NATURE'S OLYMPIANS ..... September/October
2008
The seasons take a dramatic turn during September
and October, from the warm, golden afternoons of summer’s
end, to the dawn dew-filled meadows and the spectacular transformation
of green to red-orange-gold, as our deciduous trees go through
their seductive striptease, shedding leaves in an effort to divert
our attention from the tragic demise of high summer.......
And with it comes a last hurrah for the living
world as fields are ploughed for one last sowing, invertebrates
emerge from larval stages to enter a breeding and egg-laying
frenzy - witness the bobbing leatherjackets injecting the fields
and pasture with eggs. Small mammals reach peak numbers in September
before the great decline towards the first frosts that might
appear at the end of October.
So its a prolific month for wildlife, and as
ever, you are spoilt for choice in terms of where you place your
attention. Arriving in large numbers are the 'winter thrushes'
from Scandinavia, the redwings and fieldfares, heralding the
approach of winter. Leaving our shores in droves are the migrant
birds that have exploited the abundance of summer and now fly
south in search of sunnier climes.
Autumn is also the season for one of the most
dramatic wildlife spectacles. The salmon and sea trout run begins
as the autumn rains increase water levels in our rivers. You
may have thought the Olympics were over in Beijing, but these
are nature's great Olympians striving to reach their goal, starting
thousands of miles away with a marathon journey from the sea,
to its photo-finish high jumps up the fast flowing rivers of
its birth. There are few more epic events in nature's Olympics
so take your ringside seat by a fast flowing river from late
October onwards for an hour or so to see if you can catch sight
of these magnificent athletes.
Sea trout are the same species as brown trout
that live in the streams, rivers and lakes but are migratory,
and grow much larger than either the brown trout or rainbow trout,
up to 3ft in length. Their similar colouring to salmon can make
it difficult to distinguish one leaping fish from another, but
what does that matter when you are treated to a fishy Fosbury
Flop!
(N.B. Dick Fosbury’s jumping style adopted by all high
jumpers since 1968 Olympics.)
The place to watch is where the water falls down
over rocks, where there is no channel for them to swim upstream.
Their efforts to jump can sometimes take as many as 20 attempts,
their determination to spawn higher up the river is matched by
some breathtaking leaps, the champion fish achieving heights
up to a staggering 11ft above the churning, turbulent white waterfalls.
Most will make it eventually, and arrive, spent
and somewhat emaciated, to breed in the upper reaches, where
the river bottom is gravelly. The female will create a hollow,
or redd, by flicking her powerful tail, and when it is about
6-8inches deep, she is joined by the male who fertilizes the
thousands of eggs with his seminal fluid (milt), which are then
covered with loose gravel dug by other spawning fish. By early
spring, most of the fry have been born, and a year passes until
they mature to embark on another marathon to live in the sea
for 1-5 years before returning to breed. Its essentially the
same life-cycle as the atlantic salmon, but the exhausted sea
trout are much more likely to recover from the spawning and return
to the ocean. Unlike salmon, however, female sea trout frequently
fail to spawn, retaining her eggs, becoming known as a 'baggot'
. Some sea trout never move into the open sea, preferring the
feeding grounds within coastal waters and sea lochs, becoming
known as 'slob trout', which is rather unflattering to say the
least!
It reminds me of that somewhat old-fashioned
term of abuse, describing an unattractive woman as an 'old trout'
which seems way off the mark, given the shimmering beauty of
these amazing creatures. The brown trout can be variable in colour
but its streamlined shape and square-end tail combine with its
red/brown/black spotted colouring to make it a clear favourite
to win any aquatic beauty competition. Its presence in the clear
waters of our chalk streams and rivers are part of the charm
and poetry of the British countryside.
Rainbow trout were introduced from the Pacific
coast of America in 1884, and quickly naturalized in rivers and
lakes in Britain. Larger than brown trout, easier to farm, and
easier to catch for anglers, they have replaced their wild cousins
on most people's dinner plates, even though they are inferior
in both taste and texture. However, self-sustaining populations
are rare, and so the restocking of lakes and rivers is done from
the farm surplus.
For you bushcrafters then, the ultimate test
of your wild food skills will be to visit one of those clear,
running streams, lure a wild brown trout onto a home-made fly,
catch it on a crafted hook, and reel it in on a woven nettle
fishing line. Cooked on a bow-drill fire, with burdock chips
and seasonal parasol mushrooms, you would I’m sure, serve
that up with a great deal of satisfaction!
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