Warm, Cold and Confusing!

What a weird month it has been so far. First we have temperatures around 12 oC, then within a day or two they are at -3 oC (last night) and now there is talk of them returning to around 12 oC later this week!
You may be forgiven if you are thinking, "well it is winter", but when the temperature hit 12 oC earlier this month it confused a lot of our wildlife into thinking spring had come early.
Firstly there was a hedgehog rooting around my garden and secondly there was a red admiral butterfly basking in the forest. January is not a month where we should be seeing these creatures and I just hope that it has not jeopardised their survival!
There have also been reports of blooming flowers, such as daffodils, a flower, which usually blooms in February.
Snowdrops have also been blooming and I am concerned that the recent freezing temperatures may have killed them off, not to return when they should. Remember, these flowers aren't there to just look pretty; they play a vital role in our gardens and countryside with our insects, which "we" rely on for our own survival.

January Hedgehog.






January Red Admiral Butterfly.


There is one thing that you can be sure will be there every month, whether it is raining, snowing or sunny and that is the fly tipper!



Rob

Two Kinds of Beasts!

Firstly, Blogger is playing up so sorry for the formatting at the bottom of this page and I have also been unable to comment for quite some time. I'm not ignoring you!

I spent a few hours selecting my location; this is always crucial as it can make all the difference with wildlife photography. I had no intention of photographing the deer on this day, it was all about preperation.
After selecting my spot (deep in the forest) I quickly built myself a hide from dead branches etc and then left the area.

This was the view from my hide, where hopefully I would capture some rutting and even a fight between two bucks; if I was lucky.


The following day I was sat in the hide at 7.30am with a cammo net draped over the front. It was cold, damp and again I was sat in a very uncomfortable position with a tree root sticking in my butt!
It's all about patience now, just staying very still and quiet while listening for any noises, which would tell me that a deer or another mammal was close by.
The buck was roaring nearby and the noise was getting closer, so I knew he was making his way towards me.
I saw him peering through some bracken, checking the area was safe. He was just to my left making his way to the clearing.


I was ready, the pain and the cold was gone, just my will remained, for him to stand in the clearing.
To put the work in and vision a shot; then to walk away with that shot is an achievement.
He got closer and was now on the edge of the clearing, just a few more steps and I could get the shot I was after.


He stood there for a few minuets and I could tell he was nervous. Had he picked up me scent? Doubtful as I had the wind in my face; it must be something else.
Then I heard it; loud talking in a forein language!
He was gone, disappeared into the forest and my teeth were grating as I had been only moments away from my goal.
I just sat there looking in the direction of the voices. The talking became louder and then I saw them; bucket toting fungi collectors!
They had no idea I was there even though they were no more than 5 metres away from me, but even worse they had no idea that they had just disturbed a rutting area. Either that, or they didn't care.
They moved out of sight, but not far, so my time had been wasted in this area. Thoroughly "%**+= off I decided to move about 250 metres to another location.

45min I had been sat in the second location when I heard a noise coming from behind me. It sounded heavy and could only be a mammal I thought as I sat there ready for whatever it was to walk past me.
This is what walked past me!


There were three of them in total and I knew it was useless to carry on. All my preperation had been wasted, all my time and effort gone in a flash.
I understand that the forest is for all to enjoy, but the forest is a big place and I couldn't believe that they chose the part I was camped out in.

I decided to get some fungi shots (before the three amigos collected it all). So I snapped on my macro lens and went fungi humting.

Here are some of the fungi I found with some MINI BEASTS!



















.


They weren't the only Beasts that had been in the forest! I came across this; a half full fuel container, left behind from Forestry Opperations



And then this!!!!


Time to go home!

What a "Waste!"

If you live in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley area, you will probably be aware that yet another white fallow buck has died!
Not from being involved in a collision with a car like the last one, but from discarded rope getting tangled in his antlers and then with a melanistic (black) bucks antlers as they fought, during rutting. Sadly the white buck died before he could be saved and as these animals are quite rare, it was very sad news.

Story Here

The white buck was a lot younger than the black buck and this would have meant he was not as strong, hence the reason why he perished first. If the two lads hadn't found them, the black buck would have perished also. Basically with a combination of factors ranging from stress, lactic acid build up and exhaustion, he didn't stand a chance and probably died from heart failure.
You can judge a buck's age from the size of his antlers and as you can see in the photograph, the white buck had significantly smaller antlers.

As many of you know, I write a wildlife column called Ward's Wildlife for a local newspaper, but I don't expect anyone can remember the very first article I wrote?
It was simply called "Fly Tipping" and it showed the consequences of what discarded material such as rope can have on our wildlife and environment.

Link to article on my blog as I can't find the original online. Warning, graphic photograph! Article Here

Some people just don't care and they don't give a damn about our wildlife. I know, I have met many of them in the forest over the years.
I just hope that when one of these people are eventually caught, the punishment will be an example to show the others that their behaviour is wrong and cruel, and will not be tolerated.
I urge everyone to report any fly tipping to me anonymously by email, thanks.

Rob

Fly-tipping!

Below is a link to a recent article I wrote for a local newspaper. My article is on page 10 of this digital on-line edition.

Bottom of the page is a news release from the CLA (Country Land and Business Association) asking fly-tipping victims to speak out.

Forest and Wye Valley Review

______________________________________________________

NEWS RELEASE
Date: 2 June 2010

Rural watchdog urges fly-tipped victims to speak out.
There's a warning about a surge in the number of people illegally dumping rubbish around the West Midlands.

The CLA ( Country Land and Business Association) says the amount of DIY work and gardening that takes place over half-term breaks and the summer holidays leads directly to an increase in fly-tipping.

Donna Tavernor is the CLA's regional officer for the Midlands : "We found that the majority of people get fly-tipped with garden waste and household rubbish, so they have had prams and beds on their property. It is really important that people send that to recycling centres."

Across the Midlands , it costs £6m per year of taxpayers' money to clean up fly-tipped waste, and surges in the number of cases were reported after holiday periods. In fact, this time last year across the region, there was one recorded case of rubbish being illegally dumped every 11 minutes.

Harsh penalties for fly-tipping have been introduced, and anyone caught doing it can be hit with a fine of up to £50,000 (unlimited if the case goes to the Crown Court) or a prison sentence of up to five years.
However, if waste is dumped on your property, it is your responsibility to clear it up.

The CLA's Donna Tavernor explains: "If it is not on a public highway and it is on private property, then it is your responsibility to clear. If it is in our countryside then it is spoiling our local areas and the views we all enjoy, so it is a really important thing to stamp out."
The CLA has urged victims of fly-tipping to report incidents on a national database which highlights the environmental crime.

The Association is working with the Landowner Partnership to record incidents of fly-tipping on the Government database, Flycapture. The project has been set up to encourage every farmer, land owner and land manager to report fly-tipping.

“We’re pleased to see the Government take fly-tipping so seriously. Recent pilot schemes in the West Midlands and North West have highlighted the problems faced when reporting fly-tipping, so to get a true picture of the scale of the problem on private land, the Flycapture project has rolled out across the country until September,” says Donna.
“We hope the data recorded nationally will expose the scale of the problem, and encourage the Government to allow the disposal of fly-tipped waste from private land at local tips without charge.”
She added: “Even if you are not a member of the CLA but you own or manage land, you can report a fly-tipping incident to us.”

To report incidences of fly-tipping in your area, please visit http://www.cla.org.uk/In_Your_Area/

MEDIA CONTACT:

Tim Barnes-Clay | Media Relations Manager ( Midlands ) | CLA Ltd
07702 926696 | tim.barnesclay@cla.org.uk

Out of hours Press Office: 020 7201 9511 | www.cla.org.uk


NOTES TO EDITORS:

The CLA – the rural economy experts - has a 36,000-strong membership
CLA members own approximately half the rural land in England and Wales, and the resulting expertise puts us in a unique position to formulate policies and lobby effectively.
For more information, visit www.cla.org.uk/In_Your_Area/West_Midlands/



Rob