RXwildlife Sightings

4 ochre Whinchats and a m Stonechat crouching on barbed wire in the reed-swishing wind. The Phragmites seed-heads are now at their most glamorous: glossy and imperial purple.

Tiny birds flit from thorn to scarlet thorn, island-hopping across the perilous vastness of the open valley floor. They are often too quick to recognize as they dash across the gaps, but there are Blue Tits, Lesser Whitethroats, a Bullfinch, Chiffchaffs, Goldfinches and reckless Spotted Flycatchers which pause for airborne pirouettes.

A Barn Owl bursts from a creaking Willow. Otherwise – silence, but for the rasp of dry dragonfly wings, the hum of a harvester beyond the hill and the squeak, rattle ‘n’ roll of the half-hourly Marshlink.

At Castle Water a colony of Thorn-apple, Datura stramonium, has established along the water’s edge where there is no public access. The trumpet-shaped flowers are about 10cm. long and have an attractive symmetry. The fruits are very spiky and give the plant its name. It is a member of the Nightshade family, so should have 5 petals, but this one appears to have 6!!! All parts of the plant are highly poisonous.

Datura is the subject of some beautiful paintings by the American artist Georgia O’Keefe (see below) and its hallucinogenic properties are extensively discussed in the classic ’70s “Don Juan” books by Carlos Castaneda. (Cliff)

for a photo of the fruit Read the rest of this entry »