Extreme Weeding!

The last time there was any Balsam to be bashed your correspondent had some sort of excuse, but this time round, to avoid the inevitable tirade of abuse, I turned out in the heat (thankfully much reduced from the recent inferno) to do my bit for Balsam. Never mind Livingstone and Stanley, the Balsam Bashers of Southrepps are intrepid explorers indeed. The vegetation in the intriguingly named Area H, leading down to Fox’s Beck, has been taking advantage of the growing season in order to grow prodigiously, leaving the seven of us to delve deeply into the Common’s moist unseen places.

Once a Basher has delved, they are hard to spot amongst the tall reeds, giant nettles and seemingly world-wide web of goose grass, cleavers, sticky weed - call it what you will. Here are two Team Leaders setting out on their great adventure.

Here are a fast-disappearing correspondent and an almost completely lost Janet.

The trick in fording the Beck is to not let the water over-top your wellies. At first I thought I had failed in that, but in the event it was just the cooling effect of the water through my boots that gave me a bit of a turn. I had tentatively crossed the stream to try to reach a particularly large specimen, but having mounted a fallen tree trunk I realised the plant was un-reachable. My vantage point gave a good view though...

… and by way of compensation I did come across this sizeable specimen.

Here is Team Leader Margaret at the final heap of plucked plants. That’s a lot of balsam!

Here is the said Team Leader’s message of thanks:

Thank you to the seven volunteers who braved the heat and humidity this morning. I hope you are all now thoroughly rehydrated. We attacked area H just by the footbridge with the satisfaction of pulling four foot high plants, when we weren't being tripped up by hops or being covered in the burrs from the sticky weed. None of the plants had gone to seed and only a few were even in flower so an excellent job. Sadly we didn't even cover half the area so it will be a return match on the 12th of July when they will be even bigger, such fun!

The leaders would also like to say a special thank-you to Kevin and Dave Goode for their sterling work keeping the pit mown despite the conditions. They have to collect the mower from the container which adds extra time and effort to a not inconsiderable task. Thank you chaps.

See you all soon.

Margaret for the team leaders

Because they do it outside the normal working parties, the unsung heroes who mow Pit Common deserve great credit too, as Margaret mentions above. I was there recently and also admired the experimental un-cut wildflower patch, which was a glorious sea of Ox-eye Daisies, with the mown section beyond providing a pleasing contrast. 

Way back in March a couple of people from the Felbeck Trust gave a most interesting talk to a meeting of the Southrepps Society about how they care for many sites in North Norfolk. It was clear that there are many similarities to how we work now, and how the previous Southrepps Commons Trust worked too, so it was decided to set up a couple of mutual visits. The first of those took place on a very hot Friday, 19^th June, with five SCV representatives going to see the excellent sites at Sustead Common,

West Beckham Old Allotments,

 and East Beckham Common.

It was good to see that the art of dead hedging is alive and well beyond the Southrepps area

Their signage is particularly impressive…

… as is this tool store. (Having numerous widely separated sites to maintain, they need to have tools stored in multiple places.)

They have a lot of volunteers, some of whom have built several viewing structures and hides: this one serves also as a refreshment spot and outdoor classroom, but also afforded Bob the chance to botanise:

They have an excellent website at https://www.felbecktrust.org.uk/ which is well worth exploring.

A return visit to us is expected in July and will be reported upon here in due course.

 

Not so much Painted as Faded and Jaded ladies

 We seem to have had quite an influx of migratory Painted Lady butterflies this spring, but they’re now looking like Faded and Jaded Ladies. In order to preserve my personal safety, I will decline the chance to say more…

Ever since I was told that buttercup flowers are very attractive to a species of tiny wasp, I have tended to glance at them as I walk along, and recently noticed this cracking little Swollen-thighed beetle sitting in a flower close to the boardwalk.

We’re already back in Himalayan Balsam pulling season again, starting with an hour-long session on Sunday 31^st May. Your usual correspondent having come up with an implausible excuse for not joining in, we’re grateful to Team Leader Julie for this account:

“We had 11 volunteers this morning. Mostly ‘old hands’ at Balsam but we did have a few new to the task, including an 11 years old Brownie (and her mum) who had contacted us about volunteering to complete a nature badge. Our young Brownie was a natural at the task spotting the Balsam with ease and showing mum what to look for.

We were in Area X today and all managed to get back out again safely, which is always a bonus!

There was nowhere near as much to collect as last year, which is testament to the great efforts over many years to pull it up before it can seed. Not as exciting as when there are loads but very satisfying to know we are slowing its progress over the Common.

We had a quick look over at Area A and found very few there either - just a muntjac grazing!

So we called it a day after an hour. We still managed a decent amount collected.

Our special Brownie was a little disappointed with the amount she had collected. But as we pointed out, each flower can produce over 800 seeds which it can disperse over 7m away. So even if you only collected 20 you have prevented a potential 16,000 plants from growing! I think that’s a job well done!

I did snap a lovely moth, but it was only happy to have a picture of its face not the wings!!

I also snapped one of the few orchids this year on the central area…we suspect the muntjacs are munching on them.”

Advice on casting clouts

 Now that May is almost out, casting a clout or two seems a risk worth taking; perhaps even an essential one. Those who prematurely did so at the start of the month will have had a nasty shock, and I blame the atrocious weather in mid-month for the failure of the Blue Tits’ breeding attempt in our garden nest box. Skylarks are larking whilst ascending, swallows twittering whilst swallowing no doubt, newly fledged starlings squawking and some swifts screaming. Not having a name starting with S, I have only seen a few House Martins so far.

Exciting bird sightings in April were Ring Ouzels and Wheatears, both in the field above Pit Common (although they kept well out of sight when I went looking for them!). Speaking of sightings, in addition to the most recent 100 shown on this site, we’re now working on an ambitious project to include historical nature sightings on the Southrepps History Hub website. So far, we have all the animal sightings we know about since 2005 available, whilst the plants are a major undertaking in progress. See https://southreppshistory.org.uk/nature-sightings/

We always want more records, so if you would like to tell us of something you have seen in our area, please contact us, by using the form on the page linked to above, or commenting on our sightings page on this site, or by adding your sighting to the whiteboard at the Lower Street end of the main boardwalk. Please tell us what you found, as well as when and where. Thank you!

Here’s a striking ichneumon wasp that found its way into our conservatory on the exceptionally warm Friday before the end of May Bank Holiday.

On an exceptionally hot day in May, there's nothing nicer than to pause on the bridge over Fox's Beck and enjoy the birdsong; in this case a chiffchaff and a typically loud wren.

School Meadow mown, cutting season done

 “In like a lion, out like a lamb” is the old saying about how the weather in March is supposed to progress, but this year it seems to be running back-to-front. In an almost Trumpian switch, the last few days’ weather have seen us forget it’s Spring and return to Winter. This being the morning after the night the clocks sprung forward, 15 bleary-eyed volunteers turned out to tidy up School Meadow (the bit where the picnic tables are in School Common).

Those tables have been there (it was intended as an outdoor classroom for the school, but it’s now an occasional picnic spot) since 2007, and are in what we could call a state of managed decline (not unlike some of us!) The cutting had been done earlier in the week, but Team Leader Kevin wielded the brush cutter again to trim round the tables’ remaining legs. Despite appearance, that wasn’t responsible for the bit you see adrift and upside down – but it shows the extent of the decline.

This picture also shows the exciting new game Kevin and Louise were playing: a conservation volunteers’ version of hide and seek.

The Meadow is gradually being dominated by thuggish bracken, so the latest plan is to cut that right down, and then keep on top it as it re-grows, by trampling and generally giving it a taste of its own medicine. The hope is that after a few years it will be just a distant memory. Meanwhile, that which was cut had to be hoiked onto the drag sheet and dumped out of sight.

Around the edge of the Meadow are many bushes, some of which needed their more eye-threatening branches trimming back – but we were at pains to not do anything drastic enough to upset birds beginning to nest. One of the most attractive features of this patch is the gorgeous lichen adorning many of those branches:

Unlike much of what we do on the main reedbed, the material we were dealing with today was delightfully light. The joy this produced is plain for all to see:

This time the refreshment break signalled not so much half time as full time, for this session and indeed the current cutting season. It was therefore convivial and extended, with much cheerful banter. No apple cake today, but Custard Cream biscuits are never wrong either.

Here’s how the Meadow looked when we had finished.

Here is the Team Leaders’ message of thanks:

Hello all

We have come to the end of our season cutting and clearing reed on the common.  We will leave the nesting birds in peace now.

We finished it today on School Common clearing bracken. Thank you to the 15 volunteers today who worked so efficiently; we were done by our coffee break.

The next job to be done on the Common will be removing the Himalayan Balsam as it starts to appear in late May-June.  We will put out an email when we are ready to start removing it for those of you happy to do this task. We will probably also combine this with a quick 10-15 minutes on School Common stamping down the bracken as it emerges to 'bruise it' as new information to us seems to suggest that this is more effective in reducing its spread than cutting it annually. We thought it would be worth a try! 

Anyway, thank you to all the volunteers who have helped us on the Common over the last year. We have said goodbye to some volunteers but have been pleased to welcome new volunteers (which is always good for the group).  The Common is looking fabulous and this is in part thanks to your efforts.

We look forward to seeing some of you in May June and others of you for the new season in August.

Regards, Julie, Margaret, Kevin and Michelle

 When it was still Spring, there were plenty of pointers to prove it, including the fields that are just showing that first green blush as the newly-sown cereal crops begin to sprout. Walking along Craft Lane a week ago I was struck by a clump of red dead-nettles, which had attracted a positive bevy of bumblebees (or humblebees as Gilbert White knew them). Another dialect name for them is dumbledore, not to be confused with any fictional wizards of your acquaintance. Early flowering plants like these dead-nettles and dandelions are vital sources of nectar for the insect pioneers, and thankfully, there seem to be a lot in flower at the moment – and therefore plenty of bees too. Whilst I was admiring the scene there were skylarks singing above me, and in the distance I spotted two male fallowdeer; not the commonest round here by any stretch of the imagination. And this morning, whilst we were working on School Meadow, I heard my first blackcap of the season, singing its sweet song.

Crossing the Common the other day I was surprised and pleased to see another stretch of boardwalk has been renewed by NWT: this time being the famous “Bradfield Road spur” and a stretch leading from it.

Never mind a host of golden daffodils, Area B on the other side of Fox’s Beck had a fine display of lesser celandines, as well as a few of the Wordsworth flower.

BBC4 recently broadcast a fabulous film set on the North Norfolk coast, at The Wash, so I am guessing Snettisham. Wildlife film-maker Martin Dohrn has had a highly successful career, working amongst others with David Attenborough, and now he’s made a film called The Birds, showcasing the huge murmurations of over-wintering waders, driven by hunting peregrines. It’s beautiful and captivating stuff and happily it’s going to be available for at least a year on the iPlayer, at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002sw7z/the-birds

Area E done

 Mother’s Day or not, on a gloriously bright and mild morning 16 of us convened at the part of the Common so prosaically known as Area E to complete the removal of previously cut reeds. It really did feel to be an honour to be there in such perfect conditions, and the mood was very light-hearted (as it usually is anyway).

In no time at all (or so it seemed to your usual correspondent, who arrived fashionably on time, and thus some 15 minutes later than the extra-keen ones) sheets had been laid out and pitchforks were put to use tossing the fallen reeds onto them.

It’s all very well piling stuff onto sheets, but someone has to winch those sheets to the chosen dump site. This is something that entails thought, planning and indeed consideration. Or, to put it another way, holding what looks much like a mother’s meeting – which is appropriate considering what day it was.

Having chosen the spot, the winch crew set to work with pitchforks of their own to create a nice level playing field by flattening out the previous session’s pile.

Here we see two crack winchers poised to guide the sheet over the boardwalk. Note multi-talented Noel practising his ballet pose at the same time!

Pulling a drag sheet, hauling on it to steer it when necessary and turning it over at the dump site is excellent exercise for almost all, but this attendee was perhaps too small to pull.

Although the reeds had been lying around for a couple of weeks, they were reasonably dry and mercifully light. Therefore, fairly large heaps could be loaded onto the drag sheets without too many howls of protest from the other end of the rope.

Happily, the Common is relatively free from litter, but not everyone takes their empties home.

After a clear night it was cold first thing, meaning warm jackets were the order of the day, but following Team Leader Margaret’s early lead, plenty of others soon felt the need to strip off – availing themselves of the natural coat-hooks so helpfully arranged. 

Being always the optimist, I had thought that we might even be finished after an hour’s work, but in the event I was wrong – yes, that can happen! And so it was that my whistle was called for to summon our forces to the half-time break. Today’s nourishment came from scrumptious chocolate chip cookies.

At this point it is traditional to show Noel taking his ease: here he is in his seat of choice. To be fair, a wheelbarrow is the only seat available at that location.

Last time the winch team apparently complained that in the absence of your correspondent it was unusually quiet there. Coincidence or not, today the aforementioned Noel was back on song, giving us renditions of Lou Reed’s Perfect Day, Nina Simone’s Feeling good, The Temptations Ball of Confusion (brought on by the amount of end-of-season confusion some were experiencing in handling the drag sheets), and Edwin Starr’s War – as a nod to the ongoing geopolitical shambles.

By the end of the session it was satisfying to survey the scene and realise that, as they say round here, “The job’s a good ‘un.”

We’ve mentioned before the specialised task that is sheet folding at the end of each session, and here we see the two prime exponents of the art. It’s why they’re Team Leaders.

Here’s how the area looked when we finished.

The winch is our friend, but sometimes it’s hard to think the same way about the rope. As we’ve illustrated often before, it likes nothing better than to twist itself into knots, encouraged no doubt by the fact that it is tightly wound round the capstan wheel on the beloved winch. Today, fortunately at the end of the session, it contrived to seize the machine up, requiring the collected brawn, brains and Allen keys of the winch team to un-seize it. For all I know, they’re still there, but lunch was calling…

At this point I spotted Andrew away off on his own at the edge of Bradfield Road, using a spade to vigorous effect in clearing a ditch, gully or channel – call it what you will.

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s back from work we go, surprisingly neatly spaced out.

Here is Team Leader Margaret’s message of thanks:

A huge thank you to you all particularly the 16 wonderful folk who came today. Despite it being Mother’s Day.  It amazes us how even when the usual suspects are playing hooky we still manage to get 16 volunteers. Thank you all.

We have now completed the cutting and raking on the SSSI and very good it looks too. Keep a watch for the orchids, cotton grass and fritillaria to mention just a few which will be flowering in the months ahead thanks to your dedication. Duncan would have me list the birds as well...Do check his blog, it has new features. Thank you Duncan for your hard work on this, keeping us entertained.

In two weeks’ time we are going to cut and rake the grass in School Meadow. We are going to try something new this year. The Bracken is becoming rather dominant and from somewhere we have learnt that if you bruise bracken it self-destructs, so this year we will cut it down and then over the growing months we will ask for volunteers to help trample the area. This will have to be repeated over many years. Thanks in advance if you can help. We will not be cutting scrub as the birds are beginning to nest.

Thank you for your time and good humour that you have shared over the winter and hopefully see you soon.

Margaret for the team leaders

 

The snowdrops are now finished, but the lessercelandines are out everywhere you go. I see from the book I mentioned in the previous post that our old friend Gilbert White mentioned them in his journal for 1781, using their old country name of ‘pile-wort’. It seems that back then “bathed with the juice (from the roots of the plant) mixed with wine, or the sick man’s urine…” bingo! the offending piles were sorted out. (I think I would probably take the wine option.)

As well as fully wild celandines, cultivated daffodils are flowering everywhere too, including here beside the Bradfield Road spur of the boardwalk, where they are filling in after the snowdrops have called it a day.

In bird news, it’s great to report that a Cetti’s warbler has turned up close to School Common, and its explosive song can sometimes be heard near the junction of Bramble Lane and Chapel Road. The sightings whiteboard also reveals that it has been heard along Fox’s Beck, so let’s hope it stays to breed. The far more common chiffchaff has now arrived back here in good numbers, and its tell-tale song is very evident, along with great tits, robins and wrens. A raptor graced our efforts today with its presence in a nearby tree, and after some debate about the perhaps more exciting options it was decided that it was probably a female kestrel.

Some say that envy is a deadly sin, but surely it is understandable when you learn that your friends have been honoured by having long-tailed tits nest-building in their “garden adjacent common”? As the photo (carefully taken when the birds weren’t there) shows, their nest is a thing of beauty and wonder, constructed with moss, lichen and cobwebs.

A few days ago NWT staff replaced the roof on the Information Point on Lower Street. This very welcome repair will mean that visitors and our notices can be protected from the rain again. Along with some recent chain-saw work, it’s great to see that our little reserve gets frequent attention from the Trust.