Bats, Beech, and Budget

Its a record count

Back from Budapest, having seen their bat caves!, Morris joined with us today for the March Bat count at Sherborne. Temperature outside  the Bat cave ~5 C but as usual a barmy 11 C immediately inside the cave with 7- 9 C deeper inside where the Lesser Horseshoes were 'hanging'. So a bit of a surprise in store , since February count,  as there were 175 [+11] Lesser Horseshoes and yet another new species for me a 'Whiskered' Bat.  Sadly our long eared brown was not found in the Bothy but there were 8 [ +2] Lesser Horseshoes in the cellar and again 0 in the kennels. So overall good news, a record for Sherborne,  but we are hoping this cold snap ends soon and we get a warmer spell with good numbers of insects so the bats {and other wildlife} have a much needed boost from the winter sparsity.

After the excitement of the morning Bat count, it was back down to earth with some thinning  in Snow bottom belt. Mike was on good form with the chainsaw and plenty of  large Beech and Ash were felled and a 'record' {from my short experience} of cordwood piles generated for next years wood service supplies. Of course due care was taken this time of the year that no birds were disturbed and given the area and cold snap we hope to get one last session of thinning for this season next week. It was also good to see early signs of bluebell growth which follows on from the impressive show of snowdrops in other parts of the Sherborne estate. Anyway it was fair to say both Mike and I were pretty much out of gas as the day ended. Of course we both had the news of the Budget to look forward to, what changes if any for the environment I wonder.

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.

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.