Norton Green Flora & Fauna

Flora & Fauna

Nature notes from the Green - As a life long owner of working dogs, principally lurchers and terriers, I have spent countless hours over the years out with my dogs in the local fields in all weather conditions, mooching around the hedgerows and waterways and, if not catching rabbits on land where I have permission then very often just sitting quietly watching all kinds of animals be they fur or feather, waterborne, reptilian or insects going about their business largely oblivious of my presence. Sitting still, preferably under natural cover, can be the most effective way of observing animals.

The surrounding farmland, waste places (often unused or wayside pockets of land) and local gardens provide habitat for a surprising variety of flora and fauna. Waterways such as canals, brooks, streams and pools are vital arteries linking or passing through the land. Trees are natural citadels on their own, especially for insect life, and play an immense role from an ecological point of view. As a general rule, the more trees and waterways there are, the more diverse the animal life to be found.

Norton Green still has a pleasingly healthy population of trees and, just as importantly, hedgerows, thanks to the survival of largely dairy farming in the area.
In these, the first of several compilations of notes I have made, I will endeavor dear reader to provide you with a brief overview of the local bird life. No doubt any budding or indeed seasoned ornithologists out there will scrutinize my every word. Let me reassure you that this is a true and accurate account of just some of my observations made over several decades, starting when I first moved into the area as a teenager in 1967.

Certainly one of the most unusual sightings involved a water rail in 1979. This secretive little relative of the commonly seen moorhen was unfortunately pinned by one of my terriers on the Trent on a dank winter's day. I hurriedly took it home to examine it more closely. Miraculously it was unharmed and proceeded to run around my living room like the proverbial road runner of cartoon fame! I released it within the hour at the spot where I first came across it some 200 meters to the rear of what used to be the "Up the Vale " newsagent shop.

If you are patient you will spot a kingfisher or two on the brook and even a water dipper, although sightings of the latter are very infrequent and occur more towards Knypersley pool. Herons are a common sighting especially during winter. Mallard ducks regularly nest along the brook and in marshy areas. Teal are sometimes seen and the occasional tufted duck. Members of the corvidae family, crows, are commonly seen. Rooks and crows are probably the most familiar but jays and jackdaws are well represented. Magpie numbers have exploded over the last twenty or so years and groups of fifteen or twenty birds can be regularly seen during the short winter days.

Birds of prey are always a special sight be it a kestrel hovering above waiting to descend and pin a field vole or beetle in the grass or a sparrow hawk flashing down the hedgerows with rapid bursts of speed in pursuit of a blackbird or a dunnock. Sparrow hawks, rarely seen thirty years ago, now regularly frequent our local fields and nest in secluded spots. Buzzards, which have made a fantastic comeback in numbers nationally over recent years, were unheard of locally for a very long time. Four years ago I spotted a pair circling high above Woodhouse lane. They slowly moved off in the direction of Endon road and out of sight. I have seen several pairs locally since this time. I have not seen a barn owl for many years though I do remember the resident pair that in the early 70's inhabited the little copse behind the old rectory opposite the Norton Arms. I would regularly see them hovering silently like large ghost-like moths close to the ground in the local fields on my dawn forays. (There was also a long established rookery in the same copse. Due to increased disturbance, the familiar springtime raucous cawing of the adult birds tending to their young in the lofty nests of twigs is now a distant memory). Tawny owls and Little owls are common locally, the latter often sighted during the day if disturbed.

Finches are my favorite birds. It is truly magical to see a "charm" (group) of goldfinches drifting in unison from one patch of thistles to another feeding on seeds. Their plumage is beautiful. Crimson, white and black faces and brilliant yellow wing bars. Their constant twittering during flight is unmistakable. Chaffinches, linnets, and greenfinches can be regularly seen, but bullfinches appear to have declined. Several pairs of reed buntings nest locally in marshy areas. Flocks of up to fifty or so siskins (delicate little green colored birds) can be seen at times during the winter feeding on the seeds of alder tree cones along the course of the Trent as it winds its way through our gentle little valley. Sometimes blue tits and long tailed tits will join them on their feeding forays.

The wren or Jenny wren as it is sometimes called is often regarded as our smallest bird but the goldcrest is smaller still, Europe's smallest bird in fact. Whereas the wren is locally common, the goldcrest is a rarity. I have probably seen twenty of these tiny little insect eaters in as many years in the local fields. The familiar songster the blackbird, known by us all, is common but that other similar sized beauty the song thrush with it's striking spotted breast is definitely not as widespread as it used to be. Changing farming methods and the "sanitation" of our environment via the use of pesticides and herbicides may be factors. The debate is still open.

The larger mistle thrush or storm cock can still be seen surveying lawns and other grassy areas for worms. The once common starlings and house sparrows have also declined in numbers. Skylarks have all but disappeared locally as have yellow hammers. Cuckoos are rarely heard nowadays. Corncrakes have long been absent. Probably some of our elderly residents have childhood memories of listening to the grating call of the elusive corncrake. Woodpeckers appear to be holding on well. Green woodpeckers are frequently seen if you sit and wait long enough, in fact I very often hear them before I spot them, the familiar tapping sound of their beaks resonating from afar as they hack away at tree bark and decaying wood. Just a week ago (mid May) I watched a pair of great spotted woodpeckers feeding young in the trunk of an old ash tree just a minutes walk from my house.

Game birds such as pheasant and grey partridge are ever present though the numbers of 'partridge' have markedly declined since the 1970's. Small numbers of jack snipe are regular winter visitors to the more waterlogged fields. Canada geese, now classed as a pest species, fly over regularly at dawn and dusk to and from Knypersley pool. The list of species is considerable and it would entail the writing of a small book to cover them all in detail. Wood pigeons are widespread. Collared doves are growing in numbers. Nuthatches, tree creepers, pied wagtails, lapwings, and those harbingers of spring willow warblers all can be spotted locally, even the odd nesting pair of curlews, and every garden has its resident robin!

I hope my observations have given you a taste of the wide variety of bird life that can be seen in our local fields and gardens. Let us keep our "Green" truly green for the sake of our birds and other forms of wild life. Take your binoculars out with you, sit and enjoy!

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