Evening visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 7th November 2020

Date: 7th November 2020

Time: from 4:30 p.m.

Weather: dry, cloudy, dark, 12°C

This was my first evening visit since the day after National Badger Day on 6th October 2020.

Given that Guy Fawkes Night in my local area is not a single night but something to be endured at least a week either side of 5th November 2020, my visit was one of more hope rather than expectation since I fully expected the noise of fireworks to reduce or prevent any sightings of Badgers or Red Foxes.

It turned out to be an appalling experience!

When I arrived at the site, I scattered some chopped apple, peanuts and dog biscuits at the usual location where the Badgers emerge.

As it started to go dark, the fireworks commenced, albeit some distance away over the nearby residential areas. However, a young family soon arrived near the church and proceeded to let off a series of loud fireworks in the car park. I was immediately aware that this was the end of my evening visit.

I have been of the view for many years that there should be a complete ban on the sale of fireworks to the public and that community firework displays should be limited to 5th November 2020 and New Years Eve with the proceeds of entrance fees being donated to local community charities. That view is strongly supported by the majority of the public judging by the opinion polls and petitions that arise every year on this issue. Unfortunately, yet again, this is something that the Government has failed to take seriously or review or take any action on.

Aside from the widespread anti-social behaviour and the health and safety risks of fires and injuries, the setting off of fireworks has a huge impact on wild animals, domestic animals and domestic pets. The minority of people responsible for all this clearly have no awareness at all of any of these serious impacts and probably no historical understanding whatsoever of who Guy Fawkes was or the significance of the Gunpowder Plot.

Not surprisingly, I failed to see any Badgers or Red Foxes but I did have one remarkable sighting during my visit, namely a single bat species (presumably one of the Pipistrelles) which was easy to see in its fluttering flight against the remaining light in the sky. Bats generally enter hibernation in tree roosts or other suitable sites early November and they will not be fully active until mid-May. Therefore this is likely to be my last sighting of the year.

With regard to birds, I heard several Robins and Blackbirds alarm calling and 2 raucously calling Jays plus I saw a few fly-over Carrion Crows.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Pipistrelle sp.

Robin
Blackbird
Jay
Carrion Crow

Site totals to date: 

Birds = 50
Mammals = 6
Butterflies = 21
Dragonflies and damselflies = 7
Reptiles = 1
Amphibians = 0

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature