Solar eclipse and ducks

This morning our ducks returned, and they came again this evening. We had seen them occasionally during the winter, but this looks like they may be back for the summer. Unusually last year they stayed until December instead of disappearing as normal in July or August.

That was a promising beginning to the day, though we were doubtful of seeing the eclipse since cloud was forecast. Five minutes before the maximum eclipse, the sun appeared through thin cloud and I was lucky enough to get this shot.

I took a sequence of photos at 10 minute intervals - more often around maximum eclipse - all taken at exactly the same settings. This gives an idea as to how much darker it became (though the contrast in the photos is far greater than was actually apparent). The numbers on the pictures are minutes before/after maximum.

I also took some automatic ones, and found that 1/125th sec at F4, ISO 80 at 25 minutes before maximum looked identical to 1/50th sec at F3.5, ISO 200 at maximum. That's equivalent to a difference of 3 stops, or 8 times the exposure.

27 minutes after maximum, the still partially eclipsed sun managed to produce a rainbow.

A few minutes later, the sun began to shine brightly, and I used a colander as recommended to get some rather fuzzy images of the sun by projecting the shadow onto a piece of white paper.

I also took the temperature every 10 minutes, using two thermometers for greater sensitivity, but the eclipse only shows as a minor dip in the generally rising temperature. Maximum eclipse (93.73%) here in Glasgow was at 9:34am.

I felt very pleased to have had such a successful morning, particularly as we had expected nothing but cloud.

Unusual flowers

Last Saturday I went on an outing with the Scottish Orchid Society. I have already covered most of the species which we saw, but we went to one interesting location, which was already known to me, where there are a large numbers of Lesser Twayblades (Neottia cordata) growing on sphagnum in woodland. At the same site Chickweed Wintergreen (Trientalis europaea) and Common Wintergreen (Pyrola minor) are also present. These last two are unrelated despite their names. Chickweed Wintergreen is mostly found in eastern Scotland and is not at all common in the west.

White form of Common Spotted Orchid

Chickweed Wintergreen

Common Wintergreen

Lesser Twayblade

Flowers close to home

For the past month, having trapped a nerve in my arm and being unable to drive, my botanical activities have been restricted to close to home. It's amazing what you can find locally if you set your mind to it. Only a few hundred yards from our house I found two plants which I had never seen before, growing in a grass verge. Both are members of the pea family (Fabaceae), and both are species which thrive on mown grass because they are very short in growth and can survive being mown but cannot stand the competition of taller vegetation.

Birdsfoot (Ornithopus perpusillus) is a widespread but local annual which is scattered throughout Great Britain, though in Scotland it is mostly restricted to the central belt, the south-west and around Inverness. It get its name from the shape of its seed pods.

Slender Trefoil (Trifolium micranthum) is common in south east England, but has hitherto been regarded as absent from Western Scotland north of the Clyde and Scottish records are regarded as alien. This is the first record for the species in Dunbartonshire. In the top picture the plant on the left is Lesser Trefoil (Trifolium dubium) which is abundant throughout Great Britain.