Contrasting fortunes

 Many of us are still waiting for warmer nights and dryer days. I would like warmer nights hoping to catch more moths in our moth trap. This spring has been a disaster for those of us who count moths and butterflies. Except for Orange Tips in early May, I have hardly seen any butterflies at all. The numbers of moths I have recorded is easily half of those in the same time period for the last two years. Fortunately I am still getting some beauties like Maiden's Blush and Ruby Tiger.

 I have had distressing reports from the north of our county of  Brown Long-eared bats brought into care in need of feeding. This is more evidence of lower numbers of moths there as well.  

The rain washed caterpillars off tree leaves, leaving none for those birds that collect there for feeding their young such as Blue and Great Tits. We have noted several of our nest boxes have had 50% loss of young after hatching. Robins and thrushes that are ground feeders have not been affected.

The wet weather, though bad for moths and butterflies, has been good for many of the wildflowers. Not only those we have planted, but all the others. Marsh Cinquefoil, Orchids and Buttercups have been doing well as you may see below.

 

 

Lighter evenings mean I can also help with some pond dipping sessions for Scouts and Beavers. In one of them, as we were looking at Banded Demoiselle nymphs, this adults paid us a visit. I can't remember ever having one this close before.

 

 

  

wildlife in abundance

Dragonflies start to come out in late May and I had organised a walk to see how many were around on Cuerden valley Park. I had a short presentation so folk could know what to look for and then set off down the Meadow Path. Turning left after the wooden bridge ( Link Bridge) we scanned the River Lostock in several spots What a wonderful display. A few Banded Demoiselles on the river, but several more in the grasses at the edge. There were also some Large Red damselflies. We paused at the new Dipping Platform and were delighted here as well. Despite several doomsayers predictions of little pond life being left after we cleared out the ditch, we had a plethora of creatures. Large Red, Azure, Blue-Tailed damzelflies and some more Banded Demoiselles were noted with pleasure there. Photos by Alan Graves are of Banded Demoiselle and Blue-Tailed.

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During Half Term week we organised a Wildlife Week on Cuerden. Monday was "Discovering Wildlife" We had some doing crafty stuff making dragonflies, others trying puzzles or guessing which skull belongs to which animal, or which feather belongs to which bird.. We also had some owl pellets for the kids to open out to see what Mr Barnie had for breakfast.

            

    

It was a busy week with finding critters that lived in the river, catching bugs in the meadow and making a Heron nest. The week involved great teamwork between staff and volunteers from Cuerden VP

 

I certainly enjoyed sharing all the wildlife experiences with the children and feedback would suggest they all enjoyed it too, One response said "It was well good"

Persistence Pays Off.

 For some time I have been trying to take a colleague and her family to see badgers. We tried a couple of times in April and had alovely time. We saw a hare, a wood mouse, some bats, heard an owl and even had a Roe Deer bark at us. However no sight or sound of any badgers. These were good but not what we were hoping for.

  

Another friend contacted me and said he had some badgers that had started coming out of a sett near where he walks. We organised a date and went to the meeting place. There was a bit of a walk then carefully down a slope. It had been raining which made the grass slippy. We then positioned ourselves ion a spot where my contact said would be best. The midges that evening were very hungry and feasted on our blood. Suddenly we heard a snuffle then a sight of a nose at the end of a black and white face. There was a female badger. Even more exciting she was followed by at least two cubs and more adults. What a thrilling half hour we had watching healthy badgers, especially the young ones having fun. The midge bites were worth it to have this wonderful experience.

  

Bats, Buzzard, Bank vole and Buckingham Palace

 In the first week of May I took one of the Cuerden Valley volunteers with a friend to check for bats. She lives right on the edge of the Park so we decided to walk from her home to the reservoir. Initially we only detected 2 Noctules. Walking upstream of the River Lostock on the path we reached the Link Bridge at the bottom of the Meadow and paused again to check our detectors. After five minutes we heard the click click of a Common Pipistrelle so decided to walk back to the reservoir. Once there our detectors were non stop with the sound of bats echolocating their breakfast. We waited another fifteen minutes or so and then walked back home. I was amazed at the totals recorded when I looked at my recordings. Soprano Pipistrelle - 3; Natterers - 15; Common Pipistrelle - 35 and Noctule - 65. The best bat night I ever had. 

 

Later that week I was showing some students on work experience how I monitor hedgehogs and also survey for small mammals. When we checked the trail camera we had a pleasant surprise of noting that a buzzard had called in at our feeding station.You should see the bird on the left about one third the way down. We had also noted our regular hedgehogs

 

Even more excitement when I went to check our humane small mammal traps. We had set these up much earlier in the morning and left them about four hours. The first two had caught slugs but the third one had caught this wonderful Bank Vole. It was released once photographed. Two young men ended their week thrilled with their experience.

 

On the 21st May, my special day out to London for the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace arrived. Travelling there by train, I was accompanied by my granddaughter. We left Lancashire in sunshine but as we arrived in Euston so did precipitation. Good job I brought an umbrella. Despite the bad  weather we both had a good time, even noting Ring-necked Parakeet flying in the garden there. See below for before and after photos.

 

I plan to stop singing "Long to rain over us"

  

Botany and Beautiful Birds

 Late April was our Cuerden Flower Walk one Saturday morning. We noted Lesser Stitchwort in flower, Bluebells by the reservoir and a flower I had not spotted before on Cuerden. I discovered it was Cornsalad. It was good also to see Cuckoo Flower with Orange Tip butterflies possibly egg laying. In total there were 44 plants in flower. Since we also crossed the WI bridge on its 24th birthday, we sang "Happy Birthday"  The Bluebells did not disappoint either visually or with their amazing perfume. 

 The following weekend was another of the wildlife highlights of spring, our annual Dawn Chorus walk. Starting at 5.00am, We noted Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Garden Warbler, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron with young, Grey Wagtail, Jackdaw, Jay, KingfisherLong Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon and Wren, The two birds that excited me were, a tawny Owl hooting about 50 yards away as we started and a Common Sandpiper at the edge of the reservoir. We completed our walk by nine o clock when most of us went into Cuerden View Cafe for a well earned breakfast. Below is a photo of a Common Sandpiper.

Real Science..Real surprises.

 Spring seems to have slowed down a little. There has been a cold air stream from the north which is keeping the temperatures low. I have had very few moths and butterfly sightings are also low. Thankfully flowers are making steady progress and I was delighted to see my first bluebell in mid-April

Later on that survey of the Park I also noticed Ramsons in a place not noticed before. It has become one of the flavourings of a few of the delights offered in Cuerden View Cafe

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We are also noting some of the summer bird migrants around. Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap have been anouncing their arrival to all and sundry. One bird that has been heard, that has not been on Cuerden for several years is called Grasshopper Warbler. It sounds of course just like that insect. Lots of people have heard it, just not me. 😒

April is also the time when newts move back to ponds to breed. This is the best time for surveying to confirm whether or not we till have them on Cuerden Valley Park. The method we now use is an eDNA check. Several samples of the water in the pond are collected and put in a small tube containing ethanol. This is then taken to a nearby forensic laboratory for testing and we wait a few days for the result

           

There is always the unexpected. I attended a function ot the University of Central Lancashire celebrating volunteering, representing the Lancashire Badger Group. The unexpected was that I was declared the Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award. After the event one of the Professors said to me " I want to do what you do when I retire"

 

Then when I went home I checked the post and was even more amazed to see I had an invitation to a Royal Garden Party at Buckhingham Palace. It means I will have to get a new suit. To avoid having to decide which of my two daughters would be my guest, I asked my grand-daughter to accompany me.

I will let you know how I get on.

Spring has sprung

 In my previous posting I said I may go away for a short time. This however did not materialise due to my straining my back clearing up after our house improvements. I was able to get out a litte. Lots of spring flowers coming into bloom such as Greater Stitchwort, Garlic Mustard (pictured) lots more Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage and Moschatel.

                                                             

Next day I went to the trail camera to change the batteries and check what, if anything had been photographed. On the way I noted this deer slot. It is from a roe deer.

 

When I checked the SD card later I was thrilled to see our hedgehogs have started to return regularly to our feeders. We do get some woodmice, lots of magpies and the roe deer themselves.

 

That night I put the moth trap out again and while I was out I used my bat detyector to see if tey had also returned. As you may see from the next photo, the answer is YES.

These are Noctule Bats, our largest and earliest to emerge, often before sunset,

The following  morning I had caught more Hebrew Character moths plus Twin Spotted Quaker and Small Quaker

                       

My Back is starting to ease now so I hope to get out and discover more of how Spring is progressing.

 

A Queen a query

 The renovations continue as do my efforts to get outdoors to stay sane. We are up to the ninth day, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. The Plasterer came round to start his two and a half day contribution. As I was clearing the kitchen,  I saw a bee on the window ledge. Not wanting it to be disturbed by stripping wallpaper. I caught it in a pot and took it to a place of safety. It was a queen Buff tailed bee.

Despite more rain, I had to get out to avoid the workmen putting in kitchen cupboards and new kitchen sink. I went to collect one of the SD cards from a trail camera on Cuerden. It had a good clip of a fox. Occasionally going out when you don't really want to, has advantages. This photo is a screen capture of that video clip.

Still restricted to weekends on when I can go out, I walked to Cuerden and collected the SD card from Ice House Wood. It was good to see a variety of spring flowers starting to blossom. Fritillary, Wood Anemone and Cowslip all within a small area.

  

 

The following weekend I walked to fill up the hedgehog feeder. When I arrived it had been disturbed see photo below. The brick that was on top had been discarded. I know it was too heavy for any four legged mammal so I suspect homo stulti. It would not be sapiens. I corrected it and re-filled the feeder.

 

 Lots of chiffchaffs singing that Sunday morning and the spring plants continuing to be in flower include Wood Forget-me-Not, Wood Speedwell, and Ivy-leaved Speedwell. The photos show the latter two

The improvements to my home are nearing completion so I may go away for a week to get refreshed

 

  

Mayhem, moschatel and lunch with the ladies.

I live in a Housing Association house, and thanks to my landlord we are getting a new kitchen, bathroom and a re-wiring of the house. We are still living there while this happens. It means I sometimes need to stay in, waiting for workmen and sometimes get out of their way when they are doing electrical work. Here is the state of my kitchen after the first two days. You can see why getting out is a neccessity

  

 On one of the first escape efforts I had a look round Cuerden Valley Park on my regular check for the signs of spring. The herons were continuing their nest re-build, still about a dozen Goosanders fishing the reservoir and I found several more groups of primroses on the reservoir wall. Lesser Celandine and Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage were by now in abundance, but I was searching to find another early flower. Moschatel is a very small flower with a green floret usually well hidded under its leaves. After about thirty five minutes, there it was. For me it is the confirmation that spring has arrived.  

 

I was able to have two more days "escaping", one of which I showed a good friend from the Forest of Bowland team where to find more signs of spring. We did notice that the amount of frog spawn was increasing. 

The second day was spent showing a group from one of the local WI's round the Park. We started by having a quick look in our Walled Orchard. and a distant look at Cuerden Hall. It meant that I was able to give a condensed chat about the history of the estate and of Cuerden Valley Park Trust.

Continuing our journey, I  took them past the reservoir to see some waterfowl as well as the Herons starting their nests. By taking them through Dog Kennel Wood, I ensured their walk took in our WI bridge.Their appreciation to me was an excellent lunch in Cuerden View cafe. This is not my photo, but gives a good illustration of their superb menu.

 

 The following day I went to see if  another spring flower had started to bloom. As we set off from the car park we met one of the people who rents an allotment from Cuerden Valley Park. As we chatted he mentioned he was a forager and had found Velvet Shank fungus, not one with which I am familiar. He also said it made excellent soup. We left him and continued our walk passing carpets of crocus and daffodils. It wasn't until we nearly finished our walk that we saw the yellow splash of our prize, Colt's Foot. Nearby was a dead branch with lots of Scarlet Elfcup growing on it. Another satisfying day of escaping the chaos in my house.          

Frogs and Feeders; Bullhead and Butterbur

 Spring really seems to have got underway. Already I noted Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage in flower and not too far away a frog orgy producing lots of frog spawn

 

I usually start reducing the bird food I put out once spring begins. I checked one of the bird feeders and found after six years it was no longer fit for purpose. I will need to buy a new one in September.

Still on Cuerden Valley Park, we had our first education visit of the year delivering river studies. Our Education officer covers the river geography and I don wellies to help the school children search for river invertibrates. 

     

It was a nice dry day, except for those who forgot they only had short wellies and had the river come over the top of them despite our several warnings. Good job they brought spare dry socks. Lots of Mayfly nymphs and a rather gorgeous Bullhead fish. It's an indicator of a clean river and was returned back to the water once the photo was taken.

 

I decided to walk home and spotted some Butterbur just in flower at the bottom of our Meadow Path.