Punk rock battle of dawn chorus
IT’S that time of year that I get out my torn T-shirt and Mohawk wig and spend a few nights in my tent surrounded by punk rockers.
The annual Strummercamp festival, this year at Oldham Rugby Union Club, is where lots of lovely punks meet up, eat great food and jump around a lot.
The setting is perfect – surrounded by trees – so, as you lie in your tent watching spiders on the roof, you do get the early morning blast from some of wildlife’s punk rockers – the birds of the dawn chorus.
Robins are the Johnny Rottens, not afraid to show off their bright red chests and demand that you provide food, dig up some worms or get out of their garden.
And there are other birds who like to make some noise, especially first thing in the morning when we are trying to get some sleep.
Blackbirds and song thrushes will let rip from first light, while wrens make a remarkable amount of noise for such a tiny bird.
If you go for a wander you will hear the ‘teacher, teacher, teacher’ cry of the great tit above all the rest of the bird song in your local park and wood.
And any large lake or meadow may just have the real dandies of the bird world – the lapwing – with its crest reminding me of the Mohawk hairstyle of the 6ft 8in punk who lives in our village.
Also look out for the brightly-coloured kingfisher, jay and green parakeet, among the goth-like blackbirds, crows and jackdaws and the squabbling starling and sparrows.
In the mainstream media, punk rockers are now most remembered for their outlandish clothes and hair, which made them seem a little bit intimidating.
It’s just the same for some of our insects.
Many people are frightened of bees, yet these colourful creatures don’t really give two hoots about humans and just want to get on with their business.
If you want to cause a bee riot just stick your head into their nest, otherwise they will tend to leave you alone. And remember Sting started off life in the punkyreggae Police...
Dragonflies also seem to concern people because they are so noticeable with their bright colours but, again, all they want to do is meet their mates near a lake and buzz around in the sunlight.
I recall a festival a few years ago when I got out of my tent on a lovely sunny day and followed a brown hawker dragonfly as it flew straight as an arrow across the camping field causing people to scatter – it was only two inches long.
We have many punky plants too. Foxgloves pop up on river banks and in parks and gardens to entice insects to share their pollen. These are big, bold and colourful flowers and we have about a dozen showing in our tiny back garden at the moment.
And then there is Himalayan balsam, which is a problem, non-native plant, but it has made its way all the way up from the south east by spitting its seeds out in their thousands.
Over the weekend of the festival I will keep my eyes peeled for any wildlife as we are on the edge of the Pennines and I may spend my ‘coming round’ period wandering into that woodland to watch some punk rock wildlife.
Strummercamp is an annual gathering of punk, reggae, ska and associated music and has won awards as one of the UK’s friendliest festivals.
Find out more at strummercamp.com.
The Wildlife Trust is dedicated to the protection and promotion of wildlife. To become a member, go to the website at lancswt. org.uk or call 01772 324 129. For information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust, call 01948 820728 or go to cheshire wildlifetrust.org.uk.