Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

A COUPLE of weeks ago I was invited to join a group of enthusiasts from the Earby Mining Museum on a trip into a disused lead mine at Cononley, near Skipton.

You would expect that the area would have been devoid of life. In fact the reverse was true. The old reservoir which was once used to wash the ore has now become a haven of wildlife and there were breeding coots, moorhens, lapwings and curlews all within 200 yards of the old smelt works chimney.

There are some plants including several grasses and a pretty white flower called spring sandwort which only grows where there is some lead in the soil. In the old days prospectors used to study the plants and used them as indicators to tell them where to mine for lead.

A little more than a century ago, areas such as Cononley would have been smothered by smoke and fumes.

Although some scars remain they are now of great interest because those who enjoy walking can explore history and natural history at the same time.

The cold weather of April and early May is now behind us (we hope) and cup final weekend was warm and sunny. In all our local woodlands the bluebells are now at their splendid best and their scent is just beginning to mingle with the stink of the wild garlic which is also known as ramsons and stinking onions.

Not everybody likes the smell of wild garlic but I do and its white star-like flowers are beautiful.

The warm sunshine has also brought out the blossom of hawthorn and rowan.

Have you ever noticed that the flowers of early spring tend to be mostly yellowish whilst later in the spring there are more blue and white blooms?

I don't know why but there must be a reason.

That's why I love studying nature - there is always a puzzle which may be solved one day.

When this is done there will always be another problem. Thank goodness!

The quality of the Mersey Basin: How clean?

WILDLIFE watchers in the Mersey Basin and East Lancashire are being urged to turn wildlife detective in a massive drive to find out how clean are the area's streams, rivers and canals. The Mersey Basin Campaign is asking for reports of sightings of kingfishers, dragonflies and damselflies - species which need clean water to survive.

The survey, which is sponsored by NatWest Corporate Banking Services, will run until Wednesday, September 30.

The information will be used to plot where water quality is best and where it has improved over the past 13 years.

The results will be compared to a similar survey carried out by the Mersey Basin Campaign in 1995.

Mersey basin Trust director Tony Jones said: "Kingfishers and dragonflies are excellent indicators of clean water.

"We want people out walking along rivers, streams and canals to help us build up a picture of where water is cleanest."

Sightings can be reported by filling in a freepost reply card available in local libraries or from the Mersey Basin Trust on 0161 228 6824. The survey also applies to our area as the River Darwen is part of the Mersey Basin Catchment as it is close to the Leeds to Liverpool Canal.

The rivers around Burnley are also soon to be included and some time in mid June I have been asked to open the Burnley-based venture.

This survey therefore applies to our area. I would like to hear of reports of kingfishers and dragonflies from readers of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

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