my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

A dull start and then the sun came out to lighten the scene. img 1020231 shows the reed path from the other direction. There were several stonechats along one track img. 1020225. One of the many pools img. 1020216. Winter colours are everywhere now img. 1020232.

[ian mcdonald]

Another pool, closed for the winter img. 1020233. Goosanders and tufted duck on one of the "scrapes" img. 1020241. A larger "mulcher" has been brought in to deal with the scrub clearance img. 1020234. The mulcher has to be towed out of a "bog hole" img. 1020235, the site is getting wetter.Other birds seen include marsh harrier, kestrel, jay,goldcrest, moorhen, pied wagtail and many pink footed geese flying in, also a roe deer.

[Robert]

Ian,

It is commendable that much time and energy is being committed to restoring habitat. From your diary it appears the animals are thriving in the restored environment. How are the plants fairing? In California restoration of plant communities is too often very difficult. Invasive species can be noxious and extremely difficult to eradicate. In some cases it is unknown how the original plant communities appeared. This is true of some grassland communities in California. In may cases it is only a guess what the grassland communities were like in the past. Maybe there are similar challenges in your local patch?

[ian mcdonald]

Robert, the Rhododendrons spread from an area used by a local nurseryman to grow ericaceous plants many years ago. He introduced different kinds of Rhodos. which may have been grown on R. ponticum stock. They reverted to the ponticum type and spread throughout the site. The machines used to clear dense areas cut many of them down to ground level last year. There is a lot of regrowth this year which will need to be sprayed for several years. It is too soon to say how the native flora and fauna will respond to the scrub clearance and water management throughout the site, although there is an Entomologist carrying out insect surveys. He re-found a rare plume moth this year which specializes on sundew and has not been recorded in this area since 1891. Some species of invertebrate have not been recorded elsewhere in the UK.  Also, nightjar ( an uncommon bird of heathlands) monitoring is taking place during late spring to autumn to determine their numbers and feeding range. As for the plants, the site is too large and diverse to cover in one season. I have recorded several species in areas they were not seen in, several years ago. In one cleared area I found a large sedge, C. elata, which I had not seen there before. It grows to about 3 feet in height and would have remained un-recorded there had the scrub not been cleared. Who knows what other plants remain to be found. Possibly the rarest plant on the site is Deer Grass, a common plant of moorland but only one plant has been found at this site. I expect there will be losses and gains. Another common moorland plant, hard fern (Blechnum spicant), is also a rare plant on the site. Only four plants have been found. Other plants which are rare in this area, have appeared and spread well. One species is Northern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella). When this was first found there were 89 flowering spikes. Last year a friend and myself counted 1300. Dune helleborine (Epipactis dunensis) was first recorded on the site in 2010. This year they increased to 44. Past records from the site are a bit sketchy from the plant point of view. This was due to the site being less accessible and the visits being one day in only a decade or so. Even so, it was recognized that the site was of International importance for its Flora and Fauna. It was only when the site was threatened with destruction (apart from peat removal and drainage) that recording began in earnest in the late 1960s. Access to the area was "discouraged" by the peat companies. The site has several International designations for the importance of the wildlife that live there. I know that more will be found as time goes on. An excellent professional local naturalist said (when talking of the site) "loss of evidence is not evidence of loss." Taking into account the size and diversity of the area I can appreciate that, as the re-finding of the plume moth demonstrates.

[Robert]

Ian,

This is a very encouraging report.    I appreciate all of the information. I will be very curious about any new findings in the coming year and the progression as the land moves into the winter, then the spring season.

[ian mcdonald]

Robert, I have heard that there are great pressures on the Government agency responsible for protecting our rare habitats. I hope that the protection given by previous governments are not interferred with by the present government. We need to look after our important wildlife sites for ever instead of using the excuse that the present economic climate means our "leaders" can do as they wish with our heritage.

[ian mcdonald]

A dull cold start to the day. Birds were hiding from the wind but those seen or heard include marsh harrier, moorhen, goldcrest, great spotted woodpecker, bullfinch, reed bunting and stonechat. Inside one of the wet woodlands img. 1020248. A track through the wood img. 1020249. The sun came out in the afternoon img. 1020250.

[ian mcdonald]

I have been away from the local patch for a few Months. It was a mild day today so I went for a walk there. The new water pump was installed today, see image 1020260. Next week a small tower with a wind generator (bird friendly not the usual blades) will be installed. A couple of early flowers seen were coltsfoot (tusilago farfara) and sweet violet (V. odorata). Among the birds seen or heard were marsh harrier, kestrel, lapwing, cettis warbler, redshank, shelduck, tufted duck, teal, crane, stonechat, reed buntings and grey lag geese.

[Maggi Young]

Welcome "home"  Ian

[Robert]

Ian,

It looks like some of the early spring wildflowers are blooming at "your patch".

[ian mcdonald]

Went to the local patch in the rain. Control equipment for the "pump" arrived. The pump is an archimedes screw inside a large pipe. When the screw turns, water is raised inside the pipe and is then moved via another pipe into an adjacent large drain and away from the site. The rain cleared later and among the wildlife seen were red deer, stoat, marsh harriers, kestrel, sparrow hawk, shelduck, chiff chaff (a summer visitor), tree creeper, bullfinchs, buzzard and grey- lag geese. Img. 1020270 equipment arrives for the pump. Img. 1020276 a tree creeper. Img. 1020277 a bullfich looking for food.

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday started dull then improved with a sunny and mild afternoon. I saw an area where dense birch scrub clearance had started, then found an area where large scale clearance had taken place. img. 1020295 shows partial clearance and img. 1020301 shows major clearance. Bog myrtle is easy to see at this time of the year when the male plants have catkins img. 1020303. A close up of a male bog myrtle flower with a spider which looks like a garden spider, Araneus diadematus, although the markings seem to vary, img. 1020310.

[ian mcdonald]

One of the water level data loggers, img. 1020311. Several Redpoll were seen on the small birches img. 1020299. A pair of Tufted duck were on a pool img. 1020315. Other wildlife seen included two roe deer, a kestrel, a male marsh harrier, buzzard, water rail, common snipe, jack snipe, wheatear, stonechat, shoveler, teal, mallard, song thrush, many black-headed gulls on the pools, lapwing, gadwall, chiff chaffs, wren, reed buntings and meadow pipits.

[Robert]

Ian,

Why are the birch being cleared away? Are they weedy?

It is very promising to hear about the long list of birds sighted. Here in California our wild bird populations have declined dramatically since the 1970's, especially migratory song birds. Some species are rarely or never seen now.

The good news is that we sighted a Copper's Hawk in our backyard a few days ago.

[ian mcdonald]

Two local plants related to Christmas rose, H. Foetidus, stinking hellebore img. 002 and H. viridis, Green hellebore img. 001. Robert, the birch are dense and are taking water from the bog by evapo-transpiration. They have become dominant due to the peat producers draining large areas of the bog. This ceased in 2004. Work is in progress to remove large areas of dense scrub, such as birch and Rhododendron. Also, when the birch are in leaf the shade prohibits bog plants from growing/re-colonising the peat. This is the third year of scrub clearance and drain blocking. It is proposed to keep the water level within 10cm of the peat surface for the regeneration of peat producing plants. A LIDAR survey was carried out to assertain the topography of the site in order to place dams in strategic places. The site is Internationally important for the huge variety of wildlife it supports, many of which are regarded as rare.