Websailor's Wacky Wildlife World
Created | Updated May 7, 2008
A quirky look at wildlife. To be taken with a pinch of
salt, but with more than a grain of truth!
September Song
I am fortunate to live just a few yards from our local country park, yet I don't seem able to walk in it as often as I would like. A bit
like folk who live at the seaside, but don't go to the beach as often as they might!
On a beautiful, sunny September day last week I did set aside some time to walk and I found it a real tonic. I immediately made a promise to myself to do it more often. Armed with a thumb stick, I headed for the path through the wilder part, some of it ancient woodland, avoiding the surfaced walkway. It is rough terrain with lots of holes, brambles and overhanging branches, so stout but not very glamorous shoes were the order of the day. I usually take a litter picker and bag with me, but decided this day was to be for 'me', for enjoyment, and not to do my civic duty!
The first thing I noticed was the abundance of blackberries still uneaten by the wildlife or locals. Then a few yards further on, I saw boughs of elder weighed down with clusters of tiny purple-black berries and rose hips sprawling through the bushes, bright orange-red. The hawthorn bushes were laden with berries, as were the rowan (mountain ash) trees. My cotoneaster at home has more berries on it than I have ever seen and the robins and dunnocks love them. Once upon a time, when I had two sons to care for, I made elderberry and apple jam, blackberry jelly and rosehip syrup too, raiding this glorious free larder. Ah, those were the days!
One of the reasons for my walk was to see if I could guess why 'our' badgers were not visiting our garden as much and not eating as
much either! Foxes too, though often heard, had not visited much. It was soon clear why. An abundance of natural food was all around me. We had at last had a good deal of rain, so the badgers staple diet of earthworms would be plentiful. No doubt woodmice, shrews and other small mammals would be foraging too, only to become someone's next meal. In addition to the elderberries, blackberries and rosehips, the ground beneath my feet crunched with acorns and crab apples and there was even a young apple tree loaded with apples. They were not quite big enough or ripe enough to pick and I did not know what variety they were.
The lands hereabout were once orchards and the houses where I live each had a fruit tree left in the garden from the orchard days. This tree, however, was young, so did it come from a dropped apple core, a seed deposited by a blue tit, or was it a throwback to past times? I don't know, but I bet the badgers will be queueing when the apples fall. They might even climb up this small tree if they are hungry enough! I did find badger pawprints in one muddy area. Wish I'd had some plaster of Paris with me! It felt quite spooky to know that they might be underground just a few feet away.
Last year we had hardly any acorns, so it was good to see a bumper crop everywhere and it explains why we have not seen a single Jay at
McWebbie's Diner since 26 August. Gusty winds brought down many acorns early. Badgers, too, like acorns, so perhaps that is why everything had been eaten but the peanuts? I noticed that conkers from the horse-chestnut trees were scattered all over grass verges, but at this stage brought down by high winds and not yet ripe. They won't be there long once the children come looking! I count myself lucky to live in an area with heavily tree-lined streets and many green areas.
Walking a little further, I was startled to hear crashing in the undergrowth. Was I being stalked? I stopped and felt for my mobile phone, then saw the cause of the racket. A woodpigeon had been raiding the elder for its berries and as I have noticed before, our 'woodies' get somewhat inebriated after feasting on this bountiful seasonal crop! It lunged for a branch, missed and came tumbling down through the branches, wings and legs flailing till it landed at the bottom — none the worse for the experience but distinctly woozy!
Soon an alien sound assailed my ears, spoiling my peaceful oasis. I cringed. Someone was using a chainsaw! Now, some people regard these as essential tools in the care of woodland, but others have a way of getting carried away with the speed and ease with which they
can dramatically shout 'Timber!'. In this case, it was work on the railway which was later to cause great disturbance to the sett 'our' badgers live in. We still have one brock making regular visits every three days or so and we live in hope that the disturbance is not permanent and that the whole family will return when the weather gets chillier and food more scarce.
Having had many humid days and nights, I discovered fairy-ring mushrooms, Marasmius oreades. These toadstools often mingle with the inedible clitocybe species, so I wasn't about to collect any just in case I got the wrong ones. I used to get these a lot on my lawn, but so much wildlife tramps up and down it now that I doubt they would stand a chance, and I haven't seen any fairies at the bottom of my garden since I don't know when! I looked for birch polypore, virtually only found on silver birch trees, but saw none. Perhaps some will appear on my own tree in the garden eventually. Not edible, its cork-like texture made it useful in times gone by as razor strops, tinder and for polishing, so if it appears in my garden I shall at least have some tinder to light the fire on chilly autumn evenings.
Enjoying the blue skies, warm sunshine and occasional birdsong, I wandered on, losing myself in the peace and quiet. Rounding a bend in the path, I encountered a most beautiful sight: a huge stand of tall plants with white, pink-to-purple flowers. They were clearly popular with the local bees and butterflies, as they were humming busily around. As I got nearer I could see the flowers were similar to foxgloves, but with lips like Mick Jagger's! I then realised what I was looking at: Himalayan balsam. Oh dear! What a shame. Such a lovely plant, but in entirely the wrong place and a real danger to our native plants.
You see, it is an introduced, invasive plant which tends to be preferred by our bees and other insects, to the detriment of our own flowers which need pollinating. It is a waterside plant, but spreads far beyond the riverbanks to colonise large areas to the exclusion of our native flora. It joins other introduced plants which are causing havoc in our countryside, like giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed1. No doubt at some stage the rangers and local conservation group volunteers will come and clear the area, but in the meantime I have to admit to just enjoying the beautiful sight of bees going about their business in this pretty setting.
I moved quietly nearer to the river, watching robins, magpies, woodpigeons and noisy crows through my binoculars and meeting just one human with dog. I glimpsed the occasional mallard, coot and moorhen in the shallows. Wandering further, I encountered ducks, swans and that other introduced species, the Canada goose. I take care not to venture too near in the spring, as they are all very protective of their young, but at this time of year all they are interested in is what food humans have for them! On this occasion I had no duck/swan food to offer them and I don't like giving them bread, as they get far too much of that from other sources.
Every time I pass this way I long to 'get lucky' and see a kingfisher, but I have not managed it so far. We have otter, muntjac deer and, unfortunately, the occasional mink (another introduced species) resident hereabouts and though I have friends who have seen them I have yet to catch sight of any. Cheeky grey squirrels skipping into the undergrowth or up a tree with some delicacy was the best I could manage this trip. Perhaps if I had a dog to walk I might venture there more often and see such delights? On the other hand, it always seems to be dog-walkers that make the most gruesome finds, so I think I will give that a miss.
After a walk such as this, I always come back home and reach for one book. Not a textbook or field guide, but a lovely book written and
illustrated in 1906 by a lady who lived not too far away from here. She frequented all the countryside in which I spent my younger days, but decades before me. Her name was Edith Holden. The book brings on such a bout of nostalgia every time that I can almost smell the wildflowers. There is always something new to discover in her notes that I had missed before. No mention of Himalayan balsam there, though, nor Japanese knotweed or giant hogweed. My father would have been six years of age when this diary was written, so I have a good knowledge of what this area was like before roads, housing estates and industrial parks were built and I could weep for the loss of fields, trees, wildflowers and wildlife with every page I turn.
Edith Holden was the very independent daughter of a Midlands paint manufacturer. One of seven children, she lived in the village of
Olton2 in Warwickshire, illustrating books for a
living, and it is The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady of which I write. There is a calmness about her diary which reflects the countryside at that time and it gives me great pleasure every time I open it. The excellent illustrations enable me to identify anything I don't recognise on my walks and the text in her own handwriting makes it feel as if it was written by a friend. The book was left to me by an aunt who had sparked my interest in all things wild and had also lived in that period.
Recent events show that many people deeply involved in wildlife conservation seem to meet an untimely end and Edith Holden was no different. She died at the age of 49, drowning in the River Thames at Kew, apparently when collecting buds from chestnut trees. Her diary gives no inkling of her personal life. Apparently her illustration work, and that done for personal pleasure, stopped on her move to London and her marriage in 1911. There are many question marks concerning her nine-year marriage and subsequent death. She was believed to have
missed the Midlands wildlife and her family and perhaps the unusual freedom that she had as a single Edwardian lady.
Some years ago I attended a talk given by a person who had moved into the house 'Gowan Bank', originally occupied by Edith Holden's family. Yes, it is still there! She felt strongly drawn to buying the house and in renovating and restoring it found many coincidences, with things happening which made her feel as if she was being guided in all that she did. It was a fascinating talk, but still left Edith Holden's life a mystery never to be solved.
There are still pockets of wildlife habitat hidden away throughout the area she once wandered, but increasingly large and small areas are being built on and soon our Tolkien country will meet up with Stratford-on-Avon's Shakespeare country and the wonderful wildlife
paradise which all three enjoyed will be swallowed up, save for country parks such as this one.
During my walk, I could see a few leaves were curling and turning brown and yellow but this was more from the recent prolonged drought
this year than any autumn tint. Perhaps because I was born in October, this is my favourite time of year. It lacks the restlessness that comes with spring and is truly the 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness', as John Keats said.
The dazzling colours, the sunsets, the constantly changing weather patterns, and the slight chill in the air bring the thought of cosy
nights by the fire, evenings with mulled wine and making toast by the open fire, crisp and hot and garnished with jams and chutneys made in
this time of plenty. Potatoes and chestnuts roasted underneath the fire taste divine! Chilly mornings and sunny days filled with birds
arriving from all over the world as we wonder what will appear next. Oh, yes, definitely my favourite time, before dull, dark, cold winter
sets in and the badgers disappear.
Having just written the above, I looked back at Edith's diary again and found it interesting that she noted on 30 September, 1906 that some leaves were turning and others had dried and shrivelled up, doubtless due to the long drought they had just experienced. Exactly a hundred years ago today as I write! Some things haven't changed, and may it still be so on 30 September 2106.
Websailor's Wacky Wildlife World Archive
