Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

IT is always a good plan for those of us interested in natural history to get to know our local patch.

It is also a good idea to keep a diary, or at least a record, of local sightings.

Every now and then, however, you should treat yourself to a day out and in winter these need to be carefully planned.

My treat this week was to head out along the M6 to Sandbach, famous for its ancient crosses which still dominate the old marketplace of this Cheshire town.

Before the M6 was built, Sandbach was famous as a crossroads and it was the place where the long-distance coaches halted for a refreshment stop.

The crosses date back to the ninth century and were erected to commemorate the coming of Christianity round about 653 AD.

The Sandbach area was then in the kingdom of Mercia.

This district was rich because of the huge deposits of salt to be found there. It is because of this that the Sandbach countryside is so interesting to naturalists.

When salt was extracted the land subsided and then filled with water to produce the so-called "flashes." Among the best places to see the rich bird life are the Watch Lane Flashes, which not only form an important nature reserve but provide sport for a local angling society.

Their notices are everywhere, ensuring that naturalists stick to designated footpaths, but the wildlife is so rich and easily seen from the splendid footpaths that there is no need to trespass.

A footpath from the car park cuts between two flashes and willow trees overhang the water.

Bright sunshine greeted me as I set off and overhead a flock of around 30 Canada geese flew and landed with a flurry of wings and a honking sound.

This made me think there was a much larger flock and they seemed to strike the water together with a tremendous splash. One thing which the angling club has done really well is to arrange the anglers' pitches in such a way that they are concealed.

This also gives the birds the privacy which they need.

A heron had set up its very own fishing station and it made three catches during the two hours of my watch.

The shafts of sunlight picked up the shiny scarlet fruits of the rose and the hips were being eaten by a flock of fieldfares, although they soon turned their attention to the much riper and more numerous hawthorn fruits. I focused my binoculars on the sheltered area beneath the weeping willow.

In the old days country folk used to strip off bits of willow bark which they chewed when they had aches or pains.

The treatment certainly worked because the bark contains a substance called salicylic acid, which you and I know better as aspirin.

Under the shelter of the willow, I watched tufted duck, dabchick, moorhen and coot and as the light began to fade a sparrowhawk charged into a flock of roosting starlings.

One unlucky bird became the hawk's supper.

By four o'clock the light had gone and this is why winter watching has to be carefully planned.

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