For me this winter has been cold and, at times, quite wet and so it has been a welcome relief to have become involved with recording the flora and fauna of our parish. The first step was to obtain an up to date parish map and then familiarise myself with where exactly the boundaries lay and to track down several lanes and footpaths with which I am unfamiliar.
Did you know that there are three very special ‘heritage’ things associated with Payhembury: the Payhembury Window, the Payhembury Cider Apple and the Payhembury Daffodil? As the beautiful drifts of snowdrops started to die back I embarked on a mission to track down the location of our
special daffodil. This is such a lovely double flower but unlike the majority of doubles it flowers early, emerging in late February and into March. I am grateful to Angus Forbes for the information he provided in the Payhembury Millennium Book, which tells us that the native English daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus has produced many sports, or different forms, and that one of the most distinctive is the Payhembury Daffodil. It was once a common sight in gardens and hedgerows but now nearly twenty five years on it is much harder to find with generally only small isolated pockets left in the wild. It is greatly reassuring to know that Angus had the foresight to transplant the ones he had in a separate meadow where they continue to prosper. Now the best place to see these daffodils is at Cheriton, from where they possibly originated in the first place. I do hope the residents there appreciate just what a wonderful and unique thing they have right on their doorstep.
What a late winter and early spring it has been for the birds around our feeders. We decided to provide them with sunflower hearts and how they love them! The cold nights and days meant that a large flock of goldfinches spent a lot of time at the feeders, with some great mixed flocks of other birds foraging for the dropped bits beneath. Unprecedented numbers of bramblings have been attracted here and at Mousehole, a somewhat rare and elusive winter visitor, and easily overlooked resembling the many chaffinches also in attendance. There have also been excellent numbers of Siskins and Greenfinches.
Paul 841696
