November 2018
A flock of twenty or so long tailed tits accompanied
by one great tit cousin seemed not bothered by human presence in their midst. A
pair of buzzards cruised overhead, but it was probably the sparrow hawk
patrolling the woodland edge that moved them on, and quietened all other
birdlife.
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| Hollow Walk in Autumn |
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| Snipes Dene |
The wind hastened the fall of leaves and chased them
across the beechwood floor, turning it into a moving carpet of golden-brown. We
were in these woods a few weeks ago working alongside gardeners planting wood
anemone rhizomes – ten thousand of them. That’s a lot. When they come into life
next spring, they should create a natural barrier along the path, discouraging
people from trampling the woodland floor with its great variety of
invertebrates. Not disturbing the creatures of the woodland floor is a good
thing anyway, but this stretch is part of Gibside’s SSSI, so there is an extra
duty of care. SSSI – that’s Site of Special Scientific Interest; pronounced
tripleesseye.
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| Not Twiglets but wood anemone rhizomes |
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| Steve prepares a slot for some rhizomes |
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| More of the planting team |
Down on Warrenhaugh crows played on the wind over
fields now empty of sheep. Further down river jackdaws, like their crow cousins,
were enjoying the blustery day until spotting a red kite to harass for a bit before
returning to their more innocent game. A heron in stately flight rightly
ignored squabbling mallard. It was a good day to be on the wander.
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| Sunlight through the trees |
Nearby, just below the icehouse, Ruth and John were
barrowing hefty river-smoothed rocks up an extremely steep path to line a
streambed and thereby limit erosion. They had already shored up the stream
banks and installed drainage to control the flow of water seeping from the
adjacent hillside. They are extraordinary people: Gibside’s own volunteer civil
engineers.
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| Birches in Snipes Dene, before. |
The wanderer crossed Ladyhaugh and on to Snipes Dene,
where the rest of the team were busy cutting out mainly birch and rhododendron
to create a woodland glade. Some larger trees, though, are being spared – only
to be ring-barked and left as standing dead wood. Ranger Dan experimented by
painting some with blue-dyed herbicide. The glade is to be one of five down
this side of the valley, each of about two hundred square metres. It’s all part
of a plan made in consultation with the likes of Natural England and the
Forestry Commission to encourage a variety of ground flora, and construct
habitats attractive to amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates. They would expect
that of a triplesseye.
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| Mike tackles a birch |
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| "Timber!" |
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| Picasso: Herbicide being painted onto ring-barked tree. |
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| "The Wednesday" Glade |
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| Dead Man's Fingers - Xylaria longipes |
Whilst eating lunch we "spotted" an eyed ladybird (Anatis ocellata), but unfortunately didn't manage to get a photograph.
Steve Wootten & Phil Coyne
