lapwing

Well! Can you believe what’s going on? It seems we suddenly have a whole new vocabulary – lockdown, sheltering in place, social distancing..etc. It’s all a bit of a shock isn’t it? I don’t know about you but I’m finding it better to keep away from social media and to stop constantly listening to the news.

So I thought as I’m lucky enough to live in this lovely place, I’d share some stuff from my local rambles. I might share some old photos as well, seeing as I haven’t been here for a while. And I might even share some other stuff….I’ll see.

Down the road is a field that is more often than not, flooded. Geese and seagulls love it, occasionally an oyster catcher drops by, and quite often the lapwings feed there:

fullsizeoutput_13bc — Lapwings on a local piece of wetland

There’s a flock of lapwings always gliding around a bit further away at the top of the hill – such a lovely sound they make when they’re together in the air. I guess these are the same ones come down for lunch – but who knows? They may not be. A group of lapwings is actually called a Deceit – A Deceit of Lapwings. I looked it up – it comes from the birds’ use of diversionary tactics when they have young in the nest. There’s even a poem called ‘A Deceit of Lapwings’ by David Underdown (https://www.davidunderdown.co.uk/a-deceit-of-lapwings).

I love lapwings, I love the way they swoop and ‘rollercoaster’ in the sky and when they’re on the ground they’re so funny and proud with their crested heads bobbing about. And their song which you can hear on the RSPB website is very distinctive, they are sometimes known as peewits because of their call. (https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/lapwing/).

Lapwings are on the red list – their numbers were noticed to have declined significantly in the early 1900s due to their eggs being collected for food. The Lapwing Act in 1926 helped them to recover a bit but by the 1940s changes in farming practices caused them to decline again. Cultivation of arable land adds to nesting failures and crop growth shortens the nesting season.

fullsizeoutput_13f8

To be honest we didn’t actually see any Lapwings today on our walk, except in the far distance swooping over their usual field. We did see yellowhammers, skylarks, and a buzzard. It was a good day for a stroll – no wind. It’s windy here on most days so its lovely to be able to get out without being blown along or dodging falling branches!

There are plenty of lambs about now of course, we have some in the field next door, six black and white lambs born to Zwartble ewes:

fullsizeoutput_13b7

Today we walked past these amazing rams:

DSCN6324 — I think these might be Valais Blacknose sheep originating from the Swiss mountains. I’ve no idea why they are wearing coats though – maybe to keep their fleeces clean?

We saw some miniature Shetland ponies, including this little one, separated from her friends because she has laminitis – caused by eating too much and getting too fat!

fullsizeoutput_13ee

We caused a good deal of excitement walking past a field of horses – they came running over obviously expecting a snack – sadly we only brought chocolate flapjacks along and we’d already eaten them!

fullsizeoutput_13f1

Not so many Spring flowers to be seen here yet – but we spotted some Lesser Celandine, a type of buttercup. It grows anywhere but you shouldn’t think that because of that you can ignore it – its really important for early feeding for many insects and an important source of pollen and nectar. I spotted three bumble bees buzzing around today looking for food so these plants might be common but they are important.

And of course there are daffodils everywhere and continuing the yellow theme, the gorse is in flower!

I can’t leave out the lichen and mosses! We saw these in the woods…

And the views…

fullsizeoutput_13fd — Looking across to The Cheviot Hills

fullsizeoutput_13ea — Not sure what this building is…….

Stay safe everyone – I may be back soon!

Meanwhile here’s what Mr RR has been up to:

and yet another started but not finished thing by me! 😊

fullsizeoutput_13f9

Dear readers

Something strange is happening in my world.

Last night as I sat studying an OS map and contemplating tea and cake in M&S while waiting for the car to be serviced today, some words suddenly popped out of my mouth:

‘We could always go for a walk while we wait for the car’ I said.

This is unprecedented, I’m not sure what’s happening to me……

Enjoy the ramblings.

Julie

(P.S: I forgot the camera again today – all photos are Mr RRs)

Target – 1000 miles in one year. Weekly goal – 20 miles

Total achieved so far – 143.4 miles (target 140)

Achieved this week – 15.5 miles

Hayle Estuary, The Towans and Phillack (4.9 miles)

So we did……we left the car to be serviced, walked straight past Marks and Spencer and followed the path up over the A30 and along the main Hayle road turning right to walk alongside the estuary with its reed beds and marshes. The tide was out and the river bed was buzzing with birdlife (do river beds buzz? Anyway – you know what I mean).

We saw dozens of wigeon – you may remember that we have previously been confused about the duck population, however, we are now fully signed up members of the RSPB (something strange really is happening to me!) and we have the book! These were definitely wigeon, with their little wedge shaped bright yellow patch on their heads, foraging in the weed. We saw a flock of lapwing (love these!), shelducks, redshank, a curlew, an oyster catcher and a heron (another favourite!) sitting regally in the middle of the river. And then we saw a solitary little squat grey bird with a short beak, we had to consult the book – a grey plover!

As you continue along the banks of the river you enter the George V Memorial Gardens, a subtropical garden completely maintained by volunteers. It’s stunning in Spring and Summer. Not much going on at the moment but the volunteers are hard at work pruning and tidying.

Coming out of the gardens we crossed the road to North Quay, which has been recently redeveloped to provide moorings for boats and will eventually have waterside cafe’s and restaurants and easy access to the beach as part of the Hayle Redevelopment Masterplan. We walked down onto the beach and round the corner away from the estuary, taking a look across at Lelant Church on the opposite hill, before ascending onto Hayle Towans via the South West Coast Path.

20150219_141815_resized

Hayle Towans – (from the Cornish ‘tewyn’ meaning sand dune) – includes the area from Mexico Towans to Gwithian, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. We’re heading for Mexico Towans – no idea why it’s so called – following the coast path across the dunes with the sea on our left and Godrevy lighthouse ahead.

At Mexico Towans we head inland, climbing a high dune for an excellent view of the area and a discussion about which way to go. We can see Phillack Church ahead so we follow the path out of the dunes and through the houses to the church, then down over a steep hill – on which someone has thoughtfully provided me with a chair, in case I was thinking of climbing back up the hill!

At the bottom of the hill we’re back at the estuary and a short walk across the road and round the corner finds us having a quick cuppa before reclaiming the car!

Estuary Mixed Media Andrew Major — Estuary
Mixed Media
Andrew Major

Associated artwork for Ricketyrambler by Andrew Major:

http://www.andrewmajorart.co.uk

http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/Andrew-Major

I’m Currently reading:

Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit

ricketyrambler

Writing about Rambling!

Permitted Daily Exercise!

Hayle Estuary, The Towans and Phillack