my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Robert, the new archimedes screw "pump" has not worked (as far as I know) since it was tested after installation. That was in Autumn last year. There was publicity about how "green" the system was. The motor for the screw is powered by batteries which are charged by wind turbine and solar panals. I was told by the drainage board engineers that there was a problem with a circuit. It looks like the problem is beyond being fixed, at least for the fore-seeable future. The old diesel pump has been switched on and will continue to pump excess water from the site until it runs out of fuel. The idea of the water management scheme is to hold a depth of water across the site to within 10 cm. of the peat surface. This is to encourage re-growth of bog forming plant species. The new pump was installed to prevent a lake forming. There is much water backing up across the site and one wet woodland is now too dangerous to enter. There are deep drains in the wood and these are obscured by more than a foot of standing water. The second wet wood on the site (the one I visited yesterday) now has a large area of standing water, where only a corner of the wood was flooded. I think if the water stays in the woods for too long many of the trees and plants will be lost, also the invertebrates which live in the leaf litter. There seems to be no hurry from the various parties, to correct the problem with the new pump (which cost in excess of £200, 000). Here,s hoping for a dry hot summer.

[Robert]

Ian,

It is unfortunate to hear that the pump is not being fixed. It seems that much progress has been made restoring the habitat of this area. Sad to hear that all this progress could be thrown out the window.

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

I was actually able to get a few photographs of some of our local birds.



Pipilo maculatus. The current common name is Spotted Towhee, however I will always call them Rufous-sided Towhees.



Zonotrichia atripilla, Golden-crowned Sparrow.



Zonotrichia leucophrys, White-crowned Sparrow. When the weather warms the White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows will migrate to higher terrain for the summer.

[Robert]

Ian,

A few more of our common birds.



Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus.



Nuttall's Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii.



One of our Corvidae. Aphelocoma californica, Western Scrub Jay.



California Towhee, Melozone crissalis. I still call them Brown Towhees.



Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura. The young ones can be approached very closely.

I did see a pair of Bald Eagles yesterday. I wish that I could have photographed them!

[ian mcdonald]

You have colourful visitors Robert.

[ian mcdonald]

Yesterday was another dull day with poor visibility. I went to look at an area not often visited in the centre of the site. Purple moor grass, Molinea caerulea is common on the site and stands out at this time of year. Neither of the water pumps were working (the old pump seems to have run out of fuel and the new one is not fixed yet). I have been told by the engineers that the new pump will be working next week. We shall see. Some of the paths are very wet and flooded in places. Some of the Sphagnum hummocks change colour in the winter and this can be confusing to the layman, although they are perhaps more interesting to look at. Later I met the two naturalists who are also studying the site. They had seen several Adders along a known hibernaculum. Four pairs of Goosanders were on one of the pools. Later we saw a Short Eared Owl hunting in the distance as it was getting dark.



Molinea.



Hares Tail |Cotton-grass in bud.

[ian mcdonald]

Sphagnum winter colour.





Overgrown and flooded path



Goosanders on a pool

Birds today were, blackbird, buzzard, stonechat, grey lag geese, mallards, teal, shovelers, robin, moorhen, great tit, reed bunting, jack snipe, wren, crows, canada geese, lapwings, marsh harriers, kestrel, short eared owl, pheasant, wood pigeons and goosanders. Two roe deer were heard "barking." Also, a grey squirrel.

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

The first and third photographs in your last posting remind me of winter agricultural scenes in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. Are the grasses native? In our part of California, in most situations, where there are large expanses of open grassland, all the grasses are invasive species and the majority of the dicots are invasive. As an example, all the grasses on our Placerville farm are invasive species (except where I have purposely planted California native bunch grasses). Bromus diandrus, Ripgut Brome Grass, Avena barbata, Hordeum sp. and Poa bulbosa are the dominant species. In other local grasslands, Medusa Head, Elymus caput-medusae is dominant. I encounter Dogtail Grass, Cynosurus echinatus, throughout much of Northern California. The list of invasive dicots is legion.

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Robert, yes all the grass species on the site are native. Molinea caerulea is the most prolific with Calamagrostis canescens also being widespread across the area. There are many beds of Phragmites australis (co mmunis) all across the site. Where there was a fire last year the soft rush J. effusus, has been replaced by Molinea. Bearded tits have been seen in some of the reed beds but not by me yet.

[ian mcdonald]

I gave last weeks visit a miss due to the weather being snow on the ground and very cold winds. Yesterday was quite pleasant, with no wind. The sun made the difference. Snow had drifted into a deep drain and remained there after the surrounding area had lost its white blanket. I met a naturalist carrying out an Adder survey. More than 20 snakes had been seen in sheltered areas. The latest saga on the new archimedes screw water management is that the small wind turbine used for charging the battery has been removed. The installation is said by the engineer, to be working next week. I decided to look for the Bearded Tits which have been recorded on the site. I did not see or hear them. A visit by another naturalist was rewarded by the calls being heard. While travelling along one of the tracks I noticed a large, dark raptor flying past. It seemed to have Jesses on its legs. Unfortunately I did not have time to identify the bird. I was told that a bird was seen at another site with Jesses. Three roe deer were seen feeding in a field. A tawny owl called from somewhere and a great spotted woodpecker was seen flying into a tall birch tree. I went to look at a large pool where Scaup had been seen. No sign of Scaup but 10 male and 4 female Goosander were there. A buzzard was seen high up and a Marsh Harrier also flew past. A curlew was calling and circling and a small flock of lapwing went by. About 30 "finches" were in a field with a few starling and fieldfare. They were too far away to identify but may have been linnets. A Widgeon whistled from among some rushes but was not seen. Returning back along a path I heard the single short song of a Cettis Warbler and waited to try to see where it was but it did not call again. It is very difficult to see this species on our site as they tend to call from dense undergrowth. Later I met another naturalist and was told that Barn and Short Eared Owl had been seen. We waited and were rewarded by sightings of both. Just as it was getting dark two Cranes flew in and landed by a pool. Birds seen were, sparrow hawk, stonechat, robin, tufted duck, grey lag geese, mallard, shoveler, crow, wood pigeon, stock doves, buzzard, marsh harrier, chaffinch, reed bunting, great spotted woodpecker, tawny owl (heard), blackbird, wren, teal, curlew, lapwing, widgeon (heard), magpie, fieldfare, starling, great tit, blue tit, common gull, moorhen, golden plover, goosanders, song thrush, cettis warbler, pheasant, jay, barn owl, short eared owl, and cranes.



Snow still in a ditch.



One of many reed beds.



Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara.



Late afternoon sun filters through the trees.



An Elderberry with many lichens, possibly a Xanthoria species.

[Robert]

Ian,

How deep was the snow and how long did it remain on the ground at the site? From the photographs it looks like it did not stay around very long.

[ian mcdonald]

Robert, the snow in our area was about 4" deep. It was powdery and probably blew into the ditch. It snowed on Tuesday and by Friday the rain washed most of it away. That should be the last for this winter in our area.

[ian mcdonald]

My sister visited yesterday so the visit was postponed until today. It rained most of today so I decided to look through my photos. and show some of the management work on site over the last three years.

 

The troublesome archimedes screw, designed to lift water up into a large drain.



One of the Telemetry units which send a message to the installation to switch the Screw on when water levels are too high.



Preparations for the installation of a tilting weir.



The tilting weir in-situ.

[ian mcdonald]

Various methods were used to slow down the rate of water leaving the site.



Dams were installed in a variety of locations across ditches.







Small bunds were erected in many areas to slow water run-off.



In some areas it was possible to mow small shrubs by a tractor and mower before the ground became too wet.

[ian mcdonald]

Due to the large amount of Rhododendron ponticum and birch causing evapo-transpiration these species needed to be controlled. Various methods were used, starting with chain saws and chippers. This proved to be too slow and other means were used.



Chain saws and chipper in use.



A mulcher eats a Rhododendron thicket.



More progress was made using this method.



Another method was tried using a different machine.