SEASONAL BUBBLE UP.

 Now ... for this post I have tried to take some more attractive photo's of this stuff which is absolutely everywhere at the moment.

<<< Cuckoo spit, so named because it usually appears around the time the cuckoos have migrated to our Islands, usually around April time. It actually has nothing to do with this visiting bird, or birds at all for that matter. It is created by the larvae of a tiny insect that unless you are often down to the ground (as I seem to be frequently) you won't notice it. The adults are known as Frog hoppers, due to the fact that they leap, well, like frogs! But they are even more interesting than that. The  frothy "spit" is a larval cocoon, created by bubbling the sap from the plant.

And a grand job it does too, no matter the plant it chooses to use, to surround itself with a protective "bubble wrap". This stops the tiny larvae dehydrating even in dryer weather.

Check out website www.cuckoospit.com and some amazing facts come to light . The adult frog hopper "can jump even further than a flea!" and even better than that ... "It does this with over 400g of acceleration.To put this into perspective, jet pilots are trained to tolerate 9g,anymore and they would black out.The average adult would black out if you were only to exceed 5g!" Wow!

<<< I don't know whether the rain instigated this droplet descent for this little larvae that thought it was safe on a thistle, but if you look carefully you can just see the green spot close to the bottom of the foam, that's the larvae. I think this unlucky one is about to be flooded out of it's home. Frog hoppers are a large family, Cercopoidea, which is split into three groups. Tiny little creatures, bigger than fleas, they make an audible "click" as they leap (for those with good hearing). But this year is the most I have ever seen this phenomenon. The stuff is everywhere! On all different types of shrubs and grasses, I'm guessing at least one minute species loves all this wet weather.

But, the sad thing this year, is that the cuckoo, normally heard in abundance around here, has been less in evidence. A much heard but rarely sighted bird, I have in past years seen many, not this year. Usually the beech woods all have a cuckoo territory, but there has been a lack of that unique sound in the last three months. However, this year has seen an increase of swifts migrating here from Southern Africa alonside our normal swallow population. Lovely to see them. But one sad piece of news, it seems that grazing sheep have frightened away my nesting pipit from the three eggs, which have not been rotated for a few days now and no sign of birds leaving or returning.

The other day they were covered in rain drops.

And they were not the only things to get very, very wet!!!