Over the past few years I I have had some great days out volunteering with Cumbria Wildlife Trust and I just wanted to show some of the great skills you can learn through volunteering as well as meeting new people.
The most recent one was at Gosling Sike Farm and last year I did a couple of work parties at Eycott Hill. On the 10 February I headed out to Gosling Sike Farm for the first time and as there was a few of us in the group who had never been here before, we started the day with Sophie, the Assistant Reserves Manager who gave us a tour of the site. As we went round we took some WD40 and gave some of the new gates a bit of lubrication. It was nice to see locals using the paths for a gentle stroll or a dog walk. Gosling Sike Farm is a small working farm with some rare longhorn cattle still bred by the resident farmer Susan Aglionby, who gifted the land to Cumbria Wildlife Trust. It is a lovely site with some ponds and a small woodland. There are also educational days run for children here, which is great. After our tour we set to work. It was nice to see some familiar faces from other volunteer work parties and some new ones too! Some of the volunteers went to move a post pictured below, some went to put up new information signs and two went off to fix the new path to prevent further erosion. Meanwhile myself, Angus who is on an apprentice scheme (I think!) and a young lady called Monan originally from Anglessey set out to erect a small fence to prevent the cattle eating a section of reed bed.....
Gosling Sike Farm sign that was moved
Fixing the path at Gosling Sike
I think I have helped to erect maybe 1 or 2 fences in the past, so I'm not that familiar with the process and I can safely say I have never put in a straining post before! We started by laying out the posts where we wanted them to go and then with the post dumper we got them in the ground. Fortunately the ground is nice and soft at the moment so they go in pretty easily, without to much grunting!
Initial stages of the fence
Fence strainer post aligned and ready
We then put a
strainer post a little way along the fence line. My task was to chisel
out a section of wood on the upright post to put the angled post into.
Meanwhile Monan and Angus dug a hole to put a 'large' rock in for the
post to butt up against. Once we had this sorted the angled post could
then be put in the hole and after a little more chiseling it slot into
the upright post. Phew! We also had a roll of barbed wire and after much 'fun'
with the wire strainers we got our first section of barbed wire
attached. By this stage it was lunch time so we headed off back to the office for some food and a cuppa. Unfortunately for me I couldn't stay for the afternoon as I had to go to my 'real' job! But I am hoping that the rest of the volunteers managed to get the fence finished in the afternoon and it's a good excuse for me to go back and see the finished product.
Me with my fence post - very proud!
Eycott Hill is one of my favourite reserves and it is great news that Cumbria Wildlife Trust have now secured funding to purchase the site and begin their restoration project to return this land to an upland area that is correctly managed with regulated grazing and the restoration of trees and plants. It is a site that is both interesting for its geology and diverse flora and fauna. If you are interested there is more information on Cumbria Wildlife Trust's website, have a look at Eycott Hill. And even better get out there yourself for a visit - it truly is an amazing and tranquil place.
View of Blencathra from Eycott Hill
Anyway the first work party I attended quite a while ago at Eycott Hill involved doing some dry stone wall repairs. I worked with Sophie on that day and I think we did a fairly good job on repairing a section of wall. However, what I didn't realise how much of a skill it was and it is definitely harder than it looks. I asked Sophie last week when at Gosling Sike if our section of wall was still standing and whilst she said it was she did add that there had been some professional stone wallers out there aswell!
Unfortunately I missed the tree planting at Eycott Hill due to work commitments. However, I did on a work party towards the end of last year when we went back to help the windblown trees and to protect the boxed trees which appeared to be getting nibbled by rodents!
The windblown newly planted trees - Eycott Hill
Volunteers in Action - Repairs to the windblown
Some older trees demonstrating the wind direction
So whilst some volunteers set to work hammering the tree posts back upright the rest of us went off to work out how we could prevent some of the other saplings from damage. It looked like they were being nibbled by rodents. The trees already had wire cages around them to protect them from the cattle but we needed something to protect the trees from the little critters! All we had was some wire cutters and a roll of chicken wire. Improvisation at its best - we cut and folded the wire to make the holes as small as possible and then put these around the saplings.
Tree protection - Eycott Hill
I am not totally sure what rodents are eating the saplings but there were plenty of voles running around. They darted for cover and you could see the holes and mammal runs. Sophie and I decided to call them shrew skirts and together with the rest of the volunteers we wondered if we could patent these... maybe not!!
A Cumbria Wildlife Trust Shrew Skirt
The hardest bit of this job was actually digging a section of mud out around the tree so that the 'skirt' could be set into the mud so that it stayed upright. It was pretty awkward trying to dig whilst leaning over the wire - you needed long arms for that job! After a good few hours of work we stopped for lunch and it was a gorgeous sunny day for a picnic. Great company, great views and a feeling of having earned your lunch!
Getting ready for work again after lunching in the sun
The next job for the afternoon was to weed the juniper trees that had been planted on the hillside. Basically we were clearing the weeds from around them to give them the best chance at growing. It was quite funny seeing all the volunteers on the hillside like ants!
Weeding the juniper - Eycott Hill
And whilst we were weeding I had a chance to have a closer look at some of the local flora at Eycott Hill. I found some lichen which looks like Devil's Matchstick, sphagnum moss and some beautiful bright red scarlet waxcaps.
Devils Matchstick - Eycott Hill
Scarlet Waxcap - Eycott Hill
So overall it was a very successful day with lots of jobs done. Eycott Hill is a beautiful place to visit and has some very interesting geology as well as having a diversity of flora and fauna. I stopped by recently after the snow to have a walk around. It is a great place to get away from it all with stunning views. But you really have to go there to appreciate it.
Stunning Views - Eycott Hill
Eycott Hill in the snow
And to finish...just another note about volunteering - it is a great way to spend time outdoors. You can achieve great things as a team of volunteers and its a great way to meet people and learn more about nature. If you have a spare few hours - give it a go - I would highly recommend it.
Okay I'm a little bit late with species of the week, but it was worth waiting for! I was thinking of doing a post on hedgehogs, as I have had a few encounters with them in the past and they are great animals.
I was amazed tonight to actually see a hedgehog out and about, snuffling around and looking for food, when I was on an evening walk after work. Have a look at the video footage at the bottom of this page.
Hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus - Local Neighbourhood
At first I was concerned that it was a poorly hedgehog as it is still only February. However he or she definitely looked healthy enough and was moving at a fairly steady pace. It always amazes me how quick they can move! Having said that I am still concerned that winter is not over yet and there may be some more cold snaps on the way. I just hope this one makes it through to spring.
Hedgehogs are what I would class as a winter survivor. They go into hibernation or a state known as torpor in the winter, where they slow their metabolism down and basically shut down for the winter. They use their fat reserves that they have built up through the summer and autumn months to survive on. I'm a bit envious of the hedgehog - wouldn't it be great to hibernate through the winter and miss the short, dark days!! I saw some droppings before I saw the hedgehog for real and suspected they might be from a hedgehog. However, my immediate thought was that it was too early in the year for a hedgehog to be around. Insects form a large part of the hedgehog diet and there are not many signs of insect shells in the droppings I found but hopefully he or she is getting some form of protein, if this poo actually was from the hedgehog.
Possible hedgehog poo!
Very cute - the hedgehog
And have a look at the video footage from today.....
I have come across some interesting things over the past few weeks when I have been out. I may not have seen the animals but I have seen lots of signs of them. And the great thing is that it is becomes a bit like a detective game to try and deduce what animal the poo has come from or what animal is likely to live somewhere. It's great fun!
I work in an office but I am very fortunate that the building is on a 23 acre site with mixed woodland and fields and a river running through it! So at lunchtimes I wander about with my camera and there is evidence of a lot of activity at the moment. In the past I have seen red deer, woodpeckers, a tawny owl, herons, red squirrels and we have a resident stoat that is very good at stealing eggs!
Anyway out and about I found a pellet. At first I thought it might be fox poo as there is definitely rabbit hair in it and evidence of bone fragments. However it does not have a pointed end like a fox poo should have and on looking at some pictures in my book "Animal Tracks and Signs" it looks more like an owl pellet and possibly that of a short eared owl.
Possible Short Eared Owl Pellet
Possible Short Eared Owl Pellet
Following that great find, I was out on a local fell with my dog when I found loads of poo. At first I thought I had found fox poo but the first bit I found was cylindrical but not pointed at one end, which is characteristic of fox poo. So, I did wonder if it could be a buzzard pellet. The great find in this poo however was the claw or nail which was protruding out of it. Pretty amazing really - and more evidence that this is the poo of a larger animal.
Possible fox poo or buzzard pellet
The next bit of poo I found had tiny little mammal bones in it. I am guessing this is the vertebrae of perhaps a mouse or vole. Again this could have been fox poo or perhaps a pellet from a bird of prey. I was having great fun and then thought that I maybe it was a bit odd to be poking around in poo and regurgitated food- but it is so fascinating!
Tiny vertebrae found in poo!
The next bit was definitely more characteristic in shape of a fox poo as it has the pointed end.
Carnivore shaped poo - pointed at one end
Back in the grounds at work I saw signs of carnivorous activity. Below is evidence of a something attacking a pigeon and it looks like the pigeon definitely lost. This could either be a fox or a sparrowhawk.
Pigeon feathers - possible attack by sparrowhawk or fox
And across the field there was rabbit fluff. I don't think this one got away either as there was more fur and bones not too far away....
Rabbit fur
So there is definitely all kinds of activity going on around the grounds! The other interesting thing I have found is evidence of digging and this could be an omnivore or a herbivore. It looks like some roots and bulbs have been dug up here for some tasty nutrition. I wonder if this animal was disturbed as these were left behind or could there have been some nuts cached here by a squirrel... as I said it's like a detective game. I couldn't find any more clues as to what had been digging but probably a herbivore of some kind!
Evidence of digging activity
Also on my wanderings I have come across signs of nibbling, this time of cones and nuts. The first pine cone I came across looked like it had been plucked and I think it is a woodpecker that has been eating this one. The next cone is a fir cone and has had a very good nibbling to it and this is more likely to be a squirrel. It is great to compare the two.
Pine cone eaten by woodpecker
Fir cone eaten by squirrel
Other signs of nibbling I have found have been of nuts. Below is an acorn which may have been eaten by a mouse or a bird. Also on one of my local walks some of my neighbours put out hazelnuts for the red squirrels and I often find their empty shells!
Acorn eaten by mouse or bird
Also when I am out and about I have found lots of evidence of mammal runs and holes in the grounds which are most likely to be homes. The tiny holes I guess belong to mice or voles. At one of Cumbria Wildlife Trusts's reserve Eycott Hill, I have seen many small rodents running for cover as you walk along - it is a great sight seeing them darting about.
Possible small rodent home
Possible rabbit hole with my foot to show the size of the hole
Possible rabbit hole
Mammal run in and out of a field
Mammal run
The other fascinating thing that I have found is hair on a barbed wire fence. I have ofter found hair in this area and it is always similar and in a similar place. It is quite wiry hair and it is white with black/brown hair mixed in it. Also the height of the barbed wire indicates a certain size of animal that is crawling under it. I am pretty certain that this is badger hair but I have yet to find some tracks in the mud to help with the evidence or even some poo wold be good!
Badger Hair
So it just goes to show that lately I have had some great days out looking at more animal signs without actually seeing any animals! It really is like a detective game and the more signs you can see such as poo, tracks, hair and feathers the more you can deduce from what is in the area. It is a great way to spend half an hour or a whole day!
Books
Bang, P. and Dahlstrom, P. (2009) "Animal Tracks and Signs" Oxford University Press
When I first started venturing out to get better at identifying all things wild, I decided to begin with wildflowers. For a start they are fairly plentiful in the hedgerows, you don't have you go too far to find at least some flowers and they stay still and don't run or fly away!So here are some of the more common wildflowers that I found while just out on an evening or afternoon walk without having to venture too far from home. The buttercup and the red campion are pretty common wildlfowers that many of you will know. As with anything there can be different varieties of species and there can always be exceptions to the rule! I think the buttercup is Ranunculus repens, which is the creeping buttercup but there is also the meadow buttercup and the bulbous buttercup. Any easy way to spot the creeping buttercup is the way the plant does branch out and 'creep'. The red campion, Silene dioica is a common hedgerow plant but an easy one to get confused with herb robert. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of herb robert, but there will be plenty around soon that I can update my blog with!
Buttercup, Ranunculus repens - Local Neighbourhood
Red Campion, Silene dioica - Local Neighbourhood
The other common pinky purple flower is the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. I have always been fond of foxgloves since a child. I was totally enchanted by the bell shaped flowers and believed that fairy's lived in them! I have an old book on herbal remedies, which I love flicking through and referring to. The book is 'A Modern Herbal" and it tells me in there that the foxglove was used by Italians as an ointment for both fresh green wounds and old sores!
Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea - Local Neigbourhood
If you are out and about in your local neighbourhood or near any green fields there are two common and easy to identify flowers and that is the white clover, Trifolium repens and the red clover, Trifolium pratense. Clover is a widespread crop used for grazing animals, so can be found almost anywhere in rural England, so a great one to spot with kids. The other good thing is to look out for the leaves which are normally in a trefoil pattern but if you manage to find the four leafed clover as most of you will know, it is said to bring good luck to the person who finds it, so keep your eyes peeled!
White Clover, Trifolium repens - Local Neighbourhood
Red Clover, Trifolium pratense - Local Neighbourhood
And now for a bit of blue! Two wildflowers that I used to get mixed up all the time was Germander Speedwell and Wood-Forget-Me-Not. After starting to have a closer look I discovered that they are actually quite different. The speedwell has a much deeper blue colour and the forget-me-not has a typical cute flower look to it and being much lighter and sky blue in colour. They are both delicate beautiful flowers and both have a yellow centre but if you look at the forget-me-not they also have the little white spiky wheel of white behind the yellow.
Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys - Local Neighbourhood
Wood Forget-me-not, Myosotis slyvatica - Local Neighbourhood
Two more flowers that are easy to confuse are Sheep's Bit, Jasione montana and Devil's Bit Scabious, Succisa pratensis. The way I remember how to distinguish these two is that I think of the Devil's Bit as like a blackberry and the Sheep's Bit as one more like a ruffled sheep's fleece! However, unfortunately there is always a catch! and the Devil's Bit does not stay like a blackberry forever, it is only like this in bud. Once the flower head opens it is very similar to Sheep's Bit. Unfortunately I do not have a picture for comparison but the petals are longer and thinner on Sheep's Bit.
Sheep's Bit, Jasione montana - Local coastal path
Devil's Bit Scabious, Succisa pratensis - Mockerkin Tarn
And to finish this little piece, one of my favourites, the cowslip, Primula veriswhich can also be found in hedgerows. It can be confused with the oxlip but again that's another one I need a photo of! The cowslip has lovely tubular flowers that are bright yellow with red dots on the inside. It's another good one to look out for. The oxslip is more similar to the primrose.
Cowslip, Primula veris - Local Neighbourhood
This really is just a brief introduction to flowers. There are millions of flowers to go out and find. I discovered that when I spent more time out and about, I also began to learn which habitats certain flowers are found in. I also looked in more detail with my hand lens at the flower parts - always good fun, especially with little ones! And then I started to look at leaf shape and characteristic such as hairiness. As with anything the more time you spend out there in the field the better you get.....and the more addictive it becomes!
When I first started looking at wildflowers I used a small DK Pocket Nature Guide to Wildflowers and I also have a little old penguin book on plant communities, which is great for finding what plant lives where, for example it lists the common bog plants, such as Bog Asphodel and Sundew. I also looked at flower families and used the similarities to help with identification.
Then as I got better moved on to The Wildflower Key by Frances Rose - this is the wildflower bible and a book full of knowledge, but it is a tricky book to get started with. As soon as spring arrives I will be doing more wildflower posts with a bit more detail and hopefully with some more ID tips. In the meantime there are plenty of snowdrops around...roll on spring!
Books Fetcher, K. (2004) " Pocket Nature Wild Flowers" Dorling Kindersley Bulow-Olsen, A. (1978) "Plant Communities" Penguin Books Ltd Rose, F. (1981, 2006) "The Wild Flower Key" Penguin Books Ltd Grieve, M. (1980) "A Modern Herbal" Penguin Books Ltd
