provide food for the cemetery wildlife, especially the birds.

The bright red berries of Pyracantha near one of the cemetery monuments
Pyracantha

Birds

The usual small birds were around in good numbers, including Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Great Tits and Goldfinches.

A Great Tit in the cemetery
Great Tit (above)
Goldfinch perched on a branch
Goldfinch

Walking through the cemetery one day, I heard a cooing sound that differed from the Wood Pigeon and Stock Dove ones I usually hear.  When I looked up I saw a pair of Collared Doves perched on the roof of a nearby house.  Unfortunately they were not in the cemetery itself so don’t count towards this year’s list of bird species seen in the cemetery.  I’m hoping to see them again, but inside the cemetery.

Insects

I saw plenty of small bees and hoverflies this month.  One sunny day I was walking along the grass verge and noticed that practically all of the Dandelions and other similar yellow flowers had a small insect on them.  This includes Ladybirds, both Harlequin and native.

A Marmalade Hoverfly on a Dandelion
Marmalade Hoverfly (above)
Ladybird on a bright yellow flower
Harlequin Ladybird

I didn’t see any butterflies in October, and neither did any of the other volunteers.  This is unusual, because I’ve seen at least one Speckled Wood in the previous two Octobers.

Fungi

Just a couple to record this time – a Jelly Ear and one that looks very like the Dryad’s Saddle ones I’ve seen on a few occasions in the past.

Jelly Ear Fungus growing on a rotting fallen branch
Jelly Ear (above)
A partially eaten large brown fungus - Dryad's Saddle
Dryad’s Saddle

Conclusion

October was a very wet month.  The muddy conditions have made walking in certain parts of the cemetery quite a challenge, especially where people have ridden bikes along the paths, exacerbating the problems.  With rain forecast for the start of November, the paths aren’t going to be drying out anytime soon.  Despite all this, the cemetery wildlife seems to be thriving.

But I’d like to end this report with an appeal to all the animal lovers out there – once Halloween is over, please don’t leave your leftover pumpkins in the cemetery.  They’re not good for wildlife to eat, especially hedgehogs.  Whilst some animals may have a quick nibble of the pumpkin, the majority of it will remain, turning into a rotting mess that the litter picking volunteers then have to remove. The link below gives more information about what to do with your unwanted pumpkins.

Thank you on behalf of the cemetery wildlife, and I’ll be back next month!

A Grey Squirrel perched high on a wet tree branch

https://www.forestryengland.uk/news/dumping-pumpkins-the-woods-bad-wildlife-says-forestry-england-expert

 

Cemetery Wildlife – September 2023

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife

September started off unusually hot.  Temperatures reached the high 20s, possibly even 30, in the first week, qualifying as a heatwave.  An unexpected end to the summer here! The trees still had all their leaves though, giving plenty of shade to cool down the cemetery wildlife.  As a result, the ground remained damp throughout this period.  Autumn officially started in the last half of the month, and it started with quite a few rainy days.  Some of the rainfall was quite heavy and the paths are rather muddy again.  High winds brought down a few medium-sized branches but no major damage was caused.

Birds

I started this report with one of the two Coal Tits I’ve been seeing regularly this month. These little birds are very slightly smaller than Blue Tits but their colouring is quite different.

 

Blue Tit on Elderberries, with one in its beak
Blue Tit and Elderberries

 

There is plenty of food for the birds now because of the berries on many of the trees and shrubs.  The Elderberry bushes with their fruitful abundance are particularly popular as you can see from the photo above.  I saw other species that are light enough to perch on their thin stems too, such as Chaffinches and Blackcaps.

A female Blackcap and a male Chaffinch perched in an Elderberry tree
Blackcap (female, left) and Chaffinch (male, right)

Blackbirds like the Elderberries too!

A Blackbird perched in an Elderberry tree
Blackbird – the brown head indicates this is a young male, still to get his full Winter plumage

Other birds I’ve seen this month are Goldfinches, Wrens, Great Tits, Robins, Wood Pigeons, Crows, Magpies and Dunnocks. I haven’t had any more sightings of the Bullfinches I saw a couple of months ago.  A visitor to the cemetery told me he’d heard a Tawny Owl calling in the area near the Owl boxes.  Our end of year survey of the bird boxes should reveal whether or not they’ve nested in the cemetery this year.

Plants

The Pyracantha bushes are now laden with berries, adding some welcome colour and providing food for the cemetery wildlife.

Red Pyracantha berries on the verge alongside the cemetery
Pyracantha

A one metre strip of grass along the verge on Spring Bank West was cut by the Council earlier in the month during the hot weather.  The rain that arrived mid-month helped the regrowth, and there are now a few Dandelions flowering.  The Musk Mallow has survived the cut, and a small clump of Ragwort is still in flower.

The yellow flowers of the Ragwort, on the grass verge alongside the cemetery
Ragwort

The Ivy is now in flower, but generally there were not many flowers to be seen in September.  I did see a few flowers on one of the bramble bushes, and on this Ribwort Plantain.

The white flowers of the Ribwort Plantain on the grass verge alongside the cemetery
Ribwort Plantain

It’s easy to miss these flowers, which look quite different to other more traditionally shaped ones.  I also found some Cyclamen growing in the cemetery near the Cholera Monument.

Pink flowers of Cyclamen, growing in the cemetery
Cyclamen

The main things to be found on the plants at the moment are berries as already mentioned, and seeds such as on this Dock.

The dried brown seeds of the Dock plant
Dock seeds

Insects and other small creatures

I’ll start with Butterflies, as they’re still around in September but in much smaller numbers.  I’ve seen Small White, Large White, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood.  I can always rely on the latter for a photo, and they often fly on overcast days as well as sunny ones.

A Speckled Wood butterfly on a Hogweed seed head
Speckled Wood on a Hogweed seed head

I’ve also caught brief glimpses of the occasional Dragonfly around the cemetery, but none have landed anywhere so identification wasn’t possible.  It’s surprising to see them here, especially as there is no pond or other source of water in the cemetery.  The abundance of vegetation and damp areas most probably explains their presence.

There are still plenty of hoverflies and bees around, making the most of the flowers on the Ivy.  Large queen bees are feeding up on the nectar to sustain themselves during their winter hibernation.

A Queen Buff-Tailed Bumblebee nectaring on Ivy flowers
Queen Buff-Tailed Bumblebee nectaring on Ivy flowers

Snails are not insects of course – they’re molluscs – but I thought this White-lipped one was worthy of inclusion because of its attractive shell.  It seems to be one of our regular species and stands out nicely on dried plant stems.

A White-lipped Snail crawling up a dried plant stem
White-lipped Snail

Conclusion

It’s been a quiet month, with nothing unusual to report as far as the cemetery wildlife is concerned.  I occasionally hear a fox calling later in the evenings, and they do live in the cemetery.  They seem very wary and secretive though.  However, a regular volunteer had a good view of a fox early one evening.

When you spend a lot of the time in the cemetery, either volunteering or just enjoying a leisurely stroll, you get to see certain individual animals that stand out from the rest. Here’s one such animal – I call this squirrel Nick because of those distinctive tears or nicks in both ears. Whether these were present at birth or if they’re the result of a disagreement with another squirrel I don’t know.  But here he (or she) is!

A Grey Squirrel climbing up a tree in the cemetery
That’s all folks. See you next month!

Cemetery Wildlife October 2022

by Helen Bovillin Wildlife2 Comments on Cemetery Wildlife October 2022

October has been a typical mid-Autumn month, with a mixture of rain, cool dull days and warmer than average sunny days.  The cemetery and grass verge are green and healthy, and there are plenty of berries and fungi to provide sustenance for the cemetery wildlife. The Summer drought seems to be a distant memory.

Trees and Shrubs

Many of the trees and shrubs are now bearing fruit.

There is plenty of Pyracantha growing along the back of the grass verge. It looks particularly vibrant at the moment and makes up for the lack of colourful flowers elsewhere.

Pyracantha on edge of cemetery
Pyracantha

There are some fruits on one of the Yew trees growing at the front of the grass verge. But these fruits are actually known as arils rather than berries because the seed is not fully enclosed.  Were you to look inside the red casing you would see the seed at the back of it.  My description of them in last month’s report is therefore incorrect!

Yew Berries for the wildlife
Yew

I’ve also seen berries on some of the Holly bushes growing in various places inside the cemetery and a few of the bramble bushes still have fruit ripening on them.

The ground is becoming covered in the fruits of many of the cemetery’s trees, including the Lime. This particular one caught my attention because of the large knobbly growths on its trunk. These are known as burrs.  I’ve inserted a link at the end of this report containing more information about what causes them.

Lime tree in the middle part of the cemetery
Lime Tree. The insert shows one of its leaves.

The trees and shrubs are also starting to show some lovely autumnal colours, including this Forsythia growing at the side of the entrance gates.  This is the shrub that provides a glorious array of yellow flowers in the springtime.

Forsythia at the cemetery gates
Forsythia with Greenbottle and Ladybird

Flowers

I didn’t find many flowers this month. Not the traditional-looking ones anyway.  There is still some Ragwort growing on the grass verge, together with a few Dandelions and some Smooth Sow-thistle.

Ragwort on the grass verge beside the cemetery
Ragwort (above)
Smooth Sow-thistle growing near the cemetery
Smooth Sow-thistle (above)

However, there is an abundance of flowers on the Ivy plants that are growing skywards all around the cemetery.  They provide a great source of food for the insect branch of the cemetery wildlife.  On a sunny day they are abuzz with the sound of Bees and other small insects.

Dronefly on Ivy Flower
Ivy Flower with European Dronefly

Insects

There are still plenty of Ladybirds around – native ones as well as Harlequins.  I’m still seeing Hoverflies and I even saw a few Butterflies earlier in the month.

Small White Butterfly (male)
Small White (male) (above)
Speckled Wood Butterfly
Speckled Wood (above)

Mushrooms

Remember the one I told you about last month that had fungi growing on it? This is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago!

A shrivelled mushroom with fungi on it in the cemetery

I found a lot of small mushrooms of various types, including these Velvet Shank, some partially eaten by the cemetery wildlife.

Velvet Shank Mushrooms growing on a log in the cemetery
Velvet Shank

Mushrooms can be hard to identify due to their often rapidly changing appearance.  I’ve therefore just summarised what I found this month without giving definitive identifications.  In any case there’s always the danger of giving an identification as an edible one and then it turns out to be poisonous.  However, I would not advocate any form of foraging in the cemetery – it’s only a relatively small site and the fungi should be left for the cemetery wildlife to eat.  Most of these mushrooms are tiny anyway.

A selection of small mushrooms found in and around the cemetery

Birds

I have no unusual avian visitors to report this month. I’ve seen just the usual Blackbirds, Robins, Wood Pigeons, Crows and Magpies.  I regularly see Goldfinches and Coal Tits now, plus the occasional Dunnock and Thrush.  But the small birds that seem to be the most abundant are Chaffinches, Blue Tits and Great Tits.  They’ve had a very successful year.

Blue tit
Blue Tit (above)

 

Great Tit
Great Tit (above)

Conclusion

The cemetery is looking good at the moment and is always an excellent place for a leisurely stroll.  But the month ended on a very wet note with lots of heavy showers and the footpaths are rather waterlogged at the moment.  The best path to walk on at the moment is the southern one – that’s the one that is nearest to Spring Bank West.

And now for a question – do you prefer to see the names of the plants and animals ON the photos or UNDERNEATH them?  I started showing them underneath the photos last month and just wondered what you thought of the change.  I can easily revert back to putting the names on the photos if necessary!

Useful link:-

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/06/what-is-growing-on-my-tree/