Page 16 - 2020 AMA Summer

GUESTWRITER
SNOWDONIA PEACE
Mike Raine
Hello, I’m writing to you from a locked-down Snowdonia. It’s quiet, very quiet. I know there have
been a few, well publicised breaches of the government-imposed lockdown, but believe me, it’s quiet here and the vast majority of people have done the right things.
We are well into the fourth week as I write and, I have to say it’s actually all very nice. I’m in the fortunate position of having wages paid and time to spare. I live in a beautiful place; I’m actually feeling a little guilty. I could, to be fair, walk further than I do. I do, however, play sensibly, simply out of respect for those working extremely hard on our behalf and for those who might be less fortunate with their geography. So, I do a little less than I could, but I’d be a fool not to be out walking or cycling, from our house into the remote woods and hills behind my house.
The peace is, from time to time disturbed by lawnmowers, wood chippers, and chain saws. It isn’t disturbed by speeding cars, racing motorbikes and even the RAF seem to be out a little less. There are few vapour trails in the sky as most planes are grounded, the train, down our valley, isn’t running and there are limited busses. Our cars move once week to shop.
What is absolutely wonderful though is watching the spring encroach. Spring is my favourite time of year and I love being
in the hills right now, before the bracken sets, before the hills get summer crowds and while the spring migrating birds are arriving. This is, it would seem, a time for the birds. The bird song we can hear at home is wonderful; sounds we’ve never noticed before, as we walk into the woods the cacophony builds especially at first and last light. As we wander up on to the moor there are different sounds, there are skylarks and the tweet-tweet of the meadow pipit.
I’ve never heard the chiff-chaffs quite so prominent. Their two tone, automated call, rather like a squeaky see-saw is all around the woods. As you head higher to the edge of the woods, it’s the newly arrived willow warblers that catch your hearing with their descending call. Both of these are tiny birds weighing around 10 grams, being about 11 cm long and
with a wingspan of around 20 cm. They look incredibly similar and if you saw the two side by side, you’d be hard pushed to spot the difference, never mind tell the difference. Chiff chaffs winter in the Mediterranean and West Africa, whilst the willow warbler makes an even more remarkable journey to southern Africa for the winter. I think it’s safe to say these two species will enjoy an uninterrupted breeding season this year.
I have high hopes for our local hen harriers too. This is a bird whose population has been decimated over the years by people. A nice quiet spring might be just what they need to start increasing their numbers. There is a worry though, and that is wildlife crime. Whilst our upland birds should do very well this year, there will be no one around keeping an eye out for wildlife crime which is hard enough to detect at
16 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER
Rhinog Fawr and Rhinog Fach - visit the Rhinogiau for some quite, wild walking. There’s some great rock climbing here too.
the best of times. The Scots have banned the ‘muirburn’ a process of burning the heather to create new growth upon which grouse feed, but burning off gorse has continued longer than it should here. They believe grouse numbers, will therefore be down this year and it will be a poor season for driven grouse shooting, if it happens at all. On the other hand, this might mean some space for other species to thrive, maybe it’ll be good news for hen harrier and other, allegedly, targeted birds of prey, maybe it’ll be good for stoat, fox and badger. It’ll be interesting see how these species are faring when the movement
Cwm Crafnant, with a deserted and closed Snowdon in the distance. - For a quiet post-Corvid 19 walk try the Crafnant Horseshoe