The Coronavirus Quarantine Picture Show

Never really had much intrest in nature being a city lad. Though the Dorset coast is pretty nice with a pint in a nice pub.

 

Saw this coming out yesterday, don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. Ladies and gentlemen I present alliaria petiolata, garlic mustard, otherwise known as Jack-by-the-hedge, Sauce-alone, Hedge garlic, or Poor man’s mustard:

 

I planted a mostly blackthorn hedge in part of the garden so always get a nice lot of sloes.

 

Not wildlife, but made out of blackcurrants from the garden. Tis lush

 

Although I've put up photos of the nature around where I live, you don't have to follow suit. In fact the more different they are the better. If you would like to add anything, then great it can be whatever you want.

That goes to anybody who would like to add their own photos, please do, the more the merrier.

 

Great photo HR. I've lived most of my life in the countryside and yet I have never seen an Adder.

 

Since the shutdown, I have been on isolated walks most days, and one of my aims has been to find one. But the size of it really took me by surprise. They are big. Now to finish my list I just need a Crested Newt and a Swallowtail Butterfly. That should take me a few years!

 

We used to see them a lot as kids amongst old mine workings in my village, but it's a housing estate now so the snakes and lizards are long gone.

 

Like all the ponds. Long gone.

 

Blue tit in the garden. There's a pair of great tits shouting their heads off plus the usual mob of sparrows. Bloody bedlam at times

 

Unfortunately here it is a scourge. It is just taking over and killing our native plants. It spreads aggressively. Do you find the same thing?

 

It’s native here so it exists in its own niche. It’s eaten by insects and fungi and doesn’t seem to spread much at all. The reason it’s spread through most of North America in 200 years is because hardly anything eats it.

 

People here are trying to put it in salad to see if we can get people to pick it. It certainly smells like garlic but I never tasted it. Just picked 100’s of kilos of the stuff.

 

It was one of the earliest spices used in Europe according to Wiki, so plenty of people have eaten it!

 

Mr Toad and Mr Newt in my pond.

 

And Mr Kite

 

Hello Fats, how are you?

 

We've also had Kites down here for the last few years. When I was young we never saw Buzzards let alone Kites and now there are loads. Just goes to show what can happen when they are not shot or poisoned.

 

all good thanks. Hope you and the lovely Mrs Game are keeping safe and healthy.

 

I got in to birdwatching when I was about 11 and it became really competitive between me and my best mate, Conrad. During the summer holidays we used to walk up to Toot Hill which is outside North Baddesley and for birdwatching up there. The main target we both had was to be the first to see a hoopoe . After over forty years, I have still not seen one although they usually pop up in unlikely places if you ever read the HOS annual reports. I think one was seen in Micheldever last years . Whenever I go to France for the summer, I usually spend Sunday mornings walking between Vienne and Condrieu trying to see one as they are no unusual in that part of the country. I have met loads of people who have seen one there but have never been fortunate. I had see a bee-eater on two occasions and sell as numerous Cirl Buntings which are rare in the UK. There are lots of Black kites and Snake-eating eagles as well. The swifts fascinate me and , f you look carefully, some of them are actually Alpine Swifts which are rare visitors to this country from time to time. The hoopoe always remains elusive.