Nature Notes from Hilltop News

Nature Notes

If you enjoy living or visiting the Chilterns you cannot fail to be impressed with the variety of landscape, wildlife and the particular weather it offers be it over the seasons of the year or just on a single day. What's more on any given day, the countryside in which the hilltop villages nestle is often characterised by having its own micro-climate compared to the neighbouring towns and countryside beneath it. This in turn has influenced the composition of local habitats and the occurrence of wildlife.

No one set of eyes, ears and sense of smell can capture the essence of the natural history of the hilltop villages. The following nature notes first published in the Hilltop News are just a simple attempt to reflect on the flora and fauna we enjoy through the seasons.

These articles were previously published in "Hilltop News".

Chris Brown
January 2004

Weather and Nature Notes – December 2007

What's black and white but read all over?

Looking back at September and October’s weather we see a shift from cooler, wetter spring and summer weather patterns to a milder, drier autumn season. There was little more than an inch of rain in the months of September and October and November has started in much the same way. The outlook for December and January is for a mild winter with less rainfall than the average of the last ten years although perhaps a little wetter than last winter.

Nature’s autumn colours – the reds, yellows and browns have largely given way to nature’s winter and its shades of black, white and grey. Take a stroll or even look out the window any bright morning around now and you cannot fail to appreciate why artists favour this time of the year for those shafts of slanting ‘winter light’. The polarising of the light adds a distinctive quality to subjects for painter or photographer alike. Everything in view, from an awe-inspiring landscape down to just a few blades of frost-scarred grass seem to be magnified, their otherwise overlooked features now sharply in focus.

Spring and summer are the seasons where perhaps the need to propagate is the chief driver of wildlife activity. Falling temperatures and the shortening day length condition wildlife to concentrate their search for food over shortened sessions and seek shelter for the majority of time.

Black and white long-tailed tits, despite that blush of reddish-pink they also display, are unconcerned it seems by attracting attention. Groups of 10-20 seem conjoined somehow by an invisible elastic thread as they noisily process from tree to tree in search of invertebrates and occasionally seeds and wizened fruits that remain ‘in situ’. Meanwhile great spotted woodpeckers monochrome save a red punk ‘Mohican’ frequent our peanuts.

The lapwing is one of the more distinctive resident birds. Visually, with its ‘brylcreemed’ crest and black and white wings it makes a spectacular, synchronised, semaphore display when taking off en masse from a field. Audibly its high-pitched piped call, as though the admiral of the fleet was being signalled on board, provides one of its alternative names - Peewit. Although, sadly, there has been a decline in numbers, 42% since the seventies, there are moves underway to help with grants being provided to landowners and to farmers, for whom in return, it provides a service by removing infestations of leatherjackets and flukeworms from sheep pasture. There are records of one or two pairs nesting on arable land in St Leonards during the 1990’s but none recently. If you are very lucky, you may catch a glimpse between autumn and spring of them en route between upland arable fields and the wetland areas around Tring.

Holly, a common occurrence in our beech woods, is one of the few sources of bright colours at this time of year. It is dioecious, i.e. separate male and female bushes, with only the female bushes resplendent with red berries. Our woodland once ran with pigs in the autumn and holly was nurtured as an impenetrable boundary, keeping the porcines in and poachers and predators out. Holly was also an important source of fuel. Only the younger leaves have thorns though - pointing alternatively up and downwards – and strengthened by thickening of the cell walls. The newer leaves contain the most nutritious materials for deer and have, through evolutionary pressure, developed thorns to protect it from overgrazing. The holly has further refined this evolutionary reaction by progressively recycling the valuable reinforcements from older into the young leaves.

Both black and white bryonies are ‘December’ plants, showy this month but inconspicuous for most of the year, they creep through hedgerows. But despite the name they are otherwise unrelated. Neither has leaves on display this time of year but the black variety furnishes red berries and the white has pale scarlet berries, is related to water melon and also goes by the name of ‘English mandrake’.

Squirrels build their winter drays this time of year, visible in the crux of trees. We are not, of course, blessed with red squirrels in the Chilterns anymore but the grey squirrel which drove them out, does occasionally sport a black variety and near here is where the black melanic variety was introduced into Woburn Park at the end of the 19th century, and they have spread along the Chilterns since then.

Ponds also reflect the winter scene, the dark beneath the surface. Everything slows to a near stop during the cold period but the carnivorous insects such as dragonfly larvae do feed periodically. Another invertebrate, the water spider, in summer rests up during the daytime in a bubble of air it has gathered at the surface and pulled down trapped in a silken web, which is then spun in the water plants. After dark it gathers around its hairy abdomen sufficient air to set off and hunt. In winter it may remain within its silken cocoon or use empty snail shells sealed with silk.

Any account of black and white is not complete without mention of badgers. Their name is derived from becheur, the French for ‘digger’. When available they have been known to excavate up to 200 earthworms in a single night. Badgers remain active throughout the winter although pregnant females retreat to their setts in January to give birth to their cubs.

Time to suggest some more Christmas gifts, this time for children. First, the delightfully titled ‘Under One Rock, Slugs, Bugs and other Ughs’ by Anthony D. Fredericks or ‘The Horrible Science Annual 2008’ by Nick Arnold and Tony De Saulles. As an alternative, how about a subscription to ‘Buglife’ the charity for invertebrates - www.buglife.org?

As always looking forward to receiving your questions and comments.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Weather and Nature Notes – October 2007

An Autumn Rainbow
“I can't tell you with what pain I think of that autumn at Cholesbury - the yellow leaves - and the wet nights...”.

“Wet nights” - there have been a few of these since my last Nature Notes. The Chilterns and with the exception of Buckingham our county, escaped the worst of the flooding that plagued Gloucestershire, Hereford, Oxford and Berkshire. Rainfall was just over 2 inches far less then elsewhere. Despite this it has been the wettest summer since 1912. Meanwhile hot days were at a premium although we did manage to get to 29°C at the start of August. Looking ahead the Met Office tell us we can expect a slightly warmer and dryer October and November with less wind than normal. This combination of conditions makes it more likely that we will see frequent night-time and early morning foggy conditions.

“Yellow leaves” - do sum up our autumn scene. Mind you given how upside-down the climate has been of late how much yellow we see is anyone’s guess. Trees cannot afford to be extravagant and waste all that energy and the nutrients, which went into producing leaves. So the combined effects of cooler temperatures and shortening day-length trigger the change, which is why it is sometimes prolonged and sometimes brief. What we see when leaves turn from green to yellow and then if weather permits red, is a well-ordered retreat from leaf to sap of all those vital components that were once chlorophyll and the other complex chemicals needed to process all that carbon dioxide. The crimson colouration is a range of pigments called anthocyanins. These are the same colour agents that are found in blackberries, currents, grapes and some vegetables. In the leaves they protect the cell contents from being damaged by ultra violet light in much the same way that a sunscreen works. When again the sap begins to rise in the spring, the tree is well-provisioned to kick-start the new season’s production.

One of the unique sights and sounds of late Autumn, November to be more precise, is the crescendo of whistling and chattering that emanates from a roost of starlings. So characteristic is the display that poets and writers have coined a term for it - a murmuration of starlings. This is no cacophony of noise but a highly synchronised orchestration. The first to arrive select the temporary roost. There is a low level murmur but this does not last for long as soon the early arrivals inaugurate a tune–up session and much as the chorus in the opera may be found throat-gargling clearing their glottis or practicing their chords ahead of the first Act the founding group of players warms up. This draws in further birds and the rest of the flock suddenly descends and the overture begins. There is no obvious choirmaster to direct events but the whole troupe seem to know how they should perform and how to harmonise with their colleagues. The overture ‘finito’... Silence... some birds depart for other roosts, others leave, circle and return and yet more arrive. Act 2 starts louder than before but still muffled and constrained. A further break, more comings and goings and Act 3 commences, louder and more sustained than before. All the birds seem to know this is the final Act, the noise builds to one final crescendo. It is as though they’re all holding simultaneous conversations and with the sweep of the baton the performance ends, suddenly. Darkness is falling and an invisible curtain has come down. There’s no applause, no encore. The birds depart for their night-time roots. No ordinary departure though for these birds instead a twisting, swirling, darting, stalling iridescent cloud of blues, indigo and violet feathers and the drumming from a million wing-beats. So what is this all about? It's natural for birds to sign-off the day at dusk with their own signature tune. Normally this is a solitary pursuit. Starlings are always on the move both from day-to-day and when migrating long distances. They rely on each other to find sources of food and good shelter. This behaviour serves to reinforce the strength of the community and a successful flock will attract birds in from other flocks. The sudden and highly co-ordinated departure is thought to reduce the treat from predators, such as a sparrowhawk or hobby who may be waiting in the wings to pick-off stragglers that might otherwise be left chasing on behind the flock.

If the warmer weather we had in September continues into October there should be plenty of insects to be seen. Over-wintering butterflies such as Peacocks and Brimstones will be found on blackberries and later the flowers of ivy. Until recently the Red Admiral butterfly was not able to survive winters in the UK. New butterflies arrive from the continent each spring. Now, as long as the weather remains relatively mild, they've being found to successful over winter. 16-Spot Orange Ladybirds are particularly gregarious and can be found congregating on the outside of sheds, fence posts and tree bark before migrating en masse into the crevices.

It is the time of year to make some suggestions for Christmas presents. As a youngster a book I remember secreting away off my father's bookshelf was Food for Free by Richard Mabey. It’s a no-nonsense book, which mixes plenty of information about the plants you can safely eat with traditional stories about them, their uses and the beliefs that were associated with them which were often the source for their names. I am pleased to see it still in print. On a totally different track if you have ever wondered what the names of clouds are and found the reference books difficult to interpret I can suggest the Cloudspotters Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney.

By the way the locally apposite quotation above, is from one of England’s most renowned Authors, DH Lawrence. He spent a brief, but emotion-charged period (hence the reference to ‘pain’!) over Autumn and the Christmas 1915/6 with friends at Cholesbury and in nearby Bellingdon. The events of that period are thought to have influenced his writing as he was putting the finishing touches to The Rainbow at the time. His comment above was taken from a letter in 1918 to Mary Cannan who had been living in the Windmill when Lawrence visited.

Looking forward to questions and comments as usual.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Weather and Nature Notes – August 2007

B, Ef(t) and J - Just one Small Spoonful Of Nature's Alphabet Soup

I start this month’s Notes with a maths question. What is the next number in the following sequence: 91: 85: 45: 1: 149: 74? Not even Stephen Hawking could compute the answer when I wrote this, but by the time you read this it will be no longer a mystery as these are the monthly rainfall figures in mm that fell chez nous each month this year and the next number will be the July total. The media would have you believe the unpredictable weather we are experiencing this year, reflected in these rainfall stats, and the floods in various parts of Britain provide a trite explanation that global warming suddenly taking a grip. Well I’m sorry to disappoint these ill-informed hacks but the amount of rain this year is not the only reason for the floods which is more to do with the rain last year not this raising the water table exacerbated by houses being built on flood plains without sufficient thought being given to loss of run-off areas, sewers and flood relief schemes. Thankfully, for us in the Chilterns the height above the surrounding areas and the chalk geology provide a natural drainage system or we too could be seeing water lapping at our doorsteps. What surely is an indicator of climate change (or maybe just plain insanity) has been the depositing of neat little piles of road salt on 29th June by the County Council. Beware an arctic winter is clearly imminent.

One of the last birds we have seen fledging this year has been a family of Jays. Like their cousins the magpies and crows they’re not inconspicuous and their intimidating behaviour and habit of robbing nests cause other birds to be on edge. Their Latin name is Garrulus glandarius, which says it all. The first of these two words coined by Linnaeus was derived from the fashion to keep the bird as a pet due to their ability to mimic everything from cats and lambs to cockerels and even the sound of a saw. The second word refers to the acorns, which they have a habit of secreting away in September for consumption over the food-starved winter months. Jays are mischievous but clever birds and possess an excellent special memory and use landmarks in the woodland to locate the acorns they secreted away 3 months earlier. No one is infallible and the acorns that survive the recovery programme contribute to the successful dispersal of oak trees through Chiltern woodlands. Another intelligent bird is the sparrowhawk. The abundant smaller birds start to feed on the insects that congregate on ripening fruit including many of the wild bees collecting sugars to feed syrup to the larvae. The ‘hawk stakes out a likely patch and waits for its chance to swoop.

Meanwhile another potential prey tries to be overlooked. The Harvest mouse, our smallest rodent, weighs in at no more than a 20p piece. Uniquely in Britain it has a prehensile tail and can balance on a stalk of grass. Its signature habitat as described by Gilbert White who first recorded them in fields around Selbourne in Hampshire, is a cereal crop where it makes a tennis ball-sized nest below the thick canopy of the ripening seed. More and more these miniatures of the mammal clan are finding richer pickings on motorway embankments

With all this talk of water it is an opportunity to encourage a closer look when out and about of the many ponds around that make an important contribution to the ecology of the area. We owe the existence of local ponds to two main factors, one natural and one due to man’s influence. Despite the prevalence of chalk we owe the abundance of small ponds in the area (I can immediately think of a dozen or so) to pockets of clay overlaying the chalk, the same clay that supports brick making, past and present. But think also where the ponds are to be found, as this is a clue to their survival today. Most are adjacent to roads and if not originally dug or enlarged for the purpose would have been the source of water for livestock, cows, sheep and horses. A photo from the early part of 20th century of Pallett’s Pond on Cholesbury Common, beside the road to Wigginton, clearly shows the track made by animals as they walked into or through the pond. Additionally, there must be further dozens, natural and man-made, in gardens and fields. Over the past 100 years 75%, or 1 million, ponds have been lost in the UK so those that remain plus those that have been created are crucial for the 60% of British wildlife that rely on fresh water for survival. Look out for pond skaters and whirligig beetles, both good indicators of a healthy pond. Skaters use their middle pair of legs to propel them across the water surface staying afloat thanks to thousands of tiny hairs on the base of their feet. From June onwards this year’s frogs and toads have been leaving ponds and can appear almost anywhere damp. Whilst in transition they make easy prey for the early morning grey heron. The distinguishing features of these amphibians are the smooth skin of frogs compared to warty skin of toads; frogs have two ridges along the backs whilst toads backs are flattened. Toads walk while frogs tend to hop. There are three species of newts in the UK; Great-crested, Palmate and Smooth. In their early stages they are known as efts. During summer months they feed voraciously ahead of leaving the water in October to hibernate. Common sights overhead are the Blue-tailed and Blue damsel flies as well as the Banded damoiselle with its characteristic flight showing off its black wing bands.

There are 33 native British trees (excludes imported and hybrid trees). Of these I suspect around 20-23 will be found in this part of the Chilterns (at least 19 can be found on the Commons). Some of the rarer and more unusual for the area to look out for are Black Poplar, Large-leaved Lime, Wych elm. It will be interesting to see how they fare this Autumn but given the high water-table there could well be a grand display.

As always please do send me your observations and questions.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com 758890

Weather and Nature Notes – June/July 2007

Take care to look out for a green glow and the cyanide. Take time to check the time. Take the opportunity to revel in the wonders of slime.

Once again I have cause to mention yet another new weather record. This time, April according to the understated comment on the Met Office website was ‘an exceptionally warm month’. It had the highest average temperatures for this time of year since 1914 and in central England was the warmest April since records began in the 1600’s. Locally it peaked at 24°C (on 15th). So much for April showers. I recorded just 1 mm of rain during the month (on 26th) when typically one could have expected between 1 to 3 inches! Long-range forecasting is clearly a dying art as I find the PR department at the Met Office have also got their grip on these too. So cagy to be of little value as they see it being a warmer than average summer with the odds of a real scorcher though only 8/1. Underlining how warm / dry the late spring was this year the oak beat the ash into leaf by a country mile, the latter only appearing in the first week of May. The folklore which dictates - if ash before oak = soak, if oak before ash = splash is reinforced by the science which tells us its all about temperature and light with leaf-burst of the oak dependant on average temperatures whilst ash is based on the length of daylight.

After many years when Butterflies rather than Moths have received all the attention, the latter are at last being given some well-deserved increased recognition. Moths are in fact far more important than butterflies for pollinating our garden flowers and shrubs. Although there are over 900 large moths species to only 70 butterflies in the UK, because they are largely night-flying, tend to appear unexpected from out of the curtains and have several less savoury myths attached to them, moths have had a bad press for a long time. Conversely, moths were favoured by the 18th century naturalists and then later as part of the Victorian obsession with collecting anything that moved. (A visit to Tring Zoological Museum will confirm this). This obsession produced some intriguing and unusual names. The Vapourer - chestnut brown with white eyespots is a very conspicuous moth to be seen at twilight flitting at speed between flowers. It was so named as this was the commonly used title for a braggart, or load-mouthed and fast talker. Meanwhile Mother Shipton was associated with a famous Yorkshire witch because it has the profile of an old hag’s face on each forewing. Of the day-flying moths, of similar hue are the cinnabar and the distinctive 5 or 6 spot burnet moths. The latter has spots of crimson set against an almost jet black background. Its sinister look matches the deadly secret this moth hides as the caterpillar, which feeds on ragwort, accumulates a cyanide derivative that is concentrated in the body of the adult. If you would like to learn more about moths you can have an opportunity over the long weekend of Friday 22nd June 2007 to Sunday 24th June 2007, As the website www.butterfly-conservation.org.uk says “everyone can search for moths and caterpillars in their own gardens and take part online in the biggest ever moth survey. Are there hawks, ermines and swifts in your garden?”

I surprised a slug yesterday in the early morning, well not any old slug but a Great Black Slug, it was not black but russet brown, it was not sluggish but was moving at pace and purposely across a grassy due-moistened path. In fact I did not surprise it but it surprised me, stopped me in my tracks just as my size 10’s were about to occupy ‘the same space and time’. Something all the best time-travellers tell you to avoid at all costs. One of 23 British species of slug it can black but also orange, stripped or even white. Unlike their diminutive cousins that can devastate your hostas or your salad crops, these slugs on balance do more good than evil, mainly feed on decaying plants or dead animals. Using their rasping tongue and the digestive juices it regurgitated from its stomach it makes swift work of even the toughest detritus. Slime is synonymous with slugs and is their key asset. It provides some protection from attack by birds or animals. Slugs are a delicacy for badger or fox and when attacked they rapidly secrete copious amounts of distasteful slime, they roll into a ball and uniquely can be seen rocking from side to side. By laying down a slime trail these large slugs can motor over rough ground or up smooth surfaces with ease. Slugs are hermaphrodites and when ready to reproduce they will use their slime to lay down a trail containing a strong attractant. The young hatch, live and can normally expect to live from up to three years.

Two mentions of bird reports this time. The first cuckoo was heard on 14th April. One up to the Apiarists of Shire Lane. The second was an excellent and rare sighting of an albino sparrow, which has been seen several times in a number of gardens in Sandpit Hill. Only around 17 in every 30,000 birds display at least partial albinism. Very occasionally they can be completely white with pink beak and eyes. This is due to a genetic condition, which suppresses or disables the production of melanin. Such birds can sometimes be ostracised by others of the same species but can happily flock with other birds similar in size and habit. Quite often they are short lived as they stand out from the crowd and get picked off by predators. Apart from sparrows, starlings, blackbirds, jackdaws, crows, tits and robins are most frequently reported in albino form. Do let me know if like others you have seen this particular albino around recently.

You may be lucky to spy a Glow-worms on warm evenings from June onwards. They used to be a frequent site along the verges of the Chilterns but these days are a much more difficult to find. A few females (the males do not glow) were reported performing their luminous display around Hawridge and Heath End last year.

It was fashionable in the early 1800’s to assemble wild flowers into a clock shape according to the time of day they opened. More accurate but less fun than dandelion seed heads and still something one can do today if out for a morning or afternoon walk. For, example scarlet pimpernel closes at 3pm. Other flowers used included nipplewort, chickweed, chicory, bindweed and even water lily all apparently accurate to a few minutes. No prizes as to when Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon closed its petals!

The deliberate mistake last time was to suggest that Spring Watch was about to start as it was Spring. Well it seems global warning has hit the schedules as it starts (in summer!) at the end of May! That’s all this month. Do keep letting me know about your sightings or questions.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com / tel: 758890

Weather and Nature Notes – April/May 2007

All simply in the springing of the year*

January and February provided warmer days, colder nights and a bucket-load of rain. The rate at which the well is rising (55 inches per week) suggests the water table has a head of steam behind it and this is an indicator as in 2000/1 that there could be flash floods before the year is out. The Met Office is cautiously suggesting that Spring and Summer will continue to be a little wetter and somewhat warmer than average (but not necessarily at the kind of record levels we have had in recent years though).

Beech leaves burst forth in April. But dates can vary by 3-4weeks from year to year. Last year it was late (28th) held back by a cold snap in March but in previous years it was during the first 10 days of the month. Imagine the Chilterns without Beech trees! Research reported last September suggests that the number of trees suffering from water stress had increased four-fold over the last 15 years. Young trees (under 50 years old) are showing these signs in particular. The degree of damage being that one should only expect once the tree has reached at least 140 years. Slowly the Beech will be replaced by Oak and Ash, which are both better able to withstand summer drought conditions. Lime, which was largely replaced by Beech when plantations of the latter were planted to serve the furniture trade, could make a comeback. But Bluebells which rely on late arrival of the tree canopy could also suffer.

I was sitting by the PC seeking inspiration for this article and just in case I needed a reminder that this is the time of year when wildlife emerges from all quarters I heard scratching coming from the air-brick of the long-disused chimney beside me. Closer inspection revealed the antennae of a large insect exploring the gaps clearing with a view to squeezing through the vent. Freedom came just a few seconds later when out popped a rather sooty, but huge queen hornet. Despite knowing the last thing on a hornet’s mind is to attack they are nevertheless intimidating close up. Just as well I had managed to scramble for a glass and sheet of paper as it was clearly finding its bearings and was became extremely animated. I’m sure the fact that Spurs had just beaten Watford (aka the Hornets) 3-1 was just a coincidence. Safely confined behind a piece of A4 I gave it a quick once over for a few moments. A magnificent insect close up and deserving much better press than it gets. However, its persistence in pushing its legs and antennae around the edge of the paper was decisive in my decision to set it free quickly. Luckily it fancied exploring the great outdoors more than our house and headed of (made a bee- line would be quite descriptive here but seems contradictory) towards the woods. No doubt I will encounter her offspring in the not to distant future.

Hornets aren’t the only wildlife that undeservedly and perennially receives bad press. Stoats, for example, have never recovered from being maligned as the villains of the piece (along with the weasels) in Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows. They have a reputation of killing rabbits and mice mercilessly, giving out a piecing scream before the ‘coup de grâce’. Normally crepuscular (appearing at twilight) but May is the best time to see these illusive animals as the females need to hunt in daylight to ensure sufficient milk for their young (kits). It exchanges its all-white ermine coat, from which it gets its other name, for a rich brown coloured covering to its long thin body, retaining just a white front and with a black bottlebrush tail. The white fur was used in the ceremonial dress of the Lord Chief Justice and an ermine as a pet appears in paintings of monarchs such as Queen Elizabeth I - a symbol of purity.

If you read this at the start of April Swifts will be leaving their over-wintering sites in tropical Africa (not emerging from English river mud-beds as Gilbert White concluded in his Natural History of Selbourne). If you read this article in May those Swifts will already be arriving. The long journey has depleted their fat supplies and their arrival therefore hopefully coincides with an explosion not just of flying insects but many non-flying invertebrates and in particular spiders, which make up what is known as aeroplankton. There is no time to lose as not only must they feed continuously on the wing, catching each morsel individually, but also adults must find a mate and breed whilst in flight. Most incredibly though, on warm evenings as light fades, Swifts will spiral higher and higher so they can catch up on their sleep by having short naps. Swifts are gregarious birds and will call to each other to encourage communal flying They will also vary the altitude at which they fly to ensure they maximise the availability of food supplies. As high altitude flying relates to high pressure and vice versa they have long been used to predict the immanent arrival of rain.

For the past four years of writing these Nature Notes I have received reports each year in April of the first ‘soundings’ of Cuckoos in the area. Dates have varied from between 19th to 27th of the month. This is about 10 days later than the Scilly Isles where they are first heard in the British Isles. I suspect we will have our first record early rather than late again this year. Cuckoo Pint, aka Lords and Ladies or Arum Lily is out at the same time (as are the cuckoo flower and cuckoo bee). Look out for both the purple and yellow club-shaped inflorescences as well as the spotted and unspotted varieties, which appear in different frequencies from place to place

Finally, Springwatch returns to the BBC and should be on our screens by the time HTN hits the streets. Looking forward to receiving your comments and questions as usual.

(*Quote by the way is from Robert Frost).

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Nature and Weather Notes for Hilltop News – February/March 2007

The Hills Are Alive with the Smells of Nature

2006 proved to be yet another ‘warmest year on record’. It was also amongst the wettest in recent years with 30 inches of rain. 2007 has so far continued in much the same vein. The outlook for February and March is for above average rainfall and whist it will remain warmer than average for the next few weeks March will turn colder with sharp winds forecast towards the end of the month. Another consequence of the increased rainfall over the past year has been the rising water table. For the first time since late 2005 there is water in the well and it is increasing by 5 inches a day. After a series of drought ridden years and assuming this recovery continues, this is good news for gardeners, farmers and wildlife.

Whilst humans may have the edge on other animals when it comes to intellectual capabilities, well usually, but when it comes to our ability to use or senses we come a poor second, not just to mammals but also to most invertebrates too. Take, for example, our sense of smell. Yes we can both appreciate the perfume of bluebells in springtime and find ourselves recoiling from the stinkhorn’s odour of decay in late summer, but the extent of our olfactory abilities is equivalent to viewing the beauty of nature in black and white without even the benefit of seeing shades of grey. Meanwhile for many animals odours produced by both plants and animals including man, provide them with the equivalent of a 3-dimentional multicoloured world. During the next two months many of the animals we are familiar with in these parts will emerge or stir from their winter rest. These animals have a totally different view of the Hilltop Villages to us. For example, insects such as moths are able to detect hundreds of chemicals or pheromones, which create a route map that directs them from as far as 30 miles away, through obstructions towards others of their species. Honeybees use them to set out instructions to tell others how to find new food supplies. Amphibians such as frogs and newts detect ponds and streams and make for them cross-country style. Grass snakes are said to taste with their tongue but this is somewhat of a misnomer. What they are actually doing is collecting molecules of the essence from the air and transferring this to their olfactory organs in the roof of their mouth. Fro this they can determine what is producing the scent; friend, food or foe and how recent or how far away the source is. The raucous echoing grunts of muntjacs are often the result of one male straying into another’s territory. And what about the bluebells and the stinkhorns? Well they’re both at the same game. Bluebells abound in ancient woodlands. To ensure their continued survival they must emerge and produce sufficient energy from photosynthesis so they can flower before the woodland canopy blocks out the light. Fewer insects are around in woodland this early so the bluebell has evolved to produce its characteristically pungent aroma to attract flies and beetles. The stinkhorn has evolved to emit an odour similar to rotting meat as far as insects are concerned. Flies and beetles, which land on the fungi, get spores either stuck to them or may consume the fungi and the indigestible spores are similarly distributed. To us all such odours have a distinct but just a single smell. To the dog you encounter on a walk or one of his fleas you present a fruit cocktail in glorious technicolor which will ensure you have their attention.

So will spring be early or late this year? A clue to this comes from comparing the earliest and latest dates when particular events relating to certain indicator species occurred from year to year. For example, I have records of Hazel flowering between 29th Jan and 9th Feb, Snowdrops between 29th Jan and 3rd Feb, the first Bumblebees appearing between 26th Feb and 18th Mar and Ladybirds between 9th and 31st Mar.

Ponds are excellent places to see the transition of winter into spring. Around now they are typically dormant but even a small temperature increase can suddenly make them erupt into life. So for this month’s field trip visit one of the many ponds in the area.

As always please let me have any comments, sightings or observations.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Weather and Nature Notes – December 2006 / January 2007

Ruddoc, Muntjac and Beefsteak; the Christmas Season with all the Trimmings

Once again new records have been set with the warmer than normal Autumn overall and above average rainfall. Rainfall in October reached over 4 inches and 2006 is turning out to be wetter than last year. Predictions suggest above average temperatures for December and January with frequent spells of heavy rainfall. See Hilltop village weather on www.cholesbury.com

By the end of this month no doubt every house in the villages, in fact almost every house in the country, will have at least one Christmas card which features a Robin, more likely perched on a sprig of holly, a snow-sprinkled wall, a spade or maybe atop a snowman.

So how did the Robin Redbreast end up as a symbol on Christmas cards? Like most customs this one has an ancient origin but in this case more recent influences have also played their part. There are several interweaving strands which conspired to ensure the Robin has persisted as an icon of Christmas. Firstly, the name ‘Robin’ is a 16th century romantic throw-back to the legends of Robin Hood or Robin Goodfellow, alluded too by Shakespeare’s in his writings and by the traditional English poem ‘Who Killed Cock Robin’. The sight or sound of the Robin was believed to bring good fortune, but to kill a Robin or steal its eggs would bring debt or bad luck. The bird was better known as a Ruddock or Redbreast and also through storytelling a close association with Christ’s crucifixion. In medieval England it was believed the Ruddoc’s (OE for the Robin) breast became more prominent around Easter symbolising the blood of Christ’s which had dropped onto a bird’s breast as he alighted on his shoulder.

In 1843 the first picture greeting card was designed by John Horsely on the suggestion of his friend Henry Cole to be used when calling on friends at Christmas. When Victoria and Albert made this fashionable the Robin became a ready-made symbol to put on cards. Its also interesting to note that the ‘penny post’ was also introduced in 1842 and the first postmen wore red jackets and quickly became known as ‘Robins’.

Despite its gradual demise as a religious symbol during the early 20th century the probable reason for the Robin’s subsequent resurgence on cards started during the Second World War and the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign, as the bird ‘migrated’ from its woodland habitat to become the pre-eminent bird of English allotments and gardens. Instead of following pigs in the woods it followed the gardener as he or she dug the allotment garden. Another bird that has successfully made the move from arable land is the Song Thrush, the Dunnock has arrived from mountain woodland, the Pied Wagtail from water’s edge to roadside verge and Swifts and Martins from cliffs to house walls and roofs.

This time of year leafless Chiltern Beechwoods provide a reassuring skyline as you travel back home as the light is failing. With the trees defoliated wildlife concealed at other times becomes more conspicuous. The Muntjac’s echoing bark is all the more resonant this time of year. With the lack of undergrowth they must venture out both morning and late afternoon. Despite their darker coats at this time of year and the gloom that often descends they can be usually spotted as they follow regular pathways along the wooded edges of fields.

Higher up in the trees, and visible against the grey sky, the tangle of twigs and dead leaves called drays which squirrels have constructed to shelter them against the worst of the weather. They remain active for as long as possible each day, with occasional forays to unearth hazel nuts and acorns from the woodland floor. In January with pairing in full swing the normal peace is shattered by a cacophony of chattering as they traverse from bough to bough.

Also more visible than normal and equally dependant on trees but in contrast silent are the many bracket fungi depositing their spores in huge quantities this month. Exhibiting a kaleidoscope of pastel colours they make an excellent still-life project to practice on with that new camera. Nine-tenths of the fungi is hidden under the bark of the tree, gradually sucking the life from living trees. The slowest growing members of all the fungi family, some can live for up to 20 years, their age recorded in the concentric rings of growth. Unmistakable and common around here is the Beefsteak Fungus with the colour or raw steak although its shaped more like a liver or tongue. Looks better than it tastes sadly. Commonly found low down on Oak and Chestnut and the stain it makes in the wood is valued in furniture-making.

A perennial feature of the Chiltern woodland edges in January is the emergence of snowdrops. All the books show photographs of the flower buds breaking through a carpet of snow, which seems more and more unlikely these days. On the now more common warmer days over-wintering bees will emerge to recharge their batteries with the pungent nectar these flowers produce. Above, the first hazels catkins will burst open the male flowers casting clouds of pollen to seek out carmine–coloured stigmas on female flowers. Night-time screams are the desperate calls of vixens who in just tree weeks over winter need to find a fox to mate with. The smaller the bird the more active it has to be to survive, which is why you will often hear Wrens strident staccato calls from a nearby hedge. Smaller still, the Goldcrest distinguished by its bright yellow pencil line crest must feed at length each day and will ignore humans as it darts from branch to branch low down in shrubs and hedges.

With Christmas approaching a couple of suggestions with a difference. How about a sustainable present.? Adopt an animal and help a conservation project see wwf.org.uk or Tel 0870 750 70 23. Or how about a subscription to the RSPB, BBOWT or Buglife. Please do let me know any sightings or questions you have as usual.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Nature and Weather Notes for Hilltop News October 2006
To Autumn: ”To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees...” (John Keats)

It's difficult to sum up the summer just passed. The warmest July on record, beating that of 1911, a drought order from Thames Water, lifted on the 1st September despite below average rainfall in August (3.25 inches). During the first week of September overnight temperatures dipped to near zero in the frost pocket where our garden resides but also reached 28°C on 11th of the month. The outlook for October and November is for warmer and dryer weather than usual for this time of year.

I read an article on orchards in the National Trust magazine which described how important fruit trees are as a source of food and refuge for wildlife. According to the NT only about ten percent of the 250,000 acres of traditional orchards around in 1950 remain. Until the Second World War the Chilterns was a major producer of cherries but also damsons, plums, apples, including crab-apples, and other fruit. Cider-making had also been important in 19th and early 20th centuries. Tithe map field names include: Cherry Walk, Cherry Field and Cherry Platt and Crab Apple, Orchards include: Lane’s End, Gardener’s, Foster’s, Chambers Green and Cholesbury. Most homes had at least one or more trees. Although larger orchards may have gone groups of fruit trees survive in many gardens, the remnants of old orchards, their mossy, gnarled boughs giving away their age. A local apple variety the Basely still grows locally. Orchards have their own flora. Some flowering plants, ferns, lichens, mosses and fungi flourish in an orchard where trees suppress the normally vigorous growth of meadow grasses. Historically, others relied on soil disturbance by pigs turned out each autumn for seed dispersal and germination. The flowers, leaves, bark, holes or damaged branches support many insects, particularly moths, social and solitary bees, yellow ants and numerous beetles, such as the nobel chafer (large and metallic green). Solely dependant on cherry trees from which it recycles the deadwood, it has declined in numbers alongside the trees. Many spiders which need a healthy population of flying insects make a home in trees or at grass level. Windfalls provide a valuable autumn food store for a wide variety of bird-life, including, thrushes, redwings, fieldfares and green woodpeckers. Further up the pecking order little and tawny owls and mammals including, fox, badger, bats, hedgehog, mice, voles and our local ‘friend’ the Glis glis are regular night-time visitors! If you have one or more mature fruit trees you have the elements of an orchard habitat literally in your back garden. Even if not when out and about look out for the many ‘escapee’ apple trees on H&C Commons or the Green at Buckland Common, dally a moment to see what’s about. Apple Day is on Saturday 21st October, a chance to celebrate orchards, their heritage, distinctiveness and the look and taste of our native apple varieties. An excuse (if one were needed) to enjoy an apple and maybe see what is the longest peel you can make! Apple Day events are occurring all over the country. Locally, I see that on Sunday 15 October 2006 Tring Open Orchard - a listed WWI smallholding with small orchard and wildlife meadow is having an event. Contact: Martin Hicks on 01442 823188. On a day-to-day basis Mother Nature has a habit of reminding us that the evolution of plants and animals has been the result of a continuous struggle between competing species to survive. Adaptation and advantage deriving from chance mutations; aka ‘the survival of the fittest’. Darwin went all the way to the Galapagos to discover this but intriguing examples are all around us. I recently received a report from an enthusiastic Cholesbury ‘Commoner’ of an infestation of Knopper Galls on some of the oaks on H&C Commons. Knopper derives from Old German/English ‘knop’, a decorative stud or tassel on clothing. Galls are one of nature’s curiosities and are the trees’ response to infestation of acorns by the larva of a minute species of wasp. The tree tries to isolate itself from the irritation caused by the larva by producing an odd-shaped sticky-green tissue which over the autumn hardens before dropping off. This protects the developing wasp from the cold. The second generation of adults (all female) emerge in the spring and eggs are laid in the oak’s male flowers (catkins). The larvae develop quickly. The cycle completes when the adult wasps (male and female) emerge and the females seek out the acorns. Each species of wasp produces its own distinct gall, ranging from the marble-sized spherical galls to red spots known as spangles (again a word derived from dressmaking) on the undersides of oak leaves. Galls can also be found on other plants and trees, (thistle, hawthorn, poplar and willow). One more well known example is that of robin’s pincushion on wild roses. Normally, the infestation does not cause such serious damage to weaken the tree or shrub. Presumably a balance is struck between tree and wasp that allows the wasp to eat and shelter whilst the tree benefits from the many predators after the wasp which also consume other pests infesting the tree.

There is no better time to start feeding garden birds than the autumn. Small birds in particular need to stock up on their fat reserves to survive the winter months. If you start providing food it's also important to continue throughout the cold spell. Water is just as vital. During periods of sub-zero temperatures dehydration is as much a danger as it is in a drought. A constant supply of food and water will increase the number and variety of birds in your garden next year which will consume the pests.

Arrival of Christmas mail-order catalogues reminds me to make a couple of gift suggestions. A book that includes a contribution from Antony Worrell-Thompson alongside advice on nurturing tadpoles deserves a mention. Seriously though it's an excellent publication from The Wildlife Trusts and the NT called ‘Wildlife Gardening for Everyone’. Dominic Couzens has become well known for his excellent observations of bird-life. The paperback version of his ‘Secret Lives of British Birds’ has just been re-published and the brilliant illustrations which accompany his short essays make this an excellent present for younger naturalists or anyone interested in learning more about what birds get up to in your garden or further afield.

Thanks for the feedback last time and let me know your interesting sightings or questions.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Nature Notes for Hilltop News August 2006
Fruits of the day, creatures of the night

I am writing the day of the Wimbledon Ladies Final, dark clouds have come and gone without a drop being spilt. There was a time when gardeners looked forward to the tennis as it coincided with plenty of rain, just when the flowers and ‘veg’ needed it most. Well it's true by the first week of July we had nearly an inch and a half of rain. But as all of this fell on one day (5th) with over an inch of that in just 30 minutes, not even a thirsty succulent could soak much of the excess up. But then contrast this with June when a mere quarter inch fell in the whole month. Temperatures over the past two months have been creeping above the average, peaking at a smidgen below 33 °C just 3 days before the downpour. The Met Office are being very cagey about the longer term weather outlook for Summer. For the south-east they are predicting above average temperatures but less rain that usual. Then the health-warning follows:- “It is important to recognise that particularly during summer, the distribution of rainfall can be quite variable, with some locations experiencing heavy rainfall whilst others remain dry.” Then again even at a local level this is also borne out. Comparisons by weather-watchers of rainfall at both ends of the parish suggest slightly more rain falls month to month in St Leonards than in Hawridge. Not enough to cause a mass migration though. A reminder that current weather information is available at www.cholesbury.com

Fruits (which include nuts) add much colour to the countryside during the days of late Summer. Their attraction to animals and birds is vital for the distribution and their abundance or scarcity for these next two months determine how successful animals will be surviving the next winter and beyond. Invertebrates, particularly wasps, beetles and second generation hibernating butterflies; birds of all types and mammals large (foxes) as well as small (field mice) which all rely in part at least on a fruit diet. If you note what fruit is around during late August and September in these parts it becomes clear how important it is for local wildlife. A list of those you might encounter on a walk around here is almost endless: with soft and fleshy fruits such as: blackberry, black bryony; blackthorn; bittersweet; crab apple; dog rose, dogwood; elder; hawthorn; honeysuckle; rowan; and spindle; and nut fruits such as: acorn; beech; hazel; hornbeam; sweet and horse chestnut to name but a few. Why not see how many you can spot yourself next time your walk takes you along a mature woodland path or hedgerow? By the way folklore suggests you should not consume blackberries after Michaelmas (29th September) because the devil then spits on them. Leaving the mushier ones for the insects might be a wise move!

When habitat change has occurred resulting in the reduced the availability of a specific fruit on which a bird or animal is dependant means that particular population dies out or shifts elsewhere. Take just one example, the elimination of thistles and other perennial wild flowers in field margins has had a devastating effect on the goldfinch. Nineteenth and early twentieth century naturalists often remarked on coming across a charm of goldfinches harvesting thistledown moving on like a regiment from meadow to meadow. In a modest way the trend can be reversed by planting plants such as teasel in your garden and leaving the seed heads to mature on plants such as goldenrod, and regularly providing a wide variety of birdseed off and on the ground.

August is the height of the bat flying season, coinciding with the nights beginning to draw-in but evenings remaining warm attracting moths and other night-time insects. Here is a different example of how habitat change can knock-on to other species. Again the conversion of hedge-bounded meadows, into prairies, most notably in East Anglia has reduced the availability of night-flowering plants. This in turn has reduced the available moth population the staple diet of bats which have also suffered from a loss of roosts as farm buildings are replaced by or converted into residential housing. Bats have not suffered so badly in the Chilterns. Having a selection of night-scented flowers will draw more insects to your garden at twilight and in turn enhance the spectacle of bats performing aerial displays. Four out of a top 10 list of plants to invest in for this purpose (as advised by the RHS) are Buddleja davidii ‘White Profusion’, Hebe ‘Great Orme’, Oenothera fruticosa, Fyrverkeri sp ‘Evening Primrose’ and Nicotiana sylvestris ‘Tobacco Plant’. The most likely bats you will ‘see’ in the garden are the pipestrelle bats, small as a sparrow, and may hang-out locally being small enough to squeeze under wall tiles or roof slates. The serotine bats are much larger with broader wings and will occupy the roof space of old buildings. Taking this one stage further an excellent gismo designed with children (and adults) in mind to identify which bat is which is a bat box, such as the very reasonably priced Microbat (available via www.batbox.com).

Keeping with crepuscular creatures (those active at twilight), a most interesting sighting was passed on to me by a keen ‘naturewatcher’ in Hawridge Vale of a solitary eponymous glow-worm (female) displaying for all her worth to attract a male over the period of a week or two. These are now pretty rare. I think the last reports in these parts were following surveys of H&C Commons in the 1970s and ‘90s. Adults may still be around during early August so look out for the female's bright yellow/green trademark beacon in damp flowerbeds and verges in the late evening.

Droughts put stress on plants which become susceptible to diseases and the damage to tissues encourage garden pests such as mildews aphids and mites to flourish. Bad news for gardeners but good news for ladybirds which maybe seen en masse in August. There are 24 British species of which four are vegetarian, hence the mention of mildew, and nearly all known by the number or colour (which can vary) of their spots:- look out for the 2, 7, 10, 24 all red 14, 16, 22, all yellow plus the cream spot and orange spot!

Leaving for the southern hemisphere during August will be the swifts, swallows and martins. September signals the first sign of Autumn as leaves begin to change colour. Once again the BBC and Woodland Trust have some excellent information. To learn more about the changing seasons see www.bbc.co.uk/autumnwatch.

Please continue to send me your sightings and comments.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Nature Notes for Hilltop News June 2006
In Celebration Of Old Moldewarp

All agree that the cooler than usual Spring has delayed everything this year. Typically those trees and flowers influenced by temperatures are around two weeks later than average. But as our native flora is not all equally affected in this way the warmer and frost-free first half of May has also advanced the blossoms on some later flowering trees. So for the first time in several years we are seeing blossom on many different species simultaneously which makes for excellent shows of pinks and whites on cherries apples, blackthorn and chestnuts. One interesting side affect has been the impact on the levels of pollen with warnings of high pollen counts already being issued for the south east by the Met Office. But it's the shortage of water beneath our feet which continues to have the most far-reaching effects. This time, two years ago, the well in our garden had 18 feet of water and was rising by 6 inches per week, last year it was down to only 6 feet and this year it is bone dry signalling we are still experiencing very dry conditions for a third year in succession. The only suggestion that we will see some significant rainfall this year is that the ash just beat the oak into leaf so a ‘soak’ rather than a ‘splash’ might be coming our way, but for up to date weather data visit www.cholesbury.com and follow the weather link.

Renowned as a nation of animal lovers we normally take small furry animals to our hearts, particularly those with cute, beady little eyes and whiskers. But we are a fickle bunch. It seems we are happy to cherish our wildlife as long as it keeps out of our way. Should it ever dare to venture into our back gardens, cricket pitches or bowling greens sympathy can quickly be replaced with enmity. On farmland their excavations can cause problems to farm machinery. Faced with a choice between allowing an otherwise harmless animal the freedom to roam and protecting the manicured appearance of our lawns the latter wins out, hands down. I think apart from rats, moles have more difficulty than nearly any other small mammal in gaining our affection. True they have the characteristics to score highly. They are small and furry they have a cute face with a pink nose and a respectable set of whiskers. Mole in The Wind In The Willows is portrayed as a delightful creature. The biggest problem impacting on their popularity is because we never see them. The only indication we have been blessed with a visit is the characteristic neat and evenly spaced piles of topsoil arranged across the green sward. The name mole derives from the medieval moldewarp meaning ‘earth thrower’. In fact a single mole can shift 13 lbs of soil in 20 minutes. They are typically solitary animals, are highly territorial fighting to the death if needing to protect their real estate. We assume they are creatures of open land but their traditional habitat is woodland where their hills are disguised under leaf litter. It was the action of man, clearing the forest and cultivating grassland that enticed them ‘under’ the open. Ploughing the soil increased organic matter which in turn encouraged the worms. Moles eat at least half their body weight each day. They can detect their preys’ tiniest movement from a great distance through picking up vibrations. Moles have 44 teeth, more than any other mammal in Britain, ideal for chomping the chewiest invertebrate. Nocturnal trips to the surface are rare and are made to forage for bedding and nesting materials. Glands on the skin emit a distasteful fluid making them unattractive to animal predators but many fall prey to tawny and barn owls within their first year although some may survive until their third season. The flint-ridden soil around here does not make a prime habitat for moles but if you are lucky enough for them to have chosen your garden bear in mind the good they do in removing pests such as leather jackets and slugs rather than the inconvenience of flattening the odd pile or two of pampered lawn.

Unlike the more showy insects such as butterflies and dragonflies, beetles receive little attention and much like moles what celebrity they attract has more to do with dislike of them than admiration. With over 4000 known species beetles far outnumbering all other UK animal species together and new species are still being discovered. It is true many undoubtedly do great harm to crops, such as the flea beetles and cockchafers or like weevils and wood boring beetles attacking the infrastructures or food stores in our houses. Without others though many of our garden flowers would not get pollinated and aside from the obvious ladybird numerous others also have bright, often iridescent, colouration and also consume garden pests. Elsewhere along with the slugs, earthworms and millipedes there are countless undistinguished black and brown beetles that help to breakdown or remove the ‘rubbish’ others leave around and replenish the nutrients in the soil subsequently taken up by garden plants. Similar to but on a much smaller scale as the dung beetle on the African plains. Imagine what it might look and smell like otherwise! Two contrasting examples in the English countryside illustrate beetles importance. Look into any large flower head on a sunny day and you are guaranteed to see one or more lozenge shaped rust-brown soldier beetles searching out for sap sucking insects and pollinating as they go. At the other end of the spectrum is the ferocious looking but totally harmless stag beetle which is currently making a slow comeback in woodlands where their management involves leaving tree stumps and fallen trunks to rot away. This provides a food supply for the cream- coloured grubs which take three years to develop into the adult beetle that does not eat during their the six weeks they stay alive. From May to the end of June they are most often seen out looking for a mate before dusk. They frequently take to the air on warm evenings and are the largest flying insect in the UK. The Chilterns is one area in which they are at home.

A superb picture sent to me last month of a Glis glis posing as it clung to a branch reminded me that a lot of wildlife is waking up and making itself known. The many hedgerows, which are at their best over the next few weeks, are great places to look out for animals and plants displaying their wares. So my suggestion for a walk this time is to choose one that includes one or more lengths of hedge. If you have not tried the walks on the Cholesbury.com website do visit and download one or more. There is a distinct hedgerow wildlife to prick the senses, ranging from the aerial displays of the speckled wood butterflies and hawker dragonflies, both so highly territorial that they will ‘escort’ you along their domain; to the staccato wren that heralds your arrival by their high-pitched shrill as they dart in and out of thickets; or the dazzlingly bright yellow archangel flower, named after the Archangel Michael and in folk lore believed to protect animals from evil spirits and black magic; or finally any of the fungi emerging this time of year such as the malodorous stinkhorn which gives away their presence long before they are even seen.

By the way, well done to a certain Guy in Hawridge for reporting the first cuckoo of the season on 21st April, commiserations to the runners up! Do let me know of any interesting sightings or questions.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Nature Notes for Hilltop News April 2006
All Creatures Great and Small...

Looking back at my previous HTN ‘scribblings’ I see that the Met Office were predicting a much colder winter season than usual. In fact their weather stats now bear this out. The winter just gone was the coldest for 10 years. The start of Spring was also heralded by bitterly cold days, flurries of snow and night time temperatures, down to -6.9°C even lower than in Jan and Feb. Its actually raining today as I write this article, the first time for three weeks, and with barely 2” of precipitation so far this year it's hardly going to make much difference to the aquifers beneath our feet. Looking ahead the outlook is for cooler than average temperatures for April and May and for less rain that is normal for these months. For up to date weather information in the Hilltop Villages, visit www.cholesbury.com

We almost take for granted the almost commonplace sightings of red kites these days. This year in particular several people have mentioned seeing a pair of these birds overhead in Buckland Common and last weekend I saw two soaring over Cholesbury so it may be that we can expect to have our first locally breeding pair before long.

I was listening to a discussion on Radio 4’s Nature programme the other evening about the reintroduction of species which had once been indigenous to the British Isles but have become extinct due in the main to man’s influence on them by hunting or habitat destruction. Unlike the kites, where their return was originally cautiously welcomed and now is heralded as a great success, many of the other reintroduction campaigns underway have been causing considerable controversy. You may have heard of trials to reintroduce beavers are currently underway in Kent and Gloucestershire. The Scottish Assembly has not yet given the go ahead to similar trials due to opposition from landowners. And beavers are one of the more innocuous candidates for reintroduction. You may recall the havoc caused when mink escaped from farms and devastated the local wildfowl. Pine martens, which are native to parts of Scotland, but are rarely seen in northern Britain, have a diet which also includes bird eggs. English Nature has identified five potential sites in the South West and East Sussex and although the RSPB has given a cautious welcome, gamekeepers are unsurprisingly anxious about the impact they may have on game bird populations. There are several other campaigns underway to re-introduce larger mammals. For example, grey wolves, which became extinct as late as the 17th century, into the Scottish Highlands. Only a few thousand years ago fossil evidence indicated they also roamed the then much more heavily wooded Chilterns.

The European lynx is also on the reintroduction list. It is thought the lynx eventually died out in England at the time of the Romans due to forestry clearance for industrial sized livestock farms. Lynx were reintroduced to Austria, Germany and Switzerland in the 1970's and trials are now underway in France and Italy. If this sounds a bit tame I discovered there is even a group campaigning for the reintroduction of the European brown bear! Past reintroductions which received much support have included the osprey in Scotland and more recently Rutland Water. White-tailed eagles have eventually been established in a few Scottish offshore islands. Both have encouraged ecotourism trade for fishermen whose traditional livelihood has all but gone. It is anticipated that the great bustard located on MoD land on Salisbury Plain and the corncrake in Cambridgeshire will do the same for their respective local economies. At the other end of the celebrity stakes the reestablishment of the northern pool frog to Norfolk and the large blue butterfly in Devon and Cornwall are just as important for re-establishing biodiversity.

Aside from planned reintroductions there have been a number of unintentional ones, most notably the celebrated wild boar in Sussex and Kent. There have been sightings of boar in the Chilterns, in woods above Wycombe and as near as Great Missenden, but none in these parts yet as far as I know. Another exotic and unintentional reintroduction is the European eagle owl, an intimidating sight at over three feet tall, the largest owl in the world, which has been absent from the UK since pre-Roman times although in the 18th century they became established for a short time when the fashion to keep them for hunting fell away. There are now several known breeding pairs throughout England. Both boars and eagle owls are expected to become more widely established over the next few years and the Chiltern woodland is an ideal habitat for both. Such great creatures will influence the ecology of the area again as they did in the past.

Two other larger creatures, the badger and fox are more visible during these two months as they forage for food for their demanding offspring born between January and March. Old Brock appears to have also taken over from Reynard in the media as the debate over how best to stem the spread of bovine TB; culling vs. animal husbandry. Of the smaller creatures tadpoles are one of the first to show and will be well advanced in many of the ponds around here. In years such as this one the cold weather can delay or even prevent their development into ‘froglets’ whilst in others their abundant numbers lead to food shortage with the more robust ones turning cannibal on their unfortunate siblings. Either way by converting pond detritus into protein they provide valuable prey for the ferocious dragonfly larvae or great diving beetles thus sustaining the populations of these more fragile creatures.

It's this time of the year that our Chiltern woodlands are at their best - a hive of activity. So it would be remiss not to include a reminder to visit the shimmering blue carpet of bluebells merging with the translucence of new beech leaves. Aside from horse chestnuts, wild cherries and willows most woodland trees do not produce showy flowers and I have found some people are surprised to know that all trees normally produce flowers, usually in the spring or early summer. Take a look upwards amongst these newly emergent diaphanous green leaves for what passes as flowers in the tree world. Not flashy but intricate and beautiful in their own way. Their emergence ahead of other meadow and hedgerow flowers is a lifesaver for the first generation of bees. Look down too and carefully turn over a decaying log- please do remember to roll them back carefully after looking - to see yet more of the less celebrated woodland creatures, millipedes, woodlouse and beetles. Together with the large creatures they play a vital part of the ecology of the Chiltern scene which in return provides a haven for all creatures great and small!

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

Nature Notes for Hilltop News February 2006
As I walked out one evening...

It's Mid January when I am writing these notes and there’s typical Hilltop Villages weather about. It feels pretty chilly all day with frequent night-time sub zero temperatures. Everywhere and for that matter anyone venturing out for any length of time looks pretty sodden. There has been a sudden emergence of potholes all about the lanes which are filled to the brim with dank water which cleverly disguise them until your wheel discovers them and the car shudders. (Reminder, must get on the phone to the Council!) And yet the rainfall figures to date tell me it hasn't even been such a wet start to the year after all. This reminds me that it has been my custom since starting to write these Nature Notes, three seasons ago now, that I start each new year with a look back at the previous twelve months' weather stats. So here goes. If you abhor stats skip to the next but one paragraph!

Rainfall levels in 2005 at 23ins were considerably down on 2004 (29ins). Interestingly, the monthly averages were pretty even throughout the year apart from January and February being two of the three driest months just making it to 1.3ins and August and October the wettest each with almost twice that at about 2.5ins. Temperature-wise for once June did not disappoint tennis fans as the hottest day at 31°C fell in the middle of the first week of the tournament. Meanwhile the coldest day came on the last day of February –6.6°C.

Looking ahead for the early part of 2006 we should continue to experience cooler average temperatures for this time of year until late March and the Met Office is not ruling out a really cold snap before winter is out. Meanwhile it will be on the whole dryer than usual but typically will turn squally in March.

Spring might be making inroads into Winter these days but any self-respecting garden bird will tell you its tough this time of year, very tough. In fact it’s a matter of life or death with only the most alert and healthy ones surviving. Each abbreviated day they must take on board sufficient fat reserves for the night ahead. Fall short and they will perish before dawn. The smaller the bird the more feeding they must do. For example the Goldcrest, one of Britain’s smallest birds, feeds literally from dawn to dusk. Prevented from foraging for an hour or two will be fatal.

The increasing day length will eventually mean warmer days and nights but well before us humans have even noticed this, the birds have started to change their behaviour. For example the Robin, which before Christmas would tolerate its red-breasted neighbours scavenging within its territory, is already making it known via its strident calls... tick-tick-tick!... come rain or shine that this garden is now off-limits and dare any cousin of his invade, even momentarily, they will get sent packing. Thrushes whilst often less visible, high up in the treetops can be heard laying down the law as they run through their endlessly varying repertoire of punctuated shrills, pauses, and fluty warbles. Listen out too a bit later on for the alarm call of the Blackbird, a rapid and piercing..... pink-pink-pink!..... A good indication that there’s a Sparrowhawk or Tawny owl about, a siren which continues long after the danger has passed. Unfortunately the woodpigeons around us seem oblivious to this early warning system and despite repeated training sessions one always seems to get caught totally unawares time after time by the aforesaid hawk. ‘Small body, big mouth’ as I saw it perceptively described recently, the wren makes up for its size by an ear-piercing shrill warble like high-pitched Morse Code which runs for five seconds then stops suddenly only to suddenly repeat again and again over several minutes.

We all enjoy the sight of birds and benefit in terms of pest control from them visiting our gardens in the Spring and Summer but whether you have a show this year will be down to how well they have fared from late Autumn through to this time of year. So continue to provide plenty of food, not just on the bird table and feeder but scattered on the ground so the less aggressive also can have a share.

If like one of our three native mammals (bats, hedgehogs and dormice) you were to wake from your annual hibernation how would you know instantly it was March? There are many signs, characteristic of the countryside southern England, for you to look out for this time of year. Firstly, hares – on open fields on higher ground around here hares can be spotted ‘boxing and coxing’. Secondly, over-wintering butterflies such as comma’s, peacocks and small tortoiseshells emerging from under eves, mysteriously trapped in garden sheds or lurking behind the curtains in the spare bedroom ready to surprise you. Thirdly, the Arum Lily or ‘Lords and Ladies’ are in flower; a cylindrical club-shaped yellow or purple flowerhead (the spadix) enclosed inside the green hood (the spathe). Lastly, on warmer days towards the end of March the red-tailed bees visiting any flowers in bloom and on warm evenings as March becomes April the first bats will be overhead.

These are just a few of the many signs of Spring. so if you would like more information about what will be happening when this Spring visit the BBC Springwatch 2006 website at www.bbc.co.uk/sn/. You can even have Bill Oddie spring up on your PC with up to the minute news!

Finally, my recommendation this time for an excursion is to take a walk out one evening in late March and experience the sounds of the countryside around us much as WH Auden suggested in his poem (borrowed for the title of these jottings) one should experience the sound of a town of an evening.

As always please let me have any comments, sightings or observations.

chrisbrown@rayshill.com

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