oebuck R
The Wildlife Trust Magazine for Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland
Issue 146 November 2018 - March 2019
Pine martens Spotted in Northumberland
Trust founder Gone but not forgotten
Hen harrier haven
Another successfull year for Northumberland plus news from around the UK
Cheers
Raise a glass to ‘Ratty’
Hauxley
Awards keep on coming
Redesdale’s Wonderful wildlife
Contents Haven for hen harriers
4
Girls just wanna have fun
4
Pine marten returns?
5
The results are in
5
Farewell to Tony Tynan
Jane speak
Local news
6-7
Beachbusters
8
Become a friend of the red squirrel
8
Students brighten up reserve
9
Our Wildlife success
10
Corporates Corporate member ditches plastic
11
Opticron sponsors survey
11
6-7
Farewell to Trust founder
Lasting legacy to wildlife lover
12
Parishoners protect wildlife
13
anthony johnston
Funding
Reserves & volunteers Marsh Volunteer Award winners
14
Wendy’s woolly wonders
14
Dark days of winter
15
12
Conservation
15
A lasting legacy 16-17
Redesdale has the wow factor
18-19
Great year for ospreys
20
Voles keep on swimming
21
Jennifer Care
The importance of geology explained
An exciting visitor
UK news Public support marine issues
22-23
Sand dunes under threat
24
Land donation for Cumbria
25
Ever thought of volunteering?
26-29
Otters bounce back
30-31
Wildlife-friendly farming
32-33
The best place for owls
34-35
Patrons: Conrad Dickinson, Bill Oddie & Chris Packham President: Chris Mullin Vice Presidents: Charles Baker-Cresswell & Angus Lunn Chairperson: Sandra King Vice Chairperson: Ian Armstrong & Graham Gill Honorary Secretary: Ailsa Dobson Treasurer: Derek Coates
19
Shittleheugh Farm Bioblitz
30-31
The great otter comeback
Chief Executive: Mike Pratt Head of Living Landscapes and Conservation: Duncan Hutt Director of Finance and Central Services: Helen Twelves Head of Marketing and Fundraising: Sheila Sharp EcoNorth Managing Director: Vicki Mordue
Find us on: NorthumberlandWT @NorthWildlife NorthWildlife
Chief Executive’s comments
jacky seery
Will you stand up for wildlife with me?
11
Hauxley survey winner Tim mason laurie Campbell
Northumberland Wildlife Trust Ltd Garden House, St Nicholas Park, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. NE3 3XT Tel: (0191) 284 6884 Fax: (0191) 284 6794 Web: nwt.org.uk
Excitement and challenge in equal measure are the overwhelming feelings here in the Trust right now. I think this echoes the wider atmosphere across the whole Wildlife Trust movement in the UK and the mood across all of conservation in these times of turbulence in social, economic and political arenas. The excitement comes from a new energy that is permeating the sector as Brexit and anticipated changes around it focus people’s minds on the future as never before, in terms of both protecting what we have in place and have fought for over decades, and also fighting for a ‘Greener UK’ after Brexit, or despite it happening or not. This is a period of change for sure and all our efforts are focusing on making things better for wildlife in future, as far as we can influence this. It isn’t easy, as we all know the state of nature is already in worrying decline and this has been underlined by recent stats that show the increasing drop in what we always thought of as common local species like hedgehogs, yellowhammers, sparrows, wild flowers and butterflies (the small tortoiseshell in particular). However, it is not too late to turn things around. We do need concerted action as never before; we know the extent of the problem and we have many of the solutions, but we have to convince all sectors to work with us and put nature at the centre of life and society. This is the theme of the new Wildlife Trusts’ Wilder Future campaign, aimed at ensuring we maximise the offer from Government to put in place a new Environment Act. We want to ensure there is more wildlife everywhere, from cities to the uplands, and our campaign is about what nature does for us and what we need to do for it to function properly. There are continuing debates and legislative activity we can influence
Registered Charity No: 221819 Registered Company No: 717813 Registered in England & Wales VAT No: 556 103264 Roebuck Editor: Fiona Dryden Roebuck Designer: Richard Clark Thank you to all contributors. online version available
on agriculture, fisheries, energy and land management, which many of you have indicated you are helping us to push on. The challenge of course is capacity and resources, to cover all existing bases and develop new activity and to up-scale our influencing and communications on all these current topics. We are developing new projects and fundraising continuously to cover existing and future work. This is getting harder and more competitive and there is less money available overall. Like all charities we are up against it, matching our growing needs and ambition with shrinking resources. So keep supporting us as much as you can and look out for our appeals to develop better campaigning, restore education delivery and perhaps even save new sites for conservation, all of which are in the pipeline. All of these things, especially campaigning for nature is at our core. Tony Tynan, our founder, and his generation of pioneer conservationists from the 1960s achieved greatly with little resource, but we have only slowed down nature’s decline. There is much to do to restore the acute loss of biodiversity. Tony was always up for the challenge and committed nearly 60 years of his life to our cause and it was sad to lose his great energy in September; but his inspiration lives on and is a great foundation for the future, as detailed inside. Like him, for everyone’s sake and the sake of nature itself, we must all dig deep in every way to ensure a rich wildlife future.
Mike Pratt NWT Chief Executive @Mike_Pratt_NWT
Northumberland Wildlife Trust is a member of the largest voluntary organisation in the UK concerned with all aspects of wildlife protection - The Wildlife Trusts. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Trust or the Editor. Whilst every effort is taken to check accuracy of the information contained herein, no responsibility can be taken for errors or omissions. The contents are Copyright. Front cover photo: Pine marten © Terry Whittaker/2020 VISION All other photos © NWT unless otherwise stated
Roebuck is printed on
Local news
Northumberland haven for hen harriers The Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership was delighted with the news that three pairs of hen harriers had managed to successfully nest in the North East this year, from six nesting attempts, with 11 chicks fledging. Spring saw an increase in activity with even more birds performing their spectacular courtship displays known as “sky dancing” across the region, with four pairs eventually nesting on land managed by Forestry Commission England. This is the fourth consecutive year that Northumberland has had successful hen harrier nests, proving the North East to be a real stronghold for breeding hen harriers.
Mark Hamblin/2020VISION
The Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership: Forestry Commission England, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Northumberland National Park, RSPB, Northumbria Police and Natural England.
Joining forces to give girls a fun day out
children north east
A group of Northumberland girls enjoyed being nature detectives for the day thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Children North East and the Trust, which both receive support from its players, organised the bug hunt at Northumberlandia. The girls, aged between 11 and 18, belong to Your Future Matters - a mentoring project for young people run by Children North East in the Prudhoe area of Tynedale and the Blyth area of South East Northumberland. Staff from the two organisations helped the group find different species of dragonfly, spiders, woodlice and other insect life all under the watchful eye of the Lady of the North. 4 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
The return of the lonesome pine?
red squirrels northern england
In the July issue of this magazine, we referred to the potential role of pine martens in red squirrel conservation. We know this is no ‘magic bullet’, and reiterate that current conservation interventions remain critical if we are to maintain reds in Northern England, but is the return of an old foe about to become reality? Pine martens and red squirrels have lived in the same woodlands for over 10,000 years, since the last Ice Age. Yes, pine martens are a predator, and will opportunistically prey upon the occasional red, but research shows that voles and rabbits are much more favoured. However, it is the effect on grey squirrels in areas where pine martens are recovering that is of most interest; compelling evidence from Ireland, and more recently from Scotland, is more than hinting at a link between pine marten resurgence and grey squirrel population crashes. In the same areas, red squirrels have also recolonised woodlands. Could it be that pine martens are providing a much-needed helping hand? There is still much to understand about the relationships between the three species. There are many theories including direct predation where pine martens take the bigger, bolder, grounddwelling grey squirrels, and landscape of fear where red squirrels have an innate understanding of pine martens as a predator and avoid them, whereas grey squirrels are oblivious to the threat. Whatever the cause, the effect is fascinating, and, as grey squirrels disappear, red squirrels reclaim
LIFE14 NAT/UK/000467
Pine marten in Kielder Forest, caught on trail camera during squirrel monitoring
territories… at least in Ireland and Scotland. The question now being asked is, will we start to see similar patterns here in northern England, where pine martens have been virtually extinct for years through a combination of persecution and habitat loss? We may be about to find out, sooner rather than later. Trail camera monitoring around Kielder as part of the Red Squirrels United work programme has produced some fascinating results three separate pine marten sightings during 2018! Although we know pine martens have large ranges (up to 25km2 for males) these sightings were miles apart, so could hint at a small population starting to recolonise from north of the border. In many ways, Kielder might be the
ideal place for pine martens: a huge expanse of conifer forest, abundance of prey and supportive landowners. Regular trail camera monitoring has revealed grey squirrels around the fringes of the forest, presenting a real threat to the largest population of reds in England. We are managing this threat through our Red Squirrels United (RSU) rangers and local volunteers, but what role might returning martens play? Clearly, we need to understand more about the relationships between these species, two natives and one invasive, and we are keen to work with local partners to understand the scale and rate of marten recolonization. Simon O’Hare RSNE Project Manager
2018 Squirrel Survey The results are in as we continue to document the fluctuations of red and grey range over time. However, one thing is clear, we cannot afford to see a drop in our efforts to conserve this enigmatic animal. If you would like to support our work, why not take advantage of our member offer detailed on page 8.
© Red squirrels northern england
A total of 290 surveys involving 160 people took place over three months! The results have just been published and show a very slight drop in the number of surveys where red squirrels were detected, with them found in 42% of sites (45% the previous year). Grey squirrels were found in 48% of surveys, up from 43% in 2017. The findings are no cause for alarm
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 5
Local news
Farewell to a conservation pioneer
6 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
angus lunn
30 years; those negotiations are a tribute to Tony’s foresight and drive at a time when wildlife conservation did not enjoy the high profile it has today. His work in Druridge Bay resulted in this Trust becoming a national leader in creative wetland conservation; well illustrated by the prize winning wetland garden at the 1990 National Garden Festival in Gateshead. The new Wildlife Discovery Centre on the Trust’s Hauxley reserve, which he helped open last year, is a lasting legacy to his work and The Tynan Room is named after him. Tony was closely involved in the negotiations relating to many of the Trust’s reserves that often required him to display his formidable powers of persuasion and dogged tenacity. In addition to his nature reserve work with the Trust he assisted the Natural History Society of Northumbria manage the Gosforth Park Nature Reserve and SSSI in the suburbs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne into the 1980s until the Society was able to put in place its own management structure. As a writer of a regular article on nature conservation topics for the local evening newspaper, he reached a wide regional audience, but expanded this further with regular contributions to radio and television in the North East. In particular, he appeared as a regular contributor on BBC North East’s long running natural history programme ‘Looks Natural’ and its successor ‘North Country’ all of which helped to raise the profile of Northumberland Wildlife Trust. In his inimitable style, he opened up the natural world to tens of thousands of people. Not content with all this, and much more besides, on moving house to the old colliery village of Clara Vale in the Tyne Valley, he tutored and enthused the villagers into creating and managing yet another nature reserve, this time in the old colliery yard. One small anecdote among very many about Tony serves to illustrate how his influence lives on in deed and humour. In the 1980s, when golden eagles were still nesting in the Kielder area they were talked about in code to keep them a secret and protect them and were known as ‘Tynan’s Budgies’, and this story is still told in birding circles.
Jane Speak
Northumberland Wildlife Trust lost its founder, Vice President and one of its biggest friends on 12 September with the death of Tony Tynan MBE aged 88, after a period of serious illness. Tony was one of the conservation pioneers of the 1960s and a close associate of the founders of the modern Wildlife Trust movement. He was a passionate promoter of wildlife conservation long before it was fashionable. As a professional museum curator at the Hancock Museum of Natural History in Newcastle from 1958, Tony was in a particularly strong position to promote public awareness of the need for nature conservation. He took up the challenge and was among the first to introduce the concept of nature trails to Britain on behalf of the National Park, beginning with a National Nature Week series in 1963. He continued to conceive and write new trails for several years after that, initially sponsored by Shell and finally, in cooperation with the Northumberland National Park, up to 1984, on whose committee he served for 13 years. In 1962, he established the Northumberland & Durham Naturalists’ Trust with fellow naturalist Angus Lunn and, in 1971, he formed Northumberland Wildlife Trust. He was closely involved in the development of the Trust until 2000, when he retired as Honorary Secretary and remained involved as Vice President until his death. Tony held a key role in establishing Trust nature reserves and conservation across the north east of England and had close links with national conservation leaders such as Ted Smith and Sir David Attenborough. Among his many achievements in establishing nature reserves in his adopted county of Northumberland (he was a Yorkshireman by birth), the coastal wetland complex along Druridge Bay perhaps best illustrates his exceptional ability as a leader in created wetland conservation. The outstanding wetland sites (known to birdwatchers all over Britain) are contained within a British Coal opencast restoration scheme and have developed over more than
■ Member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) ■ Assistant UK Secretary of ICOM Natural History unit ■ Former President of the Northern Federation of Museums and Art Galleries ■ Appointed by successive Secretaries of State as one of their representatives on the Northumberland National Park Committee from 1973 - 1989 ■ Member of the National Trust’s Regional Committee from November 1988 – October 1997 ■ Awarded the MBE for services to conservation ■ Elected to the position of Founder of Northumberland Wildlife Trust in 2000 on retirement after 38 years with Northumberland & Durham Naturalists’ Union and Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Whitelee Moor, September 1997
(L-R) Angus Lunn, NWT Trustee and Vice President with Tony Tynan and Mike Pratt, NWT Chief Executive
A true visionary
Northumberland Wildlife Trust is very much Tony’s creation and for that alone, he will always be remembered. It would be difficult to find anyone with more demonstrable dedication to nature conservation than Tony, he was a truly remarkable character, the like of which we will struggle to see again.
Jane Speak
Angus Lunn Northumberland Wildlife Trust Trustee and Vice President
“I knew Tony as a friend since we were both appointed to our respective posts in the Hancock Museum/University in 1958; we had a common interest in presenting natural history (including geology) to a wider world, a common interest in nature conservation, and a common suspicion that birds were not the be-all and end-all of the out-of-doors world. When I first knew him he was a diffident Yorkshireman (such a thing is possible), but over the years as his confidence developed he added a staunch Northumberland patriotism. He networked widely in the natural history (including geology), museums, nature conservation and national park worlds. In the early days of the Trust, when statutory nature conservation was not as well developed as it now is, we all saw reserve acquisition as the first priority - in no other way could the protection of precious sites be ensured. By hook or by crook, the new Trust built up its reserve portfolio, sometimes as a result of a casual conversation by Tony with a fellow-passenger on a train coming back from King’s Cross after a meeting of the growing network of Trusts. Contacts with the Forestry Commission brought more reserves and he ensured that geological conservation was not neglected, for example with the Harbottle reserve. I was with him on a visit to a prospective opencast coal site behind Druridge Bay about 1970, when he started talking about how the whole of the area east of the A1068 should become wildlife habitat after restoration, mainly wetland (others were making more modest proposals) - the whole magnificent suite of reserves there, including Hauxley, is very much Tony’s doing. He was a national leader in creative wetland conservation. Tony kept having ideas. Ideas led to actions - and actions led to results: the present Trust, its reserves and its influence.” Angus Lunn Northumberland Wildlife Trust Trustee and Vice President
A man ahead of his time and a friend “I first met Tony Tynan 50 years ago when nature conservation was beginning to really reach large numbers of people. Tony was ahead of most with his ability to communicate an understanding of the wildlife and countryside around us and as Curator of the then Hancock Museum, was in the unique position of being one of the few professionals in the field at the time. One of the ways of communicating he pioneered was guided walks which pretty quickly became a big success because people with lots of enthusiasm and a thirst for knowledge were able to walk through different habitats with someone who could show them so many things they would otherwise have missed. Tony was like a pied piper on these walks with a string of people following in his wake and lapping up everything he said. One walk he led in Jesmond Dene for the City Council had 98 people on it. In the days before social media, you had to be a good communicator to satisfy that number! Television came calling in the early 70’s and he and I were two of the four regular studio panellists, the other two being David Bellamy and James Alder, who anchored the very popular BBC North East ‘Looks Natural’ programme which went on to become the most popular regional television programme in the UK. ‘Looks Natural’ was followed by ‘North Country’ a few years later and again Tony was a natural choice as a regular contributor. As nature conservation began to play a much more important role in everyday life, Tony became a Secretary of State-appointed member of the Northumberland National Park, and he was a founder member of the Northumberland Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, all of which enabled Tony to influence the decision makers. Tony was at his best making things happen and of course, the nature reserves on Druridge Bay, now wholly owned and managed by the Trust, are there very largely because of the influence and hard work he devoted to their creation and protection over so many years. The greatest memorial to Tony is not man-made but the huge assembly of wildlife which now uses those reserves, and who could ask for better than that?” Ian Armstrong Northumberland Wildlife Trust Trustee
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 7
Local news
Beachbusters! September’s UK wide Great British Beach Clean (GBBC) (organised by the Marine Conservation Society) turned up a load of old rubbish on 18 beaches in the region. Over the course of four days, 332 volunteers joined Laura Shearer and Anna Chouler from the Coast Care
project to collect 600kg of rubbish, which included the usual array of bizarre items such as a child’s bike, DVD player, tyres, traffic cones and 231 balloons. The ‘Coast Care’ project is supported thanks to money raised by National Lottery players through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). It is a
partnership between Northumberland Wildlife Trust, the Northumberland Coast AONB partnership and Seahouses Development Trust. You can follow the Coast Care project at coast-care.co.uk or on Facebook at facebook.com/Coast-CareNorthumberland. Laura shearer
Laura shearer
Become a friend of the red squirrel Have you considered joining the Friends of the Red Squirrel (FORS) Membership Scheme and supporting our conservation efforts? Any Northumberland Wildlife Trust member who joins FORS will receive a free gift in addition to their welcome membership pack, which contains a certificate, information leaflet and cotton shopper bag, plus two project newsletters a year. Simply quote your Trust membership number at the time of joining. For more information visit rsne. org.uk/friends-red-squirrel or contact Christine O’Neil on (0191) 284 6884. pamela dewener
8 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
An awarding winning year! The Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre scooped even more awards this summer. The building was the regional winner of the Best Public Service Building category of the LABC (Local Authority Building Control) Northern Building
out” and “best nature reserve ever” being left in the Centre’s visitor book, we were delighted to have this view endorsed by TripAdvisor, the world’s biggest travel website, with the award of a Certificate of Excellence for the consistently great visitor reviews. Designed to high eco standards by Brightblue Studio and built by an army of dedicated volunteers over 26,000 hours, the Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre was all made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
simon greener
Excellence Awards 2018. This Award follows on from its triumph at the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) North East Awards 2018, where it secured three first prizes: Regional Award, Sustainability Award and Best Client Award and, from winning the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) Community Benefit Award North East. Finally, with comments such as “excellent venue, great day
Students said we ‘Can Do’ A group of young people with disabilities from the Leonard Cheshire Disability charity spent the summer getting arty on our Hauxley reserve. As part of the ‘Can Do’ project, the youngsters produced a wonderful new mural, which is now on display on the wall of our Wildlife Discovery Centre. Inspired by visits to the reserve where
they made bird feeders, took part in mini beast hunts and dissected owl pellets, the youngsters went on to produce several smaller mosaics, which have been located around the reserve. With each mosaic displaying letters and clues, visitors will now be able to work out what species are being spelt out as they stroll around the reserve.
jenna berry
MP meets MP
Alex Lister, Druridge Bay Living Landscapes Manager (front row, centre) with Hauxley artists
As part of his campaign to meet each of this region’s MPs to gain support for the environment ahead of forthcoming Brexit decisions, Mike Pratt, Trust Chief Executive started the ball rolling in August by taking Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell on a guided walk around our East Cramlington Pond reserve. Mike was delighted to learn that Mr Campbell was not only aware of the pressures on the environment but that he had contributed to the House of Commons debate and influenced decisions towards the positive outcomes being sought. November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 9
Brian Burdis
Mike Pratt, NWT Chief Executive (left) with Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell (right)
Our Wildlife
lynette friend
lynette friend
Sunday 16 September, 10am - 4pm
Supported by players of
A wild time was had by all Hundreds of people headed to Northumberlandia in September to join the Trust at its Our Wildlife 2018 event. Now in its fourth year, the one-day wildlife event, held under the watchful eye of the Lady of the North, was packed full of activities designed to connect people to nature and stirring thoughts on the positive impact wildlife has on everyday life. Visitors were greeted by 120 ‘Green Pledges’ hanging from the trees created by visitors and local schools alongside Louise Underwood, the Northumberlandia Textile Artist in Residence and environmentalist. After a drizzly start, the sun shone, enabling people to take advantage of all that was on offer, and with activities ranging from mindfulness and tai chi workshops to nature trails, minibeast safaris, bird box and headdress making, there was something for everybody to enjoy. In addition, visitors were able to find out more about current Trust projects including Restoring Ratty, Kielder Ospreys, Coast Care and Revitalising Redesdale from staff and volunteers before heading off on a guided walk around the site. The free event was supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and, thanks to their support, many people found new ways to connect with nature which they may never have thought of prior to the event.
Special thanks to the following for donating the raffle prizes: ■ 1st prize - Opticron binoculars ■ 2nd prize - Billy Shiel’s Seal boat Trip
Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children)
■ 3rd prize - Kirkley Hall Zoo Family
Ticket (2 adults and 3 children)
■ Azure Garden Centre, £25 voucher for
tea for two
karen statham
■ Vinehouse Farm, £25 bird food
voucher ■ Wyevale Garden Centre, £20 gift card ■ Howick Hall Gardens, Family Day Pass (2 adults and 4 children)
Corporates
I spy a winner One Northumberland resident will now have fun spotting wildlife thanks to a new pair of binoculars from Opticron. Judith Williams from Newton on the Moor is the winner of the Trust’s Customer Satisfaction survey run by our Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre at Low Hauxley, the results of which will be used to improve the award winning facility. Talk about being lucky; Judith completed the survey on her first ever visit to the reserve. In her spare time she leads walks on behalf of the U3A (University of the Third Age) and has since returned with her local U3A group. Founded in the UK in 1970, Opticron is a family-owned business with nearly fifty years’ experience in consumer optics, specializing in delivering the best solution to wildlife enthusiasts irrespective of age, budget or experience.
Riverside Park goes green Verdant Leisure has announced that all of its leisure parks will stop providing single-use plastic bags in its entertainment complexes and shops. The company’s Go-Green campaign will also see its eight leisure parks in northern England and Scotland, including Trust corporate member Wooler based Riverside Leisure Park, provide only paper straws in on-park bars and restaurants. In April, the holiday park operator joined Green Tourism, the largest and most established sustainable certification programme in the world.
Jenna Berry (left) Hauxley Visitor Expeirence Officer and Opticron winner Judith Williams
CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP - We offer three levels of corporate membership which are designed to enhance your Corporate Social Responsibility commitments, provide year-round benefits to your business and support your staff development, PR and marketing strategies. You choose the level that you feel reflects your company’s commitment to the local environment. To find out more about becoming a corporate member contact our Marketing Office on (0191) 284 6884 or via email to elizabeth.lovatt@northwt.org.uk.
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Albion Outdoors albionoutdoors.co.uk
Howick Hall Gardens howickhallgardens.org
Harlow Printing Ltd harlowprinting.co.uk
Esh Group esh.uk.com
Bell Ingram bellingram.co.uk
Northern Experience Wildlife Tours northernexperiencewildlifetours. co.uk
Karpet Mills karpetmills.co.uk
Mears Ltd mearsgroup.co.uk
Northumberland County Council northumberland.gov.uk
North East Chamber of Commerce ne-cc.com
Nestlé Confectionery Ltd nestle.co.uk
Blyth Harbour Commission portofblyth.co.uk
Northumbria Byways northumbria-byways.com
Potts Printers Ltd potts.co.uk
Cottages in Northumberland cottagesinnorthumberland.co.uk
Ord House Country Park ordhouse.co.uk
Riverside Leisure riverside-leisure.co.uk
Geoffrey Lurie Solicitors geoffreylurie.com
Poltross Enterprises poltross.com
Gustharts gusthart.com
Sykes Cottages sykescottages.co.uk
Harrison Leisure UK Ltd percywood.co.uk
Verdant Leisure verdantleisure.co.uk/riverside
holidaycottages.co.uk holidaycottages.co.uk
Wardell Armstrong wardell-armstrong.com
Berwick Holiday Park haven.com/parks/ northumberland/berwick
Northumbrian Water Ltd nwl.co.uk Tarmac tarmac.com The Banks Group hjbanks.com Thermofisher Scientific thermofisher.com
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 11
Anthony Johnston
Funding
New pond is a tribute to wildlife lover John A pond in memory of a local teacher and naturalist has become a reality Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre, thanks to two cash donations and a grant from Northumberland County Council. John Almond, a former teacher at Amble County Secondary School and latterly, Amble Middle School, had a long association with the reserve on Druridge Bay. His Duke of Edinburgh group in Amble provided the muscle to move barrow loads of soil to create banks around the lake and he also took
12 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
school groups to the reserve, Following his death on his 70th birthday in December 2017, John’s friends from the Alnwick & District Natural History Society and the Environmental Walking Partnership donated £1,000 towards the creation of a new wildlife friendly pond in his memory. Still with a shortfall, the Trust applied for, and received, a £1,000 grant from Northumberland County Council’s Community Chest Scheme to create a lasting memorial to such a local nature lover.
The ground for the pond was dug by a local contractor followed by members of the Hauxley Volunteer Group who planted flag iris, water forget-me-nots and pondweeds to attract dragonflies, damselflies, pond beetles, newts and butterflies amongst others. Now on its way to being established, the pond will be a great place for wildlife spotting by people of all ages and will be an excellent over-wintering site for frogs and toads.
fiona dryden
Parishioners helping to protect our wildlife
Rev Gavin Hume (second left) minister of St Andrew’s Church, Benton with his fundraising parishioners
fiona dryden
supported The Woodlands Trust. The Methodist & United Reformed Church, situated on Station Road in Benton and led by Rev. Gavin Hume, is no stranger to all matters environmental having already secured a Bronze Eco Church Award and is currently working towards the Silver Award. Part of the Eco Church Awards Scheme launched by A Rocha UK, Christian Aid and Tearfund, the Award enables churches to demonstrate how they are currently caring for the environment and to reflect on what further steps they can take.
Fundraising efforts by pupils at Westfield School in Newcastle are helping with the Trust’s project to bring water voles back to the region. Earlier this year, the girls of Tweed House at the Gosforth based school selected the Restoring Ratty project as their chosen charity for the year. The 24 girls aged between five and 11 then spent the spring term making cakes, biscuits, cards and bookmarks, which were then sold, raising £200. To say thank you for all their efforts, Kelly Hollings, Restoring Ratty Project Officer surprised the girls with a morning assembly at the end of the summer term where she talked about water voles, the work of the ‘Restoring Ratty’ team and demonstrated the equipment used.
Mai Brannigan
The Trust has received an autumn surprise from St Andrew’s Church in the form of a donation of £225. Every first Saturday in the month (except January) since June 2003, St Andrew’s Church holds a fundraising coffee morning between 10:00am 11:30am. In that time, over £30,000 has been raised. A different charity is supported each month with funds being raised from cake, bric-a-brac, stationery stall, refreshments and a raffle. We were specifically chosen as stallholders had a strong desire to support a local environmental charity, having previously
Pupils support a vole new world
Rotary Club boosts Trust funds The Trust started September with a surprise cheque for £500 from The Rotary Club of Ponteland. The very generous donation comes from funds raised at events held throughout the year, which is shared between a number of charities supported by its members. The money will be shared equally between the Trust’s Osprey project, now in its tenth year, and its red squirrel conservation work via the Red Squirrels Northern England (RSNE) project.
Helen Twelves, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Director of Finance and Central Services receiving a cheque for £424 from Alan Bunn, Waitrose (intu Eldon Square) Team Manager. The money was raised by its shoppers via the company’s Community Matters green Token Scheme.
Club of Ponteland November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 13
Reserves & volunteers
Anna Chouler
Volunteers win award for tackling marine litter crisis Five Coast Care volunteers are the winners of this year’s Marsh Volunteer Award for Marine Conservation. Normally awarded to one outstanding volunteer, the judges felt that all five volunteers were all worthy winners and the Award and its £1500 prize has been split between Amanda Crowley, Carol De Brikasaan, John Parkin, Lynne Russell and Raine Doelberg. In just one year, the five volunteers have each donated hundreds of hours volunteering on the Northumberland Coast: cleaning beaches in all weathers, undertaking important wildlife surveys and raising awareness in their own communities. Although they come from very different backgrounds, the five winners are united by a passion for the Northumberland coastline… and a hatred of litter! The judges were impressed by this group of dedicated volunteers who have done so much to protect and restore their local coastline, whilst engaging other members of the community. They felt they are an excellent example of how volunteers, going above and beyond for a cause that is important to them, can make a real difference to the local landscape. The Marsh Volunteer Award for Marine Conservation is made annually by The Marsh Christian Trust in partnership with The Wildlife Trusts and recognises the work of a volunteer who has made an outstanding contribution to marine conservation. The Award is open to all 46 Wildlife Trusts and receives inspirational nominations every year. The winner is chosen by the Founder and Chairman of The Marsh Christian Trust, Mr Brian Marsh OBE. Coast Care is always looking for new L-R: John Parkin, Amanda Crowley, Lynne volunteers; you can find out more and Russell, Raine Doelberg and Carol De Brikasaan. register at coast-care.co.uk.
Wendy’s woolly wonders When she is not releasing water voles, volunteering at Kielder on a number of Northumbrian Water projects or undertaking maintenance work on our reserves, volunteer Wendy Bennett has been sending her spare time knitting a fabulous collection of soft toys. The woolly wonders, which include water voles, badgers, squirrels and dinosaurs, are currently on sale at the Northumberlandia Visitor Centre, but hurry as they are selling fast.
14 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
Background image: John Faulkner
Hauxley: something for everybody Our Hauxley reserve and Wildlife Discovery Centre have had a wonderful 2018. Over the course of this year, over 90,000 visitors passed through the Centre’s doors, with many making repeat visits, and let us not forget the reserve’s appearance on BBC Countryfile in May.
There was great excitement this summer when the Hauxley Bird Ringing Group caught an Arctic warbler on the reserve. There are only about five recorded in the UK each year! Arctic warblers breed in the far north of Fenoscandia and northern Asia. It is widely believed that the birds that reach Britain will most likely have bred in eastern Russia before migrating to South East Asia in the autumn - so this one was well off course!
tim mason
Visitor causes a flutter of excitement
Over 62 events have been held this year with everything from wildflower identification sessions and bat spotting to learning to play the harp. More activities for people of all ages to get involved in have been planned for 2019, and, for the first time, all our events will be supported by Players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Cuptastic A range of reuseable cups made from 80% rice husk and 20% plant resina are now on sale in the Wildlife Discovery Centre, priced at £7 with a free tea or coffee upon purchase. Anybody using this, or their own resueable cup, will receive a 20p discount on hot drinks each time they take it to The Lookout Cafe. This is part of a national campaign to reduce the number of disposable cups being used in the UK.
■ The reserve opens at 9am to members
and 10am to the general public.
■ The reserve will close at 4pm and the
car park will be locked at 4pm.
■ The Lookout Café will continue to
open at 10am and close at 4pm.
The reserve and Wildlife Discovery Centre will be open every day apart from Christmas Day. Don’t forget, winter is the perfect time to see mammals, not only at Hauxley, but the whole of Druridge Bay. Each year brown hares, weasels, otters, roe deer and of course, the resident red squirrels keep visitors to the reserves entertained, not to mention the spectacular starling murmurations that usually happen every evening at East Chevington.
tim mason
The dark days of winter Now that the dark nights are upon us, the reserve and Wildlife Discovery Centre will be closing a little earlier between November and March.
Supported by players of
Conservation
What’s a rock got to do with anything? It would be fair to say that when most people look at their landscape and the richness of its natural history and wildlife, geology is not something they give much thought to. Why should they? After all, here in Britain rocks are usually well hidden by vegetation, and unlike wildlife, rocks do not move around much, if at all. But they used to and a little knowledge of what’s going on beneath our feet can totally change the way we see and understand the evolution of our landscape and the wildlife that calls it home. More importantly, that knowledge can help ensure our plans to conserve and protect our environment are robust and rational, grounded in good science, not merely good intentions. It is only natural that when most of us think about and try to understand our environment we think about today’s environment. However, in the last decade 16 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
or so, as the issue of climate change has grown in both public and political perceptions, more and more of us have become aware that our environment, our landscape, habitats and wildlife are not fixed and static. They change through time and the fact is that they have done so for hundreds of millions of years. So geology - the rocks and sediments beneath our feet - become pretty important because they are all the evidence we have, and they can tell us a lot about past environments and how and when they changed and how the plants and animals around at that time responded. We in Britain live on a piece of the Earth’s crust that has had an immensely long and eventful history, some of it shrouded in mystery. The land we know as home has travelled the globe, and more than once it has lain at the bottom of the ocean.
The ground beneath us has been buried to red-hot depths, broken apart by earthquakes and frozen under glaciers, emerging as the landscape we know today. Dramatic eh, but still pretty abstract stuff; let us see if some local focus and time travel helps. The Earth is almost 4600 million years (m.y.) old, but here in Northumberland the story in the rocks starts around 440m.y. ago. Back then our county was south of the Equator and under the ocean. The muds and sands deposited in that ocean are now the bent and buckled mudstones and sandstones that you see by the roadside when you drive over the border at Carter Bar. Around 390m.y. ago, a huge underground chamber of molten rock burst to the surface as volcanoes and gave us the Cheviot Hills. By 350m.y. ago, Northumberland and the rest of Britain had drifted to equatorial latitudes.
Ian jackson
year old es in 320 million beach Fossilised rippl nd rla be um North sandstone on a
Iain Stewart, BBC geology and science presenter, admiring the famous Whin Sill from Steel Rigg. Image: Ian Jackson.
The rocks around us, rocks that we know so well here in the north limestones, mudstones, sandstones and coals - show that the environment over the next 50m.y. changed rapidly, cycling between shallow seas, sandy deltas and tropical swamps. Corals and lime-secreting organisms flourished in rich warm seas; lush forests of primitive trees and mosses grew on the deltas and oxygen levels 15% greater than today allowed invertebrates to evolve to a huge size. Move forward to 295m.y. ago and a few degrees north and our climate is changing again; upland deserts, meandering rivers and evaporating shallow seas now prevail. The ground is moving too, lifting up and tilting, stretching and folding all the rocks, and from deep underground, injecting a sheet of molten magma at over 1100 degrees C - cooling to form the hard
black rock we now call the Whin Sill. For pretty much the whole of the next 290m.y. we have no direct evidence of the geological history of Northumberland; millions of years of erosion tore the pages out of our book and we have to infer what happened here from rocks outside our county. However, the chapter describing our last million years is rich. Now we are up at 55 degrees north, the Earth’s climate is fluctuating every few tens of thousands of years between full glacial conditions (think ice sheets 1 kilometre thick covering all of northern Britain!) and warmer temperatures. The moving ice scraped and sculpted the higher ground and deposited a vast blanket of clay and stones over the lowlands. 15000 years ago the ice sheet begins to retreat yet again and meltwater from the glaciers carried down billions of tons of sand, silt and
gravel. Finally, in the last ten thousand years, the UK warmed to temperatures like today. Pioneer forests of birch and pine colonised our county, followed by deciduous woodland, and just as they do today, silt and mud accumulated in our rivers and streams. And so the will story continue; the past is the key to the present, and more importantly to the future. Paradoxically, while our CO2 emissions may defer it for a few tens of thousands of years, eventually the next glaciation will come and the landscape we know and love will change again and wildlife‌. and us humans will have to adapt. Rocks may not appear too animated but if you observe them carefully they do tell great stories. Ian Jackson Trustee Northumberland Wildlife Trust November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 17
Conservation
WOW! Did you see that? Have you ever seen wildlife that made you stop and watch? Something you have told your friends about? Or maybe you have a regular wild visitor you just enjoy knowing is around? It could be stoats chasing each other across a footpath, a sparrowhawk dining on a woodpigeon near your bird feeder, harebells dancing in the wind in your local churchyard or a cluster of red admiral butterflies hibernating in your shed. You do not have to be an expert to make your wildlife sightings count! All you need to know is what you saw, where you saw it and when (just the date is enough) to enter your wildlife sightings with the Environmental Records Information Centre (ERIC) North East at ericnortheast.org.uk. ERIC North East works with wildlife recorders and groups to collate, manage and improve access to biological records in our area. It is a resource that improves knowledge about the species and 18 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
habitats of the North East and helps organisations and individuals to make decisions about the conservation of the natural environment. With the agreement of recorders, ERIC North East share data with the National Biodiversity Network, which aims to hold as much biodiversity data as possible so it can be accessed quickly and easily to understand the distribution of particular species in the UK. Baseline data is essential to monitor population changes of key species (such as bees) helping us to assess the impact of our actions on the environment, and good quality environmental data is needed to inform the work of local planning authorities when determining planning applications. In short, recording your wildlife can help to protect it. If we do not know where key species are, then land management practices cannot be tailored to their requirements, leading
to long-term declines. Worse still, important areas for species may even be inadvertently destroyed if their presence is not known. Systematic recording by experts is essential, but records from wherever you see your wildlife are valuable too. It is good to record your sightings if you can – and the ERIC North East website lets you see some of what other people have been recording too. It is particularly important in areas where there are few records of even many widespread species. One of these areas is Redesdale, an area of 347km² in the valley of the River Rede, from Redemouth up to Carter Bar. Here, for example, ERIC North East have only nine records of hedgehog and no records of slowworm from the last 20 years, yet local people have told us about seeing both of these species recently! Redesdale supports many habitats and species of local, national and
Care Jennifer
Jennifer Care
Jennifer Care
geoff dobbins
Female clo ud this year in buff moth – found Re 28th record desdale, only the of th moth in No is species of rthumberlan d!
itelee rt at Wh eserve Moonwo tional Nature R a N Moor
Male adder at Whitelee Moor National Nature Reserve are fer C Jenni
Harebells at St Cuthbert’s Chur ch, Corsenside
d ordere r pearl b oo Small Benshaw M ry at fritilla
Shittleheugh Farm Bioblitz Earlier this autumn we held a Bioblitz – a day of recording all the flora and fauna we could find! With more than a dozen expert wildlife recorders on hand, it was a chance for people to come and learn something new, improve their wildlife identification skills and have a day outdoors in a beautiful location. There were activities including discovering peat, basic tree identification and surveying small mammals, reptiles and aquatic invertebrates. The event was held at Shittleheugh Farm, just north of Otterburn, which has a range of habitats including moorland, bog, wildflower meadows, stream and woodland. The aim was to provide an opportunity for people to learn about wildlife and wildlife recording in Redesdale while getting more species records for Redesdale. The data collected will go to ERIC North East. Highlights included Jennifer Care
international importance, but there is very little data on much of these. This problem affects the entire valley but is particularly obvious in land outside Northumberland National Park, where, in the past, there has been less impetus to collect environmental data. This can cause problems for conservation within Redesdale and presents a threat to the valley’s natural heritage. Decision making and targeting of resources (such as agri-environment money) frequently uses national data sets, such as national habitat inventories or species data held on the National Biodiversity Network. This means that areas such as Redesdale may miss out on potential sources of income because their nature conservation importance is not formally recognised. Revitalising Redesdale Landscape Partnership, supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, are working with landowners to get more biological
records for Redesdale and providing training and support to get more people involved in wildlife recording. This is just one of their projects to celebrate Redesdale’s rich cultural heritage and to protect and enhance the area’s landscape and wildlife. For more information on Revitalising Redesdale, visit their website revitalisingredesdale. org.uk, find them on Facebook @RevitalisingRedesdale or email info@revitalisingredesdale.org.uk.
How you can help: ■ Learn about wildlife in your area,
perhaps at one of our events, or by getting involved in a local wildlife or specialist group ■ Get recording! Remember you just need to know ‘What, Where and When’. If you’ve got a photo then all the better! Enter your wildlife sightings at ericnortheast.org.uk.
Juvenile common lizard
common lizard, dipper, canaryshoulder thorn moth, parrot waxcap and scarlet caterpillar club fungus! We already have over 300 new records from the day and more are still making their way in as lists are written up and specimens identified! Supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Revitalising Redesdale will be holding an event like this every year of their five-year scheme. Next year’s is in planning for early July. Closer to the time you will be able to find out more and book at nwt.org.uk/events, but in the meantime it’s still a great place to find out about other exciting events.
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 19
Conservation
This year is the tenth anniversary of the Kielder Osprey Watch and, since 2017 saw the 50th chick to fledge, Kielder is certainly proving itself a great location in the success story of re-colonisation of Britain for these fantastic birds. The 2018 season, however, got off to a shaky start. At the beginning of April, snow lay over vacant nests, days after the birds were due back to Kielder. The turbulent weather conditions proved challenging for weary migrants and there was a sense of nervous anticipation in the osprey team. The victorious return of Nest 2 female White EB on Wednesday 4 April was celebrated with a sigh of relief from many. Although she appeared slightly disgruntled by the freezing conditions she got to work straight away, scraping out a nest cup for future eggs. Her optimism was rewarded by the return of her partner 37 the following day, bringing with him a few sticks for wellneeded nest maintenance. In the days to follow, more storm battered ospreys returned to Kielder for a well-earned rest. The pair on Nest 4 were reunited on Saturday 7 April and Nest 1A on Monday 9 April. Hope was almost lost for Nest 3 after another week went by with no sign of the returning pair. Finally, the familiar unringed female from Nest 3 was seen on Monday 16 April, being courted by a new, unfamiliar male and they bonded almost immediately. With the welcome arrival of the warm spring sunshine came the beginning of Kielder Osprey Watch on Saturday 21 April at Kielder Waterside. Visitors came 20 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
to view Nest 1A through telescopes and observe osprey antics up-close via a live feed nest camera. Although there was no sign of eggs yet there was still plenty of entertainment, from scraps over sticks to rogue fish deliveries. The first egg was seen on Nest 4 on Monday 23 April and by early May there were twelve new osprey eggs at Kielder, three on each nest. This generated hope of a new fledging record at Kielder if all eggs were to hatch and fledge successfully. At the beginning of June, ten healthy osprey chicks hatched from their eggs. Unfortunately, despite all ospreys dutifully performing their parental responsibilities, nature played a role and two eggs, one on each of Nest 2 and 3, did not hatch. Two weeks afterwards, Storm Hector cut through Kielder, leaving a trail of fallen trees and debris on the roads. The chicks, not yet old enough to regulate their own body temperature, were extremely vulnerable in the high winds and rain. Unfortunately, one chick on Nest 4 did not make it. The fourth loss came after streaming resumed on Nest 2, after five days of power outage, only one chick remained in the nest. It is still not known what caused the disappearance of the second chick on Nest 2. Nature can be cruel but with eight healthy chicks growing strong in Kielder, there was plenty to be optimistic about. The chick ringing took place during the week commencing Monday 9 July. Not only was each chick given a unique number ring but following the theme
from 2017, all chicks were named after Northumberland places beginning with ‘B’. A female chick from Nest 1A was named Binky after Binky Burn which flows through the forest at Kielder. The others were named Broomlee, Byrness, Bamburgh, Bywell, Blackaburn, Beldon and Belling. Over the weeks to follow the ospreys were rewarded for their hard work with day after day of glorious sunshine. The osprey watch team was excited by the discovery of a new osprey nest in the forest, meaning Kielder is now home to five pairs of breeding osprey! Visitors to Osprey Watch had a great experience seeing the chicks grow into juvenile ospreys and visitors on the Calvert Trust boat cruises were lucky to witness ospreys catching fish in the Kielder reservoir. By the end of July, all osprey chicks had successfully fledged. They spent the next month fattening up on fish brought by their male parent and exercising their wings in preparation for their inevitable journey down south. Despite a few storms and sad losses along the way, it has proved to be a great season at Kielder. We wish all ospreys (and other birds!) the best of luck on their migration and look forward to seeing some of them return to their nests next spring. To find out more about the lives of the Kielder ospreys, visit the blog at: kielderospreys.wordpress.com. Ellie Kent Kielder Osprey Assistant
ellie kent
The skies were alive with the wings of ospreys
Voles just keep on swimming This year’s water vole releases have provided great joy for people of all ages including 55 pupils from two schools who had the experience of a lifetime when they were invited to roll up their sleeves and help the project team. The first group were eighteen pupils from Terrington Hall School in North Yorkshire. The Year 5 pupils, aged between 10 and 11 are no strangers to water voles, having previously helped to trap six of them near their school in 2017 for the captive breeding programme as part of the projects three-way schools partnership. Inspired by their efforts, the pupils were so keen to release the babies from the voles they helped to trap, they were prepared to travel over 125 miles and stay overnight at the Calvert Trust. The second group of pupils only had to travel the short distance from Bellingham Middle School, but they were no less excited. Escorted by teacher Anna Veitch, 35 year five pupils aged between 9 and 10. The project will be working with three more schools this year. The fourth release of water voles in August was supported by Northumbrian Water’s ‘Branch Out’ Fund and, no less excited, were staff from Kielder Water & Forest Park who were able to see and handle the water voles in their holding pens, and learn more about the Restoring Ratty project, before being released. The Restoring Ratty project has all been made possible by National Lottery players through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Joe Christie Joe Christie
Summer 2018 saw a further 405 water voles released back in to Kielder. Forty breeding pairs were carefully selected based on genetics, weight and body condition and put into the outdoor breeding pens at Derek Gow Consultancy in Devon. These consisted of the six North York Moors animals that were trapped from Robin Hood Springs in October 2017 as well as the offspring from the North Pennines, Trossachs, Garthamlock and M8 (Scottish Mix) animals bred in 2016. Two water vole releases were completed in 2018 - in June and August. In June, 160 animals were released in 44 release pens across two sites. The sex ratio was relatively even at 83 males to 77 females. The sites where voles were released in June were in the Bellingburn, north of Kielder reservoir and in Catcleugh Field close to Kielder campsite; both of these locations link very well with existing water vole populations. In August, 245 animals were released in 68 release pens across three sites, Bellingburn, Deadwater burn and Spout Linn. The sex ratio was 134 males to 111 females. This brings our total up to 965 water voles released since June 2017. There is no doubt we have learnt so much during this journey! We have put voles in places that we thought were perfect for them and they have moved on, so now we are listening to the furry rodents more closely! They are thriving along the north shore of the reservoir, so we plan to continue bolstering these populations as well as working with Emblehope and linking the north shore with Tarset Burn.
Cheers! We have teamed up with Sam and Red Kellie from the First & Last Brewery in Elsdon, Northumberland to develop our very own ‘Ratty’ beer. We trialled 500 pints of the pale ale packed with New World hops at the Bellingham show and they sold out! Sam and Red have been a pleasure to work with, and fingers crossed you will shortly be able to buy bottles of Ratty from local outlets. firstandlastbrewery.co.uk Ratty Beer pump clip.indd 1
28/09/2018 14:26:47
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 21
UK news
22,000 support call to protect our sea life Huge response to six-week public consultation on designating more Marine Conservation Zones
bex lynam
Thank you. In the six weeks leading up to July 20th, 22,000 of you signed up to our Wave of Support campaign, urging Environment Secretary Michael Gove to designate 41 new Marine Conservation Zones in the seas around England. This is the latest triumph in a decades-long battle to secure better protection for the wildlife in our seas. Until recently, we had no way of protecting nationally important marine sites in England and Wales, and only 0.001% of our seabed was protected. So we campaigned for the Marine and Coastal Access Act, which passed in 2009 and paved
the way for more protected sites in English seas. After two public consultations and campaigns by The Wildlife Trusts, Government has designated 50 new Zones in English waters. This is a great start, but we need a network of protected areas covering every kind of habitat and threatened species.
We hope to hear the consultation outcome in early 2019
How to draw a shark in the sand. Doing the entire UK is a bit harder
This latest consultation could take us one step closer to a complete network. The Government has up to a year to decide which of the 41
The 47-year fight for marine protection
1971
1990
1995
main pic: bex lynam. insets: tba
Skomer in Wales is designated a Marine Nature Reserve
Lundy, off Devon, becomes Britain’s first Marine Protected Area
22 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
2002
2009
The Wildlife Trusts begin campaigning for a Marine Act
Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough is designated a Marine Nature Reserve
Marine and Coastal Access Act passed in England.Scotland follows in 2010.
2013 First 27 English Marine Conservation Zones designated. Northern Ireland Marine Act passed.
Next job: an Environment Act
To raise awareness of the need for more MCZs, we drew the UK and its marine life on Filey Beach, North Yorkshire
proposed Marine Conservation Zones they will formally designate. We hope to hear the outcome in early 2019. Designating a Zone is just the beginning. We need to make sure these sites are managed well. This means restricting damaging activities, such as scallop dredging and bottom trawling, which threaten the wildlife that the site is designated to protect. Restrictions are already in place for some of the first sites to be designated, such as The Manacles on the southern coast of Cornwall. With enough sites designated and proper management, our seas can thrive again.
2014
2016
Scottish Government designates 30 Marine Protected Areas (plus one more in 2017).
23 more English Zones designated. Four more in Northern Ireland.
2018
Consultation on third tranche of English Marine Conservation Zones.
Late news st UK-wid e a wildl nd issues ifetru : org/n sts. ews
You are part of a powerful grassroots movement for wildlife – one that has been central to securing strong laws for wildlife on land and sea since the 1940s. Most recently your support for the latest list of potential Marine Conservation Zones sent a strong message to Government. Thank you. But just as we make some progress at sea – and all is not won there either – so we must mobilise again for the wildlife that lives with us on the land. Out-dated road building proposals scrapped in the 1980s are back on the table – an M4 extension across the Gwent Levels, a bypass across iconic water meadows near Arundel and an “expressway” to dissect and destroy tracts of the Upper Ray valley between Oxford and Cambridge. And all this at a time of great uncertainty about farming and fisheries as we leave the EU. Facing these new challenges we must be strong, united and determined. We need everyone we can muster to make their dedication to wildlife visible and their voices heard. We need to challenge destructive road proposals and secure an Environment Act that puts nature into recovery. The Westminster Government is committed to an Environment Act of some kind, but it will be down to us to make sure this is truly ambitious, hard-hitting and cross-government. Take whatever action you can – make that hole in your fence for hedgehogs, keep your garden unpaved, stop buying peat – and share your actions to encourage others to act too. Also, please think about who your elected politicians are and let them know that you want laws which set targets for nature’s recovery, maps to identify where habitats must be protected and improved, and strong enforcement. Join our campaign for a Wilder British Isles!
Stephanie Hilborne OBE Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts @stephhilborne
The Kiln, Waterside, Mather Rd, Newark, Notts NG24 1WT Website: wildlifetrusts.org Tel: 01636 677711 Email: enquiry@wildlifetrusts.org Twitter: @wildlifetrusts Facebook: wildlifetrusts Instagram: @thewildlifetrusts Charity No: 207238
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 23
UK news
A golf course here? Scottish Government considers development threat to pristine Sutherland dune system Sand dunes are home to rare The development was approved species that live nowhere else, by local councillors but is now in the but they’re also one of the fastesthands of Ministers who say the case is disappearing habitats in the world. of ‘national importance’. Despite this, an internationally Jonny Hughes, Chief Executive of important Scottish dune system is the Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “This threatened by a plan to turn it into a is one of the most important planning golf course. decisions in recent years. It’s only The dunes, at Coul Links right that it is considered by in East Sutherland, are a Government. s theWeScottish k n i L complete undisturbed urge Ministers to l u o C l a i system with a mosaic of maintain their protection c e p s is habitats that support of fragile, internationally ore about otter, osprey, curlew rare habitats.” Find out m ptional this exce and cuckoo. t sa wildernes links lu o c t/ .s wtru
The site includes extensive wetlands where ospreys are a top predator
Craig Allardyce
The dune system at Coul Links is part of a SSSI and SPA. These designations should protect it
Richard osbourne
Norfolk reconnects people and commons
Coming for a walk? Roydon Common, a Norfolk Wildlife Trust nature reserve 24 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
terry whittaker/2020vision
A pine marten is a rare sighting in England
Pine martens are cat-sized relatives of the otter and weasel, found in woodlands where they live in tree holes and old nests. They were once common across the UK, but woodland clearance, the fur industry and persecution by gamekeepers has driven them close to extinction in England. Now this
Cumbria Wildlife Trust has been gifted a new nature reserve, ensuring protection for the many species that call the site home, including adders, spotted flycatchers and yellowhammers. At 105 hectares, Lowick Common is the largest land donation in the Trust’s history. It comes from Yvonne Miller, who bought it with her husband Jim in 1990: “It is a great joy to the family that we can hand Lowick Common over to the Trust so that future generations are able to enjoy it.” andrew walter
Pine martens back in Derbyshire?
Huge land donation for Cumbria
rare mammal is only recorded in a few English counties. Derbyshire was not one of them, until wildlife photographer Andy Parkinson noticed a dead male on a road between Belper and Ripley. This is the first confirmed presence of the species in Derbyshire in 16 years.
Ciarán Walsh/Antrim Lens
Lowick Common: a ready-made reserve
Record brood of barn owls
Five barn owl chicks in one brood is a record for Northern Ireland
eric renno
Trust volunteers surveying plant species
Barn owls are one of Northern Ireland’s most endangered birds, with only around 50 breeding pairs in the country. Intensification of agriculture, use of rodenticides and an increase in major roads are all likely to have driven the population decline, but Ulster Wildlife are working to
reverse their fortunes by advising landowners on how best to help barn owls. This summer, the tiny population was boosted by the discovery of five chicks in a single nest – the largest brood of barn owls ever recorded in Northern Ireland.
Around 3% of England is common land, where landowners have traditionally granted the public rights such as walking or grazing livestock. These places are often full of wildlife, with many designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Norfolk Wildlife Trust has begun a two-year project to reconnect people with these ancient places,
celebrating the wildlife and heritage of the county’s 300 commons. The Trust will help communities trying to protect commons, enlist volunteers to collect wildlife records and run events involving schools, artists and museums. There will also be help for people researching their history. This could lead to the creation of new commons in Norfolk, perhaps as community orchards or coppice woodlands, allowing residents to have a real stake in the land. It would also provide new places to walk and enjoy wildlife. The project, jointly run with Norfolk County Council and the University of East Anglia, is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Essex & Suffolk Water Branch Out fund.
It could lead to the creation of new commons in Norfolk
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 25
UK news
Ever thought of
volunteering? Simon greener
45,000 people volunteer for The Wildlife Trusts. Here, seven of them explain why they do it. Could you join them? Volunteers are the heart of the Wildlife Trusts. We were founded by volunteers, we’re governed by volunteers and, without the dedication of the thousands who give us their time and talents each year, we would not be able to look after so many wild places. From serving cakes to laying hedges, there’s a world of possibilities as a Wildlife Trust volunteer. We spoke to seven (well, six and one family) from around the UK, to find out what they had to say about their experiences.
Steven Morris, Northumberland Steven volunteers for Northumberland Wildlife Trust as a wildlife photographer. He didn’t have an easy childhood. He was bullied, had a difficult father, and struggled with school. To avoid going home in the evenings, he went for walks in nature instead. When he got his first camera at the age of eleven, he fell in love with photography. He has kept these two 26 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
“I now know that being out in nature makes me feel better”
passions alive ever since. Steven explains that, as an adult, he has suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and depression, which has left him hospitalised. He has struggled to work full-time and battled with loneliness. Volunteering with the Trust has given his life purpose, he says. “Before, I’d have days where life felt
empty. I’d panic about what I was going to do; now, after being out in nature with my camera, I feel more positive, confident, peaceful and relaxed.” Now Steven is setting up a photography group. “A lot of over-40s are lonely and isolated. In the group I can share my passion and knowledge
Steven’s love of nature and photography have helped him battle depression
Nathan Legall, London Having grown up near Walthamstow Nathan’s family has a history Wetlands, Nathan joined London of volunteering. “But there’s a Wildlife Trust on an internship. He cultural barrier; people from ethnic learned habitat management, and backgrounds think, ‘It’s not for me’. how to lead other volunteers. There are socio-economic reasons too. “It was a springboard London Wildlife Trust helps into conservation. break down those barriers.” It improved my Nathan is now employed communication skills. by the Trust, and will “For the For the first time, I soon move to Somerset first time, I was excited to go to Wildlife Trust, as their work.” Wetland Ecologist. was excited
and inspire other people.” “Getting out of bed can be so difficult, but I have done a lot of things in my life despite my mental health problems. I have had things confirmed to me since volunteering – I now know that being out in nature makes me feel better.”
Nathan loved exploring local wild places as a child. Volunteering turned his interest into a career
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penny dixie
to go to work”
UK news
tom hodkin
Megan Humphreys, Yorkshire Megan volunteers with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust as part of the Tomorrow’s Natural Leaders programme. “We did scrub clearance, river management, working with volunteer and education groups. Then we did a self-led project. I did one on mental health, working with the NHS and our local college.” Megan has learned how to “I did scrub work with people clearance, from different backgrounds and and a project improved her on mental communication health” skills. She’s made new friends, and hopes to pursue a career in nature conservation and mental health.
Megan at Potteric Carr nature reserve near Doncaster
Crishni Waring, Warwickshire Crishni was raised in Sri Lanka, surrounded by nature, and her family were enthusiastic about wildlife conservation. In 2014, she signed up as a trustee with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. “I couldn’t imagine volunteering in other ways, but I could make a real contribution with business experience, and talking about the health and wellbeing benefits of nature.” Crishni has been Chair of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust for two years now. She is also Chair of an NHS Trust.
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offshoots photography
Crishni uses her NHS experience to help her local Trust
Jackie Walker, Durham
radnorshire WT
Bronwen has just won the Wales Council for Voluntary Action’s ‘Green Volunteer of the Year’.
35-year-old Jackie has volunteered for Durham Wildlife Trust for nine years now. She had found it hard to find work, so decided to try volunteering instead. It gives her a sense of purpose and is sociable too; her cerebral palsy doesn’t stop her keeping the Trust going. “I do typing, form writing, dealing with enquiries and communications. It has helped me feel motivated. My favourite part of volunteering is seeing people. I’ve made friends.”
Bronwen Jenkins, Radnorshire see at the end of the day the results of what you’ve done. And doing it as long as I’ve been, I can see long term results.” Bronwen also enjoys the social side. “It’s good to get out with people who have other interests. I’ve made lots of friends. My favourite thing is working together and getting results.”
Katrina, Alan, Amelia & Ethan Bradbury, Norfolk Katrina, husband Alan and Amelia and Ethan have volunteered at Cley Marshes nature reserve for a year. They wanted to find a way of giving back as a family. “We go out on the reserve and we identify and count species, then radio back what we see, so the public know what’s out and where.
elizabeth dack
The Bradburys at Cley Marshes – a splendid place for a sunny day
We started off with just birds but expanded from there. Ethan likes insects and lizards and arachnids, so he takes photos of those little things. We also help with events. The kids are engaging other children so it’s not intimidating for them; they all have fun by learning together.”
david armour/focalpoint
81-year-old Bronwen has been volunteering for nearly 30 years with Radnorshire Wildlife Trust. She’s cut down bracken, built stone walls, laid hedges, led walks, been a trustee and put on exhibitions of embroidery at the Gilfach nature reserve. “I’m still reasonably fit so hope to go as long as I can,” she says. “You can
Jackie has helped keep Durham Wildlife Trust running for nine years
Get involved! Volunteering with your Wildlife Trust isn’t just good for wildlife – it’s good for you, too. A University of Essex study with The Wildlife Trusts found that after just six weeks, 95% of volunteers who started with low mental health improved dramatically. Those starting with an average-to-high wellbeing felt better too. Volunteering is a chance to connect with other people and learn new skills. It helps you stay active, immerse yourself in nature and take notice of natural changes. We build our volunteering programmes around these principles. And of course, you’re helping the wildlife you love.
■ Find out more on wildlifetrusts.org/ volunteer November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 29
UK news
Utterly at home in the water, an otter polishes off an eel for Laurie Campbell’s camera
The great otter
comeback
chris gomersall/2020vision. inset: richard ASustin
Forty years ago, pollution and habitat destruction had almost wiped out otters in England. But times change
Otters are happy in the sea too. Look for them on quiet Scottish beaches 30 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
We need farming and industrial policies that help us keep our otters
How to spot an otter Get up early
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laurie Campbell
Last August, an otter was Water companies and many found dead in Sussex. It others to clean up our rivers.” might sound like a tragedy, There is more to celebrate but in many ways it is a than the simple presence cause for celebration. Otters of otters, however. With the had made a miraculous benefit of science we now comeback across many areas understand the complex of the UK, but in the South relationship between predators East the population was and their ecosystems. In recovering more slowly: this Yellowstone, USA, reintroduced was evidence indicating that wolves have improved Miriam Darlington is the author of otters are present, even if in biodiversity. Off the west Otter Country small numbers. coast of the US, a recovering (2012) and Owl “We have waited a long population of sea otters have time for otters to return,” says Sense. helped restore kelp beds – a Fran Southgate from Sussex crucial habitat and absorber of Wildlife Trust. “We have lost vast areas CO2 – by feeding on the sea urchins that were wiping the kelp out. of natural wetland, and few of our rivers So if a predator is under threat, there and wetlands can be seen as natural or healthy. Otters are only just beginning to is a serious issue to address. The otter in Britain is a prime example, where it plays re-colonise the South East. It is fantastic an important role in the ecosystems of to think that within the next 10-20 our rivers. years, they may regain their previous From the Industrial Revolution, the population levels across the UK. If they do, it will be in part due to efforts by The otter began to suffer a decline from Wildlife Trusts, the Environment Agency, persecution, pollution and damage to its habitat. Following the Second World War, its situation worsened due to the proliferation of agricultural poisons and the most misguided period of land management in history, when rivers were straightened and cleared of bank-side vegetation. Once widespread, the otter began to vanish. By the 1970s, it was facing extinction. The recovery that followed is remarkable, but new threats are
Dawn and dusk are the best times. It is also when much other wildlife is most active. Their behaviour may give away an otter’s presence
replacing old ones. Pollutants such as fire-retardant chemicals used in clothing, carpets and household furnishings can leach into rivers. These chemicals have been found to impair reproduction and immune functions in seals, and concentrations have been found in the livers of otters. The Wildlife Trusts are part of Blueprint for Water, a coalition of charities working with Government to restore the UK’s rivers, lakes and waterways to meet the European Water Framework Directive’s deadlines.
Observe other animals
Look for other clues
Get lucky
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Otters are formidable predators. A flock of ducks suddenly swimming rapidly one way, glancing over their shoulders, could be a sign of an otter nearby.
As we leave the EU, it’s critical that we retain strong regulations about what goes into our rivers. That includes farming and industrial policies that help us keep our otters, and continue their amazing comeback.
A tell-tale trail of bubbles might mean the otter has seen you first! Belly-slide marks into water, paw prints on mud, and poo (spraints) are all promising signs.
What a recovery
Otters are now on every river catchment in the UK. They have even been seen in the heart of some of our biggest cities, so you never know...
1977-79
1995-2016
The 1977-79 map shows recorded signs of otters from the first Otter Survey of England. The later one gathers together 19952016 presence data. It is taken from The Mammal Society’s A Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals: Technical Summary.
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UK news
“My dad ploughed up hedges; I planted them.”
matthew roberts
What does it take to be a wildlife-friendly farmer? Simon Barnes finds out from Guy Tucker We forget about the passion for land. We are, more than ever, city people these days. We talk about real estate, and think that land is something to do with money, and that the land becomes better – ie more valuable – as soon as you’ve got planning permission to build on it. We’ve forgotten that land is life. Human life, yes, and many other kinds of life as well. And that can stir the most profound feelings in the human soul, not for what kind of income the land will generate, but what kind of life can spring
You have to work four or five years ahead from it. A gardener knows something of this; a farmer knows a great deal more. I was walking with Guy Tucker, around his farm in Hertfordshire, and it was clear from the first step that he is a man of
passions. Farming is a business, sure, but offer Guy a non-farming business with twice as much money and half as much work, he’d turn you down flat. His family have been farming the same land for three generations. It was a beltingly hot day, and we took a cut through woodland past the places where Guy played as a boy. From the shade we looked out at tall hedges, wide field margins, areas planted for pollen and nectar, wild bird cover. We have grown accustomed to Jordans supplier Guy Tucker manages more than ten per cent of his farm for wildlife
Simon Barnes is a sports and wildlife journalist, and author of How to be a Bad Birdwatcher 32 ROEBUCK 146 November 2018 - March 2019
Guy is passionate about combining farming and wildlife
Properly maintained hedges shelter birds and mammals
Wide field margins feature nectar and pollen bearing plants
And there’s still plenty of crops for a sustainable business
the notion that farming and wildlife conservation are incompatible. Farmers have been seen as the enemy of wildlife – and if there is some truth in that, it’s a view that’s a generation out of date here. “My father was one of the worst,” Guy remembered. “And his neighbour was just the same. But that’s changing. My father ploughed up hedges; I’ve planted them.” Guy runs one of 40 farms that supply Jordans with the oats they make their products from. A partnership between Jordans and The Wildlife Trusts (see panel below) requires the farmer to manage at least ten per cent of farmland for wildlife. Woodland doesn’t count. Guy is well over that ten per cent. The total for all Jordans farms is more than 4,000 hectares managed for wildlife: buzzing with bees, flashing
with butterflies, jumping with mammals constantly four or five years ahead.” and singing with birds. The scheme is We passed a handsome badger sett important for what it does; and in the wood. From the harsh also because it shows what blue sky a buzzard yowled can be done. suddenly. Guy’s farm has the Guy was drawn into this biggest population of linnets creative way of managing and bramblings in the county. land by changes in farming. And why not? It’s all the Mixed farms – combining same thing: managing land so arable and livestock – became that it supports more life. In unprofitable and the Tucker the UK, 70 percent of all land family were forced to sell their is farmed: it’s thrilling that an cattle. Guy felt he was ready, increasing amount of the life as one of the next generation, supported by farms is wild, to take on new challenges, and and vital that it continues. make them work financially. And that is always the greatest challenge in farming. “You need a solid base to your Look for our logo on business to be able to do this,” packets of Jordans cereal he said. “You have to work
Here’s what we’re achieving The Jordans Farm Partnership with The Wildlife Trusts assigns an advisor to each farm from the local Wildlife Trust. Using their expertise on the local area, the advisors develop a bespoke farm plan, focussing on key species and habitats relevant to the farm’s local landscape.
Total area of habitat 4,580 hectares Total area of farmed land 15,500 hectares
954 hectares of woodland
All 40 Jordans farms
768 km hedgerows 131 km of waterways 94 wildlife ponds
November 2018 - March 2019 ROEBUCK 146 33
UK news
Top places to
see owls
andy rouse
Everyone loves owls – beautiful to behold, silent in flight and quite unlike any other birds. And winter is a great time to see them
Brave the cold this winter and you’ll have the chance to see some of our strangest and most impressive birds. While tawny and long-eared owls are most active at night, our other owls are often seen hunting in the day, especially around dusk and dawn. Little owls watch for prey from old trees, barn owls like rough grassland and short-eared owls winter on saltmarshes and flood meadows. For the best chance, head out on a still, dry day, in the last few hours before dusk.
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Cors Goch North Wales Wildlife Trust Extensive wetlands, heath and grassland make Cors Goch one of North Wales Wildlife Trust’s best sites for seeing barn owls. Look for them emerging to hunt as dusk falls. Where is it? Anglesey LL78 8JZ Map reference: SH 504 816
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Falls of Clyde Scottish Wildlife Trust The woodland surrounding these spectacular waterfalls is home to tawny owls, famous for their distinctive calls. As the light fades, listen out for a haunting
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“hooouh” echoing through the trees. Where is it? New Lanark ML11 9DB Map reference: NS 881 423 Eycott Hill Cumbria Wildlife Trust Watch for the silent shape of a wintering short-eared owl as you admire the views from this peaceful upland nature reserve. Where is it? Near Berrier, CA11 0XD Map reference: NY 394 301
Woodside Farm Derbyshire Wildlife Trust This former colliery is teeming with bird life, including plenty of birds of prey.
Share your experiences
Margaret holland
Tawny owl
david chapman
Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Smaller than a tawny, with orange eyes, and large ‘ear’ tufts to aid camouflage.
Often seen hunting by day, they have pale feathers and piercing yellow eyes.
andy rouse
The familiar owl of farmlands, with dark eyes in a heartshaped face.
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Willow Tree Fen Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust This fenland reserve includes large areas of rough grassland, providing the perfect hunting grounds for barn owls. Where is it? Spalding PE11 3JH Map reference: TF 181 213
JON HAWKINS
Little owl
Tiny but with a ferocious stare, they sometimes chase prey on foot.
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Farlington Marshes Hampshire & Isle of Wight WT In winter, short-eared owls are easily spotted hunting above the open fields of Farlington Marshes, adding to the spectacle of the thousands of wintering wildfowl. Where is it? Solent Way PO6 1UN Map reference: SU 685 045
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Short-eared owl
Barn owl
Little owls, barn owls and both long and short-eared owls have all been spotted in winter. Where is it? Shipley DE75 7JL Map reference: SK 449 439
Rye Harbour nature reserve Sussex Wildlife Trust A mosaic of coastal habitats, Rye Harbour hosts all five regularly occurring UK species. Long-eared only appear occasionally, but short-eared, barn, little and tawny owls are all commonly seen or heard. Where is it? Winchelsea TN31 7TX Map reference: TQ 942 189
A nocturnal owl of parks and woodland, famous for its haunting call.
Long-eared owl
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect stealth flier than a barn owl
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What’s out there
Tweet us your best owl photos from your day out @wildlifetrusts #LoveWildlife
Folly Farm Avon Wildlife Trust As night falls in the woodland surrounding Folly Farm, listen out for the calls of tawny owls. Don’t forget to watch for the local badgers too. There is an extensive sett visible from the path. Where is it? Stowey BS39 4DW Map reference: ST 607 603
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Hawkes Wood Cornwall Wildlife Trust A delightful oak woodland with tawny owls. Check tree cavities and branches near the trunk; you might spot one roosting during the day. Where is it? Just south of Treneague, Bodmin Map reference: SW 986 710 For a more extensive list of places to see owls visit
wtru.st/owls
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Redgrave and Lopham Fen Suffolk Wildlife Trust A winter evening’s stroll around this impressive and varied wetland (which is partly maintained by Konik ponies) could reveal the ghostly shape of a hunting barn owl, though it’s easy to be distracted by the thousands of starlings flocking together in amazing murmurations. Where is it? South Lopham, IP22 2HX Map reference: TM 052 802
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helping to conserve wildlife for the past 10 years!
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Photo: Tim Mason
supporting Northumberland Wildlife Trust as it works tirelessly to protect the region’s wildlife.