Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

I HAVE to smile sometimes when I read reports written by people who always look on the dark side of life.

Some are now suggesting that our rivers are becoming too clean and that, because of too little manure in the water, there is not enough food to support animals.

I am much happier when I look out for stories which give cause for optimism. The River Hodder is one of the happiest rivers in Britain and has salmon, sea trout, brown trout and grayling, all giving pleasure to anglers.

Any river which supports fish will have plenty of animals for the fish to feed on.

This also means that it is a good environment for birds and along the Hodder are breeding kingfishers, dippers, grey wagtails, common sandpipers and the heron is a frequent resident.

The heron is not a friend of the angler or of the owner of the fish farm on the banks of the River Dunsop.

The Dunsop is a tributary of the Hodder and at Dunsop Bridge there is a neat little car park.

Last Sunday the sun shone for the first time in weeks and children were soon making the best of the clean, shallow and safe water.

The Dunsop merges with the Hodder not far from the village and here is one river which I hope never becomes too clean to support fish. I love the Hodder just as it is.

MRS E BARON of Paddock Street, Oswaldtwistle writes:

On July 25, I was on a bus coming from Accrington and had to stop at Church lights.

I noticed two small birds with red on their heads. I have looked in a bird book and wonder if they could be redpolls?

Please could you tell me if the enclosed pressed flower is the sneezewort? I found it growing in my back yard and thought it was a weed.

RON SAYS: The birds with red on their heads could be redpolls but could also have been goldfinch.

The flower is indeed a sneezewort, which is related to the daisy but much larger. Mrs Baron may be interested to know the definition of a weed.

It is a plant growing where it is not wanted. A lovely rose growing in a cabbage patch is therefore defined as a weed in this context.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.