Blooming Butterbur!

 Walking down the Weymouth Road last Sunday I was amazed to see three spikes of Butterbur by the Sewage Pumping Station.

              

   Butterbur. Photo. John Elliott

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the earliest of flowers to bloom, usually in the spring, preceeded only by the snowdrops of which there is no sign yet. To see it before Christmas is most unusual. It will be interesting to see if the large leaves which follow the flowers appear early or linger into Febuary or so.

Its Dorset name of 'Early Mushroom' arises from the flowering stems as they push thrtough the soil looking like 'small button mushrooms of a livid and unusual colour' (Gerard).

My Cuckoo.

 The latest bulletin from the BTO:-

Dear John,

 

The last month has been, as expected, a relatively quiet time on the Cuckoo front. Most of our tagged birds had already reached their destinations, where they are likely to stay until January at least.

 

When I last updated you, Irish Cuckoo Cuach Torc had just reached southern Niger. Since then he progressed south via Cameroon to Gabon, where he has remained. He is now in the rainforests of north eastern Gabon, approximately 68 km (42 miles) north east of the city of Makokou.