In very early spring, a re-wilding, freedom beehive was installed and was colonised quickly. UWNR now has a thriving colony of wild (and very healthy) Bees. Thank you Matt Somerville for all your work with this….
The local Buzzards had 2 chicks, in a roughly hewn nest, in one of the large Ash trees at the land. They fledged successfully and are sighted over-flying UWNR, from time to time.
We carved out another south-facing insect and butterfly glade, in the main woodland. It thronged with life, throughout the summer of 2018.
The Grass Snake population significantly expanded – on a single day in mid-summer I counted 7 snakes. The lake has developed and matured, enabling this reptile to increase in number.
The Barn Owls had another brood. This was after the upsetting loss of a Barn Owl in the second ‘Beast from the East’, in March 2018.
The Wessex Home Education Group became a central feature at UWNR. They now attend regular John Muir Award sessions where we focus on specific aspects of ecology. For example we have covered Barn Owls and Dormice – their behaviours, habitat needs and their morphology.
The now mature lake attracted a range of birds – some examples; a hunting Kingfisher was a regular summer visitor, a Heron would swoop in to hunt on occasion, Little Grebes produced two broods and Mallard ducks are year round residents now.
Working with the amazing Hugo Brooke, from Butterfly Conservation, we conducted a number of moth surveys from April to September. The highlight this year was trapping and identifying a Double Kidney, which is not that common. Hugo has been trapping for decades and he had never seen this species! Thanks Hugo.
The newly planted heritage orchard bore fruit for the first time, and we nursed the trees through the punishing drought of 2018. They are now thriving and in 2019 will provide flowers for a variety of pollinators, and fruit for various vertebrates / invertebrates.
We carried out our annual Bat Survey in September confirming the species, which we had previously trapped or detected. A big thanks to ecologists Lisa Wade and Gareth Evans for managing this.
We constructed an eco-barn, which mimics a farm barn found in lowland England prior to the agri-business onslaught & related catastrophe. It will provide habitat for small mammals, the Barn Owls, Bats and Swifts, Swallows & House Martins. Thank you Will and Izaak Bergstrom for running this project.
In springtime the lake produced a multitude of frogs and toads. Perhaps millions? Perhaps hundreds of thousands? Certainly, more than tens of thousands. Protein for everyone!
We constructed a wooden barrier across a section of the stream, which runs through UWNR – this now provides winter hibernating habitat for toads and frogs.
The annual butterfly survey was completed in July – we have now counted 17 species at UWNR. In this part of southwest Wiltshire 21 species is considered to be a high-count number – UWNR compares favourably. A big thanks to Arthur Bryant from Butterfly Conservation, who conducts the annual survey.
Water Shrews were seen on a few occasions – he and she being equipped with venomous saliva!
In early winter, Jack and I cleared the Dormouse survey tubes for annual cleaning and maintenance - we (possibly? probably? certainly?) found a Dormouse nest. This is huge news – this rare species is a bio-indicator.
Finally, a big thank you to Jack Sanford for all the hard work you have done over the course of 2018.
a wilded Goldsworthy? /
I regularly find these raptor kills along the banks of the 2 streams, which run through UWNR. A tell-tale sign that this is a raptor kill, and not a fox kill, is the fact that the quills are not broken - raptors pluck their prey cleanly, whereas a fox tears at the feathers. I have fleetingly caught sight of the raptor and it is either a male (smaller than the female) Sparrow Hawk or a Goshawk.
This trail of pigeon feathers reminded me of a Goldsworthy piece…..
Possibly? Probably? Definitely? /
I am inclined to go with definitely….and if so, this is a key find at UWNR. In fact, it may rank as the most important result, of the past 4 - 5 years!
Last week Jack and I brought in the wooden inserts, which sit inside the Dormouse survey nest tubes, for winter maintenance. The purpose of the survey tubes is ascertain if we have this rare and important species at UWNR. This is the third season of surveying. And look what we found!
At this stage, we cant be 100% certain that this is a Dormouse nest, but all the signs are positive - the weave is characteristic of Dormouse construction, as are the materials used, the shape and the tell-tale round entrance hole.
Why are Dormouse important - this summary from an ecology journal gives a succinct account: Dormice are one of the UK's most endangered mammals, the hazel or common dormouse, is facing new threats. This species is an important 'bio-indicator', meaning that its presence in a specific habitat shows how healthy that habitat is.
It could be the case that Dormice were always at UWNR - conversely, they may have moved into the habitat over the past few years. PTES survey results indicated their presence nearby, within the last decade. Over the past 4 - 5 years we have worked hard and sensitively to enhance the habitat at UWNR, and just maybe, this find is an indicator that this effort is working for nature.
An exciting update, to this extraordinary find….Gareth (ecologist & UWNR friend) mailed me to remind me that Dormouse nests are odourless. (This enables this small mammal to safely hibernate on the ground over the winter months - no smell = less chance of being predated on!). If the nest had been constructed by say a wood-mouse, it would have a very distinct & pungent smell. I was at UWNR yesterday (26th December 2018), and the first thing I did was to take a decent inhalation of the nest - nothing! Merely the light fragrance of hay, given off by the dry grass and honeysuckle bark. So another piece of the jigsaw falls positively into place!
Clawing one back! /
During the second, and last Beast from the East storm of winter 2017 / 18, we lost a precious Barn Owl at UWNR. We found this deeply upsetting and despite my efforts to manage the Barn Owl field, to ensure sufficient small mammal prey species, the long hard winter proved overwhelming for one of their number.
In 2017 I read an extraordinary book, The Barn Owl: Guardian of the Countryside by J R Martin. In it he makes a key point, which is reiterated on the Barn Owl Trust (BOT) website; ‘Stored cereal crops, in ricks or barns, became so infested with mice and rats that some enlightened farmers encouraged Barn Owls into their buildings via special access holes or “owl windows’. So before the onset of simplified industrial agriculture, hay and grain filled farm barns, on small mixed farms, played a crucial role providing habitat and prey species for Barn Owls, over the winter months particularly. Martin writes that Barn Owl pellet analysis (pellets are regurgitated by the birds, during digestion) from the early 1900’s showed a greater variety of prey species in their diet - it included species more commonly associated with a built environment than pastures. Although not explored by Martin, many (too many) barns have been converted into domestic dwellings over the past few decades - reducing available winter habitat.
All of this got us (Keggie and I) thinking, talking and planning.
With valuable input from the head ecologist at the BOT, Rick Lockwood, and UWNR friend & ecologist Gareth Harris, we set about constructing a barn which would provide these wonderful birds with winter habitat. Izaak and Will Bergstrom have built a beautiful and practical building, which is now fully dressed…my hunch, it is only a matter of time before it is in use! ,
The new Barn Owl barn (to the left of the existing barn) situated near the Barn Owl field.
The interior of the barn with straw hay and perches for hunting - grain is spread below the perches to encourage small mammals to inhabit the building.
As the project progressed we considered what other species might benefit from the barn - with direction and advice from Gareth Harris we have constructed this bat loft. This may be used as a spring / summer nursery or simply as a stopping off point, while hunting in spring / summer.
Throughout spring and summer UWNR is home to migratory swallows and house-martins - they hunt, bathe and drink from the lake. We have constructed many features into the barn, as well as installing these prefabricated nests, to encourage these birds to nest here.
Is David part of the problem? /
Last weekend, I went to a series of talks put on by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. Of the 4 speakers, 3 had played central roles in the research and publication of the recent IPCC report on Climate Change. One of the speakers had been awarded a Nobel prize, for his work on Climate Change science. The talks focussed on Climate Change and its impact on flora and fauna, and all 4 talks were revelatory - in the worst possible way!
My summary of the headline facts:
We are almost certain to hit 1.5 degrees C of warming (above pre-industrail averages), by 2040.
Current modelling shows that we are destined to reach 4/5 degrees C of warming (above pre-industrail averages), by 2200.
At 3 degrees C, almost all insects will be extinct.
At 2 degrees C, the planet’s birds will be significantly depleted.
At 3 degrees C, 50% of all the planet’s flora will have gone.
It is likely that insects will the first complete class of fauna to completely disappear.
Across the British Isles there are likely to be pocket sanctuaries - for example; the west coast of Ireland, Cornwall and Scotland. Across the planet there will be other sanctuaries - Japan, New Zealand.
Birds, which migrate long distances, are likely to be decimated as resources on their flight paths are wiped out.
Scientists understand little about the systemic interactions which take place between species, at an ecosystem level. No-one can predict what feedback loops may emerge as, for example, 50% of all flora has gone.
And possibly, the most shocking point made over the course of the two hours - not a single politician had made contact with any of the scientists, since the publication of the recent IPCC report. How is that possible?
And how is this possible:
The reach and impact of this man is beyond almost anyone on the planet, yet he choses to walk softly through these issues. Why? We are facing a cataclysm. Didn’t he learn anything, given the huge impact the Blue Planet 2 program had on how plastics are perceived. One television program educated a largely ignorant populace and changed behaviours, within that populace. Why not replicate this? What is his problem? Surely he has a responsibility to raise awareness? Is David, and his inflated profile, now part of the problem?
Too many sheds....impossible! /
Over the past few weeks Jack and I have been working on this - see picture below. The aim of constructing this shed, in the depths of the main woodland, is that it will provide winter shelter (for birds and small mammals) and spring nesting opportunities for birds.
I will station the camera trap near the shed and keep it in situ for the next few weeks….updates forthcoming.
2018 Bat Survey /
Last Saturday night, September 15th, we carried out our annual bat survey at UWNR. Conditions were close to perfect - low broken cloud, warm temperatures and light winds.
As ever a very big thank you to Gareth Harris for pulling together a great group of highly knowledgeable ecologists and bat specialists. We set the first traps at around 17.00, then ate a delicious bar-b-q dinner and did our first inspections right on dusk. As well as various nets (mist, harp, triple high), Gareth set up static detectors.
We had a very successful night - and identified these bats:
Serotine, Common Pipistrelle, Soprano Pipistrelle, Whiskered and Daubenton's.
These species were detected - Myotis & Plecotus. Bat detectors are not always able to distinguish individual bats within a species group, hence this more general identification.
Personally for me the highlight of the night was watching the Daubenton's hunt over the lake surface darting furiously in pursuit of invertebrates (midges, small flies, mayflies), using a technique not dissimilar to a osprey - captivating!
A bat being identified…..
Badgers 4 - Wasps 0 /
Yesterday at UWNR Jack & I discovered yet another wasps nest, which had been beautifully plundered by the resident badgers. This hole is the best part of 18 inches across and 2 feet deep. There are small bits of the underground nest remaining, but the badgers have fully feasted on the grubs. I have watched twice this summer, badgers at UWNR searching for food - it is clear that they are being pushed hard by this drought. This is the fourth wasps nest, which has been unearthed and consumed this season - I have not seen this at UWNR before and this feat is astonishing. The ground at the moment is brick hard and the badger must be viciously attached by the wasps as the excavation occurs - amazing! Given that wasps are a significant threat to the newly established wild bee hive, this activity is perhaps limiting the risks to the new bee colony. This activity though is balanced by the fact that wasps are a key prey species for hornets, which are abundant at UWNR. As ever winners and losers.
Moth trapping - a rarity found! /
On Monday, July 23rd we moth-trapped at UWNR. As ever the amazing Hugo Brooke, from Butterfly Conservation, ran the session and carried out the species identification. Conditions were OK, but not brilliant - clear skies and a 3/4 bright, shiny moon.
The highlight of the session this Double Kidney, which Hugo had never seen before. Hugo has been moth-trapping for many decades, so this find was rather special.
To read the full list of species trapped and identified, please click on the 'Read More' tab below and scroll to the bottom of the page...
3x Ecomimicry /
Ecomimicry 1:
Matt Somerville (that's him in the white beekeepers hat, veil and smock), of Bee Kind Hives, came to UWNR to inspect the wild bee hive we installed in early May - the results were astonishing! To read more about this remarkable moment at UWNR, please click on the 'Read More' tab below and scroll to the bottom of the page....
Ecomimicry 2:
Guided by ecologists Gareth Harris & Lisa Wade, inspired by Isabella Tree and working with Jack & Harry (in the picture above), last Monday (July 23rd) we constructed this Ecomimicking Beaver Dam in an appropriate section of the main stream, which runs east - west, through UWNR.
To read more about this important construction at UWNR, please click on the 'Read More' tab below and scroll to the bottom of the page....
Ecomimicry 3:
After the death of a Barn Owl at UWNR, during the last 'Beast from the East' weather event in March 2018, I have been thinking long and hard about how we can lessen the chances of this happening in winter 2018 / 2019.
I am 1/2 way through Jeff R Martin's informative and detailed 'The Barn Owl, Guardian of the Countryside'. He points out before WW2 most mixed farms in Britain had a resident pair of Barn Owls - in sum, they were very common. What changed, with the agri-business revolution, was a move away from this traditional farming system, with its late harvest hay, open grain barns & extensive grazing of fields, with mixed grasses and flowers. A result of this historical type of farming was high numbers of small mammals - key prey species of Barn Owls.
.What we are attempting to achieve with these food (mixed grain) hoppers, which will placed in & around the Barn Owl fields, is a significant boost to the small mammal population at UWRN. If we can keep numbers high, as winter sets in, we have a good chance of sustaining our Barn Owls at UWNR, through to spring and breeding in 2019.
Jacks progress! /
14 year-old Jack is working with me at UWNR over a 18-24 month period - at the end of this period he will be awarded the advanced John Muir Award. We now have a natural break for summer holidays. Click on this tab and scroll to the bottom of the Education and Engagement page, for an account of work so far....
Mysterious (Confounding) Nature! /
In March of this year the second 'Beast from the East' claimed a Barn Owl at UWNR. We were devastated by this event and it took us a good while to get-over-it. I stayed at the land last night and to my astonishment, as darkness fell, there was loud & distinct hissing coming from the Barn Owl box. Only one thing makes this rasping noise, at this time of the year - Owlets! So for the third season in a row the land at UWNR will welcome young White Owls. Oh what joy and happiness.
So the mystery is what happened in March 2018? Was the dead owl from another territory (although Barn Owls are not particularly territorial)? Was it a juvenile owl from the UWNR brood of spring / summer 2017? Did one of the UWNR pair die (Barn Owls mate for life) - to be replaced in time for this breeding season?
I will never know, but UWNR again feels complete.....
Stuck thinking! /
Ragwort plants at UWNR being stripped bare by Cinnabar Moth caterpillars.
I have just finished the extraordinary Wilding by Isabella Tree. Over the past decade I have read countless books about conservation and environmentalism, the standouts being; Carson's Silent Spring, Monbiot's Feral, Leopold's Sand County Almanac, Foster's The Ecological Revolution, Lynas's The God Species, McCarthy's The Moth Snow Storm, Roberts's Ocean of Life, and Goulson's A Buzz in the Meadow. Wilding assimilates most, if not all, of the themes these influential books cover and she grounds the work in the day-to-day rewilding project at Knepp Estate. People like Patricia Staunton have been managing land like this for decades, giving nature its head and heart, but no-one in England has done it on the scale of Knepp. The results at Knepp are astonishing.
One of things that struck me, while reading this fabulous book, was how often Isabella and her husband Charlie came up against stuck (orthodox) thinking from 'people of the land'. An example of this was how people riled against the bountiful spring & summer crop of Ragwort at Knepp. There is scant actual evidence that Ragwort kills livestock - they have cohabited with this plant for many many years and the volume required to induce death is substantial. Only in extremis, do deaths occur. Tree debunks the sloppy thinking & poor 'science' that gives rise to the all out assault on this native species. Notably, she points out that Ragwort supports up to 177 invertebrates! Each year at UWNR there is a decent crop of Ragwort and this year the plants are playing host to countless Cinnabar Moth caterpillars - they relentlessly stripping the plants. While common, this moth is beautiful and this species should be seen as the natural control of this valuable native plant. Stuck thinking though, wins the day - for now.
Adult Cinnabar Moth.
Innovations..... /
Jack (in the pic below) is working with me, doing the highest level John Muir conservation award. One of our overarching conservation goals is to make UWNR as Dormouse friendly and encouraging as possible - they have historically been recorded nearby, so we work and live in hope. Jack and I have spent much time refining our Dormouse bridge design and we are proud of the latest structure, which connects a hazel rich embankment with a dense bramble patch. The bramble patch is south facing and basks in all-day spring & summer sun. As a result, it is flower and fruit rich - these are key, seasonal food items for Dormice.
Jack standing beneath a new and improved Dormouse bridge.
Talking Cold Blood with Richard Kerridge /
That bulge in her stomach is a recent meal! This large, battle scarred, female Grass Snake was one of the highlights from a memorable day at UNWR.
Please click on this tab and scroll to the bottom of the 'Education and Engagement' page for an account of our first nature talk at UWNR:
New Life...... /
I have watched the buzzards nest at UWNR for hours over the spring and just today, the first proper signs of life. Two pure white (whiter than I would have imagined) heads bobbing, swaying and periodically mewling, begging for sustenance. This individual seemed to be bolder - not hiding in my presence.
Karl told us about this...... /
We have just returned from 2 weeks in Transylvania, Romania. We were struck by the overall health of the environment - a level of fecundity that once we had and now can only imagine. Both flora and fauna in abundance - bears, lynx, deer, wolves, foxes, wild boar, birds in huge numbers (bursting clouds of sparrows & nesting storks), myriad invertebrates and wildflower meadows that made us stop, look and listen. Often as we walked these meadows, we said to each other - remember this, this is very special.
Being back in southern England has brought into focus how impoverished our terrestrial environment is / has become. Yesterday I walked set aside strips, which border arable fields in south-west Wiltshire - at times I knelt and parted the sward, to more forensically inspect the level of biodiversity. What I found was silence, inactivity and an overall lack of biodiversity. The flora often dominated by fast growing, NPK hungry nettles. The most recent (2016) State of Nature report ranked the UK 29th lowest out of 218 countries, in terms of biodiversity - we are one the most nature-depleted countries on the planet (ref, Wilding, Tree). Romania acted as a potent contrast.
In 1862 Karl Marx warned of the inherent problems with industrial agriculture (ref; vol 1, Capital) - then it was known as British high farming. 100 years later Rachel Carson (ref; Silent Spring) warned us again of the risks of this approach to food production and agriculture in general. And where are we now - arable fields in the UK are doused with up to 28 chemical applications (ref; Goulson) each year - year after year. As a result we have lost (too) much of our flora and fauna. The fecund meadows of Transylvania remain, for now, chemical-less!
Recent German research concluded that they have lost 75% of their invertebrates. On the back of this research, a supermarket chain removed all foods from the aisles, which require invertebrate pollination. Row upon empty row of food items, which we take for granted.
High-tech, modern agri-business (British high farming, invented here) has painted our terrestrial environment into a very tight, impoverished corner and through CAP subsidies, we have unwittingly bank-rolled this destruction. Do our UK farmers farm anymore? Or do they subjugate, dominate, exploit and ultimately work antipathetically with nature.
I sense we are beginning to live on the edge of a perilous knife.....
On a very personal note it was wonderful to see Romanian dairy cows into their 17th lactation - still productive and happy. We slaughter ours after 3, 4 or 5 lactations - they are so knackered from the intensity of the farming regime.
Flicking the cosmic switch... /
I have spent many hours at UWNR in wonder and joy, but the last 2 days have been extraodinary - Mother Nature has flicked her cosmic switch and unleashed abundance. In no particular order, this is what I observed and experienced - some of this on my own and others things with my good friend and co-worker Jack....
I watched Moorhen chicks, no bigger than 50 pence coins, being fed by attentive parents.
We were left aghast at the lake bursting with thousand upon thousand of toad tadpoles - great bait balls gently pulsing and shape-shifting.
I counted 8 golden-collared Grass Snakes all basking under their iron solariums - the largest more than 3 foot in length. Jack and I then saw this monster, later in the day, burst from the lake side vegetation and attack a seething ball of toad tadpoles - our very own Blue Planet moment!
We watched the nervous Buzzard tend to her nest and the smaller male circle on the thermals hunting.
We discovered Wagtail, Blackbird, Robin & Blue Tits all nesting. Some of these nests in the most bizarre places - the Robin nest, with small shiny eggs, was tucked into the folds of a tarpaulin lying on the ground.
I caught flashes of a Water Shrew ducking, diving and weaving up through the small stream that runs at the foot of the Barn Owl field.
We watched young Song Thrush fledglings taking cover in among the dense blackthorn and hawthorn of the main hedge, which runs through the spine of UWNR.
Overnight I was woken by the young Badgers cavorting - chattering, nattering and laughing.
Jack and I caught fleeting glances of the Roe deer doe moving gently back into the ground where each year she gives birth - our hunch, she has another fawn to nurture.
The first of the dragon and damselflies have emerged and have moved beyond the lake - we saw them hunting in the main woodland, which is 200 - 300 meters from their water-body.
Jack sighted the Kingfisher for first time this spring - it flashed by, a feathery dart of blue and burnt orange. It will have returned to prey on toad tadpoles, which proliferate.
While we ate lunch we observed a Nuthatch feverishly hunting in the veteran oaks - it prising out invertebrates, then flying off hurriedly to a nearby nest.
Jack and I saw saw a stoat hop through the long grass near the barn, then inspect a hole in the veteran oak, and finally, disappear into what must be its nest burrow in the bank ditch, to the west of the barn.
Wild Bees /
UWNR took another significant leap forward this week when we installed a wild bee hive. The fact that this took place is entirely down to the ground-breaking work of Matt Somerville.
The Freedom Hive in position.
Click on the 'Read More' button and scroll to the bottom of the page to read and see more.....
Bird Survey /
On Sunday, April 29th working with friends of UWNR, Laura, Elinor and Richard (without his expertise we would have truly struggled), we carried out the first proper bird survey. The jewel in the crown - identifying a Willow Tit!
Click on the 'Read More' button and scroll to the bottom of the page for a full species list...