A quirky look at wildlife. To be taken with a pinch of
salt, but with more than a grain of truth!

When I first moved to my current house it was just before Christmas and the gardens were bare of leaves, there being no evergreen trees to be seen. Privet hedges were the normal boundaries between gardens then and provided some relief from a rather a bleak outlook. This was only improved by a heavy fall of snow later, brightening things up considerably.

In later years people could not find time to trim hedges (home to numerous birds and cover for numerous other creatures) and they were grubbed out, including mine, much to my annoyance! Fences replaced them, initially looking smart but gradually falling in to disrepair. Much windier weather sent panels flying and replacements were costly. Eventually our neighbours seemed to register the lack of greenery and assorted conifers appeared here and there. Leylandii, fast growing, and forming a thick neat hedge if well maintained, were springing up everywhere.

I began to register that there were more woodpigeons visiting, then Collared doves appeared, and they clearly liked the various conifers for billing and cooing, resting, nesting and procreation. The trees grew apace, in all shades from golden yellow, through to very dark grey/ green and the outlook became very pleasant. The different shapes changed the view from my upper windows.

Christmas trees were planted after the festive season, adding another dimension, including my favourite - the Scots Pine (no needle drop). More new arrivals to this semi woodland paradise appeared - Coal tits, Chaffinches and later Siskins, all of whom liked the food provided and the cover afforded. Blue tits also revelled in the many insects to be found in conifers. The icing on the cake, for me at least, was the arrival the year before last of a delightful new character, a Goldcrest. So very tiny, with a brilliant splash of golden yellow and a black stripe on its tiny head.

Then, to my horror, the railway banks were cleared of trees, a neighbour cut to half size their eight or so conifers and fewer birds appeared in the garden. Fewer Chaffinches and fewer Greenfinches (who like conifers for nesting) were the most noticeable. I can see two more conifers next door might be in danger of being cut down, though they do not block light, encroach on anyone else's garden or cause a nuisance. In fact they provide much needed shade in the current hot spell and shelter for birds from harsh weather and marauding Sparrowhawks at other times.

Partly as a result of the uproar caused by 'skyscraper' Leylandii hedges, it seems that conifers are somewhat out of favour. More are disappearing, but I would ask anyone thinking of cutting them down to think first. Yes, the ground beneath can be a little barren and they can be difficult to keep under control, but unless they are causing serious problems please consider leaving at least one or two for the many birds who benefit from the seeds and insects.

The conifer label covers many varieties - pine, fir, cypress, spruce and juniper being the more commonly recognised. Conifers produced in monoculture plantations provide fast growing timber, but drastically reduce the diversity of wildlife in such plantations, though much wildlife does still survive. In the past, plantations were planted in highly unsuitable habitat, for a fast buck, but it soon became evident that it was a huge environmental error and the schemes were quickly abandoned.

The type of wildlife varies according to the age of the trees - as I have seen here, as the trees have progressed to near maturity. Commercial forestry, depending on location, reveals that young trees provide good habitat for small mammals, and many birds such as Short- eared owls, Meadow pipits, Skylarks, Whinchats and the like.

Taller trees which have seen grassland disappear become magnets for Chaffinches, Wrens, Thrushes, Redpolls etc. Larger trees such as in our locality, bring Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Coal tits, Siskins and Goldcrests, and with such an abundance of small birds the Sparrowhawk is almost certain to be present.

Further North in the UK and much of Europe, conifer forests are home to a special favourite of mine, the Crested Tit. One particular race of Crested tit was specific to Scotland, but numbers decreased rapidly with the felling of old Caledonian pine forest. They are now recovering thanks to much conservation work and are on the Green List, being of no immediate concern. Sitka spruce, introduced from the west coast of North America in 1831, was planted in vast numbers after World War One when timber supplies were short. It is now the dominant species, certainly in south west Scotland.

The strange Crossbill, with its distinctive beak, is resident in various pockets of the UK and Ireland, and when cone crops fail in some part of Europe 'irruptions' occur - that is, large numbers of birds will appear suddenly from elsewhere to take advantage of available food here. Such strange happenings can be seen, too, with Waxwings and other birds dependent on a particular food source.

The sound of a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming is one of the joys of spring and summer, when it has a varied choice of foods, but it can be heard loud and clear in winter when it has a liking for seeds from pine and spruce cones. The cones are jammed into crevices in tree trunks before they hammer out the seeds.

Parts of Europe and Scandinavia have another pine seed fan in the shape of the Nutcracker. Unlike the Crossbill which can open tightly closed cones, the Nutcracker has a unique habit of storing food from the previous season. They are also prone to 'irruptions' and fluctuations in population, depending on available food sources.

The smallest European bird and one of the conifer 'clan', is the delightful Firecrest, even smaller than the Goldcrest, and weighing less than half the weight of a Blue tit. I find that truly hard to imagine having been privileged to hold a Blue tit for about fifteen minutes! The Firecrest is similar in appearance to a Goldcrest, but unlike the latter who is very 'human' friendly, the Firecrest is very shy and unobtrusive.

The Goldcrest often consorts with flocks of tits, but not so the shy Firecrest. Both birds build fragile nests, little 'hammocks' of feathers, hair and moss, wrapped in spiders' webs and hung from beneath conifer branches or amongst ivy.

My final star of the conifer 'clan', and probably the largest, is the handsome Black woodpecker. All black, and as big as a Crow! The male has a bright red crown, the female a red patch on the nape. It has exceptional hearing (it can hear carpenter ants inside a tree trunk) and a powerful beak. It is found where conifer and beech abound including areas of central Europe. There have been reported sightings of these birds in the UK, but none have been confirmed as yet, and may be down to mistaken identity or wishful thinking!

The popularity of more exotic conifers has also brought moths such as Blair's Shoulder-knot and Cypress Pug, along with the
Juniper Shieldbug thus adding to our bio-diversity and no doubt providing additional food for other species.

Of course, along with that increased bio-diversity can come the news of new diseases and pests such as the Cypress aphid from southern Europe. These can either be regarded as a blessing or a plague, depending on whether you regard conifers like Leylandii as friend or foe!

Websailor's Wacky Wildlife
World Archive

Websailor

31.07.08 Front Page

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