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So called because its gnarled and twisted twigs can appear crabbed or spiny, the branches of the one in our garden are still bending under the weight of their deep red fruit. I’m a little puzzled why the blackbirds and wood pigeons only tuck in occasionally – maybe they’re one of those things that don’t taste as good as they look. Around Otley you can still see crab apples with yellow or green fruit. As well as the birds, mammals such as mice and voles also like to eat crab a

Mosses have been around for over 350 million years! Us homo sapiens have been around for a mere 200,000 years. Around 20,000 species of moss have been identified worldwide. Common Smoothcap is a distinctive moss that forms extensive patches in shaded, well-drained woodlands on all but the most extreme soils. It usually appears dark green, but can sometimes have a more yellow tint. The erect stems reach 7cm, with leaves to 1 cm in length with toothed edges. It is also known as

Okay, heard in Otley…..The Tawny Owl in the cemetery was relatively quiet last Autumn, so I’ve been glad to hear it re-asserting itself these last few weeks. Of course I may have been hearing several different birds, and the classic owl hoot is definitely made by two Tawnies, with the female’s “Towit” being answered by the male’s “Towoo”. Tawnies can distinguish different individuals by their call: males have stronger reactions to strangers than known neighbours; the pitch of

On gloomy, grey days like the ones we had last week, a sighting of a few of these tough bulbous perennials, flowering despite the bitter cold, is a reminder that the days are slowly lengthening and nature’s cycles endure. Some of our woods have a veritable carpet of them, like a modest winter version of the Bluebell. It is thought that Snowdrops were brought to Britain early in the sixteenth century, and subsequently became naturalized ie spread sustainably into the wild. The

Winter has its advantages, with no leaves on many of our trees its easier than any season to watch some birds. Such as the very smart, somewhat plump Nuthatch who is about the size of a Great Tit but resembles a small woodpecker. Watching them, they also operate like a little woodpecker, scurrying up tree trunks and along branches in search of insects, which it winkles from nooks and crevices with their stout, sharp bill. They observe a very seasonal diet, relying on insects,

Despite its name, it is actually lichen - Oakmoss grows primarily on the trunk and branches of Oak trees, but can also be found growing on other deciduous and coniferous trees. The ‘branches’ (what we call their thallus) of oakmoss are flat and strap-like, branching out like deer antlers. The texture of Oakmoss is rough when dry and rubbery when wet. The lichen has a complex odour, woody and sharp, whilst Oakmoss that has grown on pines has a strong turpentine odour. Because

The East of Otley plan for a new road and 550 houses will devastate local wildlife, unless more wildlife friendly measures are built into...

In bed, awake at midnight, I hear them calling to each other in the darkness as they fly overhead. Out in the snow yesterday, the same sounds, this time emerging from a cloud inversion. Each time I’m intrigued as to just where they’re going, up and down the valley, impressed by their sense of the collective, leaving no bird behind, checking in. Last Sunday evening a much smaller group made a real din over our house, repeatedly for about half an hour. Were they trying to find

Also known as Golden Jelly, Witches Butter or Yellow Trembler is a jelly fungus (helpfully named because they look like jelly, not because they taste like jelly!). It appears from underneath the bark of its host tree during wet weather, during dry spells it shrivels into a hard to spot thin rubbery patch. Although it looks as though this fungus is feeding on the wood, it is actually a parasitic fungus feeding on another unrelated fungus, which is feeding on the dead wood. Acc

These common trees are unusual in that they are deciduous conifers – their green needles go orange-brown in autumn and fall. There are lots of good examples on the Chevin, with their graceful, upward-sweeping branches. The timber is tough and waterproof, and as a result used to make small boats and cladding for buildings. It doesn’t even tend to rot in contact with the ground, and makes ideal fence posts. Another aspect of their durability is that they are rarely eaten by dee

My battered old copy of the Observer’s Book of British Birds notes that this is also known as the Water Wagtail or Dish-washer (no, me neither), but it is actually one of many sub-species of the White Wagtail. In many ways these slender birds have developed a happy co-existence with us: they find the bare landscapes of Otley’s car parks and school playgrounds excellent places to spot and pursue insects, and holes in stone walls and other man-made structures appeal to them as

With a population of 75 million, the field vole is one of the UK's most common mammals. To put that number in perspective, the UK’s human population is 66 million, there are around 14% more of them than us! Unfortunately they are a bit harder to spot, but signs they are nearby are much easier to find. What are called ‘runs’ (little vole subways running from their burrows to their feeding sites) can be found anywhere grass has been allowed to grow long enough that it collapses