Nature Notes January 2024
Nature Notes January 2024
A clear blue sky, with the sun just coming up over Kinder Scout, gave us an exhilarating start to our Boxing Day walk from the top of the Snake Pass in Derbyshire, to Birchen Clough. The air was crisp after days of rain and the surface of Featherbed Moss that we had to cross was extremely boggy, fortunately the path was paved with large flat rocks, as this is a very well walked route. We could see Manchester in the far distance but it was the closer vegetation that was interesting for those not used to upland moors. The Heather and Bilberry are leafless at this time of year, so the evergreen Crowberry was easy to spot, and huge swathes of the moorland were the rusty red colour of Bog Cotton leaves. The ‘cronk’ of a distant Raven drew our eyes back to the sky, and as we got higher, we heard the distinctive ‘go-back, go-back’ calls of Red Grouse. After careful searching, we spotted one perched on an outcrop, its dark reddish-brown plumage blending in with the heather around it. Then a cock bird launched himself skyward and arched over his chosen territory, calling as he went. On landing, we could see the bright red wattles above his eyes, a sure sign he was already in prime breeding condition. Higher still, there was grouse activity all round us: birds displaying, flying past at speed and surveying their domain. There were also signs of other inhabitants of the peat lands, as the fresh, distinctive droppings of Mountain Hares were alongside the path. These are very shy creatures which would only come near the path at night and would have been tucked down in a sheltered hollow during the day. We wondered if they were in their white, winter coats, and this was confirmed a few days later by our son-in law who saw them on the Kinder plateau. In one place we found Fir Clubmoss growing beside the path. This is a plant which looks like a very small fir tree with stiff yellow-green leaves. It is scarce in the Peak District but more common in the uplands of northern England and Scotland. Further on we were surprised to see a brilliant patch of orange-red on the end of a peat hag. Going across to look closer, we found it was an area of grey lichen which had a mass of scarlet fruiting bodies, which in close-up looked like miniature fungi with shining red caps. It was a species that we do have in Norfolk, on Kelling Heath, but only on a much smaller scale and certainly not so the fruit could be seen five metres away! Nearer home, Ian was delighted to be able to photograph a Scandinavian visitor in Fakenham’s B & Q car park in December: a beautiful Waxwing. These breeders of the northern forests don’t always come to Britain in winter, it depends on the berry crop on the continent, when that has been exhausted, they cross the North Sea and are often found in supermarket car parks where there are plantings of Cotoneaster, Rowan and other berry producing trees and bushes, so very special when they do arrive.
Do let me know if you see any interesting wildlife (rachel.42rr@btinternet.com)
