Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Bird Surveys

Between Christmas and the New Year I have been taking part in the on-going Bird Atlas survey organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). This ambitious project aims to map the distribution and abundance of all the birds nesting and wintering in Britain and Ireland between 2007-11. If you are a birdwatcher it is a great way to contribute to a big project and find out more about the birds in your local area. Visit http://www.bto.org/ for more information.


Basically it involves walking around a 2 kilometre by 2 kilometre square and counting all birds seen over two hourly periods. I have chosen a square between Gislingham and Burgate that is mostly large arable fields and hedges. I didn't expect to find a great variety of birds but did record 30 species. Two big flocks of Skylarks totalled over 120 birds - an impressive count for this declining species. There were also good numbers of Yellowhammers and Bullfinches. As is usual in this part of Suffolk you count an awful lot of Woodpigeons and Rooks! I was hoping to find a flock of Lapwings or Golden Plovers but they had probably moved on to the coast in this cold weather. The winter survey has to be repeated in January or February.


Here are the answers to the Bird Brain Quiz:

1. Sir Christopher WREN

2. Nicholas CRANE

3. Clarice STARLING

4. Graham SWIFT

5. MERLIN

6.BLACKCAP

7. MALLARD

8. GOLDENEYE

9.MAGPIE

10. The HOUSE MARTINS

A happy New Year to you all.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Winter Weather

Well it has been the coldest start to winter for 30 years according to the Met Office and after days of gloom the sun has finally come out. The heavy rain last Saturday has affected our work as we have had to cancel a joint operation with the Broads Authority to clear Floating Pennywort from the upper stretches of the River Waveney. This invasive weed from North America has spread downstream from Diss and the worry is that if it gets into the Broads it will clog up the system with a dense carpet of floating vegetation - a disaster for our local wildlife and holiday boats. We have postponed this work until early spring because of high water levels.

Here is a Christmas quiz to keep the brain cells active over the festive season. It is taken from our recent Wildlife Quiz at Thornham. The answers are all birds that nest in this country.


1. Architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
2. Presenter of first TV series of ‘Coast’.
3. Film character played by Jodie Foster in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.
4. Booker Prize winning author whose works include ‘Last Orders’ and ‘Waterland’.
5. Rolls Royce engine that powered the Spitfire.
6. Was worn by a judge when announcing the death sentence.
7. British steam locomotive with world speed record.
8. Author Ian Fleming’s house in Jamaica.
9. ITV children’s programme that was a rival to ‘Blue Peter’ in the 1970s.
10. 1980s band from Hull – members went on to form ‘The Beautiful South’ and perform as Fatboy Slim.

Answers next time.

The cold weather has produced some beautiful ice crystals:

A merry Christmas to you all

Thursday, December 11, 2008

A Trip Down the Waveney

The source of the River Waveney lies in the vast reed and sedge-beds on Redgrave & Lopham Fen National Nature Reserve.

The muddy ditch soon becomes a slow-flowing river heading eastwards towards the North Sea. It passes the edge of Wortham Ling, an unexpected area of heathland that is a popular walking site for people living in the nearby town of Diss.
Beyond Diss the river widens and is suitable for canoeing. Waterplants, including lilies are abundant and this stretch of the river is very attractive in the summer months.
The river is very important for wildlife. Otters can be found along the full length of the river and water voles are making a comeback now that escaped mink are being controlled. Kingfishers are common but not often seen - mute swans are far more showy.

On its way to the sea the Waveney flows past the attractive market towns of Harleston, Bungay and Beccles. For much of the year it is a placid river but after heavy rain in the winter it will burst its banks and spread out on the floodplain.


After 70 miles or so the Waveney finally reaches the sea at Great Yarmouth. You can follow the full length of the river by walking the Angles Way long-distance footpath.

More next week.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Thornham Owl Project

The Thornham Owl Project is now in its sixth year with over 160 nest boxes sited along the Waveney Valley in North Suffolk and South Norfolk. More suitable sites for boxes have been identified so we need to keep making and putting up new boxes to build on our success over the last few years.



We have an abundance of low-lying open farmland with tussocky grassland and ditches that is an ideal habitat for Barn Owls. Woodland and copses also suit other birds of prey such as Kestrels, Little Owls and Tawny Owls. Nest sites are often few and far between because many old farm buildings have been converted to offices or homes. Here is a Barn Owl box in an old barn:


All our nest boxes are made by two volunteers, Roger Buxton and Keven Boyce who spend much of their free time working on the project. All the funds needed to pay for our boxes are raised by sponsorship. Each nest box can be adopted by members of the public, schools, clubs and businesses - a great way to help our local wildlife.

If you would like to sponsor a box please contact Tim Page on 01379 788008 or email upperwaveney@midsuffolk.gov.uk Each new sponsor receives an information pack and their own personalised certificate as well as yearly update reports on the success of the box. Sponsorship is £25 per box and they make great Christmas presents!


More soon

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Wortham & Burgate Commons

For many years we have been helping Wortham & Burgate Parish Council manage the commons in the two villages. There are over 250 acres of commonland in the parishes - a vast amount of land to cope with - all of it valuable for wildlife and for local people to enjoy. The commons have remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years. Many unusual plants grow here including a good range of orchids such as these Common Twayblades:

A few Bee Orchids appear every summer on Wortham Long Green and the Marsh:


There are many ponds scattered over the commons and these are home to a healthy population of Great Crested Newts. Birdlife is also well-represented with warblers, Turtle Doves and the occasional Nightingale in the summer months.


Each year the commons are either grazed by sheep and horses or cut for hay to prevent brambles and other bushes from spreading onto the open areas. Some bits get missed so a winter task for our volunteers is to remove invasive scrub such as here on the Marsh:



We have restored several ponds to help amphibians and water plants - one pond is home to the rare Lesser Marshwort. One of the more unusual tasks our volunteers completed was to clear the invasive Water Fern from a pond. This plant from tropical America can completely cover a pond and smother our native water plants. Here are our volunteers removing Water Fern:



Well the snow arrived over the weekend with 3 inches on the ground by Sunday afternoon. Small flocks of Whooper and Bewick's Swans have been flying overhead - Heading from the Continent. There has also been an influx of Woodcock from Scandanavia.

More next week.

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Scole Dragon

We manage a small picnic site by the River Waveney just off the A140/A143 roundabout at Scole. The old Roman road to Norwich runs by the site and it is on the Dragon ley-line. About eight years ago we commissioned a sculpture to mark the ley-line and the Scole Dragon has become a local celebrity.


As well as the Dragon there are surfaced footpaths down to the river where there are wheelchair accessible fishing platforms, benches and picnic tables. Otters have been seen in the river from the platforms and kingfishers can be spotted most days. The river is also used by groups of youngsters for canoeing practice during the summer months.

Our volunteers help keep the picnic site in good condition and over the last few years the wildlife has increased. This year Bee Orchids appeared for the first time and there are many colourful waterside plants in the summer months. At this time of year there is a good crop of berries for the birds to feed on.


And finally the answers to last weeks' butterfly anagrams quiz:

TINGLER...............RINGLET
COKE CAP..............PEACOCK
BULLY HOLE...........HOLLY BLUE
MINOR BEST...........BRIMSTONE
WE ARE LIGHT........LARGE WHITE
I PRANG TOE...........ORANGETIP
LARDER MAID..........RED ADMIRAL
A WOMB WONDER.....MEADOW BROWN
WEE DOLLY COULD....CLOUDED YELLOW
A TINY PADDLE.........PAINTED LADY

Well the weather has turned colder and snow is forecast for this weekend so it looks as if winter has arrived.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Autumn in the Valley


Cold weather over the last couple of weeks has turned the leaves to gold. Oaks and maples are looking stunning - a pity we have not had much sunny weather to bring out the best colours. Easterly winds have brought in large flocks of winter thrushes so fieldfares and redwings are greedily feeding on hawthorn berries. Waxwings have arrived on the coast so we may have these colourful visitors with us soon.



Last night we held our first wildlife quiz at Thornham. It was a very successful event with fish and chips for everyone. See how you can do by solving the following anagrams of butterflies commonly found in the Waveney Valley:


TINGLER
COKE CAP
BULLY HOLE
MINOR BEST
WE ARE LIGHT
I PRANG TOE
LARDER MAID
A WOMB WONDER
WEE DOLLY COULD
A TINY PADDLE

Answers next time!

We are always keen to see new volunteers on our teams going out every Tuesday and Wednesday. They do a tremendous amount of work from digging new wildlife ponds, planting trees to managing wildlife sites. If this sounds like you then please give Tim Page a call on 01379 788008.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Welcome

Welcome to new blog of the Upper Waveney Valley Partnership. We are located on the Norfolk - Suffolk border in one of the most beautiful river valleys in East Anglia. Our job is to look after the wildlife and landscape of this area, and help people discover the countryside. We will update the blog regularly with wildlife reports, events and other items of interest.

The river is great for canoes and there are launching platforms at several locations.











Here are some of the things we get up to:


We have put up over 150 bird of prey boxes along the Valley and they provide homes for Barn Owls, Tawny Owls and Kestrels (as well as lots of Jackdaws and Stock Doves).


Two keen volunteers make the boxes, they are sponsored by local people and put up in suitable locations along the Valley. There are now many more Barn Owls along the river.

Here is a Tawny Owl chick that has just been ringed so that we can follow its progress over the next few years.



We spend a lot of time in winter planting trees and hedges with our volunteer team. Over the years we have planted many miles of hedges and tens of thousands of trees to make up for what has been lost over the last hundred years or so. Back-breaking work on a cold winters' day but worth it when we go back and see the difference after a couple of years.

More to follow soon.