Your story

          a selection for October

First ever wood on Canvey Island

Canvey Island, an 18km² reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, gained its first wood recently when the town council planted 1500 mixed trees. There was a big turn out from local residents, schools and local councillors. It's hoped in the autumn another 1500 trees will be planted.

Cllr Dave Blackwell, chairman

Kate replies: That is a fantastic achievement, particularly since Britain is among the least wooded of all European countries. New native woods make a huge difference for wildlife and local people.

A surprise kill

Gibby Kirwan is a Wildlife Ranger with the Forestry Commission Scotland, based in Huntley, Aberdeenshire: 
It is my job to watch nature and all that goes on in our forests. On a recent walk through the Bin Forest I was lucky enough to see a beautiful bird of prey sitting no more than 20 feet away from me. My initial thought was that it was a juvenile peregrine raised by the pair that nest nearby, but because the bird had its back to me I couldn't get a clear view of its features.

Then I noticed something at its feet - a fresh kill.

Suddenly it turned and I was stunned to see it wasn't one of the peregrines but a magnificent young female goshawk, plucking at a juvenile male sparrowhawk of all things. Just goes to show that sometimes the hunter becomes the hunted.

Shark and otter spotting in Scotland

Rosemary Bennett, from Leicester, tells us:
We have just returned home from our holiday on the Scottish island of Tiree. When the ferry was approaching the island, we sailed by a large shoal of basking sharks. One huge creature leapt out of the water as we were all watching, causing gasps and screams from the watching passengers. We also observed two basking sharks, revealing their shiny leather-like sail fins and their concave narrow tails, quite close to the beach of Gott Bay. They remained there for hours, seemingly undisturbed by three or four kite-surfers nearby.

We also spent some time in Hough Bay to the north-west of the island, where we had the pleasure to watch an otter for a couple of hours as it slept, rolled over and kicked its legs in the air, on a rock not far from our camper van. Eventually, a large seal swam up to the otter's rock, looked up at it and then the two of them swam away together as if this was a normal occurrence.

Your story

a selection for September
 

Oozing bark and a drunk hornet?

Bob Hinton walks his dogs regularly in Woodland Trust woods in Wiltshire. He recently spotted an oak tree oozing a white liquid from its trunk. Its pungent smell reminded him of curing silicon rubber.

There were some small flies buzzing around and a hornet appeared to be feeding on it. He says 'I have never seen this or caught a whiff of such a smell before. Can anyone enlighten me? Is this common?'

Kate replies: Sometimes when a tree oozes sap it can ferment and produce a strong smell attracting insects which can even get drunk on it. Forest research www.forestresearch.gov.uk are the experts on tree disease so it is worth contacting them for advice if you are concerned about a particular tree.

The hunters become the hunted

Linda Brown, who lives in the Yorkshire Dales, wrote to tell us a lovely story:
'I was aware that there was a family of stoats living in the stone wall bordering our paddock. We had seen an adult stoat carrying a rabbit to its den a couple of weeks earlier.

I was grooming my horse adjacent to that wall one morning when we both heard the tell-tale "squeaky wheelbarrow" noise of the stoat. Then two young stoats came running towards us, totally ignorant of our presence, as they were ducking and diving in a mock fight with each other and totally immersed in their game. My horse grew about 10 ft at their audacity and gave a powerful snort. The little stoats stopped dead in their tracks to stare at us for a second, and in synchronized motion bolted over the wall and into the long grass next door. It was such a privileged insight into "boyish behaviour".

Then, last evening, we saw the two youngsters running down the road as they half-heartedly chased a rabbit out of sight into the verge. The next moment the tables were turned and the stoats ran back into view again across the lane - with the rabbit in hot pursuit after them! It was so funny!

Growing the next generation of trees

Malc Stacey writes:
On the edge of the Quantock hills in Somerset I pass a lovely old manor house several times a week. By the side of the road they have overhanging horse chestnut trees, and every autumn I stop and pick up a few of the fallen conkers, take them home and plant seven of them in a large flower pot. Every spring I get a new growth, and after a height of about six inches I plant them back in a different place on the Quantock hills. Couldn't we encourage schools to do the same? I'm sure it would be great fun for the children.

Kate replies: Horse chestnuts are beautiful trees, but aren't native to the UK and were brought here in the 1600s. They are a great addition to parks and gardens but we recommend planting native trees in natural spaces as these support much more wildlife. At the Woodland Trust we are passionate about involving children in tree planting, especially of native trees. Thousands take part in planting events at our sites across the UK. Schools can also order free trees to plant in their school grounds or a seed kit to grow their own. Find out more at http://www.treeforall.org.uk/