Our website www.blackwatercarr.com is now live and we are so pleased with it! Thanks to everybody who has subscribed to receive this blog, and for your complimentary comments, much more deserved by Heather (who designed it), with Mary's helping hand, than me. Do feel free to share the website with people who would be interested in what we are doing, as well as those who might be able to help us continue this work and carry out our management plan for biodiversity.
This month we made only one visit to Blackwater Carr, but that does not mean the work stops. Off-site we are checking the wildlife cameras for new species, updating the excel sheet that we use for our species data recording, and making plans for further work.
Late last month we had a visit from Iain Barr. He is a Professor of Field Ecology at the University of East Anglia, (UEA), and is sorting out paperwork to allow his students to come to Blackwater Carr to complete their research projects in February 2023. We will update you about this as we know more.
It was a wet day when we traveled up to Blackwater Carr. It is a journey of around 2 and a half hours. It stopped raining 30 mins before we got to Blackwater, and thankfully the track which often gets completely waterlogged and at times impassable when it rains, was still OK.
By our shed, it seemed that the white bryony has its Xmas decorations on! The white bryony is a native climbing woodland and hedgerow plant, very pretty but poisonous. Best just to look at it!
We noticed a yellow streak in the grass which was odd as we had not left anything covering the grass in this location. Maybe it was some kind of annual meadow grass. We put the moth trap in the nettles in ‘oak fen’ (a place we call the area near to the wildflower meadow) and got about 6 December moths and a Pale November moth the next morning.
The next day was a lovely sunny day. Steve finished repairing a wildlife camera and ventilation for the hedgehog house. We met Helen Baczkowska from Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) and Mick Finnemore, Ecologist. They seemed to be impressed with the way we are managing the site and gave us lots of people to contact to progress things further. Helen explained what we need to send her to start the process of gaining County Wildlife Status. Luckily, we have much of the evidence. Helen's NWT colleague will visit in the summer to carry out a site survey to validate our application.
Steve disturbed a woodcock, hiding in the willows, and a muntjac deer on his early morning inspection. The woodcock is a large, bulky wading bird with short legs and a very long straight tapering bill. It is largely nocturnal, spending most of the day in dense cover. Its conservation status is red.
This time last year Don Chapman, a lichen expert, visited the site to record and identify a range of lichens. We realised we hadn't recorded where these were on site, so Mary had a fun afternoon with the photos doing her own treasure hunt trying to find the original locations. There were only 2 lichens she couldn't find.
Diploicia Canescens Parmelia Sulcata
The tawny owls were busy hunting each night. On Thursday night/ Friday morning they were possibly hunting on the track and were really loud. On Saturday night/Sunday morning they were down by the South Dyle, which is further away, so they were much quieter. Previously, we had a tawny owl land on top of our workstation! The tawny owl is an owl the size of a woodpigeon. It has a rounded body and head, with a ring of dark feathers around its face surrounding the dark eyes. Tawny owls in the UK are mainly reddish brown above and paler underneath. Their conservation status is amber. The owls are mainly residents with established pairs probably never leaving their territories. We feel pleased to have them on site.
If you want to hear one of them - play the video below - nothing to see but ensure your sound is turned up!
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