Mystery Plant

In December I returned to Townclose Hills with the Lower Aire Valley volunteers and we continued our woodland management by clearing back some small trees that were encroaching on the footpaths.  During the day, I noticed a couple of plants and took photos to help me identify them later.  One was bryony, with its tendrils and red berries visible. The other one was a mystery.

At home, I leafed through several botany books and was unable to identify the plant.  I posted it to a Facebook group and got no replies.  I showed the photo around the office of the ecology department and they were all stumped too!  I initially thought this was a St Johns Wort, as there were others in the area, but it had alternate leaves not opposite.  Found in the woodland, it was about two feet tall, quite bushy, with slightly downy leaves and what I thought were pale grey buds.  Having exhausted the easiest routes, I emailed my botany group and my query found its way to our county recorder. The plant was finally identified as Common Gromwell (Lithospernum officinale) and what I though were buds were actually fruits/nutlets. This just goes to prove that plants don't always look as they do in the text books, and if you are unsure take lots of photos and make notes at the time. Also make a note of the location, as I would have struggled to find this again if it did turn out to be something rarer!

The latest tasks with the Lower Aire Valley volunteers have shifted to a site called Roach Lime Hills, which is between Garforth Cliff and Kippax.  It is a privately owned SSSI and the Wildlife Trust is helping to manage it.  The meadows are particularly important, but much of the site is being encroached by hawthorn scrub.  A management plan is in place to remove around 2/3rds of this scrub. On the day I helped out, much of the scrub had already been cut and our job was to break it up and burn it.  The bonfire had to be controlled, and raised up off the ground to prevent damage to the area underneath. Once cooled, the ash has to be taken off site to avoid adding too many nutrients back into the soil.  There is quite a lot of work to do on the site, so I am sure there will be more workdays here in the new year.

CIEEM Conference in Edinburgh

Last month I spent an excellent few days up in Edinburgh for the CIEEM conference.

Travelling up the day before, I had planned to have a walk around Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat. Unfortunately our train was cancelled, and by the time we arrived in Edinburgh and checked into the hotel it was mid-afternoon.  We still managed to walk part of the way, up to the crags, but as we didn't want to get caught out in unfamiliar terrain in the dark, we turned back so didn't make it to Arthur's Seat. The views from where we were across the city were spectacular though.

We managed to find a very nice pub just around the corner from the hotel, with a choice of fine ales, good music and food.  It was nice to relax before what I knew might be quite an intense few days, and the pub was so good we went back the next day.

It was about half an hour's walk from the hotel to the conference venue at Edinburgh University.  There were a range of talks on both days, mostly around 30-45 minutes in length, and covering varied topics but all focusing on the theme of Effective Habitat Restoration, Translocation and Creation.  There were plenty of breaks so that sessions didn't feel as though they were too long. Many of the talks were given by experienced practioners sharing their experiences.  It was interesting to learn about subjects I have not really been exposed to yet, such as crayfish mitigation and moving wood ant nests. 

During the conference I also took part in a speed career networking session. This was a 15 minute chat with an experienced ecologist.  It was quite thought provoking and good to talk out loud about my current situation, and it has given me some ideas about how I can progress next year.

I came away with more luggage than I went with, having bought some books and mammal scales at the on-site shop.  Overall, it was a really good few days. I'm booked onto an amphibian conference in 2015 and hopefully it will be equally as useful.

Rainy Conservation Tasks

The weather has become more autumnal all of sudden, and it's feeling rather cold and wet.

This week I spent two days on my new volunteering job with West Yorkshire Joint Services. Through contacts made on a conservation task, I am now helping out the ecology team. It is just a desk based job - keying biological records from various surveys that have been done.  However, having studied on the MMU UCert programme, it is interesting to now be part of a biological records centre and see first hand how it works.  It is also really useful to read through the different formats of ecological survey report that are done by different consultants, and I am getting more familiar with Recorder and MapInfo in the process, as well as learning species' scientific names. So it's a win:win situation at the moment, and hopefully I can continue to build my skills and make contacts that will be useful in the future.

On Friday I attended the 'Green Team' volunteering day at TCV Skelton Grange. It was raining heavily all day, but luckily they had some alternative indoor activities planned. We set up a make-shift workshop in the cloakroom, and spent most of the day making bird boxes. My partner and I made three boxes, and I'm quite impressed with our efforts - probably not good enough to sell but certainly good enough for the birds!

Yesterday I took part in a task day with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Lower Aire Valley volunteers.  We met at Kippax Leisure Centre, which is overlooked by Townclose Hills, our site for the day and just a few minutes walk away.  I had hoped to be practicing some coppicing skills, but instead we took out some small trees that were growing to close to the path. As well as improving access, this will open up some parts of the site and create sunnier glades where the undergrowth and butterflies can flourish.  The material that we took out was too small to produce log piles, so we made some dead hedges. These will serve the dual purpose of blocking off some unofficial footpaths and thus protecting some areas of woodland, and providing a habitat for invertebrates and hiberating animals. It was another very wet day, and I finished the task cold but exhilerated for being out working all day, making the cup of tea and hot bath once home all the more welcome.

Today I am catching up on my study notes, and tomorrow I am jetting off to Edinburgh for the CIEEM autumn conference.

Exploring the Great British Countryside

I've had a couple of really great days out in the last few weeks.

First was exploring an area of the country I rarely get to - the Derbyshire Peak District. I attended an away day with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which was a good opportunity to take time out and brainstorm project ideas with other trainees and members of staff. As part of this, we spent an afternoon on the Monsal Trail - a disused railway line that has been converted to a trail. We hired bikes from the Hassop Cafe (an excellent enterprise with good food and a shop too), and rode the middle section of the route. This took us over a viaduct, and through three tunnels that were repaired and opened to the public just a few years ago. The route was fairly flat, but must have been slightly uphill as it felt a lot easier peddling back!  The trail links various wildlife reserves and other sights, so it was interesting to think how nature conservation could link to different activities like walking and cycling trails. The autumn colours were spectacular, and views of the valleys and gorges were stunning.  Despite practicing at home every night for the past week, I was still a little slow and seemed to be at the back of the group (it has been a while since I was last on a bike!). It would be good to go back again when there is a bit more time to explore and to detour into some of the reserves.

This weekend was spent with a couple of friends up in the Yorkshire Dales. We stayed in our camper van and frequented the Station Inn at Ribblehead, in the heart of three peaks country, which was spookily decked out for Halloween with the staff looking rather gruesome.  We caught up over dinner and a few pints on the Friday evening, and had a leisurely start on Saturday morning. The cloud was hanging low and covering the top of Whernside when we set off, so we ambled up the valley and took time to explore the viaduct, waterfall and aquaduct. The cloud seemed to be clearing, so we turned left and took the long path up the back of Whernside. The sun came out when we reached the top, giving spectactular views north to Dentdale, but it was still bitterly cold in the wind so we just stopped briefly for a picnic lunch. We then started the descent, steep in places but giving great views over the other two peaks and the Ribblehead viaduct. It was nice to get out in the fresh air and stretch the old legs.

I've also managed to squeeze in another small mammal survey before the weather turns too cold. I supported one of the YWT Reserve's Officers with some trapping at Hollinhurst Woods near Leeds. The results were a little disappointing; as it is a very public site we only left the traps in situ overnight (if they had been pre-baited and left longer, we may have caught more and different species). As it was, we caught two field voles and four wood mice out of 26 traps. At least it has given us an idea of what is on site and which types of habitat they seem to prefer.

Another cute Wood Mouse picture

Changing Times

October is turning into a slightly strange, rather unsettling month, with lots of change and a fair amount of uncertainly.  My traineeship with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust officially ends on the 17th October, so I have been trying to tie up any loose ends. This has included sorting out my PPE and uniform to hand back, which makes me a little sad. I have been wondering what to do with the extra 2-3 days I will gain when I leave. I hope to continue attending the practical workdays run by the YWT Lower Aire Valley volunteers, and have also taken part in the TCV 'Green Friday' workday down at Skelton Grange, which is an environmental centre just a few miles from home.

I carried out some more small mammal surveys at East Keswick with their local wildlife group and the Yorkshire Mammal Group. This involved a whole weekend of trapping and checking. We had some good results, with over 50% capture rate (mostly wood mice) but unfortunately no harvest mice or pigmy shrews. However, through talking to people there I have a volunteering opportunity with West Yorkshire Ecological Data Network, so am going to visit later in the month. It will be a desk-based job data inputing, but will give me a different experience and may open up more opportunities.

I have also been applying for several jobs. Coincidentally, a course has just started on FutureLearn (an online learning system) which is all about writing job applications, so I have been working through that and hoping to pick up some tips on how to make my application hit the right note.  If you haven't heard of FutureLearn it is worth checking out, as they run a range of free courses covering various topics.

Study wise, I have concluded the team project for my Open University Practical Environmental Science course (SXE288) which was quite intensive in the last few weeks of September, especially as I was also writing up my mammal survey for MMU at the same time.  I have now started a new course, S295 The Biology of Survival, and the workload is fairly manageable so far. It is a combination of investigative biology and evolution, and looks as thought it will be really interesting.

One of the first tasks for the course has been a bird prey discrimination experiment. This basically involves making hundreds of coloured dough balls, putting them out for the birds, and counting how many of each colour are taken.  I have been training the birds for the last two weeks, and this weekend started the proper experiment.  I set up my naturecam to make sure I captured all the relevant data, and am pleased to say that with a new memory card this is now working properly and getting some really good shots - I didn't realise there was so much diversity in my garden. I normally only see sparrows and blackbirds, but have caught dunnocks, robins and blue tits on the camera. It is magpies that seem to be eating all the dough balls though - I wouldn't normally encourage them into the garden, but they are helping to get me some results.

The Great Dormouse Hunt

Last weekend I attended my first proper outing with my local mammal group, to check dormouse nest boxes in woodland north of Ripon.  I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing my first dormouse up close and personal, and tempted by the tea and cakes promised at the end of the day.

It was an early start for a Sunday morning, and nearly an hour's drive to the site. I met up with the rest of the group at 9:00am and, having split up into three smaller groups, we stomped off into the woods. In all, we had 350 nest boxes to locate and check. The nestboxes were all located on a map, laid out on a grid system and marked with a length of orange tape, but nevertheless some were quite hard to find.  As there is no access to the woods, a lot of the vegetation was overgrown and it was difficult terrain to walk over.

Unfortunately, none of the groups found any dormice in the boxes, and only a few possible nests were discovered. I also looked for signs of eaten hazlenuts on the ground and didn't see any. Dormice were released in the area ten years ago and have been recorded there until recently, but it looks as though the colony has either moved on, died out, or is finding somewhere else to nest.  Some of the nestboxes contained old bird's nests; others were completely empty.  Wood mice had moved in to a number of the nestboxes, and shrews were occasionally found. We even came across a couple of bats in one of the nests.

It was nearly 2pm before we stopped for a lunch break. After this, we moved on to a second woodland to carry on the search. Unfortunately it was much the same story.  The woods were full of wonderful fungi and other life, but no dormice.

After a long day, we finished around 5pm by which time the tea-shop had closed.  So not only did we not find any dormice, but we didn't get any cake either!  Still, it was a friendly group, nice to be out in the open air all day, and a good experience - I'm now more familiar with how a dormice release programme would be carried out, and the long-term monitoring needed to follow it up.

Citizen Science & Invasives Conference

On Friday, I travelled down to London to attend a free conference organised by UKEOF (Environmental Observation Framework).

It was an early start and a long train journey, but I put the time to good use and made lots of progress in writing up my MMU Mammal Survey.  The conference was held at the British Ecological Society's HQ at Charles Darwin House, just a short walk from Kings Cross station. I arrived early, so had time to work my way there slowly and stop for a coffee en route to perk me up a little after my 5:30am alarm call.

The conference was a unique blend of citizen science and invasive species, so fit perfectly with the work I have been doing on my traineeship with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. It was interesting to hear about other organisation's experiences of using volunteers to help in the fight against invasives. Many organisations, like my project, are using members of the public to carry out surveying and monitoring work, and to gather data to be collated to improve our knowledge of certain issues.  The distinction was also made between these Citizen Scientists and so-called "Citizen Killers" who carry out a different but equally valuable role involving killing plants or despatching squirrels/rats/mink.

It was also great to meet people and be able to put faces to names, such as the team behind the PlantTracker app that we have been using to collect invasive plant data in Yorkshire. There were also colleagues from the NBN Gateway and the Environment Agency that were all keen to share experiences. It was a really enjoyable day and a great opportunity to network with like-minded people.

Brushcutting

With the end of my traineeship looming, I have been reviewing the skills and experiences I have gained on my placement with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.  As might be expected, these are very focused on invasive plant species, so I was fortunate when a place became available on a Brushcutter course.

A brushcutter is a heavy duty strimmer that is used to cut anything from grass to bracken to small saplings. Before the course I managed to get some tuition from my local reserve's officer Kate, and spent a morning cutting back tall herbs and scrub from the clearings around Hollinhurst Wood. This experience was invaluable, and made sure I had a some experience before attending the training.

The training course, held with other trainees at Potteric Carr, included maintenance skills. In the morning, we took the engine to bits and learned how to clean and replace various parts such as filters and spark plugs. We also learned how to exchange the cutting head (and matching guard), and sharpen the blades.  In the afternoon, we had some practice using different cutting heads and cleared some vegetation in the pond areas.

Overall, an enjoyable day and I now feel confident that I can use brushcutters safely and competently on the reserve. And I have another qualification too :)

Mammal Surveys at Fairburn Ings

My post course assignment for the MMU/FSC Land Mammals course was to carry out a mammal survey on a site of my choosing. I was lucky in that one of the other students, Heather, lived close by, so we worked together to carry out the survey at her workplace which is the nature reserve at RSPB Fairburn Ings. This had the benefit of us being able to share the experience and support each other in helping confirm identification. It also meant we could share the workload and could visit the traps frequently, one of us being able to do so even if the other was working.

It was quite an intense couple of weeks, but I must say the most fun I have had on a project!  We carried out 2 x 2 days of trapping with a short pre-baiting period to familiarise the small mammals to the Longworth traps. We set up twelve traps along a disused track separated from the main reserve by a locked gate, which gave a little confidence in being able to leave traps out safely without worrying about them being stolen or disturbed. We had good results: with a 75% average capture rate we caught a mixture of Bank Vole, Field Vole and Common Shrew.  As well as getting lots of experience in setting the traps, we had lots of practice handling the voles and even had a go at sexing them (though I think a bit more practice is needed here!).

The staff at the RSPB were all very interested and friendly. On several occasions, I turned up in the afternoon to empty the traps and was greeted by a small crowd of people, as Heather's colleagues were keen to see what was going on. One of them came in very useful, being a vetinary nurse in the past, as she was able to remove ticks that were infesting one of the captured Bank Voles.

In addition to the small mammal trapping, we carried out wider surveys around the reserve, concentrating our efforts on those places we were most likely to find field signs. This was repeated on two different days. We walked through a reed bed and found more Field Vole signs and, to my delight, a Harvest Mouse nest.  In the woods, we found numerous burrows. These looked too small to be badger. We set up a trail camera which confirmed the burrows belonged to rabbits, though we did capture a fox on the camera too.

At the eastern end of the reserve, we walked along a path known as The Cut which runs between two lakes and joins to the River Aire. We had hoped to survey for Water Voles, but it was too overgrown to get down to the river bank. We did survey in small patches around bridges and where there were gaps in the vegetation for anglers, and were really pleased to find a fresh otter spraint as well as mink scat and rat droppings, but sadly no sign of Water Voles.

Writing up the project was really useful too (dare I say enjoyable) as we had to consider which species we had not found as well as those that we had. This involved further research via the NBN Gateway to find out what could potentially be found in the area.

Last weekend, the YWT LAV volunteers with help from the Mammal Society held a small mammal trapping session at the Ledston Luck reserve. This is less than three miles from Fairburn Ings, so I was interested to see what would be found.  As well as the three species seen at Fairburn Ings, we also caught numerous Wood Mice and a Water Shrew, which is the first I have ever seen. This gave me some new data to work into my project write-up. These species could feasibly have been present at Fairburn Ings but were missed, so I could consider where we might have placed additional traps to carry out a more comprehensive survey.

It was good to meet members of the Mammal Society local group at Ledston Luck, and I am looking forward to attending some more of their events in the future.

Lower Aire Valley Volunteers

Today I took part in a practical work day with a group of local YWT volunteers. My traineeship will be ending soon, and I am keen to get as varied an experience as possible, so I thought it would be good experience to spend one of my volunteering days this week doing something a bit different.

I joined my local Reserves Officer and helped install a gate and some fencing at the entrance to one of the small nature reserves that we manage for Leeds City Council.  A kissing gate had already been fitted allowing pedetrian access, but we needed to install a large gate for vehicular access.  Finishing off some wooden fencing would make the site secure, as it has unfortunately been subjected to fly tipping recently.

Most of the morning was spent digging holes, which had to be three feet deep. Before lunch, we managed to install the gate posts and set them with concrete.  After lunch, we were then able to finish off the wooden fencing and fit the gate.

A hard day's labour but good weather and good company and a job well done :)
I think I may ache a little tomorrow though!

Land Mammal Identification - Days 2 & 3

On Sunday we spent a full day on site at Preston Montford. Over the course of the day, we set and revisited the small mammal traps several times and had better results, proving that acclimitising the traps beforehand does work. The animals had had chance to go into the traps without setting them off, and got a nice free meal of oats, seeds, raisin etc, as well as a warm bed and shelter for the night. A few had even moved in and lined the tubes with their own vegetation!

Along the farm track we caught several bank voles, and also captured a Wood Mouse and the slightly rarer Pygmy Shrew.  We had the chance to handle the animals and have a go at sexing them. We also placed out some footprint tunnels that we made out of drainpipe, felt and food colouring, to see if any other species would be tempted in.

Our focus for Sunday was on medium and large sized mammals though. Obviously these are bigger, often more elusive, and not easy to trap. We therefore learnt about the other ways of identifying them, namely field signs.  We had a couple of short walks around the grounds looking for field signs and did some footprint analysis. In the afternoon we carried out dietary analysis, which basically involving mushing up some poop in water, smelling it, then looking at it under the microscope. It was amazing what you could learn with a bit of knowledge - you can identify the fish species eaten from the shape of the scale, and the family of bird from the shape of the node on a feather.

Each evening we had a short lecture about one of the three protected species in the UK. On Sunday, we learned more about otters and had some myths dispelled.

Later on in the evening, around dusk, we went out and watched the bats emerge from the stable block and fly around the woodland track. These were mostly Soprano Pipistrelle. However our main aim was to see badgers, so we quietly walked through the woods and sat on a ridge overlooking the sett. We had also set up a camera trap to try and capture any action. We sat there for around half an hour, but at that time of night the light plays tricks with your eyes and I wasn't sure if I had seen anything or not! The camera trap didn't pick anything up, so we think the badgers used a different entrance and avoided their audience. So I have still yet to see a live badger!

Our final day, Monday, was focused on feeding remains. We had a look at marks typically left by squirrels on pine cones. Our main focus though was on dormice, the third of our protected species.  At the start of the day, we had a short lecture on bite marks and looked at hazlenuts and how different species opened these.  We then travelled to Wenlock Edge, about half an hours drive away, to carry out a survey.  The procedure is to spend twenty minutes within a given area looking for feeding signs, ie. a hazlenut with a characteristic offset hole with a smooth inner rim.  I found a dormouse hazlenut within about ten seconds, but it was fun looking for other examples and those made by other species. We managed to find hazlenuts eaten by squirrels, birds, bank voles and wood mice for comparison.

We returned to the centre and after lunch had the dreaded end of course assessment. This consisted of a photographic identification of eight species, then identification of a further eight by field signs.  I felt fairly confident with the test, but won't get the result for a month or so. 

The second part of our assignment is to carry out a full mammal survey. I am actually quite excited about this, and have made arrangement to meet up with another student and carry out the fieldwork jointly at her nature reserve. We then just have to write up the results and submit our report by the end of September.

I think this has been my favorite MMU module so far, and I am looking forward to getting involved in more small mammal fieldwork in the future.

Land Mammal Identification - Day 1

This weekend I am attending the third and final module (this year) for the MMU Certificate in Biological Recording and Species Identification – a three day course on Land Mammal Identification.  I am back at the Field Studies Council centre at Preston Montford, this time in one of the newly refurbished rooms in the old house. A few people dropped out so we have ended up with a group of eight students plus our tutor Gareth, which is a good number as we get more hands on experience and can see what is going on when out in the field.

Today, Saturday, was our first full day.  Yesterday evening after arrival we had a short session on small mammal trapping, and learned how to set a Longworth trap. We placed them out in the grounds, but locked them open so that no animals would be trapped but they would have the chance to get familiarised with them being there.  This morning we revisited the traps and set them to trigger.

Our focus today has continued to be on small mammals, so this morning’s lecture session was on the identification and ecology of mice, shrews and voles.  We also looked at a different sort of trap, a plastic tube trap, learned how to set this up and placed them out at another location nearby.  When we checked the traps later in the day we had captured a Common Shrew, a Field Vole and a Bank Vole ... not an overwhelming result but nice to see some specimens in the flesh nevertheless. We will continue to do the trapping all weekend so hopefully will catch some more, and different species, as it would be great to get some experience in handling them.

This afternoon we had a field trip to look at water voles. The minibus took us up to Nantwich to look at a site on the Shropshire Union Canal. We saw field signs for Field Voles and also found some Otter spraint, but after walking a mile or so there were no signs of water voles. We turned and came back to the minibus, and came across a couple of juvenile Field Voles on the path – one was dead, the other was still alive but a little subdued – possibly victims of a cat attack.

We then drove on to a small nature reserve – Stags Brook at Whitchurch. This was a more typical water vole site, with a small stream running through it and abundant vegetation. alongside. We saw field signs for badger, and - after a bit of a scramble to get under the bridge - we also found three sets of footprints for fox, water vole and rat. It was a little disappointing not to see an actual water vole, but it was useful to look at different field signs.  I was sad to learn that this site, which holds the largest population of water voles in Shropshire, is facing redevelopment as a marina.

After dinner we had a short lecture on water vole ecology and conservation. I was surprised that in many parts of the country mink predation is not a major problem and the two species can co-exist quite happily if habitat is suitable.  In Yorkshire, however, water vole do make up a much larger part of the mink diet so predation is a more serious issue. The evening drew to a close as we joined students on one of the other courses to watch 30+ Soprano Pipistrelle bats emerge from the stable block at dusk.

Invasive Plant Surveys

I am currently volunteering 2-3 days per week on the Invasive Non Native Species project for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.  The main aims of the project this year are to map the presence and abundance of eight particularly problematic species that occur across South and West Yorkshire (and much of the rest of the UK).  Although we have a number of volunteer surveyors helping us with this task, there are still a number of sub-catchment areas that need surveying. To this end, I have spent much of August out and about carrying out invasive species surveys.  This basically involves walking an area, concentrating on water bodies and rivers, and looking for invasive plants. A lot of our volunteer surveyors key the results directly to PlantTracker on a mobile phone app, but I have an older phone so have been noting the results down and then typing them onto the PlantTracker website when I get home. 

So far I have carried out surveys along the stretches of the Lower Aire and much of the Upper Dearne including it's tributaries. Himalayan Balsam is prevalent along most of the lowland water courses, but I have also come across some quite big stands of Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed.  The photo shows a particularly large stand of Giant Hogweed that I found near Ferrybridge.  I will be carrying on the surveys in September, probably focusing on the west of the county and the Upper Calder catchments.

OU Hydrology & Meteorology Residential

On 25^th July I left home to take part in the second residential element of my Practical Environmental Science course. I had a lovely drive through the Yorkshire Dales, and stopped en route to carry out a few quick surveys for invasive plants along the Upper Aire catchment including Otterburn and Winterburn Beck - none were visible thank goodness.

I arrived at Malham Tarn Field Studies Centre and we met up over dinner. There were a few familiar faces and also some new ones. It quickly became apparent that this would be a slightly more relaxed weekend than the first residential – perhaps because we knew what to expect - but it did also feel there was slightly less work to do and data to crunch.

For the first two days we were in learning mode. We visited the met station by the tarn and learned about the various instruments used to measure rainfall, wind speed, sunshine hours etc.  The infrared thermometer blew my mind a little … it was used to measure the temperature of the clouds, and I just can't get my head around how you can measure something so far away!

We then practiced taking some readings of our own, using an anemometer to measure wind speed and a whirling hygrometer to measure wet and dry bulb temperature and thus calculate humidity. 

Over the course of the three days we were split into groups, each having a different site and different project task to complete. Part of this involved walking up the hill to our met station to measure rainfall, temperature, wind and humidity.

On the first day we learned how to take readings of ground water. This including using surveying equipment to measure the gradient of the land and the water table.  We also learned about dip wells and how to calculate soil water flow from the rate of infill.

On the second day we learned more about stream hydrology.  We looked at the various methods for measuring the cross-sectional area of a stream and how much water is flowing through it. The most fun of these was lobbing an orange in the water and timing how long it took to travel ten metres, though there were more complex methods to learn too!

On the last day, our group was free to use whatever skills we had picked up over the weekend to gather data for our own catchment project.  With the weather being warm and dry in recent weeks, we were one of the few groups to have running water in the catchment, so we used a hydroprop to measure the flow rate of the stream.  We also took some water chemistry measurements, which gave quite interesting results that suggest the water is coming from outside the catchment and deep underground, as it is cold and acidic.

It was an enjoyable few days with good company. I've already made a good start to my project write-up, so hopefully this will be a fairly painless assignment to complete.

 

Surveying Wildflower Meadows

The last week or two have been quite busy, as I have been getting involved in some wildflower surveys, alongside my 'normal' volunteering work, and as well as dog sitting a chihuahua and a tibetan terrier (not both at the same time!).

So far I have helped to survey wildflower meadows at three sites: Sprotborough Flash, Rossington Carr, and Maltby Low Common. These are all nature reserves managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT), and all three had quite different vegetation which tested my plant ID skills at times!

It is quite satisfying to come across new species in the field, and be able to quickly identify the family from the key features. Common Restharrow (photographed) is something I have not come across before but is a striking plant.  Following my recent course, I am now more confident in being able to identify plants, though I do sometimes have to bring samples home for a closer look. There are still a few others that defeat me but social media and i-spot usually provide an answer quite quickly.

The field surveys have also provided good background research for my next assignment which is to construct a botanical key for ten plant species, and submit herbarium specimens for five of them. The only downside is that they can be from a maximum of four different plant families.  I have managed to find three different species of St John's Wort, several vetches, and a couple of gentians, so hopefully that will provide a good mix of species to go on.

In between all of that, I also attended the YWT staff conference at the start of July. There were some interesting talks in the morning, and it was great to get involved in putting forward ideas for next year's advertising campaign.  In the afternoon, we visited the beautiful site at Brockadale. After a picnic lunch, we had a guided tour of the reserve and saw some amazing wildlife - clustered bellflowers were blooming and looked stunning. The site is famous for it's Marble White butterfly that are fairly scarce in the region. We also saw this strange looking creature, which turned out to be a Chamomile Shark moth caterpillar.

This week I attended the Great Yorkshire Show, an agricultural and countryside fair on a massive scale that is held in Harrogate. I helped on the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust stand, particularly trying to increase awareness of the invasive plant species.  There was a steady stream of people coming into our tent, but I think because we were quite close to one of the gates it did seem to quieten down later in the day. I decided to venture outside and hand out leaflets - some people seemed interested and stopped for a chat, and hopefully some of the others will read the information and learn a little more.

Tackling Himalayan Balsam

This morning I led a work party of local volunteers in tackling Himalayan Balsam, an invasive plant species becoming increasingly common and widespread. This is an annual plant that seeds profusely, with seeds lasting in the soil for a couple of years. The aim is to pull the plant up by the roots before it flowers - this prevents further seeding and should reduce the amount of plants coming up the following year. If an area if tackled for several years in a row it can be cleared of balsam completely. In practice, if the nearby and upstream areas are not also tackled, seeds will just drift downstream and reinfect the area. They can of course also be brought in on people's shoes, etc.

The patch we chose to tackle is not on a stream, so in theory if treated it should stay clear. It is along a footpath that runs between Meanwood Valley woods and a new housing development. Some of the volunteers that came to help me belong to local community groups, whilst others are associated with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

Volunteers with a large plant just coming into flower

The weather was dull and cool, which was a bit of a blessing as we had to be well clothed to get stuck into undergrowth that was quite prickly and nettley.  Himalayan Balsam is best pulled up from the roots to prevent it shooting up again. The plants are then crushed (by stamping/jumping on them) and then piled as discretely as possible where they rot down quite quickly.  Two of us managed to clear an area just the other side of the fence (pictured), which looked hideous to start with but we managed to blitz it. The rest of the group cleared a large area alongside the footpath.

What is left after a balsam bash is usually quite a barren area, which just proves what a problem this plant is - it basically outcompetes our native plants. And while some people like it because 'it's good for the bees', the bees would be just as appreciative of native flowers growing in its place!

I planned a short session of two hours and this was just enough as it is very tiring work. We retreated to the local pub at noon, where the landlord kindly provided us with tea and sandwiches.

Afterwards I had a walk into the woods with one of the volunteers where she showed me an infestation of American Skunk Cabbage, now lacking the distinctive yellow flowers. The huge leaves looked out of place. The photo opposite probably doesn't do it justice - the leaves were 2-3 feet long and this monstrous plant clearly doesn't naturally belong here. Some seed heads were still present though it looked as though someone had tried to remove some others.  I brought a couple home for dissection and to confirm the identification.

There was also a small clump of Japanese Knotweed by the beck. I have written to the Council to see if they are aware of this and have any plans for treatment.

It was a worthwhile session but I can't help think we have made a tiny dent in a massive problem. Still, every little helps. We have another session on Thursday to finish the area around the estate, and then at least we will have cleared one area and helped spread the word amongst the local groups.

MMU Using a Flora

Last weekend I attended the second of six courses working towards the MMU Certificate in Biological Recording.  Entitled 'Using a Flora' it aimed to give us the tools to identify any plant in the UK, armed with a knowledge of plant anatomy and terminology and using the extensive and (dare I say it) over-complicated floral key written by Stace.

Our tutor Mark was incredibly knowledgeable and patient, and the facilities at the field studies centre at Preston Montford was comfortable and well-catered. The other students were all really friendly and we got on well as a group. This all boded well for an enjoyable course.

Days were long with twelve hours tuition - you certainly get your money's worth on an FSC course!  We typically spent the morning in the lab having lectures and looking at/dissecting various plant specimens. In the afternoons, we had a field trip, visiting three very different but beautiful sites. After dinner, there was an evening session which summarised the day's work and introduced other aspects of botany.

The most difficult part of the course was learning the terminology. The floral key that we used could almost be written in a foreign language. I am sure it would be more accessible to a wider audience, and thus increase an interest in botany, if simpler language were used.  For example, why say 'glabrous' when 'hairless' would do equally well? There also seemed to be more than one word for the same thing!

Despite the language barrier, we all learnt lots, focusing on identifying the top twenty families in the UK. Some of the work was fiddly - dissecting a flower is not so bad in the lab, but virtually impossible in the field when there is a breeze blowing! It is also difficult to distinguish many of the parts of a flower - for example the number of ovules in an ovary - if the flower is very small in the first place. 

Our first field trip was to Colemere, a country park close by.  A relic glacial lake, it has hay meadows and is surrounded by mature woodland. After spending some time in the meadow discussing various species, we took the circular walk through the woods to look at a rare lily on the lake.

The second trip took us to Snailbeach, an old mining area I believe, with some wonderful dry grassland plants. We were lucky enough to see lizards basking on some of the tumbled down walls, but they were too elusive to be photographed.

The third day took us to Llanymynech quarry on the Welsh border, a nature reserve managed by Shropshire Wildlife Trust.  At the bottom of the quarry was a heat trap, and we spent some time keying out plants and admiring the blooms of orchid. We then moved up to the top of the site where there were amazing views of the surrounding countryside.

On the final evening, we had a session on voucher and herbarium specimens. It is part of our assigment to present five good quality herbarium specimens alongside a dichotomous key that we create for ten species.

On the last day, we had a practical test to do. This was open book but in exam conditions. We had ten questions to complete in an hour and a half, which sounds quite easy.  When it took me the first hour to complete three questions, I inevitably went into panic mode. The test wasn't that hard, but I did start stressing when I realised I wouldn't have enough time to complete it and consequently I made some silly mistakes. For a couple of species I discarded the species name I had keyed out to and went for a more familiar one instead ... I should have had faith!  We went over the answers at the end so I am confident I have passed but not as well as I had hoped - I will have to wait until I get the official result to see the true outcome.  It's all a learning experience and in real life I won't be limited to time and be in such false conditions. I'm sure I will get faster with time and practice.

As well as looking at the plants, there was the chance to get involved in some of the other activities at the field centre. I got up early one morning and helped to retrieve the mammal and moth traps.  My next MMU module is on land mammals, so I thought this would give me an insight to what may be involved.  Accompanied by a member of staff from the centre, I retrieved twenty Longworth traps from around the site. Those sited along the A5 embankment were all empty, but we had more luck with those situated around the pond.  We caught several field mice, a bank vole and a field vole. These were all sexed and weighed, then released back into the undergrowth.  The results are submitted to the Mammal Society every week.

The contents of the moth trap were more exciting than when I visited the field centre a few months ago, the warmer weather obviously more conducive to different species.  Some of the more exotic looking species included Elephant Hawk Moth and Garden Tiger. We also caught some Buff-Tips, that look amazingly like a birch twig!  There was a lot of activity around the pond too, with damselflies mating and laying eggs on the vegation.

Overall, this was an very enjoyable and productive five days, and I am sure I will be able to use much of what I have learnt in my future career.

Floral Surveying

In addition to my role on the Invasive Species project at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, I have volunteered to carry out wildflower surveys at several sites across South Yorkshire. The purpose of these is to monitor change in plant composition over several years. This may take place through natural processes at some sites. Other sites are having seeds removed, so its important to ensure this is done sustainably and does not impact the swarth in future years. In contrast, seed is being added to some sites so the species composition is expected to change in those locations.

On Monday I attended a training session with some other volunteers to practice the survey methodology and get up to speed with the species we are likely to come across. The session was held on Maltby Common, which has some areas of magnesian limestone, whilst other parts of the site are quite damp and semi-acidic. This gave rise to an unusual mix of species in some places.

We reviewed 92 species, including some grasses, sedges and rushes.  I had come across many of these before, though it was good to reinforce my knowledge.  We reviewed some of the similar looking species - such as Cat's Ear, Rough Hawkbit (pictured) and Goat's Beard that all look superficially like Dandelion.

We came across two slightly less usual members of the Galium family: Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum) was abundant in some parts of the site, and I found one small specimen of Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis) which has the distinctive galium-whorls but a pale purple rather than the more normal white or yellow flower.

Some of the rarer species we came across were Adder's Tongue and Pepper Saxifrage.  There were also several orchids: Common Spotted orchid, Bee orchid (pictured), Twayblade and the rarer Greater Butterfly orchid though this had finished flowering.

This weekend I attend the MMU's "Using a Flora" course where I hope to reinforce these skills even further, and I'm looking forward to start surveying properly in the next few weeks.