Week 12
After seemingly taking forever, the daffodils are now springing to life, although there are two clumps of tiny daffodils that are making me wonder.
“They’re Tête à Tête[i],” said my companion, when I pointed at the small clump of flowers that had been hiding behind a shrub.
“No chance,” I replied. “Those are the real thing, wild daffodils.”
For most people, a daffodil is a garden plant and has been intentionally planted and cared for. Wild daffodils[ii], Narcissus pseudonarcissus, are different. They pop up in shaded areas and are especially common in North and South-West England, as well as Wales. Lakeland is a hotspot. They are a feature of ancient woodland, which is why I felt my own daffodils were wild. Right beside them was a Hart’s-tongue fern[iii], again an indicator of ancient woodland.
Ancient woodlands are home to myth and legend and where folk tales began. To be classed as ancient, a woodland must have persisted since 1600 in England but 1750 in Scotland. It must also have been relatively undisturbed by human development[iv], although it would be wrong to say ancient woodlands are completely untouched by mankind. Humans get nearly everywhere, however much Nature may try to avoid us. Ancient woodlands are irreplaceable and are filled with wildlife of all sorts. These days, thanks to mankind ignoring the Nature on which it depends, ancient woodland covers barely 2.5% of the United Kingdom, distributed over 52,000 sites. Most of these sites are small. So for my own land, when I saw a wild daffodil, mine was 30cms tall, this was further support that I am renaturing what was once ancient woodland. I must be sure to take care.
There has been some serious rain over the past week, so much so that some of Lakeland has been flooded. Part of my land has been waterlogged, not helped by inadequate drainage that will doubtless need some work. Few plants will survive waterlogging and flooding, as the water will reduce the amount of oxygen available to the roots and limit the diffusion away of carbon dioxide[v]. The first signs of damage appear on the leaves and a plant may even look to be short of water, not suffering from too much. The plant may even wilt, just as it can during periods of drought, while roots can turn black. But behind it all lies flooding.
The same effect can happen if a plant is overwatered. In my early renaturing days, and before I started to learn exponentially as I am now, I was the sort who felt plants need water, water, and water. When in doubt, lack of water was the problem, I thought. How wrong I was. I now realise that plants can have too much of a good thing, and I approach watering carefully. I hate it when it rains so incessantly, as it has recently been doing. Lakeland knows about rainfall, that much is certain.
My red-legged partridges[vi] are back. It is the first time I have seen them this year. Time was they would pop in and out of the rhododendrons, but they then decided to migrate to another property nearby. Yet they have returned, which is good to see. The red-legged partridge is classified as a Near Threatened species and is generally a more southerly bird. Normally, it is seen on flatlands and in dry areas, so it is a surprise to me the red-legged partridges have chosen my land.
All birds in my area are being very active at the moment and the blackbirds continue to make a mess of almost everything they peck. Most of the birds have found their mate and are busy building nests. Love is in the air and birdsong - I am hopeless at it - nearly deafens me in the mornings. There are still plenty of birds feeling lost for somewhere to perch, thanks to a neighbour who felled a tree. I will cross my fingers that he will stop at the one tree, but I will not be betting on it. Had it been me felling that tree, I would have lain awake at night and gone to confession.
My land has plenty of wood pigeons and all have now paired off. There were two sharing a moment of passion on my roof ridge two days ago. Pigeon mating is quite involved. The courting male pursues his mate on the ground, circles her and coos throughout[vii]. His neck feathers become inflated and his tail spreads. The lady, meanwhile, appears disinterested, unflustered, but overall submissive. After courting on the ground, and next on one of my Lakeland stone walls, they flew the short distance to my roof ridge, and within moments it was all over. She seemed happy, as did he. On the assumption mating is successful, it will take 17 days for an egg to hatch and up to 34 days for a chick to appear. I will keep my eyes open for baby pigeons. A lady wood pigeon never lays more than two eggs in what is called a clutch, although she can lay up to six clutches in a year if she loses her eggs[viii].
I have been talking with several local farmers in the last few days when I have been out and about in Lakeland. These hill farmers are in the frontline of the national rewilding efforts currently taking place. My land, small though it is, forms part of these efforts. To many hill farmers, rewilding or renaturing takes land that made good grazing territory over many decades, sometimes centuries, and changes it to something less attractive. For grazing land, livestock nibble this way and that, excreting as they go, and fertilising anything that grows. It is why good grazing land is so green, as it has been biologically fertilised by livestock. Then, in comes a rewilder or renaturer, livestock fertilisation ceases, and the perfectly green pasture becomes rougher, tougher, and no use for grazing. It is hard for a hill farmer to feel pleased[ix].
It is clear that renaturing polarises opinion[x] and I am often obliged to explain my position. The hill farmers in particular do not give me an easy ride. The rewilding concept is frequently about larger animals, for example reintroducing the pine marten, lynx, bear or even wolf. However, rewilding is about much more than large animals. Rewilded ecosystems can help mitigate climate change by increasing carbon removal from the atmosphere and protect against climate change by reducing soil erosion and flood risk. Rewilding can also create socio-economic opportunities for local communities, reduce the effects and costs of environmental hazards such as flooding, and improve human health by increasing access to nature. What is clear, however, is that if the process is poorly managed there are risks for both biodiversity and the local population[xi].
Look at The Netherlands[xii], where in 2019 protesters displayed “Stop Rewilding” signs, which resulted in the police and military being summoned to assert control. The protestors were not opposed to the reintroduction of deer, wild horses, and cattle but to how they were being managed. The animals had been reintroduced, prospered, and their population had increased but soon exceeded the carrying capacity of their new habitat. The animals started to starve, 30% perished, and culling was advocated as a solution. It was then protestors became involved.
Rewilding, and its gentler cousin renaturing, are not always easy solutions. However one chooses to handle land, it is important to do it properly.
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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] Narcissus cyclamineus. A dwarf daffodil up to 20cms tall. One to three bright yellow flowers, 5-6cms wide in early spring. Perianth segments are lighter yellow than the cups. The daffodil name comes from Middle English “affodil” (“ramson”), which is a spring-flowering bulb. There are many subspecies of this wild daffodil, a perennial. It is the national flower of Wales. Bulbs, which can occasionally be confused with onions, and leaves should never be eaten as they contain the poison lycorine. This said, lycorine has promising antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. Bulbs also contain galantamine, which the Welsh have shown is effective against Alzheimer’s. Seen from February to August. After blooming, do not remove their leaves for 6 weeks, to allow the bulb to absorb nutrients and grow for the next year. See also 15 January 2023. [ii] The yellow trumpets of daffodils brighten up the dullest spring day as they cluster together in gardens, on roadsides and in parks during March and April. But these are often the planted or escaped garden varieties. A real treat is spotting a Wild daffodil among the dappled shade of an ancient woodland or pushing up through the grasses of a damp meadow. Once abundant and hand-picked for markets, this wildflower is now much rarer, having declined during the 19th century because of habitat loss. It can be seen in parts of south Devon, the Black Mountains in Wales, the Lake District in Cumbria, and along the Gloucestershire-Herefordshire border. The wild daffodil has narrow, grey-green leaves and a familiar daffodil flower, but with pale yellow petals surrounding a darker yellow trumpet; this two-tone look is one way to tell them apart from their garden relatives. The wild daffodil is also relatively short and forms clumps, carpeting the ground. See https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/wild-daffodil. Accessed 18 March 2023. [iii] Asplenium scolopendrium. Said to look like the tongue of a male red deer, once called a “hart”. Under threat in many countries and protected by law in The Netherlands since 1998. Used as a medicinal plant in folk medicine as a spleen tonic and known as an astringent, a cough medicine, good for the treatment of high blood pressure, dysentery, digestive problems and for healing wounds. See https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/ferns/harts-tongue-fern/. See entry of 26 February 2023. [iv] https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/habitats/ancient-woodland/. Accessed 18 March 2023. [v] https://www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/waterlogging-flooding. Accessed 18 March 2023. [vi] Alectoris rufa. A gamebird in the pheasant family. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-legged_partridge. Accessed 18 March 2023. Sometimes called the French partridge. Often makes nests under hedges or shrubs and in long grass. [vii] https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/about-pigeons/. Accessed 18 March 2023. [viii] https://www.livingwithbirds.com/tweetapedia/21-facts-on-wood-pigeon. Accessed 13 March 2023. [ix] https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10376. Accessed 13 March 2023. [x] https://www.countryfile.com/wildlife/what-do-farmers-think-of-rewilding/. Accessed 19 March 2023. [xi] https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/benefits-and-risks-rewilding. Accessed 19 March 2023. [xii] Dwight T. ECOS 40(6): The golden rules of rewilding - examining the case of Oostvaardersplassen. https://www.ecos.org.uk/ecos-406-the-golden-rules-of-rewilding-examining-the-case-of-oostvaardersplassen/. Accessed 19 March 2023.
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