Noisy Neighbours

There are plenty of indicators of the changing seasons in nature. I've been trying to ignore the signs that summer could being coming to an end for this year, however I have found that can ignore it no longer.  

The flock of very noisy geese which flew straight over our house this evening are clear evidence that autumn is well and truly on the way, whether I like it or not. Although I haven't managed to get a clear look at them yet, they are most likely brent geese and they have been gathering in the nearby fields for a couple of days now. Usually they settle on Blue House Farm over the river where they stay to graze over the winter. 

I do enjoy seeing them every year, especially as I've spotted a few brent-Canada goose hybrids in the past, I'll try and get some pictures if I see them in better light and see if I can find any this year.

Sunday Morning Hike

What better way is there to make the most of the last nice days of summer than to go for a hike? This morning we set off across the fields which have all been harvested or cut for straw and look ready for autumn. I have read about a "bumper" early crop of wild berries in the UK caused by the warm summer (http://ind.pn/1lEE0ZD) and this certainly seemed to be true of the blackberries, sloe berries and elderberries which had already started emerging in patches all along our route, many of which were already ripe.This is good news for the farmland bird species in the area.

We also passed this pond which got me wondering about great crested newts in the area. I'm not sure how many other bodies of water there are in the immediate area (certainly none big enough to appear on google maps), however I have seen from past surveys that even small bodies of water can support surprisingly large numbers of newts depending on other factors in the habitat.

After admiring the view across the fields and spotting a kestrel flying overhead, we treating ourselves to breakfast at a nearby cafe...its always nice to have something to look forward to at the end of a long walk!

A Surprising Visitor

Living in a rural area brings many rewards for a conservationist, until moving to South
Fambridge I had never heard the sound of a cuckoo in its natural habitat or questioned the 
ethics of development versus preservation of habitat. This is something now that is firmly in 
the forefront of my mind and thankfully something that I appreciate on a daily basis.

On a warm day sunny day in July I was fortunate to see this little creature basking in the 
warmth on the dark background of my mums washing bin sitting in the doorway. A fantastic 
example of where two worlds meet.

I have seen common lizards down by the river which is very close to my house and where 
there is an abundance of long vegetation and open patches in which they can bask but 
having one in my garden is a first for me! Of course the question I asked is which route did 
it travel to get there, along the short road leading from the river or across the arable fields?

For those who may be wondering why its tail seems too short and dark, common lizards 
(as well as many other species) have the amazing ability to drop their tails if trapped or 
startled by a potential threat such as a predator. They often grow back much shorter and 
sometimes darker than the original tail.

This is an interesting aspect of this lizard and I would be keen to see the condition of others as there has been a large area of scrubland cut recently for, which appears to be change of use to residential garden which may account for the migration into a domestic garden. There has also been some activity of a proposed car breakers yard in very close proximity to the river within a site which has been empty and unused for more than twenty years and of course this potential disturbance may have some bearing on this. This is one factor that has caused a great deal of concern to local residents and users of the river and has been well documented during the Planning process.

Trip to Wales

Wales is a beautiful country. Its not particularly exciting or tropical, the weather is usually miserable and driving up the very steep and narrow country lanes can be pretty dangerous at best, but it is beautiful. I was lucky enough to spend the last four days in the South of Wales, visiting a friend from university at his farm house situated one of the hillsides which forms the vast valley in which sits the little town of Ystradgynlais. 

Below is a picture of the view from the garden

   

I have visited both Wales and Scotland and I think they appeal to me because of the ruggedness and varied nature of the landscape. Its a stark contrast to the flat and comparatively built up location which I am used to at home and its a welcome change of scenery. Not that the Essex countryside doesn't have its own form of quaint beauty, especially in the summer when the crop fields are a patchwork of golds, yellows and purples. But he vast open areas and patches of forest in Wales give a small glimpse into what the rest of the English countryside may have looked like before the land was allocated for other uses and even within this landscape you can clearly see how farmland has fragmented a variety of habitats.

However even in developed areas its is possible to find unexpected wildlife. For example, another friend managed to find a fairly large, hairy caterpillar whilst queuing to buy donuts in Oakwood Theme Park. He returned, donuts in one hand and caterpillar in the other and placed it back in a tree where it would be safer.

I've returned home in time for the Welsh weather to follow me back, but I thoroughly enjoyed my long weekend in Wales and I hope to return in the near future.

Egg Watching

After the excitement of Easter and the lovely extended weekend, you would have thought that egg related activities would be finished for the year...far from it! Many bird species have already finished nest building and their breeding season is well underway. This includes the very special avocet, a ground nesting bird found in coastal lagoons along the east and south coast of Britain.

In fact, the avocet has been assigned Amber Status in the UK, therefore any nesting site is extremely important for their conservation and to maintain or increase population size. One such nesting site which is particularly important in the area local to me is on the lagoon at Two Tree Island, Leigh-on-Sea. Due to past incidences of egg thieves on this site, the Essex Wildlife Trust has set up an event called the Avocet Egg Watch which invites volunteers to visit the site during allocated periods to ensure the lagoon is being watched for as long as possible 24/7 during the avocet breeding months.

Yesterday afternoon, it was my turn to conduct a watch at the lagoon and, although I did not see any avocets on this occasion, there were plenty of nesting birds to keep an eye on including black headed gulls and oyster catchers as well as other birds which were not necessarily nesting such as bar tailed godwits and Canada geese. 

Last year, avocets were seen on the site but did not nest here so hopefully we may see some a little later in the breeding season. I also have additional watches to carry out in the following weeks so I'll keep the blog updated on any developments as they occur. 

 Lagoon on Two tree Island which is the nesting site of many birds

Black headed gull on nest

Oyster catchers 

Canada goose poking its head above the vegetation

UPDATE 29.04.2014 - I have been informed that other volunteers have seen some avocets on the site but it is unclear as of yet whether they will breed of are just visiting to feed. More updates will follow after subsequent visits.

UPDATE 30.04.2014 - Unfortunately, due to the lack of avocets on the island (only some seem to be passing through) the egg watch has been cancelled for this year. However the dedication shown by volunteers has shown that people do care about wildlife crimes are willing to give up their time to protect our bird species which is very encouraging.

Wallasea Island Update

I visited the Wallasea Island project yesterday to check on the progress of the site, having heard it has changed a fair bit since my last visit. It was very exciting to see the buzz of activity as I watched several trucks shuttling clay from a one point to another and you really see the planned sections of the reserve being to take shape as the different levels and walls are being built up. 

More surprising still was the number of birds which were already present in the small body of water just beyond the construction work, despite all the activity and noise. I saw several swans, mallards, lapwings and a few egrets while at the site and, as the weather was turning, I assume there are typically more present in this area. It just goes to show the resilience and adaptability of wetland birds in the UK. Below I've included some pictures of the work.

Conveyor belt delivering clay from the docked boat

Clay being dropped at the collection point

View of the trucks shuttling clay along the created walls

One misty morning

The view from my window this morning was a little surreal as a dense mist had settled over the field opposite my house. The crop has been harvested only yesterday which I think adds a 'wasteland' sort of feel to the scene.

As well as the view, I awoke this morning to the chatter of sparrows and starlings, most probably taking advantage of the newly unearthed seeds and insects.

I even saw this cheeky chappy having nap in his paddock among all the mist.

Some practice at a Phase 1 Habitat Survey

In order to help gain some experience in ecological surveying, I decided to conduct a Phase 1 Habitat Survey on an area local to me in South Fambridge. The area in question has been the centre of some controversy of late due to a business being set up in the small industrial buildings on this site which have been empty for around 30 years. The main activity of this business being car repair and dismantling. 

I've been interested in this area for some time as I regularly walk the dog there, it is a beautiful and peaceful location which is situated right along the River Crouch and there is an abundance of different habitats from arable farmland to tidal mudflats and saltmarshes. You can often see a variety of bird species with farmland and wading birds being particularly abundant. There have also been past sightings of bats, the odd barn owl and various reptiles on the site.

Its the perfect location to get a bit of practice at carrying out a survey as most places are fairly accessible and there are plenty of species to identify. The written report of my Phase 1 survey can be viewed here. If you would  like to leave any feedback or advise for improvements please do so in the comments or drop me an email as I'd love to get your opinions. 

My work experience at a vets practice

Its been a long time since I did my work experience at David Cuffe and Associates Vet Surgery in Clapham, London but the skills I learnt from this have stayed with me even today. 

I did this work experience as part of a careers module at secondary school where each student took a 2 week placement in any industry they wanted, as long as they could organise a company to take them on. I decided I wanted to go to a vets so I scoured the local area for every surgery I could find and called them all up, one by one, to see if they had anything they could offer me. Unfortunately, no luck was to be found in the area as most surgeries either had no places available or were not willing to take on a young student. 

It was suggested by my dad to look further afield, he knew of a surgery not far from where he was working at the time, in South London, so he paid them a visit to ask if they would offer me some work experience. To my surprise they said they'd be more than happy to accommodate me for the 2 weeks, I was so excited as finally I was going to get the chance to experience working in my dream job. 

It was scary at first, as it always is when you don't know anyone, and on top of this I was in a huge city which I had not visited often before this. I had to get up very early to travel to London in the car with my dad where he would check in at work and drop me off at the surgery. After being there for only a day my fears had gone as all the staff were so friendly and helpful, they made me feel welcome and like a real part of the team. 

I was surprised at the amount of responsibility they gave me from giving injections to animals (under close supervision of course) to sterilising surgical equipment, running various machines for blood testing, helping in operations and general tasks around the practice like sorting stock orders, mopping the floors and answering the phone. All the time I welcomed every task they gave me and enjoyed the challenge of mastering new skills. It never felt like they were using me for free labour (like some internships and work experience I've heard about) but instead they saw me as a trainee nurse and they wanted to teach me everything they possibly could while informing me about lots of different aspects of the job.

At the end of the experience they gave me the best possible compliment by saying I was the best work experience student they had ever had in the practice. I'm grateful for their kindness, patience and willingness to give their time to teach me and even though I did not end up on the medical career path, I still value all the skills I learnt during this time. 

Uni field trips: Devon

In March 2012 (my second year of uni) we took a week long trip to Watermouth Bay in Ilfracombe, North Devon. The trip was part of our Practical Biology module and was designed to teach us lots of different surveying techniques on a variety of flora and fauna on location. It was a great "hands on" experience not only to learn field skills but also to try them out for ourselves, I always find this a more effective way of learning rather than just taking everything out of a book.

We stayed in log cabins with 7/8 people per cabin, since our class was so big it meant we basically took over the site for the week. Despite this the owners of the site were very accommodating and clearly have a really good relationship with the uni. Plus having all our uni friends together in one cabin was very entertaining and made for some fun evenings.

Everyone had decided on the activities which we wanted to do before hand so everything was well organised and timetabled for us. I chose to go bat detecting, bird surveying, badger watching, surveying a rocky shore, sampling invertebrates in a nearby stream, radio tracking and plotting rabbit warrens in sand dunes using GPS devices.

 As well as individual activities each group of students had a research project which we carried out whilst on the trip. While most group completed their studies over 1/2 days, we chose to base our project around small mammal trapping which involved setting traps every evening and getting up a the crack of dawn to check the traps and log any mammals we found. Although it was hard work, learning how to set traps and how to handle small mammals was extremely useful and we even got the chance to teach other students about this as a group of people were interested in our project and wanted to learn more about the techniques we used. Here are some pictures of some of the mammals we caught. 

We also aimed to get up early enough to catch the sunrise as it came over the hills.

The trip ended in several tests; one which was about identification of various species from pictures, sounds and samples and another on technical aspects of the survey methods which we had learnt. It was a great trip where we learnt a lot of useful practical field techniques and got to spend some quality time with our friends and lecturers away from the academic environment and in the beautiful countryside of Devon.

Uni field trips: The Isle of Rum (Scotland)

Its been several months now since I left uni and its true what they say about it; you never realise how much you enjoyed it until you've left. I was looking through some old pictures yesterday and I came across a load of albums from residential trips which I went on at uni. I thought it would be good idea to share some of these pictures and tell you about the wonderful things I saw.

The first real trip I went on was to The Isle of Rum in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. I had only been at uni for no more than a month when I set off on this trip so it was bit scary, especially since I didn't know everyone there yet. However, this turned out to be the best way to meet lots of people on my course and get to know the lecturers. I'd never been to Scotland before, so everything about it was exciting, even the 14 hour drive to get there (although this seemed a little less appealing at 4am when I couldn't sleep due to lack of leg space).

The main reason we went was to see the red deer rutting as it was well into the breeding season when we arrived. We walked to the site, which took a good hour but the views were amazing. When we arrived we perched ourselves on a little ledge made from an outcrop of rock on the hillside and we sat in silence for hours watching the deer. It was a really special moment being able to see all the little dramas unfold as the males fought for groups of females.  I managed to get this picture of a female and her offspring which came really close to the hillside.

Along with this rather proud looking stag...

As well as deer we saw a variety of other animals including some golden eagles, a few common seals, wood mice, porpoises and some very friendly ponies. We even found an abandoned manx sheerwater chick which had been left behind as the migrating flock had already left for Africa.

The best view by far came from the top of Halival. I'm not sure if you'd call it a mountain as such but compared to what I'm used to it was huge, so climbing all the way to the summit was no mean feat. Somehow, with a lot of stamina and perseverance, I made it to the top and I was greeted by this sight...

   I absolutely love Scotland, its a beautiful place with fascinating wildlife and a wild and rugged landscape and I'm determined to go back in the future. If you'd like to know more about the Isle of Rum and its wildlife click here for more information and for how you can visit for yourself.

Plenty of Updates to Come

I'm going to be spending time over the weekend updating my blog with all my past experiences at uni and other work experience to try and get it completely up to date. So expect to see plenty of posts and pictures in the next few days including a visit the Isle of Rum in Scotland, Devon and the botanic gardens in Cambridge.

Swallows in South Fambridge

Now is the time of year where we expect to see swallows settling down to nest for their second brood and we have been lucky enough in the past few years to host a pair of swallows in the eves of our house. They have already had one brood in the usual spot this year, but it seems the eves have become too crowded with their old nests and they have decided to take up residence next door instead. Luckily I managed to snap this picture just after the first chicks fledged.

Rachael Nind BSc

I've finished my degree! After 3 years of studying and hard work and I achieved a 2:1 in zoology about which I am ecstatic. I am so glad that all my hard work has paid off and I am now looking forward to the next part of my life (finding a job) and the adventures to follow. My official graduation isn't until October, but I may post some pictures of the event. 

So it begins...

I haven't posted on the blog in a little while as I've been ill, in the height of summer as well! Unfortunately this meant I could not help out at the Blue House farm open day which I mentioned in my last blog. I was completely gutted that I couldn't be there as I was really looking forward to it, but I was told that it was very successful in raising funds for the Wildlife Trust so that is a result.

The big news for this week is that we started a big project at the farm, putting up fox proof fencing around the bird nesting sites after receiving the funding needed from the trust. With 2km of fencing to put up in total, it will be no small task and it is predicted to go on for around 3 month. The protection it will provide for breeding birds such as the avocet will be invaluable. I will be going back to uni before it is finished but I will try to keep the blog updated with pictures and progress reports as the project develops.

Open Day Prep.

Back with the voluntary group today at Blue House Farm after what seems like ages (I think it was about two weeks) and the task was to prepare for the coming open day on 5th August. This involved a lot of tidying and neatening up of tracks, stairs and bird hides. We also had to set up some temporary fencing and a canvas for various activities and an exciting little moment for me holding my first slow worm.

I'm still at the stage of my ecological career where every little thing (like finding a slow worm) is exciting to me, I just hope I'm still this enthusiastic in the years ahead. 

I'll be helping out at the open day as well, so more details to come.

Too Cute

Took a little break from volunteering this week to visit my friend in Suffolk. So to fill the blog, here's a few pictures of his adorable chicks and ducklings which he is currently raising. 

Water Vole Survey

At Blue House Farm again today for the water vole survey, it was a very productive day and we managed to get the whole area surveyed. We were counting latrines but it was also interesting to take note of other signs of activity such as feeding sites, burrows and tunnels in the reed. The last ditch surveyed was particularly active with 29 latrines found, that was more than we had found all day! Despite the water logged wellies, I learnt a lot from Nick (the warden) and I'll keep an eye out from now on for the signs of water vole activity on my regular walks with the dog.

A little trip to Wallasea Island

I ventured down to Wallasea Island today, along with my mum and the dog, to attempt to suss out the area  for my dissertation project. The project will be looking at dog walking and the disturbance it causes to wetland birds. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great so all was a bit quiet on the bird front. Hopefully on a nicer day I'll have more luck.

I took the opportunity to check out the work being done further down the sea wall, the jetty has been set up now I'm guessing they have started, or will soon start, to move clay from boats on the river onto the land as there was plenty of complicated looking machinery. It exciting to see how the site is progressing as more work is being done. 

Fixing Fences at North Fambridge

Since I am home for the summer (home being sunny Essex) I have joined a voluntary group at Blue House Farm. This is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) in North Fambridge, South Essex which is run by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The site is mostly grass and marsh land which borders part of the River Crouch .

Yesterday was my first day volunteering with them, our task being to repair the barbed wire fence which runs around one of the furthest fields from the farm house. We got on well, replacing about 2/3 of the fence around the field, so hopefully the local farmer can introduce some cows some time this week to begin grazing. During the day, I learnt about several new pieces of equipment used in repairing fences as well as working on my skills with a hammer!

Next week we will be conducting surveys on the water vole population in the area so keep and eye out then for the results.