Toad Spawn in the river

Tuesday !9th April 2011
                                    About 25 years I observed Toads spawning in the River Wharfe near Grassington in Wharfedale. I mentioned this to a Dr Steve Ormerod who is now a Professor at (Cardiff university) he was the son of a friend of mine. He published a paper on toad spawning in rivers because I don't think it had been observed at that time.

      Today on a picnic with two of my grandchildren we found loads of toad spawn in the same stretch of the river. Thinking about it, the toads have very little choice as to where they can spawn because there are no ponds in this well drained limestone country so I suppose if the rivers don't flood and wash the spawn away the toads must have been successful over the years and kept the local population going.
    I've also noticed over the years that our native Crayfish has disappeared and has been replaced with the American Signal Crayfish the river is teeming with them.

Many strings of toad spawn in the quieter stretches of the river

 

The American Signal Crayfish

 And finally my sons dog..... George with his trophies....all the stones he's brought out from the bed of the river

Spring is bursting out all over

Sunday !7th April 2011

                          What a glorious spring day it's been today.  On our usual Sunday walk with our friends we've been into Yorkshire around Clapham, Austwick and Feizor and on our return route back around Crummock Dale skirting the Norber Eratics.We've done this walk several times but on a glorious spring day with all the spring flowers opening  it's a joy to be out.

                                            Primroses

I call this flower a False Oxslip a  multi- headed primrose, it's a cross between the Cowslip and the Primrose

the two flowers shown above.

     The first Early Purple Orchids opening on a south facing hillside

                                     Wood Anemones

                                          Pen-y-Ghent

       Overlooking the hamlet of Wharfe with Ingleborough in the distance

                          Clapper Bridge in Crummock Dale

             Through the Norber glacial erratics back to Clapham

Early April in N.W.England.

Wed 13th April 2011
                How quick spring has moved on in the last two weeks, we've been out and doing so many things that I've never had any time to go on the computer and catch up with everybody on their blogs.

    I've uploaded a few of the pictures that I've taken over the last two weeks of spring slowly developing in and around our area which for me is my favourite season of the year.

First a few photos of the new fish pass in the local pennine valley where I spent most of my childhood playing along the riverside.

       For the first time in 200 years the rivers that flow through N.E. Lancashire are clean enough for the passage of Sea Trout And Salmon. This small moorland stream has always held wild trout but to have salmon returning to these headwaters seems quite unreal.

Another Walk up our beautiful Pendle Hill, this time taking another of our grandchildren up to the summit for his first climb.

 

                    on the  summit..... Daniel three last month

We never tire of the beautiful area around Arnside and Silverdale on the  northeastern shoreline of Morecambe Bay

                                  Arnside Knott with our friends

                                   My dream cottage

                 The first of the many wild orchids pushing through

 

                         The wild daffs have already gone over

               Some of the early spring flowers growing along the coast

                            Sunset over the estuary at Arnside

Springtime in the Ribble Valley down Swanside Beck

                                Germander Speedwell

                         one of my favorites ... Wood Anemones

                 The old packhorse bridge over Swanside Beck

  A Virgin Express on a diversion  through Swanside onto the Settle Carlisle Line and then onto Scotland

Around Tosside

                                             Lunch Stop

                                           More spring flowers

         Always dominating the scene our local landmark ... Pendle Hill