Daily deer

Apart from the two pesky young stags who spend a lot of time here we also get a regular parade of hinds and mixed 'herds' coming through. The stags in particular can jump our fences with impunity. I enjoy them coming through but feel obliged to chase them off when they start getting interested in eating bits of the young hedge.

Wild Boar - getting closer

Another species that has made it to Manor Wood so I am now hoping it doesn't like it much there are heads off in the other direction. There has appeared an area that has definitely been dug up by Boar as opposed to the snuffling of Badgers. There were also Boar footprints just in case there was any doubt. The signs appeared a few days ago just below where the two main tracks meet by the brook but nothing further so far.

Manor Wood species - Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium)

A common enough flower that grows in profusion in some wet areas of the woods and more sporadically in dampish places. I'm believe that Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage has also been found in Manor Wood so I'll have to look out for that much less common flower. Now that we have a project on the wood I'll more often add in wildlife occurring there - it is after all just next door.

New Species - Mouse Tail Moss

I am reasonably confident this is Mouse Tail Moss ( Isothecium myosuroides). It fits the general appearance and growth form, the leaves look spot on and it is growing on a tree stump. I couldn't find any capsules but it is a common species in the West. One more for the Moss list.

Spring is sprung - the daffs are back

The lovely show of Wild Daffodils just round the corner from us is back again. What a privilige.

New Species - Brown-lipped Snail

I have identified and blogged a slug species before (the Green Cellar Slug) but not any snails so when I came across a whole bunch of them under a roof tile in the barn I thought I ought to make a start. These appear to be the common Brown-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis). I read that snails are hermaphrodite but need to mate to reproduce. That seems to be an efficient evolutionary trait - maximise the opportunities to reproduce but ensure genetic viability.