Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

AS August gives way to September it is an ideal time to study not only the fruits and seeds but also the animals which feed upon them.

Look out for fields and hedgerows full of thistles which are fed upon by birds such as goldfinches, which are becoming more and more common.

A very rare bird is the hawfinch, which looks rather like a large chaffinch with a huge bill. It feeds on damsons and plums. The hawfinch is able to crack open the large stones inside the flesh and it can be very destructive of the valuable fruit and the birds will also eat cherries.

In Lancashire the hawfinch has always been rare but it does occur in the Silverdale area, especially near the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss. Hawfinches are occasionally seen at Wiswell, which was once famous for its damsons. The name hawfinch suggests that the bird may also feed on hawthorn berries.

Another bird named after its diet is the nuthatch, which is able to "chop" hazel nuts in pieces in order to get at the oil rich kernel inside. The difference between an oil and a fat depends upon temperature. If it is solid it is a fat; if liquid then it is a oil. Mammals also find that the living is easy as the summer and autumn fruits ripen. Competing for hazel nuts are wood mice and grey squirrels and the mice also eat hawthorn berries.

September is also a good month to go bird nesting but before you think I have "gone off my trolley" let me explain.

Once the birds have stopped using the nest for breeding, then the mammals, especially wood mice, take over. They collect fruits such as hawthorn berries, rosehips, blackberries and nuts and store them in the nests.

It is true to say that very few mammals hibernate but those which do have to prepare for winter. Hibernators include hedgehogs and bats.

Hedgehogs eat as much as they can and by September they are accumulating fat. Recent work has shown that ordinary peanuts (not salted) are perfect but they also eat "natural food" such as slugs and earthworms.

Bats in September are busy catching moths and other insects to build up their body fats. Other mammals are active throughout the winter and this is certainly true of the hare with young leverets seen during most months of the year. Unlike rabbits, leverets are born with lots of fur, with their eyes open and they are quickly independent of the doe.

I'm always sorry when the nights start drawing in but there is always lots of fun to be had studying fruits seeds and the creatures which feed on them.

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