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River Test - click on the image to see a larger picture |
Spring is in full swing at the moment.
There are many ways of telling when spring has arrived such as runny noses, red and watery eyes and sinus headaches for hayfever sufferers.
This is the season of tree pollen and in particular birch pollen which seems to irritate the nasal passages of hayfever sufferers.
Other trees, such as the yew, which shed their pollen in late January, do not have the same effect.
This is probably because on the microscopic scale all pollens have a different shape to prevent cross pollination and people are sensitive mainly to the birch pollen shape.
Moorcourt farm, which is the title of this walk, lies near the start of the walk and is a typical old farm with lots of ramshackle old barns and sheds, some still standing on the old mushroom shaped staddle stones.
This is ideal territory for our first sign of spring which is the swallow and several of these birds could be seen flying in and out of the buildings.
The walk is situated north of the M27 motorway but access is from a small road through Hillstreet south of the motorway and includes part of the Test Way.
The main part of the walk is along country roads and lanes which wind between the rivers Blackwater and Test and their many drainage channels.
The route to the church of St Boneface at Nursling therefore lies on the flood plain of these rivers and is consequently very flat over the silty soil.
Wild flowers such as comfrey, white dead nettle and cow parsley line the edges of the country roads.
The best way of telling the variety of umbellifers is by the time of year and cow parsley, which is the first of the umbellifers to flower, is prolific at the moment.
This is the second sign of spring.
Cabbage flowers are not often seen in the garden, even broccoli is eaten before the flowers develop, but flowers of the cabbage family are often seen in the wild and are distinctive in having only four simple petals.
The pink Cuckoo flower is one and the white garlic mustard is another which are both in flower at the moment.
Others are shepherds purse, whitlow grass, scurvy grass, hairy rock cress and the common watercress.
The third sign of spring are the warblers which migrate here every year at this time.
The chattering call of the sedge warbler was heard as we approached the first drainage channel but the bird itself was difficult to see.
The call of the chiffchaff was heard periodically throughout the walk.
A whitethroat was seen in a willow tree on the banks of the stream and a blackcap was heard and seen as we walked along the side of the wood to Nursling.
Apparently the call of the Garden Warbler was also heard but not all members are tuned in to its distinctive sound.
Butterflies are increasing in number as the weather warms up and a number of them are white in colour.
The large white and small white are the obvious white butterflies but the female Brimstone is also white in colour as is the female Orange tip.
This butterfly has however a nice mottled green underwing compared to the striped green of the Green veined white.
The Peacock butterfly and the Speckled wood were also seen several times.
The lane beside the wood was particularly rich in wild flowers.
English bluebells, Red campion, Crosswort,Greater stitchwort, Germander speedwell, Bugle and the green shoots of ferns indicating an ancient woodland.
Everyone has their favourite flower of spring.
For a lot of people this is the bluebell but mine is the Greater Stitchwort with its large white flowers on delicate stems it seems to need the warm weather just to survive.
May blossom on the hawthorn bushes is just coming in to flower.
The earlier blossom of the Blackthorn is often confused with May blossom but this comes in to flower after the leaves which gives a greater depth to the colour.
Oak before Ash we will have a splash goes the saying and the Oak is certainly out before the Ash this year so hopefully we are in for a dry summer.
The Oak tree seems to be more sensitive to temperature than the Ash and sometimes an Oak tree will be half in leaf and half not if say the top half is more exposed.
The final signs of Spring came on the way back as first we saw a Beautiful demoiselle damselfly and then heard a Cuckoo.
Altogether thirty three species of birds were recorded on this visit which is a good indicator of the rich variety of habitat in this area.
The next outdoor meeting is to Langford Lakes.
Meet at the Oak Road car park Dibden Purlieu at 10am on 17th May 2009. Non members welcome at no charge.
The next indoor meeting is a talk on Flowers of Northern Cyprus by Gerald Ponting.
Meet at St Andrews Centre, Beaulieu Road, Dibden Purlieu at 7.30pm on 18th May 2009.
Non members welcome at a charge of £2.
Contact the secretary on 023 80893803 for membership details.
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