Badgers, Beavers and Butterflies

Wildlife enthusiasts and dairy farmers will be relieved to know that the Government  has announced that the ineffective cull of Badgers and cattle as a means of reducing bovine TB is to be phased out in favour of a policy of vaccination, and an earlier and more effective test for infection in cattle  to replace the present skin test which doesn't detect early infection and thus results in a reservoir of infection within the herd. It is sad that scientific advice which has been available for several years has taken so long to be accepted.
Dorset Wildlife Trust has announced that it has now secured the necessary licenses to proceed with its enclosed Beaver trial, the first of its kind.The project will host research that will help us to understand the positive impact this species could have on chalk stream water quality, flood prevention and wildlife. Though highly desirable on the presently much abused South Winterborne we are unlikely to be lucky enough to get Beavers in the near future.
And a welcome sign of spring, a Brimstone butterfly, the first for the year, has just fluttered across my front garden.

First Frogspawn

A

1st February

Only the first of February and already the first batches of frogspawn, six of them, have appeared in my small garden pond. The picture above, though it looks a bit rough, isn't a sketch but a close-up photo. The two green leaves of duckweed give an idea of the scale. The embrio tadpoles show clearly in the centre of each gelatinous blob and hopefully I may be able to get similar pictures as they develop.
Watch this space.

13th March 2020

My tadpoles disappeared two days ago ( I blamed the heron that as been flying round the village)  but they have now reappeared hiding below a mass of bubbles. This I have never seen before but, according to the current issue of New Scientist, it is the way they breath at a certain stage in their developmnet. Most tadpoles develop lungs as well as gills and need air to survive, but they are too weak to break the surface tension 'skin' to take in air. Instead they can form bubbles and take in air from them. 

Tadpoll Bubbles  Click to enllarge

21st March 2020

The Tadpoles have grown enormously in the last week and are now attacking any likely food such as this unfortunate snail.

Tadpoles eating drownned snail   Click to enllarge

 

Sika Deer.

Sika Deer,  on Black Down

A trip up the hill today in the late afternoon to watch the sun set from the new stone circle. Wildlife was not much in evidence, a couple of Carrion Crows, a few Rooks on their way to their night roost, the occasional Herring Gull belatedly making its way to the coast, plus the odd Wood Pigeon. Nothing very exciting perhaps, but suddenly everything changed and on the skyline a magnificently antlered Sika Deer appeared, silhouetted against the rapidly darkening sky. Before I could get the camera from my pocket for what would have been a very dramatic shot it moved away across the heath  but continued grazing, occasionally looking up for danger. The distinctive white rump is clearly visible. Said to be nocturnal and spending the daylight hours in the woods this one has clearly made an early start on its browsing.
Shortly afterwards I caught a few short glimpses of the sun, partially obscured by thin cloud, as it set bang in the middle of the aperture through the south westerly facing pillar which  is aligned with the winter solstice sunset.

Rookery Restored.

During the summer the Rooks which inhabited the Horse Chestnut tree outside my bedroom window suddenly disappeared during the course of one day, along with many others from the village. At the time the law on pest species was in a state of flux and amid uncertainty as to whether the Rooks would remain on the list or become a protected species, did someone do a precautionary cull, 
perhaps at the night roost over the other side of the A35 ?  All went silent for a while, but this week a few of the birds which must have survived, returned to the Horse Chestnut  and are busily rebuilding three nests.

Rooks back in the Horse Chestnut.

 A pair of birds are working on the nest at the upper right and a single bird, probably the female, waits by the rather sparse nest in the centre for her mate to return with another stick which she will, with much pushing and pulling, add to the nest

More Magnificent Mushrooms

                    Clouded  Clitocybe                                                               

After the plate-size Parasol mushrooms (see below) another large mushroom has appeared in large numbers in the valley- the Clouded Clitocybe, Clitocybe nebularis.  Said to be common amongst leaf litter in deciduous and coniferous woods its relative scarcity in the valley is perhaps a reflection of our lack of woodland rather than anything else. The distinguishing feature is the ash grey cap which sometimes has a yellowish brown tinge and may be up to 20 cm in diameter. The group shown above form a small part of a 'fairy ring' some 30 m in diameter.   Under Edibility the book says 'best avoided as it causes gastric upsets in some people.'                                                           

Beavers.

Exciting news in the latest Dorset Wildlife Trust magazine, Dorset Wildlife, is of the intention to set up home for a pair of Beavers in the county, with plenty of space to safely study how they impact on wildlife and water.
 DWT  believe they will find the beavers improve water quality, help reduce flooding and their presence and waterway engineering will improve the area for a host of other creatures too, (*including kingfishers, water voles and dragonflies.) 
The project will enable people to get a close up view of these wonderfully charismatic animals. The trial site will be used as a place of learning, for people from all backgrounds, farmers, landowners, anglers, conversationalists, local communities and academic institutions. A significant part of the funding has been aquired, but more is needed in the shape of match funding, whereby every £1 donated may release a further £10.
Details are at dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/beaverappeal
The chosen site has not been disclosed and  the South Winterborne, with its close proximity to roads, doesn't seem a likely choice, but the introduction of beavers as a means of flood control (their dams slow down the flow of water) does highlight that modern flood control methods involve slowing down the flow, not attempting to speed it up as has been  the objective in recent years in the valley.

Magnificent Mushrooms.

New, to me at least, in the valley is the Shaggy Parasol Mushroom, Macrolepiota rhacodes, several specimens of which nestle in the hedge bottom half way up to Ewelease Dairy.

Shaggy Parasol Mushroom.  Click to enlarge.  Photo. John Elliott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This large mushroom, which may be up to 15 cm in diameter, has a cap which is at first smooth, dark pinkish to cinnamon brown, then breaking up, except at the centre, into large scales revealing the underlying white flesh.  It is edible, but some people are allergic to it.

  Shaggy Parasol Mushroom.  Click to enlarge. Photo. John Elliott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The smooth stem is characteristic of this mushroom, the other two species of Parasol mushrooms have snakeskin stems, and also the ring round the stem just below the cap. This is a feature also found on the Amanita mushrooms which include the deadly poisonous Death Cap and the Destroying Angel. so be very cautious. Even though it has a ring it may not be the very edible Parasol mushroom.