Sonic Border by Januario Jano

Crocosmia (Crocosmia-crocosmiiflora) Common name: Common Montbretia Native to: Grasslands of Southern and Eastern Africa

A deciduous cormous perennial (Iridaceae family) with sword like leaves. Red or orange flowers are grouped along tall stems in a line.

The plant first arrived in Europe around 1847. Victor Lemoine crossed Crocosmia aurea with Crocosmia pottsii to produce a variety known as ‘Montbretia’ in 1881. Many varieties are now available.

Crocosmia is classed in many countries as ‘invasive’. In the UK it is listed under Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Care should be taken not to allow it to escape from gardens.

Toxicity: Corms are mildly toxic to dogs and cats.

Common Swift (Apus apus)

The Common Swift is the most aerial of all our birds. Uniquely for a British and Irish bird, some of the non-breeders do not come to ground at night but “roost” on the wing; some birds may not even touch down at all during the whole summer. It is even possible that most Swifts spend the whole of the winter in Africa on the wing, since roosting sites have not been reported.

Historically, the Swift nested in holes high in large trees, often those made by woodpeckers; it still does so in a fewn places. However, in most areas it nowadays nests almost exclusively in buildings, usually those where the nest sites can be above about 6 m from the ground, allowing the bird easy access to the site.

Almost all Swifts winter in Africa, south of the Sahara, with larger numbers in tropical areas than in southern Africa. Small numbers of Swifts may winter in northern India and in Arabia, though these are presumably not from Britain and Ireland. The main wintering grounds of the nominate race are probably largely south of 4ºS in the Congo Basin, Angola, Tanzania and from Malawi to the Cape.

The is a potential for confusion with African Black Swift through much of the wintering range.Because they are long-lived, many Swifts make the return journey to Africa many time. In they lifetime, Swifts flight time is equivalent to a return trip to the moon five times.

Cortaderia selloana Common name: Pampas Grass Native to: Pampas regions of South America, including parts of Argentina and Brazil and the whole of Uruguay.

This is a type of grass in the Poaceae family. This grass is considered an invasive nuisance in parts of North America and is banned in Hawaii and New Zealand.

Pampas Grass’ latin name, Cortedaria selloana, is named after the German botanist Friedrich Sellow who collected and sent many plants to Europe when working in South America in the early 19th Century.

Pampas grass is non-toxic to animals though care needs to be taken of it’s sharp-edge leaves.

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

Catching sight of the fleeting flash of a Spotted Flycatcher, as it darts into the air to snatch an insect, is usually our first sign that this long-distance trans-Saharan migrant has returned once again to breed in the gardens and woodlands around us.

All populations winter in Africa south of the Sahara, with most crossing the Equator. They are locally common in southern West Africa, Camerron, and Eas Africa, and common ans widespread from the southern Congo Basin and Zambia throughout southern Africa.

Spotted Flycatchers use a variety of breeding habitants from sea-leve; to c900 m and occasionally up to 1,500 m elevation. Common components of preferred habitants include raised perches, often in mature trees and shrubs, telephone wires, fences and buildings. They require open woodland which clearings or glades, and are often found near open water, rivers or streams, and sling the edges of dense woodland. Dry deciduous woodland is preferred but they are also found in native pinewoods.

In the wintering quarters, the habitants chosen are often similar to those used when breeding. Secondary woodland, disturbed land, and suburban areas are preferred but they will utilize habitat along logging tracks in forest.

Cotoneaster horizontalis Native to Himalayan regions from Afghanistan to Sichuan

The Cotoneaster is part of the Rosaceae (Rose) family, a hardy plant that can exist in temperatures down to -25C. The plant was introduced to Europe in 1824.

There are many types of Cotoneaster. Horizantalis is a popular variety but, due to its extensive root system and dense structure, most varieties are considered invasive. They are a particular problem on limestone cliffs and grasslands and are listed under Section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Cotoneaster is very often used as a ground cover shrub in urban areas and is a popular plant with birds and bees.

The berries are not edible but are not highly toxic either to humans or to cats and dogs.

Red Knot (Calidris canutus)

Knots are exclusively high Arctic breeders and make some of the longest non-stop migrations of any wader. Outside their breeding season Knots are wholly coastal, mollusc-feeding specialists, depending almost entirely on extensive mud and sandflats in large estuaries and embayments where they occur in dense flocks of many thousands of birds. They reach these by making flights of up to 5,000 km between very few staging areas.

During northward and southward migration, it stages in the Wadden sea en route to the wintering areas along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Mauritania to South Africa, with over 75% on the Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania.

Deducing the overall migration system require a flyway-scale analysis of Knot ring-recoveries. Knots may be a key indicator species for early warning of the impacts of climate change on migratory Arctic birds. Predicted changes in weather patterns, and increased storminess, will increase the need for emergency stopover sites if adverse headwinds increase in frequency, since otherwise Knots could be prevented from reaching the Arctic in sufficiently good condition to breed successfully.

Peiris Japonica Common name: Flamebush Native to: Forests and mountains of Japan

An evergreen shrub with many varieties. Leaves are copper or red in spring, turning green later in the season, flowering in March/April time.

This plant is attractive to bees due to pollen and nectar rich flowers.

Toxic to dogs and cats but not humans, birds or livestock.

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

Common Tern are gregarious seabirds, often drawing attention to themselves with strident calls, and with a dainty flight that gave rise to their old name of “sea swallows”. Although they are mainly coastal, they also nest widely inland, especially in central and eastern England, making this the tern most familiar to people in Britain. Western European birds migrats down the western seaboard of Europe and Africa.

Common Tern breed in a wide range of habitats from the arctic fringe to the tropics, both along coast and on inland fresh waters. Outside the breeding season, they occur mainly in a coastal waters, being found mostly on inlets and estuaries, often resting on jetties and beaches.

Conservation problems for Common Tern include marine pollution, overfishing and trapping, with the last of these being by far the biggest avoidable cause of death. However, most of those trapped are juveniles and, since Common Tern are amongst the longest-lived birds, the biggest threat to the species comes from hazards that jeopardize the survival of adults.

Hydrangea (serrata) Native name: Ajisai Native to Japan, China and Korea.

Alternate name for some varieties in Japan (H. macrophylla and H. serrata) – Nanahenge meaning ‘seven transformations’. This is due to the properties of some species which change colour according to the soil conditions. Acidic soil produces more blue flowers, alkaline soil more red or pink. This deciduous flowering shrub is happy in sun or part shade.

The first varieties were brought to Europe in the 18th Century. Samples were difficult to move (smuggle) out of secure Japanese conditions. Carl Peter Thunberg is credited as taking back the first plants which have been cultivated in Japan since the 8th century.

Other hydrangea species, such as H. arborescens and H. quercifolia originate from North America.

Toxic: to people, cats and dogs.

Common Starling (Stumus vulgaris)

The Starlings is one of most familiar and widely birds. It is at home in towns, gardens and the wider countryside, and yet the numbers of this highly adaptable species have declined over the two decades.

The resident breeding population is augmented in winter by immigrants from northwest continental Europe, the arrival of which can present a moving sight to watchers on the east coast of Britain in late October and early November. Once here, their aerial manoeuvres as they prepare to alight in their night roost present one of the most exciting spectacles of ornithology.

In addition to this natural range, Starlings have become successfully established, after introduction by Man, in southern Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and North America.

In summer, adults tend to remain near their breeding areas, but large flocks of juveniles are found feeding on coastal salt marshes, moorland and in cherry orchards, suggesting a divergence in the habitants used by adults and young at this time of year.

Acer Palmatum (Japanese Maple) Native to: Eastern China, Korea and Japan.

A deciduous shrub or small tree, growing up to 10meters in the wild. It's natural habitat is woods, hills and mountains. The Japanese Maple enjoys any moist soil in part shade, sheltered from wind. It flowers in April/May.

The first trees came to Britain in the 19th Century but they had been cultivated in Japan for centuries before any specimens reached Europe.

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus Schoenobaenus)

Sedge Warbler are long-distance trans-Sahara migrants that lay down extensive fat reserve in northern Europe in preparation for long-haul flights to the African wintering grounds.

Sedge Warblers breed extensively within both Britain and Ireland, with strongholds in the fens and coastal levels of eastern England and in lowland areas of Scotland and east-central Ireland. Preferred breeding habitants are lowland marshes and waterways, although dry scrub, young conifers and even crops are sometimes used. Although knowledge is scant, Sedge Warblers seem to utilize a range of habitats in the African winter quarters but most commonly those associated with fresh water, such as reed beds, papyrus and the marshy fringes of lakes.

Pre-migratory movement of Sedge Warbler begin in late July with birds apparently searching for sites with high densities of Plum-reed Aphids, an important but ephemeral and unpredictable food source. In West Africa, spring migration begins in late February, and the first birds reach their breeding grounds inFrance by the late March and Britain by early April.

Lavender augusifolia (English Lavender) Native to: the Mediterranean region, from Yugoslavia to Spain and North Africa.

Lavender is from the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Although commonly named English Lavender there is no record of any Lavender in the UK prior to the 13th Century. It may have been brought by the Romans earlier but it is not in common use until it was used by monks in the 15th century for healing. Lavender is hardy up to -15C and enjoys well-drained soil in full sun.

House Martin (Delichon urbica)

Despite House Martins begin common, widespread and universally well known in their breeding range due to their commensal relationship with Humans, they remain, to some extent, birds of mystery. It is still uncertain whether they roost terrestrially or aerially, both in their breeding range (when not in their nests), and in their wintering areas south of the Sahara Desert; also unknown are the locations of the various European populations in these areas.

In their breeding range, House Martin are almost always associated with human habitations, buildings their mud nests under protective overhangs such as the eaves of houses and under bridges; a small proportion, less than 1% of the population, nests on cliffs. They are aerial feeders, feeding on insects at a higher altitude than Swallows but lower than Swifts, and favour agricultural areas.

Despite being one of Europe’s common trans-Sahara migrants, almost nothing is known about the House Martin’s wintering areas in Africa.