January
January - A Two Faced Month (updated on Tuesday 19 January)
January was named after the ‘two faced’ Roman God, Janus.
And two faced it has been!
An area of high pressure has dominated Central Europe giving us cold northerly and easterly winds. Snow normally rarely reaches anywhere but the highest parts of Dartmoor (see picture below, top left) but there has been plenty this year as well as ice and frost. At the end of the second week, however warmer air pushed in from the west bringing a glorious warm sunny day on Sunday 17th and on Monday 18th I saw my first butterfly of the year when a Small Tortoiseshell emerged from its hibernating nook in our kitchen.
On New Years Day I was out at Gidleigh leading a walk for Gidleigh Park Hotel. Although very cold the light and landscape looked a treat but the hot chocolate Wonson Break (see picture below, top right) was much appreciated by all. The enclosed fields on the edge of the common were well populated by redwings and fieldfares feeding on insects and earthworms associated with grazing livestock. The fantastic light conditions meant that we were even able to pick out the red flashes on the flanks and underwing of the redwing (see picture below, bottom left).
Dartmoor is littered with Bronze Age remains and Gidleigh Common is particularly rich in these monuments. It is estimated that Scorhill circle (see picture below, bottom right) originally consisted of about 60 stones. Today there are 23 of the remaining 34 stones standing in the true circle which is 27m across. The Scorhill circle is easily accessible and from most of the records it seems that much of the damage was done prior to the early 18th century.
Within the vicinity of the circle is evidence of a burial cairn, a kist (burial chamber) with a retaining circle and a double stone row. Scorhill is one of a group of seven circles that are aligned in a curve around the north eastern fringes of the moor. The intervals between them are between 1.25km and 2km.
Future Events - Winter Birds Walk
The moorland is largely devoid of small birds now apart from a few stonechats and meadow pipits. Ravens, however, are already staking out their territories and are actively calling and displaying. Winter visitors such as fieldfares and redwings are well established and there are small flocks of siskins and redpolls. Occasionally there is the possibility of seeing a wintering hen harrier or merlin.
The snow put paid to the birdwatching walk planned for Sunday 10 January – hopefully conditions will be OK for the next one on Sunday February 28. This walk will start at 09.30 hours from the Lower Car Park on Trendlebere Down (Bovey Tracey end).
This is a short stroll of just over 1 mile and lasts for 3 hours. The objective will be to find as many different birds as possible!
If you can’t make this one then why not get together with a few of your friends and fix up another time with me? Cost for a group of 6 people for 3 hours would be just £5.00 per adult!
January was named after the ‘two faced’ Roman God, Janus.
And two faced it has been!
An area of high pressure has dominated Central Europe giving us cold northerly and easterly winds. Snow normally rarely reaches anywhere but the highest parts of Dartmoor (see picture below, top left) but there has been plenty this year as well as ice and frost. At the end of the second week, however warmer air pushed in from the west bringing a glorious warm sunny day on Sunday 17th and on Monday 18th I saw my first butterfly of the year when a Small Tortoiseshell emerged from its hibernating nook in our kitchen.
On New Years Day I was out at Gidleigh leading a walk for Gidleigh Park Hotel. Although very cold the light and landscape looked a treat but the hot chocolate Wonson Break (see picture below, top right) was much appreciated by all. The enclosed fields on the edge of the common were well populated by redwings and fieldfares feeding on insects and earthworms associated with grazing livestock. The fantastic light conditions meant that we were even able to pick out the red flashes on the flanks and underwing of the redwing (see picture below, bottom left).
Dartmoor is littered with Bronze Age remains and Gidleigh Common is particularly rich in these monuments. It is estimated that Scorhill circle (see picture below, bottom right) originally consisted of about 60 stones. Today there are 23 of the remaining 34 stones standing in the true circle which is 27m across. The Scorhill circle is easily accessible and from most of the records it seems that much of the damage was done prior to the early 18th century.
Within the vicinity of the circle is evidence of a burial cairn, a kist (burial chamber) with a retaining circle and a double stone row. Scorhill is one of a group of seven circles that are aligned in a curve around the north eastern fringes of the moor. The intervals between them are between 1.25km and 2km.
Future Events - Winter Birds Walk
The moorland is largely devoid of small birds now apart from a few stonechats and meadow pipits. Ravens, however, are already staking out their territories and are actively calling and displaying. Winter visitors such as fieldfares and redwings are well established and there are small flocks of siskins and redpolls. Occasionally there is the possibility of seeing a wintering hen harrier or merlin.
The snow put paid to the birdwatching walk planned for Sunday 10 January – hopefully conditions will be OK for the next one on Sunday February 28. This walk will start at 09.30 hours from the Lower Car Park on Trendlebere Down (Bovey Tracey end).
This is a short stroll of just over 1 mile and lasts for 3 hours. The objective will be to find as many different birds as possible!
If you can’t make this one then why not get together with a few of your friends and fix up another time with me? Cost for a group of 6 people for 3 hours would be just £5.00 per adult!
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