No dragons for our Dark Knight!

A special day!

Yes its St George's day and although the weather was to produce typical April showers we had the pleasure of a visit from our own Dark Knight. Sadly no dragons around and also a measure of trepidation for our last bat count of the season. This 'mood' reflected the low count in March {118} and spirits were not lifted when the count at the bat cave was a low 42. However the Kennels provided a record count with a really large cluster of lesser horseshoes which we could only guestimate the numbers, we settled on a total 105 {also made difficult by a number of the bats flying around}. The newly refurbished Bothy provided 8 and the cellars 20. So a grand total of 175, although not up to last years 212, it was much healthier than last month and nearer the norm. Finished the satisfying morning task with my first sighting at Sherborne of this seasons swallows.

Yet another function performed by the tractor

The afternoon started in the nursery where a 'late' order for wood was to be satisfied and my last opportunity this season to practice my axe skills! The remaining part of the afternoon was to be occupied down in the water meadows where the wet winter had resulted in very deep ruts on the main track. This meant the local fishermen were unable to drive their vehicles to gain closer access to the Windrush hence Mike was called in to rectify the problem.  So Mike using the tractor filled the 4x4 trailer with gravel from Lodge Park and I drove it down to water meadows with Mike following in the tractor. To help spread the gravel and remove the deepest ruts Mike added yet another 'tool' to the tractor, the digger. It soon became clear we would not be able to complete the 'resurfacing' of the track today but at least a workable method of 'repair' was trialled for follow up work. So not the best of weather on St George's day but certainly not preventing a full and rewarding days work.

As ever an interesting thought for 'Developers' {well companies carrying out development} from Mark Avery on how to save money whilst helping wildlife! Plus an EA view on the health and approach to environmental recovery.

A Dark Knight army!

Large turnout for the March bat count

A bit of an 'upside down' day at Sherborne with the March Bat count taking place in the afternoon. The morning was spent in the nursery splitting wood with 2 full loads delivered to local Sherborne customers. Its amazing how the remaining 'seasoned' wood stock is lasting but hopefully the demand should be tailing off now spring is upon us.

Lunchtime by the Broadwater provided some interesting changes: with the resident mute swans having built their usual nest by the boathouse, the new pair of mute swans  establishing their nest on an island above the weir, a pair of red-crested Pochard and a little Egret. All the usual suspects on the water were also present with a single Red Kite flying low over the Broadwater and 3 Buzzards flying high over the woods up from the brook. Also spotted at Sherborne by a local resident was a female hen harrier, I will of course be attempting to spot it myself.

The afternoon began with a bat count in the village roosts:  the Cellar 17, bothy 1 and the Kennels 8 lesser horseshoes. We met Morris up at the bat cave accompanied by a number of students and consultants. In addition Anna one of the new Sherborne volunteers joined Mike and Maddie to complete the bat enthusiasts. So it was quite a group looking forward to exploring the winter roost for the first time. The count for the cave proved very disappointing with only 88 lesser horseshoes giving a grand total of 114 well below last month and the 183 last March. The much warmer weather than last year  and a possible undiscovered summer roost may account for the drop, here's hoping its not something more serious.

On a totally different note I quite liked this piece from the Wildlife Trust providing good examples of youngsters adventures in nature, in this case more is even better. A final word about this years budget from Martin Harper, his blog unfortunately and unsurprisingly revealing no positive news for the environment.

Away from the gold cup, a little bit of everything

Sherborne village in the mist, from 'upper' brook bridge

Lodge Park farm buildings,  view from Larkethill wood

Fresh and misty weather dominated the early morning at Sherborne but at least I had escaped the congestion that the Cheltenham festival brings to my local area. A good start to the days proceeding at the nursery as a red kite provided a very low fly by in order to pierce what was a thick blanket of fog. Mike had to fit in a meeting reviewing the Sherborne estate's conservation performance indicators [CPIs] which also included other NT estate/properties. So Simon & I were charged with splitting a number of Ash 'cords' {blocked by Mike} for a new customer order for Windrush and also to measure the cubic metres it took to fill the trailer. Its not often we get the chance to split nicely blocked Ash and it was a pleasure filling the trailer with 'hand crafted' uniformly shaped Ash wedges, the customer hopefully appreciating what a special trailer load he was getting.

Lunchtime, with slowly improving visibility, was spent by the Broadwater on the section above the weir. It looks like we have an additional pair of mute swans settled on this part of the river with our resident pair happy enough with the waters below the weir. Also on show were lots of especially wigeon, coot, mallards plus half a dozen tufted ducks,  a pair of canada geese plus two roe deer. A bonus awaited on my return to the estate offices as I enjoyed a good view of a greater spotted woodpecker in the large cyprus tree, followed by another low flying red kite. 

A departure from normal activities was offered by Mike for the afternoon as he 'kindly' invited me to enjoy the completion of the CPIs for the Sherborne part of the review meeting. This included progress on objectives associated with features like Archaeology and historic background (e.g. iron age Windrush hill fort , long barrow at Lodge Park),  Arable land (habitats and species), Parklands and designed landscapes , Woodland and Trees (e.g. ancient & veteran trees, managed woodland, tree disease monitoring), Views and iconic settings (photographic records of landscapes). Missed the Water( habitat and species- local rivers & water meadows). All enlightening & food for thought for me!

Fortunately Mike & I were able to leave the meeting mid afternoon and in excellent weather re-visited Larkethill wood to continue thinning (and haloing where needed!). An excellent way of completing another storm free day at Sherborne.

Interesting Martin Harper blog on the sort of strategic planning (25+ years) and ideally cooperation needed for effectively protecting our natural environment, plus to Frack or not to Frack.

Spring in the air!

Will our male resident swan better 9 offspring 2014?

Water flow still strong by the Broadwater weir

Slight frost first thing but temperatures soon up to double figures at Sherborne today. The morning was spent at the nursery splitting wood and by lunch we had completed 3 customer orders. Spent a warm lunchtime down by the Broadwater where springlike activities were well underway. A pair of coots had built their nest on the remaining weed patch on the Broadwater close to the fallen oak, a pair of buzzards were perched close together in the copse above the weir {probably preparing for nesting in Clarkes close nearby}, the resident swans look ready to start this years family {can they beat last years 9 offspring!}, and the various wigeon, tufted ducks, mallards were all 'pairing up' on the quieter places upon the Broadwater.

The afternoon with weather still holding was spent up at Larkethill wood initially tidying up the previously cut wood into cordwood piles and the smaller items loaded on the trailer. Mike was then unleashed on some much needed thinning of sycamore, beech and ash. In no time additional cord wood piles were building at quite a rate given most of the trees felled put up little resistance. I only had to use the wedges and tree lever on a couple of trees with Mike using the 'lever' technique to untangle a tree caught up in an adjacent trees branches. Again in this springlike weather, once the chainsaw was silenced,  the birds {males} were certainly showing off their voices. So another productive day out in the country and perhaps we've finally escaped the incessant round of winter storms.

Obviously the flooding this year notably in the Somerset levels and alongside the Thames has and is distressing for those impacted but hopefully an adequate/more long lasting response will come out of this as outlined by most 'experts'/NGOs  illustrated by this WT piece.

Reunited with two 'old friends'

My favourite axe, Mike keeping me supplied with big blocks

'Gripples' to the rescue after fence flattened by Beech 

Surprised by two things today, firstly the weather was particularly fine and secondly the first task involved blocking and splitting, old style, in the nursery. Fortunately three things were to assist in producing a trailer load of wood: Simon was assisting Mike and I, Mike was blocking up some excellent seasoned wood { too large for the absent wood processor} into 'man size' blocks and I had my favourite axe to attack the wood with. In no time we had filled the trailer and so with little delay headed up to Lodge Park to tackle the aftermath of storm damaged Beech trees. The first task was to repair a stock fence crushed by a large beech branch. Enter the Monkey strainer and that old favourite of mine the 'mighty Gripple'.  A little fiddly especially since we had a limited supply of gripples but by lunch the stock fence was restored to working order and even better the two barbed wire strands re-tensioned & connected with the use of super sized gripples.

Lunch time was a little disappointing weatherwise but the Broadwater entertained with the usual water fowl complimented by an additional  pair of  mute swans, a pair of canada geese and a handsome Red Kite. The afternoon began back at Lodge park to tidy up a fallen beech and for Mike to carefully bring to earth a large beech branch hanging precariously higher up an adjacent tree. Before leaving this area of the park my attention was drawn to the Lodge Park 'barrow mound' which sadly and inspite of over four thousand years age still lacks a suitable name {all suggestions welcome}. Next stop from here was to exit the Lodge Park to head for the next damaged beech in the south west corner of the Park. Again we were faced with a sizeable clearance task but with a sting in the tale. An even larger beech branch was propped up by the main trunk and with one of its limbs hanging over a drystone wall. After attaching a rope to different parts of the offending limb Mike finally pulled the branch down to the ground using the 4x4 and more importantly without damaging the wall.  A good end to the day and here's hoping for a continuation of fine weather for next wednesday.

Looks like a positive outcome from Defra on future environmental management schemes NELMS. A timely comment from Mark Avery on the Badger culling following a particular bad BBC showing where a farmer and 'tame' vet illustrated the uphill struggle still facing this issue.

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.

Scorchio!

Whiskered bat with water crystals attached!

Lesser Horseshoes, no flash allowed

 A day to savour and for once our weathermen got a prediction right, with sunny cloudless skies dominating. Morris beat me to Sherborne, fresh from his Barcelona break, and with Mike we headed up to the bat cave for the delayed April bat count. As ever my predictions on numbers were wide of the mark but none of us expected the overall numbers found at the bat roosts we survey at Sherborne. So the bat cave winter roost still had 126 lesser horseshoes plus 1 whiskered, the Kennels had an impressive 45 lesser horseshoes, the bothy still 0 but the Cellars in the nursery a magnificent 40 lesser horseshoes : A grand total of 212 a new record for Sherborne. In the Cellar summer roost there was even evidence of mating so we may have some little bats flying around soon, so all in all excellent news for our bat population. For once the temperature inside the bat cave was cooler than outside which was quite pleasant given the increasingly warming weather outside. Another bonus during the morning was that the excellent weather brought out several butterflies {peacocks, cabbage white, brimstone and a large turquoise } and not to be outdone the birds got into the act with swallows, house martins, raven, buzzards, tits and linnets amongst others enjoying the day.

Unfortunately had to 'earn my keep', so in the hottest part of the year so far,  the afternoon had me splitting wood in the nursery followed by a rapid trip up to Lodge Park for the first mowing of the lawns for the coming bank holiday, Mike operating from the Kubota. Not much life discovered in the Lodge pond yet but hopefully the warmer weather will soon remedy this with more of what we saw last year to come.

Ended the day with a quick visit to the newly planted hedges at Sandy Hill and Clarks Close and was pleased to see some 800+ hedge plants all in place and protected from the local wildlife to enable 2 healthy hedges to develop over the next few years.

Hedge 2, with Sandy Hill at one end

Hedge1, alongside Sandy Hill with Clarks close in the distance

The Fallen, a Tandem response

Hard to imagine I'd face the trickiest driving conditions this winter over the Easter bank holidays but the strong easterly winds plus cold temperatures had left the high Cotswold roads with icy snow drifts which are just not going away. Another consequence of these unseasonal conditions, helped in one case by white rot fungus disease, brought about the falling of an ash in Leasow Furlong and part of a large beech in Little Setts near the cricket ground at Sherborne.

So having recovered from an annoying chest infection, {I rarely get ill,  I blame it on some bruised ribs}, I arrived at Sherborne where Mike was ready to go with the 'tractor and big trailer' plus the '4x4 with trailer'. The first task was to finish the clearing of the fallen Beech near the cricket ground and with some trepidation, {after last weeks trials} I set off in the 4x4 with Mike following with tractor. Good news was the ground was a good deal firmer than the water meadows so no sinking in the mud. Had to manoeuvre up the side of an elder hedge alongside an '80 acre' ploughed field but there was a useful grassy verge so no impact on the field. While Mike cleared up the large beech cordwood with the tractor grab I set to with axe on splitting the blocks Mike had cut the day before. Didn't expect to be doing this so late in the season, but with the wood store empty and demand still there, the extra wood was important. By lunch had added to the wood supplies in the nursery and apart from a hole in the hedge and a scar on the surviving part of the beech, all was clear.

'Leisure' furlong, again no picnic!

The afternoon promised more of the same but down in Leasow Furlong where fallen ash needed attention. Last visited this wood  last May, where fallen larch and 'prep' for a boy scouts camp was the task, but this time we were to work in the eastern side of the wood where some pretty old and strange looking multi-trunk ash dominated, the result of long ago 'coppicing'. After some energetic work, much needed in a brisk cool wind, we filled the tractor trailer with cord wood and after blocking and splitting filled the 4x4 trailer with wood supplies for a local customer. Mike deposited the cord wood in the nursery and we then drove the 4x4 to unload its wood loaded trailer manually at the customers residence in Sherborne village. A productive but tiring day so was pleased to get back home and turn into a couch potato in front of the TV!

Walking the plank

Another adventure with WT, all 10 crossed the river Eye safely

20+mph winds in freezing temperatures, a bit of a contrast to conditions in the water meadows last week. Add the exciting walk across the narrow plank and this marked my first 'interesting'  introduction to the Wildlife Trust Greystones farm and nature reserve. 3 WT officers {Will, Richard and Tom-Greystones mic} and 8 volunteers met this week to continue work clearing the banks on the farmers side of the rivers Eye and Dickler.  I have to hope the water voles are worth it, and by the tracks, pellets and 1 sighting the work seems to be doing the trick. Also saw my first Mink platform which among with others in this area indicate the presence of other various wildlife e.g. voles, otters. Thought we deserved better for some excellent work but the end of the day was marked by a walk back to Greystones in the teeth of a bitter wind with mini blizzard!

Maddie on guard duty once more while we were thinning 

Mike back this week after his break unfortunately not in the best of health having been ill on leave, not quite what u want to happen. However in much better weather conditions than Monday at Greystones the morning was spent in the Sherborne nursery on splitting 'duty'. The catch was it was beech but the good news was I could use Mike's splitting axe which gave me a fighting chance of getting the job done. We finished the work in good time so there was time to visit the water meadows area where  the Wildlife Trust have being doing some great work and were continuing the work today. It gave Mike his first sight of the work, and Richard from Wildlife Trust briefed Mike on progress and future plans. We all then went down to where Will was leading the volunteer team completing the clearance work by the water course near the river Windrush. Mike was certainly pleased with all that's been done and as usual needed to add more work to his large task list to complement the conservation work in this area. A great example of  conservation Trusts pulling together!

Had a brief look at Sherborne Brook at lunch before the afternoon thinning in Snowbottom belt started. Was treated to 2 herons 'discussing' fishing territory and large numbers of mallards and seagulls. plus buzzards and a single red kite. Mike obviously was keen on continuing my exposure to shifting heavy cord Beech but relented a little when felling some ash. Again some of the bigger trees needed extra work in bringing to ground using the usual techniques and lots of 'puff'. So with a mix of sun and snow flurries we finished the day with some much needed wood piles ready for pickup with the tractor. Didn't even stop to find out if the new pope had been elected or how the Cheltenham races were faring.

Back to basics at Sherborne

Cattle at Sherborne Pleasure Grounds enjoying their lunch

Mike?no Maddie gathering cord wood

Back from a wild at times but very rewarding stay in the Scottish Islands, has a month gone already!, straight back into the harness at Sherborne. It seems the cold snap has Mike's wood customers clamouring for supplies so the morning was spent getting re-aquainted with the axe on splitting duty in the nursery. The weather was surprisingly good and for once short sleeves and no waterproofs was the order of the day. It was good to get stuck into some honest work again and exchange stories with Mike about our respective Scottish breaks, Ok I did enjoy the majority of the sharing!

Spent a relaxed lunch break walking around the Pleasure Grounds and all seemed in good order with some of the beech and sycamore displaying early autumnal colours. Bumped into the resident birdwatching duo {by special arrangement with Ranger Mike} who had enjoyed a relatively quiet day, albeit pretty damp on the ground down in the water meadows, But had spotted a peregrine, 4 red kites, 30 canadian geese and seen some chiffchaffs. I can't wait to be around when things pick up! No news from Mike about the Bat cave, but watch this space for an update which should reveal the lesser horseshoes returning to their refurbished winter roost.

The afternoon was spent on gathering a full trailer load for a Rissington customer and it looked like we might catch a heavy shower on arrival but it had passed by when we had to unload. We also had the bonus of a very welcome cuppa. Back to the nursery for some local wood deliveries with the tractor gathering up a couple of loads of cord wood, Maddie clearly has been getting driving lessons in my absence. So we didn't get around to some thinning but not a bad first day back.

Stormy weather

Who lives in a house like this..see below!

Rain stopped play, { last weeks ranger duties},  but back in play this week to face the clean up of the storm damaged trees. Started in the rain with Martin at Crickley hill where urgent action was needed to make safe 2 badly damaged beech trees one of which had one of its huge limbs sheared off. Both trees were close to public paths so needed to be sorted quickly even though its never good to work in the wet! Needed to use the landrover winch to pull the heavy branch free followed by some careful chain sawing and then some fancy rope work to pull down some branches which were precariously balanced high up in the surviving part of the tree.  On the way to the next task we discovered a recently fallen ash tree which needed to be dealt with and removed from one of the woodland paths. While doing an on the spot survey of Crickley trees, prompted by the stormy April weather , we squeezed in some clearing work around two youngish Oak trees hopefully allowing their growth to proceed more successfully. We finally managed to get around to inspecting a more mature Oak tree Martin was concerned about. Those concerns were well founded as the Oak tree buttresses were lifted significantly off the ground. Given this and the Oak's proximity to a main path Martin sadly decided the tree needed to be pulled down.  Again some smart work with the winch and chainsaw saw the tree made safe and the area suitably cleared. Some day with no casualties and an interesting inquiry by a Sculptor who was seeking to source a sizeable piece [2 tons +] of wood for an upcoming project.

Over dozen larch blown down in April storms

Casualties :Large Beech and  Horse chestnut {background}

At last some dry weather working with Mike at Sherborne. Started the day with an inspection of the blue tractor now out of action because.. 'a robin has its nest in the engine compartment !' aint nature marvellous . Surprisingly the morning was spent blocking and splitting in the nursery , it seems the demand for wood continues whilst the coldish weather remains. Had to work harder on the splitting the sometimes green and not so seasoned wood, Mike suffered my moans stoically. The afternoon saw us on our way to Ragged Copse to deal with some of the fallen larch and to repair any of the damaged new ash saplings which suffered collatoral damage. Amazingly they were few in number. Sadly two mature broadleaves were badly damaged by the storms over the weekend. The large Beech uprooted was suffering from deceased roots and the Horse chestnut losing a huge branch limb because of 'unbalanced' growth. So the wet April and strong winds tipped the balance! So for both Martin and Mike extra work plus the need to re-inspect vulnerable trees which although not yet damaged may be at greater risk to the public or farmers.

Blocking but not NFL style

Ok so I didn't stack all of this and Mike didn't fell all this wood destined for fencing posts etc. But it was harvested by contractors directed by Mike and is on a slightly bigger scale to the 'thinning ' work I have worked with the Rangers on. Thinning serves a number of needs depending on the type of woodland in question. In this case a mixed 'plantation' woodland which provides useful revenue with the fast growing conifers 'nursing' the early growth of broadleaf such as oak, ash, beech.

Broadleaf woodland

So the above Broadleaf woodland is typically where smaller scale thinning by the Rangers take place and where I get involved in clearing the brash  and stacking the woodpiles ready for transport back to base. This work is key for encouraging growth of flora and healthier growth for the ash, sycamore, beech, oak etc remaining.

So in the busy time upto Christmas 2011 I and simon {also a volunteer with impeccable running credentials} were kept busy splitting the seasoned wood which Mike had kindly been 'blocking' {with chainsaw] from the dwindling seasoned woodpiles. In this instance on one damp day late afternoon Mike and I  loaded up the trailer with the split wood and delivered this last load to the local school. Simple enough but it did require good driving skills by Mike to manoeuvre  around the school yard to deposit the load. However this was not until I was surprisingly asked by the school secretary to move the headmaster's car as she thrust his keys into my hand, overlooking the damp/dirty state I was in at this point. Oh well but no complaints and a different sort of public engagement to anything I was expecting.

Anyway that's it for now but possible future posts ..:

• Location, location, location
• 39 steps...
• Who let the fire out
• If u go into the woods today...
• Wanted for crimes against....