Pyramidal orchid in the Country Park (image Steve Gascoyne)

Join our expert Forest Volunteers for this guided walk in the Country Park on Saturday 9 June, 9.30am.

It’s blazing June and if the weather’s right we’ll see orchids, dragonflies, butterflies… and of course birds. There is a great deal to see in the Park and if you don’t know it really well, there’s a chance you’ll miss some of the highlights if you’re not in the right company. So plesae come along and enjoy this absolutely wonderful time of year.

Meet outside the Forest Centre.

Walks last around 3 hours and use surfaced and non-surfaced paths, including some gradients over 1:6. Around 2 miles. Bring binoculars if you have them (not essential as there are usually pairs to look through). Please book in advance but pay the leader on the day £3/adult, £2/child (£1 deduction for members and volunteers) Call 01234 767037 or email info@marstonvale.org

The willow huts - a secret in the Country Park

A half term event for children, 4-10 years, at the Forest Centre. An outdoor adventure. Join us for a walk to the willow huts in teh Country Park to make a willow wand with a game of tree bingo on the way.

There will be 3 sessions during the day: 10am, 11.30am and 1.30pm. Places are, as ever, limited so please book soon. Ring 01234 767037 or email info@marstonvale.org for more details or to book.

All materials will be provided.

All children must be accompanied by an adult. £3.50 per child.  

When booking you will be asked to give names and ages of children, name of adult attending and contact phone number in case there are any changes.

Derek starting his motorbike in the current workshop (possibly)

Plans are afoot, so rumour has it, to investigate the possibility of providing a new, bespoke workshop for use by the Volunteers and Rangers at the Forest Centre.     

The reason for this is that the existing arrangement is extremely limited both in space and facilities, comprising no more than a double garage attached to one end of the Centre.   The garage is a little basic to say the least and has to serve a variety of purposes, including, as you would expect, the housing of agricultural plant & equipment – not much space left over for workshop activities. 

It seems that when the Centre was on the drawing board little thought was given to the wider construction & maintenance activities that would be necessary once the park began to develop into what it is today.   For a start there is the every day repair and maintenance of equipment and tools used for outdoor work. It’s amazing how much of this type of work is required just to keep things ticking over and if it’s done in house by the Rangers and volunteers this saves expenditure in these difficult times.  Then there is the generality of minor construction tasks that are so essential to the ongoing function of the various park areas and woodlands. These include things such as turning rough planks of wood into a nice bench or signboard, building bat or bird boxes, repairing bird hides and a multitude of other tasks too numerous to mention here.   Much of this work is done in a space hardly large enough to swing a cat, as we like to say.

Last Summer, some of us volunteers were chatting (as we do) and the subject came up of ‘how nice it would be to have a decent place to work in – how much more we could do’ and all that sort of thing that you discuss over a cuppa.   We wondered how we could start the ball rolling, after all, this would be a big project, albeit in our view a necessary one, requiring external finance.  The Marston Vale Trust itself does not have the funds available for this sort of thing so it will be a case of going out with the begging bowl, something which I think will be a completely new experience for many of us, including myself.

Well, the first steps have been taken, after consultations with various parties, a report has been prepared by yours truly to make the case for a new workshop (or at least somewhere half decent) and setting out some basic ideas of what we might need.  This initial report has been accepted in principle by the management and Trustees and we are now awaiting a technical report from a friendly architect, on a nil cost basis, that will put some flesh on the bones for us on the technical and procedural aspects.  The current thinking is that we initially look at an interim facility whilst planning for the long term solution.   The interim can be done fairly quickly on a low cost, self help basis but the long term objective needs to be financed and carefully planned to avoid any pitfalls.   The scope for improvement on the present arrangements is significant but there are a few obstacles to overcome on what looks to be the stony road to success.

Nigel Davis, Volunteer (Trustee), May 2012

A chilly dawn at the Millennium Country Park

Last Saturday’s Dawn Chorus walk was an excellent example of the triumph of optimism over disappointment; glass-half-fullers were victorious. It’s not something I’d like to do every day -  hauling myself out of bed at 3am after a restless four hours slumber, wondering if the alarm would succeed in waking me. But once in a while, being up with the lark is a thrill.

Getting close to wild birds at this hour is rather dependent on the weather. Too cold, too windy or too wet and many species just aren’t that enthusiastic. And who can blame them? Last Saturday’s pre-dawn was damp, pierced by a cold north-easterly wind and always threatened by more heavy showers. Our usual starting point in amongst dense hawthorn scrub to the south of Stewartby Lake yielded  blackbirds, song thrushes, wrens and eventually chaffinch and chiff-chaff. Finally and thankfully a Cetti’s warbler opened up in full trumpeting voice. Still, a poor show for what is usually a crepuscular cacophony. There was a garden warbler, which as ever, I missed; and a question arose that beat the birders – “why is a garden warbler so named?” More of that later.

Here’s a thing that proved what a dismal morning it was. We didn’t make it to the edge of Stewartby Lake to brave the wind. Even with the threat of roseate tern that Martin mentioned several times failed to make that diversion appealing. So a sprint through the meadows and scrub – usually the place to get to grips with grasshopper warbler, whitethroat and lesser whitethroat, blackcap, willow warbler… today somewhere to get beyond into the relative warmth of a bird hide.

There on the Pillinge Lake was a bird worthy of note and worth the cold and wet! I’ve never seen Martin so agitated. No further mention of roseate terns was to be heard. Here’s where being in knowledgeable company really counts. I could have sat in the nice warm hide for several hours, days even and never seen the grey plover that stood, looking rather cold, on the the tip of one the lake’s many islands. If by some fluke I had identified this minutely lighter speck as a bird, there is no possibility that I could have made an accurate diagnosis. Martin however, was on it, telescope focused and jigging about before I’d got inside. And here’s another thing. For me, the presence of a grey plover had no context; I couldn’t have said this was the first in the Country Park for 12 years, or that a trip to the North Norfolk coast would yield lots of them. I wouldn’t have thought (or known how) to get the news out on the wires (with the swallows?), but thanks to our volunteer leaders, I do now. The reason for Martin’s particular excitement was that this was his first GP at the Park and he got some good images of it. Click here to take a look at Martin’s blockbuster grey plover at Vimeo – still no idea how he got this.

A rather quick hike back to the Centre was interrupted by a brilliant view of a cuckoo and another Cetti’s. One sedge warbler managed a half-hearted warble but no reed warbler provided a song for comparison.

For the glass-half-empty of us, no starlings, yellow hammers, meadow pipits, sky larks, wood peckers, grasshopper warblers… but a new bird for me (and many others), a wonderful view of a cuckoo, Cetti’s warblers in full voice; and of course the superb strangeness of a spring dawn. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as me.

Thanks to all our volunteer leaders who make this and all the other bird walks at the Country Park possible – Bob, Neil, Paul, Rolf, Martin, Tony – we couldn’t do this without you.

If you missed it and fancy a slightly later repeat, there’s another early walk on Saturday 12 May, starting at 7am (no breakfast though).

Footnote: so why is the garden warbler so-named? Well I did try to find out (if only to get one over on Bob!) Not much success though. Here’s a piece from Birds Brittannica (Mark Cocker, Richard Mabey; Chatto & Windus 2005). “The bird’s name is singularly unhelpful as an identification aid because only the largest and most rambling gardens include the kind of thick shrubbery and woodland it requires. The garden association may have been obvious in mainland Europe, where the bird has a reputation for raiding fruit trees. In Portugal it is known as the  felosa-das-figuieras, ‘fig-warbler’, while in Italy it is called the beccafico, ‘fig-pecker’.

The French call the bird La fauvette des jardins – literally garden warbler. So not really much help – interesting none-the-less.

Common tern - already seen prospecting the new raft (image Neil Wright)

Location: Causeway Lake, Grange Estate, Willington, BRVP

Need: Increase nesting habitat for Common Tern  

You might not know it but the network of lakes, grass fields and disturbed ground that exists between Bedford and Willington provides excellent wildlife habitat and is particularly good for native and visiting birds.  The lakes and grass fields that lie within the Grange Estate form part of this network and are visited by many different species of birds and particularly wildfowl.   For more information on the type of birds that can be seen at the Grange Estate, please visit the Beds Bird Club website . . . .

The high numbers of birds using the Grange Estate has attracted an active community of bird watchers to the site, some of whom work closely with us and help on issues affecting the site’s management.  Discussions with local birdwatchers identified the need for tern habitat as it was noted that terns no longer bred there because of the loss of suitable nesting habitat – open shingle or sandy areas with minimal vegetation which would have been plentiful after the two lakes were restored following mineral extraction.

So it was in liaison with local birdwatchers that the idea of installing a new tern raft with a viewing screen evolved and was added to a package of habitat creation/access and interpretation works for which the Marston Vale Trust won funds from WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental). 

Unloading half a tern raft

Once funding was in place we approached Lattenbury Services (a family owned business, specialising in environmental civil works), about the raft and discussed various designs. In the end we decided to stick with the design that had been used at Bedfont Lakes in Hounslow, with great success. 

Because terns are colonial nesters, a larger raft will enable more pairs to nest and provide a greater degree of security as well as making the raft more attractive to speculating birds that have flown from as far away as the Falklands and Africa to breed in the UK.   So size is everything; which is why we went for a 2m x 8m design that would accommodate maximum numbers. 

The raft was delivered in two sections and assembled on site by the lads from Lattenbury services who wasted no time in getting the structure down to the water’s edge with the aid of a compact digger.  Because of the recent dry weather, the lake had receded some 9 metres leaving a rather sticky surface, but the raft was maneuvered  into place and we were soon filling it with locally as-raised gravel and sand supplied by LaFarge Aggregates.  In all a four inch layer of gravel was shovelled onto the raft and a number of tyres were placed on board to act as shelter for the chicks.  The tyres will be replaced by culvert pipe off-cuts when we moor the raft up for winter.

Once the raft was loaded with gravel and anchors we towed it to a location where we had previously sunk an anchor and floated a rope using a buoy. So once hooked up to this anchor the raft was maneuvered  into place and two more anchors thrown into the depths of Causeway Lake.   The raft is currently sitting in between 5 and 7m of water with enough slack for the lake to rise a further metre.  The anchors were made from 4 litre containers that were part filled with engineer blocks and concrete tethered with polypropylene rope.  The polypropylene rope is temporary as I was reliably informed that this rope is not suitable in the long term, so a long term anchoring mechanism will be ready when we moor the raft for winter. 

Towing the raft into position

Local birdwatchers report that the raft was inspected by terns the day after installation which I can confirm, as a week later when I checked all was well, a tern was sat on the mink protection fence. So fingers crossed we have fluffy tern chicks in the summer.  The raft can now be viewed from the new viewing screen that was created by Guy Lambourne and a selection of the Bedford River Valley Park volunteers but that’s another story . . . .

Many thanks to everyone involved in the delivery of this project particularly to the lads at Lattenbury Services for going above and beyond to get the raft afloat and anchored, Mark, Robin, Adrian and Bob for input and advice and Simon who is the quarry manager at Willington.

http://www.bedfontlakes.co.uk/news/ternraft.htm

http://bedsbirds.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.lattenburyservices.co.uk/index.htm

Green hairstreak butterfly (image Don Morris)

From midday on 23^rd to midday 24^thJune 2012, the Millennium Country Park will be holding its first Bioblitz!

What is this you may ask?! Well, it’s an event to discover as many different types of wildlife within a set location over a defined period of time. In this case, The Bedfordshire Natural History Society wildlife recorders will be busy recording wildlife within the Millennium Country Park over 24 hours. It’s not only the specialist wildlife recorders that can get involved, members of the public can help too.

A bioblitz is fantastic fun and an enjoyable and informal way to create a snapshot of the wildlife living within an area. If you are interested in wildlife, come on over and meet the recorders. With such a wealth of wildlife knowledge in one place, you would be mad to miss out.

Do you feel like all hoverflies look the same? Or have a burning question about a butterfly? What is that moth you keep seeing in the garden or that bird song that wakes you up in the morning? There will be someone here to answer your question and even more interesting wildlife facts.The species recording will provide invaluable data to the team at the Millennium Country Park; you never know there could be a first for the county and that would be really exciting!

As well as all the recording there will be an array of public guided walks led by the BNHS wildlife recorders. Walks throughout the two days will include butterflies, dragonflies, bumblebees, birds, hoverflies and moths to name a few. Details of walk times will be published in due course but all walks (except the mothtrapping which will be strictly booking only) will be filled on the day, first come first served. Walks will have a small charge of £2 per adult and £1 per child with all proceeds raised donated to The Marston Vale Trust.

If you would like any more information, please contact Anna Charles- Head Ranger, Millennium Country Park on 01234762614 or anna.charles@marstonvale.org

Dawn in the Millennium Country Park

Dawn chorus and breakfast – Saturday 28 April, 4.30am

Dawn chorus for sleepyheads, Saturday 12 May, 7.00am

If ever you’ve promised yourself the chance to find out about our breeding birds or a totally immersive experience of a dawn chorus (or perhaps both), now’s the time to give yourself a treat.

Late April or early May is the time to brave the horror of a 4.30am start. If you only do this once a year, choose now. This will (probably) be the thirteenth consecutive year we’ve done this walk and I never fail to sleep badly the night before; always concerned that I’ve forgotten to set the alarm or that I’ll sleep through it (I did this once, many years ago, but that’s another story).

However much you dislike such an early start, it’s always worth it. The joy of spring is tangible in the half-light as our residents start things off – usually the sky larks, song thrushes, robins and blackbirds; warblers lagging a little – perhaps not feeling keen enough until there’s some hope of finding a flying breakfast.

For me, it’s the magic of dawn that does it; mixed with the early flowers of hawthorn, the golden orb of the sun rising across Stewartby Lake to provide a little warmth – all drenched  by the crazy energy of a thousand birds shouting their heads off.

For many the birds are the main event – and if that’s you then these walks are wonderfui, for you will be led around the important habitats of the Park by a small gang of dedicated, local birders who know so much about the place and its wildlife, it puts me to shame. Every year I fail to remember the subtle distinction between the songs of the garden warbler and blackcap; reed and sedge warbler; and of course whitethroat and lesser whitethroat. There’s no excuse! But I’m old enough now to understand that I’m probably not going to get these differences lodged in my head, but I am going to keep listening and keep enjoying.

Both walks last 3 hours, cover anything up to about 3 miles and include rough and surfaced paths and some short slopes over 1:6. Wrap up warm – especially for the early one!

If you haven’t booked for either or both yet – do it now.

Dawn chorus and breakfast – Saturday 28 April, 4.30am. Advance booking with payment essential; £9/adult, £6/child (no concessions). Full English breakfast included in price.

Dawn chorus for sleepyheads, Saturday 12 May, 7.00am. Please book in advance but pay the leader on the day £3/adult, £2/child (£1 deduction for members and volunteers)

Call 01234 767037

Willow screen - virtually complete (image Andrew White)

The Grange volunteers, or at least four of them, have spent several days creating a bird viewing screen at Causeway Lake, in the centre of the Grange Estate, Willington. The lake, which is a haven for birds lies next to the newly constructed, central access route and so is easy to get to for people of all abilities.

The screen is constructed entirely from willow cut from the lakeside and provides viewing ‘windows’ at two heights. In theory these will allow people watching to enjoy close encounters with birds in and around the water, without the birds being any the wiser.

“There’s nothing in the screen other than willow. It’s surprising what can be achieved using only a couple of very simple basket and hurdle making techniques” said Guy of Wassledine, who provided the expertise. “I’ve really enjoyed working with the volunteers” he added.

Viewing slots at two heights (image Andrew White)

Darren will shortly put in some surface between the screen and the path, as well as two benches and some information. The screen is positioned to provide excellent views of the newly installed tern raft about which you can read elsewhere in this blog.

Thanks to volunteers: Andrew, Graham, Bernard and  Mervyn for a great deal of time and enthusiasm.

There’s a brief video of the building process here

Try running in the Millennium Country Park

Following a chocolate filled Easter you might be thinking about getting a bit fitter.

Why not join the beginners running group which is starting up at the Millennium Country Park? Take some time out to keep fit and healthy with friends with Run England- England’s recreational running community. The group will introduce you to the running basics and is aimed at complete beginners and improvers.

The classes will be run every Monday from 30^th April between 1.30pm and 2.30pm.

Contact Annie Page annie@essentii.co.uk for more information

Joan Ferguson with the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire

Joan Ferguson, the Forest Volunteers’ Co-ordinator, was given a High Sheriff’s Citizenship Award during March at a special ceremony held at Bedford College. Joan has been a vital part of the Forest’s volunteer team for more than twelve years and Volunteer Co-ordinator for more than five of these.

Andrew Slack, Bedfordshire’s High Sheriff, said “Please accept our sincerest thanks on behalf of myself, and the County that I represent, for all that you have done. The contributions that you have made are to be hugely commended…  ..It is not an exaggeration to say that the fabric of our community life would collapse without these efforts.”

Joan, a Bedfordian through and through said “I feel strongly that this award is for all the Forest Volunteers. I’m very keen to make a contribution to this area and helping to create the Forest is a great way to do that”.

We would all like to thank Joan for all her time and endless enthusiasm for the Forest of Marston Vale.