Garganey and Garlic Mustard


You don't expect to see a Garganey and Garlic Mustard in flower on January 2nd, but that's exactly what went into my notebook at Holmethorpe Sand Pits today. The Garganey (a first-winter drake) has been present for about a month now and furtively lurks on the same pool that provided us with a Ferruginous Duck back in 2010. A very poor picture, taken shortly after dawn, is above.


Botanically it was most odd, with the picture above illustrating the point - a field full of Corn Marigolds still in good flower. Most plants had tens of flowers on them. More surprising was the single Garlic Mustard in flower, a good three months early in my reckoning. Needless to say, there were no Orange-tip butterflies on the wing to make use of this foodplant, although I wouldn't have been totally bemused if one had floated past!

Comments

Graham James said…
Hi Steve,
Good to see you today. I know I said we still get Corn Marigolds but I didn't realise they were still in flower now - how strange!
2 January 2012 at 17:26
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