RICHARD WILLIAMSON Nature Watch November 4

The hawthorn harvest is vast once again. For several years there has been a bumper crop. Get out now into the lanes and hedgerows and watch the feasting going on till Christmas.

Wood pigeons, blackbirds, redwings, fieldfares and even blue tits gobble up the soft red berries which are as full of goodness as apples and pears.

As children we called the leaves ‘bread and cheese’ and nibbled them if hungry, while the red berries were quite good to eat, too.

There used to be a dozen ancient names for the shrub – Awes, Aglets, Arzy-garzies, Agars, Hoppety haws, Quick, May.

May Day was the traditional time for the blossom to open, but that was because the calendar change in 1752 which lost us 11 days had meant May 1 suddenly became May 12 – roughly the date when the blossom does open nowadays although it can be as early as late April.

A beautiful shrub to grow in your garden and so very useful to wildlife, too.