Grey day by the marshes

[puddleshark]

Yesterday was grey, and the wind was in the north. Took the track that runs beside the marshes. A cold, drear track in January, lined with dark heather and dank winter grasses, and ditches full of peat-brown water. But the woodlarks were singing.








In the boggier places, the willows don't grow upwards, they grow outwards, before arcing back down into the water.







Alders (Alnus glutinosa). They like to grow with their feet in the water. "The root system is adapted to very wet soils. Many strong, vertically growing, sinker roots anchor the tree on riverbanks, and they are able to penetrate deeply into wet and anaerobic soils... Kostler (1968) observed roots reaching almost 5 m deep. Under anaerobic conditions, an oxygen supply for the roots comes from the aerial parts of the tree via enlarged lenticels on the stem... The tree is able to fix atmospheric nitrogen in symbiotic root nodules with bacteria in the genus Frankia." https://academic.oup.com/forestry/article/83/2/163/519324


Alder catkins.


In the distance, log stacks. Where once the Forestry Commission would have clearfelled the conifer plantations alongside the marshes, now they leave a scattering of mature trees standing. The mixed habitat is perfect for woodlarks and nightjars.