Goodbye, dear friends

“You know, lads, there’s no doubt autumn is coming” I said to Napoleon and Roy as we drove across the moor.  We like to think August is the middle of summer but in reality, it’s at the end and all the signs are there that the seasons are changing.  There are plenty of blackberries ripening, Roawn trees are in fruit, heather is in full bloom and suddenly the nights are drawing in – at a rate of almost 4 minutes a day by now.

The boys weren’t too fussed about the weather as I parked the Land Rover and there was the usual pushing and shoving as all three of us tried to get out of the door at once – it’s all quite undignified.  We were off to one of the most amazing and unusual sites on Bodmin, Jubilee Rock.

Blackberries in the hedge

On the way, I noticed the foxgloves were showing a second round of their spectacular purple flowers.  It’s a useful, if poisonous plant if eaten directly, but the digitalis it contains can be used to treat heart issues and blood pressure.  Other names for foxglove include goblin gloves, witches' gloves and dead men's bells, but the origin of the name is uncertain.  The glove part of the may relate to the finger-like flowers and there are legends that that foxes used the flowers on their feet to prevent being heard, but I suspect that may have been started by someone leaving the New Inn late one night.

Foxgloves in full glory

Rowan with its berries

Anyway, it wasn’t too long a walk through bracken and gorse till we arrived at the Jubilee Rock.  It is a large granite boulder that almost certainly was eroded from a granite tor higher up the hill.  In an incredible fit of patriotism, the initial carving was done by Lieutenant John Rogers in 1810 to commemorate the Jubilee of George III.  It’s a big old rock, about 10 feet high and 25 feet across but personally I would have chosen one nearer the village.  But one thing is for sure, no-one will nick it and just to be sure it’s Grade 2 listed.  Apart from knowing he was nifty with a chisel, not much is known about the honourable Lieutenant.  He was on sick leave from the Navy at the time, it’s assumed the fresh air and chiseling aided his recovery.

Carved on the north side of the rock are the Falmouth and Morshead coat of arms with the Molesworth arms on the south side. Emblems also include the figure of Britannia as depicted on a penny coin, a beehive, ship, plough and the Cornish Arms surmounted by the Prince's Plume.  Later carvings were added in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee and 2012 for the Queen’s Jubilee – Oh, I see where the names comes from now!

Walking back, I saw a group of swallows swooping low over the moor, zig-zagging between the gorse bushes.  They were heading south, maybe heading off the Africa.  At home, I sat on the patio,noshing on Geraldine’s jam biscuits (does anyone want a recipe?) and watched the house martins zipping about.  The young left the nest about three days ago but are still returning to roost for a few days,so we still have the pleasure of watching these miniature fighter jets whizzing around the garden before they will wing away to southern Africa for their holidays.  But, this is their home, they will return, God willing, to the very same nests next year.

House martin Feeding Young

Soon, we will say goodbye to many of our summer birds – the Willow Warbler makes an amazing 5000 mile journey to sub-Saharan Africa and it weighs barely the as much as a box of matches – some birds even fly from far eastern Siberia to Africa.  Not all birds migrate, but it’s thought about 4,000 species or 40% of birds do.  Modern technology means that the traditional ringing methods is now supplemented by tiny transmitters which enable organisations like the British Trust for Ornithology to track bird movement with incredible accuracy.  

At present, for example, three cuckoos are being tracked (check out - www.bto.org/our-science/projects/cuckoo-tracking-project) – Valentine is in southern Nigeria near the Falgore Game Reserve, PJ is in south-west Nigeria and Carlton II is near the Fragas do EumeNational Park in NW Spain. Amazing, and they don’t even seem to mind the intrusion.

However, whilst our breeding residents fancy a nice warm winter like Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun, and who can blame them, there are many species that summer in the far north that think Britain is quite a cool place for winter holidays.

These include a wide range of waders, some stunning ducks like Tufted and Goldeneye (I always hope to see 007 of them haha) and the striking thrushes, Redwing and Fieldfare.

A Male Goldeneye

Soon, whilst we say goodbye to our summer residents, our hedgerows will be filled with the “Chack Chack” call of the Fieldfare as they scoff the berries on the hawthorn and sloe’s.  The more delicate Redwing has a distinct “tsee tsee’’ call but are often found with the Fieldfares.

Woodcock will be in the woods and meadows with the smaller Snipe. Our beaches, especially world-famous locations like Morecambe Bay, will be inundated with waders – really we are blessed that so many species can spend time here.

The Handsome Fieldfare

Winter can be a tough time and I recall my chats with my old friend, Cloggy, in the winter.  Cloggy was born in 1926 – in a different age when the land was worked by horses and that’s what he did all his working life.  He has a few acres of land on the edge of the village and grows veggies over part of it – so we can swop gardening notes and play “how big is your marrow”  competitions. In winter, He has a remarkable talent with his ever-present roll up cigarette when his permanent nose dew drop elongates in the cold weather and forms a bizarre triangle with the end of his fag, bouncing with amazing elasticity as it forms a weird connection.  Even more amazing is the fact that the fag appears to stay lit.

But never mind, soon it will be warmer again and the dew drop will retreat like an alpine glacier.