10 Apr 2010 2:20 AM

On Thursday afternoon, as if it had been booked, the weather was beautiful and the warmest-at 17c-this year.  Friends and I, about 15 of us, met at a prearranged place and eventually set of to go into woodland that I had not ventured into before.

The wooded area, thick, dense and dark, in some areas, was under good management and tree thinning was in progress.  Where trees had been thinned, woodland floor vegetation was now thick underfoot and it was clear to see Bluebells had taken hold but, for the moment, the plants were still in the bud stage.

As far as plants were concerned, although some members of the party thought there should have been more flowers to be seen, there were only a couple out but, for me and my wife, we enjoyed the company of some of the walkers and the walk itself. 

The wood, going uphill and 'down dale,' had lots of bird song and I was able to convince some of the walkers of what birds were singing without having to lift my binoculars to try and see the birds.  Not that I wanted to be the first, at 'every post,' to tell the rest of the party what was there to be seen and heard; for I did not want to 'steel their fire.' 

I think, if someone is telling others what can be seen and heard all the time, it takes the fun out of trying to find out what may be calling from the depths of the undergrowth or something that may be on display high in a tree.  When people, who may be new to nature rambles, have had a go at identification and perhaps not quite managed to identify what is out there, then I do not mind stepping in and telling them what can be seen and heard.  Having said that, at one point, even I had to admit I was wrong. 

The walkers, and I, were walking past an open farm field and, at the far side of the field; there was a large water container.  At the top of the container, it looked as though a Jay was perched on top but, after several minutes of watching, the object did not move.  We eventually came to the conclusion that the Jay looking object was actually part of the container but not all was lost for I did see a Jay in the woodland.

There were hidden surprises though, in the wood and, at one point, when we came to a clearing; we were treated to a panoramic view of a wonderful patchwork looking valley of farmed fields. 

To the left, I could see a lake and straight in front, almost to infinity, my eye line was lead to field after field of crops.  To my right, almost skirting the farm land, there were more wooded areas and the view went on and one for miles. 
This was a wonderful place for our group to rest for there was a 'folly,' to sit under, and survey the scene.  At the side of the 'folly,'there was an old mature tree which had stood everything that the environment had to throw at it.  Branches, in the past, had broken off and, in one of the scarred recesses, where an old branch had broken away from the trunk of the tree; I could hear the sound of a Nuthatch calling. 

One of the walkers, a lady keen on bird spotting, saw the Nuthatch and alerted the rest of our party.  The bird, probably nesting, began to call-I believe it to have been  an alarm call-so I moved away from the tree, in the hope that others would follow, but none of the walkers followed my drift and the Nuthatch became more and more defensive.  Eventually, for there was a pair of these wonderful looking birds, they made a temporary escape and when the group could no longer see the Nuthatch, the walkers moved away. 

I believe, when I go out walking, that the environment I am trying to be acquainted with should remain the same as it was when I arrived but not everybody can read the signs as clearly as I do and it is often best, from my point of view, to say nothing rather than be pedantic. 

Never the less, for there was also lots of verbal interaction between the walkers, I think everybody had a good time and a good laugh too.

By for now,

John.         
 


     

View Comments (2)

5 Apr 2010 2:44 AM

View Comments (1)

5 Apr 2010 2:36 AM

A couple of days ago, I was able to go out for a walk and, just by chance, I met a new bird watcher, I had met, for the first time, last week. 

Together, dressed in several layers due to it being cold, we decided to get out of the wind and walked down to a woodland area.  On our way, in tall trees with buds that are just about to swell, I could here my first summer visitor of the year.  Music to my ears, a Chiffchaff called out chiff chaff chiff chaff, hence its name.  I know that this little perching bird heralds the start of more visitors to our shores so I am hoping to be able to go out walking again very soon and listen to the music that I have been waiting several months to hear again.

While we were walking through the woods, my new friend-filming everything that flew-became so excited, by his new found sightings, I felt the need to ask him to lower his voice.

The woodland walking technique takes on a differnt form from the ordinary walk, for it is important to try and use cover, where possible, and try to keep quiet. 

My new friend, not being the quiet type, soon forgot himself and became noisy again so I decided to move on and walk to an area that looked out over land that once belonged to a local wealthy man.  This man, who built high walls all around his land, was the first documented person to create a nature reserve.  Back in the 1800s, the land owner paid £50,000 to have the walls built so what would it have cost today?

I took my friend into the wood, to show him a nest that was large and in a perfect circle.  From looking up at the nest, we walked towards the walled area the rich man had had built.

On the inside of the walls, something that would have been impossible only a few years ago due to the land still being private, I explained to my friend that the gap, dug out between the new wall and the tree line, had been dug out on purpose to make it more difficult for people to get over.

Firstly, if they wanted to gain access to the private land, they had to scale over the 15' wall, and face a further 10' drop on the inside of the wall.  If they were able to get over the wall, unhurt, they then had to cross an area a bit like a dried out moat.  Once across this piece of uneven land, they then had to scramble up a vertical bank of soft soil.  It the poacher was able to get into the private land, unhurt, there was still the chance of being caught due to all the noise disturbance created in trying to get over the wall.  Most poachers did not bother trying to climb the walls and went to other areas to catch food for hungry mouths. 

While I was in the wooded area, I asked my friend to walk on while I 'answered the call of nature' and, when I was walking back to the site I felt he would be at and waiting for me, I heard a scuffle followed by shouting.  My new friend, only a couple of hundred yards away from me, had managed to get lost in the wood.

I decided it would be a good idea to tell my friend how to read the signs in the wood, so that he did not get lost again.  Sorry to say that my friend could not take in, at once, all the information I have instinctively known since I was a small boy.

One of the things to look out for, if walking in dence woodland that has been planted by man, is that there will be furrows in the wood.  When the furrows were made, they would have saplings planted into them.  The furrows tell the planters where to plant, they make the turned soil easier to plant and the furrows act as areas to hold water when the trees saplings need water. 

So what, you might say, how does this make it easier to find your way around in a wood?  Well, if you went into the wood, crossing the furrows, instinct tells you that you must cross the furrows on your way out of the wood.  All you have to do is spin on your heels, and you should know the direction you want to be in.  If you start to follow the furrows, you are going the wrong way like my new friend.

Still not convinced!  Well, when you set off, to go into a wood, take notice of which side the light is on, if there is any, and it should be on the opposite side coming out.

Yes, I here you say, but when the woodland is dence, there is very little light.  In this case, look which side of the trees the liken (May be the wrong spelling) is.  Of course, if you are on your own, you do not ever go into dence woodland. 

Sometimes, when exhaustion is close by, when you have been on a long walk, it is an easy thought to want to take a short cut through a wood, but this is one of the worst things you can do. 

Cutting a path, on uneven ground and through branches that keep coming back at you, to spring into your face and ribs and, in the worst cases, hit you on the legs and knock you over, is the last thing to consider.  The other thing, when there is no path to take you through the wood, you may have to walk many times further, to find underfoot suitable clearence, to pick your way through the wood.

Stick to used and trusted paths, and, unless you know the area well, it is much safer and quicker too, to stay on the paths, for you do not have to walk one pace forward and two paces back; as you may have to do when fighting your way through the wood. 

I once, even though I was aware of the woodland area, going through the middle of a dark wood, making my way to the other side, only to find, when I reached the end of the wood, that my way was barred by a new gold course.

There were only two options left to me, one, turn and go back through the dence wood, or wait for the golfers to move on.  Has it happened, for heavy rain came, I did not have to wait long before the golfers climbed into their buggies.  When they were out of ear shot, for they were making a lot of noise, I took my chanses and walked round the edge of the Green.  Not to be recomended though for I was later than anticipated, when I arrived back at my car.  Had I not strayed off the footpath, I would have been back to the car much quicker and, in this case, I would not have been caught in the rain.

My friend, older than me but fit for his age, was, after only a couple of hundred feet, almost at the point of having to sit and rest.  Needless to say, the man will not be going into the wooded areas on his own.  A lesson well learned for if he had had ideas of going it alone, when I was not there, that thought should now be at the back of his mind.

On our way out of the thick woodland and into areas that had been cropped by the tree surgeons, there was good light and walking was much easier but, once again, my friend felt the need to keep stopping to relax his leg muscles after tiring them out. I felt the need to judge what was going on here for I did not want to over tire my friend and make him feel ill. 

Survival is much more than lookig after the people in your party, it is also thinking about yourself.  I had to consider what I would have done had the man not been fit enough to walk out of the wood.  I could not have carried him and although I could have tied him to two pieces of wood, and dragged the wood, I would have also run the risk of making myself ill.  Thankfully, I knew how far I could walk with this man and there were no problems to overcome. 

At one point, while we were resting on an old fence, two horse riders came towards us and one horse, who took an instant dislike to us, decided that it was going to give its rider a very hard time.  I stood back and calmly spoke to the rider, to ask her what she wanted us to do.  We obeyed her wishes and the rider said she did not know why the horse did not like the look of us but thanked us for being patient.

From there, we walked up a steep gradient and when we reached the top. my friend pulled out a packet of cigarettes and had a smoke.  What he did not seem to know was that the smell of the smoke carried and any animals, that were in the vicinity, would soon make a detour. 

Although I have yet to see the Hares boxing, I have had another sighting-which I would like to share with you-for I have never seen them before.

In all the years I have been walking in the country, I have never seen any deer roaming free and, a few days earlier-although I was driving-I passed an open field, with woodland to one side of it, and five deer were grazing on the lush grass.  The deer were only small and, when I was able to check through my books, at home, I noted that they were Roe Deer.  I am not sure but I think these deer were introduced to England. 

I have no photos but I will try to show a picture of the deer for you to see.  I am hoping that the sighting of the deer heralds good weather but what do I know how can I make such a statement when I have never seen these beautiful creatured before.

By for now,

John.   

View Comments (1)

28 Mar 2010 7:40 PM

At long last, although we have been told there is more snow on its way, spring is on our doorstep.  There is a slight green hue on the trees, as buds begin to form, and there is evidence of birds nesting.

Here, you can see a Blue Tit taking interest in our back garden nest box.

View Comments (4)

26 Mar 2010 3:06 AM

View Comments (3)