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.

'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. 

Will's first ditch!

view over Sherborne and Broadwater

Hidden in the pasture a yellow cow-pat toadstool?

Varied session at Sherborne wednesday with James, which began on the pasture across the Broadwater and next to the repaired wall adjacent to the road to Northfield barn.  We were scavenging for Cotswold stone, leftover from previous wall repairs, which was to be used for repairing some of the damaged walls in Sherborne village, this time by one of the new drystone wall contractors. After collecting sufficient stone to satisfy the 'waller' James suggested we pay a visit to the Windrush where he had positioned a motion detection camera. This was close to a spot on the river bank where it appeared an otter had been entering /exiting the river. On the way there we spotted an adult red kite, a  female fallow deer but weren't lucky enough to see the juvenile peregrine seen recently in the vicinity. A quick browse  of the camera photos unfortunately revealed no interesting activity so James re-positioned the camera for another attempt to capture the elusive otter.

Nicely maturing hedge running alongside scrape down by the Birches

After checking the motion detection camera for sign of otters a minor detour was made to check out the hedge built by the WT team which looked pretty healthy considering it was built just over  year ago!

Some thick scrub to cut back in the rain, Greystones

Getting stuck in, there is a water course ditch there somewhere

The water course revealed, happy days water voles

Team by the bridge, sunny but next ditch beckons!

Its been a while, February this year, but spent this morning at Greystones with the WT.  Will and John from WT led a team of 8 volunteers down to one of the water courses {ditches} in the meadows at Greystones for some shrub clearance. As it happens it was a return to Will's first ditch shrub clearance experience with the WT leading a team of volunteers.  This was 7 years ago hence the impressive growth that needed attention on this stretch and as it transpired adjacent ditches in this area. As ever it all about the water voles and ensuring they have the appropriate unshaded 'water ways' to enjoy as they thrive in the water meadows at Greystones.

The? shared vision of farming and  the countryside.