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The Green Year (06/04) 'Day One'

16 January - Kingfisher, There Thou Art

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Can you spot it? It is there, I assure you.

The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is one of those birds you rarely see for more than a fraction of a second, but there's never any mistaking what they are. That flash of bright blue is unlike anything else you'll see flying around that isn't an escaped parrot. But they're also secretive, paranoid, and twitchy. Much of that bright colouration isn't pigment per se, but iridescence, which means that when they're perched in a tangle of branches near the water, they're actually very hard to see.

Kingfishers aren't usual birds for this area, at least not till fairly recently. Their presence is an indicator of water quality, something the canals have been lacking since I was a kid but in recent years has been improving. At this obsolete branch of the canal the water moves slowly and is often full of small fish and dragonfly larvae. If it hasn't rained for half a day or so you can see how unusually clear it is, for a canal. Nevertheless it's a case of pure accident that led me to capture this kingfisher on film. About fifteen seconds later all I saw was a blur of blue whirring off into the trees.
 
24 January - The Diversity of Birds

Often, as Winter lumbers on into February, I wonder whether the birds know something I don't. Robins (Erithacus rubecula) always sing, even during the darkest days. But lately I've been hearing more birds, more frequently. Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) are rattling at each other again, and even the occasional great tit (Parus major) is getting a head-start on staking out territory. Does this mean Spring isn't far off? Will there be an early end to Winter?

Seeing kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) more frequently is a sign of improving water. I wonder if the same is true of the Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristauts) I saw on Foots Hole a few days ago. It seems there's some effort being made by the Canal and River Trust to tidy up the Black Country canals. The other day I saw a floating rubbish trap collecting the plastic and other such trash floating downstream - the day after that, a couple of blokes with magnets trawling for discarded bikes and car parts.
 
07 February - A Dream of Spring

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Sometimes, I wonder whether the signs of the coming Spring are little more than wishful thinking. Days like today, when the sun rises on a hard frost, remind us that Winter never lets go willingly. But no Winter lasts forever, and the signs are there. The Springtime flowers are coming up: snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis), daffodils (Narcissus species), and more rarely, crocuses (Crocus tommansinianus). Crocuses seem to be picker than other Spring flowers, appearing less easily than the snowdrop. I find them most often in airy clearings or as garden escapees on someone's lawn, and never in the heavy, muddy soil of the nature reserve.
 
17 February - Storm #2

Two storms in as many weeks doesn't do much to encourage one to go outside. It's not been so bad here. Storms tend to have expended at least some of their energy by the time they make it here, and in any case the canals do a fine job of managing all that excess water. Nevertheless, there has been some damage - some of the middle-aged trees have snapped under the pressure. What looks like a whitebeam (Sorbus aria) by the feeder canal has toppled over, probably less because of the wind and more because the soil beneath its roots had liquefied. I've never seen puddles like this on the nature reserve. Some are deep enough to lose your boot in, as I discovered to the cost of a sodden foot. It looks like the rain has blasted away much of the humus on the paths, exposing the gravel beneath, and the gritty, coarse brick debris within.

But even so, Spring is still coming. The goosegrass (Gallium aparine) is making an early break for it, the sneaky burst of growth that will see it dominate by the Summer. It's a signal to me that the growing season proper is fast approaching, so I'd better decide what to plant, and soon. Some wandering around the supermarkets and garden centres has given me a good idea of what's available ... if only I could find reference books
 
06 April - Day One

Partial cloud in the morning, chilly on the Western side of the house. A light rain during the night. Temperature at noon 11°C. Afternoon unsettled, breezy, with some very light rain.

I haven't really had the motivation to blog through the early Spring. But now my personal growing season has begun. Today is the first day of actively growing, having done the main planting yesterday. I unearthed (pun intended) some seeds from last year I'd forgotten about, so rather than mess around I raided the shed for any spare pots and pressed them into service.

The planter will be solely beetroot and marigold this year. The chives were trying to dominate it, being left alone in there all Winter, but I can't have that. They've been uprooted and transplanted to a large pot. Perhaps that was a bit cruder than I'd like, but they're hardy plants, and old enough to withstand it, I should think. Everything else will be in some sort of pot - kale will be transplanted into one, the rest (Oregano, basil, coriander, some more marigolds) growing in a medium size pot in situ.
 
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