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Backstone Bank And Baal Hill Woods
Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the County Durham district of Durham, England. It occupies the steep eastern slopes of the valley of Waskerley Beck, alongside and downstream of Tunstall Reservoir, some 3 km north of Wolsingham and is one of the largest expanses of semi-natural woodland in west Durham. The area once formed part of a much larger expanse, Wolsingham Park, which was owned by the prince bishops of Durham from the late 13th century, and was protected both for its deer and for its timber. The woodland, originally predominantly oak and birch, was managed by coppicing for both timber and charcoal, the latter supplying the smelting kilns of the local lead industry. Historical records show that the site has been woodland since at least the early 16th century, and one large oak, the "Bishop Oak", is thought to be around 400 years old. The woodland cover is very variable, being dependent on the soil and drainage. In wett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunstall Reservoir
Tunstall Reservoir was a water supply storage reservoir completed in 1879, and now used solely to maintain minimum regulatory flows on the River Wear in northeast England. It is situated in the north Pennines of the United Kingdom, and lies 3.5 km north of the village of Wolsingham, in Weardale, County Durham. The earthen embankment dam, which impounds the reservoir, is recognized as the location where pressure grouting with cement grout was first utilized in 1876 by engineer Thomas Hawksley, to reduce leakage within the rock foundation under an earth dam. Pressure grouting has since become normal practice for construction and remediation at dams and related water resource projects. Dam construction The Reservoir (water), reservoir was created for the Weardale and Shildon District Waterworks Company, with construction of the dam between 1873 and 1879.p.81/ref>Tunstall Reservoir (pdf downloadable at ) The earth embankment dam was built across the valley of Waskerley Beck, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulmus Glabra
''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches its southern limit in Europe; it is also found in Iran. A large deciduous tree, it is essentially a montane species, growing at elevations up to , preferring sites with moist soils and high humidity.Heybroek, H. M., Goudzwaard, L, Kaljee, H. (2009). ''Iep of olm, karakterboom van de Lage Landen'' (:Elm, a tree with character of the Low Countries). KNNV, Uitgeverij. The tree can form pure forests in Scandinavia and occurs as far north as latitude 67°N at Beiarn in Norway. It has been successfully introduced as far north as Tromsø, Norway and Alta, Norway (70°N). It has also been successfully introduced to Narsarsuaq, near the southern tip of Greenland ( 61°N). The tree was by far the most common elm in the north and west of the Britis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Redstart
The common redstart (''Phoenicurus phoenicurus''), or often simply redstart, is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae). Taxonomy and systematics The first formal description of the common redstart was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Motacilla phoenicurus''. The genus ''Phoenicurus'' was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817. The genus and species name ''phoenicurus'' is from Ancient Greek ''phoinix'', "red", and ''-ouros'' -"tailed". Two subspecies are accepted. The nominate ''P. p. phoenicurus'' is found all over Europe and reaches into Siberia. To the southeast, subspecies ''P. p. samamisicus'' is found from the Crimean Peninsula through Turkey, the Middle East, and into Central Asia. It is sli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood Warbler
The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is strongly migratory and the entire population winters in tropical Africa. Name The genus name ''Phylloscopus'' is from Ancient Greek ''phullon'', "leaf", and ''skopos'', "seeker" (from ''skopeo'', "to watch"). The specific ''sibilatrix'' is Latin for "whistler". At the end of the nineteenth century the bird was also called "wood-wren". Habitat This is a bird of open but shady mature woodlands, such as beech and sessile oak, with some sparse ground cover for nesting. The dome-shaped nest is built near the ground in low shrub. Six or seven eggs are laid in May; there may be a second brood. Like most Old World warblers, this small passerine is insectivorous. The main nest predators of wood warblers breeding in the primeval habitat of Biało ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Woodcock
The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes are set far back on its head to give it 360-degree vision and it probes in the ground for food with its long, sensitive bill, making it vulnerable to cold weather when the ground remains frozen. The male performs a courtship flight known as "roding" at dusk in spring. When threatened, the female can carry chicks between her legs, in her claws, or on her back while flying, though this is rarely witnessed. The world population is estimated to be 14 million to 16 million birds. Taxonomy The Eurasian woodcock was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the current binomial name ''Scolopax rusticola''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock. The specifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crataegus Monogyna
''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. Names This species is one of several that have been referred to as ''Crataegus oxyacantha'', a name that has been rejected by the botanical community as too ambiguous. In 1793, Medikus published the name ''C. apiifolia'' for a European hawthorn now included in ''C. monogyna,'' but that name is illegitimate under the rules of botanical nomenclature. Other common names include may, mayblossom, maythorn, (as the plant generally flowers in May in the English-speaking parts of Europe) quickthorn, whitethorn, motherdie, and haw. Description The common hawthorn is a shrub or small tree up to about tall, with a dense crown. The bark is dull brown with vertical orange cracks. The younger stems bear shar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sorbus Aucuparia
''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxonomy), definitions of the species to include or exclude trees native to certain areas; a recent definition includes trees native to most of Europe and parts of Asia, as well as northern Africa. The range extends from Madeira, the British Isles and Iceland to Russia and northern China. Unlike many plants with similar distributions, it is not native to Japan. The tree has a slender trunk with smooth bark, a loose and roundish crown, and its leaves are pinnate in pairs of leaflets on a central vein with a terminal leaflet. It blossoms from May to June in dense corymbs of small yellowish white flowers and develops small red pomes as fruit that ripen from August to October and are eaten by many bird species. The plant is undemanding and frost h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilex Aquifolium
''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Aquifoliaceae, native plant, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia.Flora Europaea''Ilex aquifolium''/ref>Med-Checklist''Ilex aquifolium''/ref>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .Flora of NW Europe''Ilex aquifolium'' It is regarded as the type species of the genus ''Holly, Ilex'', which by association is also called "holly". It is an evergreen tree or shrub found, for example, in shady areas of forests of oak and in beech hedges. In the British Isles it is one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees. It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts. ''I. aquifolium'' can exceed 10 m in height, but is often found at much smaller heights, typically tall and b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betula
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species. They are a typically rather short-lived pioneer species widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern areas of temperate climates and in boreal climates. Description Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of northern temperate and boreal climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate and stipulate. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a small samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the alders (''Alnus'', another genus in the family) i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Petraea
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial emblem in Wales and Cornwall. Description The sessile oak is a large deciduous tree up to tall, in the white oak section of the genus (''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') and similar to the pedunculate oak (''Q. robur''), with which it overlaps extensively in range. The leaves are long and broad, evenly lobed with five to six lobes on each side and a petiole. The male flowers are grouped into catkins, produced in the spring. The fruit is an acorn long and broad, which matures in about six months. Comparison with pedunculate oak Significant botanical differences from pedunculate oak (''Q. robur'') include the stalked leaves, and the stalkless (sessile) acorns from which one of its common names is derived. It occurs in upl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polystichum Aculeatum
''Polystichum aculeatum'', the hard shield-fern, is an evergreen fern native to Europe. It is most abundant in upland regions of the British Isles and western France, where it benefits from the combination of mild winters and moist summers, but also occurs more locally across most of Europe except northern Scandinavia, northern Russia; in the Mediterranean region it is confined to high altitudes. It grows on steep slopes in woodlands. it is sometimes considered an indicator of the presence of ancient woodlands. The glossy dark green fronds are 30–90 cm long, usually drooping downslope, with typically 3-8 fronds on a mature plant. The fronds are stiff and hard-textured, bipinnate (single-pinnate on small, young plants), with the pinnae opposite on the stalk. Each pinna is 3–11 cm long, with a large upward-pointing pinnule at the base, and the other pinnules decreasing in size toward the pinna tip; the pinnules have bristly tips. Individual fronds live for 1.5-2.5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dryopteris Filix-mas
''Dryopteris filix-mas'', the male fern, is a common fern of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, native to much of Europe, Asia, and North America. It favours damp shaded areas in the understory of woodlands, but also shady places on hedge-banks, rocks, and screes. Near the northern limit of its distribution it prefers sunny, well-drained sites. It is much less abundant in North America than in Europe. The plant is sometimes referred to in ancient literature as worm fern, reflecting its former use against tapeworm. Its specific epithet ''filix-mas'' means "male fern" (''filix'' "fern", ''mas'' "male"), as the plant was thought to be the male version of the common lady fern ''Athyrium filix-femina''. being robust in appearance and vigorous in growth. Description The semi-evergreen leaves have an upright habit and reach a maximum length of , with a single crown on each rootstock. The bipinnate leaves consist of 20–35 pinnae on each side of the rachis. The leaves taper at both end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
