February 16, 2010
Stories in the Snow
With snowfall in this country there is often a limited window of opportunity to make the most of your tracking skills before a thaw sets in again. If you are tied to a daily job (I am lucky enough to be self-employed) you also need it to snow at the weekend! Still, it is worth persevering for a large amount of experience will come your way in a short space of time. There is more snow to come for many parts, so make the most of it.
Good snow, perfect tracking snow – settling all day to a depth of say 10cm and not freezing hard, nor melting at all at night when most creatures are active or all the next day while you are out in it – not only reveals exciting little details but also the big picture of what is about and where they go. The later in the season it falls, the more activity you are likely to encounter; the early winter lethargy of many animals will have passed and fat reserves run down, so food will take higher priority. Badgers, for instance, begin to move around more as pregnant females make space for themselves, perhaps evicting some other sows and younger boars from the sett in the process. Much seasonal activity is dictated by day length and that inexorably gets greater as we move towards spring.
The most recent snowfall (here in my part of Kent) spoke volumes. As I stepped out of my door I immediately learned that we have a Wood Mouse (or possibly the closely related Yellow-necked Mouse) or two, using our coal bunker as a thoroughfare. The curious cloven-hoof-like tracks of a mouse hopping in snow can be quite a puzzle if you have never encountered them before. In February 1855 large numbers appeared in the snows of rural Devon and were not generally understood for what they were. They caused such a stir that some folks thought they were the footprints of Satan himself and the incident was reported in The Times!
A close look, in most cases, will reveal the imprint of the tail. That said, a little while later, in the woods I found a hopping mouse trail with no tail drag. (see photos below) That trail also followed the mouse’s outward line on the return journey, making a confusion of prints that needed unpicking.
The direction of movement is indicated by the wider gap. This is made by the hindfeet landing ahead of the forefeet. A Rabbit (inset) shows something similar but greatly scaled up.
hopping mouse leaving no tail marks; what a strange beast it appears to have been
Bear in mind that two way trails are common with many mammals. A small creature like a mouse or rabbit will have a learned route that they can flee down in moments of danger without a thought or hesitation, so ingrained that they know where every obstacle is for an instant manoeuvre.(It has been shown by experiment that for a while they still jump over objects that have been removed.) Other animals follow scent trails that they have laid down, Badger and Fox, for instance, but the Fox also has excellent vision and may follow his own trail by sight.
Just to try to confuse you, a single line but the Fox both came and went this way
Here is an example of where a Fox has struck out over a rather wide open area but has stuck almost exactly to the trail it had left previously. You can see that in places the animal deviates from line slightly (probably to investigate a scent) but otherwise holds it tight. These tracks led to (and from) a spot where there had been a lot going on. I thought it may have been hunting activity but there was absolutely no sign of prey, just indications of more than one Fox. Then I realised it was play, probably between dog fox and vixen as the mating season is only just coming to an end. Aside from a patch where one animal had rolled in the snow, there was a beautiful example of a four-footed pounce, with a brush mark, something that a Fox usually does when catching mice or voles.
A typical vole-catching four-footed pounce but no sign of prey; just play
I didn’t get very far in four hours, there was so much to see. More woods and a river nearby but not the time on this occasion. Probably the most strangely beautiful sight of the day was the double imprint of a Blackbird that had inadvertently landed in deep snow and floundered, leaving the impressions of fanned wings and tail, feet and even chin and beak.
A real 3-D effect this way round (the white patch is a Fox footprint made later)
January 20, 2010
Velvet Shanks / Enokitake
Velvet Shanks (Flammulina velutipes) are a genuine Winter mushroom that don’t begin fruiting until December or even January. They grow on dead wood particularly the stumps of Elm, where they can be frozen solid by frosts but are still good to eat when they thaw. Often the clumps are small but occasionally Velvet Shanks turn up in profusion. Provided your specimens are young and fresh I find that their supposed toughness is overstated. Generally they are an ingredient, rather than a meal in themselves because of their small size.
Velvet Shanks are very recognisable because so few other fungi are fruiting (Judas’ Ears and Oyster Mushrooms being exceptions) but forage for them well outside the main mushroom season and check to make sure your specimens don’t have a hint of a ring, or they might not be what you think. If in doubt do not eat them.
October 18, 2009
Shrimping and Cockling Seaside Forage; October 11 2009
Shrimping in shallow waters at low tide means a long walk with some fairly hefty shrimp nets. Even on a neap tide, the water was probably more than half a kilometre out and can retreat as much a 1 kilometre on a good spring tide.
A calm day thankfully, imagine if these were catching the wind.
You dont have to wade out into deep water. Many people managed wearing just wellies. Brave souls had bare legs but not bare feet.
Sandy bays are the favourite haunt of (Lesser) Weever Fish (Echiichthys vipera) so footwear was mandatory. The weever buries itself in the sand with eyes and head protruding. It has a venomous dorsal fin which if stepped on can be as mild as a bee sting or as serious as an Adder bite.
Lesser Weever with dorsal fin raised.
September 13, 2009
“Fruits of the Forage”
The Team had an excellent day yesterday ay our first “Fruits, Roots and Cider” day. Lots of regular faces.
The day started out a bit grey and windy with even a few bits of rain. We thought we were in for a damp day but it soon brightened up into a gorgeous day.
Huw started the day off with his customary meet and greet, then Steve took over and started the foray. We had not even reached the gateway before the first fruits were gathered, some hips and damsons. Steve gave us an excellent talk on the differences between sloes, damsons and bullaces. Moving on up the path we soon started picking lots of blackberries, haws and elderberries. Much was remarked on the difference in blackberries, with some have a tart sharp flavour and others having a fuller sweet smooth taste. Again Steve’s excellent knowledge was put to the test with a discourse on the various species.
Some ingenuity had to be used as the modern practice of threshing the hedgerows leaves the fruit at a rather high level.
Then it was across the field to dig up some roots, both hogweed and horseradish were added to the haul.
After that it was back to camp for a well earned cuppa and further discussion on fruits and roots by Steve.
Then it was all steam ahead for the cider! Huw has a small orchard on the farm and we soon gathered a bushel or two of apples, both eating and cooking varieties.
The kids had great fun feeding the apple chopper hoppper.
to produce the aptly named apple “porridge”
Then it was over to the press for the first of many layers.
Soon we had a production line with everyone involved.
And let me tell you the apple juice produced was a taste of heaven!
After that we went on to make a few things with the produce we had gathered. Steve made a summer pudding with the blackberries, followed by some damson and blackberry jam. Then we all had a go making and eating blackberry pancakes.
A few guests had brought along other stuff to show, myself bring blackberry wine, red pepper jam and onion relish. Mike brought along some spicy haw jam and blackberry chutney. There was also blackberry jelly and Huw’s birch sap wine, as well as Ben’s excellent refreshing fresh-made lemonade!
All in all a most fantastic day!
July 26, 2009
Dinosaurs, drowned forests and shore forage
Paid my first ever visit to Fairlight on the East Sussex coast, today. It is about 4 miles NE of Hastings and is famous for its fossils. The cliffs there were formed by sediments – clays and sandstones – that were laid down in the Early Cretaceous period, around 140 million years ago. At that time the land was low-lying and swampy with lakes and pools, but also rather warm. What is more, there were dinosaurs around!
As the tide goes down, the evidence reveals itself in the rocks – fine layers of sediments overlaying each other; fossilised ripples; and would you believe it – the first thing I found – the fossil cast of an Iguanodon footprint! I actually feel a little guilty at having such outstanding Beginner’s Luck.
Iguanodon was really here!
The fine impressions in the footprint, sadly, are not the dinosaur skin but small shells that must have been littering the muddy lake shore underfoot.
On the foreshore at Cliff End, the remains of a much younger submerged forest are revealed at low tide. The trees are not fully fossilised but preserved by the salt water and the mud arresting or at least slowing, the process of decay. the forest originally grew below the cliffs at Pett some 6000 years ago at a time when the sea level was about 30m lower than today. It is likely that our Mesolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors would have hunted and foraged here.
A fallen sentinel from 6000 years ago
I did some foraging of my own. Up on the beach there were clumps of Sea Kale (Crambe maritima). In the hearts of these, a few young leaves continue to emerge throughout much of the year. By taking only one or two from each plant over a wide area, Bardster and I gathered enough for a couple of meals. Some leaves taste bitter at this time of year, but I balanced up the flavour by cooking them in a mustard cheese sauce!
Beautiful blue-green Sea Kale
A Large White caterpillar got to this young Sea Kale leaf before I did. Good luck to it.
There was also to my delight, some Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum). Only a little was fit for eating as it was coming in to flower, but at least I didn’t have to dangle over a cliff to get it.
Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) on the beach
Finally, as the tide receded there were winkles and mussels a-plenty in rather silty conditions. I resisted these, but harvested some of the abundant Carragheen or Irish Moss seaweed, instead. The mud simply washed off. At home I dried it on a rack in the fan-assisted oven at about 80°C with the door open. It took about 20 minutes.
Carragheen