Wildlife from the Saddle
I cannot claim any degree of expertise relating to flora and fauna.
Brought
up in a mining village, as children we caught newts and tadpoles in the
brickyard
ponds and saw spuggies in the garden, but that was about the limit of
my
knowledge and experience.
Cycling has opened my eyes to wildlife, I now look out for birds and
animals
whenever I'm out on the bike. My daily commute can follow one of two
basic
routes, and the environment and opportunity for observing nature change
accordingly. Along one route I cross the river Wear on a footbridge,
while
along the second I travel through woodland and across open farmland.
Passing close to the river there are always examples of the common wild
duck,
or mallard, to be seen, while there is generally a cormorant or two.
There
is currently a pair of wild geese living by the bridge where I cross.
If
I am very lucky I might see a cormorant diving for and retrieving a
fish,
but more usually the birds will be perched holding their wings out in
that
characteristic fashion, presumably drying their feathers. We do have a
wildfowl
park adjacent to the river in Washington, and that may be the reason
why
we often see herons along the river, while flights of swans
flying
along the valley make a spectacular sight.
Through the woodland way there have been grey squirrels
to be seen of
late,
while adjacent to a farm the less savoury sight of a rat is not
uncommon.
Crossing the open countryside there are rabbits and, very occasionally,
a
hare. On one occasion I followed a hare which ran in front of me for
about a mile, before suddenly swerving off the track and pursuing a
similarly
straight course across a field. On another occasion I saw a deer run
across the fields, at what seemed incredible speed.
Small creatures scuttle across the path, weasels perhaps, while, in the
spring
and summer there are small yellow tinted birds (yellow hammer?) which
float around just
ahead
of the bike on sunny days.
While no big deal in some parts of the country, I have been very
surprised
to see a fox, trot, quite unconcerned, across the track just behind me.
My favourite experience had to be when I was overtaken by a beautiful
large owl which glided silently
just above my head, being caught briefly in the beam of my
headlamp, and then settled on
the fence to the side of the track. A more regular nightly
occurrence
is the fluttering of bats along that particular stretch.
Away from my commute and exploring the more remote regions of Durham
and
Northumberland, there are wild deer to be seen (we saw three in a
ploughed
field near Richmond in Yorkshire on a recent CTC outing). There are
still
red squirrels in parts of Northumberland. On the fells above Weardale
there are many
different types of bird, including the long billed curlew. Once, while
riding
from Rookhope up towards Allenheads, we saw a number of adders on the
road,
basking in the sun. On another occasion I was struggling up the side of
the
Wear valley heading from Stanhope towards Bollihope common, when I saw
a
rabbit being chased by a ferret. I am happy to report that the rabbit
appeared
to make its escape.
One dark winter morning last year I spotted two roe deer crossing
my commuter route to work, I don't know who was the more surprised!
Riding abroad I have seen storks in Poland and large birds of prey in
both France and Germany. Sadly, we once encountered an injured deer
lying in a ditch by the roadside while cycling in Germany.
While I might have seen some of these creatures from the car, I suspect
that
I would have missed most of them. You are travelling much more
slowly
on the bike, your machine makes hardly any noise, while you do have a
higher
viewpoint. On the bicycle you are much more a part of nature, rather
than
being an intruder in a motorised vehicle.
I might just take up wildlife photography when I retire, it will
probably
be a lot more satisfying than watching Durham CCC being regularly
thrashed
at Chester-le-Street, and it will combine wonderfully well with cycling!
Please press your BACK button to return to Bryan's Bicycle Page.