June 2013

Oh dear, it is mid-May, it is raining outside and there is a blustery wind. The temperature outside is 7.7°C. this evening.  I really had thought that summer had come.  Well, it did for a few days in late April and early May.  Then the Jet Stream moved south, and we are subject to Arctic weather again.  However, the Swifts arrived about 5th May, that to me indicates that summer has arrived.  However, I think that increased melting of Arctic ice is cooling the sea currently at about 9°C off the Sussex coast as the Arctic water fights with the Gulfstream. So the mild, moist southerly wind is being cooled by the cold water and drops its wet load.

I saw four Slow-worms the other day, and one of them was a gravid female, all plump with babies.  The babies are usually born live and active (as opposed to hatching from pre-laid eggs as many reptiles are).  Slow-worms can live for more than 50 years if they are lucky.  They are not Worms at all, but actually leg-less Lizards with tails that can break off if grabbed by a predator.  Hence their Latin name Anguis fragilis.   Their main food is small Slugs, so should be welcome in the garden.  However, they are often killed by Cats.

The Bluebells are amazing this year!  Rich deep blue and dripping with flowers.  Internationally, they are a rare flower, occurring only in western Europe.  It is thought that up to 50% of all Bluebells in the world are in Britain.  However, where they do grow, they are so abundant that they carpet the woodland floor at about the time leaves burst forth on the trees above.  They are a type of Lily, their Latin name is Hyacinthoides non-scripta.

We are now entering the Orchid season, and I was looking at some beautiful Green-Winged Orchids yesterday.  These are Orchids of old undisturbed habitats, but are apparently declining.  We are fortunate to have many Orchid species of growing in Sussex, many of which are at the northernmost edge of their range.  One of the rarest is the Early Spider Orchid which grows only in the southern coastal region of Britain.  However, this plant is not confined to old habitats as it has turned up in large numbers at Samphire Hoe near Dover on land created from spoil dug out to form the Channel Tunnel!