Countryman's Diary | Darlington & Stockton Times

Rare bird is often heard but not seen

3:32pm Monday 20th May 2013

ALTHOUGH I have no wish to get involved in a dispute about a proposed housing development in Ampleforth, I feel I have to set the record straight about an aspect of wildlife that could be affected.

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Names are a funny game for our crows

4:19pm Monday 13th May 2013

THE collective nouns for birds usually produce a few curiosities and questions. Some examples concern members of the crow family. For example: a murder of crows, a mischief of magpies, an unkindness of ravens, a conceit of jackdaws, a clamour of rooks, a chattering of choughs and a band of jays.

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Celebrating month of floral splendour

4:23pm Tuesday 7th May 2013

THE month of May has always been a cause for celebration, with May Day supporting hundreds of different events and ceremonies throughout the country.

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Headquarters could have ended intiers

2:40pm Friday 26th April 2013

THE proposal by the local police and crime commissioner to sell the North Yorkshire Police Headquarters building at Newby Wiske Hall is of particular interest to me.

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The curious nature oflocalised names

3:59pm Friday 19th April 2013

I HAVE come across some curious terminology that is now becoming more widely used particularly where map-making is concerned.

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Warmer weather could see Argentinian visitors fighting with the locals

12:20pm Friday 5th April 2013

I T is not often that we notice jays around my part of Yorkshire despite their colourful plumage. Members of the crow family, they have beautiful warm buffcoloured bodies, distinctive blue patches on their blacktipped wings which also have some white feathers in the wings’ central areas, and neat little crests of black and white.

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Good Friday, the day of crop planting

2:23pm Tuesday 2nd April 2013

AS I look out of my study window upon a covering of snow and the remnants of the previous night’s frost, it is difficult to believe that Easter is upon us. However, I am writing these notes a couple of weeks in advance so there is time for the weather to change and hopefully provide us with sunshine for the holiday weekend.

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Do pine martens hold the key to squirrels?

2:48pm Friday 22nd March 2013

ONE of the best known wild animals in this country is probably the grey squirrel. If we do not see several in our woods or fields, or raiding our bird feeders for food, we are highly likely to be aware of them in town parks and formal gardens. In the latter case, they are well fed by human visitors who encourage them to stay and make their homes nearby. In some cases, these cheeky squirrels show no fear of humans and will even take food from the hand.

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Song heralds end to dearth of birds

2:44pm Friday 15th March 2013

THIS morning, as I write these notes two weeks ahead of publication, the sun was shining as I awoke and a thrush was in full voice in our cherry tree. He remained for more than an hour before moving a few yards into some neighbouring silver birches and finally performing from sycamores behind the house. All those trees are leafless as I make these notes but clearly he senses that spring is in the air and equally clearly, he is declaring his presence to other thrushes and marking the boundaries of his territory. In the near future, there may be a thrush’s nest somewhere nearby.

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Stories may change but the names stay the same overthe generations

11:21am Friday 8th March 2013

ONE of the interesting facets of writing about the countryside and local communities is that the same surnames often appear profusely in certain places. Clearly, it means that those particular families have lived there for many generations, whether or not they originated there or moved in at a later stage.

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