Brook Hollows Spinney & Fishpond
(Reports taken from Rollestonian)

Winter 2003 News

Thank you and Goodbye

By the time you read this I will no longer be the Park Ranger for the Spinney, as I will have left East Staff’s Borough Council on the 3rd November, to take up a similar post with Vale Royal Borough Council in Cheshire, where I will be based in Winsford.

I leave, having enjoyed my time in the area, gaining new experiences and meeting some interesting and nice people. I would like to give a special thanks to Tom, John and all the members of the Civic Trust, for making me feel welcome and a member of your friendly community. The position I am moving to will be more countryside based, so hopefully I will gain new skills and knowledge in an area that I am really interested in.

Silt

As most of you are probably aware, the silt trap at the west end of pond is in need of emptying. To gauge the depth of silt in the pond and get some idea on the amount of work needed, Curtis (one of the Rangers from Burton) and I borrowed an inflatable boat, which we co-own with Branston Model Boat Club. Using ranging poles, we gained several approximate readings at various points on the pond. In-spite of completing thorough risk assessments, we managed to disturb a wasp’s nest on the island and learnt a valuable lesson, via a number of stings for Curtis!

Following this, quotes have been obtained to complete the silt clearance, so watch local press for details.

Snowberry Again

During the latter part of October we have got contractors in to flail down the snowberry, the same section we did last year, plus a section which had been cleared in the recent past, which in total adds up to 100m adjacent to the southern most path, next to the field. These contractors will also be chipping the brash piles along the central path, as concern has been expressed about fires in the wood.

The Future

The spinney will be a busy place in the near future, along with the proposed silt clearance, tree work, including felling and planting, surveys of the bridges and some minor footpath works, will be taking place.

Finally

Just to say a thank you and goodbye to everyone I have met, in and around the Spinney and it was nice to see the two Mute swans, back, on my final visit.

If you need information or have any queries in the near future, please do not hesitate to contact David Truslove, Open Space Officer, Uttoxeter and Rural Areas.

Martin Harrison
(Former) Park Ranger
Uttoxeter and Rural Areas.

Autumn 2003 News

Wildthings!

Another imaginative title from our local ranger you may be thinking (or not?), well this title is in relation to two topics, which may be of some interest to you.

First, during July, Brookhollows had been resident to some unusual inhabitants - that of one, or perhaps two people, camping over night for several days on the site. As you might be aware no overnight camping is allowed on ESBC owned sites. 

So after several occasions where I was just talking to the tent (as I was unsure who, if anyone, was in the tent, and in what frame of mind they may be), and several conversations with the area open space officer and ESBC legal section, my line manger and myself were about to ‘post’ a letter to the occupants reminding them of the situation. But luckily the tent had gone.

Mute Swans (at last!)

In late May I received the details of the two Mute Swans that have been resident, although I have not seen them of late. Thanks go to Jane Wells of the ringing unit of the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology), Richard Hearn of The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the ringer for the birds in question, Bert Coleman of Tamworth, for their time in passing on the information to me.

Finally here it is (drum roll). The swans are a breeding pair on the pool. The male 7UH was ringed as a first year bird on the 15th July 1995 in Burton, while the female 7UF was ringed as a cygnet on the 14th of August 1994 at Marston on Dove.

Since I received the information I did see the pair with two cygnets at Tutbury Mill Picnic area, but I have not seen them recently.

Other Sightings

There have also been interesting wildlife sightings. On the afternoon of the 8th July, I saw a Cormorant on the water, but it soon flew off. But I have seen them a few times flying over Tutbury Mill.

Also recently I have seen dragonflies on one of the main paths. The ones I have seen are Hawker species, but I am unsure whether they are Common or Southern Hawkers. Apparently one of the main distinguishing features is that the Common hawker has a bright yellow costa (the vein on the foremost edge of each wing). So, armed with my identification books I will try and make a positive identification.

When you read this, the Bat event will have taken place at Brookhollows on the 9th August, so hopefully I can report back on any findings in the next issue.

See ya in the Spinney.

Martin Harrison
ESBC
Park Ranger
Uttoxeter & Rural Areas

Summer 2003 News
Springy feet after Trees are Felled! 

To start with I would like to thank Tom for his help and friendly welcome to the area, as he has retired as Chairman of the Civic Trust recently, but I am sure he will continue to a be a very valuable active member of this community.

Brookhollows
I am glad to report we have moved on with the planned work for Brookhollows considerably. The main work to be completed was that of the felling of Scots pine and Sycamore in the spinney, by our friends at Midland Tree Surgery. With the smaller of the branches they kindly chipped for us into piles, which was subsequently used during a work party on the morning of the 22nd of March. Again it was a good turn out and we managed to shovel and wheel barrow the two piles of chippings onto the footpaths, within a couple of hours (making it springy for your feet!). Plus some general tidying and litter picking was also completed.

Following this, with the help of John we planted three Beech and two Ash standard trees, to replace the ones that were felled.

Also finally we have had the new vehicle barrier installed at Burnside, therefore stopping any unauthorized vehicle access onto the whole of the site. So I was able to remove the damaged section from the original barrier within the spinney itself.

Batman and Robin
By the time you read this, the Dawn Chorus will have taken place on Sunday 4th May, so good luck for anyone who can get up that early on a Sunday morning, I hope it has gone well.

Also to look forward to is ‘Go Batty Again at Brookhollows’ on Saturday 9th August. Having attended a similar event while working for Severn Trent Water, I would recommend it to everyone. I found it very informative and interesting, and if they bring their bat detectors you can actual hear the different types of bat you can see. So book up early to avoid disappointment.

Ringers
Just in case you had thought I had forgotten about the two Mute Swans I had promised to find out their origin from the yellow rings on their feet. I have contacted the BTO (British Trust for Ornithologists), and they said they will send me the information, but they need to contact two people who are involved. Firstly the people who hold the records of the numbers and secondly the ringer (the person who put the rings on the birds) who identifies some information from the colour of the rings. So watch this space.

Finally
As the light and warmer nights are now upon us, there will be probably more activity in the spinney. If you feel you need to contact me please do not hesitate to do so, and we will help as much as we can.

See you in the Spinney.
Martin Harrison
ESBC Park Ranger
Uttoxeter and Rural Areas

Spring 2003 News

Fungi, Fauna and Fallen Branches

Since our last contribution, the spinney has been a busy place, with the majority of it being positive. So lets start with the first item mentioned in the highly inventive title. The fungal foray on Saturday 26th of October 2002, was organized and attended by ESBC Parks and Countryside’s Wildlife expert, Deb Beeson, and was led by Neville Walters, of the Staffordshire Fungus Group.

The afternoon was a great success; it was attended by fifteen people, who all enjoyed the walk around the woodland and the knowledgeable tones of Neville on this interesting subject.

A total of 16 species were identified, with a few more, which have yet to be confirmed. This array of species was partly due to the amount of dead wood in the spinney. Not being an expert on fungus myself, I have just picked out a few that the ‘layman’ could see and identify.

Jews Ear (Auricularia auricula) as the name suggests this is the shape of an ear, an orange/brown colour, and is found on elder branches, and is found all year round, but especially in autumn, and is very common.

Spindle shank (Collybia fusipes), which are dense tufts at the base of deciduous trees or stumps, especially beech or oak. It appears from spring to early winter. Not as common Jews ear.

Coprinus species, Which there were three noted, which are commonly known as Ink Caps, because the underside ‘dissolves’, which results in the dripping of black fluid.

Dead Man’s Finger (Xylaria polymorha), which are blackish ‘club’ shaped, and are found in groups on stumps, usually beech. These are common.

Again thank you to Neville for his time and expertise, and if you are interested in the full list identified, please contact me.

The Storm of the 27th

The day following the fungus foray was of winds of which we have not seen, (or should that be heard or felt?) since 1987. So, during the days following I was checking all our sites, for tree damage. Fortunately at Brookhollows, the damage was not 

too severe and luckily no one was hurt, or any structures were damaged. But there were a few large branches either across the footpath or hanging in other branches.

Fortunately with the help of members of the Civic Trust, Midland Tree surgeons, and myself we managed to make safe the area by the Tuesday.

Site Works

In the Winter 2002 edition, I mentioned some site works, some have which been completed, and some which have not yet. The first section of the snowberry has been cleared, and the cuttings were chipped. This area we are hoping to plant with some native species. Also some debris and brash has been cleared, from the pond and from around the garage area.

The new barrier is still to be installed, and I hope to report some progress on that in our next article.

We currently have planning consent to fell 3 sycamores and 2 pines. We need consent, as it is a conservation area. Before this can be done we’ve had an environmental consultancy survey the trees in question, to see if they are used by bats. From the results they is no evidence of bats using these trees, so we can now move forward on this issue.

The return of the Swans

During the second week of December I noticed the two Mute Swans had returned, as I had not seen them for a while. While watching them I noticed both had yellow tags on their legs, and from my knowledge, whilst working with a keen bird watcher, I know you can trace where they came from or where they were ringed. So by the next issue I will have spoken to my friend, and find out the procedure to find this information. Or if any readers can help, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

As ever if you see me in the spinney please say hello, and if you have any concerns, ideas or interesting wildlife sightings, please contact me.

Martin Harrison
East Staffs Borough Council
Park Ranger
Uttoxeter and Rural Areas.

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Last updated: 1 April 2005