May 2020
WILDMAY
Thisisn’ttheplantwithwhichtheGreek
philosopherSocratesis saidtohave
killedhimself,butit is likewiseextremely
poisonous.Superficiallyresemblingcow
parsley,it producesneatclustersofwhite
flowersinsummerandhaslacyleaves
ratherlikegiantcorianderorflatparsley.
Thegroovedstemsmightremindyou
ofcelery.Hemlockwaterdropwortloves
tohavewetfeet,growingalongditches
andbesidemuddystreamsandrivers.
Perhapsalarmingly,it is also abundant
- butbestleftalone.
FINDOUTMORE GuidetoBritish
plants:bit.ly/plantlife-guide
5 |HEMLOCKWATERDROPWORT
Toxic bloom
With 12 nativespeciesaswellas
severalintroducedones,thecarp
andminnowfamilyis Britain’s
biggestgroupoffreshwaterfish.
Oneoftheirquirks(thoughyou
needtobeananglertoseeit)
is a lackofteeth.Manyofthese
fishbreedinwarmweather
thismonthandnext,sobriefly
becomemuchmorenoticeable.
Roachspawninshoalsaround
reedsorothervegetation,
thrashingaboutasmaleschase
females.Theyhavea chunky
silverbodywithbrightred fins.
FINDOUTMORE Freshwater
fishgallery:jackperksphoto
graphy.com/freshwater-fish
7 |ROACH
Spawning season
Kittiwake: Getty; dropwort: David Chapman; roach: Jack Perks
6 |KITTIWAKE
Namecalling
Togetherwiththechiffchaffand
cuckoo,jackdawandcurlew,the
kittiwakeis a birdthatcallsits
ownname.Intruth,theendlessly
repeatedcrysoundsmorelike
‘kitti-waaaake’,butnevertheless
is impossibletoescapeatmany
crowdedseabirdnestingcliffs,
especiallyinthenorthandwest
of the UK. Unlike other British
gulls,thisis a trulypelagicspecies
thatonlyfrequentscoastsduring
thebreedingseason.Youwon’t
findit inland,exceptforone
remarkableurbancolonyonthe
buildingsandbridges of Newcastle
andGateshead.
TOPTIPWatcha BTOidentification
video:bto.org/about-birds/bird-id
TWEETOF
THEWEEK
Weeklybirdsongpodcast
with guest hosts.
ONLINE