Wood Pigeons buck the trend, in pigeon paradise.

Part of wood pigeon flock on the wing.

As a cold northerly wind whipped across the field I peered through my binoculars, trying desperately to count the number of wood pigeons which had just taken to the wing. Too many to accurately count ! My best estimate was around 350 – 400 individual birds in the sky.

The best spot for wood pigeons this winter?

Standing on the roadside verge of Badsell Road I was looking across a field of brassica fodder, which seemed to be mainly a commercial Kale variety of some sort. Planted in the early summer, the leafy plants were a great attraction for the town’s wood pigeon population, which like in most of England has soared over the last decade or so.

A windswept paradise.

I mentioned in my garden bird watch post on 31^st January that wood pigeons are quite common in both urban gardens and the countryside. 

From the garden.

Unlike many farming practices, which have caused a dramatic drop in farmland birds, the switch to oil seed rape, brassica forage crops and winter wheat has helped the wood pigeons to find readily available food and so survive the winter. Regular surveys by the British Trust for Ornithology have shown that wood pigeon numbers in the UK have risen by 79% since the late 1970s. Indeed garden surveys show that as well as being seen in the countryside, they are now encountered in our gardens more often than ‘common’ birds such as blue tits and robins.

Anyway, back to the brassica field and the freezing wind….plus the trucks speeding past me ! Camera out, I attempted to get a few shots, but it was difficult, for the birds were quite some distance away. The wood pigeons were now spread out, some in the trees along the overgrown hedgerow and many hunkered down in the field of kale, steadily stripping the plants of their leaves. In winter, brassica leaves are a great attraction for wood pigeons, particularly in late winter when other available food has dwindled and is difficult to find. 

Wood pigeons in the field and hedgerow.

I sat watching the birds for some time before they took to the air again. Wondering why they had stopped feeding, I glanced across and saw a man with a gun & portable hide, making his way down the edge of the field.

Wood pigeon numbers are such that they are now a serious agricultural pest and farmers freely allow hunters to shoot them on their land. For the last few years this particular field has contained a mixed variety of brassica plants and for a few weeks in early springtime the farmer has a flock of sheep in the field to fatten them up, by foraging on both the brassica leaves and roots. As well as a food crop for sheep (& cows) most farmers also receive an EU farm payment to plant brassica forage crops, for brassicas provide much needed food (& shelter) for many smaller farmland birds in the winter, Birds, such as finches, buntings & thrushes, doing less well in the countryside than overfed wood pigeons !

Close up on the kale.

Marrow stem kale flowers, left over from last year.

Marrow stem kale root.

Black mustard flowers. 

Again left over from a previous years planting.

I left the hunter to his solitary pursuit of shooting one, or one hundred, pigeons for the pot and as I headed for home I heard the shots ringing out across the field.

Up to now, when writing posts for this blog, I have focused upon how the planned  increase in housing in Paddock Wood will affect different wildlife species. But as you can see, in the case of the wood pigeon, it is a change in the management of the farmland, surrounding the town, which has resulted in wood pigeon population of Paddock Wood bucking the trend of other bird species and rising in numbers, over the last decade or so.

Whether its housing, or agricultural practices, the number and variety of wildlife we are likely to encounter, either in the town or the countryside, often depends upon the use we make of the land under our stewardship. 

If land use is driven solely on a ‘profit per hectare’ basis then little space will be left for wildlife, but if you value seeing flowers, birds, butterflies and bees, then just maybe you will find space for nature to prosper.

Grey squirrel population to rise ?

Historic distribution

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) 

In 1892 a wealthy landowner in Benenden, Kent,  thought it would a great idea if a few Grey Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), from over the pond in America, were set free to mingle with the native wildlife, in the parkland surrounding the large manor house.  The landowner was not alone, for in other parts of Kent and indeed much of southern England, other people had the same idea. At first the American import struggled to get a toe hold in the countryside, but as the 20^th century progressed their numbers began to grow, so that by 1930 most of Kent was occupied by these feisty little rodents.

In contrast, the native Red Squirrel’s (Sciurus vulgaris) fortunes in the county took a nose dive. They were classed as ‘common’ in 1908, confined to east Kent and the western county borders in 1945, only found in 4 parishes by 1959 and extinct  by the mid 1960’s. No doubt the ‘squirrel picture’ in Paddock Wood mirrored the rest of the county.

The picture now

Grey squirrels numbers in Paddock wood are relatively low for an urban area and distribution is patchy. Grey Squirrels prefer mature broad leafed woodlands & parkland and since these are in short supply in the town, so are the grey squirrels. My own garden, along with adjacent neighbours, has tall trees within it and I do remember having a resident grey squirrel during the cold winter of 2013/14. The attraction was the food I put out for the birds at the time. I have never seen the squirrel since and I guess it either moved on to pastures (or gardens) new, or succumbed to the grim reaper.

The best places in the town for squirrels are where there are trees (preferably conifers) and gardens; trees for shelter and gardens for food. The woodland spinney along Green Lane is one such place and the old Church yard is another. The woodland between Green lane and Warrington Road is also a good spot, as is Mole Trap Wood along Mascalls Court Road. Trees & gardens = grey squirrel heaven!

Raiding a squirrel proof bird feeder !

Foal Hurst Wood, the towns designated local nature reserve, also has grey squirrels, but again, not in great abundance, for although there are plenty of trees, there are only a few nearby farm houses & gardens, so the local resident population has to rely upon food within the wood, or cross the busy Badsell Road and raid the bird feeders in the gardens in the bungalows along Ringden Avenue, which they do !

A rosy future?

Now, if you were to build 300 new houses next to Foal Hurst Wood & Brick Kiln Wood, which is what Tunbridge Wells Borough Council wish to see, then as a local grey squirrel, whoopee, boom time is round the corner, for cometh the houses, cometh the gardens & cometh the bird feeders, stuffed with super fat enriched food. As a grey squirrel you might die from blocked arteries, but not from starvation!

Ditto the situation in Green Lane, where 350 new gardens, should be a magnet for grey squirrels currently living in the Spinney in Green Lane and from Mole Trap wood.

Discussions about grey squirrels, often divides opinion amongst nature lovers, gardeners and home owners. I’m not wishing to make a judgement here, just to make a prediction that, like the earlier post on the local fox population (3rd February), I predict that the grey squirrel population in the town will rise over the next 10-20 years. Time will tell if I am right or not, for nature doesn’t always follow the logical route, but a £5 bets says that I am right !

“ The Times They Are A-Changing”

In 1964, Bob Dylan wrote his classic song, of which the last verse reads :

The line it is drawn

The curse is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is

Rapidly fadin’

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’

I started this blog, because I felt that 2016 would be a year when monumental changes to Paddock Wood would be set in stone and the start of a new period of a major house building boom would begin. It is unlikely that the first bricks will be laid in 2016, but planning applications are likely to be finalized and the road to the start of laying the first brick will have begun. From the song “ The line it is drawn, the curse is cast ….”

Possibly it will be the last year to see the town’s wildlife as it is, before work commences on building 1000 new homes in the coming years. The times are indeed a-changing.

But the changing continues, for not only did Tunbridge Wells Borough Council issue the last public consultation of the current house building plans this week, a day later they also announced they were looking for new land for the next round of house building to take us up to 2033 !

Paddock Wood’s growth

Looking back on the history of the town, since the coming of the railway in the mid 1800’s, it has been one of periodic expansions. Google Earth shows this well, with landscape photographs taken since 1940.

Paddock Wood  circa 1940

Paddock Wood  circa 1960

Paddock Wood  circa 1990

Paddock Wood  circa 2003

Paddock Wood  circa 2015

What is apparent is how the farmland surrounding the town has, over the last 60 -70 years, been transformed into land containing ever more homes. So yes this round of house building is the largest since 1960, but with a growing national & world population, I can’t see how you can hold back the tide of more and more houses. Here is an interesting way to view the growth in human population over the last 2000 years see  www.vox.com/2016/1/30/10872878/world-population-map

Protecting Wildlife

Over the last 30 years or so, house building in the UK has been at a level insufficient to meet the growing demand for more homes. The developers have been buying up land, but this has not resulted in more houses. One reason they give is that the planning regulations are so strict that they can’t get permission for their building plans. An issue they have raised with the UK government is that the UK’s wildlife laws are far too strict and need relaxing. It looks like they have been listened to, for this week the governments ‘wildlife champion’  (I use the term very loosely) Natural England have pressed on with a number of changes, which on the face of it look like someone has ‘leaned on them’ to unblock the ‘wildlife restrictions’  in the planning process.

Firstly, Natural England are seeking opinions on a trial in the Woking area, where instead of protecting individual sites containing Great Crested Newts (Triturus cristatus), they wish to take a ‘landscape approach’ to great crested newt (GCN) protection. GCN’s currently receive some of highest legal protection of any species in the UK, not only is it illegal to kill, maim or injure, individual animals, it is also illegal to destroy habitats where they rest or breed.

Now, if the wildlife champions, Natural England, have their way, it will full steam ahead for developers to kill the animals, or trash where they live, provided they help pay to ensure that overall within the borough of Woking ‘Favourable Conservation Status’  for GCN’s is achieved. This is known as ‘biodiversity offsetting’ or ‘habitat banking’. It’s been tried in other parts of the world and the jury is out as to whether it actually works. Many respected academics have struggled to find one example where it has properly worked for any species it’s been tried out on.

I think I know ‘a fudge’ when I see it !

However, despite this,  Natural England have indicated that if this pilot project works, then they plan to roll it out for across the UK, for not only GCN’s, but in principle for many other currently ‘protected’ species as well.

The second bit of wonderful wildlife protection news from Natural England this week is that from April this year they will no longer fund the local record centres around the country; where all the records of legally protected animals are kept . Presently, ecological consultants, employed by developers, are supposed to check what records there are of legal protected species, in areas where their clients wish to build. Most consultants go to the local record centres for up to date records on protected species. Record centres which might no longer exist, so the question arises what happens to the future of these and future records ?

So what a glorious week for wildlife protection in Paddock Wood this has been.  The green light is given to allocate the land where 1000 houses can be built. A request has been made for even more land to build on. The government’s wildlife champion is doing the government’s bidding and helping to ensure that no little critters get in the way and hold up the granting of future planning permission to build upon England’s green and pleasant land.

As the last few lines in the song goes :

The order is

Rapidly fadin’

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’

Finding Space for Willdife

Seen from space, the Earth is a wonderful blue jewel. A planet where life abounds. Life which is interlinked, like a spiders web. Touch one part of the web and the effects ripple out across the whole of the web. We are part of that web, but sometimes we falsely believe that we are the most important part of the life on that web.

I am minded of the following Cree prophecy from America :

When all the trees have been cut down,

When all the animals have been hunted,

When all the waters are polluted,

When all the air is unsafe to breathe,

Only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

And of a quote from the naturalist Gerald Durrell :

“People think I’m trying to save fluffy animals. But I’m trying to stop the human race from committing suicide”!

This week the signs are not good for the future of the wildlife, which forms part of the web of life of our small town. I am writing this blog to record what life can still be found on that web. Time will tell whether, as a community, we value all our fellow ‘web friends’ or whether as the town expands, our grab of finite resources will be at the expense of our fellow wildlife inhabitants, who enrich our lives in ways which we will only understand, and truly value, once they are gone.

How often do you mow your lawn in the winter?

Monday 8th Feb, 10.00 am and I have just mowed the lawn for the first time this year. I last mowed it on 14th December 2015, eight weeks earlier. Completely filled the grass collecting box, so it was 'a proper mow' not just a light trim ! To be honest I could have mowed the lawn last Sunday, 31st January, but time was against me.

Twenty years ago the last mow of the year would have been around early / mid November and the mower would then be put away until early / mid March, a three - four month break. This winter has been exceptionally mild, but over the last few years the 'mowing break,' has often been for only about two & a half - three months.

Although it is much talked about in the media, most of us don't really notice the change in the climate, for whilst on historic scale the changes in the climate has been very rapid, on a human scale they have sort of crept up on us. However it's the simple tasks, like noting down how long the winter 'mowing break' lasts, that you begin to realize how much milder the winters have become and so start to see our local climate changing on a meaningful scale.

Will there be a break in mowing the lawn in ten or twenty years time ?

The Nursery Road unofficial nature reserve !

Introduction

North of the railway lies a small industrial estate situated in Eldon Way (off Nursery Road). Directly north of this industrial estate lies a piece of land, easily accessed from Nursery Road, which over the last 20 -25 years has been allowed to turn into rough grass & scrub land.

2015 Google Earth view of the land north of Eldon Way,

 plus the two streams in blue.

Past land use

In the dim and distant past it was first farmland, then was split up and sold to different owners and was partly a sports field (area A), unused grassland, then the start of a woodland (areas B & D), part of a builders yard (area C), whilst area E remained as farmland.

The ‘history button’ on Google years shows the change of use quite clearly.

1960 Google Earth view, showing the land use as farmland.

1990 Google Earth view, showing the change to grassland.

2003 Google Earth view, showing the woodland scrub developing.

Returning Wildlife

At first glance the mixture of rough grassland, bramble & self-seeded trees would not appear to offer much to attract the eye, but to the plants and animals that have made their home it’s a great place to find food and shelter and for a site very close to the main town it is one of the least disturbed areas. A sort of unofficial wildlife reserve.

A winter visit

Saturday afternoon on 6^th February was an overcast and blustery day; as Winnie the Pooh might have said. A day to be outside and let the wind blow the cobwebs away. 

Area A,  looking east from the Gravelley Way stream.

Looking over area A from the Gravelley Way stream, what was immediately obvious was that this is a landscape managed by a group of small organic lawnmowers, better known as rabbits (Orytolagus cuniculus).  Along the banks of the stream rabbit burrows were easy to see and even though it was mid-afternoon there were plenty of rabbits to be seen, initially running for cover, or else skulking amongst the brambles and dead vegetation.

Hidden in the vegetation.

Peek a boo !

I've got my eye on you !

Rabbit burrows beside the Gravelley Way Stream.

A kestrel battled with the wind overhead and I guess that the grassland was a favourite hunting ground, for it offered a great potential for small mammals. Maybe I will set out some small mammal traps later this year to see what species can be found. These will be live traps so the animals can be released unharmed.

Walking north along the stream, past area B the trees were full of small bird species. Blue tits, great tits, greenfinch, goldfinch and chaffinch plus wren, dunnock and blackbirds were easy to see and hear. A few fallen willow trees showed more signs of rabbit activity, as the bark had been stripped away to get at the sap below. 

Rabbit stripped bark on a fallen willow tree.

There also signs of human activity, with discarded rubbish in places.

The rough grassland in area C, showed its past as a builders junk yard, with assorted rubbish, a lot of which was old glass bottles. However the rough grassland showed less rabbit grazing than area A. with many more tussocks of grass, offering homes and food for voles and other small mammals. Fox tracks amongst the tussocks indicated a regular hunting ground for the local foxes.

Old glass bottles.

More glass bottles !

A view across Area C, looking towards 

the back of the buildings on Maidstone Road.

A close up on the rough grassland.

On the other side of the Gravelley Way Stream, was the remaining farmland (area E), surrounded with fencing to stop the rabbits munching their way through the winter wheat planted in the field. Not much wildlife to seen here !

Winter Wheat in area E, as viewed looking north west from area C.

The same area E, but looking from the Gravelley Way Stream

looking in a south west direction across the field.

A short detour to the other side of the field of winter wheat and I was following the footpath alongside the Tudeley Brook, this time heading upstream in a southerly direction. This gave me the opportunity to glance back over the self-seeded birch trees in area D, behind a rather expensive metal fence. 

Area E, looking south west from Tudeley Brook.

The fence is the same style as the boundary fence belonging to the ADT car depot at the end of Eldon Way, so I guess they own the land and may in the future wish to develop it, should their business need to expand further. Meanwhile the developing birch woodland in area D has become a rabbit sanctuary, with more burrows and hopping bunnies to view.

The future of this unofficial nature reserve

In the current round of planning requests, permission was turned down for housing development on this land, on account that it lies within the River Medway’s fluvial flood zone, although I have to say it’s was far drier than the open farmland in Church Farm, or the flat orchards next to Foal Hurst Wood. 

Time will tell what use will be made of the land in the future, but at present it is providing a great place for local wildlife to live and is an area I will return to for further posts, during my year of exploring and writing about Paddock Wood’s natural history.

The Silent Lands

The Mascalls Court Farm land is probably going to be the first area where new houses will start to spring up over the next few years. So on a sunny winters afternoon on 3^rd Feb 2016 I followed the public footpath from Church Road, at the northern edge of the proposed development and walked south towards Mascalls Court Road. I then followed this road westwards back towards the housing area along Green Lane.

Looking northeast from the public footpath

towards the Green Lane Spinney and houses.

Looking north over the hedge from Mascall Court Road.

Blackcurrant or redcurrant bushes in the foreground.

Overall impression

What struck me was the lack of wildlife. Yep, I know its winter, so many species will be tucked up warm hidden from view, but if ever there was an example of farmland offering few opportunities for wildlife, then this was it.

The main sign at the entrance to the farmyard.

As the sign says this land has been farmed for many, many years and no doubt it is a very efficient farm, designed to maximise its potential to feed the nation.

Unlike the nearby Church Farm, there are no wildlife buffer zones along the hedges and East Rhoden stream, every inch of the land is farmed, with the exception of a small area of rough grassland along the Mascalls Court Road, near to Green Lane.

Farmed right to the edge of the hedgerow, with no wildlife buffer zone.

So wildlife sighting were somewhat minimal on the day of my visit, restricted to a few small birds hopping about in the short cropped hedgerows.

Short cropped hedgerow

Ecological reports and local knowledge

When I got back home I downloaded and read the ecological surveys of the development land and surrounding area, which had been conducted in 2010 / 2012 & 2014.

These show that bird activity was mainly restricted to the hedgerows, which matched what I saw on my walk, although nesting skylarks in the middle of the farmed land had been noted in 2010.

Common bat species, mainly pipistrelles, had also been recorded feeding along the hedgerows. Badger trails were noted crossing the land, but no badger setts.  A small population of Viviparous Lizards had been recorded in the area of rough grassland.

Rough grassland, where the new primary school is planned to be built.

The most interesting find was a medium population of European protected Great Crested Newts, which were found in the main farm pond at Mascalls Farm House, adjacent to the land to be developed, along with further GCN’s in ponds in Mole Trap Wood, south of the development.

The main farm pond beside Mascalls Farmhouse, 

with a medium population of Great Crested Newts.

I personally know that there are also GCN’s in garden ponds along Green Lane and I suspect that the animals use the Spinney along Green Lane (also known as The Strikes).

I know the woodland spinney in Green Lane quite well and although small in area it does contain a surprising amount of wildlife and acts as an ark for surviving species in the area. It’s the best place to find Wild ServiceTrees (Sorbus torminalis)  in Paddock Wood (a rarity in the UK) and the ditch boundary along the edge of the wood and farmland is a good place to find early spring flowers. Indeed most of woodland floor provides a great floral display in the spring, before the trees gain their leaves. In summer bat species feed around the spinney and nearby attenuation pond in the sports field.

Future Wildlife

Accepting the land is currently intensively farmed and like so much of farmland in southern England devoid of a large amount of wildlife, the addition of gardens, ponds and open green spaces will probably increase its wildlife value from present. Granted it will be wildlife more accustomed to living in an urban landscape, but at least it will offer a limited selection from natures wide palette.

The adjoining land to the east is also intensively farmed. I am uncertain if this will remain the case, but if so, then the wildlife in this area will remain meager, in terms of number of individuals and variety of species.

Farmland east of the development land

Perhaps I should add a caveat here. Once the management of land is changed from farmland to an urban setting then there is no going back, for it will always remain a built up area, the change is irreversible.

Whilst the farmland I saw was intensively managed, this doesn’t always have to be the case.  Farming methods  change over time and if more wildlife friendly farming practices are adopted, in time the wildlife will return and occupy the available new habitats. 

I did see a good example of, with a little thought, space can be provided for wildlife. Close to the hedgerow and East Rhoden stream, near Church Road, a couple of large log piles had been created some years ago. Great places for insects, small mammals, mosses and fungi to find a home J.

A log pile providing wildlife with a place to call home.

I also noted in the ecology reports that space will be provided for the Great Crested Newt population to remain and possibly expand into the new planned ponds. Wouldn’t that be a  wonderful thing to see in years to come. Let's hope it comes to pass J.

Murder in the wood

It’s early morning and there is chill in the air, as a northerly breeze clatters the tree branches against each other; along the woodland edge. You need to wrap up snugly to stay warm.

Suddenly a scream, from within the wood, fills the moment. A scream, which makes the hairs on you back of your neck stand up and brings back memories of old Hammer Horror movies. A second ear piercing scream, from the same spot, reverberates around the wood. I am beginning to think that there is something altogether sinister going on within Foal Hurst Wood. Senses on full alert, I listen intently for the slightest sound. Is someone really being murdered in my local nature reserve? But it’s silent now.  

Gradually, step by slow step I tip toe along the path, in the direction of the sound, trying not to stand on any fallen twigs and alert the murderer to my presence. There it is again, a blood curdling scream, just off to the right.  Just what is going on? Shit, this is scary!

Suddenly, through the trees, I see the murderer!!!

Small in stature, with a russet red coat, writhing in the leaves, the murderer and his victim are intertwined and now I see why the screams are so persistent. For what I am looking at is two foxes, joined together in the final act of mating!

Mid December – early February is the time when foxes mate and a painful mating it is, for once copulation has started it is not unusual for the couple to become locked together in the most delicate of areas and its painful !

The screams are from both the female and male, as they try to separate and watching it makes your eyes water.

Looking at the photo below, you do wonder just how they got locked in that position. But that’s the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) for you.

Co-joined foxes during mating (www.channel4.com)

Eventually they escape from their predicament and go their separate ways. In a few weeks the vixen will have found a den to her liking and new life will be born into the world. The cubs stay underground with the vixen for company and the dog fox brings food to the den. By early May the cubs start to play outside and then you can enjoy seeing the family at play.

Up until the 1940, foxes were creatures of the countryside, but slowly they discovered that there was easy food to be found in towns and cities and so a modern, closer connection with humans began. Estimates of the current UK fox population tend to be in the region of 250,000-300,000 (pre breeding), with around 330,000 cubs born each year. Road deaths are estimated around 300,000 each year, so you can see the car is the foxes greatest ‘predator’. 

Paddock Wood has followed the modern fox trend and there are many to be found around the town. Good places to view them are any of the sports fields in the town, the old church yard, the bins near the food restaurants and supermarkets, open topped waste bins in the town, along the railway track and your own back garden, if you feed the birds during the winter. They are generally nocturnal, but as they have become less fearful of humans, they can also be seen in the daytime. For many years an elderly neighbour of mine was unable to look after his back garden, which became a massive bramble patch.It was a great place for a fox to rest up in the day time and every evening ‘my fox’ came into the garden looking for tit bits.

Why should foxes hang around in these places and not in woodland and open fields? Because food is easier to find in urban areas and it’s far more nutritious, for our food waste is high in calories and it doesn’t run away! The sports fields are also great places after a rain shower, for at this time earthworms, which are often 20-30% of a foxes diet, come to the surface and are easy to catch, if you are a hungry fox :-).

So what is likely to happen to the fox population as Paddock Wood expands ? Well more houses = more gardens = more feeding opportunities. At least far more than the open farmland & countryside provides! So I predict that the future will not only result in a greater human population for the town, but also more foxes as well.

A tip for all these new home owners, who might also have young families;  plus also for the head teacher of the planned for new primary school.  As the Paddock Wood Athletics Club found out in 2015, when they constructed a new long jump pit at Putlands (see http://www.courier.co.uk/Fox-problems-Paddock-Wood-athletics-track/story-26238079-detail/story.html)  foxes love sand pits!

Just as you might prefer to use nice soft toilet paper, then foxes equally like nice soft sand on their bum :-).