Sky lanterns

Last week I walked across the Deer Park at the end of the day, checking on some work that had been done and how the paths are withstanding the continued wet weather. I saw a patch of blue on the grass and went to investigate, finding a tattered Chinese sky lantern. These lanterns are very controversial - they are popular at weddings and New Year celebrations and last year it was estimated that over 200,000 were bought in the UK, but they pose severe threat to wildlife and livestock because they are made with thin, sharp wire and bamboo. The wire and bamboo can break and splinter and if ingested can cause internal bleeding and death - there are many recorded instances of this happening to cattle. Birds can get hit by them and caught up as they fall to the ground - barn owls have been found dead amongst lantern debris. Fires can be started if the candle is still flaming - hay barns etc are at risk. Stock and wildlife can also get caught up in the wire, which was my immediate concern for the deer. If a deer gets anything caught on its antlers - wire, plastic bags etc. - they panic and try to run away from it, causing stress, exhaustion and likely death. In other countries, these lanterns have been banned due to the dangers and farmers are calling for a similar ban here. Please discourage the use of sky lanterns, and if you come across one in the countryside then please pick it up and dispose of it safely - you could be saving something from injury or death.

We also had a working party from Natural England join us for an afternoon of hazel planting. The hazel will be coppiced in the future for hedge laying materials. We planted them under the new power lines so that we can control the height of growth and reduce the need for the power company to come out and cut trees growing through the lines. Despite only having a few hours together we managed to plant 150 trees as well as a good look around the area and walk to and from site - so thank you Natural England team!

Finally just a quick note to my fellow dog owners - the meadow in the middle of the Mile Walk is now closed as the tenant farmer, Mr Dixon, wil be using it again to graze his cattle and grow a silage crop.

A sad tale

Last weekend a strange and sad event took place, although luckily there was a happy ending on this occasion. A regular visitor found three domestic rabbits on the side of the road as she drove up to the car park here at Attingham, out in the open and huddling together for warmth. She brought them to reception where the weekend wardens took them in, finding them a large box and plenty of padding and fetching some food and water. They called the RSPCA, who were able to come the next day; in the mean time one of our Harper Adams students, Buffy, kindly took them home for the evening. The rabbits were in terrible condition, severely underweight and with very matted fur; whoever abandoned them had clearly not cared for them in weeks. When the RSPCA officer arrived on Monday she was shocked at their condition but thought they would make a full recovery with the right care, which would include putting them under anesthetic so that the matted fur could be shaved off, neutering, worming and treating for fleas as well as weeks of feeding up. Luckily, she was able to take them away for treatment and rehoming - they were beautiful little things and very friendly - once we had them warmed up and eating, they really came to life and enjoyed a gentle fuss. I hope that they find a new owner soon.

It saddens me to think that someone thought bringing them here was a good idea when there are animal sanctuaries that would have taken them in long before they got into such a bad state. Leaving them on the side of a road could easily have led to them being run over and killed, and it took valuable time for our staff to make arrangements for their care and collection. It's possible that whoever dropped them out of their car thought they might become wild and survive on their own but this simply isn't the case.



Spring - if only for a few days...

As I sit in the office looking out at the gloomy drizzle my mind wanders back to those glorious days of clear blue skies and warm sunshine... all of two days ago. How quickly the weather changes! The warmer weather did a lot to boost our teams energy as we continued with hedge removal and planting on one of our farms. On Tuesday I heard my first skylark of the year singing merrily overhead, and on Wednesday a group of lapwings accompanied them with their peculiar squeaky wail. It was a beautiful time to be working outside - I was too hot in my chainsaw gear, not bad for March!

I've had a really good couple of weeks for bird sightings. Nothing particularly rare or unusual, but really close up (I need to carry my camera around more!) A buzzard swooped down in front of my pick up as I waited at a junction and perched on the fence post next to me, surveying the field; a pair of jays squabbling in a tree and seemingly oblivious to me standing next to them; a sparrowhawk hunting along the woodshed lane; and a heron in flight very low near Tern Bridge. There are also a lot of kestrels around the Estate at the moment, easily spotted as they hover in one spot watching for prey below.

We are into the final few weeks of hedge planting now as the new season beckons. Some of the hawthorns are already budding so as soon as this cold snap ends, we will finish planting. We should just about get the hedges and new apple trees in the ground in time before rolling on with the next projects; it looks like temperatures are dropping for the next two weeks so wrap up warm!

Half term

The start of the February half term was incredibly busy at Attingham - a bit of sunshine saw over 4,000 people coming here on Sunday! Saturday was also a good day and the Valentines Tree Planting event saw 87 trees being planted in the grounds for (and in memory of) loved ones. The wardens have just about managed to cope with the influx of cars but with the ground still wet from months of rain it has been something of a struggle to find enough dry ground to park on. Thankfully the rain has stayed off and despite the cold end to the holiday the ground is finally starting to dry off (touch wood!).

As well as managing the car parking our teams have been hedgelaying, cutting out old and un-rescuable hedges and replanting them, burning brash, trimming up the side shoots on our young cricket-bat willows, mending the cleft oak fence along the park perimeter and helping to prepare for the evening snowdrop walks. The final snowdrop evening is tonight, and I will be here until 8pm feeding the bonfire so that visitors wishing to enjoy their mulled wine outside can stay warm. Like last year, the path from the Stables to the Walled Garden will be candle lit and the snowdrops are at their peak, softly lit with fairy lights. 

Today is also the last day of deer feeding in front of the public. With the trees starting to bud and the grass growing, they no longer need the supplementary feed. The cull will also be finishing in the next week or so now that herd numbers are nearly perfect, so if you want some venison make sure you get it soon!

To finish, here are a couple of pictures taken by volunteer Phil - these beautiful specimens were found on some rotting willow on one of our farms. Gorgeous colours!

Tree Felling

This post was written by Jess Darwin, our Academy Ranger, who has been putting in a lot of hours on the chainsaw for the tree felling project:

As some of you may have noticed some tree felling work has been going on near the Walled Garden along the Mile Walk and we can now report that the felling part of the project is now complete! The work has been carried out by our contractor tree surgeon, staff and lots of fantastic volunteers who are still clearing the site ready for the next stage of moving the timber. Though the work may seem drastic this felling was essential work and necessary for numerous reasons.

Firstly, proving that restoration is not just for objects indoors, this landscaping and tree felling is an exciting and important part of a long-term project to restore the walk to its original design as the first Lord Berwick’s Pleasure Grounds.

Alongside the restoration project for this area the trees were also causing the south facing wall of Walled Garden fruit trees to be shaded during the day, which isn’t good for the apricots, plums and other trees which need plenty of warmth and sunlight to produce their fruits in summer.

Carefully counted tree rings place the trees at an age of 72, so they were probably planted as coppice stools during WWII to supply the Walled Garden with bean poles and hurdle material. However, unfortunately the trees weren’t subsequently managed for coppicing purposes or allowed to grow properly for a timber crop and consequently grew tall and thin in a close group.

The trees that have been felled are all Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) but we’d like to stress that the felling was not due to the recent Ash dieback disease (Chalara fraxinea) as this work has been planned for several years and the disease is not present on the Attingham Estate.

The next big step in this project is clearing the timber off the site for processing into usable materials which will be put to good use by Attingham Estate. All the wood is used to help to support our sustainable woodland management through self sufficiency and firewood sales.

Frosty morning finishing the felling

Tree surgeon Seamus Hill

                        

Our engagement site for informing visitors about the works

February begins...

More flooding! The post-thaw deluge caused us some problems again as the Deer Park became inaccessible from both the suspension bridge and main gate. Once the waters receded the full damage to the causeway was revealed - the water had washed away much of the path at its lowest point, leaving a hole nearly two feet deep in in the worst spot. We spent a day filling and leveling the hole to make it into a passable surface but more work will be done soon to compact the layers and complete the repair.

Now that the ground is drying out a bit we can crack on with the hedge planting - remember those 10,000 whips we heeled in? On Monday a team of volunteers braved the bitter wind and we went to Cronkhill farm to plant a new hedge. We used a mixture of hawthorn and blackthorn so gloves were a must! There were a few wet feet as the planting was running along side a fence and a ditch but the team did a fantastic job and there are just 50 metres to go.

Today we went to Wenlock Edge to coppice hazel and get more stakes and binders for tomorrow's hedgelaying while another team made some alterations to the WWII path in the Deer Park and moved a gate; volunteers David and Martin also spent the day in our butchery packing some more venison for the shop. Thank you to all of our volunteers who have been in this week, it is hard work in the cold weather but everyone has got on with the jobs brilliantly!

January snow

A belated happy new year to my lovely blog readers! I apologise if there are lots of typing errors in this post - my fingers are still numb from feeding the deer in the snow. It's beautiful out there on the park but driving around on our Kawasaki mule is not such a fun experience when the wind is biting your skin and you are half-blinded by the snowfall. No matter what the weather throws at us
, the wardens are out and about getting the jobs done; just this morning we have reopened a path, emptied the dog bins, fed the deer, salted the car park and drives, delivered a vehicle and rescued a member of staff and their car from a snow drift!
 
Deer manager Colin and a snowy herd of fallow eating their lunch


This week we have started a new project - the erection of a newt fence around a site that will be developed later this year. Attingham has Great Crested Newts in several places on the estate - in fact, the UK in general has a steady and widespread population in comparison to the rest of Europe. They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and accordingly, we are working under direction from Natural England to prepare the site for building while causing as little disturbance as possible to the area. The newt fence will prevent newts from entering the site - the fence is made of a UV reinforced polythene and is dug into the ground (a bit like rabbit fencing) so that the newts cannot climb up and over it. Some of the trench has been dug out using a small plough and a JCB but in places that just isn't suitable so many of our volunteers have been wielding spades and digging out the trench by hand - hard work, but it keeps you warm!






Now that the flooding had receded, the damage to the park can
 start to be repaired. The potholes on the causeway between the
bridges near the mansion/deer park entrance have been filled in
and we can now see the multiple trees and branches that have
got stuck beneath the bridges - the Environment Agency will be
 dealing with them when they can. This picture shows the wood
 piling up against the bridge nearest the mansion.
The ground is still very wet and muddy so be careful walking in
 the snow - you might find yourself in a puddle under the
surface.




While strimming and clearing a hedge last week I came across this lovely example of the strength and determination of trees - they will conquer anything in their path! At some point in the history of Duncote Farm a post and rail fence was erected near an oak... years later I come along and remove the rotting and collapsing remains of the fence and find this:

 





Proof of tree cannibalism!

 

Finally a little treat for all of you readers - a special event just for you! Follow this link to find out more about taking part in a murder mystery at Attingham Park exclusively for followers of the various Attingham social media. Enjoy! Click me!