Pledge for Nature

The data’s not out yet, but I’m sure January has been a record breaking wet month, in Devon anyway it feels like we only had two dry days. We have been squelching through the muddy clay fields, dealing with over flowing drains, paw prints all through the house (and on the sofa, and bed – bad dog), driving though floods and many dripping coats and hats in the hallway, thankfully nothing too serious. Although the rain has caused dreadful floods across the country as a whole, in southern england it has replenished the chalk aquifers and given the chalk streams a reprieve from over extraction by water companies and farmers. However, it will take more than one months rain to invite the water voles and trout back to these beautiful streams and action from the treatment plants to prevent sewage discharge as a quarter of our chalk streams are endangered and the UK has 160 of the total number in the world of 210. If you’d like to know more follow Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey on twitter (yes, that one) who is constantly asking the Environmental Agency to do its job and protect our waterways. Meanwhile, some creatures enjoying the rain have made many intriguing holes into the banks of the pond, it’s probably field voles, I think I saw one swim across the pond – it was too quick for a photo. (It could be a rat? Or if I am very lucky a water vole?)

With the wintery bare trees and less vegetation it has been easier to spot interesting features around the farm including these Oak Marble Galls, which are caused by the tiny wasp Andricus kollari. The parent wasp lays its eggs on an oak leaf and injects the leaf with chemicals which prompts the tree to grow these protective galls which get bigger and darker through the winter, you can see the hole the wasp broke out of in 2 of the lower galls. The galls contain a lot of tannic acid which has been used over the years for ink (traces have been found in Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawings) and today it’s antibacterial properties have been used in deodorants!

I’ve also spotted this gorgeous scarlet elf cup fungi which although small is very eye catching. It prefers to grow in areas with high rainfall and damp conditions in the leaf litter and off hazel branches. It comes along late in the fungi season, surviving until March.

My results are in for the Big Garden Bird Watch, a very satisfying hour was spent counting each flutter at the the feeders last weekend, the long tailed tits stayed away 🙁 but all the sparrows were out and the starlings arrived in a clatter. If you have not taken part do think about it next year, it’s our biggest citizen science project and tells us that the sparrow is the UK’s most common garden bird, and the thrush is in decline. Also spotted this month were a beautiful little egret and grey heron fishing in the rock pools at the beach.

Drum roll please………We are delighted to announce we are the winners of The Pledge for Nature from the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere in the farmers category. The plans for our 84 acres include new woods, thicker and new hedgerow, scrapes, wildflower meadows, scrub areas, marsh, coppice, excavating the pond and new bird and bat boxes, all to hopefully encourage the local wildlife. We have been given a plaque which will be put up pride of place – now for the hard work to begin!