James Shepherd had always been interested in wild life, and he was determined that the charred area of the wood should be restocked. With this in mind, he decided that he needed to know what was in the wood already. And so one winter's day, he revisited the wood and marvelled at all the fabulous wildlife.
As he entered the area he saw lots and lots of trees, that looked familiar. He thought they were a mixture of Oak and Horse Chestnut. He walked over to what looked like a Horse Chestnut to have a closer look. He had read a book about the wood and all the trees that lived there. Horse Chestnuts, if he could remember correctly, in Winter have sticky buds which open up in the Spring. In Autumn, when the conkers are ripe, the local children went to the wood to have conker fights.
He moved on to the next tree which was an oak tree. Squirrels like acorns. Further in the forest, he saw a fox. It was an old fox with grey hairs and a beautiful winter coat all shiny and thick. The fox was hunting. This particular fox had his eye on a squirrel, which had been raiding his store of buried acorns. Just as the fox was about to pounce, the squirrel ran away. Squirrels can not defend themselves very easily, that's why they run away. If they are on the ground and they see danger, such as a fox they climb a nearby tree.
Night was drawing in, and screeching noises could be heard. Maybe it was the sound of bats or owls. Moving closer, he could definitely tell it was the sound of bats. Bats hibernate in winter, because their food supply is scarce in cold weather. He heard more screeching, so he figured that owls were around too.
James had always taken an interest in the owls of Shepherd's Wood, and had a good understanding of their behaviour. He knew that a female owl makes her nests in a hollow opening in a tree and in mid-March lays between two and four white eggs. He knew that the eggs are incubated for four long weeks while the male gathers food. Darkness does not bother an owl, who can make out even the faintest gleam. It can see clearly by starlight. Unlike other birds, whose eyes are on the sides of their heads, it's eyes face forward. This gives it better three dimensional vision, and so it can judge the distance it is away from an obstacle of it's prey. James knew all this and more.
He stood in the gloom watching in amazement, as a tawny owl flew by. Not long after, the rustling of leaves tore James away. He ran over, and spotted a weasel with a white snowy coat, hunting for prey. Weasels are slender animals with muscular, snake-like bodies and short legs. Their heads are small and triangular with narrowed snouts. A weasel eats mice, rats, birds and rabbits.
Closer to the middle of the forest, he saw a badger's sett. It's not often you get to see a badger's sett. He had to walk very quietly as he wanted them to stay. Badgers use straws, green plants and leaves for their bedding, and only venture out at night. Outside each sett entrance James could see a mound of excavated soil, and old bedding. Moving further into the forest, he saw some fungi growing in-between some old badger sett sticks.
Further into the forest he sat down, still all wrapped up in hat, scarf and gloves. Darkness was falling and the ground underneath him, felt cold and hard. He stood up. What could it be? It looked like an old coin. He picked it up. He wondered when and why the coin has been dropped or buried? The sound of rustling leaves startled James. He stood up quietly and looked into the middle of the forest, there was nothing he could see, so he turned back. Suddenly, he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder, he turned round and saw a man, a tall, dark stranger carrying some kind of weapon. He asked what James was doing so deep into the wood. James quickly dropped the coin into his pocket, and opened his mouth to reply, but Elliot wouldn't give him a chance to speak. Elliot, for that was the man's name, told James that the burned areas were already growing again,animals were returning on their and and didn't need any help from James!
Darkness had fallen, and James decided it was time to go home. Several questions were spinning around in his head. Who was Elliot? Where did he live? Why was he so sure that James could't help? How long had he been watching James and Did he see the coin as James inspected it?
Butterwick Primary School created this story