Tree of the Week

HORNBEAM - Carpinus Betulus

The Hornbeam, horn meaning 'hard' and beam 'tree' in old English, is traditionally used for furniture and flooring due to it's hard wood, as it's name suggests. Native to Britain it is a deciduous (leaves fall in winter) broadleaf tree, growing up to 30m tall and 300 years old.

• Look out for it's smooth grey bark, often developing  vertical fissures (cracks) as it ages. The leaves are oval and pointed with serrated edges and grows 7-12cm long. In Autumn the leaves look particularly attractive, turning yellow through to orange and then a reddish- brown. 

•  In the Autumn, Finches and tits along with small mammals will eat the seeds. The plant is also food for caterpillars of many different moth species, including the nut tree tussock.

Tree of the Week

SYCAMORE - Acer Pseudoplatanus

Sycamore is a fast growing and sometimes invasive tree, it tends to dominate woodlands blocking other species out. It can grow up to 35m and live to 400 years old. The timber is used for making furniture and kitchenware as the wood is strong and does not taint or stain the food. 

• Look out for the bright green leaves in spring, they can often be mistaken for maple. They have five lobes (called palmate leaves) with spikey edges.
• The bark is a grey like colour, broken up by numerous fissures (cracks) revealing an orange texture underneath.

A few recent happenings

The swallows have arrived back!! They have returned from Africa and taken up residence in last years nest. Kingfisher cam caught.....no Kingfishers but instead this appeared. It is a Female Sparrowhawk.

Whilst waiting for contractors to arrive on site I also took these, copper Beech leaves and a panoramic of the Abbey.

Tree of the Week

Norway Maple - Acer Platanoides

Native to Northern Europe, this tree was first introduced into Britain in the 17th Century. It can often be found as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens and also as a street tree, mainly due to it's tolerance of compacted soils, shade and pollution.

• Look out for the domed crown and smooth, grey and sometimes rigid bark. Before the leaves, yellowish/green flowers appear in clusters of 30-40. 
• Leaves are bright green and smooth with 5 rigid lobes (sometimes an additional 2 at the bottom), very similar to the field maple and sycamore 

Kingfisher Cam.

Recently we have had regular sightings of the Kingfishers at Rufford, so we set about putting our TrailCam out to try and catch them on film, initially we had nothing and then this little beaut of a video popped up!!

Both the Male and Female appear in this video, at this time of year they are pairing up, they can have up to 3 broods a year!!

Summer migrants flying in

A lot of birds migrate to Europe and Africa during the harsh Autumn/Winter months but then return in the Summer. A whole host of Warblers have starting arriving such as Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler and Blackcap (male below). 

The Swallows have arrived back too, a week later than last year but they are straight back eyeing up last years nest ready to have up to three broods of young again.

Tree of the Week

Wild Cherry- Prunus Avium

A large deciduous (sheds it's leaves) tree, native to the UK and Europe, except the far north. It grows best in fertile soil and full sunlight. This is a popular tree, planted for it's spring blossom and used by birds to feed from the fruit.

• Look out for the clusters of white cup shaped flowers, flowering in April-May. The leaves will be oval with pointed tips, fading orange and deep crimson in autumn 

• The bark tends to be brown/red with with horizontal lines, starting to peel and fissure with age