Is February Fill-Dyke a thing of the past - despite this week's snow

From my own limited viewpoint this year, we have seen snowdrops and daffodils blooming in late January, somewhat earlier than normal, we've noticed birds seeking nesting materials in early February and bursting into song long before their traditional time, and also this year there has been a noticeable lack of very cold weather, snow, frost and ice - despite this week's wintry conditions..

At the time of writing, even February's notorious rainfall has not been so great this year. The month has long been noted for its heavy and prolonged rain, so much so that it became known as February Fill-Dyke. In filling our ditches, ponds, rivers and streams, it ensured a plentiful and vital supply in our reservoirs and in the ground during the months ahead.

An old piece of folklore tells us that a February without rain was considered neither good for hay nor grain. This year, that is something which cannot be ignored. Our crops need rain - it is as simple as that.

In some regions, the weather has been so dry that a good heavy and sustained rainfall is needed by farmers and horticulturists before mid-March. This is because the rapid new growth of plants in both domestic and wild locations will consume much of the moisture already stored in the ground, leaving little or none for the ripening crops.

To replenish that vital supply of water, snow has always been regarded as more beneficial than rain in helping to improve our stocks, and the recent falls should help.

There seems little doubt that our winters are growing milder, although research shows that, over the past 15 years, February has been wetter than hitherto. Perhaps this February has not been typical, but it is interesting to note that English wine producers are now considering the introduction of the Champagne grape to our southern counties. English wine appears to be improving in both taste and reputation, and it seems that our milder weather, plus the chalky landscape of that region, is ideal for that most famous of sparkling white wines. I'll raise my glass to that!

While on the topic of climate change, the British Trust for Ornithology has noticed some strange events affecting sea birds, especially those living on the North Sea.

The birds in question are mainly guillemots and shags, although other species are involved. It has been noticed that numbers of dead or sick guillemots are being washed ashore along the Norfolk coastline, although one cannot rule out that this may be happening in our region.

The BTO is seeking information about this phenomenon because the birds are adults and this will clearly affect their breeding programme. It seems that the living, but ill, birds are very thin and frail, and the BTO is trying to ascertain the reason for these unusual occurrences.

They ask that anyone finding dead or ill guillemots contact the BTO, preferably after ascertaining whether the birds are ringed, by calling 01842 750050 or contacting the web site at www.bto.org.

Some 800,000 birds are ringed every year, including about 12,000 guillemots around the British and Irish coasts. When ringed birds are found ill or dead, this can provide valuable information about them.

One ringed bird was found walking along the main coast road at Holkham, having been ringed in the Netherlands. In addition, however, several shags have been found inland, including one which was walking along a forest road at Santon Downham on February 1. They've also been found as far inland in Kent, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and, because they are truly coastal birds, these discoveries are both unusual and worrying.

The BTO is anxious to learn of shags being found in gardens and other places inland and any sightings should be referred to the numbers and web site given above.

In 2004, hundreds of fulmar petrels were found dead along all the North Sea coasts and post mortems showed that virtually all of them had died of acute starvation.

So if you find a dead sea bird on the coast or inland, including your garden, check to see if it is carrying a ring on its leg, then contact the BTO.

Incidentally, volunteers are always being sought by the BTO for its ringing programme. At the moment, some 2,000 are operating in Britain and Ireland and, if this kind of work interests you, please contact the BTO.

A reader has asked if there is any distinction between a holy well and a wishing well. The short answer is "no".

In medieval times, our region was rich with both types of well, a well at that time being little more than a spring of water issuing from the ground. It did not necessarily have any kind of structure built around it, but inevitably, as the well became more popular, it was protected by building either wooden or stone surrounds. More formal wells were constructed as deep mine-type shafts, but those early holy wells are much smaller and not so formal, often little more than springs.

Many still exist in our region, perhaps merely as springs or even as stone structures containing a never-ending supply of fresh water. It was that clean, pure and fresh water which made wells so important. In ancient times, and into our medieval past, the drinking water of our forebears was often dangerously impure due to a lack of sanitation and care, but water from deep wells was pure. This made it very special because people thought it cured all manner of ailments.

In fact, the water was probably not always curative. What happened was that it did not make them sick or ill. Because people could drink it without becoming ill, the pagans thought it was magical and some believed it was the dwelling place of a god.

For this reason, wells became places of pilgrimage, with sick people trekking long distances in the hope of a cure. When they arrived, they tried to influence the resident god of the well by placing precious things in the water, things which he or she might find useful. This could be anything from coins, pins, crockery, buttons or flowers and greenery.

As they were thrown in, the thrower expressed his or her hopes. Those wishful hopes might be anything from wanting good health to finding a life-time companion or even becoming rich, and by drinking the water, which often contained health-giving minerals, such desires were sometimes granted. This served only to enhance the reputation of these sacred wells and it is not surprising some were considered able to grant miracles.

Those places were holy wells of pagan times, granting wishes and helping people to become healthier. One must assume that the presence of such gifts in the precious water did not foul it, but when Christianity came to these islands, the Church had great difficulty persuading the local people to abandon their holy wells. The simplest thing was to adapt them to the Christian way of life and so the pilgrimages continued. Gifts, often in the form of money, were thrown into the wells and, instead of pagan wishes at the well-side, Christian prayers were said. There can be little doubt that the prayers sought the same blessings as those wishes of earlier times.

Holy wells and wishing wells are therefore exactly the same, even if some wells are now dedicated to Christian saints. In Christian times, belief in the efficacy of these wells was commonplace, with some being accredited with special powers. Some could cure ailments in cattle, for example, others were said to cure sterility in men and women, while yet more were capable of effecting cures for almost any human ailment. In addition, of course, they were thought to grant one's prayers, provided one made a suitable offering, just as the pagans had done with their wishes centuries earlier.