Pulling Ragwort

Today I’ve been to a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust conservation volunteer work day at Wheldrake Ings. It’s a stunningly beautiful place at this time of the year. The Ings that are crowded with wildfowl during the winter months are now vast areas of rich grassy meadow, filled with wild flowers. Curlews were calling overhead, which reminded me of Shetland – another beautiful wild place.

Volunteers pulling ragwort

Our task today was to remove the ragwort that grows in the meadow, which is poisonous to livestock. Once the ragwort is removed, the grass can be harvested in August, to produce hay. The alternative to manual removal of the ragwort would be to spray the grassland with herbicides which would kill off the other wildflowers as well. The flowers support insects that support birds and the rest of the natural food-chain.

Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) in the meadow

Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi)

 The autumn regrowth will be grazed by sheep, before the winter wildfowl returns, but for now only the roe deer graze this meadow – we came across their tracks through the grass and small clearings where they had lain. This area is off-limits to the general public. As conservation volunteers we had privileged access to a place few people see.

Just part of the huge floodplain meadow at Wheldrake Ings

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Collecting Tansy Seed

Image
Today I’ve been to Fulford Ings, to collect seed from tansy plants to sow next spring. Each plant produces dozens of flower heads and each flower contains hundreds of seeds, so the small amount I’ve collected will have no effect on the natural spread of the plants. I’ll aim to produce another 1000 tansy plants next year. Dead flower heads now contain ripe seed   The seed will be left to dry out in my kitchen   The new generation of tansy beetles that emerged from pupae in the summer have now gone underground for the winter – except for one, which was still wandering around! The last tansy beetle still active I was concerned that the tansy we planted in August was being nibbled by rabbits (see Helping Barn Owls and Tansy Beetles ). Today I saw that new growth has appeared at the base of the plants, which the rabbits haven’t touched, so I think they will be OK in the spring. The wild flower meadow is now being grazed by sheep. They eat tansy plants too, but the plant
Read more

Fen Bog

Image
It’s difficult to pick a favourite nature reserve, as they’re all so different and vary so much with the seasons, but one of my favourites must be Fen Bog, on the North York Moors. It’s in a hidden valley surrounded by moorland, with a boggy mire in the centre. Volunteers pulling bracken I usually only visit once a year, when Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have a conservation volunteer work day there. This year we’ve had two days, cutting back the bracken on the valley sides which threatens to engulf the reserve. The denser patches are cleared with brushcutters while thinner and steeper areas can be pulled by hand, minimizing damage to the surrounding vegetation. It’s one of those reserves where the results of our work can be clearly seen from one year to the next. Areas of dense bracken we brushcut last year just needed a tidy up by hand this year. Small pearl-bordered fritillary Large skipper sipping nectar from a thistle This is a great place to find some interesting in
Read more

Maldives 2016: Wildlife on the Island

Image
The two most common birds on the island of Dhigurah are the Asian koel and the Maldivian house crow. The koel, being a type of cuckoo, is a brood parasite and the crow is its host - the koel lays its eggs in the crow's nest. The koel is a protected species in the Maldives, whereas the house crow is regarded as a pest. Both are noisy birds. The koel is more often heard than seen, as they tend to perch in the densest vegetation and betray their presence only by their extremely loud calls. The house crow is a bolder bird. It will call loudly at passing humans, apparently in defence of its territory. Call of the Asian koel Call of the Maldivian house crow The Oriental garden lizard is often seen around the village. They are large lizards, up to 37cm in length, including a very long tail. They can move each of their eyes in different directions, like chameleons, and change colour to match their surroundings. During the breeding season, the male's head and shoulders turn
Read more