Buzz-off

There was an excited call from my wife the other day when she spotted from our upstairs skylight a large bird in our neighbour’s garden. It turned out to be a Buzzard (Buteo buteo) standing slightly hunched and initially motionless in the grass. After a while it walked slowly to perch on a bench. On closer inspection with the neighbour it seemed unwilling or unable to fly even in the presence of two sizable Tom cats. Sadly a few hours later it died.

So what could have been the cause of death? My immediate thought was that it had hit the ground too hard whilst chasing prey or had taken a glancing blow from a car on the nearby A road, before coming to rest in the garden. However a friend informed me that there would appear to be a lot of poisoning of birds of prey occurring in Devon. There are certainly a lot of young pheasants to protect in our area and an over-zealous gamekeeper might be tempted to break the law. This is supported by the RSPB’s latest Birdcrime Report (RSPB, 2012), which shows Devon to be one of the worst areas in the UK for confirmed persecution of birds of prey. On this basis I rang the 'Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme' (PBMS), who take in suspected cases of poisoning for analysis. However the chap I spoke to felt our Buzzard’s was more likely to be the result of injuries from a collision that had enabled the bird to initially fly away but later suffer from internal bleeding. He said this was supported by a number of specimens that had been sent into them and that without circumstantial evidence it would be hard to prove anything.

This is clearly an awful tragedy for the individual bird and we will never know now what caused its death. However the backdrop is of a bird species that has been very successful over recent years expanding into/returning to many areas of Britain. We appear to have a very strong local population and are lucky to have daily experiences of them perched or soaring over the landscape.

Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme – See https://wiki.ceh.ac.uk/display/pbms/Home

RSPB (2012) BIRDCRIME 2011 - Offences against wild bird legislation in 2011[Online].  http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/Birdcrime_2011_edit_tcm9-324819.pdf [Accessed 20/02/13] 

Limestone lovers

Berry Head in South Devon is quickly becoming one of my favourite haunts with its rich botanical landscape and marine wildlife. Last September I blogged about one of its specialities, the White Rock-rose (Helianthemum apenninum), a nationally rare species (see http://nicksnaturenotes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/last-white-rock-rose.html). The unusual mix of physical geography and chemistry provided by the Devonian limestone sea cliffs of Berry Head provide conditions for the White Rock-rose shared only by a handful of other sites in the South West. I was visiting it again this weekend with friends and showed off the White Rock-rose amongst other more common plants. Towards the end of the afternoon we wandered up to the remains of the fort in search of summer migrant birds amongst the scrub. Resting my arms on the battlements and enjoying a Whitethroat and possibility of Cirl Buntings, I became curious about a stunted-looking plant which I had almost leant on. Closer inspection revealed what looked like a bonsai version of an umbellifer, a dwarf parsley or carrot plant. My companion with much pleasure eventually identified it as Honewort (Trinia glauca), which is indeed a member of the carrot family and another local limestone specialist. Apparently, in turf closely grazed by rabbits, plants of Honewort grow to no more than a few centimetres tall (BRC, 2012), as was the case with many of the Berry Head plants that we observed.

When I got home I looked at the distribution map on the National Biodiversity Network's Gateway (see http://data.nbn.org.uk/gridMap/gridMap.jsp?allDs=1&srchSpKey=NBNSYS0000003662) and fascinatingly it is found in almost the same isolated areas as the White Rock-rose. These rare fragmented habitats of dry limestone, with short-grazed south facing aspects have created almost identical conditions for such specialists to cling on to their slopes. However their hold is truly precarious, the species being listed as ‘Near Threatened’ (BRC, 2012). The challenge for the Honewort is made more challenging as it is dioecious (having separate male & female plants, requiring cross-pollination) and has poor seed dispersal, most likely reliant on ants (Carvalheiro, et al., 2008).

These two limestone loving species are literally hanging on in Britain, exposed to human disturbance.  This makes it all the more important to value these wonderful wildlife hotspots and for me to take more care where I lean my tired ‘binocular-ed’ arms.

BRC (2012) Online Atlas of the British and Irish flora [online] http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=plant/trinia-glauca [Accessed 7/5/12]

Carvalheiro, L.G., Barbosa, E.R.M. and Memmott, J.(2008) Pollinator networks, alien species and the conservation of rare plants: Trinia glauca as a case study. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45: 1419–1427

National Biodiversity Network's Gateway  (NBN) (2012) Grid map of records on the Gateway for Honewort (Trinia glauca) [online] http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=plant/trinia-glauca [Accessed 7/5/12]

Migrating south

Two harsh winters in a poorly heated woodland house would be enough to test most people’s resolve. Ice on the inside of the bedroom and puffed up like ‘Michelin’ marshmallows we held on each day for the allocated evening heating. My wife’s semi-Italian blood just found it too extreme, despite last Christmas’s present of an electric blanket. So with some regret about leaving the Pinfold’s peacefulness and woodland wildlife, I moved with my family over the summer from Nottinghamshire to Devon warmth. Of course it was not just the more amiable climate that pulled us South, but my desire to be part of a richer more stimulating landscape with greater biodiversity. Devon had always appealed to me with its mix of extensive coastline, moors and rivers.

We have moved to a cottage on the outskirts of Totnes within the wooded Gatcombe valley, with its rolling hills, high hedgebanks and gentle streams, views to Dartmoor and easy access to South Hams coastline. The wildlife experienced already has certainly not disappointed. An evening woodland walk was rewarded with a badger sighting. From our own home I was surprised by a darting Kingfisher slightly off track from its aquatic path. Three times I have seen a Sparrowhawk swooping through the cluster of cottages trying to take Sparrows by surprise. I even got a glimpse of a Peregrine soaring overhead as I painted a skylight, whilst the ever present buzzards glide by effortlessly, heralded by their mewing cries. Botanically the valley is rich in hedgebank & woodland plants and particularly noted for species of Crane’s-bill (see image of Long-stalked Crane’s-bill). Further afield I have treated myself to Cirl Buntings on the nearby coast and rock pool diving to see Blue-rayed Limpets and star ascidians amongst many marine species.

In recent weeks I have become aware of Nature’s more natural migration with swallows collecting on telegraph wires and family groups of House Martins’ collectively feeding on the roof of Butterwell Cottage. They too have to make decisions about climate and make the difficult journey south, whilst we hopefully will be enjoying our first comparatively warmer winter in our new cosy cottage.