Reintroducing Predator Species

Last year, and the year before thinking about it, I made a few postings regarding a plan to reintroduce Beavers back into the British countryside. This weekend that will come to fruition. The Beaver family were collected from the wild in mainland Europe last year and have been in quarantine to ensure that they were not just healthy but were not carrying and Illnesses that would harm other wildlife. Therefore, in Britain we will have the start of a Beaver population after over three hundred years.

There is some opposition to this happening, yet all of the arguments against them are based upon myth rather than their actual habits and behaviour. I just hope that the sceptics can be won over and see that the Beavers will be an important part of the conservation web. By felling trees along the waters edge, they will be doing naturally work that many landowners pay hundreds if not thousands to have carried out.

While it will be a long while before I will be seeing Beavers in my area, unless I move, I hope that the reintroduction goes well. As my regular reader will know, I am lucky enough to live in an area where Red Kites have been successfully reintroduced, yes today has been a Red Kite day! That's a day when I see one of these magnificent birds. What makes you think I am Bias? However, back when I had just moved to the village, it was still a challenge to see the Red Kites every day. At that time I witnessed some behaviour that I had not expected to see and I was told to keep quiet about. The behaviour I witnessed was a Red Kite taking a (grey) Squirrel that I was attempting to photograph by leaving peanuts out for the squirrel.

Why was I told to keep quiet, as the information being given out was that Red Kites are carrion feeders and did not take live pray, what I saw was inconvenient and could have led to persecution of the birds. Unfortunately persecution is an euphemism for illegal killing of these protected raptors.

While I can understand the motives behind being asked to remain silent, in the long term, not being open about predators killing their food damages the aims of conservation. If a family have a pet rabbit and they know a Red Kite could take it, they will normally take precautions. A few weeks ago when observing a Red Kites nest, with fellow birders, I was told of a pet rabbit being taken by one of the Kites. Also other birders have seen the Red Kites taking live prey. Therefore, honesty is important in ensuring that the community does not turn against the conservation effort of reintroducing any species to an area.

Equally the community needs to be honest about any losses or damage that a reintroduced species has caused. In the West coast of Scotland where Sea Eagles have been introduced again after the lasts was killed in 1916, there has been a minority that have claimed that the White Tailed Sea Eagles are taking Lambs. As the largest Bird of Pray in Britain, with a wing span two to three feet greater than a Golden Eagle, they are capable of taking the lambs. However, as I have previously posted the numbers just do not add up.

With claims of two to three hundred lambs being lost in a six week period and only fifteen birds in the area, there is clearly something happening but it can not be the Eagles. Just one hundred lambs would be more than enough to feed the entire population of White Tailed Sea Eagles for a whole year.

However, to the credit of the RSPB and SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage), they are carrying out research to discover if the Farmers and Crofters claims are true. Personally I can tell you that while one or two may be taken by the Sea Eagles, that there is another explanation for this disappearance of lambs.

First is simply russelling, a quaint word for stealing sheep. Coincidently and completely off at a tangent, in my families Scottish heritage back in the sixteen hundreds I had an ancestor that was hung for stealing sheep. The other part of my heritage is Jewish, so with me you get two stereotypes for the price of one.

The other reason for the lambs disappearing is that the Farmers and Crofters are selling the animals into the black market. As in Europe all animals have to be tagged so that they can be traced along the food chain, an excuse had to be found for hiding two or three hundred lambs disappearing.

In the illegal Black Market for meat there is not the food hygiene standards of a registered slaughter house and unfit animals can enter the food chain from this source. So a minority of farmers will use this route to avoid financial losses if illness befalls a flock. However, it is these shady dealers that also enable russelling to take place. As simply no one would steal an animal unless they could profit from doing so.

I have done my research here and I have evidence that the trade exists in the city closest to where the Sea Eagles are. What equally makes me suspicious is that the lamb losses are concentrated in one relatively small area. Further when I have seen the farmers being interviewed on television, their claims are clearly exaggerated. One Farmer claims to have sat and over the course of one hour witnessed, at close hand, a lamb being taken every ten minutes. Now no farmer I know would just sit and watch his livestock being taken like that without making some attempt to stop the predator. The farmers was on a Quad bike too. As a Naturalist I know enough about animal behaviour, including the two legged rat (human), to know that it is possible to stop even a large bird of prey from taking lambs by charging towards it with a Quad Bike or by chucking stones.

While I know that the farmers will be losing some livestock to the Sea Eagles, the exaggerated claims of losses are as justified as the expenses claims of many MPs.

That is not a cheap joke either, as last year there was a serious suggestion that the Lynx should be introduced into Britain as a way of controlling Deer. If that were to happen and I personally would be in favour of this, farmers would have to be compensated for the inevitable loss of livestock. Therefore, we do need the farmers to be honest about livestock losses due to predation.

While there are no plans for the Lynx to be introduced yet, I can see many benefits not all of them obvious either. In Yellowstone National Park the reintroduction of the Wolf helped change the behaviour of the Elk so that the Elk were not damaging other habitat. This predator prey relationship has been shown to be true in all habitats and all parts of the food chain. Therefore reintroducing the Lynx would start changing the behaviour of the Deer. As Deer numbers are at a record high and are causing damage in some places too.

As with any animal population, if numbers rise to high then that animal can cause problems. With the Deer not having any natural predator, the Wolf and Lynx having long since been persecuted to extinction in Britain, there is nothing to control Deer numbers. While there is some hunting of Deer the breeding success of the Deer is faster than numbers culled. Here in Britain many people are adverse to eating Bambi, I blame Walt for that. Therefore much of the venison that is harvested from culling is exported to Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Therefore there is a need to control Deer numbers and as the Lynx is the natural predator, a reintroduction would benefit the environment. It would also benefit the Deer as it will be the weaker individuals that would be taken by the Lynx.

In Britain there is a widespread problem of Bovine Tuberculoses and Deer are effected by this. Recently I posted that I saw a Deer that had a growth. That is not the only one that I have seen that appear to have TB lesions. While Badgers are ubiquitously blamed for spreading bovine TB, there is growing evidence that Deer are in fact the carriers that are reinfecting cattle. Therefore the reintroduction of the Lynx could help reverse the increasing cost to the nation of dealing with TB.

While there has to be a sensible balance in these reintroductions, and while there will be occasional losses of livestock by farmers, the overall benefits do appear to be greater than any real losses. Also while in Britain we want and expect over nations to save their habitats and endangered species, we need to accept that only by accommodating predators back into our countryside can we expect other nations to protect top predators like Tigers, Bears or Wolfs.

Herbs and Bread

As my most loyal reader may remember, when I first moved to this cottage, I got some pots of herbs from the supermarket and them planted them up. With the winter being as hard as it was, even the mint and sage are looking pathetic now. So when I went to the supermarket today, I was pleased to see that they had a special offer on growing herbs. While individually they are three times the price they were two years ago, at two for two pounds I decided to get some more. Personally I like to have fresh herbs growing out side the kitchen door, that way if I want a couple of leaves for something I am cooking I can pluck them when needed.

So the first thing I did was to water them by standing the pots in water as the compost was bone dry. The mint was already seriously wilted recovered in a couple of hours and tomorrow I will pot them up, and with a bit of luck, in a week or so I will have the growing away happily. When I went to the Farmers Market at Gibside, I was tempted to get some herb plants, but the problem would have been transporting them home safely. While there are a few people I can call to give me transport, or even call a taxi, I am sensitive about the carbon impact these choices cause. Therefore, I prefer to plan any purchase so that I can get it home without it requiring special arrangements that create more CO2. With these four plants today, I could do that alongside my normal shopping.

While I did not have much to get from the supermarket, there are items I can not get elsewhere. For example I wanted some Coconut Milk, I have a tempting recipe that I will be filming for the cooking videos, and I needed Bread. While I can get plastic flavoured Wholemeal loafs from shops in the village, the only semi decent loaf is nearly two pounds for a loaf. Yet the cheap rubbish is just under fifty pence in the village. Therefore, going to the supermarket I can save two pounds by buying two loafs from there. I must admit it does cause me a dilemma, as the only decent vendor of bread is the supermarket now. I would make my own bread, but the only place that's a constant temperature to allow the dough to prove is also where the cat likes to sleep. Therefore I risk needing to shave the bread before eating it.

I know that there are bread making machines, but I prefer making bread by getting my hands into the dough and I don't really want or have room for loads of gadgets anyway.

As I write this, it reminds me. When I went into Newcastle last weekend, I was shocked to see that the organic shop was selling flour, for bread making at over twelve pounds (sterling) per bag. While they looked to be five kilo bags, that price is more than double what could be considered a reasonable price. I am aware that organic foods are slightly more costly to produce, and the farmers need to make a reasonable return, but far to often the organic label, in Britain, has become a way of ripping off the public. I have no problem with business making a profit, it is profiteering that I object to.

As I want the farming industry to take better care of the countryside and the environment and organic production is the least environmentally damaging system we have, then I am prepared to pay a little extra for organic. But when the difference is four times the cost of the non organic equivalent, then someone is extracting urine without using a catheter.

I suspect that many of the farmers and producers became organic in recent years just to “Milk the Gravy Train” of the organic label, while never really being committed to the underlying principals. This has created a situation where across the organic board, people have assumed that they could ask whatever price they wanted. Yet if the Soil Association, the charity that is the statutory body appointed by government to ensure organic standards are maintained, really believes that organic agriculture and horticulture can be a major part of reversing environmental degradation, then it needs to stop the profiteering Organic has to be affordable for everyone and not just the rich.

Wood Warbler

Previously whenever I put out Meal worms to feed the birds in a separate container, in minutes they are gone. So I decided that I would put a layer on top of the seeds in a seed feeder and see if that allowed a more diverse range of species to feed on them. As previously it was the jackdaws that got the lions share. While I have no problem with the Jackdaws, I always wanted the food to be there for a range of species. Much to my amazement this actually worked.

By making the birds work a little harder to get the food, I have had more species visiting the Yard. In providing a range of foods, I have had birds in the yard that I would never have expected to see. However, there has been one visitor that I have been struggling to identify. It was either a Chiffchaff or a Willow Warbler. Or so I thought. I have tried to photograph or film it, but it flits away at any sign of movement.

This morning though, I was up early, in fact I had not been to bed as I was out watching the Badgers, looking for cubs, I heard the bird singing and it was a Wood Warbler. Leaving a half drunk cup of tea, (that shows how excited I was) I headed out to see if I could film it. I had to guess the direction it was heading for, but as I could still hear a Wood Warbler song, I think I may have been lucky. Hunting high and low, I tantalising glimpses of the bird but not long enough or close enough to gain an image. However, while I was searching and scanning, I heard a Cuckoo.

Beyond brief sighting of a bird that could be the right size and shape, I did not see it but there is no mistaking that call.

I should explain to my overseas reader, but here in Britain, we don't have Scarlet Tanagers but we have many birds that are collectively known as LBJs Little Brown Jobs! Therefore often we need to hear them to be sure what they are, and they do oblige us by telling us birders their name in song.

Out Foxed

When watching any wildlife especially at night, can create interesting interaction with humans too. Last night while trying to follow a family of foxes near my home and the village, I was passing by a house at the edge of the village when I was surprised by someone with a bright flood lamp. They had stepped out for a smoke and had realised I was there, thinking I was up to something, they had grabbed a powerful torch, with the hope of blinding me. That plan worked but it meant that I lost the trail while I explained what I was doing. However, it did enable me to get to know another couple in the community. I recognised them, and they had seen me and they had wondered what it was I had been doing wandering about and were delighted to be told that there were foxes about. They told me that they thought there was a barn owl about too.

I went back home for a drink, and to think about where to go next and if it was worth trying to find the foxes again. I could well spend long hours watching and waiting and have missed them. I had seen the foxes by the house earlier, just before inadvertently disturbing the neighbours, but as I was still trying to discover the families range, I needed to be sure I could watch without disturbing natural behaviour.

At the very least I thought if I could find a vantage point where I could observe the area near the suspected trails there was a reasonable chance of seeing the vixen and her cubs or the dog fox. I also took some cat food out with me and placed it next to a known path that was close to the area I planed to observe. With the cat food in place I settled down in the corner of a field ready for a long wait.

As its a bank holiday many of the young people had obviously been out in Newcastle or Consett at the night clubs. Thus, while I waited I could hear several cars and taxis bringing back pickled party goers. Now if I were more poetic or verbose I could find the right words, but lets just say that the sap of spring was rising. While I did not want to disturb or embarrass this young couple, they were a little to close for comfort. So I coughed to clear my throat and made them aware that the quiet place they had come to be alone was already occupied.

Having been out in the countryside at night on many occasions, I have had this situation before and discovery can illicit anger arising from embarrassment. However this time it generated laughter and hurried redressing, I did keep my back to them and my eyes averted. As the disturbance had probably ruined any chance of seeing the foxes that night, I shared a smoke and a laugh with the young couple. Explaining that I was out looking for foxes, I learned that I have reputation for doing weird things like this.

We were all getting ready to move off when and back to our respective homes, when I spotted some movement. We all watched intently as we saw, briefly, a fox and two cubs. We were all delighted by this, and I decided to move down the side of the field to see if I could follow the trail and find where the den was located.

While I traversed the hedge line in a crouched walk, it must be amusing to watch, but in the dark it does enforce slow movement. As I reached the far corner of the field, I needed to stand to look over the hedge. I had just raised the binoculars to my eyes when I felt something strike my head. I was wearing my cap and I looked in the direction the blow had come from. I saw nothing, but I felt another blow this time from behind, and taking my cap off. As well as seeing my hat fall into the hedge, I saw the Tawny Owl that had struck the blow flying off. I dropped down in case the bird returned, it did but flew over me without striking another blow. With no hat the talons could have caused me damage. I realised that I must be close to a nest so I grabbed my hat and retreated.

I have looked again today, from a distance, and I think I can see where the nest would be, but I had not realised it was there. I must have just been to close for the birds comfort and it may explain why the fox family have remained undisturbed. I think I have also worked out where the foxes den is and it is very well hidden if I am correct. How I can film there I am not sure, as I don't want to disturb the wildlife, nor my neighbours either.

The First Cooking Video

I know that I have kept people in suspense regarding this for too long, but I did post the video last week on You Tube. As I have also started a new Blog relating specifically to Food, Farming and Cooking, I wanted to see if folks could find it, as I am well aware that there are plenty of other folks who are doing similar things.

While many of the issues relating to food and farming are environmental and could sit fully here, I am also aware that for some folks any mention of the environment turns people off. Anyone who is concerned about the environment will know that glazed look you get at any mention of environmental issues. However, with the cooking blog, while I will not shy away from the environment, I will hopefully be encouraging people to think about their food and the options that are less environmentally damaging.

It was funny (strange coincidence) that one of my long suffering readers said that she was looking forward to seeing the cooking videos, and that comment was the spark of inspiration for this posting. That was last night for me, as I was checking my mail in a break from wandering around the village trying to track and follow the Fox family that's about. Yes I did see them, watch this space for a latter posting. (Blatant bribery to get folks to return here)

However, it meant that I was not up till late this morning, good job its a bank holiday. On the radio was woman's hour, I am an honorary woman so am allowed to listen, and they had a special for the bank holiday on Marguerite Pattern. For those folks that are not aware of Marguerite Pattern, she came to the public attention during the second world war when she did cooking demonstrations on the wireless (radio) when she worked for the Ministry of Food. Therefore in Britain she was the first “celebrity” chef. Although she dislikes being called a celebrity chef.

As she is ninety-three and still has a mind that is sharp, I like to hear her wisdom, and she really has wisdom to share. During the interview she talked about the very issues that were the catalyst for me doing the Food Blog and the Cooking Videos.

If I had any doubts about doing this, the cooking videos, and I have had many, I really felt them melt away. While I am well aware that keeping a web log of any type is rather self indulgent. But I write about the issues that interest me and much to my surprise there are one or two people out there that seem to be interested too. Mind you I seem to have a few cat readers too, but I think they read it because I mention birds and they think its a food channel.

Anyway I hope my regular reader will provide some feedback on this new video, good or bad, and I hope that you my loyal reader enjoys it too.

Community Shopping and Cooking

Yesterday, Friday, was a rather strange day. It started with me discovering feathers in the yard, logically I guessed that it was one of the neighbourhood cats. My own cat just does not go out at night, and only goes out when I am about. Further, she is quite timid (she had been abused when she was young and it took me a couple of years to gain her trust) and becomes distressed if she can not see me or her way back in. Also she can not catch anything and the birds mock her for this.

However, I did notice that some of the feathers were on the wall and it looked as though they came from two different birds. The ones on the ground were a starlings, the ones on the wall were from a Collared Dove. Had their been two different predators?

Even if there was a predator the birds were not stopping their feeding, and every time I looked out there was at least one bird in the yard. As someone wanted to talk to me, face to face, I was tied to the house. He did not make it in the morning, when I called him he complained that I would not give him my mobile number, yet he could have called on the land line. Personally I prefer to keep my mobile free for emergencies. In the past I have been disturbed by or had wildlife disturbed by the having one. While they are very useful, I prefer to keep the number for only people that really need to know it.

So being tied to the house for the afternoon as well, I decided to do some more cooking and filming. With my mind clear about what I want to do with the new food blog and the food videos, I set out cooking the subject for the next video. As much of this one is slow cooking, I was able to get on with other things as well. In the morning I had spotted the window cleaner so for the first time in weeks the back windows had been cleaned, so when he came to collect payment, I was cooking and upon opening the door he commented on the great cooking aroma. As it was just Onion Soup, that amused me.

I had just completed the next stage, the soup just needed to cook through when my appointment arrived. Now I have to say that this man, who used to work for the gutter press, is not a friend, but I respect his abilities as a researcher. Well to be honest it is better called digging in the cesspools of life. But from experience I knew he could be a bit acerbic.

The issue he had been digging into was the web site where I had found the illegal image. I now know that beyond the police telling to remove that image, they did not and have not investigated the site or the British businessmen that own and run the site. As well as other important details, there was little that really surprised me about what he told me, it shocked me but not surprise me. Had I not been doing something productive and creative, I really do think I could have fallen into a depressive state.

Anyway, I had things to do and I got on with them and went into the village to collect my magazines. As I walked back I saw a near neighbour who told me they thought they had seen a hawk by my place with a pigeon in its talon's. As I questioned him, it became clear that it was likely to have been a Sparrow hawk and the pigeon was a collared dove. I must have missed seeing it by moments that very morning.

With that news and the discovery that the BBC Springwatch returns on Monday, and I was feeling quite buoyant again. As I turned the corner to reach my home, I was greeted with the sight of a Red Kite just feet off the roof tops. It is good round here.

I had wanted to pop into Newcastle, but that would have to wait for Saturday now and I settled down for the evening. While I was enjoying the soup that was the starter of my evening meal, there was a knock at the door. It was one of my neighbours who's partner had seen a young fox coming out of my yard. He leaves for work early in the morning on his motorbike and was just about to start it when he saw the young fox with a bird, a starling he thought, in its jaws. So it looks as though I was wrongly blaming the local cats, sorry cats!

We went looking for where the fox may have come from and did find where the path was, but could not follow. Last year there was a family of foxes that I saw regularly in the night, so it is possible that the same vixen has cubs again. I will have to keep my eyes open and who knows what I may see.

Then this morning I got up early and kept a lookout for the foxes. I did not see any but I had put out some cat food near the path the foxes were using and when I returned to look, it had gone. I could have been a cat, or even the magpies that had taken it, but it will be worth taking the camera and holding vigil. While walking back home, I encountered another neighbour who was complaining about the local children causing problems. While I listened, I really could not see what he had to complain about, as all the children were doing was playing. From what he was saying, he was making it sound as though the kids were causing great problems, but having just walked around the area looking for signs of the foxes, I had not seen any damage by the children at all. I did find it amusing to be told that I was not observant enough to see the kids causing problems.

Perhaps it was because of this that I noticed the four young lads using the fence and the recycling bins as a climbing frame. I watched as I waited for the bus but while they perhaps should not have been climbing over them, they were not causing any problems for anyone. There are times when people seem to just want to stop children from being children. Had they been mischievous or vandalising something or putting themselves or others at risk then I would have been prepared to intervene myself, but to them the recycling bins were a castle they were storming or pirate ship they were sailing.

Even when the bus arrived I was thinking on this and I really think that the problem is that far to many people are selfish and just are unwilling to accept other peoples needs especially if they impinge upon their lives. While I can be an old crusty and cantankerous with some people, with me that arises from their bad behaviour. And on the bus there was an example of this when three young lads (about twelve or thirteen) got on and put their feet on the seats. I asked them to get their feet of the seats, while they reluctantly complied, they kept on staring at me. When one put his feet back up onto the seats, I just needed to look at him and he put his feet on the floor again. Personally most children just need firm guidance and not demonising.

When I got off a man of a similar age to me who had heard me chastise these lads stopped me and told me that I was brave as there was no knowing what they could have done. I told him that he has been reading to many tabloid headlines and what was the worst they could do, but give me some cheek?

In Newcastle it was quite busy, probably as a result of the bank holiday weekend. It was rather amusing as there were a number of Hen and Stag groups in the city. Because of all the bars and night clubs Newcastle has become a destination for these Hen and Stag parties but it was rather surprising to see five distinct groups doing their respective pub crawls at midday.

I went and got some cash from the ATM and off on my cheese and coffee indulgence mission. While I can not get into Newcastle every week, when I do I will make a bee line for the cheese shop in the Granger Market as well as the coffee store there. It was funny as I was nearly undercharged on my cheese. I made the woman who served me check the total again and I was right she was undercharging me by two pounds. As I walked away I overheard someone say; “Well he is not an MP” That brought a grin to my chops. The politicos have created a country that is united, we all hate the rotten lot of them.

I went to the vendors of fine Coffee, but the poor young woman who was serving was on her own and there was a small queue I was happy to wait, but there was one young chap that was getting vocally upset at being kept waiting. I felt like saying something, to him, but I think I would have been rude and I decided to go and do other shopping and come back. I suspect that as it was lunch time the other member of staff that would have been selling freshly ground coffee was off having her tea. As I did my other shopping I reflected that while I can understand that people live busy lives, there is no reason for folks to be rude to the people trying to serve them.

I could see that a queue remained so I decided to have a cup of coffee. I was tempted to have something for lunch but when I saw the prices and what was being served, well I thought I would just have a coffee. While the prices at this place were not excessive for the city centre, the quality of the food being served looked below the standard I would have expected. The coffee was a filter coffee but tasted a rather cheap brand. So that's one place I will avoid in the future. Its a shame as the lay out and the staff were great and friendly, just let down by the food and drink. As that is the primary reason for visiting a café, well they were not advertising themselves very well.

This Café had an interesting serving system, you pay for your order and you get a numbered ticket. The waitresses then call out the number. Except that people being English and reserved meant that she would have to call several times. I was nearly finished when the couple on the table next to me were served their order. Had I been served food like that at the price charged I would have refused to pay. It was not the service that was bad but the food, greasy spoon food at upmarket prices.

Then as I was finishing my coffee I noticed a couple of the women from one of the hen parties walking through. Short skirts, fishnet tights, and tee shirts that carried x rated slogans.

Now having already mentioned the order numbering system, it does not take much of a leap of imagination for you to guess the next order that came out. As the young waitress was probably only sixteen or so, it made her blush and the two hens made merriment out of that.

I returned once again to get my ground coffee. There was still a queue, but I waited and was served. I felt sorry for the young woman serving as she was clearly stressed, and I reassured her that I was in no hurry. That calmed her down. I don't know why she was on her own, but she was clearly doing her best, but some other customers clearly did not think so. Its a good job I don't work in retail as the rude customers would get service with a sneer.

It may be because its the city, or that the planets are lined up in an inauspicious way, but there really did seem to be a degree of impatientness and aggression in the air today. While personally I felt like I was a walking version of the little book of calm. Even down by the bus stops outside Central Station, people seemed to be rather agitated. Was I missing something? There was one pair of women that were jumping from one stop to another all because they were desperate to get to the Metro Centre, a shopping centre. What purchase could be so important that it was worth giving yourself a heart attack over?

When my bus arrived, I nearly missed it as it was going to sail past. I did remind the driver that it is a compulsory stop, but he said it was not. The traffic is so busy that it is not always possible to see the numbers of the buses until they are nearly at the stop. Also I know a retired driver who lives in the village and I often talk to about wildlife sightings and he has told me that places like transport interchanges are compulsory stops. The driver then started to unpeel my layer of calm by driving to fast. While on the Redheugh Bridge I could see that he was not slowing for the roundabout junction at the end of the bridge. As the oncoming traffic is partly obscured by the flyover feed to the bridge, I braced myself for a hard braking. I was glad that I did, as it came when a car with the right of way, appeared at the junction at the end of the bridge. While he then drove with more care following that, I heard mutterings from other passengers about his driving, so it was not my imagination.

When the bus reached High Spen, there was change of Drivers, so he was ending his shift and was rushing to end it. What was interesting was just after the new driver got on an Inspector boarded the bus. A passenger near the front reported the poor driving, and the inspector then asked where people got on and several others were able to confirm the incident. Now, it is rather unusual for there to be an inspector at all, so I am wondering if this was the first time there has been poor driving.

The common factor in the string of incidents is peoples selfishness The neighbour who was disgruntled by children playing was being selfish, they wanted the street to themselves, through to the bus driver that was in a hurry to end his shift. I know that I am no angel, but I do try and treat people with respect. While it can be amusing to observe people interacting, if only there was a bit more respect for other people I am sure that many of the problems that we seem to have will just disappear.

The World Turned Upside Down

I have just sat and watched the news and weather on television tonight and I am really confused. The weather forecast is for bright sunny conditions, yet this is a Bank Holiday weekend, by tradition we are supposed to have rain! It looks like everything I have ever know and believed in is has broken down. Quite simply this news has placed me in a state of shock.

This follows the Speaker of the House of Common Criminals being pushed out by the Members of parliament because they were rather cross with him for allowing them (the MPs) to fraudulently claim for all sorts of things that they should not have been claiming for. Perhaps I had not realised that the MPs were begging the speaker to change the expenses and allowances rules so that the MPs could be saved from their own greed. I really need to watch the news more often so that I can stay in touch with what's really going on.

The House of Common Criminals now needs a new speaker, may I suggest that the MPs all get headphones instead. At least in parliament there is now a consensus that this was a really rotten system, and the MPs could hardly bring themselves to milk it for all it was worth.

Well at least the British public has learnt something, when you get caught in a financial fraud all you need to do is claim that finance and accountancy is not your strong point...

It is now clear to me why the MPs did not want their expenses revealed to the public, it was that they were saving all this so that they could become comedy writers after they all come out of prison. After all only a comic genius could think that claim for a duck island or five hundred bags of manure was essential to your work as an MP.

And here was I despairing at British politics, at least in America it is interesting, electing the first Black President and straight after the first Mentally Disabled President.

There is a serious point to this though, as with the majority of MPs bringing parliament and democracy into disrepute could lead to people voting for extreme right wing parties.

While it could be said that we are living in interesting times, when you have a government that has allowed the banks to bankrupt the country and the politicians have borrowed eye watering sums of money, it really makes me wonder what planet our leaders have come from.

Well at least when we go into administration we will now not have the money to add to the the carbon pollution and Britain will be the first Zero Carbon Economy. Either that or the first Zero Economy.

More than Just Fuel

On Thursday, I had to do the supermarket run. There was not a lot that I needed, but as I wanted some alcohol for cooking (hic), I knew that it would be cheaper getting this from the supermarket.

As it was I nearly missed the bus as I was busy and engrossed in the kitchen that I nearly missed the time I needed to leave to catch the bus. I did make it, but that was more because the bus was a couple of minutes late arriving. I was pleased about that as I had missed the morning run, I came out of my hovel in time to wave the bus goodbye!

I used the unexpected extra time productively though as I put together the rough cut of the first of the cooking videos. I have listened to my critics regarding my videos, and I have tried to make this one informative but not long and boring, like most of my films are. Now don't all agree at once!

It has been an interesting exercise, as while much of what I originally set out to do remains, I will be less willing to accept using some of the junk that I was thinking of using. While I want to help folks learn how to cook, why should I use the junk ingredients the supermarkets sell just because its what the junk food addicts are eating or using. I have been trying some of this junk to see if I could develop alternatives that folks could cook at home, but I have not enjoyed trying this stuff. There have been times when trying this junk has upset my digestive system and I can not understand how this junk can even qualify as food.

Therefore while I originally wanted to help teach folks how to cook, I think I will do it my way rather than trying to please everyone. One of the aspects of the way that people here in Britain eat that has really confused me is the fact that the poor these days just don't cook. The North-East has always had a higher than average rate of unemployment, but in the past the poor were very good at making meals from very little via creativity in the kitchen. But now it really does seem as though some folks are just not willing to cook. But not only that, they will not try anything new or different.

This to me is perplexing, as (particularly) when I left home and was fully free to cook what I wanted, I experimented and discovered new ingredients and flavours that expanded my horizons. But I have given up counting the number of times that I hear people in the region that will say that they will not even try something different. Alternatively you have the other extreme where people, well mainly men, will only eat food that is so drenched in chillies that it can not be tasted.

Personally, I want my food to have flavour, to be enjoyable and be more than just fuel.

There have been times when I have encountered staff in Greengrocers who lack any knowledge of the products they are selling. And I have suggested to their customers how to cook or use a particular vegetable. Now while I don't expect everyone to be an expert cook or a walking recipe book, it frequently shows that the people running these businesses are more interested in the sales than the product. That lack of knowledge tells me that they can not tell a good product from a poor one. Therefore it is possible that part of the reason why people are not willing to be creative is simply that they have had poor quality foisted on them.

It is a statistic often quoted by politicians or the food industry that in Britain people now only spend ten percent of their income on food. Personally I find that appalling as it really shows how little we value food. This can be seen by a trip to the supermarket and looking with a critical eye at what's being offered. The reading of the chemistry set that comes with many products should have the effect of stopping people buying this junk, but it is often the prices that get them moving off the shelf.

Yet the (relatively) low prices on the shelves in the big chains are at the cost of the welfare of the animal and the environment. Take milk as an example; the modern industrialised methods of milk production relies on a breed that has become a milking machine and will regularly produce fifty to sixty litres of milk per day. That's eight thousand litres per year. While, that increase in productivity means greater cash flow for the farmer. For the cow, producing that much milk per lactation there is an effect upon the health of the animal. Producing that much milk causes infertility as well as problems with mastitis. In addition these systems require the cattle to be feed on grain and concentrates rather than feeding on grass, to maintain that output of milk, so the cows are kept on concrete floored factory units and suffer from high incidences of lameness. The overall effect is that the cows only have a useful life of three or four years.

In more traditional grass systems the cows have a productive life of ten years or so. That is not the only benefit as the milk from traditional grass feed systems is more nutritious and better quality. So it looks as though it is volume that matters to the food industry and not quality.

Add to this the fact that the concentration of so many animals in a factory system means that the manure becomes a serious pollution problem rather than a resource that helps fertilise the land. Then we start to have the cost of environmental pollution moving from the food industry to the tax payer. As if any incident is serious enough, while it may bankrupt that agricultural business, the pollution still needs to be dealt with and it always falls on government to pay the cost. But even the low levels of pollution into the environment from slurry is not borne by the farming industry but the water companies, who then pass that cost onto the consumers via higher water bills.

As was illustrated by the sudden dramatic rise in grain prices last year, the system is unsustainable. While the milk yields from rotational grass systems are lower, the farmers using this system do not have to buy in expensive feeds, they just need to grow grass. And while it is expensive to establish a good pasture initially, there is a clear benefit from this system. But more importantly the milk from this system is better quality. Science has shown that it is more nutritious too.

I could go on, food, and good quality food is a passion. And there are serious environmental and social impacts resulting from the government in Britain leaving food policy up to the agricultural industry and the supermarkets. When, as so often occurs, there is some health study that shows how poor the nutrition of the population is, a trip round the supermarkets shows why.

This is why I have started the new Blog cookinganimals.blogspot.com It will allow me to vent my spleen, in what I hope will be a creative way, and where I can post my cooking, food and farming videos.

Well after that rant I think I need a nice cup of Tea! Or should I try the Brandy?

The Power of Words

There have been times here when I have bemoaned about the lack of anything decent on television worth watching. Apart from the news there are times when my TV is not switched on at all, and even then I may skip the television news as the radio has provided better coverage. The radio often has better pictures too. However on Sunday I had the rare situation of four programmes that I wanted to watch, over three channels (here I only have five channels to chose from) all on at the same time. Nor do I have a video recorder or any device for recording television, I may join the twentieth century one day. And yes I do mean the last century!

Two of the programmes were dramas, but two were documentaries. One on Natural History and one on Anthropology. The solution came in the shape of technology and the I player. As three of the programmes were on the BBC I was able to watch them there.

It has been another aspect of the television out put that has caught my eye though. The BBC has just started a poetry season. I first saw that it was coming when the BBC started running trailers for this where well know people (well know well to others but not to me) reciting poems in response to normal questions. They are the best trailers I have seen for years.

I do regularly listen to a radio programme of poetry readings, Poetry Please, and this year it starts its thirtieth year. It has introduced me to many poems that were new to me and reawakened my interest in poetry.

When I was a child poetry was not part of my cultural diet, and even at school the snobbery from the teachers seemed aimed more at stopping people from enjoying poetry. In the 1970s I discovered via Pam Ayers that there was poetry that could be enjoyed. Yet my teachers at school were dismissive of her work. Hey she is the best selling living poet... last laughs is a phrase that is coming to my mind. If a poem sparks an emotional reaction then it has done its job, and the work of Pam Ayers opened my mind to the power of words.

As I have mentioned here before, I have dyslexia. Note that I don't say that I suffer from it as its the poor buggers that have to try and read my ramblings. But the point is that, had my teachers encouraged me to read then rather than dismiss my choice of reading material as rubbish, perhaps I could have discovered the tools that I now use to cope with the dyslexia. Equally, I have also mentioned that I had a stammer when I was younger. I frequently found that by expanding my vocabulary I was able to find alternative words to the ones I was stumbling over.

While I am on the subject of talking, in response to one of my readers who has heard my voice on video, as a Wood Mouse I have to use Helium to deepen my voice, in the was that humans make their voices high pitched.

While talking of poetry, here is a poem on video for you all.

Goldfinch

Today (Monday), I was in the kitchen cooking my evening meal and doing the washing up. The sun was sliding down in the sky as the rain clouds cleared, casting a golden light into my yard. I noticed the shadow of a couple of birds on the wall and looked at the main feeder, but there was nothing on it. Getting on with my chores, I realised the shadow was still there. So I looked at the seed feeder again and while there was a sparrow there, I realised the shadow was being cast be the Niger feeder.

There on the Niger Feeder were two Goldfinches! In the soft golden light of the dipping sun their colourful plumage was a delight to see. I don't know if they saw me or if they had feed to their fill but they flew off before I could dry my hands, to grab a camera.

The feeders are proving really successful this year. The other day when ever I looked out of the window, there was a flock of birds, mainly Sparrows and Starlings, on the feeder or the ground. I also had the Blackbird pair coming backwards and forwards taking the Meal Worms and on three occasions I saw the Collared Doves. It made the chore of housework (to me that's a swear word) go much faster than I would have thought.

And to follow on from my previous posting, the Cranberry Sausages were fantastic.   

Gibside Farmers Market

On Saturday I decided to go and visit the Farmers Market at Gibside. Partly this was because one of my readers (that makes it sound like I have loads when its really two humans and a cat) and friend was going to be exhibiting at another Farmers Market. As that one was several thousand miles away I thought I would offer support by going to a Farmers Market even if I was not prepared to walk to hers. I had been aware of the market when it first started, but as is often the case I was and have been to busy to attend. But I was really glad that I did.

While I am fully supportive of Organic food, in Britain Organic has effectively become a label that means high prices. While I realise that there are extra costs to organic production, far to often the prices charged by shops and the farmers when selling direct are over inflated. Personally I don't mind paying extra for quality, over the years I have found organic foods being sold for four and five times the price of a non organic equivalent. While those prices are at the extreme, far to often the prices are twice or three times the price, when there is no real justification for this other than profiteering on the Organic Label.

With the “Credit Crunch” and the recession the organic producers and sellers that were over inflating their prices or just producing mediocre product are now struggling. With food it really has to be the quality that is at the heart of the product they sell. Thus I was pleased to find that the Gibside Farmers Market was not dominated by organic producers pushing up the prices. But was a genuine mix of small farmers and producers who were selling local food.

I was glad that I had taken some extra money with me, I was also glad that there was not an ATM to close or I would have made myself broke, well fed but broke. It was fascinating to talk to and to be able to talk to the farmers directly. As no matter how good a supermarket is, they really do not know or care where the food they are selling comes from. While the fancy supermarket packaging may have a picture of a farmer on it, there is little chance that the product will have come from that exact farm or farmer. Here at the Farmers Market you at least get to meet the Farmer and can ask questions. Try taking the manager of the supermarket to one side and asking about any one of the products they sell. When the controversy was in the press regarding the welfare of Chickens, in one BBC programme at the time, they asked Tesco for the country of origin of the chicken in a particular ready meal. Tesco said it was British, but latter re contacted the BBC to admit it was Thailand. Even though the label said British too.

One surprise I had was one of the stalls was selling sausages made from rare breed pigs. I got some with cranberries, mm. I was able to discover that they were from a breed called the Berkshire, not one that I have tried before, but that my dinner for tonight sorted. But the real surprise was the farmer who was selling and making the sausages was the woman who had the Alpacas in the woods last year and had help with cutting the wild flower meadow. Therefore there was an instant trust with the products and that is what the consumer needs. As if the seller and buyer know each other there is a reason to ensure that a long term relationship is established.

While looking, talking and buying some lamb, I was shocked to hear another customer say that she did not realise that “Spring” Lamb was seasonal. This was not someone young either, she was older than me (That's saying something too). You hear stories of young people who don't know that milk comes from cows, or that Beef comes from Cattle reported in the media but I have never meet someone that uneducated. So I was really shocked to hear that someone can go through life not realising that lambs born in spring are seasonal.

In the past I have threatened (Oh my poor long suffering Reader) to produce a video pod cast on food and cooking, but I really worried that it could look as though I was being condescending, trying to help people to learn to cook. But when you hear people say how little they know, it really seems to show that there could be a need for this. So I am going to start keeping a new Blog related to Farming, Food and Cooking. I hope to have the first posting there by the end of this week.

Don't worry I will still be relating my (mis)adventures while watching wildlife. In fact I will probably need to do more wildlife watching to ensure that all the food and cooking does not add to my expanding waistline. And talking of wildlife watching, on Saturday when going to the Farmers Market I saw several Red Kites, the Farmers Market being in the centre of the Red Kites area. Also when leaving Gibside, I stopped on the Bridge over the river and saw a Kingfisher fishing.

Watching wildlife while getting the shopping, that's nearly a perfect day.

If I have a reader in the local area, and you want to attend the next Farmers Market at Gibside its on June 20^th 10am to 4pm and there is the additional benefit of being able to see the Red Kites for your self.

Moving the Carbon Goal Posts

This week there was a story in the media that was saying that sea level rise as a result of the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would not be as bad as previously predicted. The implication of the way the story was being reported was that we don't have to worry. Yet even while saying that they were factually reporting that the predicted rise has been cut from five meters to three metres.

There are two reasons why this story in particular caught my eye. The first is that a three meter rise is not something to worry about? It appeared as though there was a collective (by the media) misunderstanding of basic maths. The second was that to have recalculated the level of rise in sea levels there must be new data regarding the thickness of the ice.

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is important in climate change induced sea level rise, as unlike the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Greenland Ice Sheet, it sits on rocks in the sea and not wholly on the land. Therefore It will melt faster than the ice that sits on the land. As warmer sea water will accelerate the melting. Just as the summer sea ice is disappearing in the Arctic. There the summer Sea Ice will be substantively gone in three or four years.

In the West Antarctic, the sea ice shelves have collapsed already. This speeds up the melting of the ice sheet as the warmer sea water undermines the sheet.

So was the media accurately reporting the paper published in the Magazine Science? On reading the paper, it looked as though the media were reporting the study correctly. Although I still take issue with the assumption that a three metre rise in Sea Level is nothing to worry about. All you need to do is think of adding three metres to the highest tide and you soon realise that will create devastation.

Even reading the paper by Jonathan Bamber of Bristol University, I was left perplexed by the conclusions. I am fully aware that the science is complex and that I may not fully understand all the aspects of the processes, but the more I thought about the problem, the less I agreed with the paper.

A major part of the argument seems to be based upon the rate that the WAIS disintegrates. While there are new measurements of the thickness of the Ice, the total mass is still sufficient to give rise to an sea level increase of five metres. However what is being argued in this paper is that if the slower the rate of melting is, the less the sea level will rise. Now I know that Jonathan Bamber is a professor at a university here in England, but basic kindergarten science will tell you that if you add a bucket full of water to a bath, the bath water rises by that bucket full. The principal is the same but just on a larger scale when talking about billions of tonnes of ice being added to the worlds oceans.

While it is correct that the level of sea level rise has not been a great as would have been expected as a result of thermal expansion, we do have a thirty centimetre rise when fifty was expected, this has been because more water vapour has entered the atmosphere. This is why storms are more energetic and wetter, why rain events are causing more flooding and why the warming effects of the Carbon-dioxide are accelerating.

To then assume that the rate of absorption of water vapour by the atmosphere will continue is simply incorrect. At some point the atmosphere will become saturated. This is why we are seeing the predicted extreme weather events already.

I am not being critical of the work that Jonathan Bamber Et Al have done, as the team have tried to incorporate complex science in the the models, it is the conclusions that are quite frankly incorrect. The current estimated maxima of atmospheric water vapour is the equivalent to a seventy five centimetre rise in sea levels. However, that would also mean that the planet would have total cloud cover and all sunlight would be blocked. That would not be a solution to climate change as with that level of atmospheric moisture would create a cycle of rapid heating and heavy rain with the heat being retained under a blanket of cloud.

Therefore, even if the when the WAIS does disappear the rise in less than traditionally forecast, then the weather would be creating serious flooding over the land masses that the effect will be the equivalent to the full five metres. With the devastation and impact making no land area safe.

The other impact that Jonathan Bamber Et Al are predicting is the gravitational effect on the Sea Level. They are saying that places like the West Coast of the Americas will see a greater rise than other coasts. While I can understand the thinking on such a concept, and agree to a point, again the science does not stack up.

Just as in a bath if you create waves there are times when the water is lower at one end of the bath. Again scaling up to the whole planet, eventually the new sea level will find an equilibrium. Much the same as happens now with the tidal effects of the Moon.

In trying to incorporate these complex aspects of the physics and on a global scale, Jonathan Bamber Et Al, have misunderstood the basics. Further, the effects of the loss of the these Ice Shelves can not be taken in isolation. If we loose the West Antarctic Ice Shelf then the East Antarctic Ice Shelf will also be disintegrating. As even with a three metre rise in sea levels from the WAIS major parts of the East will also be under water. Thus East Antarctic Ice Shelf will be eroding from wave action and the warmer seas. As will be happening with the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Therefore a sea level rise of even a metre will accelerate the loss of the Ice Shelves across the planet.

The problem is that far to often in relation to climate change, people (Scientists included) are trying to say that we can mitigate the effects of the pollution we have created. And allow the pollution to continue. The problem is that Climate Change policy has been based upon limiting the volume of CO2 in the atmosphere to three hundred and fifty parts per million. Even though we already have three hundred and eighty five parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. Whoops!

The target is now four hundred and fifty parts per million. To me it is like a community urinating into the water supply, sooner or latter it will lead to the water poisoning that community. The effect of the carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gasses upon the climate is making our planet uninhabitable. We are long past the point where we need to know the exact numbers of metres that the sea will rise, what is needed is a serious effort into stopping the pollution and finding ways to heal the planet.

Haircut Time and Solar Thermal

On Wednesday I did something I have not done since the last century! Well writing that has made me feel old, not so much old as ancient. So what is it that I have done, well I got my hair cut!

I still have my ponytail, a mouse with a ponytail what ever next!

I wanted to get myself tidied up as while I may think I look windswept and interesting, in reality I am just windswept.

There was however a serious reason for doing this, as I had to ensure that I was (reasonably) smart for a meeting. Going back to last year, when I went to the Green Festival, I had a conversation with another visitor where they assumed I was an exhibitor. They had heard me talking to one exhibitors, and as I was relatively clued up they made that assumption. Anyway we still exchanged email addresses and I was able to offer some suggestions so they could work towards making their home energy efficient.

While I offered a few ideas of what they could do, I also said that if they could get their neighbours on board, then there were cost savings to be made. The main suggestion was using Solar Thermal. While this couple were quite enthusiastic, their neighbours were rather luke warm. It was not just the cost that was the problem but objections ranged from worries about having water on the roof to the old chestnut of “it is not sunny enough”. As Solar Thermal uses the sun to heat water in pipes, just like a central heating system, there is no greater risk of a leak than there is from a leaking radiator. Also I suggested that they demonstrate how effective it can be be putting a bottle of water in the sun and showing how much the water heats up so they can show their neighbours how hot the water can get.

By talking to their neighbours the objections reduced and it became clear that some were becoming more interested. The major objection was the capital cost, although all could afford to do this. Then as we all know, energy prices shot up. Suddenly the whole system started to look much more cost effective. Not only that more people wanted to see if they could join the group, this made the cost lower for everyone too.

Effectively, all bar four of the houses from a row of twenty seven, wanted to become part of this. However, one person objected and made a complaint to the Local Authority. Therefore, it looked like the whole idea was sunk.

Anyway I was asked if I would attend a meeting with the councils planing officer, a building engineer, and the residents, to see if some kind of solution could be found. Well that meeting happened on Friday.

While I can come up with arguments to counter objections, I am not that good at confrontation. But I needed not worry as simply I was not really needed as the “objector” and his group (metaphorically) shot themselves in the foot by insisting that climate change is a myth to the council officers. Further most of the other objections were technically unsound. They (He) were claiming that the weight of the panels would damage the roofs and bring the buildings down. All nonsense and he made no friends by calling the building engineer an idiot.

This, for me was rather entertaining. However, there were other points that still need resolving regarding cooperation and maintenance, so while all the objections were overcome, it was the details relating to cooperation regarding access for maintenance and installation that really remain to be resolved. So my input was not needed at all. It looks as though they will be able to get the houses fitted with Thermal Solar, and that could well reduce their collective water heating costs by forty percent. Not only that, they think that by working collaboratively they will save enough that the system will have paid for itself in six or seven years.

So what has this all to do with me getting a haircut? Well one of the council officers mistook me for some bloke off the Television. I wish, if only I had the money of some bloke off the TV!

Local Elections

Today there are Local council elections taking place. Here, Labour has a stronghold on power. At one point it really was the case that if Labour had put a Monkey up as a candidate, it would have won. Having any single party in that position is never good for democracy no matter what the colour of political leanings are. As simply no one party has all the answers, and any party that is in power and virtually guaranteed to be re-elected becomes complacent, detached and arrogant.

I have placed my vote for the Liberal Democrats, as the least worst option. If there had been a Green Party candidate that is where my vote would have gone. But the Green party only put up candidates in Middle Class areas (shame on them), as this is a working class area, that limits our choice.

It has been an interesting campaign to observe as the Labour party tried to smear the Lib Dems while claiming that they had been smeared. As recently a senior advisor to Gordon Brown, the Labour Prime Minister, had resigned as he was planning to smear everyone, I really did think that the election was for a nursery school and not the local authority.

This election comes a week after one Newspaper started detailing the expenses claims of many MPs. While there are many of the details that are shocking and quite simply fraudulent, we now have the main parties all trying to show that they are wearing their hair shirts. It is not that MPs should be deigned legitimate expenses, but that the system was being abused. Some MPs were making serious profits from the system and by yesterday over one hundred and thirty thousand pounds had been repaid, or pledged to be repaid.

While I am personally dissatisfied by the actions of our MPs and the current political leadership, the current changes that are being proposed will mean that only rich or well off people could ever afford to serve in parliament. Therefore perpetuating the status quo that has got us into the mess we are already in.

In this local election I suspect that my vote has been a “wasted” one, as no matter how bad the local council is, and it is bad, Labour will always get support just like a pavlovian dog. Nationally, Labour has wrecked the economy, led us into an illegal war and created greater social divisions than the Conservatives ever did. The Conservatives would have done no better, especially on the economy and had they been in power, the poor and disadvantaged would have suffered even more with the start of the banking collapse. The only party that has consistently spoken and acted responsibly, especially in relation to the recession, has been the Liberal Democrats. Not that I fully trust them either, but I judge my politicians by their policies and their deeds.

Redstart

Having had a long and busy day yesterday it was great to slip between clean sheets having put myself through the Mouse Wash. I slept like a Door Mouse, so did I change species over night? I was not up early enough to film the behaviour of the birds on my feeders, but I have time to do that soon. But I was up early enough to go and see if I could see the Otter on the river.

I set the camera up and was ready should she return. While I was waiting, I spotted a bird that I previously have only seen briefly before. It was further up the river so I could not film him from my position. Checking the time window, I decided that I could risk wandering up the river to get a better view of the Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus.

I was glad to move a little and walk about as I was in danger of getting cramp. Just with the binoculars I could see the Redstart was feeding on insects that appeared to be emerging from by the banks of the River. I returned to get the camera but as I went to pick it up, there was the Otter. I stayed with the Otter even though she had disappeared behind the pillar of the bridge. Had I been on the other side of the river she would have still been in view, but I was in the position I was so all I could do was wait. While it does not happen every day, the Otter or Otters if she has young, are frequently seen under the bridge during the winter if the water level is low enough. It is rare to see her here in the spring or summer as there is to much disturbance. I waited for twenty minutes or so, then I saw what could have been the otter swimming off under the surface. I set the camera rolling and moved of to see if I could spot the otter but I could not.

She had moved from under the bridge, I could see that clearly. Perhaps if I had not gone back to collect the camera I would have found her again, but I would probably have now been posting about having lost the camera. Well I got some boring footage of a flowing river!

I went back to where I had seen the Redstart but he was gone too. Well in the words of an old Genesis song, Some you loose and some you loose.

Oh the joys of rural living!

Getting up at four in the morning is never a favourite activity, but it proved to be worth while. As I wanted to watch and time when the birds were visiting the feeders in my back yard. Previously I had noticed larger numbers of them came first thing in the morning, so I wanted to work out a time window for this as there is activity that I want to film. Had I been filming this morning I would have caught it, but as I keep seeing this, I think I will catch it, eventually.

Getting up early also meant that I was able to take my dirty clothes for a walk to a place where they could take a swim. While I was waiting for the bus, I spotted that at the Starling nest that I have been watching, one parent is now leaving as the other arrives, that means the chicks have hatched. Or to be more accurate, the eggs have hatched and the parents are feeding the chicks. Even though they are common birds, and not the most loved, I am pleased they are doing well. Also, I noticed a male Tree Sparrow poking his head out, while I had the video camera with me in a bag, it was all to brief. I know that there is a nest there, but trying to film there could alert other people, who do not have the bird’s best interests at heart. But it was nice to see.

I was catching the eight o’clock bus, so when I passed over the bridge, I kept a close eye on the river and there was an Otter feeding on a trout. This really was turning out to be a great day for watching wildlife. Not all days are as good as this, but occasionally just keeping alert can really pay off.

After dropping off the washing, I headed for the bus station, as I wanted to make a trip into Hexham. Unlike most of the services here a small independent company runs this one and the difference was evident by the quality of the service the driver provided, friendly and helpful. Also as this service is designed for providing a service for the passengers in otherwise isolated communities, it took a meandering but scenic route. This made the journey a rather pleasant surprise. It took me through places that I have been interested in visiting for a while. Further with some good weather today, it showed the landscape to be as beautiful it looked from a distance. I do like this time of year, the promise of beauty emerging, new life and new growth.

This route took us through some real farming country with new Lambs in the fields, as well as a few new calves along with the cattle newly turned out on new pasture. I also spotted several Lapwings in the fields, while many were feeding; others were obviously on nests. I can be sure of three nests as the birds were in the same spots when I returned. It was the only real wildlife I saw on the way in, but it was more than enough to see the Lapwings. Even if I were not a birder, I would delight at seeing this crested avian creature.

Hexham is a delightful market town, while I have been there before; I have never had the time to explore the place. It has many lovely old buildings and has not suffered too much from development despoiling the ascetic of this medieval town. While there are some new buildings, mostly they do not clash or jar the senses.

As the Town has a market I was not surprised to see the market stalls out. However what did surprise me was that there was a stall selling Organic Meat direct from the farm. Not only that there was a proper fishmonger there too. However I waited until I was nearing time to leave before I made any purchases as simply I did not want to keep any meat un-chilled while I wandered the town.

I went to have an early lunch, but I wish I had not as the coffee was ghastly and the bread on the sandwich was dry. As the café was also a bistro at night they were not selling themselves very well. Therefore, I will be look for a wintry weather forecast in hell before I have a meal there.

I took time to explore all the little court yards and back ways in the town. The older the place is the more rambling the layout of the town becomes with lots of secret places and pleasant surprises. To compliment my mood, everyone seemed to be very friendly and welcoming. Then while filming behind the Abbey, I had one "community support officer" (Plastic Policemen) who tried to stop me filming, citing anti terrorist legislation. Apart from talking a lot of nonsense, he was wrong and as a tourist town people will want to film and take photographs. I was more amused by this than anything else. Because of the recession people are being encouraged to holiday and visit places in the UK, so over aggressive interventions like this will not help make visitors welcome. Then, I was in one of the main shopping areas and looking at one of the buildings and a beautiful carved stone frieze on the building. I was trying to work out how to best film it when another "community support officer" stopped me. Again citing anti terrorist legislation was trying to stop me filming. I pointed out that the building was architecturally interesting, he pointed out that there was a CCTV camera there and he thought I was filming this. Then out of no where came a woman who had the authoritative air of an old fashioned school teacher, and she had a real go at this "Jumped up" official.

I suspect that these people have just had some (inadequate) training or instruction to look out for suspicious activity, but lack the common sense to tackle the challenge without alienating tourists. The woman who had intervened on my behalf has a business in the town and keeps on seeing these folks causing more harm than help.
Apart from that, the whole experience of visiting the town was a good one. Before, going back on the bus, I went and bought some Venison, and Cumberland Sausage. I also got some Lamb Loins that were labelled as coming from a specific breed of sheep, Black Face. While not cheap, I can say that the flavour made it worth paying that little extra. I also looked again at the fishmonger’s stall. While I did not buy anything this time, I will return and I will get some fish from them or even some game. I learnt something as historically Fishmongers always used to be Game Dealers, partly so that if the fishing boats could not get out, they would still be able to make a living. These particular Fishmongers have been in business since 1914, and clearly know their product well.

The road trip back was similar to the trip in, it was the same driver too who recognised me and knew I had bought a return. It was clear that most of the other people are regulars and know each other and that there is a micro community that use this service.

When I got back to Consett, I was a little early to collect my washing so I went for a coffee. It was better than the one in the Hexham Café. I collected my washing and went to wait for the bus. I waited and waited. Where I was there was a sparrow’s nest near by, another one, so I was pleasantly distracted by this but it still did not make up for nearly two hours I had to wait for a bus that did not come.

To get home I had to get a taxi, as I had fresh meat, I could no longer wait. While I could have got home via a couple of busses, and a long walk, if the service that visits my village is cancelled then I am stuck. Apparently, the windscreen on the bus became cracked and the bus taken off the road. But no effort was made to inform the customers, the passengers, so we were left in the dark.