Helping hands…

 

Today has been a day of quiet reflection.  As tonight’s finale revisits characters and behaviours we have known and loved over the past two weeks, I know I shall miss these treasures when I leave.  Spending time on Brownsea has been magical, exciting and good for the soul.

 

 

We have learned wonderful things about who and what lives and stays here on Brownsea Island. 

 

 

When the majority of us pack up and set off home, returning to our usual daily routine, life here will continue the way it always has.  

 

 

Bill Oddie’s reminder to:  “Remember to look up – and keep looking.  Because if you don’t look, you won’t see anything. seems like perfect common sense but I know I forget to do it. 

 

I have done it every day while here and reaped the benefits.  I won’t forget again. 

 

 

It’s also important to look down now and again too…

 

 

And, although I don’t live on an Island, there are treasures to be had on my own patch too.  I may not have red squirrels gamboling in my back yard or deer wandering through, but there are other species I will look at with fresh eyes and appreciation.  

  

And I also have a new-found appreciation for the people behind the scenes too – the ones to help keep places, like Brownsea, as beautiful and wild as they are.

 

The army of regular volunteers who give their time and for those who come as and when they can, all make a huge difference. 

 

In the time I have spent here, 499 man days of work has been achieved for five hours a day, six days a week.  The majority of this was tackling rhododendron.  In just a few years, these plants grow profusely.  Nothing else can grow under its tightly condensed foliage; no species will graze it and it doesn’t encourage insects.  Volunteers help with every aspect of ridding the Island of it through control and eradication.  But this is a long process; small seedlings removed, cutting back, cutting down and spraying.  The branches are cut up for bonfires and lengths of wrist thickness are stacked for seasoning. 

 

 

Two titanium knee replacements led Dale Johnson to take early retirement and, at the age of 68, he discovered Brownsea Island with his wife, Bridgette.  In 2007, they joined Dorset Wildlife Trust and, since then, Dale has volunteered his time to help out; now committing three days a week.  He is approaching his 200th full working day.  Dale told me: 

 

“You don’t need any experience or knowledge of ecology or wildlife.  I admit that whilst I know the difference between an arctic tern and an arctic roll, my knowledge of the World War Two American GMC-built DUCW (pronounced ‘duck’) is far greater than it will ever be about the teal, shoveller or widgeon!

 

“On the ferry from Sandbanks to Brownsea, you seem to take a step back in time to a more slow and relaxed way of life.  The only traffic is an occasional Land Rover or tractor.  There is time to stop, stand and stare but above all to enjoy at your ease and leisure.

 

 “I can honestly say I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every single day, whatever I have been doing and whatever the weather.  There is always a warm welcome here, at the Villa.”

 

 And it’s part of that mood and enthusiasm for our local areas which we all need to tune in to now and again.  There are a million and one ways we can get involved to help our local environment. 

 

So when the show ends, don’t let it stop there.   The more we start to get involved, the more benefits we’ll all reap for years to come.

 

 

Fishy behaviour…

 

With all the hullaballoo in and around the jetty and harbour, you may be forgiven for assuming that there may not be much happening beneath the surface waters on Brownsea Island. 

 

But you’d be wrong. 

 

As we’ve seen in the last two Autumnwatch shows, there’s an abundance of amazing species and habitats around here.   And one place where you can effortlessly see the range and beauty of just a few of these species isn’t on the jetty or even at the beach. 

 

 

It’s at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s headquarters on Brownsea, the Villa…

 

 

The seawater aquarium showcases some spectacular-looking species which all live in and around the lagoon and castle jetty.  It includes ballan wrasse, corkwing wrasse, goby, blenny, grey mullet, sea scorpion and shore rockling to name (and show) but a few:

  

 

 

 

 

 

So you can see the coastal waters around here are fabulously rich in marine life and, although it would be great to see it for myself, I’m rather relieved I don’t have to don a wetsuit to find out more. 

 

 

And these beauties become even more endearing when you find out a bit about their behaviour. 

 

Do you know that, each spring, the male corkwing wrasse decorates his bachelor pad - okay, a rocky crevice - with colourful pieces of seaweed.  He spends time arranging them carefully so they are just right.

Then the female wrasse tour the reef, checking out the males’ interior design credentials.  If he’s done a good job, the female will lay her eggs there, leaving him to look after them.  Sounds like a plan to me!

 

There’s no doubt we are just starting to scratch the surface when it comes to learning about the wonderful creatures which live in our coastal waters.

 

 

It’s vital for us to find out more about this fascinating underworld so we start to appreciate what we have.   

 

One thing the aquarium doesn’t have – but which are in UK waters – is the sea slug.  And they get up to some sexy shenanigans.  As a hermaphrodite, it indulges male and female desires at the same time.  Apparently, the slugs form chains – and even complete circles – where each slug is playing the female to the slug behind and the male to the slug in front.  Sauce! 

 

I, for one, am joining in with the rallying cry that there has never been a more important time to stand up for the UK’s seas.  We need to have the Marine Bill now…

 

 

Bat-tastic..!

After a spook-free Hallowe’en it’s on to the practicalities of checking which of the 11 species of bat recorded on Brownsea are using the 50 – hopefully soon to be 75 - bat boxes on the reserve. 

I tag along with Steve, Amanda, Fay and Anthony, all from Dorset Wildlife Trust, who are recording numbers.  Each box has a unique number so a comprehensive record can be kept. 

Mild disappointment ensues as Amanda finds nothing in box 823.

I should clarify now that not everyone can do this.  You need a special licence to touch, or handle, any of the 17 species of UK bat.  Amanda has one and Steve too.  This is not one to try at home.

Steve has more luck with box 564.  Inside are six natterers (the ones you can’t see here are further up in the box, honest!) – the first I have ever knowingly seen.   

Steve dons his gloves and brings one out to check all is well.  Weird-looking - certainly – but everything about it screams cute.

Apparently, one of the identifying features of the natterer bat is the shape of the ear – you can see in the pictures below that it has a defined curl or tilted angle.

 

 

 I nearly fall over when Amanda asks if I want to put up a box.  Aside from scaling the ladder – me and heights do not mix – there is a bitterly cold wind and I fear my ears and finger-tips could fall off. 

Twelve newly-erected boxes later and it’s on to check more existing ones.

In this one we find two soprano pipistrelles.

 

Although I’ve only seen eight bats today, this is a good sign that the work volunteers are undertaking to rid the Island of rhododendron is having some effect.  The plant grows so quickly and densely it prevents other species from taking hold which can affect the number of insects around, on which bats feed.  Rhododendron can also inhibit the flight of some bat species and so, by clearing it out and burning, volunteers help to make a better habitat for them.

Another super sunset ends another super day.  Bat-tastic. 

‘Bats’ the way I like it…

 

We may get in to the ’spirit’ of things tomorrow night by dressing up and scaring each other senseless in the Villa. 

Not one to usually get spooked by Hallowe’en, I am looking forward to any ’chilling thrills’ which may await me on Brownsea Island.

When you stop and think about it, why do we get freaked out by bats and other spook-tacular species?  During the last two weeks I have beamed at bats flitting overhead in the twilight – standing agog at the speed they twist and drop. 

Bats - whatever the species – are most definitely a friend of mine.  Having suffered a particularly itchy and scratchy mosquito bite this week I support anything which can devour large numbers of the little beasts.  Apparently bats can eat up to 3,000 insects every night.  More power to their elbows!

We can all do our bit to help them out – whether it’s finding our more about them, encouraging them into our gardens, or even building bat boxes. 

I hope to find out more about the bats on Brownsea and so shall don my special wellies and step forth this Hallowe’en.  You could do your bit too…

Go on, I dare you.  Befriend a bat this weekend.

 

We ’sika-m’ here…

 

So Autumn has truly arrived – now the first show has aired – and there are absolutely no excuses not to get involved, wherever you are.  It was with eager anticipation we gathered around the telly, keen to see which parts – and characters - of Brownsea would be shared with over four million viewers.

For me, the show continues as, this morning, I wake to a jay outside my window – the first I’ve seen in over a week – and yet more red squirrels bounding around.   I’m starting to recognise some of the characters here – as you will start to over the next two weeks, I’m sure.  All seem to have different personalities and one, in particular, is a grumpy little soul.  He’s on a mission to eat and store his nuts and if he thinks you’re in his way, he wags his tail, stamps his feet and gives you a little bark!

 

The bird feeders outside the Villa have been a hive of activity this morning – not just with birds – members of the Autumnwatch team have been filming them and so we should see some spectacular images as part of tonight’s show.  Apologies for the distinct lack of birds in these next photographs – I’m afraid I’m just not quick enough yet…

I do what I can to watch and encourage birds into my small garden and will be ensuring a good supply of food for them over the winter when I return home.  But, of course, the birds I don’t get to see every day and which are just as amazing to sit and watch are on the lagoon.  It doesn’t matter that I don’t yet know the names of them all – looking, listening and learning in the hide is all part of the fun.

On Sunday, my sister and I were able to get within 20 feet of a young sika deer – she saw us but wasn’t spooked by our dropped jaws and ridiculous ear-to-ear grins…

 We also saw a couple of stags, who stood their ground.

This was particularly exciting until we reminded ourselves this is rutting season.  Luckily, they weren’t fired up so we quietly side-stepped on our way, bizarrely followed by a lone and rather beautiful cockerel.  Perhaps he was the reason we could get so close - we were considered to be a bunch of chickens!

I’m sure we are set to see much more of these deer over the next couple of weeks…

Otter way to end the day…

 

A glorious start to the day – bright sunshine, the wind has dropped and it’s busy, busy, busy… 

 

 

After struggling with a decent Internet connection, a theory came about while the lagoon webcam was being installed – we may get a better signal from above the treetops.  Not game to don a harness and shin up the nearest Scots pine, I take a walk up the path at the side of the Villa and try out the laptop.

 

 

 

 

 

It works – much quicker – and so I discover, arguably, the best ‘office’ in the world; a fantastic view over the lagoon, birds singing, squirrels playing around my feet (literally!) and sika deer calling in the distance.  It’s a challenge to keep my eyes on the screen.

 

On the other side of the Island a dozen volunteers from Merlin have come over as part of a team-building exercise.  Everyone is keen to learn more about Brownsea and what it has to offer.  Today, for them, it’s the opportunity to build an otter holt. 

 

Two years ago, an otter spraint (or poo) was found on Brownsea and, by providing somewhere cosy and secure, Dorset Wildlife Trust hopes that, in the not-too-distant future, they may just stick around.

 

 

As recently as the 1980s, otters were nearly extinct in England, mainly due to hunting and pesticide use in the 1950s.  In the 1990s various conservation schemes were set up and, in 2002, otter conservationists discovered otters were present in 100 UK towns and cities. 

 

Let’s hope that now there’s all inclusive accomodation on the Island – thanks to the help of these volunteers - we’ll see an otter or two here on Brownsea in the not-too-distant future…

 

Wash the birdy…

There’s been a change in the weather.  It’s still great.  Just great for ducks.

And cormorants…

And avocets…

Back at the Villa, Nigel Bean and two wildlife cameramen, Mark and Pete, come to see Dorset Wildlife Trust’s reserve manager, Chris Thain, to explore opportunities for filming and hide installation.  Possibilities include the lagoon and a couple of other places on the reserve.

Then it’s down to the jetty to meet the BBC’s Martin Barber who, with a little help, is installing a webcam six metres over the lagoon, which gives great views of the spoonbill, avocet, godwit, oystercatcher, cormorant, teal, redshank and more.

 

As Chris points out which birds are where – and what they’re up to – there’s a bright and brief flash of electric blue.

 

And again.

 

Kingfishers do exist!  I almost thought they were mythical.  Whenever someone points and shouts ‘there’ I’m always that little bit too late.  But I saw this one with my own eyes – and soon, hopefully you will too!

 

Then, suddenly there’s an almighty commotion.  The birds all take off from the lagoon and, although it takes me a minute, we soon see why.  A peregrine falcon has come in from nowhere, causing them to scatter.

 

So mush-room to get out and about…

 So, one week on and I’m on my way over to the magical Island that is Brownsea.

 

 

Everything about this place makes me smile.  If I don’t have face-ache by the end of my time here, it will be a miracle.   After a long but uneventful journey, I arrive at Sandbanks to a dramatic sunset and a flock of seagulls.

 

 

After settling in – read dropping my bags – I decide to take a stroll down the track from the Villa to the church.  On the way, I pass a tree full of feeders, where three of four red squirrels and a lesser spotted woodpecker dance around. 

 

 

 

I’m looking forward to the red squirrel assault course challenge, which Bill and Kate will set next Tuesday, and am convinced they must at least pass any sort of agility aspect – the red squirrels, that is. 

 

As the squirrels dance, I vaguely recognise the soundtrack ‘playing’ in the background.  It is eerie, unearthly and aweseome.  Luckily, I have been warned about the sika deer call.  The creatures which make this noise are so much more serene – and stunning to look at – than they sound.  Although you won’t be able to tell that from this picture…

 

 

It is so perfectly quiet, so silent, you can hear each creak and sigh of the trees.  Then a serenade from a couple of tawny owls and Saturday is over.

 

And so to Sunday morning and a fungi foray, with Dorset Fungus Group and around 50 or so enthusiasts. 

 

 

 

I know that fungus grows just about everywhere.  And I know some have fantastic names.  I also know some are tasty and others are incredibly poisonous.  That’s why it’s particularly handy to have someone around who knows what they’re looking at and talking about. 

 

 

 

 

 The group gathered here is looking at the deadly clitocybe rivulosa.  Certainly not one for the pot – not one even to touch…

 

 

Others we see on the way include the golden, or yellow, spindle…

 

And the meadow waxcap…

 

 

We come across many different types – all shapes, colours, textures – and, at the end, vice-chair of the Dorset Fungus Group, Zina Roworth, displays some for all to see, including slime mould (otherwise known as cat sick – nice!), parrot waxcap, blusher, orange peel fungus, blackening waxcap and more.

 

 

It’s been a really interesting morning finding out a bit more about nature’s recyclers.  And, when you think that there are more than 3,000 types of fungi in the UK, we haven’t even scratched the surface.  This is the best time of year to get out and have a look for them and if, like me, you’re not sure where to start,  join a hosted walk or event.

 

The feast of season…

I’m preparing for a feast.  I’m going to fill my boots.  And not one inch will be added to my hips.  This will be a feast of the senses.

 

You see Autumnwatch is back and, this year, it’s coming from Brownsea Island, near Poole.  Brownsea has been referred to as a ‘magical’ Island – even ‘Fantasy Island’.  It’s certainly got the ‘X factor’.  I’ve been just twice – for the day – but it has me hooked.   And, as most of the UK’s natural world seems set for a feeding frenzy, why shouldn’t we join in too? 

  

It looks like we’re promised an impressive menu from BBC ‘serious’ producer Reema Lorford and team.  The ‘dish of the day’ must be red squirrels which this year will, apparently, be challenged to an assault course.  But a particular delicacy will be first-time footage of sea horses – utterly bewitching and other-worldly – in Studland Bay.

 

I’ve already sampled a starter; spending the day on Brownsea when the recipe of success, which is Autumnwatch, was announced to the world.  The enthusiasm of staff and volunteers was infectious and even the wildlife seemed to have a spring in its step. 

 

 

It was lovely to hear reminiscent stories of childhoods spent outdoors, many as part of local Watch groups. 

  

Watch was something I missed out on but perhaps it’s time to revisit my youth and get stuck in.  A long-time a fan of Springwatch and Autumnwatch, I have to admit it’s always been from the warmth of my sofa; “Ooh-ing”, “aah-ing” and “Ewwww-ing” at every given opportunity.

 

This year it’s different. 

 

This year, I’m going to experience it for real.  I’m spending three weeks on the Island, starting on Saturday.  After the comforts of my couch, spending time ‘on location’ may be somewhat surreal and, as a natural-born hibernator, I could wake one sunny morning to find it’s all over.

 

I think not though – the anticipation is palpable and my ‘televisual’ tummy has started to rumble…bring on the feast!   

 

Autumnwatch 2008 comes to Brownsea Island

The BBC has decided to base Autumnwatch 2008 on Brownsea Island.

Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour is the new location for the BBC’s Autumnwatch this year.  Owned by The National Trust, with over 200 acres managed by Dorset Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve, the island is home to a nationally important population of red squirrels, a host of wildfowl and internationally important numbers of wading birds.

Autumnwatch will be broadcast on BBC2 from Monday 27th October 2008 for two weeks, Monday to Thursday at 8pm.