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:

 

2015 season - Concerns for Annie

A mix of warm sunshine and wintery showers has seen the official start of spring here at Langholm. Migrants like Chiffchaff can be seen and heard alongside our winter visitors - Fieldfare and Redwing. With skydancing harriers seen almost daily and our new hide up and running we have much to celebrate, but sadly we have some bad new too.

 We have concerns for one of the Langholm born Harriers -  Annie (female Hen Harrier tagged in 2014). The last transmission we received from Annie was on the 19th March. The concern for Annie has been reported to the relevant authorities and a team on the ground is trying to locate her.  At this stage I have no further information to share but will do so on this blog if any information arises.

Hattie and Grainne are safe and well on Langholm moor and Hattie as been seen displaying alongside a male harrier.

Celebrations and Skydancing

 On Sunday 15th we celebrated the launch of our new bird hide - 'Laverock Hide'. We had a fantastic turnout, thank you to everyone who came along and all our volunteers who helped out.  Many thanks to Catherine Greer for these photos.

 A bright sunny day on the 19th saw the Hen Harriers at Langholm taking to the sky to begin their wonderful aerial display - Skydancing. Lets hope this is the beginning of another great season.
A few photos taken in previous years at Langholm.

(Photo by John Wright)

 If you come to Langholm to see the skydancing or the rest of the wonderful wildlife on the moor please park considerately, the Langholm - Newcastleton Road is single track and the passing places are vital. Please make sure you leave space for vehicles to pull into pass each other. Thank you

(Photo by John Wright)

(Photo by John Wright)

 Dry, bright days are few and far between in our part of the world so the keepering team were out working hard to burn patches of heather.