Good summer weather means success for most birds - but not all.

Grey Partridge have had a good breeding
season - as long as they have been looked after!

In general, I think it has been a good breeding season for birds here in the UK, with encouraging reports from a number of quarters. Even some birds returning to our shores to over-winter, having spent the summer breeding elsewhere seem to have done well! 

For instance, a record number of at least 45,800 Pink-footed Geese have arrived at Lancashire's Martin Mere WWT (Wildfowl and Wetland Trust), counts have revealed. This beats the previous record of 36,000 in 2010. Over the next couple of weeks, numbers will continue to increase as more of these birds make the 500-mile journey from Iceland to spend the start of winter in Lancashire. The geese will ultimately winter to the south and east, particularly in Northumberland and Norfolk.

The Grey Partridge breeding season seems to have also fared well this year, following two poor years. Reports of large sized coveys are coming in from those estates and farms that have provided good nesting cover, insect rich foraging habitat and have also implemented legal, targeted predator control. Some Eastern areas such as Norfolk and Lincolnshire do not seem to have performed quite as well as the rest of the country however, with keepers telling me that there were prolonged cool winds in from the North sea during the peak chick hatching time, which may well have reduced insect numbers at a crucial time.

Two other species which I'm particularly pleased about this year, because they had taken a real bashing from the weather over the last couple of breeding seasons (not helped by the lack of small mammals) is the Barn Owl and Kestrel. I have had a number of farmers excitedly telling me of the “biggest ever clutches” eventually fledging from the boxes that they had put up in trees and barns.

As with all things in life though, not all birds have had a brilliant year. A farmer in Hampshire told me just this last Thursday, that his long term House martin colony that had been in existence as long as he could remember, had this year fallen silent, with not one nest being occupied. He was genuinely upset as he said it was very much part of his summer to watch these delightful birds flying overhead.

It was with great interest then that two days later, a letter popped through the post box from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), asking for help in order to study the worrying decline in House Martin numbers – a UK decline of 16% over the last decade, but an English decline of as much as 65% longer term. What is interesting is that there have been alarming declines in the south of England and yet some healthy increases in the North and across Scotland and Ireland.

Of course, with migratory species, these regional differences may not necessarily be as a result of what is happening here during the summer, but might be that more northerly House Martins go to a slightly different place to over-winter than southerly based birds and may therefore have had better weather or habitat conditions during their winter stay there.

This is exactly why research from organisations such as the GWCT, BTO and WWT is so vital in helping us to understand the intricacies of our wonderful bird life. So make sure you support their work!!!

Barn Owls have had an excellent breeding season

  

       

For one Hampshire farmer, there were no little House Martin heads peeking out of nests this year.

 

Another alien mussels its way into the UK

Quagga mussels

Environment Agency ecologists have found a population of Quagga mussel in a tributary of the River Colne in the Thames catchment near Staines. This record was confirmed by Dr David Aldridge of Cambridge University on the 1st October 2014. Further investigation has revealed that a population of these alien mussels have now also established themselves in Wraysbury reservoir.

The Quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) is a highly invasive non-native species, which has been expected to arrive in the UK for a number of years. Similar to another alien mussel - the now widespread Zebra mussel - this species comes from the Ponto-Caspian region (an area around the Black and Caspian seas).

Due to its filtering capacity and ability to produce dense populations, it can significantly reduce native biodiversity, and alter whole freshwater ecosystems. It is expected to occupy similar habitats to the Zebra mussel, but can survive in some places that Zebra mussel can't and can even displace them.

It feeds on the varieties of algae that compete with blue-green algae, often resulting in toxic algal blooms. It can also be a nuisance and economic problem when growing in pipes of water treatment plants, so you can see that its arrival in our UK waters is yet another headache for all those concerned with trying to maintain our aquatic environment.

    

There is no effective eradication method for Quagga mussel once it has established in a reservoir and the downstream river system. As recommended in a recent review commissioned by Defra of options to deal with the arrival of Quagga mussel, the best method of slowing the spread of the Quagga mussel is by applying better bio-security through the “Check, Clean, Dry” approach, which does what it says – check and wash all of your equipment and clothing and then dry it thoroughly.

Quagga mussels can be hard to distinguish from Zebra mussels, which are already widespread in England and Wales. Quagga mussels are able to colonise freshwater rivers, canals and lakes and are small in size, being quite similar to the Zebra mussel, but lack the strong ridge that gives Zebra mussel its 'D' shape. The Quagga mussel is however, much more rounded and so the best way to identify it is to place it on its front, as it will then roll to one side, unlike the Zebra mussel.

So, to all you fishermen and women in particular out there, do try not to hasten the spread of these 4cm (1.5in) beasties from river to river by carrying out bio-security procedures. I have to say though, if we follow in the steps of America were these little critters were introduced to the Great Lakes by ships discharging their ballast, it does not look at all promising. Both Quagga and Zebra mussels have now spread to 29 states across the USA.

All really rather depressing. 

A is for Apple!

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours at the Blackmoor estate’s apple day today – and going by the crowds, the good old British apple is still much loved!

I am going to let a few pictures describe the day – from the apple point of view anyway – there was much, much more to see alongside apples!

It is great that farmers such as William Wolmer are prepared to hold days like this – not only encouraging folk to buy British, but also introducing them to the wonderfully delicious taste of “old varieties”- which of course will go a long way in helping to save them for future generations to enjoy too! 

  

Lots of people attended - the car parks were packed!

Don't you just love some of the names of these old apple varieties!
(click photos to enlarge)

Educating our future land managers

The future of the countryside is in their hands

As you know I work for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, and one of the Trust’s charitable objects is to “advance the education of the public and those managing the countryside in the effects of farming and management of land which is sympathetic to game and other wildlife”.

As part of this remit GWCT staff spend a lot of time up-dating a wide range of people on our research, which might take the form of showing a group of farmers or politicians around our farm at Loddington in Leicestershire, or lecturing to a wide range of colleges and universities.

Yesterday was the turn of the Royal Agricultural University or RAU as it is now often called, (previously known at the Royal Agricultural college) which is based in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.  Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the country and continues to thrive, offering a wide range of courses.

Annually, the GWCT and the Temple estate near Marlborough, host a “couple of coach loads” of students from the university who spend the day out on the estate, learning about some of the practical ways in which a large commercial estate is run in the modern era.

Yesterday I was joined by two of my GWCT colleagues, Mike Swan and Austin Weldon. Between us we covered a wide range of topics such as general game management, predator control, Stewardship schemes, Government “Greening” options, soil, water and importantly, how all the different departments within the estate work closely together to bring out the best of the land that they all collectively manage.

We enjoy presenting this day, as long as the weather is kind to us, which it most certainly was yesterday! Standing on top of the Marlborough downs with hail coming horizontally at you on a force 8 gale, talking to a bunch of soaking wet students huddled together for warmth, (probably dreaming of a pub with a roaring fire and maybe a career change!) is not a lot of fun on the other hand!

The student feedback is always encouraging, perhaps most often picking out how practical the advice is, and watching it being demonstrated in front of their eyes – for real as it were! One student said that the day had been one of the best of her three year course! That makes it all so worthwhile!

It is also very rewarding for us when we come across ex-students from the University in our everyday lives, working across a wide range of positions to do with countryside management. Education plays such an important part in not only helping them to get a job in the first place, but then most importantly, insuring that they can carry out their role successfully and with skill.

The students enjoying the beautiful surroundings of the Temple estate

Mike Swan - offers so many pearls of wisdom based on years of experience 

Cornish farmers - doing their bit for wildlife.

The beautiful North Cornish coast looking towards Pentire point

 I was lucky enough to have a few days down in North Cornwall towards the end of last week. October is a lovely month to visit the county, as the summer hoards have now long gone and if you happen to strike it lucky weather wise, well you are in for a real treat!

Many of these Coastal farmers rely on various forms of diversification to supplement their farming businesses – tourism is an obvious one, but so too is the Government’s Stewardship scheme. As I walked along the cliff tops to Pentire point and then on round the coastline to Rumps point, where I turned back inland to Pentire farm, I was constantly aware of a variety of options that had been implemented by these farmers on behalf of wildlife.

This part of the North Cornish coast line – between the two Pentires – the one I was visiting not far from Padstow and the other one next to Newquay – is the last remaining hotspot for farmland birds in the county - especially the Corn Bunting. If this population is lost, you would have to travel through Devon and Somerset and on to Wiltshire before you could be sure of spotting another one of these dumpy little brown jobs, often called the “Barley bird” because of its love of eating early ripening barley grains.

   

Farmers are doing their level best to help these birds by planting large areas of “un-harvestable cereals”, which are ideal for the Buntings to nest amongst (they nest on the ground) and then feed upon over-winter. This part of Cornwall also has a rich arable flora and so the farmers are also putting in “cultivated margins” – ploughing them over but then not planting them with a crop, so that the annual flowers can emerge and flourish.This is one of the few places that I have seen the very rare Corn Buttercup with its spiky seed head. 

I did not see any Corn Buntings on this occasion, but I’m sure they were about, perhaps now all gathered into one big winter flock, they may have just been feeding over the next headland out of sight.  I was happy though, because as a consolation there were huge flocks of mixed Linnet, Goldfinch, Skylark and Meadow Pipit all feeding on the wide variety of seeds within the field left specifically for them. Kestrel hunted small mammals and the last few Wheatear stopped to feed up before carrying on with their southerly migration. It was a wonderful spectacle to sit and watch for a while. 

With less money in the pot for funding the new Stewardship scheme, these Cornish farmers would sorely miss the extra income that they are paid currently to look after the local wildlife on our behalf. Should the funding, for whatever reason be stopped, it might well not only be the wildlife that goes, but perhaps the mixed farming of cattle and sheep too, changing a whole way of life that has carried on along this coastline for centuries.

We must work hard to make sure that this does not happen.

      

An un-harvested cereal field with an arable flower margin around the outside -
already alive with a wide assortment of birds feeding 

An arable flower margin, this time with a brassica fodder crop in the field,
 which will be grazed off by sheep during the winter months

Calling all farmers - Do not fear, CFE is here!

"Phil the farmer" giving lots of sound, practical advise to CFE advisers. (If only the jokes were as good!)

CAP Greening measures. Ecological Focus Areas. The 3 crop rule. Water Framework Directive. Soil Protection Review. Cross Compliance. GAEC. Tried & Tested. Voluntary Initiative. NELMS. Believe you me I could go on and on and on!

All of the above will most likely be complete jargon to the non-farmers amongst you, but it is just a tiny fraction of what anyone running an agricultural business needs to be up to speed on nowadays, otherwise it could result in hefty fines or penalties.  But what do they all mean and how do they translate onto individuals farms?

It is a very big ask for busy farmers to get abreast of so many edicts, so step up the CFE – yet another acronym – but this time a free, friendly and helpful one!! CFE stands for the “Campaign for the Farmed Environment” which has an advisor in every English county, there to help farmers deliver the best possible practices for water, soil and wildlife on their farms.

CFE advisers are not in competition with other conservation groups, but work closely with all locally based experts, organising timely events so that the farmers attending, quickly get a distilled, succinct, clear message as to what they should be doing. At a time of so much change in the farming world, this can literally be a God send to farmers, already overloaded by the burden of red tape.

Last week the CFE advisers from across England attended a training event at the GWCT’s own farm at Loddington in Leicestershire. Training courses such as this are important so that advisers are clear as to what the message is and confident that they clearly see how decrees, often created in Brussels, are then translated and adapted to fit into a typical English farm – not always an easy transformation!!

 

GWCT’s Jim Egan, a wonderfully grounded, clever organiser of people, headed up the morning with his usual enthusiasm and the lively discussion was full of tips, successes and indeed failures, as to what works well and what does not! Then, following lunch, we all spilled out onto the farm to hear the wise words of Phil Jarvis, the farm manager.

Phil has the great ability to unscramble reams of regulations and instructions, deciphering them all into a down-to-earth, practical and usable format. Don't you reckon that the best advice usually comes from the person who actually has to do it for real!

I head up the Campaign in my own county of Hampshire and have found one of the most rewarding aspects to be the “bringing together” of a really quite diverse array of organisations, to work alongside each other, so that farmers receive a joined up clear message. That is so important. 

If you would like to find out more about the campaign go to; http://www.cfeonline.org.uk/home/

And if you would like to read Farmer Phil’s blog, then go to:  http://loddingtonestate.blogspot.co.uk/