Nature notes March 2011

With March comes the promise of spring and the leaving behind of dark winter days. The hedge bottoms are full of snowdrops intermixed in places with carpets of yellow celandines. Leaf buds are fattening rapidly with their promise of glossy green leaves and the first shoots of woodland plants are showing through.
Birds are making their first attempts at song for the year with chaffinch, green finch, coal tit, great tit and song thrush all adding to the year round song of robins and the raucous calls of rooks and jackdaws. A couple of milder days have already brought out the first optimistic bats at dusk and frogs and toads are beginning their annual migration to spawn. There is much evidence of badger activity along the footpaths where these night foragers are tearing up the ground to search for worms and grubs now that the ground is softening after the frosts.
Now is a great time to go out and find the tracks and signs that nature’s creatures leave behind and gather information from these clues about the species that are seldom seen but are there none the less. Arm yourself with a good field guide and out you go.
The herbage is at its lowest giving access to the ground in and around hedgerows and walls. The local snail species can be identified by the discarded shells and the empty shells of nuts and seeds give clues to the animal that made a meal of the soft inner kernel by the type of hole made and teeth marks left. If you look around the bottom of hedgerow trees you will find mounds of these discarded casings along with the stored caches for future use. Even the lichens and mosses clinging to walls can be studied much closer along with all manner of things that lodge in the nooks and crannies between the stones.
Badger and deer paths will be easily seen and you may find hairs from these animals where they have squeezed under wire fencing.
Look at the soft mud around puddles for tracks left by creatures passing by. Much can be learned about local species this way.
Becoming a wildlife detective will add much greater interest to your time outdoors. Just being able to make use of all the information that is around you helps to make your walks much more rewarding and these field skills are always worth improving.
Happy hunting

January 2011

The new year came in on the tail end of the coldest period of weather for many a year. Wildlife will have suffered but the clearing snow re-opens opportunities for birds and animals to feed.
The rare waxwing can still be seen by those lucky enough to stumble on a party feeding on the berries of hawthorn, rowan or any other tree still bearing a crop of inviting fruits.
Large flocks of fieldfare roam the fields and woodland edges, giving away their presence with loud ‘chack chack’ calls. These winter visitors from Scandinavia may be joined by redwing distinguished by bright chestnut flashes along the flanks. Both are handsome birds, welcome visitors at this quiet time of year.
Blackbirds have returned to the litter amongst hedge bottoms, scratting about looking for food items. Robins take advantage of the disturbed ground along with dunnocks and tiny wrens who flit down from their wall hide-holes.
A short walk to the woods along the valley top will give sightings of many birds scouring the trees for tid-bits. Parties of long tailed tits pass through, their constant contact calls keeping each member in touch with the rest. Mouse- like treecreepers climb the bare trunks, scouring the nooks and crannies before flying to the bottom of the next tree. Always upwards, upwards.
Great spotted woodpeckers make their way across open sections with their characteristic bounding flight, calling as they go. Great tits, blue tits and coal tits can also be seen with the occasional striking looking bullfinch making an appearance.
Now the ground has cleared of the deep carpets of snow badgers will be out and about again looking for food. Look out for their diggings on grass verges and along field sides where their distinctive five-toed prints might be seen in the soft excavated ground.
For those brave folk willing to take a short walk after dark it is worth noting that we are in the middle of the foxes breeding season. Listen out for the eerie screaming mating calls that ring out across the fields, sounds that generations ago gave rise to rumours of roaming witches and ghouls. The hoots of tawny owls and rustles of things moving about in the dark add to the atmosphere.
Who needs television.

Early Autumn

As late summer rolls into autumn the trees are starting to change to the seasonal golds and browns. Acorns and horse chestnuts litter the ground amongst the steadily growing carpet of cast leaves where squirrels bound, burying stores for the winter. Hawthorns and hazel are heavy with fruit, a treat for woodmice and voles who’s piles of discarded kernels can be found beneath the bushes.
The hedgerows are full of parties of finches gleaning the last of the grain from field margins or scouring newly seeded acres.
Birdsong is limited but the melancholy robin can still be heard as he continues to lay claim to his year round territory. Starlings have formed large flocks which criss-cross the village and blackbirds are busy amongst the leaf litter.
Just outside the village a large party of golden plover have set up residence. Their piping calls can be heard as they take to the sky in their characteristic fluid chevrons, circling round before alighting once more. They are often joined by their lapwing cousins who share the fields with them.
I have seen a buzzard over the valley on several occasions lately, soaring effortlessly over the woodlands cloaking the valley sides.. Hopefully, as these beautiful birds continue to make a return to the area he will take up residence.
Take a drive out in the late evening and you will probably see a badger out foraging, taking the last opportunity to put on fat before the winter sets in and his favourite food source, earthworms, go deep underground. Watch out for barn owls and tawny owls too especially atop the hedgerows and little owls at all times of the day. These rugby ball shaped birds can often be seen silhouetted on the top of telegraph poles or open topped trees.
As autumn advances and nature retreats, shedding its cloak of leaves and herbage, more opportunities open up to see the wildlife around. So, coats and wellies on. Binoculars at the ready. Out you go.

Early Summer

May


Early summer has turned the landscape into an emerald vista of fresh green leaves and grasses interspersed with carpets of bluebells that festoon the shady banks and hedgerows. They compliment the bright yellow clumps of primroses and the emerging bright white star-like flowers of the greater stitchwort. On the woodland edge you can catch the pungent aroma of wild garlic whilst straining to hear that elusive cuckoo further along the valley. Bugle, dog violets, speedwell and red campion all add to natures palette of colour.
The morning is full of birdsong as the dawn chorus reaches its peak and the sky once again rings to the screeches of swifts alongside swallows and martins pursuing insects on the wing.
The first ducklings have arrived on the village pond along with the first young of the resident pied wagtails. Another visitor to the pond is a grey wagtail who darts at insects from the damp margins, using the exposed rocks as a launch pad.
Keep a close eye on the rooftops and you will see starlings and sparrows taking beakfuls of food to their young in nests under the eaves. You can here the explosion of sound from many young mouths as the parent arrives.
Take a short walk after dinner and see if you can see the tawny owl in the trees around the church usually pinpointed by the scolding calls of blackbirds and then stroll along the lane behind the village. You may spot the fox cubs that have begun to venture out and the roe deer often seen at dusk. You will certainly enjoy the countryside at its best.

Early Spring 2010

There is a certain stillness at the moment, a feeling of quiet anticipation as nature pauses before the real awakening of spring. Leaf buds are forming and hazel bushes are draped with yellow ‘lambs tails’ which give off clouds of dusty pollen in the slight breeze. With last years vegetation now clear, fox and badger trails can be seen beneath the hedgerow with much of the grass verge disturbed by the work of the badgers digging for worms and grubs. The snowdrops, now at their peak have been joined by the bright yellow of celandines with the first shoots of wild garlic as a backdrop. Beneath the thick tangle of twigs and branches, amongst the litter and secreted in old stumps can be found the remains of many meals enjoyed by the hedgerow residents. Hazel kernels and other seeds gnawed open by mice and voles, snail shells smashed by thrushes and acorns split by hungry squirrels.
Old nests are now visible, deep amongst the leafless bushes as the song of their previous residents gather pace with the impending season. Blackbirds and song thrush are particularly vocal with yellow hammers making their first tentative attempts at song. Chaffinch and robin compete for ‘air-time’. A great spotted woodpecker bounds across the allotments and the barn owl can be seen regularly hunting along the road into the village.
There is no skylark yet. But soon, and then spring really will be in the air.

February Nature Notes

The New Year came in with an icy blast that has still not released its grip. Heavy snow, frost and ice has made life difficult for local wildlife. Birds have relied heavily on garden feeders with more and more not so common species taking advantage of the food on offer. Woodpeckers, nuthatch and siskin have all been making more than their usual visits with pheasants becoming regular visitors to some gardens, clearing the ground around bird tables of dropped seeds and other scraps.
So bad has it been out on the moors that many grouse have left their natural habitat and taken to farmyards and lowland fields looking for a meal.
The seasons move on however and the first snowdrops are now braving the weather, their nodding white, green flecked heads gracing many a local hedgerow and bank side.
Birds are making their first tentative attempts at song in an optimistic challenge to the weather with rooks already establishing nesting sites in the woods and copses. Tawny owls are particularly vocal as they stake a claim to territory.
A nearby badger sett shows evidence of soft bedding being dragged down into the underground chambers, a sign of cubs this year and if you look carefully you will see the first daffodils pushing their blue green shoots through the leaf litter.
It has been a hard winter but nature is telling us that spring is finally on its way.

Early Autumn Nature Notes

There is adefinite nip in the air now that autmn is rapidly approaching. Trees are starting to change colour as their leaves take on seasonal hues and the breeze has a distinct edge.

The surrounding paths are showing much evidence of badger activity as these night timevisitors gorge themselves on berries,putting on fat for the lean winter months ahead. An old hawthorn log behind the house is being gradually ripped apart as the badgers seek out grubs from its rotten interior.

Hedgerows are alive with mixed parties of finches looking for seeds in the field margins and amongst the stubble still to be ploughed in after completion of the harvest. The declining tree sparrow can be seen in some numbers for those who care to look carefully along with brambling, goldfinch and siskin. The contact calls of whitethroats rasp from deep within the tangle of branches and, though quiet after the summer seranading, the occaisional skylark can still be seen over the fields. The first golden plover have arrived gracing the sky just outside the village with accompanying parties of lapwings.

North of the village, from the path to the cowsheds, a roe hind with a youngster in tow can be seen each evening as she moves cautiously into the open from the surrounding woodland. Her fawn jumps and skips like an over-sized lamb under the watchful eye of its mother. They are finally lost from view as the sun sets over the distant hills and the evening moves into night.

Late Summer Nature Notes

It is pleasing to be able to say that butterflies seem to be everywhere at the moment. Large and small whites can be seen at every turn and are particularly abundant amongst the more neglected areas of the allotment behind the house and in the adjoining field. Small browns, peacocks and small tortoiseshells are taking advantage of the late summer sun along with painted ladies that have arrived in large numbers this year.

Although the swifts have left, large numbers of swallows and martins grace the skies above the village and collect in large numbers on telephone lines and rooftops. One of the resident mallards has brought a new batch of ducklings to the village pond.

Brambles are now producing masses of fruit and attracting many birds and animals to the feast including woodmice and voles that can be seen climbing amongst the barbed stems. Thrushes, blackbirds and greenfinch are regular visitors along with the less common bullfinch.

A late evening walk along the quiet back lanes will reward you with views of roe deer and hares out in the open field. As dusk gathers listen and watch out for badgers and hedgehogs snuffling about in the undergrowth seeking worms and grubs. Bats can still be seen pursuing insects into the night and the call of tawny owls floats across the village. As darkness falls listen for the eerie screech of little owls calling from the outlying fields.

Summertime in Newton upon Rawcliffe

Though most birds have stopped singing with the passing of the main breeding season there are still many birds in evidence.

Swallows, martins and squadrons of screaming swifts pursue insects on the wing.

Hedgerow birds such as chaffinches and yellow hammers are starting to flock as the time for nesting finishes. Whitethroats can be heard deep within the thickest scrub calling with their harsh contact notes. The village is alive with the chirrups of sparrows and family groups of pied wagtails patrol the village green alongside blackbirds and jackdaws.

Roadside verges are festooned with clumps of mauve-blue meadow cranesbill and the drying heads of cow parsley. The stately pink spires of rosebay willows herb tower over everything backed by the emerging white trumpet flowers of hedge bindweed.

Young rabbits can be seen along the roadside taking their first forays into the outside world and hares are much in evidence along the quieter back lanes.

Nature’s daily routine is now carried out to a back drop of busy combines and tractors as the harvest gets under way. The resulting stubble fields will soon fill with birds looking for dropped grain and roe deer will be visible again as they venture out in the warm evenings and who knows the odd badger maybe!