out with visitors

I have guests!! So why is it the weather flipping foul yesterday!! Drizzly rain, grey clouds and wind.

Still we went to Lynford Arboretum (with a detour via Walker's snack bar). Considerably fewer birds about than on Saturday (when the weather was good) but we saw 7 Hawfinch.

The girls stare intently.


So onto Anglessey Abbey a light lunch and a stroll around the garden.

















As I was taking the above Diane said look down.....






















Had a lovely meal last night! Trish had Scallops and Sea Bass, Di had Goats Cheese and Vennison and I had Scallops and Rabbit. We all had the cheese board.

Invasive plants

I've read a number of reports about Gardener's being urged to stop the spread of invasive plants.

For example in Scotland Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham launched a campaign urging the public to be responsible gardeners by keeping their ponds under control and ensuring invasive plants do not escape to the wild and to dispose of unwanted plants carefully.

What puzzles me is we are banned from bringing alien fauna into the UK but gardeners are still looking for new plant species to bring in. In ten years will there be a new campaign complaining about invasive species that have been brought into replace the ones we are now getting rid of?

Visitors to National Trust Properties up

A curious side effect of the recession?

The National Trust is reporting a 16.5% increase in visitors to their attractions in Devon and Cornwall. The Trust feel this could be due to the range of properties in the area which has encouraged people to take out annual membership and the recession meaning people were holidaying at home.

Personally I think more people visiting and gaining an appreciation of our heritage is a good thing.

Oh I missed this blogs 4th birthday last Sunday.

Dragonfly Migration

I subscribe to the excellent British Wildlife Magazine, I must admit that some of it as a level I neither want or need but there is always something that I find worth reading (and it's nice to get something that doesn't dumb down).

For instance in the wildlife reports there is a piece on dragonfly migration. Dr Charles Anderson (who lives in the Maldives) has discovered that the Globe Skimmer makes regular migrations from India to South East Africa acroos the Indian Ocean. This is a return trip of 14,000-18,000 twice that of the Monarch Butterfly. It takes 4 or 5 generations of dragonfly (I'm not entirely sure if that's both ways). It's possible that the skimmer is using higher altitude winds (1000m+), these can have speeds of 10m/sec making an assisted crossing possible in 24 hours.

A team in the US has put minute tags (1/3 of a gram) on the thorax of the Green Darner (similar size to the European Emeperor Dragonfly). The team followed 14 dragins from a receiving light aircraf and found that the Darner's were capable of flying 137 km per day!

The Darner's final destination is unknown due to the restraints of the small tag size.

Still these two stories given further indication just how much we still have to learn about our word.

Saving the Orangutan

Interesting programme on the BBC 1 tonight about how the challenge of saving the Orangutan is trickling down to our weekly shop.

Products such as biscuits, margarines, breads, crisps and even bars of soap contain palm oil, which is the cheapest source of vegetable oil available, and one that seldom on the label of most products.

Palm oil is grown on Borneo on land that was once rainforest and the natural home of the Orang.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the population has declined by 50% in recent decades and the Indonesian government admits that 50,000 orangutans have died as a result of de-forestation.

The Panorama programme looks at clear-cutting in Indonesian Borneo and has found that the thirst for land on which to plant palm plantations is encroaching on areas that the Indonesian government has deemed to be off-limits.

According to Greenpeace the draining of ancient peat lands to make way for palm oil has lead to massive amounts of trapped methane and carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Indonesia is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind only America and China.

The Panaorama team used GPS to pinpoint exact locations where the Duta Palma Group is logging on both high conservation lands and deep peat lands - both are illegal.

The Palm Oil industry is Indonesia 3rd largest exporter and only 3% of the world's palm oil is certified sustainable, meaning it comes from plantations that pass an environmental and social impact test.

Current labelling legislation allows manufacturers to list Palm Oil as vegetable oil.
Unilever and Proctor and Gamble, say their recipes can change and the amounts and types of oils they use can vary from week to week, making more detailed labels unworkable. However Sainsbury's has taken the decision to single out palm oil on the ingredients lists of their own-brand products, and to state directly that it is from a sustainable source.

Unilever recently terminated a large contract with a supplier called Sinar Mas, because of reports it was destroying high conservation value forests.

I think this is one for us consumers to work on. We have to tell our supermarkets how much we value the wildlife of our planet and that it is imperative that they put pressure on their suppliers to ensure the highest welfare standards.

The cold delays flowering

Since 2006 the National Trust has conducted a flower count each February in Devon and Cornwall to provide an annual snapshot of how the changing climate is affecting plants.

It shows the impact of the cold January that 1,115 plants were recorded in flower this year compared to 3,335 in 2008 when the highest count was recorded. Plants have been delayed by up to a month.

This year other National Trust Gardens have joined in with Nyman's in West Sussex recording the highest number of plants in bloom (101) outside of Devon and Cornwall.

Anglesey Abbey is 2-3 weeks behind schedule which could mean good displays well into March. I may have to go back for a second look!

Cold but a worthwhile days birding

I awoke to a sharp frost but there was a hint of blue skies so out I went.

First stop was the Walkers Snack bar at Barton Mills. Is it bad form to send a picture of your breakfast to people?

On to Lynford Arboretum, shortly after entering the Arboretum a Treecreeper flew on to a tree!! Loads of tits (Blue, Great and Coal). I hadn't gone very far when a group of birds flew overhead and into some trees behind me, they looked like big finches..... bins up on to a lovely red CROSSBILL!! Not the easiest of birds to see down here.

I crossed the bridge to the paddock and pointed my bins to the tops of the trees. OOH!! Hawfinch! Set up the scope for a better view!!

I wandered around the lake to take some photos and then back to the car. Lots more tits and finches (including Crossbill) and a few Goldcrest.







So where now? I didn't really fancy a trip all the way to the coast but did go to Sculthorpe Moor.




I think Blondie was calling me this when she got my text about see 20 Crossbill and Hawfinch!





No bird pics but will this chap do?

I saw 5 species of Tit (saw Marsh but not Willow, both are there), a Water Rail, the common finches (Bull, Gold, Chaff and Green) and a Brambling!






Also seen during the trip were Redwing, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mallards, Grey Heron, Mute Swans, Brent Geese, Coots, Moorhen, Jays, Green Woody (well heard), Wren, Robins, Magpie, Crow, Jackdaw, Wood Pigeon, Canada Geese and Brent Geese.

Fish Farm and the effect on Seals

Green politicians are warning that approval for a fish farm to be considered today by Western Isles Council would trigger a significant cull of seals as well as threatening other species.

The scheme is close to the islands of Lingay and Groay in the Sound of Harris.

Green MSP Robin Harper spoke against the proposal at the Scottish Parliament, as the scheme is in an area within a few hundred yards of a seal breeding site.

Mr Harper warned that approval would spark fresh requests to shoot seals locally. He also highlighted concerns about the effect on the local cormorant and otter populations.

The Green party lodged an amendment to the Marine Bill which would have prevented licences to shoot seals being granted to new fish farms where the developer chose to set them up within a certain distance of a known seal breeding site. The amendment was not backed by Parliament.

Mr Harper said:

I have no doubt if this is approved requests for a licence to shoot seals will swiftly follow.

David Bines who owns Lingay, said:

It’s absolutely ridiculous to site a fish farm next to high concentrations of predators and sensitive wildlife.

It goes against Scottish Government advice and the industry’s own code of practice.

The applicant, Andrew Rodger said:

We have, as all fish farmers do, the potential to manage seals by lethal method, but it’s not our chosen mode of operation. As a new business, we’re working towards standards which require us to follow guidelines for seal management.

On why it had to be located at his chosen site, he said:

The modelling we’ve done shows the site to be well positioned and the influx of water from Atlantic sources will help with the site’s fish disease management aspect. It’s also well located within the geography of the islands to be supported by a workforce

.

Mr Rodger said the scheme would create seven full-time jobs.

Wot no zebra?

As you may know EMI has plans to sell off the "iconic" Abbey Road studio.

According to the National Trust

On hearing of EMI's plan, listeners to the Chris Evans show on BBC Radio 2 and to BBC Radio Five live contacted the programmes to urge us to take on the property made famous by the Beatles' Abbey Road album. A possible role for the Trust was suggested on the radio when presenter Chris Evans and former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney both raised the prospect of support from the National Trust. Their proposition triggered an immediate reaction from listeners, with many emailing support for the idea. The public have also been adding their voice on Twitter.

Now the studio could have a value of anything between 10 and 30 million pounds.

It's not often that the public spontaneously suggests that we should acquire a famous building”,

said a National Trust spokesman

However, Abbey Road recording studios appear to be very dear to the nation’s heart - to the extent that we will take soundings as to whether a campaign is desirable or even feasible.

Uh I have to ask why? Because some records were made there? Lets ignore the musical virtues of the Beatles, I may understand if we were being asked to save there music for the nation (for some reason), what is the point of saving a studio?

Perhaps the public aren't aware that the zebra crossing isn't included!!

A petition

There was something seriously wrong today, I can't quite put my finger on it. I wonder if it was the orange thing in the sky, or maybe the blue colour of the sky or the hint of warmth?

I don't know but I want more of it!

Anyway may I point you to this RSPB petition against the slaughter of birds in Malta.

It reads:

"To Dr Lawrence Gonzi, Prime Minister of Malta, do not bring renewed shame on Malta.

We urge you not to harm EU nature conservation laws for a few votes from the hunting minority.

We urge you to comply with EU law through Maltese legislation.

We urge you to ensure all hunting legislation is fully enforced.

We urge you never to allow spring shooting or trapping of turtle dove and quail again."

You have to live in the UK.