My very first and fond memories of the outdoors, was as
an ornithologist. Home had moved from the suburbs to a quite isolated farm
house with a few acres around it, woodland around that and Romney Marsh not far
away.
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| A view of the Royal Military Canal running through the Romney Marsh Ron Strutt [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
Life felt safer then, we would ride for miles on our
bikes, be gone for half a day or more, no high viz, no hard hat and no mobile
phone. We would ride, stop and pick black berries, watch the birds along the
Royal Military Canal and come home tired to watch the black and white TV and
read a book.
Home computers, internet and the like had not yet become the
widespread distraction they are today, not for us the X-box and Game Boy, for
us we had books to read and if we had more energy to burn, the woodshed and the
splitting axe would provide an outlet for it, no gym, no jogging and no
personal trainer. The woods, trees and garden were our training ground, hedges
to be cut, vegetables to be carted, ditches to be dug, gates to be hung.
Working around edged tools and being able to put in a fence post were all part
of our extra curricula activities from which we benefited greatly. All of
these activities and a score of others all contributed to my love of the
outdoors, drove me to the high seat instead of the games console and had me
reaching for the binoculars instead of the I-phone.
Maybe that has set the scene as to why I love to share
the high seats and the trees they stand against.
Being able to sit still is a great skill to practice and
if you need to move being able to do it slowly, smoothly and quietly, will
provide you with viewing opportunities aplenty.
If you love the outdoors and wildlife generally, you
won't mind what it is that comes to share your space, be it the tree itself or
the ground beneath it. I have watched just about every British mammal from a
high seat at one time or another, shrill Shrews, wiley Weasels and bumbling
Badgers to name but a few. My real favourites though are the birds who share
the branches and fill the air with tweets and song, Robins and Blackbirds,
Wrens and Long Tailed Tits all give me a smile but my absolute favourites are
the Wood Peckers and birds that use the trunk as their hunting ground. Unless
you are incredibly lucky, your most likely sightings are the Green Woodpecker,
the Great Spotted Woodpecker, the Tree Creeper and the Nuthatch in that order
of likelihood.
The Green is the largest with a striking green plumage
(surprise surprise) but also yellow parts and a red head in mature birds and a
beautiful bird in every respect. Despite it's name, these are often seen on the
ground as well, where they spend a lot of time hunting for ants but also in
trees of course, often hanging on to impossibly thin branches.
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| Green Woodpecker |
The magnificent Tree Creeper plays a wonderful game of
hide and seek as it goes up, down and around the trunk of a tree with it's
superbly camouflaged back in stark contrast to its Snow White belly
transitioning from highly visible to "where'd he go?" A dainty down
turned beak ideal for taking grubs, forcep like, from the bark.
Last but by no means least is the pretty Nuthatch, with
it's slate grey back and orange belly with a stout beak, much more like a true
woodpecker. Once again you might see it in a garden with a feeder but it's real
party piece is that they go up a tree facing up and down facing down. I guess
that you can do that if you don't have to worry about stuff falling out of your
pockets! They are all a well dressed class act and I love to see them all, I'd
share my tree with any of them very willingly. Good to share!
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| A nuthatch |
MG
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