Common Toad

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I had seen and filmed a frog in my yard. Well I seem to be having a brain storm as what I meant to say was that it was a Toad. Does that mean I am living in Toad Hall?

Anyway, brain storm over here he is in close up.

Frog by Night

A few weeks ago I mentioned spotting a Common Frog in my back yard, well it was the Owl that drew my attention to it first. Well I film her and I have finally got the film sorted out and here it is.

A female Common Frog Rana temporaria, at night and hopping away.

Watching for Frogs and Toads

During February we had only half the average rainfall. This makes it difficult for Frogs and Toads to emerge from their points of hibernation and get to the water they need to breed in. As amphibians need water to breed in as the eggs would dry out. Also the Frogs and Toads need to have damp or wet conditions to journey to the ponds and pools to breed in. Thus last night with steady rain forecast, it was looking like the best night so far to see the amphibians on the move and breeding.

So after midnight I ventured forth, walking in the woods in the dark is always an interesting experience. Because of recent gales the paths and tracks are covered with small twigs and branches, that makes walking quietly much more difficult, so slow and steady was the only way to progress. Initially, I had to be careful not to do an impression of a snowball as I nearly went tumbling more than once. I know that I disturbed something as I heard what sounded like a Fox or a Badger escaping at my approach.

I heard a pair of Tawny owls and I stopped to listen. There was no way that I could see them, but the male must have been no less than fifteen feet away from me as I passed by. Because of the density of the wood on the route I needed to take, I was using a torch. This meant that I could see the eye shine of a pair of Foxes as they crossed my path a hundred yards or so from me.

By the time I got to the pools, the steady drizzle was making the ground quite slick under foot. As I did not want to fall in (again), I took my time to get to the pond side. There were no sounds of the Frogs or Toads, nor any sign of them. I set up the Camera on the Tripod and placing a rain cover on it I went looking to see if I could spot any of the amphibians moving about. I could not see anything so I waited and waited.

When I realised that the first light of pre dawn was lightening the sky I realised that I was not going to get the amphibians on film I decided it was better to wait for the light to return before heading home. While all I had got was wet, I did have the consolation of the dawn chorus to make my tired trek home a pleasant one. I may have gotten a momentary glimpse of a Roe Deer as it leaped away from my approach.

Well I will have to wait for another moist evening and perhaps then I will see them.
When I got home, on the radio was a story asking people not to collect Frog spawn to stock their ponds. I did think lucky them to have the spawn to find.

A link to that article

Dealing with damage and creating something special

While I am a strong believer in allowing open access to the countryside, I also realise that there are some people who don’t care about the environment and come into the natural environment set on causing damage. The photograph of this damaged tree is just one example of the damage that irresponsible people do.

Today, the Mouse and the Chair had to complete the cementing in of the rocks in the Coal Tubs. This was becoming urgent as already the mindless ones were trying to destroy the work already done. Some of the content of the tubs, not concreted in, had been removed and the rocks used as projectiles to attempt to damage the tubs and the work already done.

It would be all to easy to become despondent, but with a pragmatic attitude, we worked to complete the task and ensure that there is little that can be damaged. I personally have never understood the drive or motivation to destroy. I suppose that because it’s easier to destroy something than to create, it must provide the brainless some form of creative outlet.

With that task completed we only need to get our willing band of volunteers to join us to paint the tubs now. You are welcome to join us.

That done, the Chair and myself were not finished as we also had the job of dealing with the wildflower meadow.

As the British landscape is an artificial one, created by thousands of years of human intervention, the traditional wildflower meadow is a habitat that requires careful management. In the past, meadows would have been clearings created when trees were felled to provide hay and herbage for animals and livestock. Because there was no active inputs into the soil from manure, as would happen in a pasture meadow, and the grass and herbage are removed, the soil remains poor and denuded of nutrients. This makes the land poor for growing crops, but a perfect environment for the wild flowers, as the grasses are not able to take over.

Thus with the changes that have occurred in agricultural practice over the last fifty to sixty years, many of the traditional wildflowers have become scarce. By recreating a wildflower meadow, we ensure that the flowers exist as well as the insects and the reptiles and amphibians that feed on the insects. While the biodiversity is much grater than just that, it gives you an example of why these areas are so important.

But, as people no longer keep the odd pig, or a house cow, or even a goat or two, traditional meadows are no longer a part of the agricultural necessity. Thus managing them becomes more labour intensive. Thus the work falls to us volunteers to do the work.

Fortunately, the Friends’ have some good contacts and supporters and we got the woman who has the Alpacas in to cut the hay. But the real work is raking up and removing the hay. That is what the Mouse and the Chair did today.

The benefits to the wildlife were obvious right from the start as there were several common frogs Rana temporaria in the area and as the herbage was raked up they were hopping away to find cover. Also as the ground was cleared a large number of vole and mouse holes were revealed too.

While all of this was hard work, the benefits to the natural environment were obvious and while it is harder to create something worthwhile, that effort is justified.

The Intellectual and….

For my sins and since becoming involved with conservation in my local area, I sit on various committees. While it is the least favourite aspect of my duties, it does mean that I can have a positive input into the discussions regarding what is happening. However, I enjoy meeting with other people who share my passion for the local woods and the surrounding countryside. Last night for instance it was great to hear one of the local farmers talking with passion about seeing four of the red kites, quartering a neighbour’s field, as they were cutting corn. For me it was fascinating as he detailed behaviour that I have never observed myself but have only read of in books, the lucky chap.

Attending these meetings also have another advantage as it provides me the chance to take a regular route into my woods and see what is happening at various points where I have seen wildlife previously. Frequently I will see signs of activity and occasionally some of the wildlife its self. One of the other advantages of this is people will tell me of what they have seen too, and this all helps build up a picture of the vitality of the local habitats and the environment in general.

Last nights meeting was one of the better ones, as we covered a lot of ground and in a very positive manner. Further, the concusses of the people at the meeting was very much in favour of a much more conservationist approach to the work and activities in the woods. It is when we have everyone trying to find workable solutions to some of the problems that tackling the intellectual aspects of conservation can be so worthwhile.

Then today it was back to doing the practical. Rather than just do work on my beloved woods, I have started doing other conservation work as well. This helps me re-acquire skills, as much of the work will be the type of work that I have done before. Also it will allow me to discover the different approaches to solving similar problems, which other organisations use. Additionally by working on different habitats I get to see a wider range of wildlife.

For example today’s work was grassland management at a pond and wetlands site. It’s a nature reserve on a former quarry site that is rich in reptiles and amphibians. Cutting the grass and removing the sward and vegetation to keep the soil denuded of nutrients thus providing the perfect conditions for many wild flowers. This vegetative cover provides the habitat that voles, mice and birds need as well as the reptiles and amphibians. Further because of the wild flowers, it attracts numerous insects that can feed the birds, amphibians, reptiles etc.

While it was a bit windy the weather was great and the work while hard was not arduous and we could see results as the work progressed. However, while we saw no small mammals there were plenty of Toads and frogs to be found as we raked the grass up.

There were plenty of volunteers attending too, so that a number of objectives were fulfilled. This included litter picking, a job that I am trying to get all conservation organisations to call "Womballing", as well as trimming back some of the trees along a main path to make access safe and easy.

For me though the high light of the day was getting this picture of a Common Sympetrum Dragonfly Sympetrum sanguineum as it rested for a moment on some ones hi-visibility coat.