This is the first Deerness Diary since March when, in an attempt to curb the spread of the Foot-and-Mouth virus, restrictions were placed on the public use of footpaths and other rights of way which effectively closed the countryside to walkers and riders.

Since the first case of the disease was found in the county twenty-three weeks ago, ninety-two Durham farms have tested positive for infection by the virus, and nearly 500 farms in the county have had their animals killed as potential contacts. Throughout the north, nearly 1500 farms have tested positive for the disease (over half of these in Cumbria) and over 5000 farms in the region have had their livestock killed.

On the brighter side, at the time of writing (1st August) County Durham has not suffered a new case of Foot-and-Mouth since mid May, and most of the county has been free of the virus since April. (The last cases to be recorded in Co Durham occurred during May in a cluster of farms confined to a small area near Darlington.)

From the beginning of this month (along with much of Northumberland and Cumbria, including Hadrian's Wall and much of the Lake District) restrictions on most rights of way in the county have been lifted. The few exceptions which are not yet open again can be checked daily on the County Tourist Boards' Web pages - links to which can be found on our main Foot-and-Mouth Information Page. Information about open paths, picnic areas, etc, specific to County Durham can be found more directly on Durham County Council's "open countryside" page.

This spring and summer have been very good for both our flora and fauna. The closure of the countryside has meant that wildlife as been left largely undisturbed. Deer populations, which were already high, are now approaching nuisance levels. In some places, roe deer have become a bother by grazing in domestic gardens. (I am told that they are particularly partial to chrysanthemums.) With the need to keep deer numbers under control (higher today than at any time within living memory) I understand that a potential glut of venison is anticipated and that supermarkets are being approached as possible outlets.

A good summer last year was followed by a very wet autumn (the wettest for at least 250 years, which is as far back as reliable records are available) and a winter which, while not severe, was reasonably cold. A cold winter sandwiched between a good summer and a mild spring is ideal for the majority of the birds that over-winter here. A good summer matures into a copious supply of the seeds that see both birds and small mammals through the darker months, while cold winters kill many of their parasites. Moths, butterflies and other insects which thrived on the nectar of last summer's flowers left a legacy which emerged with the spring, ensuring a plentiful supply of caterpillars and grubs to feed this years hatchlings.

The result has been that most of our birds are now enjoying a prosperous year, with large clutches fledging. Those wading birds that come inland to nest on the northern moors appear to be doing particularly well. This year I have seen and heard more snipe, dunlin and, particularly, curlews than in any previous year that I can remember. Curlews were even to be seen in the centre of Esh Winning village when 'casing' for potential mates/nesting sites a few weeks ago.

The Passeriformes (the largest order of birds which includes all our garden songbirds) have been declining in recent years - not only as a result of changes in agricultural practises, but also for other reasons not yet understood. However, like the waders, the numbers of songbirds are also up significantly this year.

Skylarks, whose declining numbers have been causing some concern over the past decade, have returned this summer to fells and meadows where they have not been heard for some time.

The only exception to this pattern seems to be lapwings (better known by many as 'peewits'). Why lapwings appear not be thriving to the same extent as their cousins is something of a mystery. Perhaps it is just my imagination.

The amphibians in the valley are also having a good year, with as many frog and newt tadpoles in the ponds this spring as I can remember seeing - well stocked larders for the village's resident heron. (Does anyone know where the herons are nesting?)

I also presume that there is a thriving population of crustaceans in the Deerness as a second pair of dippers has taken up residence on the river this year.

Here in the Deerness Valley, there has been no little concern over a pit at the head of the valley, where the government has choosen to dump a quarter of million animal carcasses. The plan is to cover these over and leave them to rot down into a toxic soup over the course of the next decade. Periodically, the accumulating putrid liquid will be pumped into tankers and driven away to be disposed of at sewage works.

Many remain to be convinced that the location of site is not ill chosen. Fears have been voiced over the nature of the ground beneath the dump, a leak from which could annihilate all but bacterial life in the Deerness and its becks, playing havoc with the ecology of the entire valley from Tow Law to Langley Moor. Let us hope that the doom mongerers (amongst whom I must count myself) are wrong. The risks may be small, but the consequences of a significant containment failure could be catastrophic for the wildlife of the whole of the valley.

Kim Booth,  August, 2001

Related Links:

• The Wildlife of the Deerness Valley
• Foot-and-Mouth Disease Main Page
• The Tow Law-Inkerman Animal Disposal Site