Ecology near Yate and Stoke Gifford

You might be wondering what I got up to this weekend, when I went down on the Thursday night to the Bristol Area for the CEL Committee meeting on the Friday and the Conference on the Saturday.

The picture on the right shows some of us in an extremely noisy pub on the Friday night -

You might ask "How is life different in Stoke Gifford and Yate near Bristol comapared to Yorkshire?"  (or you might not... but I'm going to describe it anyway)

About ten members of Christian Ecology Link   stayed at Yate, about 10 miles from Stoke Gifford / Bristol Parkway.

So:-

CEL's conference on 10 March - stimulating talks and workshops on sustainability, ethics and theology -and meeting old friends (30 seconds per friend in the lunch break) and new interesting people - but all indoors..

Yate Common

CEL's Steering Committee Meeting on 9 March - useful planning and updating of ideas, meeting old friends and interesting people -but all indoors.

But what of the wildlife of the area? Would there be any "wild" nature?

Our B&B was on a very straight busy main road just near the railway station.

The half mile walk at 6pm from the B& B to the Fox Inn for a meal, along the road between railway and industrial estate revealed, amongst the gravel and mud of the tamac edge,
1. Spring whitlow-grass, Common stitchwort, Mouse-ear chickweed, Daisy, Red dead-nettle.  I tried to show these to the others. (And for the record later I found in also in flower Spring Scurvy grass and Oxford Ragwort )

2. "I knew she'd start doing this!" cried Chris, delighted that he'd been proved right

3. "Yes  Judith Yes " said Ashley.

Actually, earlier that eveing, on returning to Yate after our committee meeting I went for a walk at 5pm on Yate Common just behind our bed and breakfast. I decided to get up early on Saturday to enjoy the country nature of the flat common. Very flat common

Yate Common

Wooded area near the railway line

Look at the liverworts, mosses and lichens on this fissured bark (of ash?)

Xanthoria parietina

Thallose liverwort Metzgeria furcata

These buds were small -about the size of hazel buds..
and the red on the buds reminded me of hazel
but the see the leaf in the picture below

They are field maple Acer campestris

I now realise all these trees of about the same age must have been planted about 30 years ago.

Physcia tenella and Lecanora chlarotera

The lichen near the top just below the shadow
 - jam tart with a pinky-brown centre  is Lecanora chlarotera
the foliose lichen is Physcia tenella sp.

This could be dead Lecanora chlarotera?? with Orthotrichum sp moss.

Main lichen with black dots:-  Lecidella elaeochroma

The tiny grey folose lichen round it is Physcia tenella

Here is a leafy liverwort in the trunk: Frullania dilatata

In another area of trees labelled Bikers Copse on a map
there was more evidence that the trees had been planted
 - the plastic remains around every base

Lecidella elaeochroma - greenish crust with black fruiting bodies and black edge to thallus

Saying goodbye to the lady who made our breakfast.

 Just before leaving Yate to go to the conference on Saturday morning I found time to go on the Frome Way - A wildlife coridor seems to have been left for the river as it meanders/cuts through the industrial estate.

Seedlings of Himalayn balsom show that there will be tall rank vegetation here by midsummer.

Finally a couple of pictures at Stoke Gifford after the conference

The church at Stoke Gifford was picturesque

The bright green lichene on this gravestone is Psilolechia lucida

The journey home north

The journey home north

Other Lichens Postings