Butterflies sightings March 1, 2012

The mild sunny days last week brought our first butterfly sightings, with a Peacock on the Friday (24 February) and a Red Admiral on the Saturday (25 February).

Red Admiral Butterfly, Martineau Gardens

Also, the birds have been more active with Spring approaching.  Some have started singing, including Dunnock, Wren and Nuthatch, and Great Spotted Woodpecker and Treecreeper have both been present.  The treecreeper is a small, inconspicuous brown and white bird that climbs trees looking for insects.  An old name for it is ‘Mouse Bird’.

Several species of fungi have also been found, including Candlesnuff Fungus, Jelly Ear Fungus and Scarlet Elf Cup.

Candlesnuff Fungus / Stag Horn Fungus, Martineau Gardens


Rare Plant Spotted January 31, 2012


Our Wildlife Recorder and the newly discovered Toothpick plant

A rare non-native plant found last year, at Martineau Gardens, that has kept the experts guessing, has finally been confirmed as the tooth-pick plant (Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam). A garden volunteer was weeding an area around the sundial lawn and spotted a plant that she didn’t recognise. Our wildlife advisor, Brian Perry (pictured here) , called in Mike Poulton (Botanist for the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust) who took a sample which was sent to the Botanical Society for the British Isles (BSBI) referee for alien plants Dr J. L. Mason who confirmed our find. Mike says: “The Martineau Gardens tooth- pick plant find is a first for Birmingham.” The plant is an annual, so we will have to see if it returns.


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