Book Review - Wilding by Isabella Tree

Have you ever walked around an area of intensivly managed farmland, and wondered what it would be like to revert it back to nature. Imagining all the flowers and birds and butterflies returning to what is a dead, ploughed field. Us humans have destroyed a lot in the march for progress, but its not too late, nature can be restored, and it has been proven, in the book Wilding.
Wilding is the story of how one landowner did just that, just let nature breathe again. They found that their intensively farmed land was literally dying and was not productive any more, was not making any money. They chose the bold decision to stop farming and let nature take hold again.
Amazingly this had never been done before in the UK, and they had to turn to examples on the continent. From the places they visited there, they found that if every aspect of nature was included in the system, it would be self functioning. When everything was added to the mix there would be a balance. One of the biggest absentees from European ecosystems were the big herbivores, the wild cows and horses, now extinct. They discovered our natural landscape is not wall to wall tree cover but a kind of variety of different habitats always in a state of flux. This was caused by big herbivores grazing areas, opening them up. So by letting the landscape rewild and adding large herbivores they were able to get an approximate to what our natural environment was pre civilisation. And what they learnt was that species aren't as confined to certain habitats as we are meant to believe, and they can move from place to place, not so locked in to our definition of countryside.
Of course they had difficulties to begin with. We have a view of our countryside as being farmed, given over to food production, but that is something artificial, only been around since after the second world war. Rewilding was such a new phenomenon that no one knew how to class it. There were obstacles from government, from local farmers. But now following on from their example wilding or rewilding has become a big word in conservation.
You can see it on nature reserves such as Minsmere, where they allow their Konik ponies loose to graze areas of land, without fences, using less intensive nature management, letting nature manage nature.
Wilding is an inspirational document of how its never to late for wildlife, that it can always come back. There are exceptions, the complete collapse of turtle doves in this country, for which its maybe too late. But to combat climate change, species extinction, and agriculture infertility rewilding seems a good system, if not maybe the full answer.
If you have any interest in nature conservation then this is a seminal book, it will inspire, even if it just means letting the garden grow wild, but maybe their message will reach government, maybe some other struggling farmer, telling them that its ok, it has been done and it does work. Work done by our nature charities to protect our jewels of nature reserves against intensive agriculture, may just pay off as nature can once again spread out from them into our wider countryside.

Nightjars & Nightdwellers - a walk - 19/6/2019

As summer rolled on, I attended a second bird watching walk based around the Froize, Chillesford.
This walk followed on from one I took in the end of May (see post: Nightingales and the songs of nature) where I went on a guided walk in an area of Suffolk to look for nightingales. This time the emphasis is on nightjars a ghostly inhabitant of the Suffolk heaths.
The event started with a dinner held at the Froize, around seven in the evening. Of course the food was excellent, the best in the area. Even a veggie like myself was well catered for, and with three dishes to choose from, I took a portion from all three, thank you very much.
The evening was run by Steve Piotrowski and John Grant, two big names in Suffolk birding. It was interesting to talk to them about this past time, their combined knowledge makes for good dinner conversation.
As the evening wore on and we had finished our dinners our focus turned to looking for birds. The main target of the evening was the NIGHTJAR, which thanks the large areas of heath in the area are a speciality of the Suffolk coast. It is a bird which is nocturnal, but in a short space of time, in twilight, can be spotted.
In Suffolk we are lucky to have them as in the rest of the country there are huge expanses where nightjars don't exist. There are only a few places where they inhabit, that are like the Suffolk Sandlings, places like the New Forest. With so many good and well managed reserves in Suffolk,  numbers are fairly stable here.
The place we went to walk to look for them was an area I know fairly well, Blaxhall Common, a nice jewel of heathland, surrounded by a mixture of pine and deciduous trees, managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. As we arrived twilight was forming and we followed a sandy path to an open area of heath.
It took a while to adjust to the peace of the area, where no unnatural sound was heard, no cars, no music, nothing. The peace itself was the only sound it felt like being in a church, this sense of reverence, and in many ways to me it is a church, a place to worship, for being nature.
Soon sounds could be heard, to begin with a singing SONG THRUSH, then a very loud TAWNY OWL, towit-tewooing, the bark of a MUNTJAC, and then on the edge of hearing the churring of a NIGHTJAR. This is like the nightjar's song, a single note, that is an extremely eerie sound so unexplainable in words, a sound that haunts the heaths.
And then one appeared, floating like a giant moth in the eerie gloom. It flew over us and disappeared over a pine tree. The churring continued. Then another one appeared, further away, that must have been a different bird. I saw those two, combined with the calling bird made for three nightjars in the area, a good total for such a rare bird.
Darkness shrouded us all and we had to leave the area in the last dying light. It was great seeing nightjars, they're such odd, charismatic birds, that almost feels like a luxury for such a nature hating world. All the weird and strange will be eliminated from the world to leave us with only plastic processed bland things, which is what we deserve. But maybe the nightjar can live on, if we can just fight for them, against everything, just maybe they might live on.

The Cheviot - 5/6/2019

With my trip to Northumbria reaching the second full day, and having already visited the Farnes, my attention moved to other parts of the area. As a resident of Suffolk, a relatively flat land, I really wanted to climb a mountain, and  being ambitious decided to climb the highest mountain in the area.
The Cheviot rises above the mountains that make up Northumbria, England's least populated and most mysterious national park. It has little of the pizazz of the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales is more understated, whilst still managing to have great scenery.
Being suck a low key area it took us a while to find the car park and the route up, and so we ended up arriving around midday. I was walking with two other people who weren't interested in bird watching in any shape or form, so I didn't have the chance to stop as much as I would have liked, which in the end was a bonus, as it took a long time to walk, even at normal pace.
The first leg of the journey took us up a river valley where some birders we met along the way, pointed out a RING OUZEL, in a patch of bracken. This is the first time I've seen this species on its breeding haunts, I usually catch up with it on migration along the coast, so it was a real bonus, what I was hoping to see. There were also several STONECHAT in the lowland areas of heath, and as the trees thinned out WILLOW WARBLER were singing. The bubbling call of the CURLEW carried on the wind, no doubt some pair nesting in a boggy area of land.

 

Gradually as we made our way up, the landscape changed to open heather moorland, more of a wilderness, and in this area we flushed several family parties of RED GROUSE, with young. There were several shooting butts in the area, and gritting posts, which indicated the area was managed as a grouse shooting place, as is so much of our mountain tops.
The hardest climb was right at the end, a massive slog up three hundred metres, at a high gradient, which coming from Suffolk, where we have no such slopes, was very difficult. At this point the area became very boggy, with little areas of water cutting across the path, meaning we had to jump over a little stream every so often, really knackering the legs. At the top the area became more boggy and we discovered a couple of GOLDEN PLOVER, they were often silhouetted against the sky on a piece of heather, emitting their haunting call that really added to the wilderness of the mountain summit. These birds that winter down  in the lowlands spend the summer up in boggy mountainous areas, and their summer plumage of golden back and black belly is sublime.

 

The top was a plateau, and there was low cloud so there weren't many views. We had our lunch on the only sign of civilisation, a trig point, and made our way down.
The downslope path was a lot more treacherous. The path followed the river down, which meant constantly having to cross and recross the river, jumping from stone to stone when doing so. It was like this for quite a while, until the land became more flat and there was more space to follow the river on one bank.

Down at this point we saw some upland river birds like DIPPER and GREY WAGTAIL, saw a few more lowland STONECHATS, a REED BUNTING, and gradually we saw more signs of civilisation, until we eventually found the road and the car.
It was a long journey, it took around five hours, with all the steep slopes and obstacles, although we hadn't travelled far. It was a nice, picturesque walk, and coming from Suffolk that's what I wanted, to see a more remote area of country, and above all mountain birds.

The Farne Isles - Inner Farne Island - 4/6/2019

Whilst Staple Island was rugged and intimidating, Inner Farne was more accommodating. It is shaped like a right-angled triangle, or a piece of pie on its side rising up from a harbour at sea level to cliffs at the back. It was a short trip from Staple Island where I had previously spent a couple of hours (see previous blog) across a fairly calm sea. The visit was part of a day excursion out to the Farne Isles and would be the last destination of the day before heading back to dry land.

For whatever reason you have for visiting this island, one occupant had other ideas. Right from the moment I got off the boat I was bombarded by ARCTIC TERNS. They nested everywhere on the first part of the island, and they really let you know they were there. They flew around our heads and would dip down to peck, a little nip, like someone lightly tapping you on the head. The nests they were protecting were fairy rudimentary, a basic design, but what they lacked in creativity they made up for in aggressiveness.

 

 



Walking up from the harbour through the tern colony, I came to the main part of the island. It wasn't so much bleak, the nice weather and other birders made it seem fine, but as something that didn't belong to humans. It was a large open expanse, overgrown with weeds, although there were no trees or grass growing.

 



 .Nesting ARCTIC TERN

This island had facilities, a toilet and a shop, and the old buildings they were based in were built around St Cuthbert's original residence. It is now used by rangers who live on the island. They would walk around the island, their jackets stained white from tern droppings, a weapon used in defence of their nests.

The terns inhabited around half the island, and most people soon walked towards the other side, where away from the terns, they could relax and take a breather.

 

On the flat expanse outside the tern colony, other birds could nest. Star of the show was the PUFFIN, nesting in burrows, partly dug out by the rabbit colony. They didn't seem bothered by the people at all. Visitor access was only on designated paths, with the rest of the island, and the birds roped off.

 PUFFIN amongst SANDWICH TERNS.

 

Other birds on this part of the island included a small colony of SANDWICH TERNS, a larger bird than the arctics, and BLACK HEADED GULLS, which already had chicks.

 

 

Towards the back of the island was a large cliff formation and packed out with seabirds, the same species I saw at Staple Island, but no less a spectacle.

 

 

 

Guillemots made up the numbers, but were joined by RAZORBILLS, KITTIWAKES and SHAGS.

 

KITTIWAKES

 

We were on the island for a couple of hours before unfortunately having to leave, boarding the boat that brought us back to Seahouses and dry land. Apart from the species of birds seen on the islands, seen fishing round the water I also saw a couple of GANNETS, birds that don't nest on the Farnes, but do pass through on the lookout for food.

 



HERRING GULL - the only predator of the bird cliffs

 

What can I say, except it was a great day out, I thoroughly recommend it. Even a non-birder could appreciate the scale of such a place. For an alternative to the stresses of modern existence, a trip out to nowhere is quite the tonic, so book a trip for next year.

The Farne Isles - Staple Island - 4/6/2019

 



The Farne Islands are an amazing birding destination where close views can be had of cliffs heaving with sea birds, including the lovely PUFFIN. Sea birds are a British speciality with this country holding internationally important numbers of birds throughout the summer months. The Farne Islands are particularly important for these birds, forming an important habitat that holds thousands of birds.

GUILLEMOT

 



The way to view the islands is from specially chartered boats, run from Seahouses by Billy Shiels. Its not cheap, an all day ticket costs £75, for the boat and admittance onto the islands. The National Trust owns the islands and they do charge you for it, but its a price worth paying to help look after this special place, and to experience the amazing spectacle. There are two groups to the islands, one further out, one further in, and the boats would land on one island from each group, Staple Island and Inner Farne.

PUFFINS inhabited the grassier areas of the island

 



The trip is an all day one taking around five hours with disembarkation on two islands.
As the boat left the harbour there weren't too many birds around, just the odd auk as the boat went out but as we approached the Farnes more birds were seen, until we arrived in their vicinity and the place was heaving, birds on the cliffs, birds on the sea.
It takes about half an hour for the boat to reach the furthest island, Staple Island, with another half an hour spent touring round it. The sea cliffs are choc-a-bloc full of birds, with thousands of birds crammed fully into them. It really is a feast of the senses, the sight, the sounds of all those birds, and the smell of the guano, the putrid reek of bird droppings which hits you over the waves.

SHAG

 



There were several GREY SEALS resting on the rocky shore. They live here in their thousands, but the choppiness of the water, up and down, made it difficult to get a picture, but for the birds there was an easier way.

PUFFINS with KITTIWAKE

 



The boat disembarked on Staple Island, at a little jetty and then a set of stairs dug into the cliff side led onto the island top which formed a plateau. This plateau was rocky like a lunar scape, with the visiting humans kept in the centre whilst the birds where protected by roped off areas around the edges of the island.

A squawking KITTIWAKE

 

We had two and a half hours on the island, which seemed a lot, but when you covered the entire island felt just about right. There was just so much to photograph, so many birds doing different things to witness. The birds were absolutely everywhere, inhabiting every nook and cranny, except the areas where human access was allowed.



 

View of a cliff giving a scale of the sheer numbers of birds

 

Rather than photograph everything some bird watchers just took one area and spent all their time in one place. I preferred to explore the area, but the area humans had access to was quite small.



 

 

A pair of SHAGS

 

As you can see the SHAGS were the most charismatic birds on the islands, their comical features made for great photos. Being the first nesting birds they already had young in their sea weed nests.
They would nest nearest to the ropes and humans and would hiss when any photographers got too close.

 

GUILLEMOT with KITTIWAKES

 



The GUILLEMOTS made up the numbers, there were tens of thousands of them. They held a tiny fraction of territory, on the cliffs, pressed into the cliff face where they incubated their eggs.

 

 

What everyone comes to the Farnes for is the PUFFINS. They were more common on Inner Farne, but Staple Island held decent numbers. They inhabited the more grassy areas which were off limits to most photographers. Those grassy areas were where the puffins could create burrows to raise their young, they aren't a cliff ledge species.

SHAG with material to line their nest

 

Other species included the RAZORBILL which was like the GUILLEMOT, but had a much thicker bill, and had an all black plumage compared to the brown of the GUILLEMOT.

 



 HERRING GULL

 



There were plenty of KITTIWAKES on the cliff ledge, our only true "sea" gull, a bird that spends all its time out in the brine, their presence on these sea cliffs make them our most numerous gull. They are a fairly plain looking bird, your typical "gull", their main ID points are an all yellow bill, a clean head with an obvious black eye, and black tips to their wing.

 

 

There were a few FULMARS about, they are unmistakable in flight as they don't bend their wings, they have this strange flapping motion. They look like gulls but are completely unrelated.

 



Also on the island were a pair of ROCK PIPITS and PIED WAGTAILS, the only small birds on the islands. There was also a female EIDER with young ducklings.

 

A young SHAG

 



When our time was up we crammed aboard the boats again to move off to the next island, Inner Farne, for a different photo adventure. 

 

 

The lunar landscape of the island top

Northumbria - Berwick upon Tweed - 3/6-7/6/2019

MERGANSERS and SWANS on the river

 



The rugged coastline of Northumbria with its castles and bird drenched cliffs was the setting for a small holiday, a getaway from work and from other stuff in my life. I chose this location specifically to get some photos of birds on the Farne Islands, a bird mecca, an area that should be on every birders bucket list. But I was also able to visit inland mountains in the Cheviots and coastal pilgrimage sites like Lindisfarne, as well, for variety.
As I usually do for long journeys I took the train up, a journey that's not as long as you would think.The trains ran from Ipswich to Peterborough before joining the northern line to Berwick. I arrived at Berwick around half twelve, although I had been travelling for hours. I was staying just across the river from the town giving some amazing views over to Berwick, with its towers and hodgepodges of different architectural styles.
I'm not really a town person so it might be better to look up somewhere else, on the web, for a review of the place, maybe some tourist information site. However, of Berwick, I noticed there was lots of history, lots of ancient buildings, lots of tourist things, and lots of normal town things.
The Tweed was good for birds. The river was long and wide where it met the sea. At low tide a large amount of rocky mud was revealed, although because of the time of year there weren't many waders. There was a large herd of non-breeding MUTE SWANS, accompanied by a lost and forlorn WHOOPER SWAN, probably wondering where its brethren have gone to. Also on the river was a small group of EIDERS and RED BREASTED MERGANSERS, the first group made out of males the other of females.

 Walking into Berwick
 

People would sail their dinghies out on the river as SANDWHICH TERNS gracefully flew around dashing down to the water at the presence of fish.
Berwick has three picturesque bridges, a viaduct, a newer bridge and an old bridge, leading into town. I walked around the walls and battlements that surround the town, to protect it from either the English or the Scottish, which ever had control of the town. In one section of the wall HOUSE MARTINS were nesting, the surrounding flock bigger in number than the whole martin population of Ipswich. Plenty of HOUSE SPARROWS were using the nook and crannies of the wall to nest, as well. Urban areas like this, historical and characterful, are as much a bird habitat as, say, woodland, with its own special wildlife. However when urban areas are sprawls of generic housing estates they provide as much habitat as the prairie fields out in the country outside, which is none.
This is a site introduction, next post I will be posting up pictures of the Farne Islands. Be warned there are a lot of photos.

 

 

 

 

Spring on the Local Patch

There is a little church with a cemetery, which this GOLDFINCH appreciated as somewhere to perch.

 





Nature isn't doing too well in the general countryside, in fact its barely surviving as it holds on whilst modern agriculture destroys everything in its way. The countryside is an industrial waste land devoid of anything resembling nature. Yes there are still great areas for wildlife, the Minsmeres of the worlds, but they are the exception, that have somehow survived despite our best efforts.

My Local Patch is no exception, formed of large prairie fields, featureless expanse of crops dedicated to growing food at the sake of everything else. There are token areas for wildlife, little hedgerows that are allowed to grow but are brutally cut back, often for no reason. LITTLE OWLS once nested in the area before the farmer cut down the tree they nested in, again for no reason as it didn't improve access or anything, it was cut down for the sake of destroying somthing natural.

RED DEAD NETTLES. They are "dead" because they don't sting, have red flowers and look like nettles.

 



Any areas of tall trees left exist around the inhabited areas, the buildings. There is a small pond in the area and an irrigation reservoir, but they offer little beyond a token area of habitat.
There is a church with attendant cemetery which provides a bit of an oasis of trees and grassland. The church seems to serve only one hall as there are no other houses in the area.

 

Away from the agriculture there are fields given over to horse grazing which adds variety, but little else. The grass is so tightly cropped that few flowers can grow there and offers little for birds.

 

So things look bad on the Local Patch, I witness all this and feel powerless to do anything about it. The Local Patch is the area I visit every week, the nearest area of countryside to where I live, and it is the place where I am most able to connect with nature. It is also the place where I witness first hand the interaction between man and wildlife in the countryside, to which I'm most sensitive.
I while away the hours here rambling the many footpaths that criss cross the area, just myself and the birds. I take the camera with me as you can see from all the photos, but I seldom get any good shots. Sometimes it doesn't matter if I don't see anything, and I seldom do here, its just that I need that connection with nature.

 

Its amazing how few people you can meet out here, how easy it is to get away from it all, but most people in the country are friendly, away from the stresses of town life.

 

One area, called First Field, for obvious reasons had been left fallow for over a year now. This is a bad sign as this usually means its going to be developed by housing, which is an issue on the outskirts of a town. That would be a shame because as a green space its invaluable to the area.

 

I haven't really bothered with a blog on winter here, as it was a non event, and spring now seems to arrive earlier and earlier. I've kind of counted this blog - 'spring' - from the end of January all the way to the end of May.

SNOWDROPS growing in the church cemetery

 



Signs of spring began after a brief snow flurry in late January, when the first SNOWDROPS appeared in various places. They were soon joined by DAFFODILS and CELENDINE, all common harbingers of spring.
On 22 Jan I saw my first BUTTERFLY of the year, an absurdly early RED ADMIRAL, which may even have been wintering. The next BUTTERFLY was a yellow BRIMSTONE on the 22 February which is still pretty early.

 

 The female of the resident KESTRELS - Suffolk Punch Field

 

The winter was the warmest on record and as a result a lot of birds were fooled into singing earlier than usual. February was as warm, if not warmer than April.

The first SKYLARK of the year was on the 22 January, a declining resident bird that still manages to cling on in the area.

By the end of January GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKERS had started drumming on the tall trees that surround the pond, and there were two pairs of GREEN WOODPECKER in the area. In February more birds had started singing, with two SONG THRUSHES, and three YELLOWHAMMERS, slightly lower numbers than last year.

On 11 March I heard the first CHIFFCHAFF of the year, singing its two note tune, which gives it its name. Soon they were found everywhere there were any tree growth.

 BLUE TIT

 

A pair of BUZZARDS moved back into the wooded area of the Suffolk Punch Field. A pair of KESTRELS are also resident in the area. Another pair of BUZZARDS were on territory above Rede Wood. The presence of birds of prey, the apex predator, at least indicates there is some food about so there is signs of life I the area, even if I rarely get to see it.

 

DAFFODILS in the church cemetery

 

March was a bit more like March should be, less predictable, not so sunny, but there was no rain, drought conditions still prevail. Various THRUSHES moved through in that month, however they have mainly been in small numbers, its been several years since we've had any large influxes. The largest flock this Spring was of forty FIELDFARE in mid March.

 



 Male CHAFFINCH
 

The first BLACKTHORN appeared on the 4 March about two weeks earlier than last year, but was soon over. They were soon replaced by HAWTHORN, again very early.

During March some of the fields had been ploughed and sown with crops, whilst fields planted in Autumn became too tall for any nesting birds.



One of the strangest things to be dumped on the local path - an old rusted exercise bike

 

April was again unpredictable. Mid-month held hail and snow storms, and there was a light frost. But still no rain.
By the end of the month WHITETHROATS had returned, their buzzy call emanating from the hedgerows, the occasional song flight, a reall feature of late spring and indicates they have wintered well in Africa.

SWALLOWS have also been seen catching insects over the grassy fields. A few still nest in the farm buildings on the patch. 

 

 

Nice view of the Local  Patch.
 





In the first week of May the first SWIFTS returned to the skies above Ipswich, the same time as most years. They are one of the latest returning birds, and are usually the first to leave as well. Their wheeling through the sky is greatly entertaining.

May brought monsoon weather, as if all the weather had been built up and was forced out in the space of a week.

 There is a resident flock of GREYLAG GEESE in the area around the pond.

 

There has been a BLACKBIRD with white splodges on its body that has been living on the patch for at least four years, it doesn't migrate or anything, choosing to spend its time in the patch throughout the year. It must be really old now for a BLACKBIRD.

 

Farmer ploughing a field near Shrublands.

 

On 20 May a ROE DEER was in the Suffolk Punch Field, a rare visitor to these parts, and a female COMMON BLUE was in the meadow by the Reservoir.

 

Rede Wood
Settled in the local countryside is a tiny area of ancient woodland called Rede Wood. This used to be a county wildlife site, but the local council flogged it off to someone, to save what little money an ancient woodland costs. This is just the typical under appreciation of our native wildlife by the powers that be, I mean would they sell off some work of art so easily?

Male BLACKCAP

 



The canopy is very open, a lot of trees have been felled, but replanted, but it means the understorey is very scrubby, which in turns attracts lots of BLCAKCAPS. A GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER was heard drumming, and there were lots of commoner birds all twinkling away.
There is a small display of BLUEBELLS under an area of hazel coppice, but not the large drifts you would associate with ancient woodland, because it was so overgrown.

 

 

Hopefully this sums up spring on the Local Patch well enough. This is an area I know so well, I have been coming here pretty much straight after first moving into the area over six years ago. I know the area blind folded, know all the passing of the seasons, yet I'm not really rewarded, I seldom see anything unusual to pay for the the coverage I have given it. Such is life