Photo: Cockscomb prominent
Thursday, 16 September 2021
Simon Smart: Managing for wildlife on Salisbury Plain
This was the first of our 2021/22 series but sadly, we had to postpone the talk by Simon Smart of Black Sheep Countryside Management a consulting business for farmers across the downland landscape.
Instead, our Chairman Peter Shallcross updated us on the current situation with Dutch Elm Disease and his various initiatives that are supporting the recovery of the species, in a talk titled Elm trees: past, present and future.
Most of you will know about the broad context of the topic: the decline of elm trees across the UK, ravaged by Dutch elm disease that has devastated huge areas of the countryside. If you’re unaware, or want to see an example of the disease progressing through a relatively young specimen, now is an ideal time. If you drive past Dick Budden's house (Chicksgrove Close, on the right hand side as you head out of Tisbury) you will see the elm in question growing out of the hedgerow just East of the entrance, with the leaves closest to the road prematurely withered while the rest of the tree still looks healthy – not merely an early sign of autumn’s approach. The tree may last another 12months or so, it seems, before it is completely dead and inevitably needs to be felled.
Peter will describe the origins and progress of the disease and its implications for wildlife. And he will go on to set out the programme for recovery and the re-population of our area that he is actively engaged in.
Simon Smart: Managing for wildlife on Salisbury Plain
This was the first of our 2021/22 series but sadly, we had to postpone the talk by Simon Smart of Black Sheep Countryside Management a consulting business for farmers across the downland landscape.
Instead, our Chairman Peter Shallcross updated us on the current situation with Dutch Elm Disease and his various initiatives that are supporting the recovery of the species, in a talk titled Elm trees: past, present and future.
Most of you will know about the broad context of the topic: the decline of elm trees across the UK, ravaged by Dutch elm disease that has devastated huge areas of the countryside. If you’re unaware, or want to see an example of the disease progressing through a relatively young specimen, now is an ideal time. If you drive past Dick Budden's house (Chicksgrove Close, on the right hand side as you head out of Tisbury) you will see the elm in question growing out of the hedgerow just East of the entrance, with the leaves closest to the road prematurely withered while the rest of the tree still looks healthy – not merely an early sign of autumn’s approach. The tree may last another 12months or so, it seems, before it is completely dead and inevitably needs to be felled.
Peter will describe the origins and progress of the disease and its implications for wildlife. And he will go on to set out the programme for recovery and the re-population of our area that he is actively engaged in.
Thursday, 6 May 2021
Andrew Graham, TNHS Committee: Anyone can be a wildlife recorder
Andrew took over the late David Rear's responsibility for monitoring butterflies in the Oddford Vale and also monitors elsewhere in Wiltshire, he's been doing weekly counts of birds in his garden for several years and last summer extended this to using a trap provided by Butterfly Conservation to monitor moths in his garden as well - hence the stunning photographs posted on this website.
We are hoping to recruit volunteers to help us monitor the population of swifts in Tisbury, after the new nest boxes are installed in April. We already know of a number of nest sites that have been used until last year and it is vital that we check whether they are again this year.
For more about wildlife recording, go to that page.
Andrew Graham, TNHS Committee: Anyone can be a wildlife recorder
Andrew took over the late David Rear's responsibility for monitoring butterflies in the Oddford Vale and also monitors elsewhere in Wiltshire, he's been doing weekly counts of birds in his garden for several years and last summer extended this to using a trap provided by Butterfly Conservation to monitor moths in his garden as well - hence the stunning photographs posted on this website.
We are hoping to recruit volunteers to help us monitor the population of swifts in Tisbury, after the new nest boxes are installed in April. We already know of a number of nest sites that have been used until last year and it is vital that we check whether they are again this year.
For more about wildlife recording, go to that page.
Thursday, 15 April 2021
Tom Morath, Hawk Conservancy Trust
The work of the Hawk Conservancy Trust and the National Bird of Prey Hospital - an introduction for our Field Trip there on 13 June which is now sold out.
Tom Morath, Hawk Conservancy Trust
The work of the Hawk Conservancy Trust and the National Bird of Prey Hospital - an introduction for our Field Trip there on 13 June which is now sold out.
Thursday, 19 March 2021
PCSO Neil Tunbull & PC Richard Salter, Wiltshire Police
Rural, wildlife and heritage crime
Tisbury's local PCSO Neil Turnbull, who is based at the Nadder Centre, and his colleague PC Richard Salter described how the Police are working against wildlife crime as part of a national policy that includes all kinds of rural and heritage crime.
The slides used for the presentation, including links to videos on Stopping badger crime, rural Theft and Hare coursing are here.
Wildlife crime includes badger, bat and raptor persecution, deer, fish and freshwater mussel poaching and hare coursing.
PCSO Neil Tunbull & PC Richard Salter, Wiltshire Police
Rural, wildlife and heritage crime
Tisbury's local PCSO Neil Turnbull, who is based at the Nadder Centre, and his colleague PC Richard Salter described how the Police are working against wildlife crime as part of a national policy that includes all kinds of rural and heritage crime.
The slides used for the presentation, including links to videos on Stopping badger crime, rural Theft and Hare coursing are here.
Wildlife crime includes badger, bat and raptor persecution, deer, fish and freshwater mussel poaching and hare coursing.
The statistics are of course pretty alarming in terms of the cost to businesses and homeowners in rural areas, and one of the problems is that it's under-reported. However, there is a nationwide policy agreed by the National Police Chiefs Council which is addressing the problem head on.
For example, Richard described the current Operation Artemis focusing on the A303 in the Hindon area. The A303 is popular as an access and potentially quick getaway route with criminals who come from all parts of the country. Because of this, the Police flood a one particular area with vehicles and officers and if they spot a car that fits a certain profile - eg a remote registration address or no insurance - they can take appropriate action to prevent the coursing or other crime. As well as the local Police, they can also call on the MOD Police for assistance, who have the same powers of arrest etc.
For example, Richard described the current Operation Artemis focusing on the A303 in the Hindon area. The A303 is popular as an access and potentially quick getaway route with criminals who come from all parts of the country. Because of this, the Police flood a one particular area with vehicles and officers and if they spot a car that fits a certain profile - eg a remote registration address or no insurance - they can take appropriate action to prevent the coursing or other crime. As well as the local Police, they can also call on the MOD Police for assistance, who have the same powers of arrest etc.
And we can help with reporting: I was once walking near Fovant, and saw a number of cars entering a field with dogs running about. I suspected it might be hare coursing but didn't know what to do. Now I do: I should have rung 999, which you do to report a suspected crime actually taking place.
Richard told the tale of a farmer in the Wylye Valley who had spotted hare coursing and did just that. A helicopter was called in that followed the cars up onto Salisbury Plain. There, the drivers swopped vehicles and set off down the A36 - into the arms of Salisbury Police who had been mobilised to catch them.
They also explained how on mainland Europe rivers and their stock are not generally in private ownership, so anyone can fish. Here, I guess most people know this isn't the case, and there are often signs saying such and such a location is only for members of a fly fishing club. The Police are working with the Angling Trust and Water Bailiffs to counter this.
Stone curlew with its chick. Photo: RSPB Ian Grier
Thursday, 18 February 2021
Nick Tomalin, RSPB Wessex Farmland Project Manager
Stone Curlew Conservation
The stone curlew is a great conservation success and the species has been brought back from the brink. If you missed the talk or if you'd like to listen again, you can do so here but otherwise here is a brief summary.
If there's an endangered bird, be it cirl bunting, osprey, sea eagle or stone curlew, Nick Tomalin is most likely to be leading the team working to help populations recover. The Wessex Stone Curlew project has been running since 1985 and has seen the population increase from just 30 pairs to over 100 – one-third of the whole UK population of around 350 breeding pairs – and has the support of around 300 farmers.
Back in 1768, Gilbert White of Natural History of Selborne fame wrote that they weren't rare and probably 1-2,000 pairs were nesting on the well-drained chalk-land in the Purbecks and Wiltshire Downs, Chilterns and East Anglia. They migrate here from North Africa and Southern Europe, usually arriving in March and breeding in April. From laying to fledging takes 10 weeks, so there can be a second brood in August or even sometimes as late as October.
Nick Tomalin, RSPB Wessex Farmland Project Manager
Stone Curlew Conservation
The stone curlew is a great conservation success and the species has been brought back from the brink. If you missed the talk or if you'd like to listen again, you can do so here but otherwise here is a brief summary.
If there's an endangered bird, be it cirl bunting, osprey, sea eagle or stone curlew, Nick Tomalin is most likely to be leading the team working to help populations recover. The Wessex Stone Curlew project has been running since 1985 and has seen the population increase from just 30 pairs to over 100 – one-third of the whole UK population of around 350 breeding pairs – and has the support of around 300 farmers.
Back in 1768, Gilbert White of Natural History of Selborne fame wrote that they weren't rare and probably 1-2,000 pairs were nesting on the well-drained chalk-land in the Purbecks and Wiltshire Downs, Chilterns and East Anglia. They migrate here from North Africa and Southern Europe, usually arriving in March and breeding in April. From laying to fledging takes 10 weeks, so there can be a second brood in August or even sometimes as late as October.
Stone curlew foraging. Photo: RSPB Ian Grier
All depends on habitat availability and the climate. Stone curlew eat surface invertebrates – their beaks can't dig into the ground, so if it's frozen they will starve. And changing wildlife populations such as fewer rabbits have reduced their preferred nesting ground in short grassland so they now pretty well depend on 'sacrifical' plots of around 2 hectares set aside in otherwise arable fields with grass 'buffer strips' needed for foraging not too far away. Farmers are compensated for the loss of income – from what unfortunately for them are often the most productive areas of the field!
There are of course many threats to ground-nesting birds. The team work with farmers not just to provide the nesting plots, but also to identify nests away from these, which are then marked so that tractors etc can avoid them. The stone curlew make it quite difficult to do this because when threatened they will creep away from the nest and the chicks will 'freeze', making it very difficult to see where the nest is as they are so extremely well camouflaged.
Because of changes in farming practice and wildlife populations, the Stone Curlew population in the UK is no longer self-sustaining and depends on projects such as the RSPB's and, of course, support from volunteers. Keep your eyes peeled especially in the early morning and at dusk when they're most active, if you're walking on the downs past arable fields and of course especially if you can spot a 'sacrificial' plot.
There are of course many threats to ground-nesting birds. The team work with farmers not just to provide the nesting plots, but also to identify nests away from these, which are then marked so that tractors etc can avoid them. The stone curlew make it quite difficult to do this because when threatened they will creep away from the nest and the chicks will 'freeze', making it very difficult to see where the nest is as they are so extremely well camouflaged.
Because of changes in farming practice and wildlife populations, the Stone Curlew population in the UK is no longer self-sustaining and depends on projects such as the RSPB's and, of course, support from volunteers. Keep your eyes peeled especially in the early morning and at dusk when they're most active, if you're walking on the downs past arable fields and of course especially if you can spot a 'sacrificial' plot.
Thursday, 28 January 2021
Neil Harley: Organic farming in Tisbury
Neil Harley: Organic farming in Tisbury
After four years the flowers exploded - how cattle should be grazing
The key concept that I took away from Neil's talk was that he has moved beyond 'sustainability' to 'regeneration'. We tended to look at the land and think that was how it always was and sustainability would keep it that way, but that's not enough.
This 'regenerative' approach was inspired by The Serengeti Rules, the book by Sean B Carrol subsequently made into a film, that explored the discovery that environmentalists today may be able to “upgrade” damaged ecosystems by understanding the rules that govern them. Nature was already doing everything that we needed and for a while we thought we knew better, but now it's becoming evident that's not the case.
And regenerative agriculture isn't just an attractive alternative to present methods. If we're to reduce or do without the chemicals which have been so damaging, we have to find substitutes and this may provide them.
This 'regenerative' approach was inspired by The Serengeti Rules, the book by Sean B Carrol subsequently made into a film, that explored the discovery that environmentalists today may be able to “upgrade” damaged ecosystems by understanding the rules that govern them. Nature was already doing everything that we needed and for a while we thought we knew better, but now it's becoming evident that's not the case.
And regenerative agriculture isn't just an attractive alternative to present methods. If we're to reduce or do without the chemicals which have been so damaging, we have to find substitutes and this may provide them.
After a wet potato harvest - using metal to cultivate soil is damaging
The basic principle is that using metal to cultivate the soil is damaging (we already know of 'no dig' for our gardens and allotments).
One alternative is 'Mob grazing' cattle on a small area at a time, with roughly a third of the pasture eaten and the same proportions trampled and left untouched. Neil pointed out that cattle have 'a mower at the front and a muck spreader at the back,' which puts intense pressure on the pasture for a short time but it then dies back and returns carbon to the soil, significantly reducing greenhouse gases from agriculture. The lush green pasture we're used to seeing becomes instead a flower-rich meadow, with butterflies everywhere in summer and noisy with the buzzing of bees.
One alternative is 'Mob grazing' cattle on a small area at a time, with roughly a third of the pasture eaten and the same proportions trampled and left untouched. Neil pointed out that cattle have 'a mower at the front and a muck spreader at the back,' which puts intense pressure on the pasture for a short time but it then dies back and returns carbon to the soil, significantly reducing greenhouse gases from agriculture. The lush green pasture we're used to seeing becomes instead a flower-rich meadow, with butterflies everywhere in summer and noisy with the buzzing of bees.
This is known as permaculture, an approach to land management that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. The pasture is sown to provide more diversity – the first herbal ley includes chicory with roots that penetrate 8-10 feet down and so help restructure the soil and improve drainage, so is particularly useful for marginal, poorly-draining land. As many as 12-14 different grasses are included, along with clover, sainfoin, horse-shoe vetch and other herbs. Click on the photos to enlarge and see the captions.
It is in contrast to monoculture farming, which we've been used to until recently, growing only one type of crop at a time on a specific field.
It is in contrast to monoculture farming, which we've been used to until recently, growing only one type of crop at a time on a specific field.
Improved drainage means shorter time in the shed - these cattle are grazing on 15 December
The other advantage of mob grazing is that better drainage means that cattle can often be out all year round instead of having to be brought in and fed on corn produced with a high level of carbon input. They are also much healthier so need fewer antibiotics, worming only for lungworm (and there are even alternatives for that) because the pasture includes the natural wormer plantain, and sainfoin which is an effective anti-asthmatic. Although the pasture is slightly less productive, because no artificial fertiliser or medications are needed costs are reduced so on balance it is financially beneficial. And that mass of insects we used to see on cow pats but which disappeared with increasing use particularly of wormers, will now be back – and re-joining the food chain!
Under the old system, calves would have been brought into the sheds at 7-10 months and fed artificially, becoming prone to disease so requiring antibiotics and vaccinations (although some are still legally required).
And what is the logic of growing wheat using fertilisers and other chemicals to feed cattle shut up in sheds, when all they actually need is good quality pasture out of doors?
Under the old system, calves would have been brought into the sheds at 7-10 months and fed artificially, becoming prone to disease so requiring antibiotics and vaccinations (although some are still legally required).
And what is the logic of growing wheat using fertilisers and other chemicals to feed cattle shut up in sheds, when all they actually need is good quality pasture out of doors?
Outdoor cattle are happy cattle - Neil's are Aberdeen Angus
The herds build up naturally - calves stay with their mothers until they are weaned a couple of months before the next birth, and females stay in the herd which now includes probably around five generations including aunts and uncles. After their second winter the steers will come to Tisbury for 'finishing' before slaughter. Some of the meat is sold through the website pastureforlife.org and it is also available at a London butcher. It obtains a premium price because this almost 'wild' beef is produced organically on a single farm (ie 'home bred') and is nearly as rich in eg Omega 3 as fish.
This regenerative approach can probably be used not just for beef cattle so some farmers are trying it out for dairy as well, milking just once a day and often selling through farm vending machines. It may also work for poultry and is becoming quite widespread in the US, as it makes good economical use of the land. One of the leaders there is Joel Salatin (polyfacefarms.com). (We have previously been referred to the films Kiss the ground and Living Soil, similarly encouraging as to what can be and is being done 'across the Pond'.)
Finally, asked how the new Environmental Land Management System (ELMS) of financial support for agriculture would work, Neil confirmed that regenerative farming complied with its requirements but it would just take time to build up.
This regenerative approach can probably be used not just for beef cattle so some farmers are trying it out for dairy as well, milking just once a day and often selling through farm vending machines. It may also work for poultry and is becoming quite widespread in the US, as it makes good economical use of the land. One of the leaders there is Joel Salatin (polyfacefarms.com). (We have previously been referred to the films Kiss the ground and Living Soil, similarly encouraging as to what can be and is being done 'across the Pond'.)
Finally, asked how the new Environmental Land Management System (ELMS) of financial support for agriculture would work, Neil confirmed that regenerative farming complied with its requirements but it would just take time to build up.
The end result (for the moment) - how a meadow should be.
Thursday, 21 January 2021
Edward Mayer, Swift Conservation: What we can do to conserve these amazing birds
Edward Mayer, Swift Conservation: What we can do to conserve these amazing birds
Click on the photos to enlarge and read the caption and attribution.
Swifts just are the most amazing creatures! We're already determined to do everything we can to support our Tisbury swifts, but Edward Mayer's immense knowledge and contagious enthusiasm has made us even more convinced of the urgent need to do this. He made the point at the outset that these are birds that we humans really can help: more about our campaign on the MoreNews page.
Edward told us that their story began around 49m years ago, as fossils looking much like today's swifts are found over much of Europe dating back that far. Humans have been around for 150m years, so we've been enjoying swifts for half our existence.
But now, because of us, they are in danger: numbers are down by over 50% in the UK alone, between 1995 and 2015 according to the BTO.
We need to do something to stop this, first because swifts provide a very valuable service which certainly contributes to our general well-being. They eat thousands and thousands of insects that would otherwise make our lives a misery or ruin our crops.
This is becoming an ever more urgent requirement: at the same time as the swift population declines, global warming is bringing different species of insects from Africa into Europe. Latest arrival in France is the tiger mosquito which carries tropical diseases such as dengue feaver, West Nile virus and chickengunya - treatable but not always curable.
But it's the overall decline in insect life eg of 80% between 1981 and 2013 that along with disappearing nest sites that is more of a problem. Most of that is due to the farming practices ie the preference for chemical treatment instead of more sustainable – indeed regenerative – methods which, thankfully, are becoming more widespread (see Peter Thompson's talk on 19 November, summarised below).
But the other reason is that without swifts joyfully screaming overhead, our summers especially in our villages, towns and cities, would be miserably silent! Swifts originally nested in very large, old trees and some are still doing this in the Abernethy Forest in Scotland, a nature reserve that includes remnants of the ancient Caledonian Forest, and also in the ancient Bialoweza Forest on the Poland-Belorus border. But now they're mainly urban birds – so much so that the German word for swift is Mauersegler which means wall-sailor.
Our swifts make a return journey of 14,000 miles to South East Africa and back, every single year, at an altitude of around 8000 feet and taking just 16 days each way. It is their construction that makes this possible and for almost every aspect of their lives to be carried out in mid-air, from grooming to mating – and it's been studied by scientists designing modern aircraft.
Their wings rotate at the base - this gives them extraordinary agility as in this video which we posted before the talk. This inspired the design of swing-wing planes including the F111 fighter jet.
Swifts just are the most amazing creatures! We're already determined to do everything we can to support our Tisbury swifts, but Edward Mayer's immense knowledge and contagious enthusiasm has made us even more convinced of the urgent need to do this. He made the point at the outset that these are birds that we humans really can help: more about our campaign on the MoreNews page.
Edward told us that their story began around 49m years ago, as fossils looking much like today's swifts are found over much of Europe dating back that far. Humans have been around for 150m years, so we've been enjoying swifts for half our existence.
But now, because of us, they are in danger: numbers are down by over 50% in the UK alone, between 1995 and 2015 according to the BTO.
We need to do something to stop this, first because swifts provide a very valuable service which certainly contributes to our general well-being. They eat thousands and thousands of insects that would otherwise make our lives a misery or ruin our crops.
This is becoming an ever more urgent requirement: at the same time as the swift population declines, global warming is bringing different species of insects from Africa into Europe. Latest arrival in France is the tiger mosquito which carries tropical diseases such as dengue feaver, West Nile virus and chickengunya - treatable but not always curable.
But it's the overall decline in insect life eg of 80% between 1981 and 2013 that along with disappearing nest sites that is more of a problem. Most of that is due to the farming practices ie the preference for chemical treatment instead of more sustainable – indeed regenerative – methods which, thankfully, are becoming more widespread (see Peter Thompson's talk on 19 November, summarised below).
But the other reason is that without swifts joyfully screaming overhead, our summers especially in our villages, towns and cities, would be miserably silent! Swifts originally nested in very large, old trees and some are still doing this in the Abernethy Forest in Scotland, a nature reserve that includes remnants of the ancient Caledonian Forest, and also in the ancient Bialoweza Forest on the Poland-Belorus border. But now they're mainly urban birds – so much so that the German word for swift is Mauersegler which means wall-sailor.
Our swifts make a return journey of 14,000 miles to South East Africa and back, every single year, at an altitude of around 8000 feet and taking just 16 days each way. It is their construction that makes this possible and for almost every aspect of their lives to be carried out in mid-air, from grooming to mating – and it's been studied by scientists designing modern aircraft.
Their wings rotate at the base - this gives them extraordinary agility as in this video which we posted before the talk. This inspired the design of swing-wing planes including the F111 fighter jet.
Hummingbirds have this same feature, which enables them to hover, and they are descended from the same prehistoric ancestor.
Swifts' wings are also extremely thin and this 'high aspect ratio' provides exceptional 'fuel economy'. It means they can fly for four days across the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa without food – no insects over water – or drink. And it's this same feature that makes the Dreamliner popular with the airlines!
Swifts always return to the same nest site and if they find this closed or disappeared, they won't breed that year. The destruction of nests is a major factor in the decline in swift populations – down by 57% in Europe between 1995 and 2017. But if such work is essential, information on how to preserve the colony is given in the Swift Conservation leaflet Roof & gable repairs and re-roofing with swifts and Swift nest places in soffits and eaves.
Nor will they breed if they've been short of food on the way, or have met unseasonably cold weather – this happened last year in Greece. But if the nest site is safe they can continue to breed for up to 20 years, beginning when they're three years old ie have successfully completed their migration three times.
Swifts' wings are also extremely thin and this 'high aspect ratio' provides exceptional 'fuel economy'. It means they can fly for four days across the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa without food – no insects over water – or drink. And it's this same feature that makes the Dreamliner popular with the airlines!
Swifts always return to the same nest site and if they find this closed or disappeared, they won't breed that year. The destruction of nests is a major factor in the decline in swift populations – down by 57% in Europe between 1995 and 2017. But if such work is essential, information on how to preserve the colony is given in the Swift Conservation leaflet Roof & gable repairs and re-roofing with swifts and Swift nest places in soffits and eaves.
Nor will they breed if they've been short of food on the way, or have met unseasonably cold weather – this happened last year in Greece. But if the nest site is safe they can continue to breed for up to 20 years, beginning when they're three years old ie have successfully completed their migration three times.
Often, swifts nest in a minute opening at the top of stone- or brickwork with enough space on a flat surface behind – this is the entrance to the nest on my house. Nests aren't luxurious, just whatever swifts can catch in the sky – bits of grass, feathers etc
The sexes migrate separately, but the sooner they get back to the nest site and start fattening themselves up the better, because the young only leave the nest when fully fledged, and this takes around 6 weeks. I did once witness one fledging from the nest on my house and I'll never forget it. I'd been observing the little white face peeping out, and one evening it launched itself out with a sharp clap of wings, and was gone.
Please go to MoreNews for details of our campaign.
The sexes migrate separately, but the sooner they get back to the nest site and start fattening themselves up the better, because the young only leave the nest when fully fledged, and this takes around 6 weeks. I did once witness one fledging from the nest on my house and I'll never forget it. I'd been observing the little white face peeping out, and one evening it launched itself out with a sharp clap of wings, and was gone.
Please go to MoreNews for details of our campaign.
Thursday, 17 December 2020
Anna Lewington: Birch trees world-wide and in history
Anna Lewington: Birch trees world-wide and in history
Brzoza_nadrzeczna_Betula_utilis_var_jacquemontii_RB3 - author Radomil
Bothanic Garden, Poznań
Anna's talk was based on her book Birch (full details on our Reading List page) - it was delightful, and Anna's understandable enthusiasm carried us through amazing fact after amazing fact and observations of its historic, social and ecological significance. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying how impressed I was at the tree's zillion different uses and role in many different cultures. The photographs Anna used were all quite lovely and effectively illustrated the points she was making.
(A timely page feature on 'Choosing the whitest birch' in the January issue of RHS's The Garden recommends this betula utilis subsp.jacquemontii 'Grayswood Ghost' - something like the one in this photo.)
The publisher's summary of the book's content is better than any summary I could myself provide, of this excellent end to our monthly series of autumn/winter talks for 2020, which we managed to sustain against all odds - and with the support of our tech-savvy membership:
'Elegant and beautiful, rich in history and supremely useful, birches have played an extraordinary yet largely unrecognized part in shaping both our natural environment and the material culture and beliefs of millions of people around the world.
'For thousands of years they have given people of the northern forests and beyond raw materials in the form of leaves, twigs, branches and bark, as well as wood and sap, not simply to survive but to flourish and express their identity in practical and spiritual ways. Tough, waterproof and flexible, birch bark has been used for everything from basketry and clothing to housing and transport, musical instruments and medicines, as well as a means to communicate and record sacred beliefs: some of our most ancient Buddhist texts and other historic documents are written on birch bark. Birches have not only shaped regional cultures – creating, for example, the Native American wigwam and the birch bark canoe – but continue to supply raw materials of global economic importance today.
'Birch explores the multiple uses of these versatile trees as well as the ancient beliefs and folklore with which they are associated. Richly illustrated, this book presents a fascinating overview of their cultural and ecological significance, from botany to literature and art, as Anna Lewington looks both at the history of birches and what the future may hold in store for them.'
(A timely page feature on 'Choosing the whitest birch' in the January issue of RHS's The Garden recommends this betula utilis subsp.jacquemontii 'Grayswood Ghost' - something like the one in this photo.)
The publisher's summary of the book's content is better than any summary I could myself provide, of this excellent end to our monthly series of autumn/winter talks for 2020, which we managed to sustain against all odds - and with the support of our tech-savvy membership:
'Elegant and beautiful, rich in history and supremely useful, birches have played an extraordinary yet largely unrecognized part in shaping both our natural environment and the material culture and beliefs of millions of people around the world.
'For thousands of years they have given people of the northern forests and beyond raw materials in the form of leaves, twigs, branches and bark, as well as wood and sap, not simply to survive but to flourish and express their identity in practical and spiritual ways. Tough, waterproof and flexible, birch bark has been used for everything from basketry and clothing to housing and transport, musical instruments and medicines, as well as a means to communicate and record sacred beliefs: some of our most ancient Buddhist texts and other historic documents are written on birch bark. Birches have not only shaped regional cultures – creating, for example, the Native American wigwam and the birch bark canoe – but continue to supply raw materials of global economic importance today.
'Birch explores the multiple uses of these versatile trees as well as the ancient beliefs and folklore with which they are associated. Richly illustrated, this book presents a fascinating overview of their cultural and ecological significance, from botany to literature and art, as Anna Lewington looks both at the history of birches and what the future may hold in store for them.'
Thursday, 19 November 2020
Peter Thompson, Game & Wildlife Conservancy Council
Can wildlife and modern farming co-exist?
Peter Thompson, Game & Wildlife Conservancy Council
Can wildlife and modern farming co-exist?
Peter has very kindly made available here the slides he used for his talk, which include all the photographs that so clearly demonstrated that the answer is a resounding 'yes!'
Peter began by comparing British farming in previous decades with what's happening now. Most farms used to rotate arable with dairy, beef, sheep or pig rearing and that was highly beneficial to wildlife. But now the country is broadly divided into vertical strips down its length, with purely arable mainly on the eastern side and animal farming increasing to the west. (More rain so more grass, maybe?) A particular problem has been autumn ploughing, which has left the land bare through the winter with no stubble to prevent soil erosion in heavy rain and resulting pollution of waterways with fertilisers and pesticides.
What is required to help wildlife recover is year round care – nesting habitats, summer food for the young and food throughout the winter. And it can be done. On Peter's own farm, wildlife was declining like others but within five years populations were back up to levels of the 1960s.
Peter trained as agronomist so can now talk about getting best of both worlds. Pesticide use is still very important but caring for the soil as much or more so, and this has been largely ignored until recently. Darwin is mostly known for his Origin of species, but his last publication was on the subject of earthworms and the vital role they can play, now known to restore carbon from plant growth back into the soil. For that to happen, new methods of rearing animals are needed, such as 'mob grazing' (described in the film, Kiss the ground). Indeed, Darwin said, 'It may be doubted if there are any other animals which have played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organized creatures.'
Controlling insects with pesticides can still be necessary, but better still to choose flowers which attract insects that will eat aphids you don't want - 'Marmalade fly' hoverflies especially are very good at that, along with ladybirds and lacewings (as every gardener now knows). And for pollinators, bumblebees will fly even in poor conditions but they do need tussicky grass in field margins to overwinter, often in small mammal holes.
Peter began by comparing British farming in previous decades with what's happening now. Most farms used to rotate arable with dairy, beef, sheep or pig rearing and that was highly beneficial to wildlife. But now the country is broadly divided into vertical strips down its length, with purely arable mainly on the eastern side and animal farming increasing to the west. (More rain so more grass, maybe?) A particular problem has been autumn ploughing, which has left the land bare through the winter with no stubble to prevent soil erosion in heavy rain and resulting pollution of waterways with fertilisers and pesticides.
What is required to help wildlife recover is year round care – nesting habitats, summer food for the young and food throughout the winter. And it can be done. On Peter's own farm, wildlife was declining like others but within five years populations were back up to levels of the 1960s.
Peter trained as agronomist so can now talk about getting best of both worlds. Pesticide use is still very important but caring for the soil as much or more so, and this has been largely ignored until recently. Darwin is mostly known for his Origin of species, but his last publication was on the subject of earthworms and the vital role they can play, now known to restore carbon from plant growth back into the soil. For that to happen, new methods of rearing animals are needed, such as 'mob grazing' (described in the film, Kiss the ground). Indeed, Darwin said, 'It may be doubted if there are any other animals which have played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organized creatures.'
Controlling insects with pesticides can still be necessary, but better still to choose flowers which attract insects that will eat aphids you don't want - 'Marmalade fly' hoverflies especially are very good at that, along with ladybirds and lacewings (as every gardener now knows). And for pollinators, bumblebees will fly even in poor conditions but they do need tussicky grass in field margins to overwinter, often in small mammal holes.
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To make a difference, such changes need to be on a 'landscape' scale, hence the 'farm clusters' now established throughout the UK and notably in our own backyard in the Chalke Valley, southward round Martin Down on Cranborne Chase and in our own Nadder Valley, where Peter Shallcross now leads the new Farmers Group.
We can be encouraged by the work done, for which Payments out of Government (ie taxpayers') funds are almost always one of the four essentials along with People, Planning and Passion. |
The latter three are definitely not in short supply so let us hope the first can withstand the assault of COVID and BREXIT. (This video is of the famous 'jangling keys' song of the corn bunting, now on its way back in this area thanks no doubt to our Farm Clusters.)
For more information about these Farm Clusters, go to their website: it's a fascinating read.
For more information about these Farm Clusters, go to their website: it's a fascinating read.
Thursday, 15 October 2020
David Waters The Great Bustard Project
David Waters The Great Bustard Project
A bustard running - NB not taking off - see story. Photo: Sabine Maesky
David Waters' talk about the Great Bustard Project was a wonderfully cheering way to spend a dark October evening. The last Great Bustards were shot in Wiltshire in the 1873 but over the last 30 years David's almost single-handed determination has brought the British population back to stability with over 100 birds now settled on Salisbury Plain. As David said in his talk, people travel thousands of miles to Antarctica, but right here on our doorstep are some of the most amazing and handsome birds on earth.
Bustards do fly – back in 2011 I relayed a report in I think Focus, that one had been seen over the Fonthill Lake and was thoroughly ridiculed for it. But although they are the heaviest of flying birds, they didn't think twice about heading off to Toulouse when they were doing their winter 'dispersal', which some of the hand-reared young did in the early days of the project. Because they have very long and strong legs, they don't need a 'runway' but pretty well do a 'vertical take-off'. Something that makes them welcome in our county is that they do virtually no damage to farmland or crops.
Bustard chicks rely on Mother to be fed – for the first seven days, every hour - and how to keep them wild when they're being hand-reared is a challenge. They can be fed by a puppet with a Mother Bustard head but disguising the human who cleans out the pen is more of a problem – leading to the design of what bears an uncomfortable resemblance to what we now know as PPE. Once chicks hatch successfully, they stay with their mothers longer than usual, often till the following January.
The collective noun for Bustards is a 'drove', and the first drove arrived in 2004. The survival rate for the first two years was 20%. But in 2007 the first eggs were found, with two females incubating a total of 8 eggs although none of them hatched. Almost certainly they were infertile because the females were too young, ie only 2-3 years old when they really need to be four or five years old to breed successfully.
Because of problems evolving with the original source of eggs in Russia, research was undertaken to identify which of the other Bustard populations from right across Asia and southern Europe would be as or more suitable for the UK project. DNA samples were taken from the original British bustards, now stuffed (ie, taxidermied!) and in private house collections – there is of course one in the South Wiltshire Museum in Salisbury – and it was found that the Spanish population was nearly identical, where the largest population is north of Madrid in Castile-Leon.
Eggs are taken very early in the season, so that the birds can lay a second clutch – which they often have to do as a result of natural predation. Finding a nest is incredibly difficult because the females lie so 'close' – they are virtually the same colour as the soil and almost flatten themselves into it. So finding them visually proved extremely difficult and in the end dogs were found to be most effective at sniffing them out.
The collective noun for Bustards is a 'drove', and the first drove arrived in 2004. The survival rate for the first two years was 20%. But in 2007 the first eggs were found, with two females incubating a total of 8 eggs although none of them hatched. Almost certainly they were infertile because the females were too young, ie only 2-3 years old when they really need to be four or five years old to breed successfully.
Because of problems evolving with the original source of eggs in Russia, research was undertaken to identify which of the other Bustard populations from right across Asia and southern Europe would be as or more suitable for the UK project. DNA samples were taken from the original British bustards, now stuffed (ie, taxidermied!) and in private house collections – there is of course one in the South Wiltshire Museum in Salisbury – and it was found that the Spanish population was nearly identical, where the largest population is north of Madrid in Castile-Leon.
Eggs are taken very early in the season, so that the birds can lay a second clutch – which they often have to do as a result of natural predation. Finding a nest is incredibly difficult because the females lie so 'close' – they are virtually the same colour as the soil and almost flatten themselves into it. So finding them visually proved extremely difficult and in the end dogs were found to be most effective at sniffing them out.
The first chicks to arrive of course had to be hand-reared, but it seemed this had the effect of making them disperse over quite long distances over the winter – one was traced as far as Toulouse in France, but sadly nothing was heard of that one again. Now the chicks are reared naturally by their mothers, this winter dispersal no longer happens.
This year, because spring was extremely wet followed by the very dry weather, no nests were found in the usual nesting area – but then eight were found in nearby lucerne. Because this has to be cut for silage, the eggs had to be removed and incubated and the mothers did then lay a second clutch in their usual breeding area.
This year, because spring was extremely wet followed by the very dry weather, no nests were found in the usual nesting area – but then eight were found in nearby lucerne. Because this has to be cut for silage, the eggs had to be removed and incubated and the mothers did then lay a second clutch in their usual breeding area.
Handsome is as handsome does - a well-preened male bustard showing off to his rivals.
Bustards have some unique characteristics including that they have three forward-facing toes and they don't have a 'preening gland' - when preening for their mating-season 'displays' from late January onward, the males instead use 'powder down' which is UV sensitive so the plumage fades during the day.
COVID has meant that the Great Bustard Project needs financial support more than ever, but this can be anything from just £10 to sponsor a chick and receive updates on its progress over the year, up to Life Membership at £600.
Go to www.greatbustard.org for details.
COVID has meant that the Great Bustard Project needs financial support more than ever, but this can be anything from just £10 to sponsor a chick and receive updates on its progress over the year, up to Life Membership at £600.
Go to www.greatbustard.org for details.
Thursday, 17 September 2020
Alex Deacon, Catchment Partnership Manager at the Wessex Rivers Trust
We were very pleased to be able to hold this Talk.
Alex is a Tisbury resident and an environmental scientist by training who well understands the complex environmental challenges that face our rivers. He joined the Trust after a spell in the North West as an ecological consultant, carrying out impact assessments for a wide range of infrastructure and restoration projects. Before that he worked for the Environment Agency monitoring fisheries and the environment in the Thames region
Alex Deacon, Catchment Partnership Manager at the Wessex Rivers Trust
We were very pleased to be able to hold this Talk.
Alex is a Tisbury resident and an environmental scientist by training who well understands the complex environmental challenges that face our rivers. He joined the Trust after a spell in the North West as an ecological consultant, carrying out impact assessments for a wide range of infrastructure and restoration projects. Before that he worked for the Environment Agency monitoring fisheries and the environment in the Thames region