Moving on

Due to technical issues we've had to relocate our blog to Tumblr. We'll leave this blog up as an archive but for all the latest Hazelwood Conservation antics please visit our new one:

http://hazelwoodconservation.tumblr.com/

The Nutshell - The seasonal newsletter of Hazelwood Conservation

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Bat walking

As well as our professional bat work, surveying buildings, trees and other sites proposed for development, we also offer bat walks and talks to local groups.

Tonight is the turn of "The Friends of Haw Park Wood and Wintersett". Gareth will be leading this enthusiastic group of volunteers into the woods to (hopefully) see and hear some of their very own bats. We'll be starting at Angler's Country Park visitor centre at 7.30pm. All are welcome, see the group's event leaflet for details.

Barn owl survey licences

Following our recent attendance at two excellent courses run by the Barn Owl Trust we are now both registered to use Natural England class licence CL29 - "To survey for barn owl (Tyto alba) for the purposes of assessing the potential impacts of future development".

Many of the buildings we already survey for bats in rural areas have the potential to support roosting or nesting barn owl, which are protected from disturbance whilst nesting. This licence will allow us to legally disturb nesting barn owl for the purposes of pre-development surveys.

A barn owl chick we got to see up-close whilst on the Barn Owl Trust course

The welfare of the barn owls is paramount when undertaking surveys - knowing when it is safe to stay or when it is essential to leave a nest site is crucial in ensuring that the eggs or young in the nest are not harmed.

This along with the many useful facts and techniques we learnt on the Barn Owl Trust courses will help us confidently advise our clients on barn owl conservation on their sites.

More details of this and our other recent activities will be in our summer edition of "The Nutshell" which will be available soon....

Petrol powered plant punisher

First day at Thunder Bridge Meadows today, cutting Himalayan balsam. It's the first step in a control program which aims to keep this invasive, non-native plant out of the diverse wildflower meadows on this site. Cutting the plants before they can set seed over 2-3 seasons should confine it to the edges of the site along the river and allow the other plants to grow without alien competition to contend with.

Our main weapon today was the powerscythe, a 230cc petrol powered grass cutter which is basically a big set of hedge shears on wheels. It makes short work of the fleshy balsam stems so long as you manage to avoid anything on the ground which might break the teeth; rocks, stumps or sticks that were never retrieved when thrown into the meadow for the dog!

It does have tendency to shake itself to pieces unfortunately, which it duly did by mid-afternoon today! No matter, it did what we needed it to do and the rest we'll tackle with the brush cutter or by hand over the next week or so.

Before we leave the site we make sure everything is cleaned off: boots, tools and the powerscythe to make sure we don't move any seed off site.

We'll be using the powerscythe again at the end of the month to do the annual hay cut here and at Denby Delph, another Garganey Trust site that we help manage.

30 Days Wild - Day 30: Saving the bats til last

Well it's the last day of "30 days wild", what shall I post for our last wild activity of the month?....

Why not go for the obvious, which I've somehow managed to avoid posting until now?!

Tonight we'll be be undertaking a bat survey on a site in the hills above Huddersfield. Bat surveys are the mainstay of our work from the end of June through to the end of September, albeit with a scattering of other surveys and habitat management work in between. We usually get called in to survey a building when someone wants to undertake building work that requires planning permission as the planners need to be satisfied that the favourable conservation status of these European protected species will not be significantly affected by the proposals.

Its a habitat assessment and "emergence survey" tonight. 

First we'll be checking all around and inside the building in question for bats or signs of bat use which might be droppings, staining or even the sound of bat chatter if there is a big roost present - particularly on a hot day like today. We record all of the features that bats might use for roosting which could be anything from a single bit of missing mortar under a ridge tile, up to a large loft where bats could fly up and down until they're ready to come out after dark.

Once on that's done we set ourselves up in suitable positions outside the building, at least 15 minutes before sunset, waiting for any bats roosting in the building to emerge. Different bat species emerge at different stages of darkness starting with the larger bats (noctule and Leisler's bats), which often come out before sunset and can be easily mistaken for birds flying high across the sky. Then the pipistrelle species are next, which are usually all out within 30 minutes of sunset. At the opposite end of the spectrum the long-eared bats might not emerge from their roosts until 1 hour after sunset, when it's almost completely dark. We watch the building until 1 hour and 30 minutes after sunset to make sure we don't miss any emerging bats.

Every site can come up with surprises, sometimes we don't have a single bat, other nights we might have a soprano pipistrelle maternity roost of 200 bats! Who knows that tonight's survey will bring.

We don't often get to see bats this close up - this was taken during one of our bat box checks at Seckar Wood

Well done to everyone else who's being taking part in 30 Days Wild.

30 Days Wild - Day 29: Walkabout

Another office day writing a bat licence application, nothing wild about that!

With a letter to post and a visit to make 2 miles away I decided to ditch the car and get some evening air.

It's not a very picturesque walk but along the way I heard a green woodpecker over the horse fields, I didn't realise we got them so close to home.

There was even a bat circling the house when I got home, there's no getting away from them today!

30 Days Wild - Day 28: Being a friend to nature

Everybody needs good friends and nature reserves are no exception!

The Friends of Seckar Wood are a committed band of volunteers who help look after the various special habitats on this Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Woolley, south of Wakefield. 

Today's task was "balsam bashing". Another invasive non-native plant that rapidly colonises riverbanks and damp woodlands (Seckar falling under the latter category) where it shades out the native ground flora.

It's a very shallow rooted annual plant which makes pulling it up very easy, so perhaps balsam pulling would be a better way to describe it. The pulling must be done before the plant flowers and sets seed.

Despite being small in number we got a good area cleared today. The idea being that repeating the same area over 2-3 years should eradicate the plant from that areas.

We also put up a couple of my home made bird boxes on trees in the woodland too so something else to keep an eye on when we visit.

30 Days Wild - Day 27: For Peats' sake

What cracking weather to be out in the garden - catching up with all the jobs we couldn't do because we were too busy revising, about gardening!

We were running low on a few gardening essentials so off I went down t'shops. One of thing we needed was multipurpose compost to fill a couple of new hanging baskets (I know - we're not exactly at the cutting edge of garden fashion!). I noticed that B&Q were doing a very reasonably priced "peat free" compost so I thought I'd give it a go.

Normal compost is almost always peat, sometimes 100% peat, other times it's "peat based" with other stuff mixed in. The reason peat is so good as a compost is that it has just the right balance of moisture retention and drainage for raising and growing most plants.

However, peat is a raw material which takes thousands of years to form in the lowland raised bogs from which it is extracted. These bogs have a diverse flora and fauna that have evolved to survive in this unique and increasingly rare habitat. Once it's gone, it's gone. Is it really worth losing these habitats and all the species that rely on them just so we can have a nice hanging basket?!

So as conservationists we really should always be avoiding peat based composts in the garden. 

If it doesn't say "peat free" or "peat reduced" on the bag, then it almost certainly has peat in it, even if it says other things like "environmentally friendly" or "organic" it may still be peat based.

There are a small number of alternative peat products which you can buy with a clear ecological conscience; such as Moorland Gold which is made from peat gathered through water filtration rather than by digging it all up.

Peat free composts can be based on a range of materials, usually waste products from another industry such as composted wood chippings or even coconut fibres (coir).

This compost looks ok so far, but the proof will be in the growing I suppose.

p.s. if you thought this post was about reviewing whisky I can only apologise, maybe I'll try that this evening?

30 Days Wild - Day 26: Strimming in the rain!

Half way through mowing the lawn the heavens opened (completely un-forecast - well done met office!).

A bit annoying, maybe, but at least partially offset by this rainbow over the garden.

The award for "most resourceful bird of the day" goes to a wren at one of our bat sites near Doncaster. Rather than build its own nest it decided it would be far better to convert an old swallows nest instead!

30 Days Wild - Day 25: On T-woo wheels again

Another evening out on the two wheeled wildlife-mobile (the one with an engine this time).

Found myself riding alongside a tawny owl along the edge of a forestry plantation. 

Pulled up with engine off I could hear at least three calling, probably this year's owlets scattered through the plantation. 

As I put the bike back in the garage at dusk there were swifts screaming overhead - reminds me I must get around to making that swift box to go on the house!

30 Days Wild - Day 24: Nocturnal garden safari

Just been out in the garden with the torch to see what nocturnal creatures are lurking about:

Massive slug, massive snail, loads of tadpoles (most have got legs now) and our "patio frog" which we see every time it rains (we presume its the same one!).

its a good job the neighbours already know we're a bit "wierd", poking around in the back garden with a 1million candelpower torch at 11 at night! :-D

30 Days Wild - Day 23: Rattling on

Our next Habitat management job for Garganey Trust will be Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) control at Thunder Bridge Meadows near Kirkburton.

The site has a stream running through it which has this non-native plant all along its banks. As the site hadn't been actively managed for a number of years (no cutting or grazing) the plant has managed to take hold in some parts - it uses it's spring loaded "exploding" seed pods which can launch seeds several metres from the parent plant!

We'll be cutting the balsam over the next few weeks with a power-scythe and our brushcutter, the aim being to cut it before it sets seed, which usually happens in July/August depending on the weather. Cutting the same area over 2 or 3 years should rid that area of the plant as the seed is only thought to be viable for 18 months.

Himalayan balsam seedlings waiting to be cut.

So we went down to Thunder Bridge this evening for a recce to see how the plants were getting on. We don't want to cut them too soon as its more difficult to spot smaller plants, but we can't leave it too late either. It seems the relatively dry weather this year so far had stunted their growth a bit with only a few plants getting near to flowering height so I think we'll hold off for another week or two.

Whilst on site we checked out the meadow areas we've cut in previous years and noticed several developing patches of yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor), a native plant of meadows which is hemi-parasitic.

Yellow rattle - helping us create a more diverse meadow

  It steals some of its nutrients from the grasses by tapping into their roots which reduces their vigour. This allows other broadleaved meadow species to germinate and grow, increasing the meadow's diversity and value to pollinating insects. And it works - I've never been to a site with so many bees, the place is literally buzzing!

We also spotted quite a few Marsh Orchid around the meadow, many of which were in the bits we've been cutting in previous years - proper job satisfaction.

If only every day ended with a pretty orchid like this one!

30 Days Wild - Day 22: Captive reading

Stuck in exams all day today at RHS Harlow Carr. Some mind bending questions in the  "pests and diseases" paper, what is the biological control method for rabbits!? :-/

Anyway, 4 down, 4 to go tomorrow! Spent all evening trying to memorise garden plant names so nothing particularly "wild" to boast about.

I did manage to work in some eco-friendly gardening into my answers today though, even "green walls" got a mention. I spent at least 10 minutes describing how to build a compost heap too!

Will try and do something a bit more wild once we're free of the exam shackles tomorrow evening. :-)

30 Days Wild - Day 21: A fortunate meadow

Ever since my grandma-in-law moved into a bungalow around the corner I've (quite voluntarily) acquired the job of gardener/lawnmower, usually with assistance from Maria or her dad.

I was doing quite well this year, keeping on top of the acres of grass, but for one reason or another it hadn't been done for a few weeks so it was getting on for a foot high in places!

Imagine my delight then today when my "customer" told me she'd like a bit leaving long for the wildlife! Good for the bees and for my back :-D

So I managed to leave an area uncut underneath two mature apple trees. It'll be interesting to see what comes up. Maybe we can get hold of some plug plants to diversify it a bit too.

30 Days Wild - Day 20: Buzzing hazels and biking with bugloss

Loads of bees today on our hazels, they seemed to be eating the honeydew off the surface of the leaves. Honeydew is the stuff that covers your car if you park it under a tree - it's secreted by aphids.

This bee is loaded with pollen - doing a great job pollinating all our plants!

 They were accompanied by these ladybirds. I'm no entomologist but I think they are all Harlequin ladybirds (Unfortunately another recently colonised species which threatens to out-compete our native ladybird species);

 

 Later on I took a quick bike-ride out along the Chevet Branch line and came across a mass of vipers bugloss (Echium vulgare), it has stunning spikes of blue flowers which were also covered in bees.  

30 Days Wild - Day 19: Bean there

Really struggled to fit in anything really wild today. The best we could muster was to book our autumn break in Skye; otters, eagles and isolation - can't wait!

I did have a good look at the broad beans (Vicia faba) in the veg bed this evening (my attention was caught by a very busy bee down there), surprisingly pretty flowers on close inspection and hopefully some nice homegrown beans at some point thanks to our pollinating visitor.

30 Days Wild - Day 18: Making tracks

No surveys planned today (we had a dusk bat survey in North Yorkshire last night) so a bit of paperwork in the morning then another afternoon ride along the Trans-pennine trail from Penistone. A bit breezy for most of the wildlife but a refreshing ride nonetheless. It was all worth it for a bargain cup of tea and a hobnob at Julie's Cafe. I also took the opportunity to leave my old bike in the Cycle Penistone workshop for a service and cable change, I think it's earned it after almost 17 years of relatively trouble free riding! Its a community interest company too, so I get my bike fixed and contribute to a good cause while I'm at it, good work.

On the way home I spent some time envying the variety and sheer number of birds visiting the in-law's bird feeder - only a couple of miles from ours but it's like another world. A constant stream of chaffinches, goldfinches, blue tit, coal tit, great tit, blackbird, dunnock, housesparrow, robins, bullfinches and plenty of others. The standout bird today was this juvenile great-spotted woodpecker (you can tell by the red crown and dull plumage) followed a few minutes later by an adult:

 Spotted this bug on the tomatoes as I was watering the garden this evening - think its probably a type of hoverfly? Hopefully it'll predate some of the greenfly while its around!

30 Days Wild - Day 17: Stepping up

We were back at Denby Delf near Upper Denby today, a nature reserve we help manage for the Garganey Trust. Our task was access improvements in the form of some steps up a rather steep and tight corner of the site.

This, along with the path clearance we did last winter, should be a great improvement for visitors who can enjoy the many breeding birds at this end of the site such as robins, bullfinch, whitethroat, kestrel, yellowhammer and garden warbler.

 Maria also re-enacted a classic comedy film on the way back to the car.......

If you've never seen "the plank" you should definitely give it an hour of your time one rainy day, it's got nearly every old school British comedian in one film!

30 Days Wild - Day 16: Getting buzzy

Found myself having a wander around RHS Harlow Carr today, particularly the teaching garden. The RHS education staff use this area to teach school children about horticulture with a strong emphasis on sustainability and ecology. The focus at the moment, and rightly so, seems to be on pollinators with lots of helpful info boards dotted around like this one:

 This has inspired me to start bee spotting wherever I go too. So I was quite excited when I found this bee recording app, but it's been disabled as they only want records in May, I don't bee-lieve it! Back to the pencil and notepad then.....