Deep in the Malvern Hills, a traditional orchard stands proud as a place of extraordinary abundance in the barren farmland around. For six years, fellow naturalist Nicholas Gates and I have been studying its wildlife. This biodiverse haven was once a sight that would have covered the one-time fruit-growing counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and much of Gloucestershire, Devon and Somerset.
It’s January – under a soft snow blanket, the orchard, its trees bent under the weight of ice-clad mistletoe, heaves and chatters with winter thrushes. Fieldfares, redwings and song thrushes descend from the trees in their thousands and the static fizz and pop of starlings can be heard everywhere. When the farmlands all around are dead and devoid of life, here it’s winter feast time and the banquet hall is full.
Orchards were once a staple of rural life, much as they remain in the older farming systems of Eastern Europe. We cultivated most of them here in Tudor times, yet the older history is infinitely more fascinating. The apple trees in Britain’s orchards today do not, in fact, originate from our native wild crab apples. They originate, instead, from a remote mountain valley in Kazakhstan. Here, it is believed that early Silk Road traders (and their horses) vectored the Kazakh apples westwards towards the Mediterranean, where they were grown by enterprising Greeks and Romans.
Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
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Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SNAP-CHAT
Justin Gilligan on giant spider crabs and holding hands with an octopus
STEPPE CHANGE
Herds of saiga have returned to Kazakhstan, but there's a fine balance to tread
TREES FOR LIFE
Community is at the heart of conservation in the tropical forests of southern Belize
WHEN DOVES CRY
Turtle doves are now the UK's fastest declining bird species, but the RSPB is on a mission to save them
SURVIVAL OF THE CUTEST
We can't help being drawn to cute creatures, but our aesthetic preferences both help and hinder conservation
LIGHT ON THE NORTH
Spectacular images of Arctic foxes, reindeer and musk oxen reveal the wild beauty and diversity of Scandinavia
ROLLING IN THE DEEP
The super-sized crustacean that lives in the deepest, darkest ocean
LET'S GET TOGETHER
Clay licks deep in the Amazon explode in a riot of colour, with macaws the stars of the show
FEMALE OF THE SPECIES
To sponge or not to sponge? That is the question for the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) living in Shark Bay, Western Australia.
7 nature encounters for the month ahead
WITH NATURALIST AND AUTHOR BEN HOARE