Nature Watch, by Ron Freethy

WHAT Foulridge was like before the coming of the Leeds to Liverpool canal it is difficult to imagine.

If you look at the cottages towards and around the green, you can visualise first a centre of hand loom weaving.

People would have brought their finished woollen pieces to the cloth hall at Colne.

The more cloth you produced, the more you earned.

This is the origin of "piece work."

Later, as cotton became important, machinery powered by water came in and the many local streams were used to drive the machines.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries the peace of Foulridge was shattered by the construction of the canal, along with a network of reservoirs to provide water for the locking.

Little did these workers of long ago realise how much the canal construction would benefit wildlife. Foulridge (Lake Burwains) reservoir is now a haven for birds, especially in winter.

I walked the circular path and soon built up an impressive list of sightings, including kingfisher, grey wagtail, reed bunting, tufted duck, pochard andwigeon, but the dominant bird of the day was the coot.

Coots breed around the fringes of the reservoir but in winter they are joined by lots of migrants which have come from eastern Europe and Scandinavia to take advantage of our milder winters. As I walked along the muddy paths I could easily see the footprints of a heron paddling its way into the shallows.

In these areas herons hunt for fish and the first frogs and toads to emerge from hibernation.

Although Foulridge is an excellent reservoir, there are many others in and around East Lancashire.

They are all seen at their best between now and early April.

The message is clear - ignore the weather and enjoy the wonders of East Lancashire's wildlife.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.