Misty morning and glimmers of hope for nature conservation

Today during my regular lockdown walk the early morning mist added another visual permutation to a now very familiar landscape.  A background of electricity pylons and other urban paraphernalia, together with the busy M1 motorway were magically masked away.  Suddenly a mature common ash tree (see attached photo) stood proud of all the urban tangle albeit for a short while only, but perhaps just long enough to give a glimpse back in time to its early life when the future of this species was more assured.  Sadly, this arboreal, landscape and wildlife treasure is threatened by ash-dieback.  This is a highly infectious fungal disease originating in Asia and first recorded in England in 2012, although it may have been in the UK since 2002.  The fungal spores can spread in the wind and also by human transportation, especially by unknowingly moving infected young plants ready for planting elsewhere.  Current estimates suggest we may lose around 50% to 80% of the UK’s ash trees in the next few years.  At the moment scientists are working to discover genes with resistance to ash-dieback and this may offer glimmers of hope for ash trees in the future.

 

ash tree at Brandy Carr

ash tree at Brandy Carr

Much more heartening this week on the same walk has been the sighting of a tree sparrow.  This is a very scarce bird although there has been some signs of a recovery in the UK in recent years.  It has a brown cap and black cheek spots, unlike the house sparrow.  See attached grab photograph taken at Lindale Lane, Wrenthorpe.

tree sparrow at Lindale Lane Wrenthorpe

tree sparrow at Lindale Lane Wrenthorpe

On 24 November 2020  I watched two red kite methodically surveying the fields between Wrenthorpe and Brandy Carr and Kirkhamgate.  This species almost became extinct in the UK, but has now made an incredible comeback thanks to reintroduction programmes and legal protection.  See attached photo taken from my image stock.

Red Kite

Red Kite

Little Egret in Wrenthorpe

At a recent meeting of Wakefield Camera Club, I was asked to identify a bird seen perched in a tree at the bottom of a garden in Wrenthorpe. Expecting a jay, as this is the bird that most often crops up, I was totally suprosed to be shown an image of a little egret perched high in a tree in the middle of Wrenthorpe! The garden likely backs on to Balne Beck whcih flows through the centre of the village and the egret is feeding along the beck and maybe even taking fish from garden ponds. Whateever it’s doing there, it illustrates just how much the bird life of Britain is changing. I remember twitching a little egret in Chesire or somewhene when it was a real rarity for Britain back in the 80s. How far we come and now these beautiful birds are commonplace at most of the waters around Wakefield and even, it seems , in more urban areas too. Thanks to Robert Bilton for sending the images.

Little Egret in Wrenthorpe

Little Egret in Wrenthorpe

Little Egret in Wrenthorpe

Little Egret in Wrenthorpe

 

The case of the silent witnesses and the lawyer’s wig

Recently my island of green which lies off the coast of the Wakefield city centre has been transformed.  Trees have released their leafy loads from the summer skies to form a mosaic of colours and shapes on the landing fields of autumn.  Together with being a visual treat there are also the unmistakable sounds, which keep in step as we walk through deep layers of fallen leaves.  This year this is amplified by a mass percussion section of snapping and crunching acorns under foot.  Many will be taken by jays and other wildlife.  Some will soon start to germinate to provide future generations of the nation’s favourite tree the oak.  The leaves will be collected by a silent army of worms and other allies.  Taken to underground bunkers to help form and improve tomorrow’s soil.

Another silent witness is the field maple, which has suddenly come forward to show its autumn glories.  In summer the leaves get their colour from a green pigment called chlorophyll.  In autumn as the leaves die the chemical balance of this and other pigments changes to expose the beautiful yellows and golds.  The attached photo shows a single leaf still attached to a tree at Brandy Carr.  A small to medium size tree and hedgerow shrub the field maple is our only native maple.  It is a most valuable landscape and wildlife tree. The early flowers are a timely source of nectar and pollen for insects.  Aphids feed on the leaves that in turn attract bluetits and other birds, together with insects such as hoverflies and ladybirds.  In addition the seeds are eaten by small mammals.  Also, the timber is prized by wood-turners and carvers.

field maple at Brandy Carr

Yesterday during my local walk I noticed my silent witnesses have coincidentally arrived with the emergence of a fungus called Lawyer’s Wig.  In part this may be because when young the shaggy white scales on the cap of the fungus may resemble a lawyer’s wig .  Also, it is perhaps more commonly known as shaggy ink cap and the attached photo show the fungus growing in a grass verge at Carr Gate.  It shows the cap of the fruiting body is beginning to self-digest quickly dissolving into a blacky inky slime.  Indeed, during the 17th and 18th centuries it is believed the liquid may have been used for making legal documents and bank notes, because the lack of any fungal spores may otherwise have suggested a forgery.

shaggy ink cap at Carr Gate

shaggy ink cap at Carr Gate

November meeting cancelled

I’m a bit late in posting this but by now you will be aware thtat we will not be having the November indoor meeting and, worse still, we woun’t be able to have an outdoor meeting either due to the lockdown. The good news is that I have secured Mike Watson for next November so we won’t miss his talk on the Canadian Rockies. It was a lecture I was looking forward to.

I may consider Zooim meetings for next year and certainly for the AGM but I’m hoping that before any of thar, we will bve able to meet up for mince pies andf an outdoor meeting in December after the lockdown. I’ll be back with more on that soon.