Week 4
I am unsure how to react to an owl - whether to be fascinated, excited, or even frightened. Yet I have one somewhere in the trees on my land, as I have heard it on several occasions. The owl is a night-time bird, only rarely have I seen one by day. The night sky above is generally dark and the stars simple to see. Although my land is not within a recognised dark sky area[i] - the Lake District does have a couple[ii] - there is still plenty of night-time twinkling overhead. This is despite the light pollution created by so many humans - many are second homers from big cities - who seem more obsessed by their house’s appearance than fancy exterior lighting wrecking overhead twinkles. Light pollution is a major problem globally at present. If in doubt, take a brief look at the World Atlas of Night Sky Brightness[iii]. More than 80% of the world’s population, and 99% of Americans and Europeans, live under sky glow caused by man. The damaging health effects are clear[iv].
With darkness in this rural area should come quiet, the health effects of noise-disturbed sleep now being well established[v]. Although my land is a fair way from the nearest public road, the occasional revving Hell’s Angel can still disturb my peace. Fortunately, Hell’s Angels here are few. Felling trees is another way to increase noise pollution, and I have noticed increased noise since a neighbour felled a nearby cypress tree. Evergreens that reach the ground - the cypress was just that - are a most effective sound barrier[vi]. A tree absorbs more high frequency than low frequency sound, which is why it is such a good sound barrier[vii].
But other noises can also occur and wake me from my slumbers, not just a distant Hell’s Angel. Pheasants squawk loudly when disturbed by a fox, and the owl is astonishingly noisy. I awoke like a startled animal when I heard its “Toowit -Toowoo” in the early hours of a starlit morning a few days ago. The call was right outside my open window and unmistakable - an owl was very near indeed. A “Toowit-Toowoo” is normally a male responding to the squawkier “Kewick” call of a female[viii]. It is also a territorial call. “Toowit-Toowoo” means there are two owls in the
vicinity, not one. I lay awake until dawn, after hearing the owl, and it was then I found the pellet near a slate step on my land. Pellets are the undigested parts of a bird’s food, such as hair or bones, which are regurgitated. They are not droppings, although are often mistaken for them. All owls produce pellets[ix]. My pellet was rather different, as it contained a whole mouse. My land has plenty of mice, so the owl would have been spoiled for choice.
There are six types of owl in England[x], although I suspect mine is a tawny owl[xi] as it went “Toowit-Toowoo”. There is also the barn owl[xii], which does not go “Toowit-Toowoo” but shrieks, hisses, and snores. Added to these owls are the little owl[xiii], long-eared owl[xiv], short-eared owl[xv], and European eagle owl[xvi].
The owl is a deeply symbolic bird that is said to imply inner wisdom, change, transformation, intuitive development, and good luck[xvii]. Some Native American tribes consider an owl to be the spirit of a deceased ancestor and a bridge between this life and the afterlife. In Japan and China, owls symbolise good fortune and protection, while in ancient Egypt owls were the gatekeepers to the underworld. In ancient Greek and Roman cultures, owls were revered, and the bird was the symbol of the goddess Athena (Greeks) or Diana (Romans). In Judaism, the owl is an unclean bird. Whatever the meaning, there is more to an owl than just being a bird. No wonder I lay awake after I had heard one outside my window.
My land is showing signs of tree succession, as there are plenty of young seedlings and saplings at the feet of my ageing trees. When a tree first grows, underground and out of sight, it is a sprout. The moment a sprout’s tip sees daylight, so it becomes a seedling and when it is three feet tall it is known as a sapling. Quite when a sapling becomes a tree is anyone’s guess. One day it will become a snag, which means it is elderly[xviii]. Again, when that point is reached is undefined. Yet at the foot of an ageing Lawson cypress[xix], although maybe it is a Sawara cypress[xx], or even just a snag, is a rowan[xxi] sapling and a holly[xxii] seedling. Both are trying hard to grow. When I stand beside them in a quieter moment, I can feel the cypress caring for the young. The sense is unmistakable. One day, when the cypress, the snag, is dead and gone - it is already struggling - the rowan and holly will take over. This is succession at play. Meanwhile, by the base of a Snakebark maple[xxiii] on my land are two tiny yew seedlings that are making a go of existence. There is an adult yew nearby, from which the seedlings most likely came. Should they grow further, and I intend to encourage them, they could be there for many hundreds of years, as yews can live for a very long time[xxiv]. Early photographs of my land show plenty of yews, which appear to have been felled. Shame on whoever did that. There was a time, and some still feel this, that society associated yews with doom and gloom. They were associated with death and the journey of the soul from this life to the next[xxv]. Meanwhile others feel the yew can protect a house and it bad luck to cut one down[xxvi]. My own view is simple. A yew is a magical tree and a guardian of the British landscape. I would not even contemplate felling one.
Tree succession clearly demonstrates the communication taking place between trees. There is an entire society before me, silent but watching, and largely communicating through underground fungal networks. Some call this the Wood-Wide Web[xxvii] although scientists refer to it as mycorrhizal networks. The fungi consume approximately 30% of the sugar that trees photosynthesise from sunlight. This network is a lifeline for seedling and saplings, wherever they may be found. No wonder the young seek protection from the old.
In addition to the trees, there are shoots springing up all over my land at the moment. Daffodils still have to appear, but it surely cannot be too long before they do so. Snowdrops[xxviii] have just begun to poke through, although the flower is not quite there. Once the first flower appears - it is likely to be a snowdrop - my renaturer’s year has truly begun.
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Acknowledgement
Take it from me - none of this would be possible without the help of RSG Horticulture. Rufus, who runs it, has far more energy than me and is full of ideas and skills.
References [i] International Dark Sky Association. 12 Stunning Dark Sky Places in the UK and Ireland. September 2016. https://www.darksky.org/dark-sky-places-in-the-uk-and-ireland/. Accessed 22 January 2023. [ii] Another Place. Stargazing in the Lake District. https://another.place/blog/stargazing-lake-district/. Accessed 22 January 2023. [iii] www.lightpollutionmap.info. Accessed 13 April 2023. [iv] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution/. Accessed 13 April 2023. [v] World Health Organization. Night noise guidelines for Europe. 2009. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/43316/E92845.pdf. Accessed 22 January 2023 [vi] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/realestate/2005/03/12/a-good-wall-even-if-its-made-of-plants-can-reduce-highway-noise/07eaa1fe-3397-4d26-a959-1f3d15029b7a/. Accessed 13 April 2023. [vii] https://greenblue.com/gb/trees-as-sound-barriers/. Accessed 13 April 2023. [viii] Natural History Museum. Why do tawny owls hoot? The secret behind the twit twoo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K0BvTS476E. Accessed 22 January 2023. [ix] The Barn Owl Trust. What are owl pellets? https://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/owl-facts-for-kids/owl-pellets/. Accessed 22 January 2023. [x] Lester S. The six types of owl you’ll find in Britain. Country Life, 28 January 2020. https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/six-types-owl-youll-find-britain-166296. Accessed 22 January 2023. [xi] Strix aluco. Their conservation status has fallen from green to amber despite there being 50,000 breeding pairs in UK. [xii] Tyto alba. Long thought to be the farmer’s friend for keeping the populations of mice and rats in control. The UK has about 4000 breeding pairs in existence. Its conservation status is not presently compromised but is not common. [xiii] Athena noctua. First introduced in Kent in 1879 with 5700 breeding pairs in existence in 2009. Numbers are now declining. [xiv] Asio otus. Its long ears make it look very wise. It likes to nest in an old crow’s nest and prefers coniferous woodland. There are about 3500 breeding pair in the UK. [xv] Assio flammeus. Birds of the open space that usually nests on the ground. Its conservation status is under threat. [xvi] Bubo bubo. This is a truly giant owl and looks like an overgrown long-eared owl. It can kill anything up to the size of a deer fawn. Probably no more than 40 breeding pairs in the UK. [xvii] David L. The spiritual meaning of owls and what to do if they keep appearing to you. MBGMindfulness. 18 November 2022. [xviii] https://www.thisoldhouse.com/gardening/reviews/life-cycle-of-a-tree. Accessed 13 April 2023. [xix] Chamaecyparis lawsoniana. Also known as Port Orford cedar and native to Oregon and north-western California. Threatened by a root disease called Phytophthora lateralis. Has been used for boat-building, guitars, Venetian blinds, as well as making coffins. Its straight grain is also good for making arrow shafts. The resin is a powerful diuretic. [xx] Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Squarrosa’. Known as the Sawara cypress or False cypress. Originated in Japan and brought to Europe in 1843. Can be affected by aphids, honey fungus and Phytophthora. The branch, cone, and oil are used for medicine. Contains chemicals called terpenes. Used for coughs and colds and enlarged prostate. Little scientific evidence that it works. [xxi] Sorbus acuparia. Also known as the mountain ash. Its leaves and berries are a favourite for wildlife. It is a hermaphrodite, meaning that its flowers have both make and female reproductive parts. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/rowan/. Accessed 22 January 2023. Steeped in mythology. Druids used it for their staffs and Merlin had rowan wood arrows. Used for diabetes, diarrhoea, gout and heart disease, although there is no research to support any of these uses. See entry of 8 January 2023. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-571/mountain-ash; https://www.adn.com/our-alaska/article/mountain-ashs-magic-steeped-mythology/2010/12/02/. Accessed 22 January 2023. [xxii] Likely Ilex aquifolium. See entry of 15 January 2023. [xxiii] Acer davidii. Sometimes known as Père David’s maple or Hers’s maple. Often short-lived and typically occur as understorey trees in mountain forests. Used to make flooring, furniture, and veneer. First discovered in 1869 in China. No known medical uses. [xxiv] Taxus baccata. See entry of 8 January 2023 [xxv] https://britainsbestguides.org/blogs/why-do-so-many-english-churchyards-have-yews/. Accessed 13 April 2023. [xxvi] https://www.icysedgwick.com/yew/. Accessed 13 April 2023. [xxvii] Grant R. Do trees talk to each other? Smithsonian magazine. March 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/. Accessed 22 January 2023. [xxviii] Galanthus nivalis with approximately 20 other species. Native to Europe and the Middle East and normally flower before the vernal equinox (20/21 March in northern hemisphere). There are some snowdrop gardens in the UK. Said to contain a mysterious and magical herb called “moly” that features in Homer’s Odyssey. Moly is likely galantamine, which could have acted as an antidote to Circe’s poisons. It may also be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The snowdrop also contains lectin, which is being studied for possible use in the management of HIV.
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