Hugh’s views: Wildlife wipeout
Up until the time when the woodland beside the A1068 was obliterated to make way for Hauxley View, the latest Persimmons development in Amble, it was possible during the summer, while passing along on the pavement on the opposite side of the road, to see several roe deer grazing on the pasture which is now being prepared for building work. Those pleasures are now gone along with the rest of the wildlife which relied upon the wood for shelter and food.
Now the area opposite to where the wood stood has also been stripped bare of all vegetation so that survey work by Advance Northumberland, a subsidiary of Northumberland County Council (NCC), can determine the viability of future development.
The site lies between the Sewage works and the A1068 fronting onto Percy Drive with a mixed shelter belt protecting the furthest side. A scattering of willow trees and hawthorns grew randomly throughout surrounded by a shrub/field layer of dog roses, brambles and in summer, a sea of tall grasses and sedges. This was also a wildlife haven.
From the pavement on the opposite side of Percy Drive it was possible to see the occasional roe weaving its way through the drifts of grasses with only a head and ears showing to indicate their presence.
Last October I watched a pair of common buzzards prospecting the possibilities of the shelter belt during a period of strong winds, riding the turbulent currents with ease. This January early one morning in the half-light a barn owl was quartering the site in search of prey.
But it wasn’t until early spring that the site really came alive with the arrival of many migrant species of warblers.
Chiffchaffs were usually first to arrive in late March followed by Blackcap, then Willow Warbler in April. Soon after there would be the songs and calls of Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and then Sedge Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler. All of which nested close to the ground in dense vegetation where they would also find the insects on which they fed themselves and their young.
Advance Northumberland started their groundworks last April but ceased after a complaint was made to NCC about the damage being done to the wildlife. This February they destroyed the entire area in advance of the returning birds.
The brown hare which I saw tracking back and forth over the ruined habitat this April must have wondered what had become of its world.
Hugh Tindle
