Assisting the National Trust was this week’s task for the Green Gym, doing a litter pick around the Duver and along the beach at Seagrove Bay, and what a beautiful day we had too! There did not seem to be as many small plastic items as last time we undertook this task, but people still haven’t got the hang of putting dog poo bags in the actual bins rather that throwing them in the bushes - Ugh!! St Helens Duver has been a site of Special Scientific Interest since 1951, with a review in 1995 extending the boundary. It is now known as the Brading Marshes to St Helens Ledges SSSI, designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under an EC Directive and also listed as a wetland of international importance under the RAMSAR Convention. The area is important for wading birds, Brent Geese, rocky shore habitats, sand dune plants, marshland and much more.
Carrie’s Nature Lesson
Carrie’s Nature Lesson
We found quite a few lovely wildflowers, and here are examples of three of these - the first image is Common Storksbill (Erodium Cicutarium), with rose-pink or purplish petals favouring dry, grassy places and wasteland especially on chalk, and also found on coastal dunes. The second is Common Centaury (Centaurium Erythraea), a lovely compact plant of dry, open ground with pink or occasionally white flowers, found in wild, dry, grassy places including downland, and are good plants for rock gardens or in sandy soil. The last image is a Prickly Sowthistle (Sonchus Asper), which looks a bit like a combination of a dandelion and a thistle. Its flowers are yellow with shiny prickly leaves and if the plant is damaged, it exudes a milky sap. It flowers from June to August, usually growing in arable fields and waste spaces; also in the picture you can see a ladybird nymph (which is the immature form of the insect) on one of the leaves.
A big thanks to Carrie for the editorial and most of the pictures with one from Mark.
No comments:
Post a Comment