The document which gives more detail about each Field Trip has now been uploaded and can be found on the Field Trips page. Our first one "Beaver walk in Longleat" is in the afternoon of Sat 3 May and has limited numbers. Please contact us if you'd like to book a space.
Please note the updated times for our AGM next week in the previous Blog item. ![]() Don't forget we have our Christmas drinks and a talk from Georgina Starkie on Dormice ecology and conservation on Thurs 12 December at the Victoria Hall, Tisbury. Doors will open at the earlier time of 6:30pm for drinks and food, with the talk starting at 7:30pm. Georgie has extensive experience of dormice, having worked under the late Michael Woods and she delivers training for organisations such as The Mammal Society and the Wiltshire Mammal Group. She has worked as an Ecological Consultant since 2006 and has experience in ecological site appraisal, in particular for protected species and she holds Natural England licences to survey for bats, great crested newts and of course, dormice. (c) christmasstockimages.com, via Wikimedia Commons
![]() The Society meeting this November will be one of the rare occasions when I actually know something of the topic we shall hear about. A little over a year ago I paid a visit to a stretch of riverbank in the Wylye Valley to hear all about work being done by local farmers. They were running a programme of soil sampling and trials, with the aim of reducing levels of nitrate, phosphate and sediment run-off reaching the river and groundwater. The man I heard speak a year ago, Robin Leech, is coming to talk to us on the topic of Wylye Valley Farmer Cluster: monitoring rivers, at 7:30pm on Thursday 14th November (in the Victoria Hall on Tisbury High Street). Robin is a passionate naturalist, skilled in bird and invertebrate identification, who is making ecology into a career. He is employed by a local farmer and landowner and acts as co-ordinator for the group of farmers involved in this project work. We shall hear how the project is going, one year on from my visit. And we shall also hear, I am sure, about the Landscape Recovery Project initiated this year for the wider Wylye Valley, involving both the Wessex Rivers Trust and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, that aims to restore the river to a more natural state and reconnect it to the floodplain. All of which should have huge benefits for biodiversity, alongside improving water quality and sequestering carbon. Dick Budden A large crowd gathered for the first evening talk of the 2024/25 programme of events by Tisbury and District Natural History Society and, unusually, after the notices and a welcome to our speaker had been given, an audience member told an anecdote related to the subject. Many years ago, in a terraced house in London, Mike awoke in the middle of the night to find a hedgehog snuffling around his pillow! How did it get there? Mike hoped that Abi might enlighten him!
Dr Abi Gazzard has spent many years studying hedgehogs in Earley, Reading as the subject of her Masters and PHD. She now works for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Abi’s talk was divided into four sections: The hedgehog family Research: garden use Research: nest box studies Hedgehogs: research and you! Hedgehogs are members of the erinaceidae family. This makes them close relatives of moles and shrews. They are NOT rodents. Not all hedgehogs are spiny and there are nineteen types of hedgehog known today – the most recent was identified as recently as December 2023. Hedgehogs are: nocturnal, solitary, not territorial, weigh between 500g and 1500g, primarily insectivorous, build nests under cover and hibernate during the winter. Citizen science surveys have shown a steep and rapid decline in population sizes over the past twenty years in rural areas however, in urban areas, the population numbers appear to be stable. There is limited knowledge about the answers to why numbers are decreasing in rural areas or stabilising in urban areas. Abi’s research area was in Earley, Reading, a suburban area with mixed, high density housing and no badgers (badgers are the major predators of hedgehogs). She used GPS and radio tags to track the hedgehogs in the area. The surveys were nocturnal and also relied heavily on community engagement. Abi observed twenty-eight hedgehogs over nine nights each. A male hedgehog visited three front gardens and nine back gardens and covered a distance of 3.5 hectares per night while the female hedgehogs visited an average of five front gardens and seven back gardens and covered 0.7 hectares per night. Both sexes preferred the garden of terraced houses. Amenity grassland was less preferred to gardens. The factors which affected the time spent in gardens negatively were a lack of access between the front and back garden, foxes, rainfall and plentiful other gardens nearby. The positive factors were shorter nights (summer), supplementary feeding and compost heaps. Abi posed the question, does supplementary feeding result in the thriving urban population? We do not know the answer. More research is needed. Abi then turned to the question, what makes a good nest box? There were over five thousand responses to a hedgehog housing census. The use of hedgehog houses was found to be linked to garden factors, nest box placement and resource providing. A good hedgehog house depends on the design and also microclimates. There are significant research gaps in:- nest box efficiency, supplementary feeding, population parameters, urban hazards and rural hedgehogs. What can you do to help? If you are a garden owner you could consider any hazards, the connectivity between gardens, providing food and shelter; you could log sightings; look out for sick and injured hedgehogs and take them to a hedgehog rescue; take part in a questionnaire, survey and other citizen science project. Spread the message! Emma Procter Dr Abbi Gazzard will be with us at at the Victoria Hall on Tisbury High Street on Thursday 10th October at 7:30pm (doors, and the bar will be open from 7:00). ![]() Abi, who lives in Westbury, is a Programme Officer working as a member of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) Small Mammal Specialist Group for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She is based at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, an international charity headquartered at Jersey Zoo in the Channel Islands, that works to save species from extinction. As Abi says “I wanted to be able to help wildlife, so conservation was the direction for me. I was lucky to spend some time studying hedgehogs and this interest ultimately led me into the world of small mammal research. Small mammals are inspiring in their own right! They may be little, but creatures like moles, rats, squirrels and porcupines can play big roles in ecosystems.” As with all our events, this meeting is free if you’re a member of the Society or under 21, and you’ll be very welcome to come as a guest visitor for the payment of £2. Andrew Graham will lead us on a walk around Arne RSPB Reserve where we will pass through varied habitats of heathlands, woods and wetlands with views over Poole Harbour. Arne is a terrific place for wildlife and BBC Seasonwatch has been broadcast from here a number of times, it is so good. It would therefore be a shame not to see a good part of its varied habitats. So, weather permitting, we will aim to spend the day here and we will be walking 4-5 miles.
Please let us know if you are planning to join the trip and where you will meet us. No dogs. Meet at the Nadder Centre car park at 9:30am or at the Arne car park at 11:00 am (OS Grid reference SY972 878) or What3Words wings.poetic.crown. The car park (charges for non- RSPB members) is located on the right at the beginning of Arne village from the Stoborough direction. Distance, Difficulty and Footwear: There is relatively easy walking on paths and tracks with some slopes. Stout shoes should suffice unless wet. Bring binos, a packed lunch and refreshments. Anticipated end time: Conclude at Arne by 3pm returning to Nadder Centre by 4pm. https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/arne/location On Saturday 6th July, we have a visit to Wild Woodbury, Bere Regis, with a walk of approximately 4km/2.5 miles across uneven ground around this rewilding community project guided by Dorset Wildlife Trust Ranger, Seb Haggett. There is a portaloo on site at the car park.
If you are used to walking poles it will be worth bringing them. Walking shoes/boots are advised and please bring a packed lunch and refreshments. The weather is looking good for Saturday, with dry, sunny spells forecast. There are ticks on site, along with longer vegetation, so trousers are recommended. Also bring along any wildlife spotting equipment, binoculars, cameras etc. Please let us know if you are planning to join the trip and where you will meet us. No dogs. Meet at the Nadder Centre car park at 9:30am or at 10:30am up a short track off Southbrook Road, opposite Eldon Road in Bere Regis. https://maps.app.goo.gl/qXbC482vgk4pZ6Qt6 What3words: permanent.kings.chef Those of you that came along to our meeting in January will recall the fascinating presentation by Rob Farrington of the work he has been leading for the past two and a half years to re-wild the 170-hectare site, south-east of Bere Regis. The plot acquired by Dorset Wildlife Trust was In September 2021 with plans to return what was previously intensively farmed arable land to its natural state. The goal was to create an example of sustainable land use, contribute to tackling the climate and ecological crises, reduce high nitrate levels in the area (and prevent them from entering Poole Harbour), and to engage the local community. In the first year of the project, the land was allowed to naturally regenerate: there was an immediate increase in biodiversity and abundance, with the site list reaching 1300 species. During 2023, the second year of the project, work was carried out to ‘re-naturalise’ the headwaters of the River Sherford that run through the site. More information: https://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/tag/wild-woodbury Anticipated end time: Returning to Tisbury by 3:30pm Mike Read is a wildlife photographer and he (and his wife) have spent many hours traversing the Somerset Levels recording the flora and fauna of this ancient land. For over 5,000 years, people have visited this area. Bordered by the sea at Bridgewater Bay, receiving the rain run-offs from the Mendips, Quantocks and Blackdown Hills, and being the flood plains of several low gradient rivers (the River Parrett, for example, declines by 11.5 inches over a stretch of 11 miles) the water levels are now more controlled than in ancient times and a variety of nature conservation organisations manage the land to support and encourage a wide and varied array of wildlife.
Having set out the parameters of the area, Mike introduced us to an ancient walkway, said to date from 3806 BCE precisely! This raised boardwalk was known to our ancestors as the Sweet Track and helped them to navigate their way through the reeds and vegetation, above the water while hunting and gathering their food and resources. Peat continues to be cut from the nutrient rich soils and reeds harvested for use in basket making and for thatch. Mike’s favourite product of the area is the apples used in cider making and having been drunk by everyone instead of the unclean water. Our talk started with a photograph of a telegraph pole with a curious carving of a bird on top. The bird was a dalmatian pelican. Remains of this species have been found preserved in the peat and so they must have lived there. We were treated to a selection of superb photographs of the Somerset Levels through the seasons, starting with spring and alder catkins, marsh marigold, lapwings, 6 species of heron, egrets, marsh harrier, peregrine, the heronry at Swale Wood (visited by several members last spring), the early nesting mistle thrush while it’s cousin, the song thrush, is still singing to attract a mate, and the first migrants, chiff chaff and blackcaps. Nestled down in the reeds, we saw images of bittern and then a series of shots of great crested grebe doing a cat display followed by a weed dance, all part of their courtship rituals. The number of curlews has increased since the nature bodies have had a say in the optimum level of the water. The first butterflies and dragonflies were photographed among the water lilies and iris while a hobby was captured with a dragonfly in its beak. In summer, the bees are swarming and the yellow and white flowers of spring are superseded by the darker, richer colours of great willowherb, purple loosestrife and tufted vetch. Swallows arrive and the great egret chicks fledge. Kingfisher, moorhens, mallards and others are hunted by buzzards and marsh harriers. Towards the end of the summer, apples ripen, ditches are cleared and migrants pass through including the whitethroat and osprey. Hops, hips, elderberries and blackberries glisten in the autumn sunshine and provide food for speckled wood and red admirals. Fungi appears including fairy ink caps and glistening ink caps. Flocks of lapwing grow in number day by day. Golden plover arrive from the northern UK and Iceland. Mike told us about the successful reintroduction programme of the common crane and how many pairs are now breeding on the levels and some pairs have moved away to South Wales. In winter, lapwings, golden plovers, black-tailed gobwits and cormorants can be seen and wetland fowl of all kinds will be displaying and wing flapping in order to attract a mate. During the winter months, it is the best time to see bearded tits, short-eared owls and barn owls and also the now world famous murmurations of starlings. All captured through Mike’s lens and accompanied by interesting and amusing anecdotes, we are eagerly anticipating our visit to the levels this summer. The society’s visit to Ham Wall is on Saturday June 8th, 2024. Emma Procter Our next meeting, at the Victoria Hall on Tisbury High Street on Thursday 14th March at 7:30pm (doors, and the bar will be open from 7:00) will hear from Mike Read who is going to share with us his view of ‘The land of the Somer people’.
Mike, who lives at Ringwood in Hampshire, has worked as a free-lance wildlife photographer for over 40 years. His pictures are often used as nature illustrations, including in books he has written or co-authored such as 'The Robin' & 'The Barn Owl' both published by Blandford Press and a number on aspects of the New Forest: 'New Forest Moods', 'Perfect New Forest', 'Spirit of the New Forest', 'Spirit of the New Forest Pony', and 'New Forest National Park' all published by Halsgrove Publishing and 'Red Kite Country' published by Wild Guides Ltd. The Land of the Somer People, is one of a number of talks Mike delivers to societies like ours, illustrated with pictures he has taken over the years. He will take us through a typical year on the Somerset Levels, a wonderful place to watch wildlife at any time of year. The Levels have changed greatly since Stone Age man first visited the area and laid bundles of hazel sticks to be able to cross the boggy ground. Over 5,000 years later, pollarded willows, pumping stations, drainage ditches or ‘rhynes’ and other man-made constructions, have created a very controlled landscape. But wildlife still thrives with birds, flowers and insects all enjoying the Levels’ landscapes and the nature reserves that have been established. In the spring and summer, flowers add colour to the place as do butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. Birds include up to six species of the heron family, raptors such as marsh harriers, buzzards, peregrines and hobbies as well as huge flocks of wintering waders and wildfowl. There is the successful reintroduction of common cranes to the area and the marvellous spectacle of the weaving, ever-changing patterns of ‘murmurations’ as tens of thousands of starlings fly in to roost in the reedbeds at sunset, while hawks and harriers try to secure a final meal of the day. |
Photo: Avocets (Izzy Fry)
The headers display photos taken by our members. Do get in touch via the Contact Form if you'd like to submit a photo for selection.
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