Woodland – Canned Wildlife

Pilewort or Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna)

Mar 5, 2023Mar 5, 2023Posted in Canal, Country Park, Countryside, Encounters, Exploration, Farm, Garden, Greenbelt, Lakes, Local, Natural History, Nature Reserve, Plants, River, Walk, WoodlandTagged Adam Frost, April, BBC Countryfile, BBC Earth, BBC Gardeners' World, BBC Midlands Today, BBC Springwatch, BBC Wildlife, Botany, Bromsgrove, Bugs, Bumblebees, Butterflies, Canal, Canal Walk, Conservation, country park, Countryside, CPRE, Days Out, Encounter, Exploration, Farm, February, Flora, Garden, Gay Farmers, Gay Naturalist, Get Your Boots On, Green Belt, Green Space, Greenbelt, Horticulture, Huawei, March, Meadow, Micro Farm, Midlands, National Trust, Natural England, Natural History, Naturalist, Nature, Nature Reserve, Outdoors, Pond, Rewildling, River, RSPB, Semirural, Sir David Attenborough, Spring, Springwatch, Suburban, Suburbia, The Campaign for Rural England, The Lakes, The Wildlife Trust, Walk, Waseley Hills Country Park, Wetlands, Wild Garden, Wildflower, Wildflowers, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Wildlife Garden, Wildlife Gardening, Woodland, Woodland Trust, Worcester & Birmingham Canal, Worcestershire, World Land TrustLeave a comment

Pilewort or Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), flowering between January and April; these lovers of damp woodland pathways, stream banks and ditches, can be found in gardens, meadows and shady hedgerows, and even Narnia, yes, Narnia! ✨

Ficaria verna growing on the bank of a field edge

An important nectar source for early emerging insects from hibernation, such as Queen Bumblebees 🐝

Lesser celandine were used to treat haemorrhoids, hence “Pilewort” and scurvy, due to being high in Vitamin C.

All in all, they are a pretty cool plant!

Thanks for reading! 😊

Alder (Alnus glutinosa)

Mar 2, 2023Mar 3, 2023Posted in Birds, Canal, Countryside, Exploration, Garden, Greenbelt, Insects, Lakes, Local, Natural History, Plants, Walk, WoodlandTagged A Bugs Life, Action For Insects, Alder, April, BBC Countryfile, BBC Springwatch, BBC Wildlife, Botany, Canal, Canal Walk, CPRE, Days Out, February, Flora, Gay Naturalist, March, Natural History, Nature, Park, Rewildling, River, RSPB, Springwatch, Suburban, The Wildlife Trust, Tree Hugging, Trees, Walk, Wetlands, Wildflowers, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Wildlife Gardening, Wildlife TV Presenter, Woodland, Woodland TrustLeave a comment

Dwelling in moist places; Alder grow near rivers, ponds, lakes and in wet, swampy woods, also known as Carrs.

Their flowers were used as green dye, to colour and camouflage the clothes of outlaws, like Robin Hood and to also colour the clothes of fairies 🧚🏻‍♂️

Flowering between February and April, Alder catkins provide an early source of nectar and pollen for Bees, and the seeds are eaten by Goldfinches, Siskins and Redpolls.

The pale wood turns a deep orange after being cut, giving the impression of bleeding. So, in the past, many people feared them and the Irish thought it was unlucky to pass one on a journey 😅

The roots have nitrogen-fixing nodules, conditioning the soil and improving soil fertility on former industrial wasteland and brownfield sites.

Alder leaf beetles (Agelastica alni) feed on the leaves of alder trees. They’ve become common in parts of England and Wales since 2004.

It was said that a few Alder leaves placed in the shoes before a long journey would cool the feet and prevent swelling 🤷🏻‍♂️

Being a tough species of tree, their wood doesn’t rot when waterlogged, instead it makes them harder and stronger. Plus, mature trees can reach a height of approximately 28 metres and live to around 60 years.

Thanks for reading ✌🏻

Day 17 – 30 Days Wild

Jun 17, 2020Posted in Countryside, Environmental, Farm, Film, Greenbelt, Local, Natural History, Nature Reserve, TV, Video, Vlog, WalkTagged #30DaysWild, #MyWildLife, #WildTime, 30 Days Wild, A Focus On Nature, Adam Canning, Adam O'Hare, AFON, BBC Countryfile, BBC Earth, BBC Midlands Today, BBC Wildlife, Birdsong, Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Challenge, Countryfile, Countrylife, Countryside, CPRE, Days Out, Earth Capture, Environment, Environmental, Farm, Film, Frankley, Get Your Boots On, Green Belt, Green Birmingham, Green Space, Greenbelt, Huawei, June, Made in Birmingham, My Wild Life, Natural England, Natural History, Nature, Nature On Screen, Nature Reserve, New Frankley, Outdoors, Random Acts of Wildness, RSPB, Semirural, Spring, Springwatch, Suburban, Suburbia, The Campaign for Rural England, The Countryside Charity, The Wild Side, The Wildlife Trust, Thunderstorm, Trees, Video, Vlog, Walk, West Midlands, Wild June, Wild Time, Wildlife Filmmakers, Wildlife Trusts, Wildlife Vlog, WoodlandLeave a comment

Went for a walk around my local Wood and Green-belt today, when I was out a storm rolled in 🌧️

Rather than head home, I decided to stay out a bit, to listen to the rain & thunder whilst outside ⛈️

Thanks for visiting! 💚

Day 6 – 30 Days Wild

Jun 6, 2020Jun 6, 2020Posted in BBC, Birds, Challenge, Environmental, Exploration, Film, Greenbelt, Local, Natural History, Nature Reserve, TV, Vlog, Walk, WoodlandTagged #30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, A Focus On Nature, Adam Canning, Adam O'Hare, AFON, BBC, BBC Earth, BBC Midlands Today, BBC Wildlife, Birdsong, Birmingham, Challenge, Chris Packham, CPRE, Days Out, Earth Capture, Environmental, Exporation, Film, Flora, Frankley, Green Belt, Green Birmingham, Green Space, Greenbelt, Huawei, June, Natural England, Natural History, Nature On Screen, Nature Reserve, New Frankley, Outdoors, Random Acts of Wildness, RSPB, Semirural, Springwatch, Springwatch 2020, Suburban, Suburbia, The Wildlife Trust, Tree Hugging, Trees, Video, Vlog, West Midlands, Wild June, Wildlife Filmmakers, Wildlife Trusts, Wildlife Vlog, Woodland, World Land TrustLeave a comment

Today’s Random Act of Wildness is inspired by BBC Springwatch, they have been doing a Mindfulness Moment on the show.

So I decided when I was out on my walk around Bourlay Wood, I would get some footage, to make into my own short mindfulness video (See below).

Thanks for visiting! 🙂

Penned Wildlife

May 31, 2020Posted in Natural HistoryTagged A Focus On Nature, Adam Canning, Adam O'Hare, AFON, Artwork, BBC Wildlife, Bird Book, Birder, Birders, Birding, Birds, Birds of Prey, Birdwatching, Birmingham, BTO, Canned Wildlife, Chris Packham, Countryfile, CPRE, Drawing, Falconry, Gay Birders, Illustration, Made in Birmingham, May, Natural England, Natural History, Northern Goshawk, Raptors, RSPB, Spring, Springwatch, Springwatch 2020, West Midlands, Wild Art, Wildlife, Wildlife Trusts, WoodlandLeave a comment

For a while I have been meaning to do some drawing or painting, as I haven’t since High School (about 15 years ago).

So yesterday (29/05/2020) I decided I would draw one of my favourite birds of prey, which I completed today (30/05/2020)…

Thanks for visiting 😊 x

My Dawn Chorus Guide

May 1, 2020May 23, 2020Posted in Birds, Exploration, Film, Garden, Greenbelt, Local, Natural History, Video, Vlog, Walk, WoodlandTagged Birmingham, Dawn Chorus, Documentary, Film, Garden, International Dawn Chorus Day, Nature, Outdoors, Spring, Springwatch, Urban, Video, WoodlandLeave a comment

2011
(apologies for the dodgy voice-overs)

International Dawn Chorus Day is annually the first Sunday in May – it was invented in Birmingham, in 1984 at Moseley Bog LNR.

Thanks for visiting 🙂

October: Amazing Autumn

Oct 10, 2019May 23, 2020Posted in Country Park, Countryside, Deer, Encounters, Environmental, Exploration, Fungi, Greenbelt, Mammals, Natural History, Nature Reserve, Video, Vlog, Walk, WoodlandTagged Adam Ó Hare, Adam Canning, Adam L. Canning, Autumn, Autumnwatch, Birding, Birds, Birmingham, Conservation, country park, Countryfile, Countryside, Deer, Documentary, Encounter, Environment, Eurasian Jay, Fall, Fallow, Film, Fungi, Natural History, Nature, Ornithology, Outdoors, Suburban, The Wildlife Trust, Video, Vlog, Walk, Wildlife, Wildlife Monthly, WoodlandLeave a comment

Made in October 2011 [VIDEOS], three great things to look out for this month: acorn crazy Jays, Rutting Fallow Deer & fun looking Fungi!

🥜 🦌 🍄

Apologies for the inaccuracies in the Fungi video; pronunciation of hallucinogenic and apparently you can eat Amethyst Deceivers – but it is better to be safe than sorry! (No matter how good a recipe sounds!)

Thanks for visiting! x

Eurasian Nuthatch

Apr 19, 2018May 24, 2020Posted in Birds, Encounters, Greenbelt, Local, Nest, Video, Vlog, Walk, WoodlandTagged Adam Canning, Adam L. Canning, Birding, Birmingham, BTO, Documentary, Eurasian Nuthatch, Film, Natural History, Nature, Nature Reserve, Nest, Nest Building, Nesting, NestWatch, New Frankley, Ornithology, Outdoors, RSPB, Spring, Springwatch, The Nest Record Scheme, Trees, Video, Vlog, Woodland2 Comments

On 28th March (2018) I was out walking with my mum, when I spotted a couple of Nuthatches on the edge of a wood where we were just about to walk through, and I happened to notice that one of them was putting mud around a hole in a tree, as its nest is in the cavity of the tree.

My mum and I was delighted to witness this and were both surprised at how close to the path it was. Recently I purchased my latest video camera – my first semi-professional one – a Canon XF300 and decided I would return on a day with better weather and test it out on the Nuthatches.

On 5th April (2018), the conditions were perfect, so I went to where I observed said behaviour and thankfully the construction was continuing and below is what I filmed: