IN RECENT weeks there has been an enormous amount of mowdie activity along the verges which border my morning walk.

Mowdie or mowdiwarp is the local word for a mole, an old dialect word stemming from moldewarp or muldvarp which means mover of earth, or perhaps earth thrower or scatterer.

The frantic activity of these subterranean little beasts is marked by scores of small mounds of earth which we call mole hills or even mowdie-hills, and in my locality just now they are grouped together like suburban bungalows, all very much alike in appearance and neatly arranged along the sides of the road.

One patch of ground near my home is almost covered by these little mounds of fresh earth and, at another point upon my walk, I spotted seven fresh mole hills side by side. One had appeared during the ten minutes it took me to make my return journey past that particular point, its fresh earth clearly on display and spilling onto the carriageway. Obviously, the moles were hard at work as I was striding past.

One of the curious things about mole hills is that they appear regularly beside our motorways and main roads, or even along the central reservations of our major routes. It seems there are two reasons for this. One is that the movement of traffic causes vibrations in the ground which in turn causes worms to head for the surface. In so doing, they become a prime source of food for moles.

Another factor is that moles living along our verges and central reservations are safe from enemies which might range from mole-catchers to farmers' ploughs. So our roadsides have become safe havens for a considerable percentage of the mole population. It is evident they do not mind the constant presence of traffic.

This activity does raise a question, however. How do they reach the central reservations of busy highways? Apparently, few tunnel under the road due to the depth of the foundations and one must assume they actually cross the carriageway. Because moles are very slow moving creatures, I am sure many are killed by passing traffic, but some are able to complete that dash to the place of their choice.

The main reason for their activity is food. Moles need a huge amount, most of which comprises earthworms. Because worms are full of soil they are far from nutritious, which means moles must consume large amounts to gain any benefit from them, most moles eating about half their own body weight every 24 hours.

They also eat a lot of insect larvae, which means they are very useful pest controllers, and, of course, their tunnelling activities help to aerate and drain the ground.

In addition to digging for food, they construct remarkable underground nesting chambers with several access tunnels. These are known as fortresses and can be identified because the pile of earth above each one is larger than a normal mole hill. It might have several entrances even if they are concealed by the mound of earth.

Each mole has its own burrow and it will attack any other mole which dares to trespass into its territory, but moles possess an unusual skill because they can move along their tunnels backwards and forwards with equal ease. They are also capable swimmers, which means they can escape if their tunnels become filled with water, a regular occurrence in low-lying areas.

It is widely thought that moles are blind, but they do have very tiny eyes, albeit with dreadfully poor sight. When underground, a mole navigates by using very sensitive whiskers and an equally sensitive nose. They spend very little time above ground, but if they do venture to the surface, it will probably be to collect material for their nest or to seek food if the earth is very dry beneath.

It is while above ground that a mole is most vulnerable to predators, although not many hunters will be tempted by a rather distasteful mole. Owls are one of their chief enemies, but creatures like foxes and stoats will probably not be tempted due to the deterrent effect of glands in the mole's skin. These help to make the mole's fur water-repellent and to keep it so velvety smooth and clean while passing through the ground.

One problem with having moles so vigorously active near one's home is that they might invade the garden. To deter them, we have one of those battery-operated gadgets which is stuck into the ground to emit a high-pitched squeak every 15 seconds. It seems to work, although one local man suggested pushing a microphone down their burrows and playing Des O'Connor songs. He reckons that would shift anything.

A recent trip took us through the countryside of County Durham, where we were able to appreciate some of the splendid scenery to the west of Durham City.

One of the historic places on our route was Lanchester, with its splendid parish church boasting a distinctive high tower. This is a very old pre-Reformation church with parts dating to Norman times and some of its stonework comes from the Roman settlements which once dominated the area. There is a good deal of thirteenth-century glass in the chancel and more from the fifteenth century in the south aisle. The royal arms of George III are above the tower arch and the church contains several monuments to local people of stature. One honours William Hedley of Burnhopeside Hall, who was a nineteenth-century railway pioneer.

Lanchester was noted in Roman times as a place of significance on the road from Hadrian's Wall to York. Before the fort was built, this part of England was controlled by a Roman road leading from York. It came via Catterick and crossed the River Tees at Piercebridge, then headed towards Binchester on the Wear and continued to Ebchester and Corbridge. When Hadrian's Wall was constructed, the forts at Corbridge, Ebchester and Binchester were abandoned early in the second century.

In AD 122 a new one was constructed at Lanchester, which is roughly halfway between Piercebridge and the famous wall. The fort, which was about half a mile to the south of Lanchester, was called Longovicium, which means long settlement, but very little can now be seen above ground. Lots of the stones from which it was originally built were later removed and used for local building operations. Some are now inside the parish church, the pillars in particular, and it seems the fort's most important period was during the second and third centuries.

An important cavalry unit was stationed at Longovicium towards the end of the third century and it appears they enjoyed life in the Durham hills, hunting and enjoying the sports followed by the local people. There was much respect between the Romans and the native people, who lived in harmony side by side and traded together with considerable success, with Longovicium still being used until the fourth century. The Roman occupation ended late in that century with all Roman troops finally withdrawn in AD 407.

One of the birds which visit our garden feeders is a blue tit with only one leg. We call him Short John Silver. He has great difficulty gaining the necessary purchase when clinging to the wire mesh of the feeder, his attempts being aided by much flapping of wings. His efforts are not really very successful and he resorts to dropping to the ground to pick up scraps dropped by his more agile companions.

We first noticed him a year ago, then he vanished during the spring and summer. It was with considerable surprise that I noticed him back in action a few days before compiling these notes. I first saw him clinging to the feeder with his only leg, dangling with wings flapping as he tried to obtain some food. Clearly he has survived for at least a year, which means he must be capable of feeding himself, but I do not know where he has been in the meantime.

He's not the only bird to turn up in this way. A note from the British Trust for Ornithology tells of great white egrets arriving in England, a greenshank in Nigeria, a Danish nightingale in Cambridgeshire and a German chaffinch in Portsmouth