Nature Notes December 2023
Nature Notes December 2023
After yet another week of dull, damp weather, a bright sunny morning in early December encouraged us out for a local walk. There was a kaleidoscope of colour under a large Hazel bush where the leaves had fallen; from palest green to lemon yellow, fading to yellow-brown. The Oaks still had not lost their leaves, although they were turning a russet brown and the next strong wind will see them cascading to the ground. An old Willow was decorated with bright green moss and the underside of a branch was festooned with layers of a bracket fungus with a deep maroon centre and white edging. It had rained during the night and Rose hips in the sun were bejewelled with glistening raindrops. Across a field we could see a bird sitting in the top of a tree which had already lost its leaves. It was a lone Rook, the bare grey area around its beak distinguishing it from a Carrion Crow. It seemed quite content, so was probably just warming itself in the sun. Further on, we could hear the twitterings of a Linnet from high in the tree tops and a Bullfinch’s plaintive ‘peep’ from a Holly. There is a good crop of Holly berries this year providing food for the migrant thrushes, such as the flock of about twenty Fieldfares we had previously seen feasting in a tree laden with berries on Buxton Heath. Walking on, we heard distant ‘wink-wink’ calls, alerting us to an approaching skein of Pink-footed Geese. When in flight, the Pinks are in constant communication to keep the wavering flock together. It is one of the joys of this time of year, to hear them coming and eventually spot them high in the sky as they head over Reepham on the way to their next feeding area. A bank of straggly, tall grasses and bramble, which in spring is a good place to look for shieldbugs and other insects, looked rather forlorn but would be providing a multitude of niches for them to hibernate. As the vegetation dies down, other plants which are less obvious in spring and summer become more noticeable, especially the mosses which are a vibrant mid-green at this time of year and suddenly seem to appear everywhere. Ferns and lichens too become more visible and are fascinating to study when all the insects and higher plants have disappeared for the winter. On your next walk, even if it is only to the shops, see if you can spot any mosses: they really are there ready to be noticed.
Do let me know if you see any interesting wildlife (rachel.42rr@btinternet.com)
