Wildlife Watch: The Bluebell

Stroll through a woodland this time of year and you'll likely be met with a carpet of bluebells on the woodland floor. This is a sight less often seen outside of the UK; in fact we may have up half the world's bluebell population. Our native bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) is protected as a result as well as overcollection in the past, this means it is an offence to uproot a wild plant. It is known as a AWI species (an ancient woodland indicator) a sign of a woodland that's been around since at least 1600CE as bluebells are slow to colonise new areas. Plants found outside woodlands but that have not been planted are usually signs of where the woodland once was... unless it's a Spanish bluebell.

You can tell if a bluebell is native or a Spanish bluebell by having a look at the flowers. Generally native bluebells are a deeper colour with flowers dropping on one side. Spanish bluebells have paler, wider flowers spiralled around the stem. As our native bluebells will hybridise with Spanish this can make identification harder but there is a simpler difference. Inside the flowers native bluebells have white anthers whilst Spanish and hybrids have purple.

(Left) Native bluebell                        (Right) Spanish bluebell

An interesting trick can be done to change a bluebell into a crimson one through another woodland species - the wood ant. 

Wood ants will bite in defense but also spray formic acid. This reacts with the pigments in the petals changing them to a bright pink. By finding an active ants nest you can agitate the ants into attacking the bluebell to create this reaction. Pretty interesting to see although it does smell a lot like vinegar!

Midway through changing colours gives a 'tie-die' effect to the petals

Pet Breed Focus: The Dalmatian

This month's pet breed is the Dalmatian, a very well known breed with it's distinctive spotted coat.

The breed originates from what was Dalmatia, now part of Croatia, with the oldest references to the breed come from 17th century paintings. They were used as dogs of war in Dalmatia and retain a strong guard instinct. The breed was largely developed in England where their strong guarding instincts were utilised to protect brewers' carriages. In the States they were used alongside horse-drawn fire engines and guarded the expensive horses that were tempting to thieves. They have also been used for hunting and their attractive coat led to their use in circuses. Now they are mainly a family pet that increased in popularity due to the book and later the films 101 Dalmatians. This unfortunately led to much irresponsible dog breeding and ownership resulting in many abandoned dogs although now the numbers of dalmatians being registered has fallen substantially since these surges.

This large muscular dog is predominantly white with black or liver coloured spots although they can be other colours or even tricoloured. They have a short coat that lacks the oils that produce a 'doggy smell' but sheds a lot. As they were bred to run alongside carriages they are a high energy and stamina dog that needs a lot of exercise so they do not get bored and destructive. They are not born with spots but develop them at around 3 weeks old with most spots developed at around a month old; although they can still gradually develop new spots as they age. They usually have large litters of around 8-13 pups but litters can be even larger than this.

They are relatively healthy but there are a couple of problems associated with the breed such as deafness which is linked to the dog's pigmentation; around 30% of dalmatian puppies have some level of deafness.

Another common problem is hyperuricema, where the dogs lack the enzyme uricase and have trouble breaking down uric acid which can lead to gout, and kidney and bladder stones. This is more likely to be present in older males and limiting the amounts of protein in the diet can help as well as always having access to fresh water. Efforts have been made to reintroduce the enzyme to some dalmatians through using other breeds such as pointers but there is a reluctance to accept dogs, even 13 generations removed as pedigrees. Similar to this, dalmatians with larger areas of pigmentation are less likely to have problems with deafness but are disqualified from breed standard to preserve the spotted coat. In later life autoimmune thyroiditis is commonly a problem effecting around 10% of dalmatians.

Temperment-wise they are intelligent, playful dogs that are fond of other animals especially horses and their stamina makes them a great running partner. They have some mild protective instincts so should be socialised well to promote a stable temperment.

A walk by the river

With the local river still flowing, albeit lower, through the village I often taken my labrador Jazz out for a walk along it. It was very mild with clear blue skies as we walked along the footpath. Blackthorns were white with blossoms with many trees just beginning to burst into leaf.

Along the way the dog caught scent of something in the hedgerow by the water. I assumed it was a duck as we had seen a few along the river in the weeks before but was surprised to see a sparrowhawk burst out of the hedge and fly further along the lane, carrying its prey in its talons as it went. As we continued our walk along the lane, the sparrow hawk returned flying by us and up past a couple of houses, without it's prey but with yellow eyes glaring at us as it went. It was a male, with slate grey upperparts and barred breast with warm orange cheeks and sides. I did a little watercolour that evening of a sparrowhawk as a result. 

Watercolour of a male Sparrowhawk

Further along, Jazz found what the sparrowhawk had been eating. Most of it was gone aside from the feet and wings and tail.

Not many birds have red feet so I decided to look up what it could be. The orange colouration under the tail with the red feet to me suggest it was a red-legged partridge, quite a large prey for a sparrowhawk, especially a male as females are larger. Sparrowhawks aren't the most efficient killers of larger prey so hopefully the partridge didn't suffer too much.

Heading back the way we came we returned to the spot on the hedgerow where my dog had flushed out the hawk. Looking into the hedge I could see a mass of feathers where he had been plucking the bird.

Returning to the river I watched as my dog harnessed her inner-beaver, dragging out the largest branches and rocks she could find in the water up to the bank. Making the most of the spring sunshine a couple of last year's small tortoiseshells flitted about in the warm sunlight. As it hadn't rained in a while the water was wonderfully clear as it lazed along its the road. It's only a seasonal river that doesn't flow for some years so it won't be around much longer with the increasing heat. It had flowed for the last two years which has invited a a couple of pairs of grey wagtails to stay nearby and you could hear them 'pipping' as we walked by. I always feel they're rather poorly named as it's their lemon yellow bellies and tail which stand out rather than their grey backs.

Still, I'm sure that both they (and the dog) will make the most of the river while it lasts.

Wildlife Watch: Snake's head fritillary

In addition to the pet breed focus and what with the arrival of spring I thought it would be a good idea to shine a spotlight on some of the wildlife we have here in the UK and have a look at a different species every month. The arrival of spring is brings with it some notable plants into flower and I thought I'd talk about an usual one called the Snake's head fritillary.

The Snake's head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) is an unusual and distinctive looking plant with crimson and white checkered petals than droop into lampshade-like blooms. They grow on pale grey-green slender stems up to 30cm with thin tapering leaves. They typically grow through March and open to flower in April to May.

These flowers used to be commonly found in damp meadows, particularly in the Thames valley where they used to be cut and sold at markets. Through the drainage of wetland areas such as flood plains, and the intensification of agricultural practices we have lost around 95% of our lowland meadows in the UK. Now native snake's head fritillaries are quite rare to find and can only be found in a few ancient hay meadows. However they may be found planted as they are a popular plant often sold in garden centres.

There are still a few places where you can see them flowering in wet meadows, some putting on impressive displays. One of the best known is the North Meadow at Cricklade National Nature Reserve near Swindon in Wiltshire. There's even a website for the site that will keep you updated on how close they are to flowering. Other notable meadows include those at Magdalen College, Oxford, and Fox Fritillary meadow in Suffolk. The latter is only open to the public one day a year to see the blooms; which this year is on April 18th. If you live nearby these places are certainly worth a visit. Sadly it'll be too far for me so I'll just have to wait for my planted one in my garden to flower.