NATURE NOTES

Johnny’s Animal Magic

2010
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February
It never ceases to amaze me how much interest these little pieces generate. People are always talking to me about them when I’m out walking, in the pub or at an event at The Swythamley Centre. And I regularly get phone calls about sightings or asking for advice. It seems to me that one of the characteristics of human beings is that we are very quick to consider somebody else to be an expert. I remember having a couple of chats with Steve Plimbley (who did these articles before me) and thinking, “Blimey, I know nothing”. But I do know a bit about wildlife generally and quite a lot about birds and I try not to pretend I know something when I don’t.

Badgers are rather controversial creatures in this country. I have studied both sides of the argument about the link between TB in badgers and livestock and whether brocks need to be culled or not. I have to say it is very complex and there are experts on both sides. On balance I’m rather confused by this issue and I am, therefore, undecided. Although in 2009 I saw 9 live and 24 dead badgers in our area - so it seems that there is already a cull going on, albeit not with guns. And I was very happy that my first sighting this year was alive on a frosty Bearda Hill in early February.

I recently had some visitors who recommended a TV programme about Prairie Dogs. I have not yet checked it out on i-Player and I may not find time. These burrowing rodents live in North America, look a bit like large Chipmunks and behave rather like the now very familiar Meerkats. Apparently, a recent study has shown that these creatures have developed a more sophisticated language system than people have. Well, frankly, I find that notion quite preposterous. But I suppose whoever did the study were experts. As was once quoted when I was on a training course, “An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field.”

January
According to my diary, snow first fell here on 17 December. It is now 15 January and snow has been on the ground throughout this period, with the heaviest fall on the night of 4 January. As a result, I haven’t yet visited the various nearby reservoirs to look for wintering ducks – one of my favourite activities. Of course, wildlife suffers in harsh conditions and Debbie phoned from The Old Smithy asking for advice on caring for a distressed Kestrel in her wood shed (it died in spite of her efforts). And I found a dead Tawny Owl on Wincle church steps today.

Hopefully, by the time you are reading this, things will be a little better. But it looks like there will be more periods of extreme weather in the coming months so I thought I would give some basic tips on feeding garden birds. First of all, whatever you may have read, it is OK to put food out all year round and, if you do, it is vital that you continue doing so in the worst weather. The birds get used to visiting the same spots and if there is nothing for them they will be wasting valuable energy. You may normally have a single ‘feeding station’ but in really bad conditions it is important to put food in several different places – in feeders, on a bird table and on the ground. Try to put a good variety of food out – peanuts, various seeds, dried fruit, moist bread, fat balls and ripe fresh fruit. And don’t forget the water.

You will be rewarded for your efforts. During 2009, 26 different species visited my garden. I have already seen 17 in 2010. With maximum number seen at any one time, they are - Collared Dove (2), Great Spotted Woodpecker (2), Dunnock (3), Robin (5), Blackbird (14), Song Thrush (4), Coal Tit (2), Great Tit (6), Blue Tit (10), Nuthatch (1), Wren(1), Chaffinch (12), Greenfinch (2), House Sparrow (14), Starling (3), Magpie(1) and Jackdaw(2). This lot have been getting through what I normally put out in a month in about 5 days! I’ve also seen 2 Bramblings and 3 Goldfinches in Kate Brough’s garden and John Wilcock has had 11 Goldfinches and a family of Long-Tailed Tits in his. Oh, and the only explanation I can come up with for a missing nut feeder is a very hungry, invisible Grey Squirrel!

2009
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December
Here’s the little quiz I published, but now with the answers.

(1) What are the names of the two members of the thrush family which are readily seen on fields and in hedgerows in our area in the winter but do not breed here?
Answer : Redwing and Fieldfare.
(2) Apart from the obvious physical aspects what is the main difference between rabbits and hares?
Answer : Rabbits live and breed in a warren underground. Hares breed in a hollow above ground, properly called a ‘form’.
(3) How many British birds can you think of with ‘gold’ in their names? There are two that breed in our area and, without looking at a book, I can think of at least three others.
Answer : Goldcrests and Goldfinches are fairly common and breed around here. I can also think of Golden Eagle, Goldeneye, Golden Plover and Golden Oriole. There may be more.
(4) If you see some small bats hawking for insects low over water what are they most likely to be?
Answer : Daubenton’s Bats.
(5) What is the common name of the member of the crow family, considered a pest by many people, Pica Pica?
Answer : Magpie.
(6) How many wildflowers can you think of with ‘bell’ in their names?
Answer : I am sure there are several more but when I wrote this I was thinking of Bluebells and Harebells both of which are common around here in the spring.
(7) The Willow Warbler and the Chiff Chaff are common leaf warblers that visit and breed in our area from early spring to the autumn? How can you tell them apart?
Answer : The only ways you can tell them apart are (1) by hearing their songs – the Chiff Chaff repeats its name, the Willow Warbler has a warble comprised of a series of descending notes or (2) by comparing their wing feathers in your hand with a serious bird book to consult - and your chances of catching one are very unlikely unless you’re an official ringer!
(8) What is the common name of the fungus Laetiporus Sulphureus which commonly grows on trees, particular oak and willow, and often quite high up?
Answer : Chicken-in-the-Woods.
(9) What is the name of the large, white-rumped brown wader with a long curved bill and a very memorable loud bubbling song that frequents the hills and damp fields in our area in spring and early summer?
Answer : Curlew.
(10) Bramblings breed in Scandinavia and Northern Europe and visit the UK in the winter. They often feed on the ground under trees. If you were looking for them which trees would be the best to look under?
Answer : You’re most likely to find them in small flocks under Beech or Hornbeam trees, sometimes with other finches and tits. And, if you’re very lucky, in very harsh weather one or two may visit your garden.
I hope you had fun and didn’t find it too difficult

November
Whilst out walking the other day, my dog managed to find a disgusting, rotting lump of flesh hidden in some long grass at the top of a bank. He could not possibly have seen it. But, having got him to release it, I realised he wouldn't have needed much of a nose to detect it.

Regular readers will be well aware that, whilst I am interested in the natural world in general, I'm rather keen on birds. And this little incident prompted me to realise that, with all the studying I have done, I wouldn't have a clue what to say if somebody asked me, "How do birds smell?" (All those who answered, 'Bloody awful' see me after class.) After only a few minutes on The Internet, I discovered that the answer to this question is not straightforward. Scientists used to believe that, although birds do have nostrils, they have no sense of smell at all or, at best, a poorly developed one. More recent research has shown that Turkey Vultures, Kiwis, Mallards and many seabirds, such as albatrosses, petrels and Fulmars, certainly have a reasonably good sense of smell and it is very important to them. It is mostly used for locating food and, for example, a Fulmar can locate the scent of fish oil up to 25 kilometres away. However, sight and hearing are much more significant than smell for the vast majority of birds. For example, large birds of prey see so well that they can (theoretically, obviously) read a car number plate from 100 metres or more.

Nigel MacLean gave me a cutting from a newspaper about Hen Harriers. In recent years I have been told that these magnificent creatures have bred on the moors around Buxton and a couple of locals have told me that they have seen them in the Gradbach area. According to this article, only six pairs bred successfully in England in 2009. Four of these were in the Forest of Bowland and the other two were undisclosed. Although there are 'hundreds' of pairs in Scotland this is the lowest number in England for several years. By the by, the Latin for Hen Harrier is Circus Cyaneus. And having just acquired a guide to mushrooms and toadstools I think I’ll be using more Latin in future articles!

October
I have seen very little that is noteworthy in the past month or so, partly because we were away in France for a couple of weeks. Whilst there I saw several things you are unlikely to see in The Link area, including: a Sacred Ibis in Brittany (and this was so far from its 'home' it was probably an escapee from a collection); Greater Flamingos in flight and 10 different types of waders on the coast further south; a White Admiral butterfly, a Red-Footed Falcon and a Grass Snake eating a lizard in the Dordogne region.

However, in late September Paul Woodcock saw 10 Ravens on a sheep carcass near The Hanging Gate and a male Blackcap in Wincle. He also had sightings of Wheatears and Swallows near home in late September and early October. In fact, he watched the last four Swallows leave his barn on 8th October. These long distance migrants normally leave our area mid-September and I don't recall seeing any in October. I wonder if anybody else has such a late record?

Early in October, Josie Hambleton called me to say she had had a good view of three Tree Sparrows in her garden in Rushton Spencer. Although not rare they are easily overlooked. I used to spot them regularly when I was a novice birder but I haven't seen one for ages! Both sexes have a chestnut crown and this is the main difference between them and House Sparrows.

I have had a long chat with David MacLean (dad of Nigel at Park House visiting) about British bats. He has years of experience as a volunteer for English Nature/Natural England. He lent me a detector for a few days and gave me a large pack of information. Then I discovered that Alison Weston has been a member of a bat group for years and has a lot of information too. So if you're interested in these greatly misunderstood creatures and don't use the Internet (see The Link Issue 65) you can ask one of us.

This is the best time of year for fungi spotting. Tim Clapham took this splendid photo of a spectacular (as yet unidentified) cluster that his boys came across in the garden.

September
On September 1st, I heard a funny little noise in our kitchen. I turned around to see a tiny, greenish bird clinging to a beam. At first I thought it was a young Willow Warbler. Then I noticed the two white stripes in its wings and realised that it was a juvenile Goldcrest (young birds don't have the head stripe as in the photo). It was really easy for me to catch it and release it outside. And it then kindly sat on the branch of a small tree so I could get another good look at it.

In August, Brian and Pauline Porter enlisted the help of Peter and Carol Malkin to remove a bat from their lounge. Apparently Carol waited until it was placid, caught it wearing gloves, put it out on the lawn and shortly after it flew off. Although they are nature lovers the Porters were not exactly over the moon as the bat had come down the chimney and brought a fair amount of soot with it.

I have previously mentioned the tremendous increase in the number of Buzzards in recent years. I regularly see them around here and on the lower ground in south Cheshire. There is nothing else round here like a soaring Buzzard, which is what you are most likely to see, although you may see one being mobbed by a group of angry corvids. If you're really lucky you might see one resting or eating on the ground or a post as I have a few times in the 11 Lane Ends area. Kate Brough sent me a photo of one at rest in a tree over the road from her cottage.

Although the forecasters are already talking about the weather becoming autumnal, there have plenty of butterflies around in late August and early September. Also, wherever I have been, the wasps have been unavoidable. There are many species of wasps in Europe grouped under diggers, spider-hunters, potters, masons and socials. There are at least 9 different social wasps, including the Common Wasp. I'm afraid I really don't like them and I have no plans to get into trying to identify any of the differences. As far as I'm concerned, they can all buzz off!

August
Some years ago, a young nephew of mine found an injured Herring Gull on a Sussex beach and we took it to a vet. Two days later I phoned and was told the bird had been put down. In The Link No. 59, I told you about a 'wobbly' Little Owl that I found in Wincle and took to a vet in Macclesfield - who decided to put it to sleep. However, I have heard about injured or sick adult birds that have been rescued and restored to full health. Sadly this is rarely, if ever, true in the case of very young birds and three recent requests for advice have prompted me to repeat what I said in January.

Different people have contacted me about young blue tits, starlings and blackbirds that had either fallen out of the nest, or tried to fly before they were ready, and been found on the ground. I understand the temptation to take these fledglings home and to try to give them water, milk, bread or worms. But it really isn't feasible to wean a young wild bird in the same way that people do with puppies and kittens. All the 'experts' advise you to either (1) leave the bird where you found it, or, (2) if you feel it is in real danger from vehicles or cats move it to a safer spot as nearby as you can. The parents are probably looking out for it and will feed it until it flies off or may even get it back to the nest. Or, sad as it may seem, it will just die.

But then the life expectancy of a small woodland or garden bird is about five years at best. For example, very few robins live for more than two years. So don't despair. In recent weeks, my garden has been visited by many young birds - Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, House Sparrows, Robins and even a young Nuthatch and Greater Spotted Wooodpecker. Early in July, I saw five 'baby' Great Crested Grebes riding on their mother's back on Astbury Mere. It was a wonderful sight. Life goes on.

July
This month I have been inundated with exciting reports. Alleyne and Diane of South Lodge had at least two good sightings of Barn Owls along the road between The Swythamley Centre and West Lodge. Janet Brightmore informed me that they have Spotted Flycatchers nesting in their garden and she has noticed orchids in flower near to Isle Farm. They also have Noctule Bats, which are Britain's largest, roosting in their house.

Paul Woodcock informs me that Daubenton's Bats can be seen quite easily flying low over Bosley Reservoir. Late in June, Paul saw a Red Kite and a Hobby close to his home. Paul and Lee Whittaker saw a Cuckoo and flushed a Long-eared Owl and Lee saw a Peregrine, all around Wildboarclough. None of these birds are common. The Cuckoo has declined in numbers massively in recent years. On the other hand, the Red Kite seems to be making a dramatic recovery from near extinction in the UK. About 30 years ago it was only possible to see them in a small area in mid-west Wales. They are now breeding in several locations. In fact, they are so successful in The Chilterns that you would very unlucky if you drove along the M40 and didn't see several of them.

The recent spell of hot weather has been great for insects. Has anyone else noticed that there have been one or two midges about? I have seen several Common Blue Damselflies along the Dane and Feeder. On 5 July, during the Whitelee wedding party, Fabian Clapham found a Common Green Grasshopper. A little later he and a group of friends had a jar full of them! Early in June I visited Craig and Debbie at Old Smithy thinking their orchard would be a good spot to find Little Owls, one of my favourite birds. I didn't find any but I did flush a Tawny Owl and saw many small, black, day-flying moths. At home, I discovered these are called Chimney Sweepers. I had a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in my garden for the first time and found a beautiful, delicate dead moth in our kitchen, which I believe was a Small Emerald.

June
Congratulations to Sue Bradbury who was the first with the correct answer to my wildflower query last month. It was Garlic Mustard. Its old British folk name is Jack-by-the-hedge and it is also known as Garlic Root, Hedge Garlic, Sauce-alone, Jack-in-the-bush, Penny Hedge and Poor Man's Mustard! Sue has compiled a list of about 60 different wildflowers on or close to her land. Kate Brough guessed right too. Marion Burge suggested Fat Hen and an anonymous caller thought it was Queen Anne’s Lace (Cow Parsley). Whilst taking a greater interest in wildflowers this spring I have also been aware of quite a few early butterflies and lots of different bumblebees.

Kate Brough and Alison Weston have provided me with excellent photos, taken at their homes, of Pipistrelle and Brown Long-eared bats. As far as I know these are the only two species of bats you are likely to see in our area (if anybody knows any different please let me know). Most of us will see them flying in the evening rather than at rest. The Pipistrelle is extremely common and much smaller than the rarer Long-eared. They are totally harmless and fascinating to watch. If you go to http://www.bats.org.uk/ you can find out all about them. For example, the Brown Long-eared bat has such sensitive hearing that it can detect a Ladybird walking on a leaf and a Pipistrelle can eat 3,000 insects in one night. Wow!

Derek Riley spotted a Brambling in Wincle in the last week of May. This finch is very closely related to the Chaffinch (one of our most common birds). It breeds in the most northerly areas of Europe and visits the UK in large numbers in the winter, when it can most easily be spotted feeding on beech masts on woodland floors. The male has a very distinctive black head and orange breast in the breeding season. I think it’s quite unusual to see one around here in May.

May
I recently saw a TV gardening programme, which featured a garden with its own Bluebell Wood. I think it was somewhere in the south-east and the owners said that people travelled for miles to see it. They also said that this year is a particularly good year for Bluebells. Well, if like me, you have been walking anywhere in the local woodlands in the first half of May, you will have to agree that it is a particularly good year around here too. It has been dazzling but I guess by the time you read this it will be pretty much over.

Other common wildflowers that have caught my attention have included Wood Sorrel. This is, apparently, one of several wildflowers that people commonly refer to as shamrock. I have also spotted Wood Anemone, Greater Stitchwort, Cow Parsley, Bugle, Common Dog Violet, Pink Campion and Common Bistort. But really I’m out of my depth here. Can anyone tell me what this wildflower is? It is very common along our lanes at this time of year and is a very upright, quite tall, slender plant with quite large toothed heart-shaped leaves and it has clusters of rather insignificant small white flowers at the top. Please let me know via phone or e-mail – a prize if you can get to me before Judy Weeks or Janet Brightmore!

Steve Plimbley phoned me to say that he had seen a large bird going to roost late on 11th May and the next morning an unmistakeable female Marsh Harrier flew low towards him and over his garden. This is a spectacular sighting for Heaton. On a more mundane level, I saw my first Swift in Wincle on May 9th. And when Stuart Goodwin asked me “Where have all the greenfinches gone?”, as far as I was concerned they hadn’t gone anywhere. But, on reflection, there do seem to be less of them about this spring. On the other hand there are plenty of Goldfinches about and on May 13th I saw a charm (what an appropriate description) of at least eight near the Millennium Stone.

Most people love bird song. Everybody who has heard it considers the dawn chorus one of the wonders of nature. All the books say the Nightingale is the greatest singer in Europe and many people I know have a great liking for the common thrushes. Bird song has inspired great music from ‘The Lark Ascending’ (Vaughan Williams) to ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Sherwin and Maschwitz) to ‘Blackbird’ (The Beatles) and many others. Not all birds produce sounds which humans find musically appealing. I know people who are really irritated by the repetitive cooing of the Collared Dove. And the calls of gulls, corvids and pheasants are generally grating and raucous. But most are vocal and many bird-watchers use calls and songs as a key element of identification. In fact, if the bird isn’t singing you have to be a real expert to separate a Willow Warbler from a Chiff Chaff. These common, delicate leaf warblers are virtually identical to look at.

But what is this ‘noise’ really all about? Well, the first thing I have to say is that birds rarely, if at all, sing for pleasure in the way that people do. They sing predominantly in the breeding season. Once the young have left the nest the woodlands are relatively quiet and late summer into early autumn is a difficult time for birders. A few species such as the ubiquitous Robin and Mistle Thrush can be heard year round but this is unusual. The vast majority of singing and calling is done by males and it has three main purposes:

(a) It is to other males saying, “I am establishing or I have established a territory here so keep away!”
(b) It is to females saying, “Here I am - come and get it!”
(c) It is to its mate (and others of its own kind) saying, “Look out!” and signalling the approach of a cat, hawk, crow, stoat or another of the many possible dangers to themselves, their eggs or their young.

However, I don’t suppose for one moment that knowing this makes the sound of a Curlew or an Eider or a Yellowhammer any less pleasing to our ears.

April
Jill Coulson of Rushton kindly sent me a comprehensive list of birds seen in her garden or around Rushton in 2009. Most interesting to me are the Mute Swan that occasionally visits the Feeder (that runs through the garden!) and sightings of Redpolls. Jill says this is the first time she’s seen these small finches in the area. They are by no means rare, although I don’t see them often. Already this year I have also had reports from Keith Brightmore and Kate Brough (who sent me photos) and have seen a couple myself. They can easily be confused with Linnets which are more common in these parts but are very rarely seen in gardens. Alison Weston sent me a funny snap of a Sparrowhawk ‘waiting for tea’ on a feeder. Jill describes the Sparrowhawk as a ‘real nuisance in the spring and summer’.

Here’s a sample of the many migrants that have arrived or passed through at the time of writing. I have seen and had several reports of Curlew and at least one Lapwing was investigating the fields between Top House and Wincle Grange late in March. I saw my first Swallow behind Bagstones Farm on March 31 and had several other reports that week. ‘Postman’ Lee and I watched a Spotted Flycatcher outside The Ship Inn on April 13 – this is an early arrival. The previous day I heard a Willow Warbler in Bosley.

I had a fantastic and lengthy view of a Stoat exploring the banks of a small stream at Tittesworth reservoir on April 2. It was totally oblivious to my presence and my dog, which was off lead, was surprisingly not interested in it. On this day and earlier at Tittesworth, along the Dane feeder and in other damp spots, I have seen quite a lot of Butterbur in flower. I am always taken by the way this plant flowers before its huge rhubarb-like leaves appear, although I don’t suppose many would describe it as pretty. Finally, on 9 April we had a family trip to Chatsworth and, as well as seeing Oystercatcher, House and Sand Martins by the river, Kay ‘fished’ a Ladybird out of my hair – it really is spring now!

March
How many times have you seen a mole in your life? Not many, I bet. I’ve seen a few dead ones in fields and on roads and a few have been delivered home the cat. But I can’t recall seeing a live one. Sue Norgrove tells me that she has a lawn that is more molehill than grass and I recently saw two farmers digging around, presumably, setting traps. So these small black mammals have been very active underground in late February and early March. They have spade-like forelimbs with fierce-some claws for digging and eat ‘animals’ in the soil, predominantly earthworms. They live below ground most of the time but do occasionally venture above and are “solitary, quarrelsome and good swimmers”. In reality, the mole is considered to be a pest by many farmers and gardeners and not the loveable creature featured in ‘The Wind in the Willows’. Males are boars and females are sows. Moles can be found almost anywhere in North America, Europe and Asia (apart from Ireland – why is that?) and they are a protected species in Germany.

Derek Riley was telling me about the considerable income he received from farmers in the 1950s for trapping moles. He used to put traps in the runs and I know that various ‘gassing’ techniques have been used over the years too. Mole trapping is obviously a real mix of art and science and has a considerable history. Computer users who find this at all interesting should visit www.guildofbritishmolecatchers.co.uk - it’s absolutely fascinating.

On Sunday 1st March, I heard a bird call in the early evening that I didn’t recognise and I couldn’t locate the bird. Three days later I heard the same call in Stratford-on-Avon and looked up to see a Grey Heron in flight. On Saturday 7 March I had a long conversation about birds with Steve Plimbley, who wrote these articles before I took over. He has obviously seen far more than I have in far more exotic places than I have. But he still gets excited at this time of year by the flush of new life and appearance of the first migrants.


Johnny Morris
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The landscape
Wincle sits in hills that rise out of the Eastern edge of the Cheshire plain. Farms, barns and dry stone walls are all built out of the same harsh millstone grit that make up the surrounding slopes.
The mixed landscape includes farmland interspersed with deciduous woodlands along the sides of the river valley, rising to heather moorland on the high ground.

Sir Philip Brocklehurst, one of the areas landowners in the late eighteenth century described the area as follows- “Few English Districts are more interesting to those who study nature in her wildest and fairest states…. valleys, rivers, rocks and hills lie mingled in profuse variety; the purple heather blends with the green moss and toppling crags rise out of verdant woods”.

Clearly not much has changed since then and a recent review article described the area as “ Conveys a feeling of being totally divorced from the rest of the country. Here rugged heather-clad moorland, swift flowing streams, turbulent rivers, scattered farms and tiny hamlets nestling in the folds of the hills” (Cheshire Life February 2003)

On a clear night, the sky can be particularly beautiful in Wincle. Far enough away from the street lights of the neighbouring towns for a good number of stars to be visible, on a cloudless, moon-free night the Milky Way can be seen and occasionally a shooting star.

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Wildlife
The varied landscape of Wincle and the surrounding area provides a rich habitat for many species of wildlife, including badgers, foxes, stoats, rabbits, hares and field mice.

Bats are often seen on dusky evenings in summer, emerging from their tree roosts to hunt for insects. Owls can be heard throughout the night, both barn and tawny owls. Little owls can sometimes be seen during the day, tucked into a tree or sitting on telegraph wires.

Birds regularly sited include kestrels and sparrow hawks hunting over the open fields, and woodpeckers, nuthatches and tree creepers in the woodlands.

The distinctive cries of curlews and lapwings can be heard over the meadows, particularly in summer. Swallows and house martens are regular visitors, nesting in local barns. Pied flycatchers also arrive in the spring, to make their homes in ivy on the house and farm fronts.

On the Dane, white breasted dippers can often be seen perching on rocks and bobbing in their distinctive way or skimming the water as they speed off to their next spot.

Garden birds might include wrens, goldfinches, tits, greenfinches, collared doves, robins, thrushes and blackbirds.

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