AnnMarie's Blog

It must be spring, just the other day this cheerful reed bunting was singing away.

Reed buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus)  breed in areas of rush & reed at the side of bogs & lakes. They are noted for singing from tall reeds or from shrub branches that overhang the water; indeed this is exactly what this one was doing. A lot more settled than the nesting Canada geese that I was watching! More on the argumentative geese in a later post.

  Click image for a larger view …

And not far below the Bunting, toads were a courting. The Common Toad (Bufo bufo) spawns in strings rather than the clumps of frog spawn that we find. You can see more about Toads in my post from last year.

 Click image for a larger view …

Nothing like some romance in the reeds

Some of our tulips are now out, merrily opening & closing their blooms according to their own schedule. What is it that drives this schedule?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulips  have their own biological clocks built in; this is what drives the circadian rhythm of flower opening & closing. The tulip’s clock is reset everyday by the rising of the sun; the tulip can also move its position with the sun. This is photonasty or the tendency to physically respond to light stimulus. The tulips also demonstrate thermonasty, a response to temperature; tending to close up with a fall in temperature. Thus on a warm bright morning the tulip flowers open up beautifully but as light & temperature drop in the evening, they close their blooms again. Why have they evolved to do this?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulip flower is insect pollinated and the tulip advertises with both bright colours & scent from volatile oils. The picture above shows the male & female structures, with much pollen in evidence. To remain open overnight is to both risk damage from the weather & to waste volatile scents, whilst it’s insect pollinators are not around. Thus a tulip increases its chances of successful reproduction by closing it’s blooms at night. Many flowers show this behaviour and conversely, for example, bat pollinated plants often only open their flowers at night.

Plants also use biological clocks to sense various other things such as opening leaf stomata just before dawn ready for photosynthesis and by monitoring day / night length they can tell whether its flowering season or not.

Read on to view a video …

(more…)

Some of our tulips are now out, merrily opening & closing their blooms according to their own schedule. What is it that drives this schedule?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulips  have their own biological clocks built in; this is what drives the circadian rhythm of flower opening & closing. The tulip’s clock is reset everyday by the rising of the sun; the tulip can also move its position with the sun. This is photonasty or the tendency to physically respond to light stimulus. The tulips also demonstrate thermonasty, a response to temperature; tending to close up with a fall in temperature. Thus on a warm bright morning the tulip flowers open up beautifully but as light & temperature drop in the evening, they close their blooms again. Why have they evolved to do this?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulip flower is insect pollinated and the tulip advertises with both bright colours & scent from volatile oils. The picture above shows the male & female structures, with much pollen in evidence. To remain open overnight is to both risk damage from the weather & to waste volatile scents, whilst it’s insect pollinators are not around. Thus a tulip increases its chances of successful reproduction by closing it’s blooms at night. Many flowers show this behaviour and conversely, for example, bat pollinated plants often only open their flowers at night.

Plants also use biological clocks to sense various other things such as opening leaf stomata just before dawn ready for photosynthesis and by monitoring day / night length they can tell whether its flowering season or not.

Read on to view a video …

(more…)

Some of our tulips are now out, merrily opening & closing their blooms according to their own schedule. What is it that drives this schedule?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulips  have their own biological clocks built in; this is what drives the circadian rhythm of flower opening & closing. The tulip’s clock is reset everyday by the rising of the sun; the tulip can also move its position with the sun. This is photonasty or the tendency to physically respond to light stimulus. The tulips also demonstrate thermonasty, a response to temperature; tending to close up with a fall in temperature. Thus on a warm bright morning the tulip flowers open up beautifully but as light & temperature drop in the evening, they close their blooms again. Why have they evolved to do this?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulip flower is insect pollinated and the tulip advertises with both bright colours & scent from volatile oils. The picture above shows the male & female structures, with much pollen in evidence. To remain open overnight is to both risk damage from the weather & to waste volatile scents, whilst it’s insect pollinators are not around. Thus a tulip increases its chances of successful reproduction by closing it’s blooms at night. Many flowers show this behaviour and conversely, for example, bat pollinated plants often only open their flowers at night.

Plants also use biological clocks to sense various other things such as opening leaf stomata just before dawn ready for photosynthesis and by monitoring day / night length they can tell whether its flowering season or not.

Read on to view a video …

(more…)

Some of our tulips are now out, merrily opening & closing their blooms according to their own schedule. What is it that drives this schedule?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulips  have their own biological clocks built in; this is what drives the circadian rhythm of flower opening & closing. The tulip’s clock is reset everyday by the rising of the sun; the tulip can also move its position with the sun. This is photonasty or the tendency to physically respond to light stimulus. The tulips also demonstrate thermonasty, a response to temperature; tending to close up with a fall in temperature. Thus on a warm bright morning the tulip flowers open up beautifully but as light & temperature drop in the evening, they close their blooms again. Why have they evolved to do this?

  Click image to view larger version …

The tulip flower is insect pollinated and the tulip advertises with both bright colours & scent from volatile oils. The picture above shows the male & female structures, with much pollen in evidence. To remain open overnight is to both risk damage from the weather & to waste volatile scents, whilst it’s insect pollinators are not around. Thus a tulip increases its chances of successful reproduction by closing it’s blooms at night. Many flowers show this behaviour and conversely, for example, bat pollinated plants often only open their flowers at night.

Plants also use biological clocks to sense various other things such as opening leaf stomata just before dawn ready for photosynthesis and by monitoring day / night length they can tell whether its flowering season or not.

Read on to view a video …

(more…)

To view how some of the garden birds approach landing on a feeder, I photographed them at high shutter speeds. The composite image below shows some of the results:

   click image for a larger view …

They each appear to approach at significantly different speeds. The chaffinches certainly seemed easier to catch in frame than the blue tits, who frequently beat my reactions!

Just a brief post for now – its been a busy week

To view how some of the garden birds approach landing on a feeder, I photographed them at high shutter speeds. The composite image below shows some of the results:

   click image for a larger view …

They each appear to approach at significantly different speeds. The chaffinches certainly seemed easier to catch in frame than the blue tits, who frequently beat my reactions!

Just a brief post for now – its been a busy week

To view how some of the garden birds approach landing on a feeder, I photographed them at high shutter speeds. The composite image below shows some of the results:

   click image for a larger view …

They each appear to approach at significantly different speeds. The chaffinches certainly seemed easier to catch in frame than the blue tits, who frequently beat my reactions!

Just a brief post for now – its been a busy week

To view how some of the garden birds approach landing on a feeder, I photographed them at high shutter speeds. The composite image below shows some of the results:

   click image for a larger view …

They each appear to approach at significantly different speeds. The chaffinches certainly seemed easier to catch in frame than the blue tits, who frequently beat my reactions!

Just a brief post for now – its been a busy week

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

The long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse, as he is sometimes called, occurs across most of Europe including the UK. They are mainly nocturnal, living in woods, fields & hedgerows. Only occasionally will they visit houses and then only when hungry & in the absence of house mice.

This little fellow jumped across the floor of the horse barn as I was shutting up for the night:

   click image for larger view …

They have a good jump on them too, managing up to about 3ft, quite something for somebody who is only 3.5 inches long (excl. tail).

Wood mice live in burrows with separate chambers for breeding, food storage and toilets. Food types include berries, seeds, grain, nuts, snails, insects and any other opportunistic offerings. Only a few survive the winters but if they do, they may live up to 2 years. Predators are many including foxes, owls cats & weasels.

For those of you interested in the photography:

• Auto focus & image stabilisation were turned off – the mouse seemed sensitive to the noise
• I used high speed synch flash at 1/640s to freeze any motion
• Canon 5D mkII with 70-200L and 1.4 extender
• 280mm f11 ISO640

I want to transport you to a seedy, or perhaps I should say nutty, region of reproduction. A place where the male structures are vast in comparison to the petite & flushed female variety. But first, do you recognise this flower?

   Click on image for a larger view …

Yes, its a female Hazel (Corylus avellana) flower and that’s the region I’m talking about the spring hedgerow.

The male flowers, that we often call catkins or lamb’s tails are borne on the same tree as the females and are left to hang in the breeze, thereby distributing pollen on the wind.

   Click on image for a larger view …

It is normally February when the catkins open, they first formed back in October or November last year. The male catkins are typically 5cm long, possibly up to 10cm; yet the female flower is tiny with the crimson stamen measuring only 2 – 3 mm. Pollen, carried on the wind, lands on the sticky stamen & fertilises the flower. Note: Hazel is not self pollinating, pollen from a different Hazel tree must fall on the stamen for pollination to take place

Nut clusters will now form at the site of the female flower, ripening in autumn. These nuts are a valuable feed source for many creatures (ourselves included); indeed the hazel relies upon this fact so that animals like squirrels will collect, horde, & loose nuts. This disperses the Hazel’s seed & helps to guarantee a new generation of Hazel trees.

Hazels are a member of the Betulaceae or Birch family. As well as producing edible nuts they have been used in various woodcrafts for many centuries. Wattle hurdles, Hazel walking sticks and Sheppard’s crooks are a few of the uses. The nut shells have recently been discovered to contain useful anti-cancer drug components. Environmentally Hazels are known to be important members of British woodland, they support many lichens & fungi, their leaves are good food for deer and the nuts I’ve already mentioned.

   Click on image for a larger view …

The image above shows Hazel Pollen imaged at x200 magnification with a light microscope.

Trivia: In Celtic myth the Hazel is believed to collect knowledge & wisdom in its nuts, those who consume the nuts may inherit the wisdom.

I want to transport you to a seedy, or perhaps I should say nutty, region of reproduction. A place where the male structures are vast in comparison to the petite & flushed female variety. But first, do you recognise this flower?

   Click on image for a larger view …

Yes, its a female Hazel (Corylus avellana) flower and that’s the region I’m talking about the spring hedgerow.

The male flowers, that we often call catkins or lamb’s tails are borne on the same tree as the females and are left to hang in the breeze, thereby distributing pollen on the wind.

   Click on image for a larger view …

It is normally February when the catkins open, they first formed back in October or November last year. The male catkins are typically 5cm long, possibly up to 10cm; yet the female flower is tiny with the crimson stamen measuring only 2 – 3 mm. Pollen, carried on the wind, lands on the sticky stamen & fertilises the flower. Note: Hazel is not self pollinating, pollen from a different Hazel tree must fall on the stamen for pollination to take place

Nut clusters will now form at the site of the female flower, ripening in autumn. These nuts are a valuable feed source for many creatures (ourselves included); indeed the hazel relies upon this fact so that animals like squirrels will collect, horde, & loose nuts. This disperses the Hazel’s seed & helps to guarantee a new generation of Hazel trees.

Hazels are a member of the Betulaceae or Birch family. As well as producing edible nuts they have been used in various woodcrafts for many centuries. Wattle hurdles, Hazel walking sticks and Sheppard’s crooks are a few of the uses. The nut shells have recently been discovered to contain useful anti-cancer drug components. Environmentally Hazels are known to be important members of British woodland, they support many lichens & fungi, their leaves are good food for deer and the nuts I’ve already mentioned.

   Click on image for a larger view …

The image above shows Hazel Pollen imaged at x200 magnification with a light microscope.

Trivia: In Celtic myth the Hazel is believed to collect knowledge & wisdom in its nuts, those who consume the nuts may inherit the wisdom.

I want to transport you to a seedy, or perhaps I should say nutty, region of reproduction. A place where the male structures are vast in comparison to the petite & flushed female variety. But first, do you recognise this flower?

   Click on image for a larger view …

Yes, its a female Hazel (Corylus avellana) flower and that’s the region I’m talking about the spring hedgerow.

The male flowers, that we often call catkins or lamb’s tails are borne on the same tree as the females and are left to hang in the breeze, thereby distributing pollen on the wind.

   Click on image for a larger view …

It is normally February when the catkins open, they first formed back in October or November last year. The male catkins are typically 5cm long, possibly up to 10cm; yet the female flower is tiny with the crimson stamen measuring only 2 – 3 mm. Pollen, carried on the wind, lands on the sticky stamen & fertilises the flower. Note: Hazel is not self pollinating, pollen from a different Hazel tree must fall on the stamen for pollination to take place

Nut clusters will now form at the site of the female flower, ripening in autumn. These nuts are a valuable feed source for many creatures (ourselves included); indeed the hazel relies upon this fact so that animals like squirrels will collect, horde, & loose nuts. This disperses the Hazel’s seed & helps to guarantee a new generation of Hazel trees.

Hazels are a member of the Betulaceae or Birch family. As well as producing edible nuts they have been used in various woodcrafts for many centuries. Wattle hurdles, Hazel walking sticks and Sheppard’s crooks are a few of the uses. The nut shells have recently been discovered to contain useful anti-cancer drug components. Environmentally Hazels are known to be important members of British woodland, they support many lichens & fungi, their leaves are good food for deer and the nuts I’ve already mentioned.

   Click on image for a larger view …

The image above shows Hazel Pollen imaged at x200 magnification with a light microscope.

Trivia: In Celtic myth the Hazel is believed to collect knowledge & wisdom in its nuts, those who consume the nuts may inherit the wisdom.

I want to transport you to a seedy, or perhaps I should say nutty, region of reproduction. A place where the male structures are vast in comparison to the petite & flushed female variety. But first, do you recognise this flower?

   Click on image for a larger view …

Yes, its a female Hazel (Corylus avellana) flower and that’s the region I’m talking about the spring hedgerow.

The male flowers, that we often call catkins or lamb’s tails are borne on the same tree as the females and are left to hang in the breeze, thereby distributing pollen on the wind.

   Click on image for a larger view …

It is normally February when the catkins open, they first formed back in October or November last year. The male catkins are typically 5cm long, possibly up to 10cm; yet the female flower is tiny with the crimson stamen measuring only 2 – 3 mm. Pollen, carried on the wind, lands on the sticky stamen & fertilises the flower. Note: Hazel is not self pollinating, pollen from a different Hazel tree must fall on the stamen for pollination to take place

Nut clusters will now form at the site of the female flower, ripening in autumn. These nuts are a valuable feed source for many creatures (ourselves included); indeed the hazel relies upon this fact so that animals like squirrels will collect, horde, & loose nuts. This disperses the Hazel’s seed & helps to guarantee a new generation of Hazel trees.

Hazels are a member of the Betulaceae or Birch family. As well as producing edible nuts they have been used in various woodcrafts for many centuries. Wattle hurdles, Hazel walking sticks and Sheppard’s crooks are a few of the uses. The nut shells have recently been discovered to contain useful anti-cancer drug components. Environmentally Hazels are known to be important members of British woodland, they support many lichens & fungi, their leaves are good food for deer and the nuts I’ve already mentioned.

   Click on image for a larger view …

The image above shows Hazel Pollen imaged at x200 magnification with a light microscope.

Trivia: In Celtic myth the Hazel is believed to collect knowledge & wisdom in its nuts, those who consume the nuts may inherit the wisdom.

Apis Mellifera, the European honey bee. For anyone who, like me, enjoys toast & honey at breakfast, there’s a lot to feel thankful towards these busy little insects. I’ve been meaning to post something about them since I found one who had died after being caught in an early cold spell. He was still in the flower but had obviously just run out of energy. Anyway I found this poor bee last autumn & did a bit of a study of him, with camera and microscope. I wasn’t sure how to present the data until I recently came across slideshare, so contained in the second part of this post is my PowerPoint presentation, shared as an experiment on slideshare. Just expand the post and click to start …

(more…)

Apis Mellifera, the European honey bee. For anyone who, like me, enjoys toast & honey at breakfast, there’s a lot to feel thankful towards these busy little insects. I’ve been meaning to post something about them since I found one who had died after being caught in an early cold spell. He was still in the flower but had obviously just run out of energy. Anyway I found this poor bee last autumn & did a bit of a study of him, with camera and microscope. I wasn’t sure how to present the data until I recently came across slideshare, so contained in the second part of this post is my PowerPoint presentation, shared as an experiment on slideshare. Just expand the post and click to start …

(more…)

Apis Mellifera, the European honey bee. For anyone who, like me, enjoys toast & honey at breakfast, there’s a lot to feel thankful towards these busy little insects. I’ve been meaning to post something about them since I found one who had died after being caught in an early cold spell. He was still in the flower but had obviously just run out of energy. Anyway I found this poor bee last autumn & did a bit of a study of him, with camera and microscope. I wasn’t sure how to present the data until I recently came across slideshare, so contained in the second part of this post is my PowerPoint presentation, shared as an experiment on slideshare. Just expand the post and click to start …

(more…)