Great grey shrike

I had good views of a g g shrike on south heath today.  It was moving quite quickly from one tree top to another, having a good look round from its vantage points.  So actively hunting.

The meadow pipits seemed to object.  I did not see the shrike actually make any attack.

It disappeared as miraculously as it appeared, and I have no idea which direction it was going in.

Seemed to be quite happy with the tops of both birch and pine.

I wondered quite why the bird is the colour it is, since it really sticks out in the pine trees.  I wondered if it only really bothered to hunt in the direction away from the sun, thereby its colour being against the sky and into the sun from the prey's point of view.

found another patch of nail fungus as well today, without looking very seriously, so maybe there are even more coming out.

martin

8th November 2011 -- weekly volunteers

Present:

John, Jonathan, Pat, Neil, Keith, David, Alan and Martin


Activities:

- day started off wet drizzle, so we cut all the logs from inside the tool store
- brought some more in from the back
- disposed of one of the plastic sheets covering the log pile as it was starting to split badly
- went to 13th pond and continued tree felling of yellow spots
- had a look at the chainsaw work at batters clump

Observations :

- big flock of lesser redpolls (say 50)
- crossbills
- lots of fieldfare and redwings.
- sparrowhawk
- lots of fungi now


Martin

10th Nov 2011 - count of Nail Fungus

I did a rather more thorough count and got to 12 'clumps', that is associated with a single defecation.  Some were in several parts of the 'clumps'.

A large number were really very small and young, so there may be a repeat of last winters amazing appearances.

Martin

Final List of Fungi for 2011

Here is the final version of Rays list of fungi seen in October.  59 species now

martin


click here for document

1st November 2011 -- weekly volunteers

Present :

John, Jonathan, Neil, Mike, Pat, David and Martin


Activities:

- wired the new part of the causeway
- resurfaced and mended sides of main cause way
- cleared weed out of the first pond downstream of causeway
- went to 'owl' wood below the high beeches, and took down a number of yellow spotted
   birch.  Three brash piles and one pile of four foots.
- pulled a few pine saplings nearby
- said hello to the chain saw training gang

Observations :

- reed bunting, crossbills, skylarks, siskins
- herring gull, meadow pipit, treecreepers, longtail tits
- redpolls
- common darter 2, southern hawker 2, red admiral
- more fungi
- buck with only one big horn
- fabulous day
- all damsons now gone
- John wanting to cut more pines by river next week

Martin

26th July 2011 --- weekly volunteers

wet in the morning, and those that came, went shortly after.

Martin

August 2nd 2011 -- weekly Vounteers

Present:

Mike, Antony, Martin, Lee, Alan, David, Ron, and Keith

Activities:

- cleared up logs and brash around the tools store, that resulted from the pollarding
   of the beeches for the purposes of the photovoltaic panels on the roof.  Brash put
   into the wooded area, the logs added to our pile.  Some bigger logs left and were
   subsequently picked up by the contractors.
- Cleared a big Ragwort on route to car park, and refilled the leaflets
- pulling bracken and Birch on the South Heath, including scything.
- took some new people to see sundews and the poisoned land on OL1
- lookered the ponies

martin

19th July 2011 -- weekly volunteers

Present:

Mike, John, Antony, Martin, David, Ron, Neil, Jill, and Lee

Activities:

- Lookered the Ponies
- cut down some birch both sides of the road
- tidied up log pile, cutting up manageable sweet chestnut logs
- bracken work on south heath, including scything
- puled ragwort in the cess pit area of South Heath.
- collected up some bark chips into bags
- did a survey of some of the ponds on the reserve

Observations:

- Ravens
- Adder
- Azures, small reds, keeled skimmer, Golden Ring, Common Darter, Emperor,
- brown chaser, BB chaser


Martin

16th August 2011 -- weekly volunteers

Present:

Martin, John, Lee, Mike, Katherine, Antony,  Pat and David

Activities:

- cleared Cricket pitch ragwort, with plants being covered with brash in the OL2 wood
- pulled up saplings and small trees of Birch and Pine on the sides of the path towards the
  cross roads, on the plateau
- lookered the Ponies
- at the Cross roads, pulled some more saplings of  birch and pine
- Mike did some Scything of  bracken
- filled some bags of peat from below the roller stand, and these were taken by David off site
- cut down Two marked birch on south heath plus a bit of pollarding of previously pollarded trees
- Brash hauled to the corner, ready for the fire site the other side of the road

Observations:

- Gorse mite on road
- Dodder in usual place
- Hobby
- Raven

Martin

9th August 2011 -- weekly volunteers

Present:

 John, Martin, Neil, Keith, Antony, Jill, Andrew, Mike, Alan, David, and  Katherine

Activities:

- Ponies moved from south Heath onto the main reserve.  All went fine, with just one sweep
- Pulled up sapling  birch and pine at the cross roads
- and pulled some Bracken on open ground beneath slope
- Made safe a birch branch that had broken opposite the slope
- Cut down two birch on south heath plus some small ones
- Neil cut some wood in tool store

Observations:

- Sundews, asphodel

23rd August 2011 -- Weekly Volunteers

Present:

John, Ron, Neil, Martin, Mike, Keith and Antony

Activities:

- Wet, and so rather restricted to near the tool store.  Went quite early
- Cut logs in tool store
- Repaired sharpened large bow saw
- Mike took gorse in South Heath
- Mike returned repaired lopper and small mattock
- Felled and process marked birches on South Heath in the corner with the new nest boxes
- searched for ponies, but failed.  Not too surprising and no big worry
- Martin took some cut wood, john took some big logs

Observations:

- Recently 2 raven, 3 crossbill, hobby
- gorse mite along road on right


Martin

occasional notes for 26th september 2010

observations

- Don has started removing some of his logs.
- looks as if he is using a new forwarder to do this.  Bruunett.
- This is parked down from the water trough
- There was a gathering of some sort under the high beeches, of about 10 persons.  Was this religious in some way?  If anyone has information I would like to know, as the reserve management should be consulted beforehand.

martin

7th June 2011 ... weekly volunteers

Present:
John, Neil, Keith, Pat, Mike, Katherine, Anthony, Alan (new), Mike (new) and Martin

Activities:
- The second half of the last nest box survey done.
- lookered ponies
- put up the box that had fallen in the swamp.
- the path across top heath had quite a lot of birch lining it on both sides,  This and bracken and pine saplings completely cleared.  Mike used his scythe on bracken in various places.
- Ragwort on the cricket pitch, both sides, cleared and hidden under brash in the OL2 wood.
- more road works on the M1 and some bracken clearing along the main bank and sides of the wood.  Cleared out some of the existing channels, which seem to be doing their job.

Observations:
- slow worm under one of the corrugated sheets
- Turtle dove heard in two parts of the reserve
- virtually all boxes successful, and only one disaster.
- b.b.chasers. azures and large reds
- dodder now has some flowers on it.
- treecreepers, buzzard


Martin