Feed

Today we walked from Bishop's Sutton to Ovington. The start of the walk was along a country lane where we had to be careful of cars. We walked south of New Arlesford and passed many watercress beds. This walk was mainly a river walk and we saw a lot of water fowl- swans, herons and ducks. We were very lucky to see a kingfisher. There are a number of other walks we saw signs for including the Watercress walk, the Wayfarers walk and the Itchen Way. There seems to be some nice river walks in Ovington and a pub and we think may go for a river walk there in future. The rivers there are important habitats for otters.

In the last 10 days I’ve been out litterpicking on the National Cycle Network four times – once with my mum, once with one of our Sustrans volunteers and twice alone. Each time I’ve felt great about how much we’ve removed from the routes – between one bag and seven bags - and either had some good chat with who I’m with, or some quiet to just enjoy being outside alone, away from a screen and listening to winter bird calls. I’ve also been thanked by passers-by every time I’ve been out, and had some nice conversations with some of them...contact that is welcome, when a huge amount of interaction this year has been virtual. These have been chances to be completely, mindfully, in the moment – and, with the exception of noticing a change to the litter being collected…facemasks, disposable gloves…it’s been a chance to pause the pandemic for an hour at a time. Good for me, good for the Network.

Lots to discover on the 'Wild Walk' to the Fairlie Glen.

Had a John Muir session focusing on Kingfishers. Part one we had done individual research. Here is mine - Breeding Kingfishers breed in their first year, and pair-formation usually starts in February. If the male and the female have neighboring territories, these may merge for the breeding season. Both birds excavate the nest burrow into the stone-free sandy soil of a low stream bank, usually about 0.5m from the top. The birds choose a vertical bank clear of vegetation, since this provides a reasonable degree of protection from predators. Sometimes they use tree roots. If neither is available they may nest away from water. Sometimes if can take up to 6 attempts to excavate the right tunnel. The nest tunnel is usually 60-90cm long, and the 6cm diameter is only a little wider than the bird. The nest chamber at the end has a slight depression to prevent eggs rolling out, but no material is brought to the nest. 2-3 broods are raised in quick succession, normally in the same nest. They will only use the nest tunnel for one season. The first clutch of 6-7 eggs is laid late in March or early in April. Both adults incubate the eggs, and the chicks hatch 19-21 days later. Each chick can eat 12-18 fish a day, and they are fed in rotation once a chick is fed, it moves to the back of the nest to digest its meal, causing the others to move forward. The chicks are normally ready to leave the nest when they are 24-25 days old, but if the fish supply is poor, they can take up to 37 days.  Once out of the nest, the young are fed for only four days before the adults drive them out of the territory and start the next brood. It is thought that only a half of the fledglings survive more than a week or two. Although only a quarter survive to breed the following year, this is enough to maintain the population. Likewise, only a quarter of adult birds survive from one breeding season to the next. Very few birds live longer than one breeding season. The oldest bird on record was only 7.5 years. Most kingfishers die of cold or lack of food a severe winter can kill a very high percentage of the birds. Despite high breeding productivity, populations can take many years to recover from a bad winter. Weather conditions in the summer can also cause significant mortality. Cold weather or flooding in the summer can make fishing difficult, resulting in starvation of the brood, while flooding can also claim many nests. Traffic and window collisions are other known causes of death. The main predator is the domestic cat, but rats can also be a serious problem in places. Kingfishers are high up in the food chain, and therefore extremely vulnerable to build-up of chemicals. Industrial pollution and contamination by agricultural run-off kills the fish birds rely on, effectively excluding the birds from many stretches of river that would otherwise be suitable habitats. The long-term population declines since 1970 are generally attributed to river pollution. Human disturbance of nesting birds is a serious problem, since the broods fail if something upsets the feeding routine. If human presence close to a nest prevents these shy birds from entering the nest for too long, the chicks may weaken enough (either from cold or hunger) to stop calling. This makes the parents wrongly assume that they are well fed and will not feed them. As a result, the chicks will perish. Heavy machinery that grades the banks and drains the land destroys many nests each year on lowland rivers. Persecution by fishermen and to provide feathers for fishing flies and to satisfy fashion trends seem to be well in the past. Causes of kingfisher deaths It is thought that only a half of the fledglings survive more than a week or two. Although only a quarter survive to breed the following year, this is enough to maintain the population. Likewise, only a quarter of adult birds survive from one breeding season to the next. Very few birds live longer than one breeding season. The oldest bird on record was only 7.5 years. Most kingfishers die of cold or lack of food a severe winter can kill a very high percentage of the birds. Despite high breeding productivity, populations can take many years to recover from a bad winter. Weather conditions in the summer can also cause significant mortality. Cold weather or flooding in the summer can make fishing difficult, resulting in starvation of the brood, while flooding can also claim many nests. Traffic and window collisions are other known causes of death. The main predator is the domestic cat, but rats can also be a serious problem in places. Kingfishers are high up in the food chain, and therefore extremely vulnerable to build-up of chemicals. Industrial pollution and contamination by agricultural run-off kills the fish birds rely on, effectively excluding the birds from many stretches of river that would otherwise be suitable habitats. The long-term population declines since 1970 are generally attributed to river pollution. Human disturbance of nesting birds is a serious problem, since the broods fail if something upsets the feeding routine. If human presence close to a nest prevents these shy birds from entering the nest for too long, the chicks may weaken enough (either from cold or hunger) to stop calling. This makes the parents wrongly assume that they are well fed and will not feed them. As a result, the chicks will perish. Heavy machinery that grades the banks and drains the land destroys many nests each year on lowland rivers. Persecution by fishermen and to provide feathers for fishing flies and to satisfy fashion trends seem to be well in the past. In the second part of the session we made upgraded Kingfisher perches for the lake that go further out into the water away from the undergrowth so that the hunting is ideal. We chopped down 5 small oak trees as part of the woodland management that Jonathan is doing. These are for the uprights and will hopefully last longer than the previous hazel ones as oak is such a hard wood. Hazel was used for the perches as is lighter. A most productive day was had!

Farming Today Radio Interviews 3rd November 2020 Today was a very exciting day at the reserve as Rebecca Rooney, a freelance journalist for the BBC came to interview a variety of people regarding UWNR for the Radio 4 programme Farming Today. I was interviewed by her about what we do as young people at the reserve and the John Muir award. We discussed dormice and I showed her some habitats and recorded sounds of brambles scrunching under foot! Hoping that the programme will air in early January. It was also lovely to see these beautiful Spindleberries on the reserve.