Frankie goes to Holyoake

The safari set off in thick fog this Saturday morning. The post could have been called 'Yorkshire Fog and Lancashire fog'. Yorkshire Fog is an attractive summer flowering grass that is still flowering, as a weed, in my neighbours garden. Lancashire fog was the weather conditions it was a real 'pea-souper' with visibility down the hill less than a hundred yards. The frozen ice crystals just seems a little unusual on the green flowers of this species of grass.

Just to prove it is actually flowers here are some dead stems with a fresh flowering shoot as evidence.

A safari in to the countryside was called for to enjoy the surreal ethereal surroundings.

The hoare frost had covered all the vegetation like an early Christmas card. And the thick fog was having an effect on new safari guide, Frank. I don't think his eyes were giving him much information as he was quite nervy.

But it was pretty much white-out conditions. That is a person with a large dog appearing in the murk about 30 yards away!

With little to see we had to use our ears to find the wildlife. There were flocks of Pink Footed Geese going over, or maybe the same flock going round in circles, and it was nice to hear the clear whistles of some Wigeon over head. A solitary Redshank 'teuu teuu-uu'ed trying to find some friends in the mist.

Along the track a Wren clung to a tree trunk like a Treecreeper and scolded Frank as we walked by. what a racket by something so tiny at something so much bigger! All of a sudden it started to rain?, but it wasn't rain - it was icicles being knocked of the twigs at the top of a huge Willow tree by a very ungainly and unsure of what it was trying to do Moorhen. It was at least 40 feet up. Had it too been flying around in the fog. I've seen them climbing about in low waterside bushes before but in over 45 years of watching Moorhens I've never seen one that high off the ground and if it needed to hide in cover there was plenty along the edge of the stream, which incidentally wasn't frozen. So it remains a mystery as to why it was up there struggling about in the tiniest twigs so far off the ground. But isn't that the exciting thing about venturing out on safari. You just don't know what you are going to find - it could be something completely new, or something completely ordinary doing something completely new. Like 'they' say - you live and learn.

As it happens today (Monday) after two days of sub-zero temperatures many of the ponds and lakes have started to freeze. After mentioning the Moorhen story to the Rangers I got a call a couple of hours later telling me they were watching 5 Moorhens at the top of some medium sized trees at an ornamental pond near the nature reserve. It seems here that disturbance was the reason; with the pond frozen the only safe place from predators was up!

Where to next? The safari still has an eye on those Waxwings. The numbers seem to be building up, we just hope the berries last until we have a chance to go and get a look at these Scandinavian invaders.

In the meantime let us know what you have found in your frozen or tropical outback.

Why Frankie goes to Holyoake not Hollywood - well, as you might have already guessed, Holyoake is the name of the area we took the safari to. Crickey...literery genius or what!

It's cooling down - it's not geting any 'otter!

A fine day beckoned so the Land Rover was filled with recycled chip fat and pointed towards north Lancashire. First stop was our deer zone. It didn't appear to disappoint, before we got to the wood there was a couple of Fallow Deer grazing out in the open.

A little further along the footpath we discovered why. Their favourite woodland had been fenced off. someone has spent a lot of time effort and money to keep them out. Not sure why; but with deer having no natural predators now in the UK over grazing by them in woodlands can have a detrimental effect on the flora and ability of the woodland to regenerate.

There are some very nice old trees in this area. This one is a Scots Pine, not a native this far south.
On the other hand this striking Oak has some age to it and will be reported to the Ancient Tree Hunt (see links on right) . The left hand trunk is over 15 feet (5m) in circumference just above the fork - we didn't measure the smaller trunk but it's still pretty big.



Our second venue was to the nearby wetland. I always enjoy these Tussock Sedges. There was an old Tarzan film (Johnny Weizmuller I think) in which the baddies dressed up as plants similar to these and from their camouflaged position on the edge of the track they blow darted the passing safari parties - very scary for us!!!!


Tarzan's path looked just like this!! Hope there's no-one in there with poison darts today!

Sneaking safely past the Tussock Sedges we come into an area of Alder Carr. This is wet woodland. Alder trees are adapted to growing in waterlogged conditions - they have nitrogen fixing bacteria in their roots. Carr is the first stage of the woodland succession of wetland areas. Eventually they will dry the wetland out enough for Oak and other trees to be able to grow, by then no-one would know the area was once a lake. Without the intervention of man or a natural disaster setting back the succession all still or slow flowing waterbodies will eventually become woodland.

Out on the open water there were plenty of Coot, some 200 of them. A nice male Goosander was fishing in between them, swimming along with its head under water spying for unsuspecting fish. A few Teal, Tufted Ducks and a couple of Goldeneyes completed the count of the water. Overhead a pair of Buzzards took advantage of the fine conditions and participated in a beautiful skydance. A Bittern took a very brief flight low over the tops of the reeds before crashing in, never to be seen again.


Earlier in the day we had met a couple who had been fortunate enough to watch the warden ringing some Bearded Tits, along with a couple of Goldcrests and Blue Tits. We heard the distinctive 'pings' of the Bearded Tits deep in the reedbed but did not manage to see any. As the sun dropped lower in the skythe light spangled through the silvery tops of the reeds.

The Starling roost at this reserve is impressive, probably over 50,000 birds. Today it was just a bit too far to our left to be able to see properly. But the roost wasn't today's main target.

Darkness fell and at last the hide became quieter - this is usually a place of solitude, almost loneliness - but not today. Coach party after coach party ambled in crashed about got comfy then left. At last there was just us and it was getting nicely darker and the water became as still as a millpond - perfect conditions for our quarry.

In the gathering gloom there were a couple of Ravens flying over to roost and a fair few invisible Snipe were revealed by giving their 'skkrrr' call. The thin 'ssips' of Redwings were also heard.A Sparrowhawk perched up. probably waiting for the Starlings but was 500 yards away from the main action/dining area.

Any Otters? No not this time - they are becoming a bogey mammal on a par with the Long Eared Owls. But again on the walk back to the Land Rover in the dark we disturbed a small herd of Red Deer which we could hear splashing about in a panic deep in the redbed.

Where to next? An impromptu day off tomorrow so the Long Eared Owls are definitely on the agenda...fingers crossed.

In the meantime let us know what you have seen in your outback.

Wet wet wet in north Lancs

The Met Office promised sunny spells with showers so the safari drove out to north Lancashire on the trail of Adders in the sunshine. The rain was torrential and the skies an unblemished steely grey so we adopted Plan B. Where does it not matter if it's raining - a wetland of course! A wetland with the chance of Otters is a bonus. We hiked through sodden woodland to the watersedge. On the way we came across a large party of mixed tits with plenty of Marsh Tits, a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest thrown in for good measure.

At the water there was little showing, the usual Mallards and Coots and skimming low over the water around a 100 Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins. This young Moorhen pecked around the shallows in front of us.

We waited patiently for the Otters but no sign - we will be coming back - we haven't given up yet!

On the way back to the Land Rover there were a few surprises we didn't notice on the way in. We startled a young Red Deer stag with a pitiful set of antlers. He went haring across a field of bullocks sending them scattering in all directions. He gave us great views when he stopped to look back to see if he had out-distanced us.

Then we came across this lichen encrusted tree - a beautiful mix of shades and textures.

Finally rounding a corner we couldn't fail to notice this enormous fungus growing from the base of an Ash tree. I've no idea what it is perhaps someone could enlighten us. (Jack from Lancashire Nature might be our man - see blog links on right)
Leaving the wetland for a disused quarry we had a mooch around turning stones on a desperate hunt for Slow Worms. Desperate indeed as it was far too cold and wet for any lizards to be active. The surroundings are impressive - weird to think all that solid rock used to be a coral reef in a tropical sea, the fossils of the creatures that lived there are visible on the rock face. Old yes but far from fossilised is this patch of sn*t. It is a strange life form called Nostoc. when dry it resembles a cross between cardboard and a crisp. when wet - well judge for yourselves.
It is actually a colonial Cyanobacteria. "A what?" I can almost hear you ask. It's a type of Blue-green alga that gets its energy from sunlight by photosynthesis. They are present in all habitats; ocean, freshwater, bare rock and temporarily moistened rocks in deserts, inside lichens (see above) and even inside the fur of Sloths. They are closely related to the Stromatolites of 2.8 billion years ago (Stromatolites are still found alive and well today but only in Shark Bay, Western Australia and the Bahamas). The ancient Stromatolites were responsible producing the oxygen in the earth's atmosphere and so set off an evolutionary explosion of life. Nostoc doesn't look much but without it's ancestors we wouldn't be here today!
Getting wetter by the minute we returned to the wetland. A Grey Heron huddled against the weather. In a small copse a majestic Red Deer stag sheltered from the elements. What a set of antlers he had, probably over 6 feet (2m) across. Sadly he wouldn't leave the shelter of the trees for a photo. Breaks in the weather allowed birds of prey brief opportunities for a flight and we had a good selection, Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, a gi-normous female Peregrine and a dashing Merlin pretending to be a Mistle Thrush. Icing on the cake was a spectacular fly past by an Osprey. Who says you won't see stunning wildlife in inclement weather!
Sorry about the quality of these shots...doh me and my camera aren't the best of friends at the moment. But this little Hoverfly (species?) is an absolute beaut. I apologise for the fuzziness; maybe I should wear my specs more!
With the weather improving, if only slightly, and the super Red Deer stag under our belts it was time to track down the other two species of deer. Before long we had seen a splendid Fallow Deer buck (not stags for this species), but again he was too well hidden in the trees for a photo. try as we might we couldn't find a Roe Deer, which should be the easiest of the three. This herd of hinds and young male Fallow Deer spent more time looking at us than we spent looking at them. There were eight in all. Superb and definitely worth the days soaking. And then we had a very young Spotted Flycatcher flitting about between a bush and the fence right next to us, which I didn't notice at first because I was too busy watching a Chiffchaff down to about 5 feet, so close my binoculars wouldn't focus on it.
At the end of the safari we crossed the field and noticed these two trees worthy of recording on the Ancient Tree Hunt (see link on right). The first is a Crab Apple of huge proportions, the second an Ash with a well formed root bole.

By the end of the day we had seen just shy of 60 species of birds, 5 mammals, zero reptiles - surprise surprise, 2 butterflies, 2 dragonflies, and don't forget the Nostoc! An excellent day's safari in atrocious conditions.

Where to next? Does more bad weather = more good wildlife? Wait and see.

In the meantime let us know what you have found in your outback.

The wild Wyre outback

Before we start the main news I have managed to identify the small fish mentioned in the blog of 10th August as a Sand Smelt....on with the show....


The safari ventured up in to the wild headwaters of the river Wyre this weekend. There were some specific target species in mind. The path winds its way along the river bank through an interesting damp woodland, although there is a massive invasion of the pernicious Japanese Knotweed which shades out the native wild flowers. Keeping our eyes glued to the floor due to the rough nature of the path we saw a good number of deer slots (footprints) probably from Roe Deer, but although it was early evening and very quiet unfortunately we didn't see any of them.

Some of the trees are real old beauts. Many are multi-stemmed from being coppiced in the past. Coppicing means trees are cut down and allowed to grow again. The timber being used for all sorts of things such as fencing, tool handles, furniture making, building. Allowing the trees to regrow meant that in a few years time another crop was available. The length of time between cuts depending on the species of tree and the size of wood required. The word coppice comes from the French 'couper' - to cut.

The tree below is a Beech, a good wood for burning and chopping boards and wooden spoons.

This next tree is a Small Leaved Lime and the single straight trunk shows that it has not been coppiced.

The following picture shows a Hazel coppice. Hazel was very important. The thin branches grow quickly and are very springy. It was used for hedging stakes when hedges were laid to keep animals in the fields, it was woven in to hurdles, ie fencing panels, pegs for the washing line, tool handles, and fighting sticks such as those used by Little John, Robin Hood's right hand man.

Below is a Rowan, or somewhat incorrectly Mountain Ash. It has Ash like leaves but is not related, so Rowan is the better name for this tree. Amongst its most important properties is its ability to keep witches, ghosts and ghouls at bay. If you are troubled by any of those be sure to plant one in your garden. Not being a very large tree they are suited to urban situations. This one is a particularly large and venerable specimen as can be seen from the size of the two rotten stumps on either side. I would not like to guess how old this tree might be.

Finally we have an Alder, not to be confused with Elder from which Elderberry wine is made. Alder is the typical tree of Lancashire river valleys and wet areas, and supplied the clog soles for the millions of mill workers in the Victorian factories of industrial Lancashire. When freshly cut the wood turns a beautiful orange colour. Alder is one of the few deciduous trees which has cones but these aren't quite the same as the cones from a conifer tree.

The last tree picture is of a small species of fungus growing out of the moss which is gowing on a Sycamore. I am no expert on fungi nor mosses so can't tell you what they are. Over to you readers, can anyone out there help?

Sycamore has been maligned over the years by conservationists as not being a native species and having the tendancy to overrun native woodland. Its 'helicopter' seeds spread easily and germinate and grow quickly when light is available on the woodland floor, for example when large trees are cut or blown down. It also supports far fewer insect species than native trees such as Oak, Hawthorn, or Willow. However, a single tree can have a population of Greenfly numbering tens of thousands, an important food item for a large variety of predatory insects including Ladybirds. It does have one very impressive saving grace though, because it does not splinter it was traditionally used for loo seats!

At the end of our safari is this spectacular weir. Here we had brief views of two of Britain's most colourful birds, Kingfisher and Green Woodpecker. To the side of the dam is a Salmon ladder to allow the king of fish to pass upstream to the spawning 'redds', shallow gravel patches in the small mountainside tributaries. We watched from the bridge but did not see any Salmon jumping up the rapids or starting the long exhausting climb up the ladder.

The recent heavy rain and high water levels shouldn't have posed any problems for the Salmon but the water is very peat stained as you can see. If the upland drains were stopped up the peat bogs would absorb more water and there would be less erosion preventing this heavy colouration from happening. It also makes the water acidic which can have an adverse effect on the invetebrate life downstream which obviously has consequences for fish and the rest of the food chain.

Enough of the ecology lesson, what were the target species mentioned at the start, and did we see them? Well one was the Salmon, which we didn't see. neither did we see any of the very elusive Otters known to be present in the area. despite not getting the target species we saw huge selection of interesting wildlife culminating in the Kingfisher and had a trip to one of Lancashire's (almost) hidden gems.

Where to next? I can feel a beach safari coming on.

In the meantime please let us know what you have found in your 'outback'.

Bowland Foothills 5th May 08

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Wildlife Adventure Safaris

Safari Report 5^th May 2008

This safari took us to the western slopes of the Forest of Bowland. It was a warm but muggy cloudy morning. Spring was in the air. For the first time this year the trees looked green rather than brown. Stepping out along the track birdsong was filling the air, particularly the loud fluty tones of a Mistle Thrush high in the canopy up on the valley side. A Nuthatch called repeatedly.

By the riverside is a particularly splendid Alder tree, which has been entered on to the Ancient Tree Hunt data base.

Following the river the woods were

alive with birdsong, although the new leaves were making spotting the singers a little difficult. The path meanders along the valley floor and we cut up a side path to climb the hillside. There the bracken is dense but the recent reduction of the numbers of sheep grazing has allowed the regeneration of a fair amount of Birch saplings. In this area we heard the rustle of dead bracken above us and looking up saw a fine Roe deer buck. He was

staring straight at us. The wind was not in our favour, nor were the scrunchy dead leaves underfoot. We had an excellent view of his face adorned by a decent pair of antlers. We watched for a minute or so before he bolted in to a thicket nearby. There he barked like a ferocious large dog and we could hear him thrashing around.

Moving on we rejoined the main footpath through the woods. The birds were still singing all around. I was hoping to be able to point out the trill of a Wood Warbler as there had been several on migration along the Fylde coast during the previous week. If they had reached their breeding grounds unfortunately they weren’t singing.

We did, however, get brilliant views of singing Blackcap, Garden Warbler and a Yellowhammer. Green Woodpecker was heard in the distance and a Skylark sung above us most of the morning.

Despite the warmth it was not sunny and there weren’t many insects about. Two Peacocks and one unidentified White were the only butterflies seen. Two Bright Silver Line moths were disturbed from the bracken covered hillside. In amongst the bracken plenty of Dog Violets were in flower.

Retracing our steps we came across our Roebuck again. With the wind more favourable we got superb views as he cantered across the fellside. Three Buzzards circled lazily over our heads as we watched him. We also came across one of his marking posts.

Chaffinches, Robins, Wrens, Blackbirds, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs accompanied us along with our superb songster the Mistle Thrush. A Cuckoo was heard by other visitors but not by us. Back by the river a pair of Nuthatches very obligingly investigated a potential nesting hole only a few feet a

bove our heads.

Before returning to base we had a brief quick look for the Kingfisher at a regular haunt be it wasn’t to be found. In its place was a nesting Dipper which secretly approached its brood by diving under water, something I’ve never seen before.

Passing through one of the local villages, being Bank Holiday

, it was too busy to stop

and admire the 300+ year old Oak tree standing by the roadside. It was also disappointing that there was too much water in the river to be able to do the 4x4 ford to end the day.

In the lanes not far from Base Camp was a beautiful male Kestrel sitting on the top of a telegraph pole watching for mice, voles or maybe just a tasty worm.

Where to next?