Farewell, young coders Tony and I were braced this morning for some poor results on the regular Ebley riverfly check, given recent experiences. And, indeed, that expectation lived up to billing. I took a sample first, and we didn’t need to analyse very long before we realised there was literally nothing. We managed to get a score of 2 with gammarus, and only found a single olive after that. So with a score of 3/4, we breached the trigger for the site. So we took a second sample, and swapped roles with Tony in a slightly different part of the site.
Sweltering river monitoring Set to be the hottest day of the year so far, I set out early for my regular river monitoring for the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. I could feel burning on the back of my neck even before 9am as I walked along the bank of the Cam. Along the way, I pulled some Himalayan Balsam – a token effort given it has taken hold there. If we ever do manage to establish a community group to monitor the Cam, then we need to look strategically in starting with Balsam at the top of the catchment.
Walking with the Wildflower Society Headed up to Stinchcombe in the morning to support Kathy who was hosting a Wildflower Society meeting on the Hill today. We started in the golf clubhouse with some coffee and had a presentation from Kathy about the grassland restoration work that’s been undertaken and the importance of collecting survey data to track how well grazing management works in the future. We split into two groups and I led one across the course and along the ridge towards the SSSI. However, this was a group of botanists and progress was extremely slow.
Tampering the pit A couple of months ago we had to get a trial pit dug in the garden next to the wall so the structural engineer could make some calculations for the new wall. It was a metre deep and could be filled back in today. There was a pile of soil which should in theory fit exactly back into the hole. However, one of the skills I’ve picked up in the last few years is fencing, and I know that you have to compact the soil with a tamper tool when doing anything with holes in the ground.
A morning in the river Early start to meet Tony at Ebley Meadows at 8.30am for our monthly riverfly check. The river was (unsurprisingly) very low – the first few meters from the bank were barely above the ankles. We weren’t sure what to expect – this is the week after a warm half term and this spot is heavily used by the public. So it’s very possible that a lot of children have been wading in it recently. On the surface, the score of 8 looks very respectable, and certainly high for that site.
Surveying Stinchcombe’s Slopes Kathy organised a late afternoon trip up at Stinchcombe hill to continue the survey of the grassland started a couple of weeks back. This time we went for the steep sided bank below the walker’s car park which was mown with robo mowers during the winter and raked off. This is then a good opportunity to see what was lurking under the dogwood and other scrub, waiting to spring forth when the shading is removed. There were a few new faces joined the group which was good to see, and the weather was pretty sunny when we started.
Talking about rivers First task of the day was to complete the small mammal raft checks for the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. On the way to the sites, there was a wall of birdsong, where I picked up Song thrush, blackcap, greenfinch, chiffchaff, wren and blackbird all competing. Although we’ve had little rain in the last fortnight, there were no signs present on either raft (sometimes they get washed away). So just a reset of the cartridge to see what happens in the next fortnight.
Final Resthaven Today was the final work party of the 2024/25 winter habitat management season with Glorious Grasslands and we returned to Resthaven to continue the great work we started there back in February. The site has an interesting history, which David filled us in on during the break. For a century it has provided well being services and been a forerunner in vegetarianism and healthy living. During that time, the land has undergone a number of uses and transformations, but has not been managed for quite a number of years.
Discover rafts Up early to do my regular fortnightly raft check for the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. I normally do this on Mondays, but there was heavy rain over the weekend, so I left it one more day to collect signs which might have washed away. Otter signs on one, and the other was clear so nothing out of the ordinary to report. It seems as if the mink we detected a couple of weeks ago hasn’t returned. I made it back home in good time for a Discover Dursley call mid morning.
Visiting Stroud Lab It’s been months in planning, but today was finally the day for the first trip for the Dursley Code Club to visit the facilities of the Innovation Lab at Stroud Library. Eleven members of the club met promptly at 10am in Dursley library, excited to start the day. I gave them a briefing for the day, issued hiviz jackets and we made our way to the waiting coach in the bus station next door.
