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.

Mega Fascines!

Windrush river improvements underway

Super size Fascines, ready to be rolled down to the river 

New river bank creation 

Mega fascine floated into place

Posts driven into place to secure fascine

Out with the Wildlife Trust today, at Lower Slaughter farm by the Windrush, and together with the EA & local Fishing club. This was to continue the good work carried out on this important stretch of the Windrush to improve the habitat for fish , voles and other wildlife. Whilst the EA and Fishing club teams concentrated on building the new river banks to 'narrow the river' to its original width, the rest of us Wildlife trust volunteers, led by John, attacked the various areas of overgrown river bank to reduce  shading and increase growth of sedge/grasses important to wildlife especially water voles.

Earlier on this week I was able to resume work at Sherborne with the NT after my knee injury. This was a welcome change for me but not early enough for the February Bat count. The count of lesser horseshoes was ~156, down on last months January total, with only one bat found outside the 'bat cave'.

In spite of my reduced mobility over the this winter season I have been fortunate enough to see some varied wildlife. This includes  foxes and deer around my local Leckhampton patch together with goldfinch, green & greater spotted woodpeckers, siskin, redwing and green finch. I was also lucky enough to spot a Great Grey Shrike on Cleeve Common this week.

Even more River work!

Frosty start on the Windrush on Slaughter Farm, WA1

Looking down the Windrush to bridge & WAs beyond

Large multi-organisation team near WA2

WA2 stake line set ready for fascines

Fascines in place for new river bank, WA2

WA3, extensive shrub clearance

WA5, EA team setting stake line

Frost gone near area of Windrush I worked, WA1

Today was spent with the WT on the Windrush, near Bourton on the Water at Slaughter  Farm. Will and John led a 30+ strong team which included/had contributions from the usual GWT volunteers, an EA team, Bourtons local fishing club members and Cotswold wardens. Its been a while since I have worked this area of the Windrush and it was a good deal warmer than today. The team were to carry out shrub clearance and river bank narrowing along a long stretch of the Windrush. Earlier stakes and fascines had been placed down by the Windrush where the new river narrowing was to take place. After the introduction of the days task was delivered by John teams were formed to work various sections of the Windrush. My area, as I wasn't wearing waders, was work area 1 where stakes were already in place {circa 10 years ago}. The first task was to coppice the willow which was growing along a ditch which fed into the river. This willow was then used to weave a barrier between the existing stakes, as there were not enough fascines to cover all the sections requiring them. I unfortunately had to leave early but as the pictures above show an impressive amount of work had already been accomplished.

Have been working at Sherborne the past few weeks mainly on adding to the wood service supplies and this Wednesday on helping to clear shrub and trees along 'tight' avenue. This starts by Sherborne school/war memorial and continues up past Hope farm to Vincent Lodge by the A40. Recent growth and fallen yew has began to interfere with traffic using this narrow lane. Needless to say even with Mike using the pole saw, James with chain saw and me with loppers the work was not going to be completed in a single session!

Sadly but not surprisingly the petition I supported to ban Driven Grouse shooting to save the Hen Harrier {plus thousands of other mammals and reptiles} and highlight the damage to unique blanket bog and peat land was 'Shot down" in the parliamentary debate. I received letters from Defra ministers to respond to my questions and transcript/video of the debate which were to say at best embarrassing {not for me and 120,000 + supporters}.  I can't criticise my local Conservative MP who responded helpfully to my concerns on the issues and even showed some sympathy to this conservation issue. Given the wealth of scientific and compelling evidence questioning this Victorian pastime the need to ban this particular form of shooting will become irresistible and the behaviours of certain MPs and Defra be shown to be completely unacceptable. The only hope is this will happen before rare species like the hen harrier become extinct and  the rare upland environments damaged beyond recovery.

'Tour de Water Meadows'

Ok no bicycle or mountains or the likely 'Tour de France' winner Nibali But it was hot and I was carrying binos and 2 cameras! No volunteer action this week as both our Dark Knight and 'head Ranger' were on the sick list.

Not much room to land

Barn owls, Sherborne water meadows 

Arty shot of Sherborne buzzard

Red Kite over the Water meadows

After a couple of trips recently to Symonds Yat to see the Peregrines, which provided some great displays but disappointing pictures, I thought a survey of the Sherborne Water  Meadows was in order. I was fully armed with 'kit' which was ok at the beginning, before the sun burnt through the early cloud, but took its toll later on. It was pretty quiet all the way down to the water meadows until I bumped into Sherborne's shepherd and his friendly sheep dog. Enjoyed an interesting conversation which included a view of how well water management is performing {possible scope here for me to get interested & knowledgeable parties together to move things forward} and also the shepherd's 'spot' of otters today {I went to see of they were still around but no luck today}. However on my way towards the 'tin barn' I spotted an adult hare and then two magnificent barn owls which I managed to get a couple of half decent photos of. I left the owls to some peace and quiet as I made my way towards the Windrush and the boundary between Sherborne and Windrush estates.

More wildlife was on show with excellent displays from Red Kites and Buzzards. Wandering alongside the Windrush lots of Peacocks on show with some Red Admirals as well. Joining the butterflies were an assortment of damselflies not all of which I could identify. Not so good was the presence of ragwort which also showed itself at the top end of Picardy. I slowly made my way along the fisherman path by the 'cooling' Windrush with not much wildlife on show.  I eventually reached the bridge at the far end of Birch copse and headed back towards Century wood  & Northfield barn car park. Was pleased to see 50+ lapwing on the main pasture alongside the sheep which were clearly in relaxed mode {lying down} given the heat. So not a bad visit which ended with a quick look around the Broadwater which was fairly quiet with a couple of herons & the swan family on show.

A few surprises mostly good!

Little and large

A leap of faith

Some of the better surprises of the past 2 weeks, with a lull in NT and Wildlife Trust activities, included a brief encounter with an adventurous fox cub on one of the single track lanes near Snowshill plus an enjoyable view of a female greater spotted woodpecker in hawthorn trees early morning on Cleeve Common. This followed by a male greater spotted woodpecker at Snowshill,  kingfishers at Slimbridge, and Peregrines including chicks in the nest at Symonds Yat together with brief sighting of a kingfisher on the Wye {plus unconfirmed distant Goshawk sighting mixed in with buzzards and a raven}.

A brief visit to Sherborne this week confirmed the health of the 3 Broadwater cygnets ignorant of the buzzard overhead being mobbed by rooks. On the way to the water meadows the sheep were being sheared, quite timely in the rising June temperatures. Down by the Windrush  Goldfinches, female Bullfinch, long tailed tits plus a blue flash of yet another Kingfisher which was surveying one of the water ditches feeding into the Windrush. The red kites were also enjoying the weather until they strayed into one of the Lapwing nesting areas which resulted in a pair of lapwing showing their aggressive behaviour in defence of their nest.

Not so good was some surprise & unwelcome visitors to my house late over the bank holiday who fortunately failed in their attempted burglary but resulted in me becoming part of the crime statistics. The type of 'wildlife' I don't like!

Meanwhile back to 'driven' grouse shooting and its impact on wildlife {especially hen harriers}.

Back from the Fens

Lambing in full swing at Sherborne

Early peacock in the sun

What is this and where is the plug

Weather sunny but fresh in Norfolk for my brief visit to pick up my new car and on the return journey I enjoyed a relaxing visit to Welney wetland centre where Marsh Harriers, lapwings, Avocets and Oyster catchers were amongst the birds on view. Missed seeing the hares who like the birds were breeding early this season.

As I also missed my normal Sherborne duties this week couldn't resist a visit to the Sherborne water meadows this Saturday and with the warmest weather of 2014 wasn't disappointed with the wildlife on show. Got off to a good start from Northfields car park with 3 red kites play fighting in the sky above the Broadwater with a buzzard looking down on them with interest. Couldn't mistake that spring is well underway as I took 'Sabrina way' down to the water meadows and witnessed lots of healthy young lambs in the upper pastures. Nearing Century wood five more Red Kite were flying in and around Picardy. Decided to take a right and head over to the Birches via the Gravel pits and discovered some freshly installed Solar panelled water pumps. Ground still soaked but navigable and the Sherborne brook running full hence the 'vortex' of water above. Although the 'lake' in the pasture by the brook and Birch copse had almost disappeared there were plenty of gulls along with a few lapwings. Disturbed a magnificent male stag with impressive antlers in Birch copse on my way to the bridge to allow me access to the river windrush. On a pleasant walk alongside the windrush was accompanied by brimstones, peacocks and tortoise shells plus plenty of bees! Again managed to disturb a couple of snipe,  spotted a reed bunting and then a tree creeper.  Was hoping to spot a hare or two as I wandered towards the 'hyde' area but was content with spotting a heron, a pair of canada geese and cormorants, 2 more buzzards, and a watchful sparrowhawk perched in one of the mature oaks.

Surprised that not more people were out on such a fine day but suits me and although not a rare sight it was good to see a number of chaffinches on show on my return back to Northfields. It was all about the lambs today though, how can you not be lifted by their presence.

In-between storms

levels in water meadows still rising!

Lapwings over the water meadows, near Birch copse

After a lot of wet and stormy weather since Boxing day, seized the chance to enjoy a fine day back at the Sherborne's water meadows, before the next storms hit us again! It was to be a good day for raptors with Kites, Kestrels and Buzzards out in numbers on what I guess to be a good day for hunting. Initially headed for the north eastern boundary of Sherborne estate and the 'hyde'. Lots of ducks, mallard mainly but spotted some teal, in the pasture/lake north of the 'hyde'. Intended to investigate the Windrush on the Northern/Eastern boundary but had to turn back in the direction of Leasow furlong as the water was too deep to cross over the 'lake' covering much of the pasture. This turned out to be a bit of luck as I spotted an unusual 'raptor' in the ploughed field bordering Leasow and the Commons. Couldn't decide what this raptor was, smaller than a buzzard but looked bigger than a sparrow hawk. Got a long distance picture but need to get ranger Mike's view {Peregrine looks but Female Hen harrier colour??}. Dropped in on the 'hyde' but water pretty deep and overlapped my wellingtons once I stepped off the bridges.

Decided to head over to Barrington estate ever hopeful of spotting an owl and again water levels by Windrush bridge were very high. No owls on show but was treated to some good sights of Red kites, Herons and cormorants in the Birch copse area. Even better was treated to an impressive fly by of  lapwings {need to click on picture} before they finally settled down , alongside lots of gulls, in the water meadow just before Birch Copse on the Sherborne side of the Windrush. Good job my leg seems to be much better as it was hard work wading and diverting around the flooded tracks and pasture. Finished the day with a spot of a grey wagtail, brambling,  several fieldfares and yet more buzzards {in the air, walking on the ploughed field and perched in the trees on the borders of Picardy}. Well worth getting out today and for January pretty warm. Only slight disappointment, aside from no owl sightings, was the absence of any hares which I have been usually able to spot in this area. If this wet weather persists may have to consider bringing a canoe on my next visit to Sherborne Water meadows!.

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.

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!

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. 

'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!

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.

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.

All 'brassed off', not at Brassey!

Windrush on the right, waterbeds on left

On the face of it  today with the Wildlife Trust, at the Brassey reserve and nearby Windrush watercress beds, removing Monkey Flower wasn't the most exciting of prospects on yet another scorching day.  Its clearly important to deal with invasive plants so no problem with motivation and given the picturesque waterside environment, we were to work in, a pleasure. As usual the 7 of us volunteers were ably led by Will and John.  Although removing the Monkey Flower was the day's priority the journey down to and along both banks of the Windrush, followed by a walk round the Brassey reserve was a real bonus & full of surprises, especially for me as a first timer in this lovely valley.

5 Spot Burnet moth, 'Brassey' meadow

Southern Marsh orchid, Brassey/Windrush

We started by walking down a steep meadow with plenty of butterflies {ringlets, meadow browns, marble whites}/ moths {day flying 5 Spot Burnet}and flora {especially a good showing of pyramid and common orchids}. We reached the bottom of the valley by a cattle watering hole and disturbed another colourful day flying moth the Cinnabar {a very fetching & noticeable bright 'pink'?}. It was apparent we needed to cross the river Windrush but it was a a little too deep to wade across in wellingtons so we followed the river downstream for a drier crossing place. After the usual climb over a barbed wire fence , then an exciting traverse across a fallen tree and a 'get me out of here' scramble through marshy, thick woodland we arrived at the previously cleared 'waterbed' area where the offending Monkey Flower lay in wait.  Most of us in 'wellies' paddled up and down the shallow water whilst those with waders were able to walk along the adjacent but deeper river Windrush. Just the job on such a hot day and we soon vanquished the invasive plant life. The next task was to move upstream to the Brassey 'mire' reserve to complete the days task.  More interesting flora { Southern Marsh Orchid, Flag iris} and fauna ;a Heron, a frog and yet another moth { Scarlet Tiger}, plus marshy woodland trail were 'enjoyed'. Not a day to be missed and there can't be too many better habitats to help  'fly the flag' of Conservation in.

On a less positive note, the State of Nature report summed up by Mark Avery, provides more depressing Conservation  progress, although not unexpected, especially considering the state of the CAP 'greening' position.  I too like the fact a lot of NGOs {sadly not the NT ?} contributed to it although I agree that habitat isn't stressed enough.

Start of Monkey Flower removal 

Nearly cleared

Downstream from cleared area

Downstream Windrush side