While the cats away...

Water meadows, working 1 field along to the right

Mike still on leave but surprisingly found myself back at Sherborne Water Meadows carrying out habitat improvements with the Wildlife Trust (note their CAP message) today.  Its my first outing with the 'living landscape programme' Cotswold rivers team {excellent video of what they are about}. We were to meet at the Northfield Barn car park and I was taken aback by the turn out. 16 volunteers and 3 Wildlife Trust officers {TIm - living landscapes, Richard - ecology, John - water voles} which I was told was a record and possibly influenced by the glorious weather, can't blame anyone for taking advantage.

The habitat work was a continuation of previous good work by the Wildlife Trust volunteers and   contractors {with heavyweight machine} down in the vicinity of the 'old' Sherborne Brook and a water course, by Birch copse, running parallel to the Windrush river. No power tools today but strictly manual cutting using large pruning saws and loppers clearing the fence lines and water course bank to allow more light exposure. It was muddy but the water levels back to normal so acceptable conditions. Its amazing how much can be done with so many people, so although not complete much progress made and some impressive piles of brash to add to the not inconsiderable piles already existing. Plan is when wildlife conditions permit to lay a new hedge down one of the fence lines.

Was good to see the local wildlife was out and about in spite of our small army and with so many eyes there wasn't too much that slipped by without notice. So Red Kites, Buzzards, 1 Cormorant, 1 fox and 5 Fallow Stags with impressive antlers starred at the lunch break.  No willow tits seen but it seems some of the specific willow tit boxes made & installed by Wildlife Trust volunteer have seen some activity.  Also spotted were 2 otter spraint, I refused the offer to smell either, but its good to know river otters are present in this area. The 'vole' officer John with us pointed out what may have been water vole tracks so quite a healthy sign for wildlife in general in these parts and overall a good first introduction to working with the Wildlife Trust. 

It must be spring

Pleasure Ground 

Ended the day by stopping off in Sherborne and viewing the spring flowers in the Pleasure Grounds, even spotted the local Heron back in its spot on Sherborne Brook.

Bonkers

Wanted in Gloucester and Somerset, to be shot on sight !

Some song titles say it all. Was not planning to post a blog this week as Mike is having a well deserved break but listening to the radio on my way back from a pleasant walk down the Severn- Thames canal  I was not best pleased to hear that the badger pilot cull will take place after all this June. Thanks Owen Patterson and DEFRA who are at least consistently found lacking in supporting any sustainable countryside {landscape in Chris Packham terms} approach to any  environmental issues that need to be faced. Enough has been said on Bovine TB  and Chris Packham's radio response to this though sensible, will not penetrate this Governments simplistic often incorrect stance eg. they and the NFU didn't like the last badger pilot cull conclusions so lets do it again. Bit like the 'pesticide debacle' when they get 'experts' with invested interest to confirm that a particular pesticide is not killing bees etc!

With admittedly some effort in co-ordination there is enough support from conservation groups {I hopefully include NT here}, assuming a neutral at best DEFRA,  to really work with farmers in coming up with better solutions to Bovine TB and other agriculture environmental issues. Given there is a hardcore set of professionals and volunteers that haven't given up on Environmental Conservation much good can be done if priorities are changed to give it a chance. Wouldn't it also be good for example to actually make the agriculture environment schemes more effective a win win for the majority of farmers and conservationists. The point here is that this isn't farmers versus conservationists,  its conservationists helping farmers with environmentally friendly and working solutions .  Given the government hasn't shown any leadership here, is there any hope in co-ordinating the major Trusts to make an effective response?  Resources and the will seems to fall mainly on our excellent Charitable Trusts which no doubt is fine with the government since it costs them nothing.

Newcomer to the Bat cave

In the Bothy, cute long eared brown

Out of the mist today our resident Dark Knight emerged ready for the second count of  2013,  so we all set off to the Bat cave with fingers crossed that the Bat population was still  as healthy as the January census. The good news was an increased population now of 164 [+3] Lesser Horseshoes and as a bonus my first exposure to a single Natterer squeezed into a crevice. As usual the temperature inside the cave was a pleasant 8C-9C compared with the outside temperature 4C. The roosts in the Sherborne village yielded 0 in the Kennels, 1 Long eared brown in the Bothy and 6 Lesser Horseshoes in the cellar so no change since January,  again good news. Next count will be the end of March and again fingers crossed that our Bat population remains healthy and the spring will provide a good supply of insects for them.

Was pretty chilly at lunchtime but I still enjoyed a walk around the Pleasure Grounds and Sherborne Brook. The snowdrops still looking good with an increasing appearance of daffodils. Was surprised by a sudden appearance of what i thought were small white ponies but turned out to be 3 Pyrenean dogs, friendly fortunately, with their owners. Also spotted a single Red Kite as it passed over the village.

The afternoon was spent up in Snowbottom Belt where we continued the thinning. Fortunately for me not too many Beeches but plenty to do and we haven't even finished the top section of the Belt near the lane. Good news was that the sky cleared and the sun made an appearance, so not a bad way of finishing the day.

We really need our bees

More detail from Mark Avery guest  blog on pesticides and bugs [Buglife conservation] lengthy but on the mark!.

The Decline and Fall...?

Dramatic but 'this green and pleasant land' is in decline! 

Of Countryside Conservation,  I hope not Fall, but news of  a  greener EU budget  [ Martin Harper RSPB] looks further away than ever. This especially refers to cuts {agriculture Pillar 1 & environment} plus options to transfer from Pillar 2 'environmentally friendly farming' funding.   Little to be seen of  DEFRA position {can they really be so bad} and sadly the NT {I struggle to discover their position on Countryside conservation from any communications?}.  As it happens I have enjoyed walking around most of the NT owned countryside here in the North Cotswolds this winter especially and seen what it still offers and the potential for even more {both financial and pleasure}. However I can't help feel how fragile it all is and whether 'the  relatively few' supporters of our  countryside in general can hold back the not so steady decline.  News on the cause of a particular decline which is close to my heart has surfaced recently on bees, we would all notice if this becomes a Fall. However its good to see the usual suspects continue to fight their corner on the environment and at least communicate on this i.e. RSPB, Wildlife trusts, Woodland trust.

Large conifers at the end prove the  'Sting in the tail '

Snow fall increasing as the 'brash' pile builds

Inspite of my gloomy start to this weeks blog I remain motivated to do my miniscule bit for the countryside. So the task today concerned the  'Fall' of the remaining conifers from last week, in this case a good thing to do. Although a good start was made last week there were even more challenges facing Mike and I, which consumed the whole day! For a start the wintry weather returned, then the pole saw ground to a halt and lastly the size and density of the remaining conifers proved more challenging.  So the pole hook, tree lever , chainsaw, wedges all proved essential. Even this wasn't enough for the final conifers leaning at the wrong angle and the rope with tractor was needed to bring them down safely. The snow finally relented at the end of a satisfactory hard working day and at least my return journey home was not as hazardous as it might have been.

Going, going, gone!

Ebworth centre,  our empty large trailer

A sad day but we finally returned the wood processor back to its home at the Ebworth centre. At least the wood stocks at Sherborne should see Mike's customers through this winter and the Biomass system at Ebworth will not run out of processed wood now the processor is back to top up their stocks.

The days task was changed at the last minute from thinning in Snowbottom belt to hedge cutting ranger style. On the face of it this didn't seem to imply the usual physical challenge. However when Mike asked me to grab the chainsaw, pole saw and the pole hook [a new tool for me] then asked me to drive the 4x4 ranger to the nursery while he grabbed the tractor I became suspicious. It turns out 'the hedge' was a line of 20' high conifers stretching just under 100'.  The 'pole hook' {with extensions} was  vital in encouraging the cut conifer stems to fall away from the buildings they were sheltering. A lot of work cutting for Mike and plenty for me clearing the conifer from the fence line. Fortunately the tractor was there to do the heavy clearing and stacking. Not surprisingly we didn't manage to complete the job but the 2/3rds cut down left a significant pile of brash for later burning.

Spent the lunch break with a relaxing stroll around the Pleasure Grounds. There was a good showing of snowdrops especially on the western side , some aconites down near the Sherborne House and some early flowering daffodils. Could almost believe the winter is nearly over except there is a forecast for some more snow over the weekend. Pleased to see a healthy number of canada geese down by Sherborne brook again, something I haven't seen for a while.

Woodstock...

Hard to spot in the snow! 

Ok a bit of a stretch but wood stocks at Sherborne were low following the recent wintry spell of weather, so with me on tree tongs and Mike on the PALAX wood processor we set to for an all day assault on the wood piles. Good news was the sunny but windy weather,  slightly offset by muddy ground conditions. Wasn't expecting to see the wood processor but Mike had negotiated an extra weeks loan so was anxious to get the most out of it which by the end of the day served to revive the wood stocks at the expense of some sore muscles!

Choppy waters by Sherborne boat house

In the surprisingly good weather enjoyed a lunchtime stroll down the 'snow free' Sherborne brook. The usual inhabitants were all present with the addition of 2 male and 1 female tufted ducks. No the impressive cow in the picture wasn't spotted in Sherborne, my artistic licence, it is a resident at May Hill!

Liked this initiative, vote for nature, from RSPB, its the kind of action which would be even better if all nature related Trusts like NT, Wildlife trusts ....co-ordinated on. It was also interesting to note that the Government are not going to sell the public owned woodlands {18% of the 10% of woodlands in England} and accepts the vision and 'some' recommendations of the Independent panel on Forestry report on England forests. Short on details at this time so how this converts to resourced, prioritised plans is yet to be revealed.

A mishmash

Deep drift blocking path,  Leckhampton hill

Sub zero temperatures and plenty of snow over the past week put paid to any countryside work with the NT. However being a lover of snow from past skiing feats this motivated me everyday to get out into my local Leckhampton and Crickley hill countryside while the white stuff lasted. Although the snow in Cheltenham was a few inches, up in the hills it was considerably more and where it had drifted  as much as 8 feet! The most I have seen in over 30 years in Cheltenham.

Devils chimney, not far from hunting barn owl

 Away from the many youngsters and parents enjoying the sledging opportunities, plus the usual dog walkers, I managed to spot quite a few birds working hard to find food in fairly harsh conditions. The highlights for me were:
 A goldfinch so happy to have found something to eat in the snow it allowed me to approach really closely {sadly on this day I had broken my rule, leaving my camera at home},
A treecreeper and nuthatch on adjacent trees searching hard for insects, and lastly but not leastly,
A barn owl surprisingly on the hunt early {mid afternoon}.

Glad I was walking, gritters don't reach here

Also squeezed in a quick visit to the Sherborne water meadows before the snow disappeared. Good news was the water levels were down to manageable levels so only had the snow to contend with. This proved too much on one of the Barrington estate paths where the snow depth was knee level and even deeper in parts. However I managed to see quite a bit of wildlife although the raptors were mainly in the trees rather than the air. Still no short eared owls or hen harriers but I enjoyed sights of : 6 Red Kites, 3 Buzzards, 1 Kestrel, 1 Heron, 4 Cormorants, Lapwings and Fieldfares (plus lots smaller birds I have yet to ID). Add to this 1 magnificent male Hare (great condition and size) and a herd of fallow deer.

I was amused by an article in one of the Sunday papers where the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson was pleased to declare the start of  tough new controls on tree imports stating " I want to ensure we can quickly trace and destroy diseased ..". Bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted but the various contagious incurable fungal diseases like Chalara - dieback, Phytophthora (and no doubt other strains continue to add to the existing threats to our scarce woodland) from imports means these measure are still crucial although maybe a  bit too late!