A Christmas paddle!

Stormy weather sadly took out top of oak on the left of track!

Being a little fed up with the stormy weather of late and carrying a slight injury to my leg I seized the chance on a frosty, sunny xmas day to get some fresh air! Where better than Sherborne water meadows where its fairly flat and offered me the chance of seeing if any short eared owls might be around. Luckily I thought to take my wellies although waders may have been more appropriate as it turned out.

The beginning of my walk was a little sad as one of the fine oaks on the track down to the Water meadows had succumbed to storm damage, something which will no doubt have to be tidied up in the new year. I decided to take the track through Picardy and Commons towards the Water Meadows and was immediately greeted by a small herd of Roe deer. Already the ground was decidedly wet and  for the first time I was forced to go over a bridge as the main track was lost under deep water.  As I entered the Commons I came across 2 more Roe deer {mother and young} and just before the Water meadows I disturbed a large buzzard { the first of 6 I came across} which had just caught a field vole for brunch!.   Almost immediately a large heron { 3 in all today} took off in front of me and as I came to the actual water meadows  there were a dozen pied wagtails and the same number of lapwings enjoying the flooded meadow area. In fact all the ditches and water courses were full to the brim or had overflowed. As I headed over to the Windrush and the bridge between the Sherborne and Barrington estates I saw the first of 6 red kites. The Windrush  too was full or overflowing and only a couple of inches below the bridge which to my surprise seems to have lost the new gate the Barrington estate had erected this year!

Birch copse, difficult to see edge of Windrush, track on right

Lake formed by side of 'Sherborne brook' and Birch Copse

Made my way down the fisherman's path by the Windrush and headed towards Birch copse.  This proved to be quite a challenge as both the Sherborne brook and Windrush had burst their banks and created a 'Bayou' like terrain. Got a bit wet wading towards the bridge which would allow me across the Sherborne brook and in the water logged pasture the other side saw several red kite , black backed , common and herring gulls plus a flying V of canada geese. Paddling towards Gravelpits copse and the 'footpath' I spotted a green woodpecker followed by a kestrel {1 of 3 in the day}. Finished the days walk following the main track back out of the Water meadows and was pleased to see several goldfinches and greenfinches in the hedges bordering the track. To complete a fine day I spotted 2 fine looking buzzards hunting over Northfield copse.

A small footnote as Boxing day was looking good I couldn't resist a visit to Slimbridge. Was impressed with the thousands of lapwing and golden plover who provided spectacular flight displays in-between  their feeding sessions.

In absentia...

They think its all over…..

So with an advertised stormy day ahead I set off on what is my last official ranger day for 2013. The day was rescheduled to avoid the worst of the weather with a December bat count, requested by Morris who is currently roasting away on holiday in Australia, to be carried out in the anticipated wet afternoon. Luckily our Dark Knight Morris is not a cricket fan and unlike some of us will not be hugely saddened by England's capitulation in the Ashes series!.

So with one or two hiccups we began the day with 2 wood deliveries, the second being more memorable given the provision of a nice cup of tea & a tasty cake. We then shot up to the West Belt for a continuation of thinning together with a bit of hedge laying with the aim of avoiding the worst of the weather. Fortunately the weather was kind and even better the trees 'behaved'  themselves with only a few requiring a little gentle persuasion from the tree lever. So despite limited time available we were still pretty productive and  completed the woodland management work in this section of the West Belt. Lunchtime was soon upon us and my luck held weatherwise so I paid a quick visit to the Broadwater. Good to see a pair of swans, a pair of canada geese, 1 heron and the usual array of ducks. 

The afternoon with the weather worsening began at the bat cave and joined by Pat, who kindly acted as safety man,  Mike and {promoted} me were to carry out the bat count inside. The temperature, both inside and out, was pretty mild for December at ~10 degrees. I was grateful to stand in for Morris, since while we were inside the dry cave,  Pat was suffering in the wet outside. The final counts for 2013 were 151 {6 ringed} lesser horseshoe bats in the cave, 0 for the kennels & bothy, 7 in the nursery cellar giving a grand total of 158 which was slightly less than the November count.

Couldn't quite finish the year without a timely comment on biodiversity {state of Nature} & the NGO's , neatly supplied from Mark Avery. I have to admit to being puzzled by the NT position, its resistance to collaborating with 'like' NGOs on the big issues and the fact I haven't found any comment {finally spotted 20 Dec, better late than never} from it on the impending decision on CAP funding eg. Martin Harper blog, blog2. Sad news just in on CAP funding distribution, although the Wildlife Trust announcement tries to put it in a positive light.

Through the mist...

3 in one, not my pic though

I'm on a good run on the bird spotting front at the moment {must convert these observations into photos though} and started this week well at Snowshill Manor on tuesday, spotting a family of 3 green woodpeckers {they do like the pastures with abundant ant mounds, clearly containing live ants} and a red wing.

Weather today advertised as dry & sunny and surprisingly this looked to be true first thing this morning in Cheltenham. However things didn't turn out as planned after a text from Mike ruled him out of action through illness {Rangers are human after all} and fog & mist were to persist throughout the day. Not put off by these setbacks I decided to head over to Greater Barrington to approach the river Windrush via the Barrington estate. It was to be an eerily quiet walk with limited visibility and very little signs of life. Things picked up as I turned left towards the Windrush and the Sherborne estate where I spotted 6 forlorn looking red kite perched at the top of some Cyprus trees followed by a couple of Kestrels one perched on an electric fence plastic pole looking very sorry for itself. It certainly wasn't great weather for raptors given the visibility issues plus their prey was probably hunkered down in the poor weather. On a more cheery note I was pleased to see  20 or so goldfinches happily flying about through the long grasses and stands of teasel. Ever hopeful that the fog/mist would lift I crossed over the Windrush to check out the willow tit nest boxes and see what was happening around the Water meadows. It was interesting to see sheep for the first time in the previously 'wild' ground the Sherborne 'hyde' overlooks. Spotted another less than happy raptor, a buzzard, a tree creeper, a few field fares and a lot of 'disturbed' rooks. Water levels in the ditches and the river Windrush were down from my last visit but still healthy enough. With visibility worsening and even less wildlife sightings I decided to call it a day, not too disappointing a day after all.

Its getting near decision time on CAP spending will the NFU or the Environment win the day, Martin Harpers blog reminds us what's at stake.

As seen on TV!

Clear view across ditch, lots more shrub waiting on right!

Out with the Wildlife Trust Monday, at Greystones, the last session for me of the year. The task was shrub clearance of one of the ditches,  again to make the area more attractive for water voles. Two surprises awaited the volunteer team; the first was how dense the shrubs were and my sawing skills were tested to the limit, the second was the presence of BBC West who were interviewing Tom on the Greystones nature reserve, Will on volunteers and John on water voles. Filming took place of the reserve plus work going on during the day at Greystones, including our little shrub clearing exploits. No I didn't star or more to the point talk the BBC crew into the ground!

Magnificent oak down by the Broadwater

Lots of good stuff on the Sherborne estate regards birds but first task of the day was giving Pat a hand in the morning clearing a water channel running alongside Tight Lane which starts at the Sherborne school. For the afternoon,  following a stay of execution on the return of the Wood processor,  Mike had set up a final {really!} wood production session. Before commencing we duly delivered this years xmas tree to Sherborne House and mighty fine it looks to! As in last weeks session we finished the days work in the dark,  our wood stocks now cleared but the wood store full {alongside both trailers with loaded wood}.

On the bird front I spent last Saturday afternoon down in the water meadows where I was treated to great views of Buzzards, over 16 Red Kites many roosting in the 'poplar stands' alongside the Windrush. In addition there were a pair of cormorants, mute swans, a heron, 3 fieldfares, marsh/willow tits and goldfinches. This was complemented by todays lunchtime down by the Broadwater with lots of wigeon, mallards, coots, canada geese, {1 with orange collar}, 1 greylag, heron, pair swans, red kite, buzzard, raven and to make my day a kingfisher. The kingfisher was fishing down by the Broadwater weir and for over 10 minutes I watched it finally catching its lunch. The only downside was I didn't have my telephoto but took a couple pictures anyway with my wide-angle zoom. Yes it is possible to see the kingfisher in my snaps but an opportunity missed for a quality image!

Woodstock ?

Its all about the wood, music would be good too

Weather almost tropical compared with yesterday, and yet another surprise start at Sherborne. This involved the delivery of a Christmas tree, courtesy of the Commons, to Northleach Church. Was impressed by the 13th century church at Northleach and even better by a chance sighting of a kingfisher on a 'tributary' of the river Leach just outside the church grounds. However the main task of the day was to be in the nursery generating as much wood as possible before, sadly, the wood processor is returned to Ebworth. So the rest of the morning was spent filling the tractor trailer which was then duly unloaded into a pretty full wood store. This is just as well since the seasoned cord wood supplies are rapidly disappearing.

Lunch was down by the Broadwater where 2 mute swans {no cygnet}, wigeon, mallards, canada geese , 1 Greylag and 1 tufted duck were on show.

The afternoon included 2 wood deliveries and ended in the dark with another trailer load, destined for the wood store.  So a really productive day with our 'woodstock[s]' in good shape before the christmas holiday demands. As to repeating the 69 iconic festival, I don't think Lodge Park is ready for something that large so happy to settle for the 'peace' and birds of Sherborne!

Final count 2013

Cheltenham avenue, near Bat cave

The morning was to prove damp at Sherborne, but fortunately we were to carry out the last bat count of the year so we were under cover most of the time. Morris was on good form, possibly because he's soon off on a 6 week Australian adventure, and much historic information was imparted on quarries in the local area plus their bat populations. The temperatures recorded in the bat cave were fairly high and the bats certainly took advantage with a large grouping to be found at a 12 degree hot spot. So in the bat cave were 142 lesser horseshoes, 0 in the kennels, 0 in the bothy and 19 in the nursery cellar giving a total of 161. This was slightly down on the last count of 175 but apparently this is normal as some males disperse to other roosts in search of females, so we are expecting at the next planned survey, a higher count in January 2014.

Spent a dry and sunny lunch with a leisurely walk through the Pleasure Grounds on my way to the Cheltenham Avenue to witness the end of the Autumnal colours in the beech and larch. On the way back I had a quick look over the Broadwater where to my surprise was a new swan family with one cygnet {a little late in the season}. They were in the company of significant numbers of canada geese and various ducks.

The afternoon was spent in the nursery with the wood processor, generating and delivering 2 trailer loads for local customers. Bad light and further rain showers prevented further wood processing work so next week will be a concentrated effort to increase our wood supplies as much as possible {we'll probably finish off the remaining seasoned wood left} before the wood processor returns to Ebworth. Clearly we'll need the weather to cooperate so hopefully the expected winter snow will hold off a little longer.

Just in case there was any doubt regards this Governments record on 'being green', Mark Avery's 'nature check' blog reminds us in detail how badly they are doing against their own targets.

The Tree whisperer ?

The Broadwater

First real signs of winter with a frosty start this morning but ideal working conditions on a mainly sunny day. A relaxing start with a wood delivery for Simon, a fellow volunteer, and providing excellent hospitality. This was followed by a trip to the West Belt for a continuation of thinning. It was to prove a  difficult session and one of those days where our patience was certainly tested. The trees to be felled seemed to resist the simple task of just falling to the ground. So rolling, levering using both tree levers, use of the wedge, levering the trunk backwards and 'super cuts' with the chainsaw were all brought into play to bring the trees to ground. I think even Mike was surprised by so much resistance to our efforts and I'm sure a few quiet words were also employed at one stage. It was certainly not boring and at least the last tree to be felled before lunch actually fell to the floor with no additional help.

Spent lunchtime by the Broadwater [part of Sherborne brook close to the village] where the canada geese, mallards, moor hens, coots, wigeon, teal and a friendly wren were all on show. Interesting news from Mike was that 7 mute swans visited the Broadwater earlier this week, a good chance they were 7 of the 9 cygnets that were born here and encouraged to leave by their parents!

The afternoon was spent back in the West Belt but this time on some hedge laying. True to todays form this proved challenging, as the shrubs/trees to be bent into the new hedge were on the large size, entangled with each other and also leaning in the wrong direction. Progress was therefore not as impressive as the hedge laying last week but despite one or two setbacks we did finish the day with a reasonable stretch completed.

The Windrush, water levels high by water meadows

The first short eared owl in the water meadows this season was reported by Andy L {NCOS} so must find time to pay a visit to see if it has been joined by more of these winter visitors.

Building Bridges!

John thinking hard about how to plug the hole in the bridge

Out with the Wildlife Trust thursday with the weather looking particularly good. Nearly made my first visit to the Slinket on the river Dikler but other factors intervened. Instead I volunteered to go with John back to Snipe Moss to carry out some fencing work on the bridge which spans the river Dikler and used to support a railway line. While we spent todays session on this work two teams of volunteers headed for the Slinket to carry out the main work of the day.

Its all about the ponies!

The work at Snipe Moss was more of an owner engagement exercise so that the current relationship with the landowner remained healthy so that future work the Wildlife Trust needed to do on the river Dikler would hopefully not be obstructed. The aim was to make as safe as possible the bridge area for grazing of the Shetland ponies. In view of the 'run down' nature of the area this was not going to be easy.  However with the mighty metal bar, drival , posts and wooden rails we set to. In spite of the tricky terrain we had the fencing up by lunchtime and even solved some potential dangers on the bridge edge by moving previously felled wood to fill the gaps. One tricky problem had to remain unresolved however, concerning a dangerous hole on the bridge itself, badgers and natural erosion being the cause. To end the day we put up some more fencing to fill a gap in the fencing line along the Dikler and just to the side of the bridge. Hopefully the days efforts will prove worthwhile and be appreciated by the landowner.

Fallen ash in South Park, Sherborne house in the background

Bit of mixed bag at Sherborne today, with contrast in weather conditions and some varied tasks. Started off with more 'bridge building' at South Park, by the pond, tending to a fallen ash tree. This was to help out one of the tenant farmers and hopefully keep him onside with regards 'high level scheme' work in the future. Good view of Sherborne House from this wet spot and Mike was relieved the weather was dry as getting a loaded trailer out of this area if the weather was wet would prove difficult. In the pleasant weather we soon had the trailer filled leaving some hefty cord wood to be picked up by the tractor later.   At this point Mike got a phone call from Lodge Park holiday cottages where our services were called on to move a new cooker into place before the new visitors arrived.  We set off directly from South Park to the Lodge gate cottage and successfully escaped the wet pasture just as the heavy rain hit. This made moving the cooker in the wet more difficult but nothing we couldn't manage. Little did we know we would back at the end of the day, in the rain, removing the old cooker!  The afternoon,  fortunately with less heavy rain, was spent on the A40 side of West Belt clearing the area adjacent to the dry stone wall. This involved me doing the 'brush cutting' and Mike on pole saw removing overhanging branches. So quite a varied, productive day but I was pleased to get home and get into to some dry warm clothes!

Update on CAP by Martin Harper.

Work on the wild side?

Wiltshire and Gloucestershire WT united

Joined the Wildlife Trust team today at Snipe Moss on a stretch of the River Dikler for some more habitat clearance work. Will and Richard led the team which was bolstered by 2 members of the Wiltshire Wildlife trust based at the Lagoons near Swindon. Also helping the days work were some new saws and loppers which were to prove important as there was quite dense shrub alongside the river bank which needed to be cut back to create more light aiding new ground vegetation growth. Waders were to prove essential as the Dikler water levels had risen significantly of late with the recent rains and the water flow was brisk.

Far bank of the Dikler much clearer

Richard with new saw, Will in support 

Hawthorn ready to fall, Wiltshire team ready to clear brash

To add to the challenge were some 'prickly' hawthorn and a fence line making access to the shrubs challenging. However with the effort split between water and the river bank we managed to complete the clearance by early afternoon and before any rain had the chance to fall.

For those old enough,  another music legend Lou Reed gone, hope the title of this blog not too cheesy.

Back to the woods: Thinning and Laying!

Maddie getting stuck in

Thinning in the West Belt,  just down from the A40

With some relief it seems the St Jude storm, the main 'force' which passed South of our area, caused no significant/visible damage to Sherborne's trees. So Wednesday it was all go for my first thinning of the season in the West Belt continuing the work from last November. A beginning had been made over the weekend so Mike had a good idea what needed felling. After a good start, where the trees were felled to the ground with relative ease, the work became more challenging. This was due to the felled tree getting held up with the canopy/branches of nearby trees.  Consequently I was rapidly re-acquainted with the key techniques to bring such trees to the ground. The large tree lever came into its own with rolling the trunk or levering from the trees base ,  if this failed then dragging the tree backwards using a convenient piece of cordwood as a lever, or a combination of all.  Lunch time arrived all too quickly and in surprisingly pleasant weather I relaxed down by the Sherborne Brook. It was to be a day of singles where one egret, heron, buzzard, swan and merlin plus a peacock butterfly were on show.

The afternoon was spent back in the West Belt where a couple of surprises were in store.  The first was Maddie attempting a 'tunnelling '  technique for felling a tree which I suspect was her playing rather than helping. The second was Mike choosing to go 'off piste', and as our thinning meant we had reached the eastern edge of the West Belt, he decided to carry out some hedge laying {hedge planting being my only experience of building hedges thus far}. So with some nifty chainsaw cuts of the existing line of shrubs and with me with pole hook to bend the cut shrubs over to form the hedge, we soon had the start of a natural hedge formed. Quite impressive I thought but the hedge laying was bought to a halt for the day due to some overhanging branches blocking our progress and requiring a pole saw.  So it was back to thinning to complete a constructive days work.

There's nothing quite like it....

Mud provides extra challenge in the nursery

So after lucking out with the weather for Snowshill Apple weekend , having Tuesdays session with the Wildlife Trust cancelled due to heavy rain, it was fingers crossed for Sherborne today. Well seems my luck is holding as the weather gods seemed to be in a good mood. Fortunately the recent wet weather has meant I now travel well prepared with waterproofs, wellies etc. Just as well I had my wellingtons on hand as  the day was to be spent in the Nursery producing wood supplies in deep mud. Deliveries were to Windrush and our first to the Sherborne village shop where the owners were so impressed with the amount of wood delivered for the first load, concluded that the additional load they ordered was not necessary. Not a problem for Mike as the unwanted load was to get a deserving local home. Further loads were used to top up the wood store which is slowly filling up for the winter demands.

Autumnal colours on show at Sherborne

In the fine weather I spent my lunch in the Pleasure Grounds where I was surprised to see a Comma butterfly and then I bumped into a number of walkers enjoying the balmy conditions. I had chance for a quick look at  Sherborne Brook where I spotted a lone egret , the usual heron, lots of mallards & gulls and to my delight the swan family parents minus their offspring plus a lone swan upstream of the weir. The 50+ canada geese we spotted flying in formation, from the Nursery, were not there so must be enjoying a rest down in the Water Meadows.

This NT press communication could offer a ray of hope on much needed support for our environment from farmers, this being linked to the imminent decision by Owen Patterson/DEFRA on how the CAP funding is used. Wildlife Trust also produced this communication on the same subject, I like the picture of the hare!.

Short and sweet

Weather we'd like for Apple weekend 

Tuesday at Snowshill provided dry and sunny weather which was a great help as we erected the 3 large Marquees and collected/setup the tables in readiness for the apple weekend celebrations starting this coming Saturday at Snowshill. Our hope for the great weather of last years event may be a stretch but the apple collection will be much improved given better growing conditions this year.

Morris was at Sherborne today which can only mean one thing, a visit to the bat roosts for a bat count. Not so lucky with the weather, heavy persistent rain, we seem to be making up for a relatively dry year. Nice surprise at the bat cave, given the temperatures have been mild of late, as there were one or two bats flying around in this winter roost. The final tally was 83 lesser horseshoes in the bat cave,  31 in the kennels, 5 in the Bothy and a record 56 in the Nursery cellar. They all looked in good shape and the total for this time of year pretty healthy. Even though we completed the count in record time we were all soaked, so since the rain showed no signs of relenting,  Mike called it a day for any further outside work.

Possibly not my best decision but I opted to pay a visit, while in the area, to the Water meadows and river Windrush. In the heavy rain I was glad to be wearing wellingtons as the previously dry paths were pretty damp. Not much luck in spotting wildlife but the Sherborne brook and Windrush water levels were looking better given a fairly dry year. Good to see the newly erected rustic fencing down by the  Windrush completed and  surprised to see one of the large pastures adjacent to the Water Meadows ploughed. The  sun did finally make an appearance but by this time, even with waterproofs, I was pretty damp. Spotted a heron, cormorant and red kite before I left the meadows area. To end the day I paid a visit to Clarks Close where I had a quick look at the hedges we built and aside from the weeds most of the hedge plants looked to be growing well.

Return of the PALAX!

Busy time down in the nursery

With the threat of arctic weather I succumbed to wearing a jumper for Wednesday at Sherborne. The first surprise of the day was the news that Mike had secured the loan of Ebworth's wood processor, this closely followed by a realisation that in the unexpected sun I found it much warmer than expected. Its a good job we had the PALAX wood processor because we had two full trailer loads to produce and deliver in the morning. All went to plan and by midday I was ready to enjoy my lunchtime in the Pleasure Grounds. Had the chance for a quick survey of Sherborne brook and sadly the swan family was again absent but I still think there's a chance for them to return before the youngsters go their separate ways.

The afternoon was spent in more wood processing, this time filling up the big red trailer { ~2-3 normal trailer loads}.  Part of the load was made up from wood reclaimed from the severed limb of the 500+ year oak which certainly proved a challenge for feeding through the processor because of the awkward shapes of the cord wood. Still by close of play the wood store was left looking quite healthy which should help meet the demand which will be increasing rapidly as the colder weather begins to dominate.

Windrush, Slaughter Farm

Out today with the Wildlife Trust, Will & John in charge, with a return visit to the section of the Windrush which passes through Slaughter farm near Bourton on the water. As usual a good turnout even though the weather was chilly but sunny. Again it was clearing shrub and small trees to open up the ground to more sunlight which will encourage sedge and general vegetation growth in the 'oxbow lake' area adjacent to the river Windrush. Plenty of sawing so keeping warm was no issue. The highlights were some tasty cakes supplied by 2 generous volunteers plus a sighting of a kingfisher which sadly I missed.

Following the reports on the badger cull has been a sad affair and not helped by the failure to complete the cull with an extension to follow. Martin Harper's blog sums it up pretty well, so DEFRA's potential credit on CAP implementation is somewhat offset by this poor showing. 

Taking 'Stock' and the 'swans song' ?

Belted Galloways sheltering on Rack Isle

The only 'swan' [pub in Bibury]  I saw today!

Managed to penetrate dense fog to arrive in one piece at Sherborne today. Mike was 'chained' to the office so I was to visit Bibury to check on the Belted Galloways on Rack Isle and to ensure the electric fence was in good order. Maddie came along for the ride and I managed to get to Bibury before the rush so managed to secure a parking place. Surprisingly, given its October, I was ambushed on my survey of the electric fence by a small army of enthusiastic Japanese tourists. Hopefully the NT won't be too damaged by an enforced 'photo session' down by Arlington Row, obviously they were going for character not beauty!  Soon completed a check of the fence {still charged}, ensured the water troughs were full and all Galloways were present and well. On my return journey back to Sherborne I was treated to my second viewing of the day of the much missed Red Kites, this was a close up view of a Red Kite taking advantage of a road kill of Pheasant. The morning was completed by a visit to number 61 Sherborne to mow its lawn in readiness for the new tenants arriving this weekend.

Lunchtime was to prove a shock for me as the swan family were absent from Sherborne brook, no card or call to let me know!, but hopefully they will return before the young cygnets go their separate ways. So at least the youngsters are flying now. I had to make do with 1 egret, 1 heron and 1 buzzard.

The afternoon was spent in the nursery where I was re-acquainted with splitting with Mike blocking with chainsaw. The wood wasn't the best and I wasn't  'match fit' but in spite of a couple of showers we managed to add a reasonable load to the wood store supplies. More is needed to meet what is an increasing demand for this local wood service. So quite a day with lots of variety and I'll certainly sleep well tonight.

Had to add as a late addition other fine blogs by Martin Harper on CAP {CAP2, CAP3}, it even puts Owen Patterson in a better light. If Patterson follows up his promises I would be only to happy to give him credit on this key issue.

'A romp' down by the Windrush & the first 'fall' of Autumn

Windrush, with good feeding for water voles

Pair of kingfishers frequent this area, but not tempted today by this  perch

Out with Will and Richard from the Wildlife Trust, on the Windrush. beginning of the week along with  a shedload of volunteers. I like collective nouns but they do vary, with for example a romp of otters or a colony of water voles. The voles get a bad deal here so I prefer Richard's offering of a shedload or maybe mine a drizzle of water voles?.  In any case I didn't spot either otters or water voles whilst we were working a new stretch of the Windrush  just upstream from Bourton, owned by the 'Slaughters' farm. With so many volunteers we soon cleared a good stretch of the Windrush from overhanging scrub/trees and this should encourage more of the existing riverside sedge to grow, remove shade & help the recently discovered water voles plus the local fishing club.

500+ year old oak minus one large limb

3 hours of clearing later reveals the large limb

Today at foggy Sherborne was intended to be a thinning session but circumstances were to change this.  Shaun the fence master working down in the water meadows phoned in to inform Mike of a fallen oak across the track down to the meadows. After completing a wood delivery to Sherborne village, with heavy heart, we set off with tractor & 4x4 to survey the damage. Good news was the ancient oak tree, one of Sherborne's finest, was still standing but minus one of its large limbs. Lots of debris of brash and smaller branches required moving using the chainsaw, tractor and me before the main limb was revealed. Other good news was the tree looked healthy enough and no rampant disease seemed to be the cause of the limb falling.  The rest of the day was spent clearing up, ensuring the area was safe and removing 3 trailers worth of usable wood from the area. I even managed to round up some of the sheep which had escaped over the broken fence before we repaired it, temporarily at least.

Despite  the day's unexpected events I still managed a visit to Sherborne brook. The swan family looking good plus 1 heron, 1 egret and a buzzard under attack from a number of rooks & 1 raven. The weather improved throughout the day with ever increasing temperature, so although a satisfying day I was glad to get back home to an ice cold beer and curry!

Solo performance

Selection of tools at the bat cave

Spiral staircase, 7 of the 13 steps 

Mike back from Scotland but already had confirmed that  50 lesser horseshoe bats were now back in their winter roost residence. So no work possible in the bat cave so TPs tardiness in delivery has cost us the opportunity of completing the planned work. As Mike was engaged in office work today I was to go solo and the morning was to be spent completing the steps to the bat cave.  True to form the weather  forecast was inaccurate so I had to contend with showers and mud. Not so bad since it put off the flies and as the year so far has treated me well weather wise I can't really complain. So armed with saw, lump hammer , spade and metal bar I got stuck in and by lunchtime had completed the steps despite some inconvenient bands of stone.

Lunchtime with the weather clearing was spent  as usual down by the Sherborne brook where the swan family, herons, coots and mallards kept me company.

The afternoon was a bit of a surprise as I was charged with completing the mowing of the village verges and lawn areas that Mike couldn't cover with the Kubota. Should be the last mow of the year and some of the verge slopes certainly offer a challenge. Already quite a few fallen leaves and some trees were showing autumn colour changes. May have to think about a jumper soon!

 Mark Avery on form with his pithy but fairly accurate appraisal of the main parties form on our environment. This followed by Martin Harper's blog on  Biofuels says it all but I still keep the faith what else can u do!

All quiet ...down in the Meadows

Windrush, good water flows plus kingfisher perch!

Although Mike's up in Scotland this week still popped into Sherborne to check on 'my' Swan & Red Kite families plus a quick wander around the Water Meadows. Pretty quiet down in the Water Meadows, down by the Windrush where the recent water management work has been done. Already mother nature has started to cover up the areas subjected to heavy duty traffic and digging. Surprisingly still some butterflies and dragonflies out and about plus a couple of buzzards. That said it wasn't until I had finished my meander down by the Windrush that wildlife activity increased. I managed to disturb a young deer near the Commons and then was treated to a fly by of a green woodpecker up by Century wood. Spotted a few jobs {tree fallen over fence line, walkers gate and bridge repair} to be added to Mike's list for the coming weeks but that's par for the course.

Egrets visiting Sherborne 

Finished off my visit with a trip down to the Sherborne brook close to the village. Still no sign of the Red Kites but the swan family were enjoying their lunch downstream from the weir. The Swans had some new guests they seemed to accept alongside them {unlike the Canada geese} and this gave me my first sight this year of a pair of Egrets. The Egrets decided to fly off as I approached and settled in one of the dead trees closer to the weir. Interestingly one of the local herons was already perched in the tree but seemed relaxed about its white 'cousins'.

Been a while since I have had a whinge about this government's attitude to the environment so here it is.  Was a little boosted by Martin Harpers excellent blog on INNS but still irritated by this Government's latest 'attack' / apathy regarding nature with the lobbying bill. If it were only possible to trust someone like Osbourne when he says  the Conservatives have shown they really pay attention to what the people say {the Syrian crisis}. This parties actions {and *inactions  Patterson/DEFRA} don't exactly demonstrate too much heed to NGO's/ peoples views on our fragile environment: money {Fracking, HS2} & shooting/hunting still rule!

*to be fair to DEFRA this latest blog by Martin Harper shows they are quite capable of doing good stuff, helped by RSPB.

'The boys are back in town'

Adonis at Calstone Down, one of many!

It's good to see that this year is still providing mainly good news from a nature perspective {badgers in west , moths and ladybirds aside}. Fruit trees are certainly going to out perform last years poor yield and butterflies are still going strong. A late visit to NT Cherhill and Calstone Downs plus Avebury Windmill Hill provided some impressive butterfly sightings. Especially pleased to see Clouded Yellows, Brown Walls and Adonis Blues.

Bit of a good news, bad news today at Sherborne. Good news was TP had finally delivered the supplies for the bat cave, Simon was part of todays team and the weather was still great. Bad news was our Dark Knight couldn't make it, the 'late' supplies were not complete and we had some early returning lesser horseshoes in the bat cave! As ever a few problems don't deter this countryside team and we decided to get the most out of the day as we could. A very hot morning saw us move some substantial supplies of Acro props, poles and clamps to the bat cave. We very carefully began to move a portion of the supplies into the cave. Mike ensured this was done so the early returning bats were avoided by using alternate routes through this underground winter roost.

Lunchtime chat, Sherborne  Brook

Was pleased to see lunchtime so as to cool down and paid my usual visit to Sherborne brook. Swan family were on their lunch break so didn't pay me much heed, only a single heron and buzzard showed up plus the usual mallards plus 1 white duck. Difficult to believe we are in September already and still enjoying such great weather. Rest of the day was spent completing the transfer of supplies into the bat cave and all done without disturbing the bats. No construction today was possible without impacting the bats and it looks like further work will have to wait until next year, subject to another bat survey on 18th September.

The show goes on, despite shoddy supplier

Mum on guard whilst cygnets relax by the boat house

No delivery of the vital supplies by TP again and once more Mike had to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat with the help of Pat who kindly offered up some substitute material from his building store. Also included were some materials to allow me the chance of improving the construction of the 'bat cave' steps. So once more Morris, Mike and myself set to gathering together essential supplies & then loading the trailer prior to driving to the bat cave. Before setting off we had an interesting dialogue with a research student from Bristol University who was part of a team studying the impact on bat populations in the UK of increased artificial light within bat habitats {increased security lighting, more building lights, cars..}. It seems there is evidence suggesting that bats were having to travel ever further to avoid our artificial lights when hunting. As well as using up vital energy it also seems, as a consequence,  to reduce the time spent in nurturing their young. The researcher was with Mike's help looking at our local Bat status.  Current stats UK wide still show declining bat populations, the good news for Gloucestershire is that Bats seem to be doing better here. In particular the lesser horseshoe bat is under threat so Sherborne's success  wrt to lesser horseshoe bat is even more important. Not that we needed any more incentive to continue the work on their winter roost at the bat cave but it is nice to know it could be even more significant in the grand scheme of things.

I was relieved to escape to the relative cool of Sherborne brook at lunchtime as the morning was pretty hard going in the heat. The swan family were relaxing down by the boat house and all 3 herons were out and about with the juvenile favouring the safety of the large old oaks. No red kites today but one juvenile buzzard also perched at the top of an oak. I enjoyed a relaxing walk through the Pleasure Grounds on the way back to the bat cave and also the surprise of a couple of dog walkers as I pointed out the large metal bat hanging from the trees.

The afternoon soon passed by. Mike and Morris having done some good construction inside the bat cave and I had completed the critical improvements on the steps outside {'rises' now added to the top steps!}. No more materials left to continue without more supplies! and the next opportunity to proceed with the work is mid September, bat permitting.

Down by the Windrush in background, Water Meadows water management

Useful to note the progress on the major water management Project on the Windrush in the Water Meadows area. Sadly the water pump[s] won't operate given the lack of elevation in the water meadows but there is a plan B to use a solar powered pump so all is not lost. Most of the prep work is done so the contractors should be able to resume and complete the work quickly. However we will also be able to use the original pump{s} from the Northfield Barn, given its elevation,  to further improve water management . Add to this the work the Wildlife Trust will be doing on the Sherborne Brook again in the Water Meadows area and altogether this work when completed represents a Major step forward in conservation in the Sherborne estate.

Happy families

Sherborne's cygnets growing up fast

Red veined darter, dragonfly on Sherborne Brook

Not a great start to the day as the Bat Cave supplies hadn't been delivered by TP. However Morris and Mike agreed we had enough kit to do a useful days work, so off we went. While Mike and Morris set too inside the cave I was consigned to safety duty outside. Essential but not the most exciting task but at least it was nice weather and this week I wasn't savaged by the flies.

Lunchtime came round soon enough and I set off to see what was afoot at Sherborne Brook. The swan family were situated up by the bridge/weir and enjoying a grooming session in the sun. The Cygnets are growing up fast and starting to flex their wings ready for their first attempts at flying! As well as butterflies {including tortoiseshell} I spotted an unusual dragonfly all nice to see towards the end of summer. Even better the Red Kite family {parents & 3 juveniles} plus the usual lone Red kite came to 'play' flying over the pastures alongside the Sherborne Brook. Quite a sight especially when 2 of the Herons joined in, albeit briefly {must sort out a bigger telephoto !}.

The afternoon got a bit more interesting since Maddie joined the team, and I joined Morris inside the cave to do some serious scaffolding. Mike was on safety duty, with Maddie, plus  'cutting' wood,poles with axe grinder and chainsaw. So in spite of the absence of missing supplies a satisfying and worthwhile amount of work in the Bat cave was achieved. Only downer to the day occurred on the way home when I caught up with the first day's play in the last Ashes test match.

Working in a coal mine....?

Finally 'captured' fritillaries, Cirencester park though!

Deep in thought for next stage of construction, our Dark Knight

Early start at Sherborne today, I even had time for a quick visit to Sherborne Brook where I was treated to the splendid sight of a kingfisher sitting on  a white post on the far bank of the brook. We had a fair size team working today with Mike-lead Ranger, Morris- Dark Knight, Richard and I as volunteers. A good job to since much work was needed for the planned bat cave construction work. The morning was spent by Richard and myself reconstructing the steps down to the cave entrance whilst Mike & Morris operated inside on early construction work.  Not all was plain sailing as outside we were plagued with flies and inside Morris uncovered some hazardous material which fortunately was safely dealt with.

Spent lunchtime down by the Sherborne Brook where I was pleased to see the Swan family, all 11, still looking healthy. Also present were 3 herons, 2 perched in the standing dead trees, one of them looked to be a juvenile! Bumped into some German tourists where we were treated by a close fly by of a red kite. Walked back to the Bat cave, for the afternoon work session, via the Pleasure Grounds and was happy to see the play area, constructed last year, busy with children and their mums/guardians.

My afternoon assignment was working underground with Morris {as his apprentice} while Mike initially with chainsaw fashioned timber blocks for positioning between Acrow props and the ceiling faults. Richard remained outside on safety duty and helping move materials from the outside to the cave entrance. With Morris directing location of Acrow props and using a spirit level to ensure correct positioning I was on 'tightening', nailing and moving the props to correct position using a lump hammer duties. Mike meanwhile after sourcing the timber blocks started to fix the strengthening poles between appropriate Acrow props. With the available  material we had managed to set up over 6 more Acrow props deep in the cave system. Lots more to do since the extensive shopping list compiled during the survey last week has yet to be procured. At least we have made a good start to the planned work and we will be getting stuck in again next week. As last year the work will need to stop some time in September since the bats will be returning to this winter roost in this month.

Dark Knight and 'heavy' water Engineering

Water meadows heavy duty traffic

Contractors special helpers!

Windrush bed raised by over a foot with new gravel

Windrush flow changes already evident

The morning at Sherborne was spent at the bat cave with Morris as lead engineer and of course Mike. No bats this time of the year in this winter roost but plenty of work required to plan this years renovations. After a thorough survey, once we had cleared a path through the dense vegetation to reach the cave entrance, there was a significant shopping list of poles, supports , clamps, timber to do what is needed. Mike will need to get a shift on the procurement as the work is to begin next Wednesday!. 

The afternoon was to be a change, since Mike was otherwise engaged, as I was to pop down to the water meadows to investigate how the major Water Management Project was progressing and take some pics for a historical record. Historically the Windrush has undergone much dredging operations and been impacted by livestock. Over the years this has impacted the 'flood' plain and the wildlife habitats. The objective of this Project was to restore the Windrush water levels and flows (by ironically adding gravel}, provide controlled water catchment for future livestock and generally improve wildlife habitats as a result. I was only too happy to visit this area of the water meadows since normally its off limits and it was certainly good to see this Windrush environment albeit with some temporary 'main' trails used by the heavy machinery. Obviously a lot of fencing had been taken down to allow access to the river but this will be replaced on completion of the work. 

Some hefty water pipes for water meadows

Fortunately the dry weather this summer has permitted the heavily loaded trucks transporting the gravel to get close to the Windrush and allowed the diggers/dumpers to make good progress in depositing the gravel into the Windrush. The contractors are pleased with the progress and holding their breath for a continued dry spell. So already its easy to see the impact on the Windrush water flow and I can't wait to see the completion of this part of the Project and then the building of the water catchment 'arrangements' using the heavy duty water pipes and pumps. 

Aristocrats, a Blue and Poison?

My first Blue, at Crickley hill

Comma, not a typing error

Peacock, they have finally appeared

All this good weather has been great for butterflies and apart from Fritillaries I have seen many, consisting  of several species! So throughout my regular haunts, covering Crickley Hill, Leckhampton Hill and Sherborne estate, my finds include: Skippers {large &small}, Red admiral, Tortoiseshell, Painted lady, Peacock {late arrival}, Marble White, Gate Keeper, Meadow Brown, Whites {large and small}, Brimstone, Ringlets, Chalkhill Blue and managed to photograph all of them! Not so good over this warm spell has been the re-appearance of Ragwort  , liked by insects, but poisonous to animals.  I have to wonder whether people have forgotten about the nature of this plant especially where livestock/horses have access to it since I don't see much effort [any] to remove it and before it 'seeds'. See this NT Press item for good butterfly locations.

Interesting today at Sherborne, with the temperature at a lowly 21 degrees and  some 'wet' stuff not seen for a while.  The morning was spent at Lodge Park 'forking' up hay previously cut down by Mike with one of my favourite tools. This was interrupted late morning by a call regarding delivery of large pipes and 'accessories' to be used in a large Water Management project on the Sherborne water courses. Our help was needed in unloading the large lorry at the Northfields Barns, ready for use by contractors next Monday. Some heavy work here requiring Mike's tractor and during the heaviest rain shower of the day! All in a good cause since  the river Windrush in the water meadows will have new gravel added to its water beds {good for fish} and new water cachment for livestock created, all good for the water environments and wildlife in general.

The afternoon was again spent up at Lodge Park completing the hay clearance before embarking on Ragwort removal. This work moved in to the actual Parkland which was occupied by a large herd of cattle. Not usually an exciting task but made, in this instance, a lot more interesting by the great variety of butterflies and insects we came across as we first pulled the Ragwort out by its roots before depositing in plastic bags for careful disposal. A worthwhile day out again and sets me up for what I hope is the decisive Ashes test match tomorrow at Old Trafford.