THE idea of there being a successful nature reserve right alongside a busy motorway would seem at first sight to be impossible.

As I found out when I visited the Picnic Site at Scorton right alongside the M6 between Garstang and Lancaster and near the service station (until recently called Forton) the wildlife has adapted wonderfully well.

I began my walk on the bridge overlooking the motorway and very close to the car park which is attractively screened by trees. Even though it was December a warm sun was shining and the gorse was in bloom. This is a lovely plant because its yellow flowers bring a touch of spring even on the coldest days of winter.

Alder trees have been planted in the damp areas and the seeds provide plenty of food for birds such as all the tit family and I watched a flock of siskins. These are winter visitors and the best way I can describe them is that they have the beak of a chaffinch and a body similar to a blue tit.

The Scorton picnic site is sandwiched between the motorway and the River Wyre. The sound of the water chuckling over the pebble bed of the river almost drowns out the traffic even on a busy day. The trees also break up the sound and in spring the birdsong even manages to get rid of the sound of the 1990s altogether. Even in winter the birds produce a pleasant alternative to the traffic. A delightful footpath follows the river which is on the left while to the right are ponds which were created by the extraction of sand and gravel. These have now been landscaped and in the shallow of one of these is a bird hide.

From the hide I was able to watch a family of mute swans. The male (the cob) and the female (the pen) were just beginning to get fed up of their two young (the cygnets). By mid-February the cygnets will have been chased off and the adults will start to go through their elaborate courtship routine and nest building will begin in March. The cygnets will then join together in adolescent flocks (perhaps around the Marine Lake at Fleetwood) and they will remain there for some years until they themselves are mature enough to breed. On this day the ice on the pond was just beginning to melt but I still took pity on the swans and gave them all my lunch. This still did not seem to be enough.

As I returned alongside the river to the car park I watched a pair of dippers displaying and they too proved that spring is not too far away. It just goes to show that although Scorton is close to the M6 life in nature's Fast Lane is also speeding up.

Don't forget that December 21 is the longest day and spring really is coming although it will take time to get here.

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