The winds of the last two days have stripped many of the broad leaved trees of their leaves. These Sycamore trees in this wood were full of leaf on Tuesday, yet to-day they are all but bare. Elsewhere in the wood there is little sign of that autumn gold we so much love.
It is also strange that Sycamore should get such a bad press with conservationists (of which I am one) as this wood sustains a very wide variety of birds of all sizes, due to a good insect population I suspect, through the whole of the year. In fact this wood is one of the very few locations in Derbyshire, where you can see Lesser, Greater and Green Woodpecker all in the same wood……and that cannot be bad. I often think species and habitat get a bad name through either neglect or just lazy conservation management. Everything needs some care and attention.
20 October
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 