GREEN SHOOTS

 Nervously peeping out of the leaf litter on the woodland floor, come the first green shoots of spring.

Wild arum aka Cuckoo Pint or Lords and Ladies: always the first.

New shoots of Dog's Mercury.

And the beloved Bluebells.

 

RSPB BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch runs from Friday 28 to Sunday 30th January this year. 

(Sunday looks the best weather) 

All you have to do is watch for one hour in your garden, local park or community woodland (!) and record how many of each species you see.  

More info available here.

Photos and identification tips are here.

It's free and you don't have to join the RSPB.

GERMINATION

Looks as though some of the wildflower seeds sown last year are germinating.

These are up by the seat dedicated to Allan Burberry

Unfortunately they look a bit nibbled - probably rabbits, which seem to be on the increase again.

MISTLETOE

The mistletoe on my apple trees tends to produce the best berries now, a bit late for Christmas.  

The seeds are spread by birds, who enjoy the berries but wipe the sticky seeds off on the branches of various trees.  The Mistle Thrush is even named for it.

Actually it is apparently Blackcaps who are the more important spreaders of mistletoe seeds.

 

Bird images: RSPB

Mistletoe in lime trees near St Mary's Church

And on a Robinia (false acacia) tree in the cemetery

LIME TREES AT DUSK IN WINTER

Mature Lime trees typically have an upright habit with several vertical main stems.  These are some of the dozen specimens along the old railway wall in the grounds of the Thornbury Tesco.

  

The twigs are typically zig-zag between the rounded buds, which can turn red in sunny locations.

The zig-zag often persists into the young branches.  Note the zig-zag twigs in the photo below, top right and bottom left.

Some limes retain last year's fruits attached to the bracts that are meant to assist their distribution.  These seem to be waiting for spring.

The lime species most frequently planted in streets and parks is the Common Lime (Tilia x europaea) a natural hybrid between our two native limes the small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) and the broad-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos).  They are quite hard to tell apart.

 The common lime often carries clumps of mistletoe in its branches.  These two are down by St Mary's Church.  The one on the left has been distorted by mistletoe and the one on the right has been heavily pruned so their shapes are a bit odd.

  

One last aid to confirm identification:  some limes, especially common limes, have sprouts round the base or even up the trunk.

Sorry these photos are so gloomy but I noticed the trees in the late afternoon.

POPLAR BUDS ARE POINTY

Some broad-leaved trees are as easy to identify in winter as they are when in full leaf.    You've still got the shape of the tree, the bark, remains of fruits hanging on and, most helpfully, THE BUDS.

Here is the end of a branch on a hybrid black poplar.  Notice how the twigs turn up at the end.

Each twig terminates in a clustering row of large, pointed buds.

 Now go and find one.  Hybrid Black Poplars are very common but they are large spreading trees, quite a different shape from the narrow vertical Lombardy Poplars.

Lombardy poplars

REDWINGS NOW

 I saw a little thrush with a bright white eyebrow today, hopping along the grassy path in front of me.

It was relatively tame and when it flew up on to the fence I could see the chestnut red on its side.

This shows up when it flies if you are in the right position . . . . .

. . . . . but the white eyebrow is the thing that I usually notice first with redwings - for that's what it was.

These little chaps are winter visitors to the UK, after our berries when their native lands in Scandinavia and northern Europe are too cold.