Springwatch shows nature red in beak and claw (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Springwatch shows nature red in beak and claw

12:30pm Friday 8th June 2007

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Green or Obscene - my latest mileage

Miles in car: -324
Miles being driven: -294
Miles by bike: 0
Miles by train: +650
Miles by boat: +16 (an electric one)
Miles on foot: +92
Total: +140 (running total -166)

June is a wonderful time of year. It's the warmest part of spring with the temperatures on the up but not reaching the oppressive heights of full summer. And it's not too wet (climate change notwithstanding and with this past month full of April showers who knows).

But the best thing is the natural world around us. It's all hustle and bustle in the garden as parent birds strive to feed all their hungry fledglings. Butterflies have started to become more numerous with wall browns, speckled woods and the ubiquitous whites appearing. And the flowers in borders all around are blooming in profusion with the wildflower seeds I sowed in early spring now creating a jungle of stems.
The only blight have been the activities on my local slugs about which I used to feel benignly but, since they have been attacking my herbs and flowers, I now consider the spawn of Satan. Hopefully the thrushes and starlings will keep on top of them though I fear slug pellets and cars in my vicinity may be taking a heavy toll on the gardener's best friend, the hedgehog.
With all this profusion of life, no wonder now is the time when Springwatch appears on our TV screens. If you haven't watched it before, I do recommend it though it is not for the faint-hearted. It's got everything a soap opera has - family squabbles, sex and death with the added attractions of fantastic countryside and filming.
Highlights this year have included wonderful footage of hares, kingfishers, golden eagles and the badgers while the macabre is catered for by the fate of the baby barn and tawny owls. It really shows nature red in tooth and claw and how the natural world works. If the weather is bad and there isn't enough food, animals die.
The stories of the ordinary blackbirds, robins and wrens battling against misfortune also make the programmes compelling. Looking at documentaries of exotic wildlife, it's easy to forget our back gardens and hedges are just as dangerous as the African savannah or coral reef.
Springwatch is an education as well as entertainment and is inspiring too - there are numerous events around the country this weekend as part of the associated Breathing Spaces campaign you can take part in and, while we all can't live on a marvellous organic farm like the programme features, there is plenty we can do to get close to nature in our own gardens or local patches.