Country diary: a chainsaw massacre in the alder woods
Witton-le-Wear, County Durham: This tangle of gnarled trees has a hint of the Florida Everglades about it, with mossy, fallen trunks sinking back into the oozeOn an overcast, drizzly afternoon at...
View ArticleCountry diary: struggle for existence is woven into the fabric of a wood
Hollingside Lane, Durham: The rowan tree and its honeysuckle strangler, gripping like a boa constrictor, must have been entwined at least 15 yearsBeside this stony track, skirting the edge of woodland,...
View ArticleCountry diary: stumbling across the snails' winter shelter
Stanhope, Weardale: This collective mollusc hibernation occurs in our garden after the first frosts, when old clay flower pots behind the greenhouse become packed with snailsI probably wouldn’t have...
View ArticleCountry diary: what happens when nature takes back control
Durham City: Left untouched, the pasture quickly turned to scrub, then near-impenetrable woodland. And the birds have moved in About 15 years ago livestock grazing ceased in this field, on the southern...
View ArticleCountry diary: where the bee sucks there danger lies
Durham City: The teasels are dead now, but in summer their leaves form a little cup that traps water – and unwary insectsThe shoulder-high, prickly stems of dead teasels, Dipsacus fullonum, remain...
View ArticleCountry diary: what a joy to welcome the much-maligned magpie | Phil Gates
Crook, Co Durham: A nest in a neighbour’s garden is reused annually, growing as each new pair makes additionsThe discordant cackling of magpies has joined the dawn chorus. A pair – “two for joy”,...
View ArticleCountry diary: oystercatchers arrive in their black and white finery
Tunstall reservoir, Weardale: It’s breeding season and these fearless birds are prepared to stand their ground against cattle I expected to hear the longed-for bubbling song of curlews, returning to...
View ArticleCountry diary: field horsetail shoots rise and prepare to swish
Gateshead, Tyne and Wear: This ancient, tenacious plant has already weathered three mass extinctionsEvery April, rocket-shaped, yellow, nine-inch reproductive shoots of field horsetail (Equisetum...
View ArticleCountry diary: the silverfish is the great survivor
Crook, Co Durham: This ancient wingless insect still resembles its 400m-year-old fossil ancestorsI almost swilled a living fossil down the plughole when I showered this morning. Overnight, the tiny...
View ArticleCountry diary: ground flora race to bloom before the tree canopy fills in
Egglestone, Teesdale: Wood sorrel may appear vulnerable, but it is a tenacious little plant with a smart survival strategyI had come to this woodland on the steep banks of the River Tees, downstream...
View ArticleCountry diary: quarry spoil is dingy skipper heaven
Hawthorn Dene, Durham: Only bird’s-foot trefoil flourishes here – but that suits these picky butterflies and the green tiger beetle that preys on them In the flamboyant company of peacocks and red...
View ArticleCountry diary: rain reveals the creatures that walk on water
Crook, County Durham: Springtails have a waterproof covering and are light enough to float on the surface of rainwater poolsThe sound of heavy rain lashing against the bedroom window woke me in the...
View ArticleCountry diary: a flowery Blast from the industrial past
Dawdon, Durham coast: As fulmars nest and flora thrives, I realise thatthe rock debris has some benefits Standing on these sea cliffs, surrounded by the fragrance of burnet roses, with sand martins...
View ArticleCountry diary: freeloading bumblebees find a shortcut to food
Crook, County Durham: By chewing their way directly into the nectaries of flowers, the thieving insects circumvent the laborious pollination mechanismThe first hint that there were thieves in the...
View ArticleCountry diary: the spread of the Welsh poppy
Weardale, Co Durham: Over the past five decades it has advanced rapidly through much of lowland England, Scotland and Wales, with gardeners acting as intermediariesI have probably walked through...
View ArticleCountry diary: the lime blossom hums with feasting insects
Wolsingham, County Durham: Countless bees, wasps, flies and hoverflies feed on the fragrant nectar-laden flowersThe sun had barely risen above the roof tops and already the flowers on the common limes...
View ArticleCountry diary: the wheatfield is bombarded by insouciant little weeds
Pinnock Hill, Durham City: Cranesbills, pansies and poppies have ingenious ways of ensuring their place alongside the crops On one side of this footpath, a yellow ochre monoculture of wheat, a triumph...
View ArticleCountry diary: the yarrow's bright flowers hide a death trap
Rokeby Park, Teesdale: The gravity-defying flowerheads provide ideal cover for opportunist money spidersThis narrow road, leading to the confluence of the rivers Tees and Greta at the Meeting of the...
View ArticleCountry diary: wall brown butterflies in a fight for survival
Stanhope, Weardale: It seems strange to describe something as fragile as a butterfly as being aggressive, but this species is ferociously territorialA chill wind, carrying wisps of thistledown, blew...
View ArticleCountry diary: observing birds with undeniable charm
Dawdon, County Durham: The huge flocks that assemble here are one of the most exhilarating sights of early autumnA charm, the collective noun for a gathering of goldfinches, is nowhere near adequate to...
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