Coombe Wood — Diary and Observations
Diary
Because of Covid restrictions, and the increasing infirmity of your diarist, there are not any recent entries for this diary. This section therefore comprises reports of visits to the wood, including observations in 2019, on the wildlife and the landscape. If you would like to contribute to this diary, please do so through the Contacts page.
This diary is for 2019. If you would like to see the diary for 2017, here is the link. In the past, I have given detail of the first appearance of various plants, with illustrations as appropriate. This year, I shall not do so so much, unless there is something new to record.
This diary, like most internet diaries is presented with the most recent entries first.
March 30th Spring Flowers are coming out
This Saturday was the last day of a series of unseasonably warm days. It actually was 18° by mid-afternoon. There had also been some rain before the warm spell, so this helped to bring things along
Several of the common woodland flowers were now out. At the Rhoda Road entrance, as usual, there was the patch of Dog Violets:
Alongside the stream, there were great swathes of Lesser Clendaine. They are widespread in the wood in the Spring, but the stream bank seems to be their favourite spot.
Wood Anemones are much commoner in the area aroud the lake. However, there were a few in flower near the stream and in leaf by the bridleway. Other plants in leaf (but not in flower) included Sanicle and Cow Parsley.
The Bluebells were in good leaf throughout the wood, but the only place where they were in flower as the area around the Coombewood Drive Entrance. As before, there were a few White Blubells out in this area.
Most of the trees are in good leaf now, including the Woodland Hawthorn.
Some are now in flower, such as the invasive Cherry Laurel and the Sloe.
It is not just the flowers that are in evidence. The birds are now in full voice. Today, we heard Blackbird, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Jay and the Yaffle of a Green Woodpecker. We did not hear any summer migrants yet though.
January 12th Early Plants and Birds
A brief visit to the wood after an absence of several months. Despite the trees being bare, the only birds we saw were Woodpigeons, though we heard Carrion Crows, Magpie and an early Great Tit see-sawing.
The autumn fungi were no longer in evidence, although there were a number of bracket fungi to be seen. These do tend to persist thoughout the year, noticably King Alfred’s Cakes (above).
One noticable plant that flowers early is the Spurge Laurel, which is common in the south-western corner. This produces its inconspicuous green flowers (above) in January and February. Some non-woody plants are beginnging to show their foliage above ground, these include Cow Parsley and Cuckoo Pint (Lords and Ladies). A few are beginning to flower. These include Red Campion (below left) and Winter Aconite (below right).
