August 12th 2015

The Glorious or Inglorious 12th?

 Well the Grouse season has certainly started with a  bang this year and  I'm back from a couple of weeks of annual leave to hear the the awful news that a post-mortem has confirmed that Annie who went missing in March had been shot.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/405283-rspb-scotland-appeal-after-rare-raptor-shot-dead-in-southwest

Police Scotland have asked anyone with information to contact Police Scotland on 101.  Alternatively CRIMESTOPPERS can be contacted on 0800 555 111.

http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/news/2015/august/bird-of-prey-found-dead-clydesdale-south-lanarkshire



Annie 2014 - 2015

Concerns about Annie arose in mid March, her last transmission was received around the 19th of March. At that stage, as protocol dictates, the matter was handed over to the relevant authorities. 
Frustratingly even this post mortem evidence does not allow us to identify the person who shot her and bring them to justice. Will Annie be just another dead harrier?...

Sadly I don't have any more information, only anger and frustration that anyone would want to end the life of such a beautiful bird.

No doubt in death 'Langholm Annie' as I have heard her called in the last day or two will join 'Bowland Betty' in helping to raise awareness about her species.

 While this storm rages, life goes on for Hattie, Grainne and Cyan (the new boy, Hattie's son). Hattie and Grainne are still safely settled here at Langholm, but Cyan has begun his journey, leaving Langholm moor and heading north towards Hawick before moving east into Northumberland. There is growing awareness and admiration for this beautiful species but still some who can not bear to share their world with a harrier...

July 2015

It has been a busy few months and we've had a real scramble for funding on our hands so apologies for the lack of blog posts.  I am pleased to be able to announce that we have secured funding for a new two year phase of the Making the Most of Moorlands Project, so many many thanks to our funders including The Holywood Trust, Heritage Lottery and Robertson Trust.

The cold and wet weather and a drop in vole numbers have meant a much 'quieter' season than last year, with Barn owls and Short Eared owls numbers way down but six successful harrier nests have fledged 17 young which is just fantastic.

This last month has been hectic to say the least but I have had the pleasure of a full time placement student  to help out. I have been surprised and humbled by the energy, hunger for learning, incite and level of dedication exhibited by Beckie and can only hope that half of her cohort graduating universities across the country in the next few years are like her.

 

Local lass and Stirling Uni student, Beckie Davies, shares her work placement experience:

Growing up between Langholm and Canonbie, the outdoors has been my playground for as long as I can remember. By the time I finished high school I had worked with Cat and the moorland project a number of times, including building and putting up bird boxes and helping run the stall at the adventure festival. After a gap year I headed off to Stirling University to start a degree in Environmental Science with Outdoor Education where I had the opportunity to select work placement as a module option. Having worked a lot with young people primarily through Scouting and Guiding I was keen to work a placement that combined the education side with a greater environmental focus. It was an easy decision – back home to Langholm and The Making the Most of the Moorlands Project.

Project Manager Cat Barlow kindly accepted my request to join her for a month and the more research I did the more fascinated I became with the whole grouse-raptor conflict and was keen to get out and see the birds for myself.

Beginning mid-June I was thrown into a time of year that is notoriously busy for the project as we race around to check nests before birds fledge, run the last of our school activities for the year, transition into summer holiday activities, and squeeze in the odd adventure festival too!

My first week got off to an incredible start when on day 2 I had the privilege of visiting a merlin nest, two hen harrier nests and a barn owl box all in one day. The birds were ringed so they can be identified later and a nest camera was also put up to monitor the harriers. One young male hen harrier was later satellite tagged and we look forward to following his progress soon.

 

Merlin

Cyan, young male harrier sat tagged at Langholm

The Muckle Toon Adventure Festival was a busy weekend with a stall at basecamp as well as activities out on the moor. Cat’s dawn chorus walk battled on through the fog and enjoyed views of a male hen harrier, as well as finding a meadow pipit nest and ringing some barn owls. Stream dipping was blessed with a sunny spell and a bus full of youngsters and adults enjoyed discovering the creatures of the Tarras Water.

The next couple of weeks continued with more bird ringing including this adorable nest of meadow pipit chicks. We attended the new Langholm Academy S2’s “Share” event of their John Muir Award. They’ve spent the last 8 weeks working towards the award: discovering, exploring, conserving and were now very keen to share this with us and the new P7’s. We also got out on the moor with a biology class for a vegetation sampling session.  

Meadow Pipit chicks

 

The summer holidays were fast upon us and we began our holiday activities. Two stream dipping sessions, geocaching, exploring and an art session. We battled on through some pretty rainy weather and had a great time. Over the two weeks we saw a whole host of wildlife including a brilliant view of an adder on the moorland edge near the roundhouse.

Celebrating John Muir Awards

exploring the underwater life of the Tarras

Geocaching on the moorland edge

exploring on our 'Naturally arty' day

 

close encounter with and Adder

Following on from my month’s work placement I have gained a far deeper understanding of the grouse moor-raptor conflict and just how complex the issue is with the number of different grouse predators and also the need for driven shooting to occur in order to finance the continued habitat management and predator control. The moor extends far further North than I realised and the five gamekeepers do a fantastic job of managing such a large area.



Stream dipping as part of the Muckle Toon Adventure Festival

 

Ault male and Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers

Due to the time of year I was lucky to be able to watch and assist with a wide variety of bird ringing, from small birds including meadow pipits and redstarts, and also raptor species including merlins, buzzards, barn owls and of course – hen harriers! Not only was it amazing to see these birds up close, I also got a chance to learn more about ringing and get hands on experience in setting up mist nets and handling a range of birds. I was fascinated by brood patches, a patch of bare skin used to incubate their eggs.

While ringing birds and also when out on the moor I have been surrounded by a wealth of knowledge about the species around us and have tried to take in as much of this as possible. I am better at identifying hen harriers from a distance and telling apart the sexes – the male being much smaller and having a distinct black tips on a grey body compared with the larger brown female. I have learnt new species, both flora and fauna, and which species use which nest building materials. Of course nature always throws us curve balls and we found redstarts (commonly use dried grass and oak leaves) in a nest box full of moss.

Working with school groups and children on summer activities I have been able to put a lot of my previous experience to good use. I have been given a lot more autonomy with the project than I have in other jobs so have enjoyed designing, planning, advertising and running activities. This has increased my confidence and efficiency in taking an idea from start to finish. I am now constantly thinking and planning for future activities, noting down ideas as they come to me. Not having to follow scripted session plans has been a great opportunity and as a result I feel more engaged as a leader. I have also had plenty opportunity to adapt plans to suit wet weather – always a useful skill in Scotland!

 

a shelter from the rain

toasting marsh mallows

Overall it’s been a great month, I’ve learnt a lot and had a lot of fun along the way. A huge thank you to Cat Barlow and The Making the Most of the Moorlands project for hosting me and I hope to see you all again soon.

Summer?

Nearing the end of May, we are still waiting hopefully for summer to arrive. The sprinkling of Roan trees on the moor have finally begun to green up after looking decidedly lifeless for many months. New life can be seen popping up all over - from the first Red Grouse broods, to broods of Lapwing and Oystercatcher, Owls and Thrushes.

 

 Despite the cold and wet and occasionally snowy conditions Hattie and Grainne (two female Harriers hatched and tagged at Langholm moor in summer 2013) have both incubated successfully are now feeding young chicks. Diversionary feeding begins as soon as chicks hatch and both females are readily taking the food from the posts while their mates bring in an array of natural food including voles and small birds.

Hattie and Grainne are among five active harrier nests on the moor this season. After the monumental twelve breeding attempts last year it is easy to be disappointed, but five nests is still brilliant and there are a few birds about with potential to settle. With a bit of luck and a herculean effort from the keepering team here at Langholm to control the ever increasing fox numbers we could still be seeing good numbers of  harriers fledge Langholm this year (I will resist the temptation to count any chickens/ harriers before they have hatched).

 

Check out the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project site for official updates and news.

http://www.langholmproject.com/index.html



Hattie's nest (Sonja Ludwig)

The group of volunteers who worked towards a John Muir Award as part of their efforts building the new moorland bird hide received their certificates and celebrated with a visit to the hide and a close encounter with some Tawny owl chicks. So proud of you guys, well done James, Amy, Alasdair, Ralph and Adam!

Young volunteers receiving their well deserved John Muir Discovery Awards



Ralph helping to ring a brood of Tawny owl chicks in a nest box

We have been working with Langholm Academy over the last month or so introduce their S1 group to the wonders of the moor. It is a tricky time of year to explore without disturbing nesting birds but we have managed to discover a few hidden corners of the moor and learnt about moorland management and wildlife from freshwater invertebrates such as the Cased Caddis fly and Golden Ringed Dragonfly Nymph to the wonderful Whinchat, Goosander and Buzzard.

 

 Last week the group learnt all about nesting birds; where they nest, when they nest, the materials they use to build their nests, how they keep hidden during incubation and the dangers they face. With the help of some chicken and quail eggs the group had a go at building their own nests from hay, straw, wool and bracken and learnt just how tricky it is to find the right spot and build a safe nest for their eggs.

not many nests can boast a supportive stone wall, like this one!

Here is a fine example of one of the weird and wonderful nesting sites the group learnt about.


Oystercatcher nesting on a stone wall ( Tim Chamberlain)

 Pied wagtail nest - under a bridge but still very exposed spot

young Song Thrush

First owl rescue of the season - Tawny



The Academy group also learnt about what to do if you find a young bird (generally best to leave well alone as adult birds will most likely be lurking nearby ready to feed them). Sadly this young tawny had wandered into a busy garden/ farm yard where it was in real danger of a close encounter with a dog or a vehicle, so it was returned safely to its nest tree. Young Tawny owls usually leave the nest before they can fly - doing something called 'branching' - exploring the branches of the nest tree and surroundings.

May 2015 Waiting for summer to arrive

 

It is mid may and the moor still has a very wintery feel. The first grouse broods of the year have been spotted and it is several weeks since we ringed the first Short Eared Owl chick of the year but we are still regularly getting frosts, hail, torrential rain and very strong winds. The moor feels like it is several weeks behind the rest of the surrounding countryside and definitely not as far along as this time last year.  The young grouse face a challenge finding enough insects to eat in these cold temperatures and with the first harrier broods due to hatch soon we have fingers crossed that summer is not far away.

 

'The Owl man' has been back for another stint of SEO watching and he has shared some great photos  of his time on the moor along with some amazing shots of SEO in snow at the end of April.




Langholm Moor (Bryan Benn)



SEO (Bryan Benn)



SEO hunting in snow April 2015 (Bryan Benn)



SEO in snow April 2015 Bryan Benn



Short Eared Owl chick in nest (Bryan Benn)

Waiting for a school group to show up a few days ago, I heard that familiar sound of young birds food begging, after a quick search with my binoculars I spotted this brood of Stonechats fresh out of the nest with fluffy heads and stubby tails, they were surprisingly agile (and difficult to photograph) already.



Brood of Stonechats



Road kill Red Grouse

As if we needed a reminder to go steady on the roads at this time if year - I watched as this female Red Grouse was killed on the road a few days ago, -  in good breeding condition, (you can see the egg she was carrying crushed beside her) her mate waited patiently at the side of the road.  Sadly dead wildlife including Black Grouse,  Lapwing, Skylarks, Adders and Toads are all too common a sight on the roads. The moor roads are important driving routes for many rural people, but please take a little extra care over the next couple of months as tiny chicks and egg-carrying females need a little extra time to get out of the way and our wildlife needs all the help it can get.

Lapwing chick

Check out this surprise visitor in an old Buzzard nest at Langholm..

May 2015

Has anyone lost a tripod - one was found in our moorland bird hide at Langholm over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd of May? Please contact cat@langholminitiative.co.uk if it is yours.

 

Spring is well under way at Langholm with most species on eggs (Red Grouse), small young (Grey Wagtails and Tawny Owls) or even fledged young for the early nesters like Ravens. We have experienced some mixed weather to say the least -  a couple of weeks of sunshine and summer like temperatures (18 degrees) in the middle of April -  only to be brought back to earth with hard frosts   (- 8 degrees) and then wind and torrential rain at the beginning of May. The skydancing activity from the Harriers is tailing off as they settle down and we are looking forward to the surge of activity when birds are feeding young in the nest.

 

Please remember how vulnerable breeding birds are at this time of year. It is important  to keep dogs on leads, and the safest places to be while birds are nesting are on roads, tracks and well trodden paths - nests are generally well camouflaged and hard to see. 



Grey wagtail nest



Tawny chicks



Lapwing nest



Red Grouse nest

Raven (Laurie Campbell)

Meet Martin



One of the great things about this job is the inspirational people I meet - February's blog

featured 'the owl man'  - Bryan Benn, an amazing guy inspired to research and write a book about Short Eared owls.

 http://langholmmoorland.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/february-2015-we-call-him-man-regular.html 

 

Martin Bradley has, in recent years, taken up writing  children's books in his spare time - books designed to raise awareness about the incredible wildlife we have around us. He is currently working on a new book about the stunning Hen Harrier and we'll bring you details as son as it is ready.

Read Martin's story and why he has been inspired to write a children's book about the beautiful Hen Harrier.

 

 

 

Writing and illustrating isn’t my profession just a passion, since 2013 I’ve successfully published two poem based A4 children’s conservation books selling over 4200 copies throughout the UK,  Producing these books has allowed me to meet everyday people who through their hard work and dedication are “making a difference”.

My aims are simple, to produce pocket money priced fun and informative books, engage children in remarkable predators and encourage them to read and draw. I would like both books to reach every UK primary/Junior school and hopefully inspire our future wildlife enthusiast’s; the cherry on the cake is to raise funds whilst promoting conservation.

I live on the edge of the New forest with my wife and two sons, this location has shaped my interest in the natural world. Soon after joining Exxon Fawley refinery in 2007 I noticed carcasses of birds littered around the site, closer observation’s confirmed peregrines were nesting on one of our stacks.

I produced sketches of the peregrines behaviour, my sons persuaded me to do something with my artwork so I approached the Hawk Conservancy Trust to see if they could use these to raise funds for their fantastic organisation.

 

With the help of Ashley Smith and Simon Chadwick at Ceratopia ltd, I produced Top Gun of the Sky the life seen through the eyes of the peregrine Falcon, Exxon kindly sponsored the print run and Chris Packham wrote a beautiful foreword.

Dusk until Dawn the life of the Barn owl launched in June 2014. After  researching “old hushwing” I  found that they had been brought “back from the brink” of extinction in the UK by conservationists who had identified their habitat and nesting sites had suffered, and they had put nest box programs in place to help this iconic UK Bird of Prey.

A Top Gun acquaintance and B of P expert Nick Dixon insisted I contact his lifelong friend Colin Shawyer (BOCN). Colin loved my work, and better still came up with some fantastic ideas to enhance Dusk, he then wrote the foreword and helped financially back the book and more importantly promoted Dusk to likeminded friends.

 

 

What’s next?

The Hen harrier is the hottest UK conservation topic, I’m totally grabbed by their plight and I am currently producing a piece of work (in-between my shift work) to raise awareness to the younger generation,  Skydancer will be available this year pending sourcing funding.

How you can help

Please help get these books to our younger generation, purchase a book for a relative or donate a book to a local school, books are available dedicated and signed direct from this site and if you are a school or organisation, multiple books can be purchased from myself at a wholesale price enabling you to also raise funds.

I am now visiting schools and organisations promoting my books, artwork and telling my story, I combine this with tuition on drawing and creative writing; I hope this is my small way of making a difference.

 

Langholm Harriers

 Hattie and Grainne are safe and well at Langholm, settling onto territory now I won't be sharing any more maps for a we while, but will keep the updates coming. Sadly no new information about Annie.

 Skydancing is in full swing on the moor and migrants are trickling in despite the snow fall on Sunday 12th April. Here are just a few shots taken last year on the moor: