mud in your eye
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
seasonal best out & about biodiversity
february2015
New Year BloomersJohn Muir WaywalksLatest events, volunteering and more...
East Lothian Council Countryside Ranger Service
Scotland’s Big Nature Festival!pages 6-7
out & about
volunteering
seasonal best 3
4-8
9in the spotlight
10-11
top tree 12
Welcome to the 28th 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
Cover photo by Martin MalletPublished by East Lothian Council’s Countryside Ranger Servicewww.eastlothian.gov.uk/rangerservice
seasonal best
Red Campion
Plants are either male or female.
New Year’s Day
Bloomers
Spring
Cinquefoil
Only one pla
nt
known in
East Lothian
&
I’m sworn to
secrecy!
Gorse
Flowers have a coconut scent.
One group that you may not have heardabout however, are the New Year PlantHunters. On January the 1st each year,recorders go out to note any species offlower that is in bloom. To find out morevisit: www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30754443
Across the whole of the UK this groupexpect to find perhaps 20-30 plants inflower. Imagine their shock when on Jan1st 2015 they collected in total recordsfor 368 species! That’s about 25% ofthe total flora for the British Isles.
This dramatic increase in species is probably in part down to the increasednumber of recorders going out to look –yes it’s getting popular. But most likely a changing climate is involved too.
In East Lothian you can take part aswell. I can think of 6 species that were inbloom on New Year’s Day; gorse, winterheliotrope, red campion, snowdrop,spring cinquefoil and winter aconite...
It’s never to early to start planning a search for Jan 1st 2016!
Many of us like making lists and ticking off something new. In the natural world there are people who travel 100s of miles just catch a glimpse of some poor exotic bird that has turned up exhausted on our shores.
out & about
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“a place to come to feel the wind in your face, to gaze across the Firth of Forth to Fife, to spot a huddle of Oystercatchers on the shingle beach, braced against the wind”
wildnature
5
A winter walk along the John Muir Way between Prestonpans and Port Setonwith Jennifer Lothian, West Area Outdoor Access Officer
Along the John Muir Way in the historic coastaltown of Prestonpans, John Muir gazes down at passing walkers from a large mural near thewaterfront. The route named in his honourpasses close by. Following the path behind the sea wall you are taken back in time.Weathered sandstone walls of the old cottage above the shingle beach recount tales of surviving winter storms.
The path skirts aroundthe ‘green hills’ eastof Prestonpans, wherepeople walk their dogs,even in this arctic weather.
The John Muir Wayis a national coast-to-coast route between Helensburgh and Dunbar, and walkers whopass along here experience the diversity of East Lothian’s coast and countryside. Yet to me this path belongs to the local people whowalk it every day, who contact me about theroute because it is important to them and theycare about it. This is a place to come to feel thewind in your face, to gaze across the Firth ofForth to Fife, to spot a huddle of oystercatcherson the shingle beach, braced against the wind.
This landscape, dominated and moulded bythe sea, has nevertheless been shaped andutilised by people over the centuries, and it is subject to constant and ongoing change. Symbolic of this changing coast is CockenziePower Station. No longer operational, it resembles something from science fiction, even if the bobbing eider ducks offshore bring you back to reality as you pass.
Further east is Cockenzie. Along the waterfront the routefollows a concrete path below the old settlement, winding along the tideline of a white shingle beach with sheltering
arms of black rocks, gulls wheeling overhead – a haven for beachcombers like myself in searchof shells. Splashed by the sea spray at hightide, this is an easily accessible place to experience wild nature on your doorstep.
The path emerges at Port Seton harbour, replete with fishing boats unloading theircatch. Gazing off Port Seton promenade at low tide, another world is revealed along the intertidal zone, of limpets, chitons andcrabs, right below your gaze.
on your doorstepe
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For more info and to buy tickets visit:
www.scottishbirdfair.org.uk
artisan foods guided walks bush crafts
Join us at East Lothian’s reowned birding hotspotSituated at the mouth of the River Esk the picturesque location for this yearsevent is a reserve on reclaimed land which has been specifically rehabilitated for wildlife and people to enjoy. It is home to a vast range of biodiversity and a great place to see wading birds.
Visitors can enjoy a full events programme with something for everyone: expert talks in our three events marquees, guided walks, bird-ringing demonstrations. We have lots planned for families at the show like bush- crafts, photography and pond dipping. The event will be serviced by excellent locally sourced artisan food and drink and a farmers market.
There are great retail opportunities for visitors, with everything from state-of-the-art optics to rare natural history books, wildlife art and outdoor clothing.
With many of Scotland’s conservation organisations attending, you are sure to discover something new, and feel inspired.
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Tickets: Adults £12 /£10 for members and *Mud In Your Eye ReadersChildren £2, under 5s free.
bird-ringing pond-dipping photography
*MUDINYOUREYE
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About 15 years ago the good folk of Gullane planted their Millenium Woodland. For those planting the wee trees it must have seemed an eternity before woodland appeared. I recently had the good fortune to enjoy the habitat that they created, and what a lot of wildlifeI saw. There were tell-tale snuffling marks where a badger had scuffed the leaves and top soillooking for worms and other food. No badger sett but it would be close by. Follow some of the tracks that lead away from the wood and you may well stumble upon it.
Oak apples (the home of the gall wasp larvae) could be seen on some young oaks. There was also a line of older trees marking the field boundary. This included an old dead elm with a low-slung branch, just perfect for me to perch and enjoy a snack as I looked out across to the Garletons. Invertebrates had made their home in the elm some time before. Young trees and deadwood are home to many species.
Birds included a few cheery chaffinches, but my favourite find was an anvil stone littered with snail shells. This is the spot where a thrush chose to prepare its lunch.
Wildlife never really sleeps. You just need to give it a chanceand it will come along to brighten your day.
Winter can be dreich. Birds andtrees seem toadopt a greyness in solidarity withthe weather. Evenin the depths of a freeze, though,wildlife never sits still.
Embrace the grey
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JUNIORRANGERSin the spotlight
Since East Lothian Junior Rangers began almost 2 years ago, our band of 15 volunteers has worked at sites all over East Lothian working on 35 different projects including building a tern raft at Lafarge quarry, removing invasive species such as pirri pirri burr, erecting bollards, plant and bird monitoring and even promoting the work of Junior Rangers at the Scottish Parliament!
They have also worked with other Junior Rangers at Hopetoun House and Holyrood Park to widen their knowledge and understanding of the Ranger profession.
We are all benefiting through the time and effort they put in on the sites that we all enjoy, so a big thank you to them all fortheir hard work.
For more information on Junior Rangers in Scotland please visit:
http://scra-online.co.uk/the-ranger-profession/junior-rangers-in-scotland
“ I’m learning so much about the countryside and wildlife by
volunteering with the Rangers
“ visit www.eastlothian.gov.uk/rangerservice
for news, events and opportunities in volunteering
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volunteering
Are you bee curious?Recruiting now for 2015, we have space to take on and train up a few people to help us out with bumble beesurveys this year. If you want to help out and learn about these fascinating wee beasties, please let me know.
Can’t tell the wheat from the chaff?We are also looking for budding (!)botanists, or at least people with a willingness to learn a bit about ourcounty’s plant life. Again we’ll train youup and in return all we ask is you showenthusiasm and can help out in our summer plant monitoring programme.
Please contact me if either of these appeal.Duncan Priddle, Countryside Officer: [email protected]
Our volunteer groups continue to work wonders across the county - would you like to join in? Please do - no experience necessary!
date activity location ranger to contact
Sun 15 Feb9.30-15.00
Sea Buckthorn removal:pulling, digging,
chopping & burningAberlady John:
Tues 24 Feb10.00-12.30
Woodland maintenance:thinning deadwood/ habitat
pile creationLevenhall Nick:
Tues 24 Feb10.00-16.00 email for details North Berwick Sam:
Wed 25 Feb10.00-16.00
Gorse removal:burning Barns Ness Tara/Laura:
Wed 4 Mar09.30-15.00
Beach clean: clear up ofbeach and saltmarsh Aberlady John:
Thur 5 Mar9.30-15.00
Spring clean: litter,painting and pathwork Yellowcraig David:
Sun 15 Mar9.30-15.00
Electric fencing: removal offencing from grazing area Aberlady John:
Tues 24 Mar10.00-12.30 email for details North Berwick Sam:
Wed 25 Mar10.00-13.00 email for details Dunbar area - tbc Tara/Laura:
Tues 31 Mar 10.00-13.00
Tree maintenance: removalof old tree shelters etc. Levenhall Nick:
Wed 1 Apr09.30-15.00
Electric & twine fencing: removal from grazing area.Erect twine fence & signs to keep visitors away from nesting birds
Aberlady John:[email protected]
Thurs 2 Apr10.00-12.30 Walling Yellowcraig David:
Sun 12 Apr09.30-15.00
Sea Buckthorn control:pulling Aberlady John:
Wed 22 Apr10.00-13.00
Tern fence: help put up thetern fence to zone-off the
area for nesting birds
John Muir Country Park
Tara/Laura:[email protected]
Tues 28 Apr10.00-13.00
Wader scrape management:drain Wader scrapes Levenhall Nick:
Tues 28 Apr10.00-12.30 email for details North Berwick Sam:
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diary dates
top tree no.6
St Mary’s Church,Haddington
One of our more unusual selections for top tree thismonth. Indeed by the time you read this, the treemay be no more as it isscheduled to be takendown. Why a top tree therefore? Well, in its prime this was a magnificent copperbeech tree (one of a few)that helped decorate the design of the landscapingaround the church.
Copper Beech
It was of some size too, measuring some 3.65mround the middle, or in old language, 162inches. I include the inch measurement, as a ruleof thumb has it that a deciduous tree roughly increases its girth at a rate of 1 inch per year. Assuch you have a rough way to easily age a tree.
Either way, age and structural weakness havedecreed that this grand old specimen is for the chop. Indeed it lost a large limb in 2001 which took out one of the church windows. You can see the scar in the photo.
The tree will, however live on. The tree officer hascollected some of the seed and brought on thenext generation to plant up.
Local people may be offered the chance to takesmall sections for wood turning, or even some of the smaller limbs to use for firewood.
So, far from a sad tale, this tree’s loss will be others gain and in 150 years or so, my descendants may be toying with a similar problem!
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