The Hawthorn

The Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, also known as Quickthorn, Whitethorn, or the May tree, is one of the most common small trees, (or large shrubs, depending on how you look at it), to be found in the British isles. Their scientific name comes from the Greek word for ‘strength’; Crataegus, and monogyna comes from mono, meaning

The Comma

The Comma, Polygonia c-album, named after the comma shaped mark on its white underwings, is a very striking butterfly in appearance and can be found in large numbers at the right time of year on its favourite plants. They are orange and black with ragged looking wings which break up their outline and make them

Hazel

The Hazel, Corylus avellana, has smooth, silvery bark, brilliant green, downy leaves, and early in the year forms bright yellow Catkins which dangle and sway in the wind giving a welcome hint of spring yellow to the otherwise barren hedges and trees of winter. Quick out of the blocks It is particularly quick out of

Pendle throughout the year

January February March April May June July August September October November December Don’t forget to check out my #DailyPendlePic every day @AlBuHarg on Twitter. A B-H

Sheep Scanning

Sheep are ‘short day’ breeders, meaning they mate when the days become shorter in the autumn so their lambs are born early enough to take advantage of next year’s spring growth. Around this time of year hill farmers will scan their ewes to find out how many lambs they are holding. They do this by

The Dog Rose

The Dog Rose, Rosa canina, is a deciduous shrub native to the British isles, it is found in a wide variety of habitats but prefers hedgerows and scrubby patches of woodland, where it grows in a sprawling manner, its stems arching over each other and getting entangled with other briars and shrubs. It usually reaches

Northwest Recipes, Pheasant au gratin

This week is Great British Game Week and here in the Northwest of England we are very lucky to have a great choice of local and seasonal produce to pick from including Game such as Pheasant. The latest addition to my Northwest Recipes Series is one for Pheasant and sticks with the Seasonal and Local

Sika Deer

The rutting season for Sika, Cervus nippon, lasts from around September to November and is the best time for spotting this large deer skulking about the woods and forestry. Sika are similar in appearance to Fallow but are in fact foreign invaders and their size varies considerably, the more common Japanese sub-species has a shoulder

The Ancient Art of Hedgelaying

Hedges As you walk or drive around Britain you may notice that much of our countryside is bisected by undulating, verdant ribbons of lush foliage which stand out from the fields like thin brush strokes in vivid shades of green. These are hedgerows and have been used for stock proofing and marking field boundaries for

Daubenton’s Bat Myotis daubentonii

As the nights draw in and the trees begin to lose their leaves some of our countryside’s lesser-seen creatures become more apparent, nocturnal or crepuscular animals like bats for example, which can be seen more readily against the dusk sky as they flit about hunting for moths and midges. On a country lane the small