In spite of my best resolutions following a zero harvest last year, I
have again left it too late to gather much of my crop of hazelnuts.
There are some left, which is an improvement on last year, but lots of
empty husks and shells (if that's the right term).

I've been wondering what my main rivals are. We don't have squirrels as
far as I'm aware. However, googling has thrown up the fact that
pheasants love hazelnuts and I now ealise that I've been slow to catch
on to the fact that this probably accounts for the loud squawks which
have been coming from the boundary hedge in the last week or two.
Presumably birds in the crow family also like hazelnuts.

I was also wondering what makes the neat single holes in the side of
some of the shells and some more googling has established that this is
probably nut weevil. Where there is a hole there are normally other
insects inside - wood lice or small millipede-type insects - but I
presume they could well be opportunists.

Interestingly a website
(http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:...ct =clnk&cd=2) suggests that picking can start in August when nuts are green, (considered a delicacy by some) but that main picking is late September and into October. Perhaps they have just been early this year or maybe the strong winds have brought them down. My resolve is to start looking and shaking the trees in mid-Septmber next year.

Janet G