Magnolia soulangeana bud

As I said earlier in the year I have for many years tried to follow Magnolia buds through to flowering.  I have always wandered of course, this year is looking better.

On the 1st February I took a bud as it had been all winter.  Then on 1st April the buds were starting to swell so I took another shot.  Now there is even more noticeable swelling of the buds.

In the evening we went to the Penrith support group of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust to hear a fascinating talk by John Miles.  He had been for a good number of years warden of RSPB Geltsdale.  He told us about his current work trying to get/keep owls in suitable habitat throughout Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway.  Two interesting points that gave pause for thought were the knock on effects of rodent poisons.  The owls catch rodents ill from the poisons, the poisons then build up in their organs (particularly liver) and death results.  One horrifying fact was that these poisons are now being found in humans through the food chain.  The other problem was ivermectin.  This lasts for 180 in the droppings of treated cattle.  This means insect life can't utilise the dung.  So a source of food is removed from the food chain.  This is a particular problem for Little Owls as they use dung beetle larvae as a major part of their diet.