Iain Carruthers-Jones is back on the case reporting his experiences as a Bury Water Meadows Group volunteer. See previous Chronicles here.
This seems a good time to restart the Chronicle. It’s one of the very hottest days of the year (07/08/20) and the Water Meadows has lots of plants growing as high as head height, including nettles, hemlock and brambles. There are butterflies and moths everywhere, there are muntjac deer, swans with a cygnet, a partridge with four cheepers and several hedgehogs with hoglets.
On the sadder side, the freeing up from lockdown has led to a proliferation of cans and bottles thrown into the rivers and dropped along the verges of the paths. Saddest of all, the information board by the Lark bridge in the Crankles has been vandalised with the board stolen/taken away and the support table torn out of the ground and dumped in the river. It’s hard to understand why people do this sort of thing.
The volunteer programme has started again. It is good to see the familiar faces show up again and get stuck in. A recent group set to sweeping and raking up the cuttings left by the big mower in the South Crankles. That was hot work but, as always, very satisfying. We were encouraged by passers-by and, hopefully, a potential new BWMG member. Given the heat of the day, one of the volunteers suggested that we should get a mower with a hopper for collecting the cut materials. This would save a lot of raking thus freeing the volunteers to do some of the other myriad things on the “to do” list. We are needing sponsorship for this; please step forward with ideas, suggestions and financial support.
The new work plan is being finalised at the moment. There will be quite a lot to do in the coming months and so there will be a call for both existing volunteers and new volunteers once the timetable has been finalised. We are hoping that Bury will not be subject to a second lockdown like some parts of the country. Stay safe, stay socially distanced; we are looking forward to seeing everyone again soon.
The biodiversity survey is under way. A few months late but we are feeling braver about venturing out. The survey volunteers have been busy, while at the same time respecting and following the guidelines, and we have been accumulating bird sighting records since early July. There’s been quite a variety of birds. At the smaller end of the size scale we have seen treecreepers and long tailed tits while at the bigger end we have seen swans and a solitary buzzard. If anyone has seen more than one buzzard, please let me know. Anna Saltmarsh and I have located a raptor’s nest and we suspect that it is the buzzard’s nest but it looks like it has not been used recently. Perhaps next year.
We have also been surveying butterflies and moths. Jillian Macready and I have started to survey in the Crankles and No Mans Meadow. This is really an extension of the transect survey that Jillian has been doing for several years. Simply put, we walk a set route around the Crankles (North and South), No Mans Meadow and the Lark path from the road near the garage to the Lark Bridge in the Crankles. We have seen several types of butterfly with the various categories of Whites dominating.
Anna Saltmarsh, Jillian Macready and I have been recording plants, especially flowering ones, in No Mans Meadow, South Crankles and North Crankles. The Crankles have a rich diversity of plants some with quite a pedigree of ancient medicinal uses as well as amusing names. We’ve logged black mullein, pink ladies, bristly oxtongue, creeping bent, fleabane, purple loosestrife and hemp agrimony among many others. Ram Meadow is yet to be surveyed methodically but that will be rectified very shortly.
So as this edition of the Chronicle comes to an end (25/08/20), I am glad to hear that the volunteer work party programme has been planned for the coming months. So to speak, it is back in business. I look forward to seeing my fellow volunteers again. If you are thinking of joining us and becoming part of our volunteer group then please contact us.
Working in co-ordination with our sister organisation the 
The first shoots can be seen in mid-May and it grows rapidly, often well over head height with a succulent hollow stem – green in spring and turning red as summer progresses. Seed pods are ripe from the beginning of July and these explode when touched or are knocked by the wind, shooting up to 800 seeds, five metres or more, sometimes into a water course. This will carry the seeds downstream to germinate in the spring some distance from the mother plants. The first frosts of autumn cause the plant to die back but the seed is viable to start the life cycle again the following spring.
A little later I was out in the garden. I was measuring the garden’s dimensions in preparation for drawing a plan for the makeover the garden so desperately needs. Six metres wide and 10 metres from the edge of the patio to the back fence. I was engrossed but an insistent bird call broke through and I looked around; one of the parent birds was calling in alarm from a branch above the nestbox. What was going on?
When walking No Man’s Meadow a couple of days ago we saw a mother partridge scurrying through the grass. She had four chicks in hot pursuit. It was comical but it doesn’t take long to realise that they had to keep moving so we stood aside and wished them luck. Similarly this morning (30/06/20) I was taking Luna out for her morning walk. I stopped to speak with some neighbours from across the street and moments later the lady jumped up and down and whispered “look at this”. A female Mallard was racing past my front door with five ducklings in tow. It was hard to credit their speed but it was a joy to see. Clearly something had unsettled her, however, and she was trying to get her brood to safety.
All of this activity has had the most wonderful backdrop. The wild flowers are a sight to make you smile and the trees are in full leaf. We have the quintessential water meadow landscape. If you haven’t visited in a while because of the lockdown, come and see it. Together with the “sight for sore eyes” loveliness of the Abbey Gardens, you’ll have a smile on your lips as you enjoy your afternoon cup of tea.
Those of us that are involved in the biodiversity survey are beginning to mobilise. We were due to get started in the week that lockdown was imposed and we were going to start with surveying bird life. Now we are going to have to play catch up with birds but we will be turning our minds to “crawly things”, insects and butterflies, plants and trees very soon.
And the trees and flowers. I am amazed (again) at how leaves open in what seems like moments. The cherry blossom was beautiful – I wish you were there – and now the cherries are forming. I think this year we will have a good crop. The hawthorn has flowered; a cloud of white. The horse chestnuts are in flower – both red and white – and are graceful and elegant. The willows are that acid green which almost makes your eyes hurt. The hedgerow plants are in full flow. The cow parsley is wonderful, especially in the Great Churchyard (it’s only 100 yards from the Crankles!!)
To add to the artist’s palette of flower colours there is an orchestra of birdsong. Birds are everywhere. Most are heard but not seen. But those that are include pheasant, egret, mallard (of course), magpie and rook. Further along No Man’s Meadow there are lots of Jackdaws. A couple of weeks ago I saw something I’ve not seen before. Jackdaws were clustering around some sheep. I thought at first that they were attacking lambs but on closer inspection I realised that the sheep were quite placid and that one corvid was perching on a mature sheep’s back and tugging wool. It was passing the wool to other birds which then flew off with wool in their beaks. No doubt to line nests.
A week or so ago, I received my invitation to the latest volunteer working party from Jillian and Julian. My invitation was to join one of two work parties planned for Sunday March 15th. Those wishing to join the litter picking team would assemble at Barwell Road for litter picking in Ram Meadow. This was led by Ian Campbell. I was delighted to see that there was an excellent turnout – around a dozen or so – and, under Ian’s guidance they soon spread out across the Meadow.
Necessarily, a lot of attention was focused on the river and the banks. In a number of places there were fallen trees reaching across and into the water. It was clear to see that the river had flowed at widely varying levels in recent months. Plastic bottles and plastic sheeting had lodged in bundles of twigs and even in the higher branches of the low hanging trees. In small groups the volunteers dispersed across the Meadow and began filling the collection bags. Having offered encouragement and taken a few pictures, I set off upstream to the Abbots Bridge and then into the Abbey Gardens.
The planting team had assembled around the iron foot bridge over the River Lark. The plan was to seed the gabions with soil, which later on (either later in the season or in autumn) would be planted. Additionally, plug plants of woodland favourites such as bluebells, aconites and primroses would be planted under the trees where the wildflower turf had not taken. Another dozen or so volunteers tackled this work. As always we were advised to wear gumboots and tough gardening gloves. We have all learned to be incredibly careful where brambles are concerned. The work on the gabions was exciting for those with a mountaineering bent; it was good to see transformation happen quickly. Those working on the riverbanks north of the bridge achieved a lot of change, too. Caution was needed all round to make sure none of us fell into the river.
As well as the woodland plants we gaped up some spaces in the existing wildflower turf and planted 5 of each of Meadow cranesbill , Lesser knapweed, Greater knapweed, Wild marjoram, Wild basil, and Common Birds-foot-trefoil. The latter arguably the most important one as it’s a vital foodplant for the caterpillars of the Common blue butterfly as well as Silver-studded blues and Wood Whites. You won’t see any Silver Studded blues or Wood Whites in the Abbey gardens but you should see Common blue butterflies.
Nearly twenty volunteers gathered on one of those days. You know, the ones where the sun shines and there is a little crispness in the air. We set to work , were ready for the tea break and really enjoyed the Water Meadows Oaties made to a secret recipe by Sue (some even had two!!), set to work again and by about 12.15 those with sensitive noses noticed the wind changing and the temperature beginning to drop. We gathered all the tools in and dispersed as the clouds began to darken a bit and before long it was raining and cold. Great timing. I would not blame anyone who turned up the heating and relaxed with a good book and a cup of tea for the afternoon and evening.
So what did we do during the volunteer session? Well, we all commented that it felt like spring was within grasp. While there were no lambs gambolling in No Man’s Meadow, there was plenty of birdsong. A robin sang his heart out, while keeping an eye to see if we turned up anything juicy for a snack. A flock of tits flitted around. We see a mixed flock of blue tits, coal tits and long tailed tits most days. It is lovely to see although it drives the local robins wild as they graze the very bird feeders which the robins consider their territory. The tits have worked out a cunning strategy for distracting the robins; it works every time.
So a large part of the volunteer team was satisfied with the change they achieved. Big smiles from the team and from passers-by as well. The other part of the group was working on the north bank of the South Crankle ditch. While centuries ago this ditch and the others a few yards further south were probably kept in a very orderly way since they were the arms of the Abbey fish farm, in recent years an air of neglect has developed. A number of trees, some quite large, have fallen and the ditch is criss-crossed with the boughs.
Our task was to begin to tidy up while , at the same time, leaving the well rotted boughs to continue to provide a wonderfully rich habitat for birds and all kinds of “creepy crawlies”. For example, at one point I moved a foot fractionally and nearly trod on a beautiful green frog. It made me jump but it lived to hop another day. In the muddy bank, too, I saw the hoofprints of a muntjac deer.
The volunteer work party on 2nd February 2020 was different from any session that I have been involved in since I started writing The Water Meadow Chronicles, part way through last year. While we planted wildflower seeds some months ago on the River Lark west bank in No Man’s Meadow, there was nothing to see and no immediate visual impact. This session we were planting snowdrops and the transition was from nondescript to terrific and uplifting.
A record number of volunteers participated. We really deserved sunshine, but we had to make do with mild and overcast. At least there was no rain. The twenty or so attendees set to the task with a will and in no time, a carpet of nodding white flowers had been planted along the river side at the entrance to Ram Meadow. Spirits were high and, rightly, we were pleased with ourselves. It is said that getting out in the fresh air and enjoying some exercise contributes to hygge (or a sense of meaningfulness and wellbeing) and this session was a wonderful example of this. There were plenty of smiles and a clear collective sense of achievement. We had created our own sunshine!
We were joined by Ian Campbell who leads the “in-river” volunteer group. That’s the volunteers who have been trained in river safety and can get into the river with fetching garments on called chest waders, for jobs such as restoration, litter picking and Himalayan balsam removal. He was cutting back a willow that had fallen and obscured the entrance, which now had lovely snowdrops along it’s way. When the team had cut back some of the low branches and cleared some of the dead grasses and brambles, the view along the path was very much improved since one could see the sea of snowdrops from quite a distance.
So we tackled the Crankles North side which is nearest the Abbey Gardens. It was a repeat of what we were doing in the Crankles on Feb 18 last year, when we cleared the arisings and made habitat piles of the vegetation. The arisings ranged from simple dead plant material to wickedly prickly briars. One of the group was delighted to be working with briars as she has recently treated herself to a fantastic pair of gloves. She was very proud to be able to give us a demonstration of their excellence. Collectively we took out several yards of briars. They need to be separated out and disposed of away from the other arisings since they have the capacity to root from cuttings left on the ground. An extraordinary plant with good qualities but also to be handled with the greatest care.
This part of the Crankles has not changed much, apart from the planting of the alder saplings, since the cricket bat willows came down in 2015/16, and there are lots of logs in various states of decay lying on the ground. All this is wonderful habitat for wildlife but we needed to take care in case of tripping and falling over. Some logs were slippery with moss and several hosted varieties of toadstool and fungus. There were signs of animal life with several nest holes; there was a reminder of animal death as well. One volunteer turned up a muntjac deer skull. It was easy to identify because the horns form part of the skull.