going down the drain? pages 4-5 - east lothian council · their whereabouts. paddington’s boots...
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East Lothian Council Countryside Ranger ServiceMay 2018
Local orchidsFlushed newts
Going down the drain?Pages 4-5New Alderston Path
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Welcome to the 36th Edition of ‘Mud In Your Eye’
We’d love to hear from you! Email: [email protected] or follow us...
@ELCrangers East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service
Published by
East Lothian Council’s Countryside Ranger Service
Cover photograph - A smooth newt.
Wardens deliver a new path
Flushed with Success
Look up to the Stars!
Orchids on your doorstep
From Beyond the Grave
Ranger events for this summer
Thanks to the volunteers
Top Tree(s) in Ormiston
Volunteering
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Running parallel to the A6137Haddington to Aberlady road, a 800mnew earth path has been cut up as far asthe top of the hill. This will mean thatpeople no longer need to take the risk ofwalking in the road itself, instead havingthis safer alternative. The path alsoprovides a link, creating a circular link tothe Blackmains Toll right of way.Particular thanks go to the Hastie’s ofAlderston farm, who have permitted partof the new route to run along the edge oftheir land. Further thanks go to theHaddington & Lammermuir AreaPartnership who provided funding for thepath work. Volunteer path wardens helped removelitter from the path and will ensure it ismaintained in a good condition.
Volunteer path wardens have helped deliver a new path for the county.
Alderston Path
Alderston path under construction.
Path wardens’ spoils.
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Road drains exist, but we barely thinkabout them. Water flushes away when itrains and we only pass comment whendrains are blocked and our tyres get wet.They serve a purpose, nothing more. Spare a thought, then, for smallercreatures that also navigate our roads. Inparticular, think about amphibians. Theyspend most of the year foraging in longgrass and shrubs but every springmigrate to a local pond to breed. Roadscan be dangerous obstacles at this timeof year.Amphibians that find themselves on roadswill follow the kerb. This may lead to adriveway, and safety, but ultimately it willlead to a road drain. Drains are designedto take water off the road. They are notdesigned to allow things to come outagain, and that is the problem. Ifamphibians fall in there is no way out.The great crested newt is rare in EastLothian, but there is a population in agarden pond on the Lime Grove / Rhodes
Park area of North Berwick. They havelived there for a long time but we recentlybecome aware of the danger of drains. A group of hardy volunteers surveyed thecontents of 15 drains over a number ofweeks this spring to see if there was aproblem. As volunteer tasks go, this is at the lowerend of the popularity spectrum. Stagnantleaves and bloated worms are among theless desirable items to scoop out of thesludge, especially at lunchtime, but it washugely important. Newts, including twogreat crested newts, were found in thethree drains closest to the pond.The rescued newts could have been asignificant proportion of the localpopulation so the drains are a seriousconcern. Fortunately some cleverconservationists in Kinross have devisedan amphibian ladder for drains, allowinganimals to climb out again. These laddershave been fitted into the danger drains,providing an escape route.
Flushed with Success
A smooth newt. A hardy volunteer.
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We will continue to monitor the drains tomake sure that the ladders are effectiveand to see if more drains need them.Saving newts from the drains is important,but the newt habitat in North Berwick isvery restricted. If you have ever thought ofconstructing a pond in your garden,please do. Ponds are extremely valuablehabitats, and you may be helping to
conserve a rare species.A big thank you to Barry and Katty forenduring the unpleasantness, and to theCouncil Roads Team who bought into theproject and supplied the ladders. And, abig thank you to you too, on behalf of thenewts, if you dig a pond.
Flushed with Success (continued)
Great crested newt.
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Look up to the Stars!Astronomers at Birmingham University have come up with some new, fun ideas forconstellations to try and get young people more interested in stargazing.
So far they have identified eight, eachassociated with a famous person orcharacter; A blue whale for DavidAttenborough, a tennis racket for SerenaWilliams, Paddington Bear’s wellingtonboots, a book for Malala Yousafazai,Harry Potter’s glasses, a space shuttle forTim Peake, Mo Farah’s ‘mobot’ and UsainBolt’s lightning bolt pose.
You can find further details of theseconstellations and where to look for themat: www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/plan-your-visit/blog/look-up-to-the-stars/
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To give you a flavour though, we haveillustrated two of them here with clues totheir whereabouts. Paddington’s bootscontain the stars Betelgeuse and Bellatrix,which are normally found in theconstellation of Orion the Hunter.
The Blue Whale contains the stars Aliothand Kochab, which are found in thePlough and the Little Bear respectively.
See if you can find these in the night sky,or why not invent your own?
Look up to the Stars! (continued)
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Orchids on your doorstep
All species are protected and are delicate– so please leave them and their habitatundamaged.Telling some orchids apart is tricky –especially as some can hybridize, buthere is a guide to some of the speciesyou may find…
Common Spotted Orchid – a grasslandspecies, with usually mid-pink flowersand best identified by its broad baseleaves which are heavily covered in spots
Northern marsh orchid – purplishflowers and unspotted leaves – can helpseparate this for the common spotted
Heath spotted orchid – an uplandrelative– so look for this in the grasslandsadjacent to the heather of theLammermuirs. Pale pink – white flowersand spotted leaves
Early purple orchid – pink to purplishflowers and lightly streaked / spottedleaves, this orchid is often found ingrassland and woodland.
By the time you read this, wild plants will be in full bloom across the county. Aparticular draw to plant lovers are the wild orchids that you can look for. Manycoastal sites are worth wandering in early June to look for some of the species thatcan be seen. Others dwell in more selective locations – favouring the uplands, darkwoods and even disturbed ground.
Common Spotted Orchid.
Northern marsh orchid.
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Orchids on your doorstep (continued)
Bird’s nest orchid – found only in acouple of dark deciduous woodlands –this strange looking orchid looks dead atthe best of times, being pale brown incolour.
Pyramidal orchid – neat pink flowerscombine to produce a roughly triangularcap, hence the name for this plant. Onlyfound on grassland.
Common twayblade – easily missed dueto its all-green hue, it has only two, largeoval leaves that clasp the base of thestem, and from which the plant gets itsname. Found on damp dune and scrub.
Heath spotted orchid.
Bird’s nest orchid.
Common twayblade.Pyramidal orchid.
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Dedicated volunteer bumblebeeenthusiasts have been working with theParish church and ELC Amenity Servicesto transform the churchyard flower beds.Out have gone the showy pansies and inhave come a number of wild flower plugsand seeds which attract native insects.The concept is simple in its brilliance, getsuitable plants established, improve thehabitat for bumblebees and get otherparishoners interested in the scheme.And then watch what comes in. Already aqueen buff-tail bumblebee has beenspotted foraging the area, and this is justthe start.
Little projects such as these, replicatedacross the county will in time make aninvaluable contribution in providing much-needed spaces for our local wildlife. Itwould be great if this scheme could beadopted at other amenity spaces. Inspired and / or want to get involved?Please contact us [email protected]
Red-tail queen bee.
From Beyond the GraveNews from Spott churchyard, not of ghouls nor body-snatchers, but life of analtogether more bucolic kind…
A queen buff-tail bumblebee.
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Junior Explorers events this summer
Contact: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/rangerevents email: [email protected]: 01620 827279 email: [email protected] for more information.
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Wild about East Lothian?
Contact: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/rangerevents email: [email protected]: 01620 827279 email: [email protected] for more information.
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Conservation volunteersI would like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers who do such wonderfulwork in helping to keep East Lothian beautiful.
[email protected] or telephone 01620 827459.Duncan Priddle, Countryside Officer
Beach litter picking
Giving the steps a once over.
Digging for victory!
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Ormiston Main Street - around 1900.
Ormiston Main Street(42 Top Trees!)
Top Tree No13
Ormiston’s appearance is the result ofthe C18 trend for creating orrecreating settlements along clearlydefined design lines. John Cockburnwas the inspiration for laying out thevillage pattern and its buildings, someof which still date from this time.The tree-lined avenue dates from thisage in design only, the treesthemselves having replaced earlierspecimens. But now, in early full leaf,is an excellent time to experiencethese specimens both individually andcollectively for the visual impressionthey create.
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Ormiston Main Street - more recently.
5 species comprise the collection, • Lime – 12• Horse Chestnut – 5• Oak – 7• Maple – 14• Beech – 4
New to tree ID? You can tell which are thelimes – park your car under themovernight and you’ll come back in themorning to find your windscreen coveredin a sticky sap!
The horse chestnuts have big leavesmade up of 5-7 ‘fingers’, whereas themaple leaves look like that of theCanadian flag. Beech leaves are neat andoval, with even grooves, and as for oaks,well, I trust you know the ‘wobbly’ edgeto oak leaves.I wonder how many of today’s trees werein the picture from 1900?
Top Tree(s) (continued)
volunteer diary dates
Where Day Date Time Who to contact
Aberlady Sun 20 May 09:30-15.00 [email protected] Tue 5 June 09:30-15.00 [email protected]
Yellowcraig Thurs 07 Jun 09.45-15.00 [email protected]
Path Thurs 21-Jun 09.30-14.00 [email protected] wardens
Aberlady Sat 23 Jun 09:30-15.00 [email protected]
Dunbar area Wed 27 Jun 10.00-12.30 [email protected]
Aberlady Wed 04 Jul 09:30-15.00 [email protected]
Yellowcraig Thurs 12 Jul 09.45-15.00 [email protected]
Aberlady Sun 15 Jul 09:30-15.00 [email protected]
Path Thurs 19 Jul 09.30-14.00 [email protected] wardens
Dunbar area Wed 27 Jul 10.00-12.30 [email protected]
Aberlady Wed 01-Aug 09:30-15.00 [email protected]
Yellowcraig Thurs 02-Aug 09.45-15.00 [email protected]
Path Thurs 16-Aug 09.45-14.00 [email protected] wardens
Dunbar area Wed 29-Aug 10.00-12.30 [email protected]