Cleeve surprise!

One of pair of short eared owls Cleeve

Just recovered from my first cold in 5 years {yes I had flu jab} so I took my 2 springers for a 'healthy' walk on Cleeve Common today. Set off from Warden wood car park, at the eastern edge of Cleeve, and the dogs made full use of their freedom on one of their favourite walks. Weather was good, although not quite as sunny as forecast, and nobody visible mid afternoon. Wandered down one of the many paths which converge on the wash pool valley. As I steered down towards the upper middle of the wash pool valley I {probably the dogs} disturbed a pair of short eared owls which flew across my side of the valley to trees on the other slope. I carefully made my way down and across to where the owls had flown. At the same time I extracted my Nikon camera from my rucksack hoping I would get   the chance of a picture. Managed to get a couple of pictures of one of the owls before they disappeared deeper into the small copse of trees. Didn't pursue the owls further since I didn't want to disturb them too much and the dogs although behaving well were getting restless. Anyway my first sight of owls on the Common and although the photos not as good as my Hawling shots a few years ago it certainly added to a good winters walk.

Down by an old brook

To the left the over shaded brook, Birch copse top right

The Oak marks target for clearance, hedge looks good

Been a while but joined the GWT today for a session down on the old Sherborne brook, just down from Gravelpits copse and up from Birch copse. Emma led the smaller than usual team of 5 volunteers to carry out some 'shading' work to improve life for the water voles in this area. Two challenges awaited on the stretch we were to tackle, these being the blackthorn and the need for moving the cut wood to an area in Century wood some distance away. I also was surprised by the steepness of the river bank and the shallow depth of water which hid the very muddy river bottom. Anyway soon got into the swing of things sawing away at the blackthorn and willow. The new gloves  supplied on the day certainly helped protect against the thorns and the weather was surprisingly good. 

Fortunately for me, the initial stretch needing cutting back wasn't too bad and it was good to be back in this water meadow location.  I had to leave early which was fortunate given the state of my fitness after a long break and I missed tackling the really dense overshading further down the brook. Sadly saw no raptors or other wildlife on this occasion but you can't have everything.

Interesting comment from an NE employee to be found in Mark Avery's blog, will Defra or NE ever wake up and  'smell the coffee'.

Introducing G !

Geoffery the new member of the pack

Almost a perfect first 2 weeks introduction to his new home, Geoffery my new rescue English Springer of 20 months. He blotted his copybook yesterday by revealing his passion for chasing birds in particular the local magpies, catching one  before I managed to finally grab his attention and put him back on his lead. He and Ollie are getting on fine albeit a little too energetically first thing in the morning.

Still on a break from volunteering although no bad thing while I am settling in Geoffery and coping with the high temperatures.

lots of meadow browns but not many comma's!

On the local wildlife front had a good couple of days with 2 Comma's, first this year Marble Whites, a bullfinch, green woodpecker and three ravens. This late evening being especially good with my first sighting of one of the fox cubs and  a very young roe deer {didn't see the adult although the grass is pretty long}.

Strangest sighting in June was down in Cornwall, where Geoffery was fostered, near Lostwithiel on the river Fowey. Lying on the far river bank, someway from its usual habitat, was an adult seal.

Newcomers and a sad departure

No volunteering this month, Springwatch 2018 and cancellation preventing usual opportunities. Locally the warm spell with some heavy showers has caused an explosion in plant growth with the emergence of wildlife taking advantage. For the second year fox cubs are on the scene again and their parents have been very active as they cope with the extra mouths. Although the greater spotted woodpeckers have been less visible the green woodpeckers have filled the gap along with the roe deer. An increase in butterflies is a relief with more orange tips than I've seen before plus a few holly blues . No duke of burgundies on the classic Leckhampton hill sites though.

Sadly Toby lost his battle with renal disease at the beginning of the month,  Ollie and I will always miss him and his unique character, the house is much quieter and less interesting in his absence.

Return of Dark Knight 2

Once again Maurice was unable to make what will be the last bat 'visual' count of the season. However Paul the bat expert from 'up in the grim north' was present with Mike leading and the new assistant ranger {Ellie?} in attendance. Paul has been carrying out an audio bat survey in the Northfields barn area and has discovered a number of different bat species resident here. This data along with the audio surveys in the Sherborne roosts and at the 'bat cave' will all contribute to the Springwatch filming of bats later in May. The hope is to capture video and audio {if Paul can arrange it} of bat pups, especially in the Kennel nursery roost.

Stella, Ospreys 'have now left the building'

RIchard Tyler pic, the one I'd wish I'd captured

Given the very changeable weather we have been experiencing it was going to be challenging predicting the number of bats to be found in the various roosts. It was good to see Paul was quite enthusiastic/competitive about this and especially good that he had brought a ladder so we could see into the enclosed loft area in the Bothy {Maurice to note plus picture is available of Mike scaling the ladder!}. Anyway after discussions on the 4 Ospreys which had visited Sherborne finally ended {interesting to note 2 common sandpipers also seen}, we set off to the bat cave to start the count. So once again only lesser horseshoes were observed, 57 in the bat cave,  70-100 in the kennels {we couldn't stay long since some bats started to fly around}, 58 in the Bothy {8 were outside the door of the inner roost and a couple started flying around}, 9 in the cellar making a grand total of 194-214 {200 total last count}. External temperature 20C and internal 7C-9C.

Couldn't resist another dig at the ineptitude of NE {DEFRA lead} with this RSPB blog on brood management, 'chance would be a fine thing'  if hen harriers could speak !

Birds plus a big burn!

Osprey Stella at Sherborne

Stella surveying Broadwater for possible lunch

Resident mute swan flying towards mate by boathouse

This thursday turned out to be a good 'birding' day despite the gloomy cloudy weather on offer. Locally I enjoyed seeing a number of playful long tailed tits dodging in and out of my apple and pear trees plus a brief appearance of a tiny gold crest nestled in one of my shrubs. On the morning walk with the dogs we came across a green woodpecker and a yellow hammer. In spite of the weather I decided to take a trip to Sherborne's Broadwater to hopefully see the widely advertised Osprey. Over the years an Osprey has been reported in the Sherborne area but not for long before it resumes its journey to its nesting site on one of the Welsh or Rutland water reserves. This year it seems to have decided to stay for at least a week. On arriving at Sherborne I cautiously followed the Sherborne brook from the 'kennels access'  and was lucky enough to see an egret, swallows, grey wagtail and a female bullfinch. Quite close to the upper weir the Osprey made a dramatic appearance before settling in one of the tall oak trees on the far bank opposite North park. It made another flight towards the boat house before I lost sight of it. At the same time a red kite flew by followed by the entrance of the local shepherd on quad bike with tractor & trailer. I decided to make a slow retreat back to the car since I judged the Osprey may stay clear of the activities taking place. Later I learnt I'd missed an opportunity to see a second Osprey arrive at the Broadwater but I'm not complaining having seen my first Osprey in the 'wild'.

Spent today with the GWT at Greystones with Emma leading a large contingent of volunteers. We headed for the 'burn' site where a healthy amount of brash in an adjoining field needed to be collected, cut and placed ready for burning. After a slow start a healthy bonfire was created and the sizeable amount of brash was slowly consumed.

Coln 'LWD' capers and a second 'Dark knight' ?

Good starting point , 11century Saxon church Coln Rogers

Modest dwelling of our host, Coln Rogers

Emma points out earlier  Coln river bank improvements

Team 2, Deflectors with fascine/stakes and LWD with 'metal rod fix'

Completed deflectors in even faster moving river

Team 1 starting build point on river Coln

Fascine construction taking shape downstream of bridge, Team 1

Joined GWT today for my first visit to Coln Rogers to carry out some LWD { large wooded debris } and fascine deflector construction on  the river Coln to improve river flow in support of healthy fish stock.  The site upstream of Coln Rogers  and close to Coln St Denis is strong competition for 'scenic wonder' to last weeks site at Brassey. It was a pretty large team and required Richard, John and Emma {plus 2 who I didn't know} from GWT to organise us all. The first job was to ensure the fascines, metal rods, stakes and assorted tools were transported to the various locations on the river Coln where we would be building the Deflectors. There was a 3 main areas of working, hence 3 teams. One concentrated upstream by the bridge to construct a Deflector/bank reshaper using stakes and fascines, the second was positioned downstream of this to construct further deflectors using LWD and fascines on the opposite bank and the third placed further downstream {past a second bridge} carrying out some 'unshading' and pleaching work {another deflector approach}.  Yet again the weather was kind but we had to be even more careful than last week because of the deep, fast moving river conditions. Fortunately no-one was swept away, whilst I was there, and with rapidly dwindling material supplies some significant work was achieved.

Spent Wednesday helping out on the March bat count at Sherborne with Mike and Paul { an expert from ' way up North'}. Paul has been providing some high tech gadgets which have helped identify different bat species/data in the various roosts around Sherborne, all contributing to the BBC spring watch etc. programme of work. Unfortunately our number one Dark knight, Maurice, couldn't make the session so Paul's attendance was helpful for  number of reasons. Interestingly the audio recording gear he setup has shown more bat species have been visiting 'our' lesser horseshoe bat dominated roosts than I/we realised eg. pipistrelles, natterers, whiskered and long eared brown. They are probably small in number but difficult to spot as they squeeze into crevices and hide in out of the way places. The March 'observable' count was 177 Bat cave, 5 Kennels, 7 Bothy and 11 Cellar giving a total of 200 lesser horseshoe bats {March 2017 was 188, shame our test cricket  couldn't reach this total, we won't mention the rugby!}. Temperature outside the mine was over 12 degrees C and 8-9 C inside. All in all good to see the count reach 200 and also for Paul to see a healthy population of lesser horseshoes who don't reside {or at least not seen by Paul} in the frozen North!

Can't see 'the water for the trees'

Dense patch of shading on Windrush

Downstream water vole heaven

Initial cuts reveal clear water

Joined GWT at one of my favourite sites today at Brassey on a stretch of the river Windrush  dividing the Hill and Aston farms. John led the team, on a 'remove the shading' task to please the water voles,  downstream of the Brassey reserve. This was a continuation of the work carried out on a stretch of the river Windrush  which included the watercress beds. Given the water levels waders was the order of the day for most of us plus an ability to clear the barb wire fence protecting the riverside from cattle erosion. On Gold cup day at Cheltenham we were blessed with some fine, warm sunny weather. Although previous work had cleared long stretches of overhanging branches the 3 man team I joined had a stretch which was pretty dense. With saw in hand I waded out to attack the willow overshading the water and in spite of a lengthy layoff from this physical work I soon got into a rhythm and gradually made a dent  in the branches revealing the water underneath. It was satisfying to get my feet wet again in one of the river systems here in the Cotswolds. As a bonus the waders I used were free of leaks and the only slight negative was the trudge back up the hilly slope where we had parked the cars.

A new start...

Ollie & Toby still battling on

The end of December 2017 and beginning of 2018 has been a little fraught {sad news regards Toby, a nasty fall and the demise of my relationship with the NT}. This has impacted my volunteer activities and I am just trying to adjust to the changing circumstances. However today I was pleased to assist Maurice and Mike in the February bat count. In cold and wet conditions the lesser horseshoe count was 174 bat cave, 0 kennels, 1 bothy and 4 cellars giving a total 179 {156 last years count} .  As always it was interesting to hear from Maurice on his increased activities in the Cotswolds on bat populations and historic & future bat developments.

I  will never be able to understand why anyone would want to kill wildlife for fun {indirectly or otherwise} and for this reason cannot accept the NT decision to allow this to happen in the Peak district. I have lived with the NT soft stance on a number of conservation issues but sadly I am now unwilling to continue with my NT volunteering& membership. So I am hoping to develop a different conservation volunteering role {outside NT} in 2018 alongside continuing my WT volunteering work.

Further to this the hunting and shooting community {Moorland association, Countryside Alliance etc} continue to provide a rich source of material which illustrates their disregard for scientific facts, support for illegal activities, their continued lies and their arrogant belief they know what's best for our countryside {ably supported by DEFRA and NE}.  On the slightly more positive side, some challenges to the  new image of  DEFRA Gove is trying to develop {NE shooting their boss in the foot!}, a further reminder on the cost to the environment of driven grouse shooting {DEFRA still not responding}. I am reminded of a recent Theresa May interview where she admits to supporting our traditional fun sports e.g. fox hunting et al. In order to rescue her tenuous position she backs down from a new vote on fox hunting but imagine how her government {outside the EU}, with a big majority, would manage our countryside. It doesn't bear thinking about.

The great Marcel Hirscher, 2018 Olympics

Always happier to end on a good note, was really pleased to see Marcel Hirscher win his first gold. BBC to note this skier is one of the best there has ever been, ref their coverage 2017 of a near miss  to a skier from a drone {no mention that it was Marcel!}.

Winter by the brook

coppicing by the bridge

All clear but material needs to be moved to far bank

Looking much clearer along old Sherborne brook

Sad to see demise of old dead tree

First day of winter and a sunny but cool day with the GWT coppicing along the banks of the old Sherborne brook.  Will, assisted by Emma, lead the large volunteer team which headed down to the water meadows and initially focussed operations by the Gravelpits copse stretch of the brook and later moved onto the Birch copse stretch. We soon discovered that most of the coppicing was on the bank adjacent to the Gravelpits copse although I did get a good clump by the bridge on the other side. Was expecting to operate in the brook, having donned waders, but soon discovered the brook was too deep so had to operate from the bank. This meant I had to throw all the coppiced wood across the brook to the Gravelpits side where it would be tidied up by that part of the team working there. Was happy to see a couple of Red Kites but not so pleased to see that one of the iconic dead trees of the Sherborne estate had finally fallen leaving the landscape that much poorer.

Have resisted, for a while, mentioning the short comings of DEFRA, NE,NFU {and to some extent the NT } but the issues regarding Grouse shooting, wildlife crime and countryside mismanagement remain [although grudgingly criminal activities now being acknowledged by the likes of the Moorland Association]  as references by Mark Avery's blogs peak district and wildlife crime demonstrate.

A frosty start on the river

View of some of the obstructions/overshading from a very dodgy bridge

Cleared stretch of water further downstream

Rising temperature provided 'creeping' mist

Second water course forming 'island' on the far bank

Unobstructed view now, looking back at the bridge 

Spent Friday working with the GWT on a stream close to Ablington which flows into the river Coln at Bibury {trout farm}. John led the team on a sunny, frosty morning and the work was pretty similar to that carried out Mareslaid but in a prettier stretch of countryside. On this occasion I donned some waders and spent most of the time in the water removing loose wood debris and cutting back & hinging to the bank the extensive obstructions/overshading of tree branches arching across the water course. There were some heavyweight branches which required John to break the silence with his chainsaw. Once again the solid efforts of the team made quite a difference to a significant stretch of water hopefully helping improve the environment for water voles and fish.

Bothy Bonanza!

Blue posts leading to mine were covered by vegetation

Zoom in to spot mine entrance

Extra wide gate granting access to 'mine/bat cave compound'

Joined Mike and Maurice on a crisp and sunny November for this season's first Bat survey, starting at the Bat Cave. There were a healthy 90 lesser horseshoes in the Bat cave, 23 in the kennels, a record breaking 98 in the Bothy and 1 in the cellar giving a total of 212. Work would be needed on 'step repair' to the mines for the December count and a renewed promise of renovation work on the cellar entrance was made i.e. Maurice and myself to refit door with suitable slot for bats access ala the very successful Bothy model.

Inevitably the Autumn, Winter and possibly another Spring 'watch' will continue to curtail my activities at Sherborne but when Mike can escape the demands of the BBC/NT management I hope to sneak in some real conservation/countryside management work.

'Careful' coppicing

An overly cluttered stretch of Sherborne Brook

Coppicing to help water flow & introduce more light

Spent Friday with GWT on a stretch of Sherborne brook just down from the boat house and weir, Mareslaid copse. John led the volunteer team where the task was to clear lots of loose debris from the river and reduce the over shading caused by fallen trees. The challenge was to help the river flow more easily by removing the many obstacles in the river, reduce the over shading (helping plant growth & of course water voles} but leave enough shading for the fish {especially the trout}.  Apparently regulations on what can be removed and what has to stay is tricky but we did our best with John's guidance. Its been a while since Mareslaid copse has been worked on so plenty of work lay ahead for the large team.

Go Faster GWT?

Reserved parking at the co-op for a special car

Yep it really is Lewis Hamilton's 2016 Formula 1 car

Today was spent at Greystones where John was leading a team to cut back willow growth along the central ditch. The renovations {exterior at least } at Greystones are looking good but I was not prepared for the standard of car parked outside the new Bourton Co-op. Ok it was second hand but only one year old and one 'careful' previous owner who only happened to be Lewis Hamilton {number confirms it}. Wasn't sure whether the WT have decided to go for speed {for their new transport}  rather than practicality but the slicks were the tyres fitted so it was a good job today was dry & sunny!

Needed 4x4 to load willow on, Formula 1 not too practical

Impressive sculpture outside roundhouse

My first view of Greystone's roundhouse, Tom's new home? 

The team {~12}was divided into 2 which covered two stretches of the central ditch cutting across 2 fields. On the far side of the ditch,  {enclosed by a stock fence} was SSSI land and of course most of the willow stands which needed cutting was on this side of the ditch. The good news was John was able to drive 4x4 to the fence line where we could load it with the willow once it had been deposited on the non SSSI land. Again the clearance of these willow stands will be good for the water voles who use this water causeway as one of their 'highways' on the reserve. At midday, having done my bit, I passed by the Greystones roundhouse which I had made a small contribution to earlier this year. 

Autumn clearance

Top of Ragged copse, self portrait?

Wednesday was spent with Mike at Sherborne, carrying out various clearance tasks. The first was at the 'Bat cave' where the vegetation, mainly Comfrey, had completely hidden the path. An aggressive use of the brush cutter soon uncovered the path down to the mine and revealed the steps. Had to replace/secure some of the stakes supporting the steps and all was ready for a visit by the Springwatch team on thursday. We then moved onto the top section of Ragged Copse where some path and fence line shrub clearance was carried out, continuing the work started earlier in the week. Not a bad mornings work especially since at the start of morning Mike had suffered 'a battering' in a fall in the estate yard.

Hyde Mill residence, we were downstream of this

Today was spent with the GWT at Hyde mill alongside an overgrown stretch of the river Dickler. John led the volunteer team which was divided into teams one checking previous work on this stretch of river and the team I was in was removing stands of willow providing shading detrimental to the growth of sedge grass etc. an important food source for water voles. Given limited available space to dispose of the large amounts of willow it was fortunate John had a trailer to collect the brash in and the nearby Meadow farm yard provided the area to unload  the material.

Ash 'bowled' over?

One half of the split Ash trunk astride the Pleasure Grounds fence

Tractor supporting Ash to pull it back over the fence

Wednesday was spent with Mike and James in the 'bowling alley' adjacent to the Pleasure grounds Sherborne. Some dispute  exists as to where the 'bowling alley' name came from with the Americans { second world war} making their claim and a document from the 19t century seemingly referencing it also. Anyway a part of an ash tree had split apart in this area and needed prompt attention before either the fence or cattle using the pasture were put at risk. The tractor with large trailer, 4x4 and full compliment of chain, pole, silky and other saws were all needed to carry out the task. Access was via ewe pen and several gates so not an easy journey. With some careful, skilful  chain and pole saw use combined with the tractor the split trunk{s} of the ash was safely brought to ground with no damage to the fence or us! All the brash was tidily piled up on the Pleasure grounds side of the fence and the wood blocked up and placed in the trailer. A full mornings work and hopefully the farmer appreciative of the work done.

Toby first to respond, for a change

No news on Barn owl boxes at Greystones today so took the 'boys' to Leckhampton Hill.