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one of the few plus points that
planners have insisted upon
when designing these estates!
We were lucky to share our
wetland reserve on the
Amble marshes with several
Otters during last winter and
I know they are still active as
I’ve found lots of tracks and
sprainting sites throughout
the valley. One otter in
particular treated many people
to fantastic daylight views all
through last winter and I’m
really hoping it’ll still be active
again when winter kicks in
again. A family of three was
seen very recently around the
Egloshayle Playing Fields area
of the river and I also watched
them near Rock so they could
turn up anywhere and with
the leaves fallen from the
trees it will be much easier to
spot them during the winter
months.
Whilst we are talking about
trees and their berries, I
thought I’d mention the
Spindle berries which are often
overlooked. Spindle is a native
British tree which has bright
pink berries that start to open
in winter revealing bright
orange seed. Some of the uses
of spindle can be assumed
from its name, it was used to
make ‘spindles’ for spinning,
as well as skewers, toothpicks,
pegs and knitting needles.
Both the leaves and fruit are
toxic to humans – the berries
having a laxative effect. (I only
know this from my research
and not through experience!)
Adrian Langdon
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