Ellington Banks: 30-01-2018

Newt Quarterly

The  journal for newt lovers everywhere.

This week was a good one for the great crested newts that live in the ponds on the MOD training area of Ellington Banks near Ripon. Although an area of land that is used for military purposes seems an unlikely home for such rare creatures, thanks to the efforts of MOD ecologist John Black and a 22 strong band of NCVs, it continues to be a sanctuary for them. They don’t seem to mind the army cadets running by, all dressed up in camouflage gear. Nor does the sound of rifle shots put them off. A suitable pond is a suitable pond and as long as the training happens outside the pond’s boundary fence then the newts are happy.

So what is it that the NCVs were doing to ensure that the newts (and many other plant and animal species such as Skipper butterflies) continue to thrive in their unusual abode? The simple answer is – removing and burning encroaching alder, birch and willow from the wildlife rich limestone grassland at this Site of Importance for Nature Conservation - an ongoing job for the last three years. If the ponds get over-shadowed by trees then the newts won’t be happy. They need sunlight to survive. So far results are good. In May 2017 no fewer than 11 of the 12 pond eDNA samples contained traces of newt DNA. 

In order to ensure that the sun’s rays penetrate the watery depths this is what has to be done......

First up - a health and safety briefing about leaving 

any smoke grenades found lying around severely alone!
Note the record turn out of NCVs - Ellington Banks is obviously a popular venue.

 The nature of the task ahead - 

 - lots of lopping and sawing was needed....

 ...so lots of lopping and sawing was done.

I spy with my little eye 2 NCVs.

And there's a pile more over there!

Graham soon had a good bonfire on the go...

...and everyone contributed plenty of fuel to keep it burning all day:

 The bundle carrying approach.

  The dragging technique.

 Teamwork in action.

The standard bearing method.

Most people took their coffee break sociably by the fence.
Another had to miss out on all the fun...

The loneliness of the long haul fire watcher.

On a couple of occasions the chainsaw had to be brought to bear. 

Stand back folks - there she goes.

James moves in for the final kill.

Gradually a hectare of land was cleared. 
(That's 2.7 acres in old money.)

Ponds were revealed...

...and interesting fungi came to light.

Other wildlife related news:

Last Friday a group of 5 volunteers from the NCVs, the Nidderdale Birdwatchers and High Batts Nature Reserve spent a very noisy evening in the company of the 6th Ripon Scout group. It wasn't that the scouts were misbehaving. Just the opposite. They were doing exactly as they were told. 

During the course of their weekly meeting they managed to work in pairs to build no fewer than 40 nest boxes, using the kits that some of the NCVs had prepared for them before Christmas. This in addition to making bird feeders and spending half an hour learning about bird identification! It was a very enjoyable evening which involved large amounts of hammering, and Baden-Powell would have been proud. It is unlikely that any lasting damage was done to everyone's eardrums but it was probably a near run thing, and they all looked a little breathless at the end. 

Longside Farm: 23-01-2018

Boxing news

Britain’s most popular sporting chronicle.

Today heralded yet another round in the prolonged fight against Longside Farm hedge. 

In the red corner were 14 NCVs armed with axes, billhooks and bow saws. In the blue corner was a long line of tall hawthorn trees, bristling with thorns, ready to fight back in this, the first meet of the 2018 season.

In the end there was no real contest; the 15m of hedge that had entered the ring so valiantly just didn't stand a chance - it simply keeled over and lay down quietly. Photographic evidence of the massacre can be seen below.....

Firstly a good supply of posts and rails had to be 
carried across the field to the boxing ring.

Then safety gear was applied.
The only goggles that would fit over Ros E's glasses
 had to be removed when they steamed up. 

 Then the red team was treated to its first ever on site breakfast.

This set them up for the bout ahead.
Thanks go to Hilary for providing sausages, pulled pork and onions in buns!!

Anita and Ros K. got stuck into the grub and came out smiling.

The hedge looked on flexing its muscles, 
waiting for the first blow to fall.

One section had weighed in and been given a flyweight rating.
Its chances didn't look good.

Another section was definitely a heavy weight stretch.
This was not going to go down without a fight.

Then the bell rang and Andy waded in 
with a right hook - sorry - bow saw.

Anita and Angela went in with axes, raining blows on the stems. 

James deployed his chainsaw.
There was a sharp intake of breath from the crowd but the ref didn't 
seem to notice this flagrant flouting of the Queensberry rules.

Things were not looking good for the blue team.

Lunchtime cake, provided by Birthday Boy James, 
gave the NCVs a new lease of life after lunch.
Round 2, seconds out

As the hawthorns started to fall so 
the NCVs inserted posts and rails.

Eventually the referee had to stop the fight. 

The hedge was on the floor and didn't stir on the count of 10. 
The crowd went wild. The NCVs went home - to apply hoses to their muddy gear.

Fishpond Wood: 16-01-2018

This week the NCVs returned to Fishpond Wood for their first visit of 2018. According to James's email they were to be 'working with owner Peter Brambleby to help out with some further landscape maintenance work in sympathy with the wood’s multi-layered history'. They weren't quite sure what that would involve until on site.

According to Osian....

"On a very brisk chilly day approximately 15 NCVs braved some early light blizzards to gather at The Barn in Bewerley. During the briefing for the day's activity at Fish Pond Wood, James broke the news of his departure to a new job starting in February. Good luck James!

The group split into three parties; pond left bank, pond right bank and warm-ish barn shelf-fitters. The Fishpond group toiled to remove rhodie, elder and other unwanted tree roots. This will enable the ongoing broadleaf tree species planting at the pond's edge and further afield in Fishpond Wood. Six young trees were also planted."

The students worked under the stern eye of Osian on the 

dry footpath on one side of the pond... 

 ...while the rest of us slogged our way 

through a deepening swamp opposite. 

An Amelanchier (wild plum tree) planted by Tony and Tom.

Conor gives it everything to dig
 an unwanted root ball out.

One pesky elder root  removed.

A triumphant Andy with an enormous rhododendron 

root he (and others) had dug out.

Roots gone, the clay can be dug out 
to allow new trees to be planted.

And in goes a cherry.

And a maple.

Meanwhile there was the inevitable bonfire, to get rid of the roots

 and some brash that was lying around from a previous visit.
It was always going to struggle with the drenched food we were feeding it,
 but it went reasonably well, coaxed by our experienced pyromaniacs. 

Conditions were muddy and everyone got filthy.

Three fly pasts by a kingfisher over lunch was exciting, 

as well as trying to guess James's age. He wasn't giving anything away.
Perhaps he’ll tell us his true age before he departs? 
Not that it matters - we’ll still miss him and his humour, knowledge, and organisational skills.

By 2pm the Fish Pond group had completed their tasks and were able to inspect what had been going on inside the barn.

Jan, Phil and a new volunteer, Andy, were happy to stay 
in the barn beside the stove, building new shelves. 
Phil claimed they were envious of our outdoor role but nobody believed him.

Work in progress.

Prayers were said to the god of shelving to assist in the process.

Thanks to Osian, Tony, Dave and Tom for all the photos and bits of text - real team work!!