Habitat Suitability Modelling (for Bats)

This evening I attended a CIEEM regional event run in association with the University of Leeds.  Entitled "Habitat Suitability Modelling for bats – a tool for local and landscape scale EcIA and conservation management", I wasn't 100% sure what to expect, but as it was organised by renowned bat expert John Altringham I thought it would be worth the while.

In fact it was a really useful and thought provoking evening, and touched on many of the concepts I have started to come across through my studies and volunteering with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.  Briefly, the concept is that GIS mapping is used to layer environmental and habitat variables, such as vegetation, altitude, water bodies, etc.  This is then overlain with known or collected species presence and absence data.  The modelling tool then makes the link between the species that are found and their preferred habitats. This can be extrapolated to show where other individuals may be occurring, and used for a variety of purposes. The range of applications is vast, and it is a powerful tool that could help protection key areas that are ideal habitats for protected species, for example.

I believe there are going to be some more evening lectures in this series, so I will try to attend those too as I am sure they will be equally fascinating.

Certificate in Biological Recording

On Wednesday I attended an induction day for the University Certificate in Biological Recording and Species Identification, which is run by Manchester Metropolitan University but operates out of Shrewsbury.  This is the only academic course in the UK that teaches people how to identify and record species in the field.

The course is run over six long weekends, normally spread over a two year period. There is one compulsory module on Biological Recording - which I will be taking in May this year - and then a choice from a wide range of subjects from mosses to dragonflies to spiders and bats.

Although it's a small department, the staff and other (potential) students were all very friendly. There were presentations from the course director, tutors and the Field Studies Council, whose centres are used for the courses. It helped to give a good feel for what is involved in the course and what we can expect, both in terms of time commitment and assignments, and the opportunities it will open up.

There is also a small but well stocked library, which will thankfully also post out books or journal articles if we are unable to visit Shrewsbury (which is a 3 hour drive for me!).  They also participate in SCONUL, which is a reciprocal arrangement with other colleges and universities around the UK, so hopefully I will be able to borrow, or at least access, books from the University of Leeds library which would be much more convenient for me.

I am of course hoping that having a recognised qualification will improve my employability, and that doing the courses for academic credit rather than pleasure will give me more impetus to increase my survey experience.  And if I enjoy it, I could progress on to the MSc ...

Big Garden Birdwatch

On Sunday I took part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, which aims to get members of the public involved in birdwatching, by sending in records of all species seen in their local garden or park on a set weekend.

The day dawned with howling gales and torrential rain - there was not a dicky bird in sight!  At lunchtime the clouds had cleared a little, so I topped up the feeders and put out some buggy bites.  I set up a viewing station in the conservatory so that I had a cup of tea, checklist, binoculars and my camera to hand, and waited.

At first there wasn't much action - even my family of greenfinches failed to turn up. After a while though I began to see some action. It is surprising how many species you can see when you look properly.  I managed to log: blue tit, dunnock, starlings, magpie, blackbirds and a mistle thrush.  I was a bit uncertain whether my dunnock was a female house sparrow, but it was greyer underneath and around the neck so at least now I have learned the difference.

I have put together the crib sheet below - photos courtesy of RSPB Bird Guide.

Work Day at Barlow Common

Barlow Common is one of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's newest nature reserves.  Used as common land for centuries, in the early twentieth century it was acquired by the local railway company and has been used intermittently as a ballast tip for over 50 years.

In the 1980s, improvements began and the land is now a local nature reserve. It is now a mixture of ponds, grassland and woodland that is enjoyed by many local people.

Many trees have been planted, creating woodland consisting of oak, birch, wild cherry, rowan, willow, alder, hazel, hawthorn and elder. It is a rich wildlife habitat particularly suitable for small birds such as dunnocks, tits and willow warblers.

Some of the old tip area has been allowed to colonise naturally and supports many species of wildflower such as evening primrose, ox-eye daisy, teasel, vipers bugloss, red and white campion and bird's foot trefoil. This rich flora provides a home for a great variety of insect life.

On Tuesday I met a lovely group of local volunteers and took part in a task day.  The main goal for the day was to tidy up the road and pathways, where scrub was starting to encroach.  One of the volunteers went along the edges with a mower and cut back approximately a metre from the edge, and the rest of us raked up. We also cut back brambles that were starting to take over, as well as overhanging tree branches.

Needless to say I am feeling a little sore today, but it was good exercise on a cold but beautiful winters day, with great company.

Harvest Mouse Nest Survey

Today I joined staff and trainees from YWT and RSPB on a harvest mouse survey at a relative new site at Adwick Washlands in South Yorkshire.

The Harvest Mouse (Micromys minutus) is increasing rare in the UK.

They are one of our smallest mammals, at just 5-7cm long, and have a gingery coat with a paler belly.   They prefer to live in long tussocky grassland, reedbeds, hedgerows and around woodland edges.

They build a spherical nest of tightly woven grass, high up amongst the tall grasses. For this reason, they prefer grasses with a wide leaf, rather than harder, spherical stems found on many reeds.

As harvest mice are very small and timid, the best way to survey is to look for distinctive nests. These are grass balls, between the size of a golf and a tennis ball, found between knee and waist height.  The ten members of our group surveyed several fields, walking slowly in a line to search the grasses for nests.

We found two nests, both in quite poor condition (nests are normally abandoned over winter). The best time to carry out survey is in early winter months, before heavy snow and strong winds have destroyed the nests. 

We also saw several small scurrying creatures (probably field voles) that were a little too fast to positively identify.  Within the areas of larger reeds, we also found several latrines and burrows.

We also saw hare, a kestrel, and english partridge on the site.

More information on harvest mice can be found on the Mammal Society website.

 RSPB Adwick Washlands

Work Day at Letchmire Pasture

Today I took part in a YWT workday for the Lower Aire Valley project.  The task was to plant a new hedgerow at Letchmire Pastures in Allerton Bywater.  This would serve two purposes:

• provide a habitat for wildlife
• form a barrier between the path around the outside of the reserve and the wetland on the inside

This is because there are breeding birds on the wetland, so the aim is to discourage people and dogs from wandering in and disturbing them especially at nesting times.

They say many hands make light work, and we certainly did.  In less than 5 hours, with two breaks, we planted 420 trees and set up 70 metres of new hedgerow.

The hedge is a mixture of species including hawthorn, blackthorn and rowan, obtained through grant funding and a donation from the Woodland Trust. Hopefully over the years this will develop and add value to the site.

I carried out pond surveys at the site last year, so it is interesting to see how it is now being actively managed. Hopefully I will be able to help out on a few more task days in the future.

New Year Flowering Plant Hunt

Inspired by the BSBI's New Year plant hunt, and armed with a new macro lens for my camera, I spent yesterday lunchtime wandering round the reserve looking for flowering plants.  I surprised myself by finding 8 different species, and reminded myself how hard it is to identify them.  I even managed to talk myself out of a few identifications, and had to ask for help on Facebook and the i-Spot website. Here are the results:

1. Red Clover; Trifolium pratense
2. Red Campion; Silene dioca
3. White Dead Nettle; Lamium album 
4. Mayweed; Tripleuspermum inodorum x maritimum
5. Common Ragwort; Senecio jacobaea
6. Hazel; Corylus avellana
7. Self Heal; Prunella vulgaris
8. Penstemon; Penstemon sp.

With hazel being a tree, and penstemon being a garden plant, that reduces me to 6 flowering species found yesterday.  However, around my estate I also have the normal weeds, so I have 9 that count:

     9.  Grounsel; Senecio vulgaris
    10. Common Chickweed; Stellaria media
    11. Dandelion; Taraxacum sp.