Countryman's Diary
| NORTH YORKSHIRE |  | | | CLEVELAND | | | COUNTY DURHAM | | |
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Influx of wild birds is one of the many wonders of nature
ONE of the delights of
early springtime is the
seasonal influx of wild
birds. In huge numbers,
they come to our shores from faroff
places, here to spend the
summer months and often to
produce their broods of new
chicks. Then, when the chicks are
but a few weeks old, they will fly
all the way to their parents'
homes overseas. That is an even
more amazing feat. How do they
know where to go?
This annual event is one of the
wonders of nature because so
many of our visitors are tiny birds
that have flown thousands of
miles to unerringly reach their intended
destination. It is a triumph
of navigation and stamina,
and yet most of us are blissfully
unaware of this amazing event,
elements of which will be happening
as we read these notes.
With a little planning, it is often
possible to witness the arrival of
our summer visitors and this is a
splendid opportunity to spend
time trying to identify the newcomers.
A good bird reference
book will be invaluable as will a
pair of binoculars and a notebook.
Some of us may be tempted to
buy a pair of large magnification
binoculars, but these are not very
suitable - the larger the magnification,
the more difficult it is to
hold them steady. Identification
of a bird will therefore be more
difficult. That is why so many
high-power telescopes have
tripods to hold them steady.
A suitable pair of binoculars
would be something in the region
of 8 x 42, eight being the magnification
and 42 being the diameter
of the object lens in millimetres.
Some people might prefer a
smaller pair, say 7 x 40 or even a
larger pair with 10x magnification
and lens of 50 mm in diameter.
It is a personal choice and any reliable
retailer will offer guidance,
bearing in mind the weight and
size of some styles, and the purpose
for which they are intended.
For example, binoculars used for
bird watching are not necessarily
the same as those used for horse
racing.
Some wearers of spectacles prefer
to use binoculars in conjunction
with their specs whilst others
like to remove their glasses. All
preferences can be accommodated.
It is probably a good idea to practise
using binoculars whilst
watching garden birds from the
security of the house. In that way,
the birds will not be frightened
away and you will become accustomed
to the variations of viewing
which are available. Furthermore,
you will quickly learn to
identify our resident garden
birds.
Soon, our robins, wrens, blackbirds,
thrushes, blue tits, great
tits, collared doves, house sparrows
and others will be very familiar sights.
That is when we begin to notice
and identify new arrivals - and
this month is one of the most
wonderful times to observer
those newcomers. A reference
book with high quality colour
photographs will be highly useful
and should be kept close at hand,
because some summer visitors
may visit domestic gardens.
A lot depends upon the natural
food and nesting sites that are
provided by way of trees, shrubs,
flowers and insects but members
of the warbler family are good examples.
Willow warblers and
chiff-chaffs (cousins of willow
warblers) can often be seen in a
garden environment, as can spotted
flycatchers, blackcaps and
even cuckoos. Very soon, you'll
learn to distinguish a blackcap
from a marsh tit or great tit, and a
robin from a redstart or
chaffinch. You will soon graduate
from calling all small birds sparrows'
or referring to all house
martins and swifts as swallows.
The next step is to watch birds in
the wild and this is when we
learn that birds have their own
favourite habitats.
Those found on the shoreline or
in marshland areas will not necessarily
be the same as those who
favour high ground, moors and
heaths. Some prefer river banks
while others love woodland;
some prefer to move at night
while others favour the dawn.
This region is particularly wellserved
by observation points
along the coastline, from where
thousands of birds of varied
species can be seen both arriving
and departing from our shores,
or spending time at their nests. In
many cases they tolerate the
presence of human observers.
Observation points include Marsden
Rocks, near South Shields,
the Tees Estuary, Flamborough
Head and Bempton Cliffs, near
Filey. Inland waters are another
source of ever-present sights, including
those within our country
houses parklands but there is no
finer starting point than our own
gardens and their complement of
birds.
SUNDAY, April 6, brings
good news to our dwindling
population of water
voles. These delightful and harmless
small animals have suffered
from a range of disturbances,
some deliberate and others accidental,
which have resulted in a
dramatic fall in numbers.
On that date, therefore, an Act of
Parliament will protect them
against being killed or disturbed,
thus bringing them into the same
category of protection as otters.
There is no doubt water voles
suffer from the ignorance of
some humans because they are
treated like rats. Indeed, they are
often called water rats and even
in that lovely book Wind in the
Willows, the water vole is called
Ratty.
They are not rats but, unfortunately,
when swimming in our
rivers they do look very similar to
brown rats, both in size and
colour. One distinguishing feature
in the water is the rather
blunt nose and head of this vole.
Rats have more pointed features.
Water voles are shy creatures who
prefer the unpolluted waters of
our rivers and ponds, living in
burrows in the banks and feeding
on waterside plants. They dislike
interruptions from things like
pleasure boats, mountain bikers
and dogs, and often the only indication
of a water vole's presence
is a distinct plop' as it drops
into the water.
In addition to the risks from humans,
the vole is at risk from several
predators including pike,
herons, owls, birds of prey and
even other creatures like mink
and foxes. However, it seems this
loveable creature is most greatly
at risk for the simple reason that
it looks too much like a brown
rat.
IT WAS during April 1844 that a
hoard of Roman coins was
found in a small quarry about half a mile down river from High
Force in Teesdale. It was on the
Durham side of the river and
there was every suggestion the
coins had been concealed because
they were deep in a fissure
between some rocks.
They were identified as brass
coins from the time of Emperor
Licinius and Emperor Constantine
the Great, and it was considered
they had been intended as
payment to the Roman troops
who were stationed in the area.
This gave rise to a belief that the
coins had been at risk from
raiders and so the bearer had
thrust them to safety deep inside
that fissure. Sadly, they were
never retrieved until that discovery
many centuries later.
Later reports suggested that a
horse shoe and a spear-head had
been found among the coins, but
it transpired that the supposed
horse shoe might have been a
brooch, one of a pair. In fact, two
penannular brooches were
found, each in the shape of a
horse shoe and they were made
of gold. A resident of Cotherstone
remembered seeing the two gold
brooches - and the term penannular
means they were circular in
shape, albeit with a break in the
ring. Thus, they had the appearance
of horse shoes.
Other items such as tools and
utensils of various kinds were
also found in that area to provide
further evidence of the presence
of Romans in Teesdale, but my
notes do not indicate what happened
to that hoard of coins or
the two penannular brooches.
2:51pm Friday 4th April 2008
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