Staffordshire Moorlands Peak District Antique Centre		The Community
Home Page About this site Antiques, Shopping and Commercial pages The Community Inns, Hotels and Accommodation Local Government Local Publications Music and Art Places of Interest Sport Weather and Web Cam Visitors Book Links  Site Index		Picture Gallery  Icicles are always a fascinating sight. The spiky sharpness of the icicles is contrasted here by the rounded, bright-green fronds of hart's-tongue fern. Ice crystals look exquisite framing the margins of brooklime leaves (Veronica beccabunga) Note each individual shard. Rime (local name for frost) on ivy leaves enhances the mosaic patterns created by the veins of the leaves. Seed cases from last year's flowers of Wild Clematis (also known as Traveller's Joy or Old Man's Beard) transformed into intriguing shapes by a coating of hoar frost. The colours on the bark of this birch tree are so many and varied that they need to be seen to be believed. Equally unbelievable is the texture of this birch tree found in close proximity to the previous one. The explanation? Probably the age of the tree. Lichens adorning an old hawthorn bush indicate the clean air in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Ivy berries with ' icing sugar ' looking good enough to eat. Like holly, ivy also produces berries in time for Christmas, very convenient for us to use as decorations but much more vital is their use to birds and small mammals as winter food when there is little else available. This branch of alder characteristically bears last year's catkins as well as those of the previous season. The young ones of this coming Spring can be seen unfolding early and may well be set back by the cold snap. In sheltered places hazel catkins seem to emerge earlier each year. These were photographed in late December in full bloom. Cascades of pollen floated away on the breeze when nudged. No doubt a great boon for over-wintering insects. Even fungus can be found midwinter. These particularly fine examples of Razorstrop fungus (Piptoporous betulinus) were seen at Swineholes Wood nature reserve on Ipstones Edge. The white wavy-edged lobes of Many-zoned Polypore provide a stark contrast against this mossy tree trunk. It was impossible to estimate with any accuracy the number of birds contained in this massive ball of starlings seen by several people bouncing along at Winkhill, near Leek. It settled in the crown of a large sycamore tree and then strung itself out on nearby telegraph wires. The wires swung about for some time as the birds alighted yet again to form an even an even bigger ball with further stragglers joining in. A poor shot to finish with you may think - but - you should have heard the song that poured forth from this merry little dipper on its frozen, foggy perch. Ode to a Nightingale Mr. Keates? I'd rather have a dipper. You can never see a nightingale and they can't swim. Dippers are far more entertaining. Swineholes Team and newly acquired strimmer etc. thanks to support of local County Councillor Gill Heath who recommended us for a £1,000 grant in January 2006 from the Local Members Initiative Scheme. Members of the Swineholes Wood nature reserve management team siting new nest boxes throughout the wood. Another part of the LMIS grant. Back to the Wildlife Front Page Officials of the Leek Wildlife Group Leek Wildlife Group, Programme of Events Nature Reserves in Staffordshire Moorlands Leek Wildlife Group, Newsletter Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
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