Naturalists battle the wind and rain
IT was a wet and windy weekend when the latest coach trip of the Rochdale Field Naturalists’ Society left for Settle in the Yorkshire Dales.
The walk began along the River Ribble but in some places the footpaths had become torrents.
However the hedgerows still held interest with clumps of colourful late flowers like comfrey, vetch and bistort and fruits like rowan, hawthorn and elder.
Soon great interest was sparked by a flock of mistle thrush making their characteristic song like a football-rattle.
Picnic lunch was taken in the shelter of the redundant Hoffman Lime Kiln at Langcliffe: a piece of Victorian industrial heritage.
Since falling into disuse the whole area, overshadowed by the towering cliffs of Langcliffe Scar, has returned to nature.
In the decaying walls were several species of fern including maidenhair spleenwort and Wall rue.
Many herbaceous species were still flowering, notably the lime loving bloody cranesbill.
Sweet cicely, aptly named myrrhis odorata by scientists, could be identified by its the strong aniseed smell when crushed.
The woods around provided shelter for birds such as dunnocks, robins, finches and tits.
The typically gregarious longtailed tits announced their presence with their chattering contact calls.
Then a score of them swept down into a tree where their long tails, longer than their tiny bodies, could easily be seen.
By mid-afternoon the group reached Little Stainforth waterfall, famous for the Autumn spectacle of salmon leaping upstream to their spawning grounds.
Pity the poor salmon that tried to swim upstream that day – they would have been exhausted fighting against the overwhelming power of the water.
The disappointment at not seeing salmon jumping was soon outweighed by a welcome cuppa (and a delicious slice of cake) at the Tea Rooms.
Details about future R.F.N.S events can be seen at www. rochdalefield naturalists.org.uk.