Gorpley Clough musings

A few photos of Gorpley Clough taken in April this year to show aspects of woodland management.

Some of the mature Sycamores were "killed" a few years ago as part of the management of the upper clough and following this tubes were planted, which have been more successful than their contents, although some have saplings emerging shyly.

One small area has been successful with 14 oak trees appearing. One has to wonder why 14 were planted when there is only room on this ledge for perhaps 2 or 3 mature oaks. If left as is, they will all grow like spindles and none will make an attractive tree. Maybe there are plans to thin them at some later date--we will see.

Interesting way to kill the Sycamores. Not content with topping the trunk and removing all the crown, they have had 2 chainsaw rings around the trunk in an attempt at ring barking. Not satisfied with this, there was a more serious attempt at killing the tree by wholesale bark removal. But just to make sure, there have been ecoplugs drilled around the circumference. These plugs contain Glyphosate and kill the tree stone dead, preventing any regrowth. Of course, being drilled above the ringbarking they are useless as there is no sap flow connection to take Glyphosate to the roots. It all seems an expensive and bizarre way to create standing dead wood.

It would not have mattered if there had been some coppice type regrowth from the roots; it's all leaves, shelter and greenery and could be coppiced again after a few years.

I have included photos of Alder not far away from the planted tubes. Look how these have grown into really interesting trees, fascinating to look at and full of wildlife niches. But this is because they have space to grow.

In the lower clough, an earlier planting scheme of possibly 20 or 30 years ago is doing well. But the redundant tubes are scattered about and some are still around the trunks.

Come on--this is an attractive and designated wood why does it need plastic and Glyphosate?

Glyphosate plugs, ring barking and bark stripping. You will die or else!!

Many Oak saplings but will any grow into a tree?

Alder tree. Characterful after enjoying a good life in the open

Space to stretch ones limbs

A tree as tenement and testament

Growing well but what about those tubes?

Steep to plant but too steep to collect tubes

Sweet Chestnut -- Castanea sativa

Showing the nutlets inside the split outer casing. You are more likely to get mature edible nuts in southern counties but maybe with climate change we will soon be eating them.

It was always thought the Romans introduced this tree to England but recent research suggests it was much later, in about the 13th century.


                            Can you see the face on the left casing, gazing intently at the nuts?

Pale Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Saw this little fellow earlier this week, in Luddenden Dean.
Initially I thought it was a piece of sheep's wool, covered in luminous algae.
It really was this bright. My camera hasn't changed its colours.
I think it has a face like a cat without ears!
Charlie Streets said they are known as 'Hop Dogs', due to the havoc they wreak on hop plantations.

Rochdale Canal

We had a walk along the canal from Luddenden Foot towards Brearley this afternoon.

Several young Alders were growing out of the canal bank by the towpath

and we found these small beetles and, we assume, their larvae.

Lots of damage to the fresh leaves though we failed to find any on the mature alders.

All in all there were maybe 30+ beetles but we only found 2 larvae.

With apologies for the small images. Click on the photos to enlarge.

 We think they must be Alder Leaf Beetles - Agelastica alni

Also one from yesterday on the garage door - think it must be the species as described below ?

Hawthorn Shieldbug - Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale

Collared Earthstars

After a tip-off from Mick Harrop, Steve, Sarah and myself went to see these fantastic fungi

at Milner Royd Nature Reserve.

They're a little above the steps at the entrance to the reserve

by the recycling station/tip at Sowerby Bridge.

They were a lot larger than I'd expected, some around 3.5 inches across.

They were also more numerous than I'd expected

with dozens present on either side of the path and a little in to the woods.

The centres were much like delicate puffballs,

loaded with spores which they ejected at the slightest touch.

The outer rays being much tougher.

In amongst the earthstars were three clumps of corals

growing in the soil around deciduous trees

anybody any suggestions?

Holywell Green to Gosport Clough Fungi Survey

Several days worth of rain followed by a fine and pleasant Saturday resulted in another fantastic trip to what is fast becoming one of the best sites in Yorkshire to see grassland fungi. 

The strategy to maximise our chances of finding the most fungi was to form a line with a couple of yards between each other and slowly progress forwards. 

It worked very well most of the time but as you can see here everybody easily became distracted by the never ending supply of interesting finds 

(Photo by Steve Blacksmith).

Another of Steve's photos looking from Gosport Clough back towards Holywell Green.

Star of the show for many was this Powdercap Strangler (Squamanita paradoxa). 

It's one of our most remarkable mushrooms which is parasitic on the Earthy Powdercap (Cystoderma amianthinum).

It takes over the host and replaces the cap and gills with it's own but retains the original stipe,

creating in effect a hybrid between the two. You can clearly see the joint between the two species.

The only book I could find it in says it to be extremely rare!

This one was suspected to be another rarity - Hygrocybe lacmus

but on further examination it now appears to be a Yellow Foot Waxcap (Hygrocybe flavipes).

The lack of yellow base to the stipe prevented a more immediate diagnosis.

Still quite a rare Waxcap by all accounts.

A more "run of the mill" rarity was the now expected Violet Coral (Clavaria zollingeri)

which became even rarer when I inadvertently stepped on one clump :-(

A more common but equally stunning fungi was this Crimson Waxcap (Hygrocybe punicea)

one of four waxcap species new to me on the day.

It has to be said that without Peachysteve's knowledge and experience many of the most interesting fungi would have gone unidentified including this Oily Waxcap (Hygrocybe quieta).

The same could be said about this Orange Waxcap (Hygrocybe aurantiosplendens).

A nice group of Heath Waxcaps (Hygrocybe laeta) in the sunshine.

This tiny Ivory Bonnet (Mycena flavoalba) was my sixth new species for the trip.

An easy one to miss were these ubiquitous Hymenoscypha fagineus on fallen beechmast husks. 

Much more easy to find was this slug-eaten but picture worthy Bolete - possibly Red Cracking Bolete.

My little colony of very rare Yorkshire moths - the Lichen Case-bearer is doing well judging by this mammoth count of 17 larval cases in just one small section of wall.

Autumn Crocus walk with Julian

Last Saturday (September 21st) we were led by Julian on our annual Autumn Crocus walk in the Bradshaw area of Halifax. Here are a few photos from that day.

Slender blooms can be easily blown over in the September winds.

Just a small portion of the host at Strine's Beck. We estimated about 1000 blooms in this field! This year there seemed to be more than usual.

3 beauties

A solitary bloom in the sunlight - with attendant insect.

The shadow of the stigma on the outer petals attracted me to this. Note the new bloom emerging at the base. They will continue to bloom until about the middle of October.

Showing the stigma and 2 stamens. The feathery stigma were the source of the prized saffron.

Another shot showing the shadow of the stigma on the outer petals.

We find Swallows nesting in this porch at Holdsworth House every year. This year there were 3 nests. We saw the adult coming to feed this chick although it is already capable of flying and feeding itself.

Talk on Tuesday 8th October

A Couple of Leaf Mines From Recent Walks

One each from the pond dipping walk and the fern walk:


https://calderdalemoths.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-couple-of-leafminers.html

Pond Dipping session at Cromwell Bottom Local Nature Reserve 14.9.19

We had lots of fun dipping our nets and turning stones over in the water.

This freshwater sponge was under many of the stones just below the weir on the River Calder. We had been given a tip that Crayfish could be seen there but didn't find any.

This unidentified water plant had globular growths on it. Possibly eggs of an animal, but as they were in lots of different sizes, I thought they were part of the plant. Dredged from the pond with the dipping platform near Tag Cut.

There were many of these little fish, Stone Loaches I believe, definitely a species of loach, in the Calder on a pebbly beach on Brookfoot Loop. A Kingfisher obligingly showed us how it could easily catch them, or another species of fish, very close by. 

Previously I had only seen loaches in the River Dee in North Wales.

The Pond Dipping walk was not very well attended, just five people including the leader, suggesting pond dipping isn't thought of  as an Autumn activity. The spring sessions are well attended. Apart from the specimens above, we also found many immature newts still with their feathery gills (Reuben was the champion catcher of these,) and water snails, including tiny bivalves, like miniature cockles from the sea, plus lots of insects including large Water Boatmen and Dragonfly larvae.

With many thanks to the Cromwell Bottom team who gave us access to the cabin with hot drinks/ snacks/ ultra-clean toilets and biological reference material. Much appreciated!

How does a tree branch resist gravity?

We look at tree branches without perhaps realising how they manage to support such massive weights.

It seems that Conifers and Broadleaves have evolved different solutions to the same problem but both of them use what is known as "reaction growth".

Reaction Wood forms as a response to gravity and has different cell structure to normal wood, giving it extra strength, whilst laying down much wider rings which give extra bulk. The resultant cross section is often elliptical, particularly in conifers (as seen in photo below).

Broadleaved trees produce Tension Wood on the upper side of a branch, pulling the branch upwards.

Whereas Conifers produce Compression Wood on the underside of a branch, pushing the branch upwards.

Tension Wood has more cellulose and contains a specialised gelatinous layer in the cells, which is rubbery in texture.
Compression wood produces much more lignin and this altered, stronger growth has been utilised by hunters in the American Arctic to make bow staves from trees that were otherwise unsuitable.



                   Conifer with large bulge of compressive growth below the sideways trunks

                              Ash tree showing tension wood on the upper side of this huge branch

                            Conifer adapting with compression wood pushing against gravity

Conifer with unusual growth pattern

   Conifer with lost branch showing the wider rings (compression wood) formed on the underside

Hedgehog

Recent short video from Lynn D

Talk on Tuesday 10th September