REPORT.

Well, storm ‘Bert’ did its worst overnight and through the early morning, with brisk winds and copious amounts of rain, topping up the Don, the Eaubeck and the Went, and saturating the types of vegetation we were aiming to investigate … so thanks everyone for turning out on such an un-promising morning.

However, by our starting time of 11am, the skies cleared and the SSW airflow flushed away the freezing air-mass of the previous week and lifted temperatures to a pleasant 14^oC.

Our little team consisted of 6 keen and experienced Harvest Mouse nest searchers, including John S; Tim & Louise; Paul & Joyce.

On our various routes to this northern perimeter of our recording region we all experienced flooded roads, very soggy landscapes and a very conspicuous road casualty Badger, killed on the bridge on the western entrance to Sykehouse (SE/620161). It’s very large size [was it a Herdwick sheep or was it a badger?] suggested it to be one of the adults from the population which for generations has lived in the area of Manor Farm and which our good friends Deena and Gwyneth knew all about [see A Year at Manor Farm by Deena Robinson (2003) Donc. Nats. Publication].

John’s early contribution to the day was a fresh Barn Owl pellet from his barn, and a bag of Walnuts from his farm which this year the Grey Squirrels have obligingly left! 

Our first project was to visit the ‘pond field’ of the Carstairs Conservation Trust on the west side of North Lane. In the days when horses hauled barges along the New Junction Canal, this field was apparently used to safely corral off duty barge horses. Although Harvest Mouse nests have been found on casual visits to this site, our first project was to undertake a timed search for abandoned nests in the tall riparian vegetation. Sadly, the wet weather had beaten down suitable vegetation and after 30 minutes searching, we found no sign of nests.

Fresh and glistening Rodent droppings on nibbled wind-fall crab-apples indicated vole or wood-mouse presence. John, however found a little elevated matted platform of vegetation amongst a clump of Willow-herb, indicating that a rodent had been harvesting and feeding on Willow-herb seeds. The presence of a tiny mouse dropping was possible evidence of Harvest Mouse.

Birds noted here included Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing, Robin, Dunnock, and a woodpecker (species unknown) was busily tap-tap-tapping the bark of a large Oak.

Since no suitable beds of tall vegetation were in the larger of the CCT field, we drove off to the second angler’s car park and from 11.30 to 12.00 searched the tall ruderal vegetation (mainly Cock’s-foot grass) adjacent to the canal tow path, sadly without success.

Lunch was had on the Barrier Bank, overlooking one of the species-rich hay meadows and its very sedgey ditch.  While having lunch, birds from the flooded fields adjacent to the Went were actively flying around, these included a Buzzard, two Whooper Swans, a skein of Greylag Geese and flights of duck including Mallards. Paul & Joyce had to leave us at this point to return to Brockadale to tend the Nature Reserve Cattle.

After lunch we commenced searching the ditch-full of Carex riparia we’d just been looking down on  and in 15 minutes, came up with our one and only Harvest Mouse nest of the day at SE/6478 1808.

We then crossed the canal via the aqueduct footbridge. This enabled us to see how flooded the went corridor was and that our proposed searches for otter footprints would have been impossible. We joined the track linking the SSSI Hay Meadows to the east of the canal, examining tussocks of Deschampsia cespitosa along field edged for mouse nests but without success. John and Louise took cuttings to propagate from a wild Pear Tree growing in the boundary of one of the CCT hay meadows.

At 2pm we re-assembled back at the 2^nd Angler’s car park after an enjoyable day out in the fresh air and in this remarkable landscape, which I was first introduced to by William Bunting and Peter Skidmore during a ‘European Conservation Year’ event back in 1970!

CAH 24.11.2024.