Mike's Natural Musings

Friday, 22 October 2021

The Wood Wide Web and Finding the Mother Tree.

As I wandered through the ancient birch and oak woodland of the Woodland Trust's section of Nettleton Woods, my mind was full of Dr. Suzanne Simard's book Finding the Mother Tree which I found incredibly moving, both on a personal level as well as a scientific one. She is best known for the research she has done on the underground networks of forests characterised by mycorrhizal fungi and roots. She worked out how these fungi and roots facilitate communication and interaction between the trees and plants of an ecosystem. Within the communication between trees and plants is the exchange of carbon, water, nutrients and defence signals between trees. In 1997 the journal Nature referred to this discovery as the Wood Wide Web. Simard has since identified something called a hub tree or 'mother tree'. Mother trees are the largest trees in forests that act as central hubs for the mycorrhizal networks. A mother tree supports seedlings by infecting them with fungi and supplying them with nutrients as they grow. She discovered that Douglas Firs provide carbon to baby firs and that there was more carbon sent to baby firs that came from that specific mother tree. However she also found that mother trees were using the fungal web to support other tree species. Simard was the primary inspiration for the scientist, Patricia Westford, who, like Simard, was ridiculed by fellow scientists and forest managers before eventually being vindicated, in Richard Powers' 2018 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Overstory, also an excellent and moving book.

As I wandered through Nettleton indulging myself in the therapeutic Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing I couldn't help but wonder at the amazing world, not only around me, but beneath my feet. As I walked I kept my eyes open for the Mother Trees, some ancient and venerable oaks and birches being prime candidates. One purpose of today's visit was to look for fly agaric toadstools which I found in the same place as last year. Although poisonous to us, fly agaric forms mycorrizhal associations with a range of trees, notably birch and and pine, both part of the community of Nettleton Woods.

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Fly agaric

Dead Wood, particularly standing dead wood, is an importand part of a forest ecosystem.

Autumn colours

Scots Pine and birch woodland

Cots pine with ancient oaks showing behind.

Scots Pine and birch woodland

Birch and pine leaves.

A Mother Tree?

Ancient birch woodland

The spirit of the trees.

Woodland path (a Shul)

Ancient birch woodland

Birch and pine woodland

Unknown fungus

Puffball.

Thursday, 21 October 2021

The Fantastic Mr Fox

As I walked through the cemetery, autumn colours were just beginning to sparkle on the trees. I opened the gate into the woodland burial ground and there he was again basking in the sun like last time. He/she seems to be bold and fearless, obviously habituated to people. He only allowed me to approach so far before retreating to the undergrowth, however.

Continuing my walk around the perimeter I was fascinated to see an apple tree laden with rosy fruit. Presumably it has grown from an apple core discarded by a visitor to the cemetery. There are also some heavily fruiting crab apples in this part of the cemetery too, but a green, rather than a red variety so not sure what sort of jelly they would make.

Further around I was pleased to see the spindle trees now with open fruits displaying the orange seed. Although the insignificant flowers are white earlier in the year in autumn they create a magnificent display. Although the spindles here are most likely planted for ornamental purposes, in the wild they are an indicator of ancient woodland. The wood from spindles is creamy-white, hard and dense. It is straight grained and was once used to make 'spindles' for spinning and holding wool (hence its name), as well as skewers, toothpicks, pegs and knitting needles.

The guelder rose berries are now well-ripened but it needs another week or so before the foliage reaches its full autumn glory.

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Autumn colour

The Fantastic Mr Fox

Ripe apples.

Blackberry often turns a superb deep red in autumn.

Spindle berries. The pink fruit opens to show the orange seed.

Guelder rose

Autumn colour.

Spindle berries. The pink fruit opens to show the orange seed.

Autumn colour.

Saturday, 16 October 2021

Pink Feet and Whoopers at Gib

Brian and Heather arrived at our house at 9.30 and we were soon on the road to Gibraltar Point. Just past Louth before the village of Burwell we were delighted to see 3 red kite in the air over the same field. What a privilege! These magnificent raptors are gradually becoming more common in Lincolnshshire.

After parking up at Gib, Brian and I set off to visit the hides while the Heathers headed over to the Haven to draw and paint. As we left the car park I was pleased to first hear and then see a flock of whooper swans fly over. Unfortunately we saw no more of them. Pink-footed geese were flying around and I later found out that there had been a count of 1500. What a magnificent sight they make during the winter as they fly backwards and forwards from feeding to roosting sites, their calls reminiscent of a distant pack of hounds. We had an excellent session in the hides, the highlight being a pair of spotted redshank close enough to the hide for photography.

We met up with the ladies in the visitor centre for lunch before heading down to the dunes and the beach where we walked out to end of the old spit, again appreciating the sea holly now past its flowering period. Out over the was by the meandering River Steeping we had good views of several groups of seals as well brent geese. In the distance were large numbers of waders but out of binocular range while nearer to on a marsh pool were a pair of grey plovers, one flying off and nicely displaying its black armpit. The calls of curlew echoed over the mudflats making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up; my favourite bird call.

Canada Goose Wood Pigeon Whooper Swan Pinkfeet Greylag Geese Teal Mallard Shoveler Herring Gull Coot Pied Wagtail Crow Little Egret Dabchick Moorhen Redshank Lapwing Avocet Gadwall Goldfinch Spotted Redshank Black Headed Gull Kestrel Brent Goose Curlew Linnet Great Black Backed Gull Grey Plover Pheasant

Grey Seal Common Darter dragonfly

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Fox Moth Caterpillar

Heron

Little Egret

Dabchick

Spotted Redshank

Shaggy Ink Cap

Shoveler

Friday, 15 October 2021

Humber Birding

It was a bright clear and sunny morning as Brian and I drew into the parking area at Winter's Pit on the Humber Bank. It was cool, though, at only 8C with a wind coming from the NW. Cilly on our outward walk but warm on the return with our backs to the wind and sun in our faces.

Our day began with a good scan of the pit where we ticked off quite a few of the regular birds. I had hoped for Godwit but had to wait until our return later in the day. Most of the water fowl were coming out of eclipse plumage now and beginning to resume their finery but there were still some scruffy tufted ducks around.

Having wandered around the pond and chatted with, Jean, the owner, we headed north along the concrete sea wall. There was very little to see initially apart from the occasional curlew on the muddy river bank. I had hoped for some winter thrushes as redwing are now appearing but we had no luck. We saw no pink-footed gees either today. Things looked up when we reached East Halton Skitter, the outflow of East Halton Beck into the Humber. As we approached we could see good numbers of birds on the edge of the outflow. There were good numbers of redshank and dunlin with a couple of greenshank and best of all a small flock of avocets. As we continued to cross the beck to lunch further up the, now grassy, bank we had excellent views of marsh harrier.

After a pleasant lunch in the sun we wandered back towards Winter's getting excellent views of a super male stonechat as we began the return. Back at the pit, I was delighted to find a few black-tailed godwit that were confiding enough for photography. Even better was the glimpse of a buttern in the reeds faily close to us.