December
December (updated on Tuesday 1 December)
December was the tenth month of the Roman Year. The Saxons called it the ‘winter month’ and December 22nd is the winter solstice.
November had over 300mm. of rain with strong winds and gales nearly every day. In contrast to the wet stormy weather in November, December started off with a cold clear night which gave our first frost of the year plus a fantastic sunrise (see picture below, top left).Compared with Cumbria, however, we were fortunate to be without electricity for just 8 hours on Saturday November 14th.
Autumn Bird Walk – Sunday 15th November
This was fortunate timing as the stormy weather of the previous day allowed us a brief respite from the rain and wind. Not surprisingly the moorland was devoid of birds most of which had moved into the wooded valleys and lower land for shelter. A visit to the bird hide in Yarner Wood gave us excellent views of marsh tit (see picture below, top right), coal tit and nuthatch and a pair of grey wagtails on the roof of the storage shed. Moving up through the wood we were eventually rewarded with excellent views of a few the several hundred redwings (see picture below, bottom left) that were in the vicinity.
Crossing back down over the fields of Reddaford Down we were rewarded with some good views of fieldfares and meadow pipits but unusually there were no stonechats on view.
Royal Fern
Another relatively fine day for a walk in the Dart Valley gave some excellent views of Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) alongside the river. This fern is usually found growing in woodland bogs and on Dartmoor is also found alongside rivers.
It is a deciduous fern that produces separate fertile and sterile fronds. The sterile fronds are spreading, 60-160 cm tall and 30-40 cm broad.
The species is sometimes known as flowering fern due to the appearance of its fertile fronds but in autumn it is the sterile erect fronds that really catch the eye (see picture below, bottom right).
Its name derives from its being one of the largest and most imposing European ferns but in many areas, it has become rare as a result of wetland drainage for agriculture. At one time it was found in the wet boggy area alongside the stream at the bottom of my garden but now it is no longer there and we don’t really know why. One theory is that it has been grazed to death by roe deer but we will never know.
Future Events – Christmas Birdwatching Walk
On Sunday 27 December I will be leading a birdwatching walk. 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!
December was the tenth month of the Roman Year. The Saxons called it the ‘winter month’ and December 22nd is the winter solstice.
November had over 300mm. of rain with strong winds and gales nearly every day. In contrast to the wet stormy weather in November, December started off with a cold clear night which gave our first frost of the year plus a fantastic sunrise (see picture below, top left).Compared with Cumbria, however, we were fortunate to be without electricity for just 8 hours on Saturday November 14th.
Autumn Bird Walk – Sunday 15th November
This was fortunate timing as the stormy weather of the previous day allowed us a brief respite from the rain and wind. Not surprisingly the moorland was devoid of birds most of which had moved into the wooded valleys and lower land for shelter. A visit to the bird hide in Yarner Wood gave us excellent views of marsh tit (see picture below, top right), coal tit and nuthatch and a pair of grey wagtails on the roof of the storage shed. Moving up through the wood we were eventually rewarded with excellent views of a few the several hundred redwings (see picture below, bottom left) that were in the vicinity.
Crossing back down over the fields of Reddaford Down we were rewarded with some good views of fieldfares and meadow pipits but unusually there were no stonechats on view.
Royal Fern
Another relatively fine day for a walk in the Dart Valley gave some excellent views of Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) alongside the river. This fern is usually found growing in woodland bogs and on Dartmoor is also found alongside rivers.
It is a deciduous fern that produces separate fertile and sterile fronds. The sterile fronds are spreading, 60-160 cm tall and 30-40 cm broad.
The species is sometimes known as flowering fern due to the appearance of its fertile fronds but in autumn it is the sterile erect fronds that really catch the eye (see picture below, bottom right).
Its name derives from its being one of the largest and most imposing European ferns but in many areas, it has become rare as a result of wetland drainage for agriculture. At one time it was found in the wet boggy area alongside the stream at the bottom of my garden but now it is no longer there and we don’t really know why. One theory is that it has been grazed to death by roe deer but we will never know.
Future Events – Christmas Birdwatching Walk
On Sunday 27 December I will be leading a birdwatching walk. 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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