Footprints in the snow.

Yesterday was a good day to go out to look for sign of mammals. Here are prints of five species (fox, otter, rabbit, grey squirrel and a badger prints plus sett) photographed in the Churnet Valley.

Fox.

Fox.

Otter.

Otter 

Rabbit back paws.

Rabbit front paws. 

Grey Squirrel 

Badger beeding trail across footpath.

Badger footprint

Churnet Valley Wildlife January 2015

Three herons in December.

December was a good month for me to spot different species of heron in the Churnet Valley area.

On 23^rd of the month I saw a Little Egret for the first time at Stanley Pool (not strictly speaking in the Churnet Valley but close being about 2km from the boundary of the Churnet Valley Living Landscape (CVLLP) area.

Little Egret on Stanley Pool.

Then on Christmas Day, whilst walking on a public footpath between The Roaches and Goldsitch Moss me and my husband nearly stepped on a Bittern which had been sitting in a patch of rushes near a stream that runs alongside the path. It flew up in front of us and we got a very clear view of its lovely plumage.

Three days later (28^th December) during a walk along the Caldon Canal between Froghall and Consall I watched a Grey Heron wrestling with a small mammal. I could not tell what species it was, but I watched as the unfortunate creature struggled to free itself from the heron's beak! It didn't succeed.

Grey Herons are, of course, commonly observed in suitable habitat pretty well all over the British Isles, however the other two heron species are not so often seen. Bitterns were once extinct in the British Isles, their demise being due to habitat damage and human persecution. Then, following concerted work to improve certain areas for Bitterns they have now started breeding here once again, mostly on nature reserves. Britain also hosts an influx of overwintering Bitterns from mainland Europe, and I expect the bird we saw was one of these (there had been sightings of a Bittern on the nearby Tittesworth Reservoir about the same time and maybe this was the same bird). The Little Egret is a more recent colonist, first breeding in the south of Britain in the late 1990s. The British Isles are its most northerly breeding area and, with the advent of a warming climate, their numbers and range are expected to expand.

Dipper and Blackcap.

I was pleased to spot a Dipper in Deep Hayes Country Park on 11^th January. These birds need unpolluted streams and rivers (i.e. not enriched with nutrients and not acid) in order for there t be sufficient invertebrate prey. So this bird, which was the first I have ever spotted in that location, was a sign that the stream through the nature reserve is in relatively good condition.

Dipper.

Mike Tunnicliffe of Alton has had a Blackcap visiting his garden feeders. Accoring to the BTO's Bird Atlas 2007 – 11 the incidence of Blackcaps visiting gardens during winter peaks in late January to February, so Mike's observations seem to fit this trend. Up until the 1990s Blackcaps were considered to be summer visitors to the British Isles, just coming here to breed and then returning to their southern European and W. African home for the winter period. Then in the 1990s it was noticed that some birds were overwintering here too. Genetic studies showed that these birds were actually from breeding populations central Europe that had developed the habit of overwintering in Britain as our climate warms and is thereby more able to provide food for these birds during the harsh weather. As the spring arrives these birds will return to Europe to breed and will be replaced by birds from France, Spain and W. Africa.

 Female Blackcap by Terry Eyre.

Brookleys lake

Brookleys Lake is the largest of a series of pools which to me look as if they have been artificially created by widening sections of a tributary of the Churnet, perhaps for industrial or amenity purposes. There is a former sand quarry near by and I wonder if the largest pool (Brookleys Lake) was a site of sand extraction (if anyone knows more about this I would be pleased if they will let me know). The water bodies are relatively large having a surface area of about 5km, making them in total less than half the size of Rudyard and Tittesworth Lakes. They are located between Wooton and Alton and are near Farley Hall. In fact the tributary passes through the grounds of Wooton Park where it is widened to form Canada Lake. I think this location may be significant because the lake appears to be an important overwintering site for certain ducks. For instance on 24^th December 2014 I saw about 50 Mandarin and 200+ Mallards on the lake. I suspect this is the stronghold for mandarins in the Churnet Valley area and I think these birds may be the descendants of birds acquired for the grounds of the big houses (Alton Towers, Wooton Lodge and Farley Hall) in the 17^th or 18^th century. Brankleys lake and Wooton Park and Lodge are owned by JCB however there is a public footpath passing by the lake and through the edge of the private grounds of Wooton Lodge. It is worth a look to wee the large flock of Mandarin ducks, and who knows what else you might see?

Brookleys Lake  near Alton.

Here is a lovely series of short nature programmes on BBC Radio 4http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04xnczz. It is Brett Westwood talking about his birding diary which he started when he was 15 years old. It will be available on the BBC iPlayer until the start of February so you can listen to it there should you want.