'In the Field'

Unearthing the Impact of Rooting: Insights from Wilder Blean

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 15:47:00 GMT

By Will Kelsey

At first glance, the connection between pigs and birds in a woodland might not be obvious. However, a recent study, funded by the Cameron Bespolka Trust and conducted at the Kent Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Blean woodland reserve, reveals how pig rooting can impact the food web that woodland birds depend on.

Three Iron-Age pigs, known as ‘ecosystem engineers’, at Wilder Blean. Photo credit: Will Kelsey.

How Rooting Engineers Woodland Ecosystems
‘Rooting’ occurs when pigs plough through the top layer of soil in search for food. This soil disturbance can lead to greater habitat diversity, which should in theory benefit a range of species, including birds. As a rule of thumb, nature loves diverse, messy habitats! For example, we know that number of nightjars at RSPB Arne tripled after pigs, ponies and cattle were introduced in 1990. And yet, the role of pigs in woodland bird success remains uncertain.

In early 2023, three Iron-Age pigs (pictured above) were released onto Wilder Blean reserve in Kent to scruff up the woodland and in doing so increase biodiversity. This study sought to understand the impact of their rooting on woodland arthropods and birds, including Blean’s nationally significant populations of woodlark (Lullula arborea) and nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus).

Iron-Age pig rooting at Wilder Blean. The yellow circle shows deep rooting that could become a pond for amphibians, while the red circle marks an uprooted clod of earth that could be the foundation of a future anthill. Photo credit: Will Kelsey.

Key Findings from Wilder Blean
The study revealed that recently rooted areas had a significantly lower arthropod abundance compared to non-rooted areas. This reduction in spiders, woodlice and other ground-dwelling creatures likely stems from the removal of vegetation and exposure of bare soil, which makes these small animals more vulnerable to predation. It may take between 2 to 3 years for these rooted areas to regain their arthropod numbers.

After deploying camera traps at Wilder Blean for 3 weeks, there was no clear evidence of birds actively preferring rooted areas for foraging over non-rooted areas. No woodlark or nightjar were captured on camera, likely due to the short study period.

Wood pigeon foraging in a non-rooted area at Wilder Blean. Photo credit: Will Kelsey.

What Does This Mean for Woodland Birds?
Although there was no clear evidence that birds were using rooted areas preferentially, the decrease in overall arthropod numbers might limit overall food availability for insectivorous birds. Areas are rooted repeatedly and arthropod numbers remain low, this could lead to a long-term decrease in bird numbers at Wilder Blean.

Implications for Wider Conservation
This research underscores the complexity of rewilding projects. Pigs, while useful for creating habitat diversity, need to be managed carefully. If rooting is allowed to occur too frequently in the same areas, it could lead to long-term declines in biodiversity, impacting not only arthropods but the birds and other wildlife that depend on them.

As rewilding efforts like Wilder Blean continue to grow, it is vital to balance disturbance with recovery periods to allow ecosystems to fully benefit from the introduction of ecosystem engineers like Iron-Age pigs.

Note: Will has received funding from our Young Naturalist Fund

Pig Rooting Project

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:20:00 GMT

By Will Kelsey

Happy to share that the 20 camera traps the Trust kindly helped me to hire have been running smoothly since late-May. I plan to analyse the usable images generated to see if birds show a preference for rooted areas.

I am expanding the scope of the study to include an analysis of how pig rooting impacts the abundance of ground-running arthropods, which serve as a food source for the many insectivorous birds at Wilder Blean. The Natural History Museum generously provided me with the equipment needed to collect these arthropods. In exchange, the specimens I collect will be added to their collections.

Below are a few photos of the cameras, my pitfall traps and an ecosystem-engineering Iron-Age pig in action!

Note: Will has received funding from our Young Naturalist Fund

Multi-coloured Ghost Towns Published

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 10:58:00 GMT

Alicia Hayden

Alicia is a young, award-winning wildlife photographer, artist, writer, and filmmaker from North Yorkshire

Follow her on Twitter @aliciahaydenart

By Alicia Hayden

“As I slipped out of earth-sodden clothes and into a silky shock
So fresh, so sharp - she stole my breath,
Raindrops blending with tears as I dipped under and up”

Coming from North Yorkshire, I’ve always been inspired by the natural world. I grew up surrounded by woods and moors, and a twittering cacophony of birds in our back garden, and cloudfuls of insects in the meadows near my house.

Yet, even during my lifetime I have seen a change in these natural spaces; places once brimming with colour and noise becoming increasingly empty, shells of their former selves. Becoming multi-coloured ghost towns.

I wanted to create a poetry book which was both personal to me, and hopefully inspiring and relatable to others.

Alicia with a freshly printed copy of Multi-coloured Ghost Towns

Several studies and polls over recent years have shown that only 25% of UK children can identify a Robin - voted the UK’s favourite bird in 2015. As children grow up in an increasingly urbanised world, many young people are increasingly isolated from nature - growing up without the immersement and knowledge about the natural world. Equally, around 75% of young people suffer from eco-anxiety - fear for the future of our world - according to an international survey in 2022. Young people are increasingly switched on about the threats our planet faces, yet are also disconnected, and feel disempowered to take action.

I wanted to create a poetry book which was both personal to me, and hopefully inspiring and relatable to others. I wanted to try and show the joy and possibility that comes from the natural world - as well as using my poems, and nature, to discuss some of the other important threads that dominate our lives, such as love, grief, loss, and trauma. Nature has such a wonderful ability to provide solace, peace, and comfort; and I really wanted to bring this to life - as well as explore my changing connection with it over the past 5 years - in this collection.

The book is available from Alicia's online store

The Cameron Bespolka Trust and I decided to do a limited print run of 100 copies of Multi-coloured Ghost Towns, all available for free, and aimed at young people and families. They are available to order directly from my online shop, or feel free to get in touch with myself or The Cameron Bespolka Trust, especially if you need assistance covering postage costs.

Alicia.

Order Online

Note: Alicia has received funding from our Young Naturalist Fund

Nature Poetry Collection

Mon, 22 May 2023 09:54:00 GMT

By Alicia Hayden

I just thought I'd post a quick update and let you know how my poetry collection is progressing. The collection is still tentatively called "Multi-coloured Ghost Towns", and it is exploring wildlife and nature, with threads of additional themes such as love, grief, loss, and trauma underpinning some of the poems.

Alicia Hayden

Alicia is a young, award-winning wildlife photographer, artist, writer, and filmmaker from North Yorkshire

Follow her on Twitter @aliciahaydenart

The poems in this collection feel much more personal, and dig deeper emotionally, which is exciting (if nerve-wracking!) to be exploring. The collection is rooted in two places - the UK and South Africa (potentially a few poems from Zimbabwe might pop in too!) - pulling on experiences I've had in both places, the diversity and colours of nature found across the world, as well as close to home.

I've got 18 poems so far (I may have a few more by the end of the week, as I appear to be in a writing spree at the moment!), but none are illustrated, and I haven't categorised or edited them yet - so it's still in the early stages! Below is one of my favourite ones "Swimming in the rain".

I was thinking that I'd really like the collection to have a foreword, I think either from Sophie Pavelle - as she's read some of my poems before, and really liked them - or Tiffany Francis-Baker - who has also read some of my poems before, and who has been a massive inspiration of mine for her poetic way of writing about nature!

Alicia.

Note: Alicia has received funding from our Young Naturalist Fund

Swimming in the rain

I was writing an email to a friend, and the suggested header:
"Swimming in the rain" - a mistake on a pop-culture reference, surely,
But it got me thinking.

Whilst working in Northern Norway, a rainstorm hit our wooden hut,
Shaking the logs and vibrating off the veranda like a new take on a glockenspiel,
The wettest summer they'd seen in decades.

And I was out the door like a bat out of hell,
Desperate for the release - the freedom -
Laces barely tied, tumbling over myself, towel flapping in hand,

Hair flapping over my face - a natural veil -
The river, still a slow flow, icy cold and crystal clear,
It beckoned to me, the raindrops a drumroll of anticipation

As I slipped out of earth-sodden clothes and into a silky shock
So fresh, so sharp - she stole my breath,
Raindrops blending with tears as I dipped under and up,

Through the ripples, over rocks, half swimming, half paddling,
Until the grime and dirt of a week's work
Went floating away; a kind of ending, or perhaps

A new beginning.

The Green Gallery

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 11:04:00 GMT

By Emily Hunt

Perhaps I was clutching at straws. I found it hard to believe that young people as a whole didn’t care about nature. So I sent out a request for people in my school to forward me any photographs of nature that they had in their phone galleries.

Emily Hunt

Emily was chosen as Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate 2023

Follow her on Twitter @em_nature

The result has been inspiring, and the project has gained the attention of OCR (exam board behind the Natural History GCSE) and the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

The idea formed when I began to take an interest in youth engagement with nature, or rather, the supposed lack of it. My mind began ticking over after attending several panel events where the issue was discussed. The absence of solutions frustrated me. It was easy to talk about the problem, but solutions weren't obvious – and so I left each talk a little more deflated and despairing, as it's clear we need our generation on board if we are to reverse biodiversity loss and tackle the climate crisis. There is a thriving community of young people passionate about nature on social media, who attend BTO events and Birdfair etc, but what about my fellow students at school? Were they all so disinterested?

So I began to pay attention to other young people’s interactions with nature. At my school we have very little access to nature, having only a sports field as our outdoor space. However, sometimes nature appears in unexpected ways. One of the most memorable moments was when a red kite flew over the school field while being mobbed by crows. A gaggle of Year 11 boys halted their football game to watch it as it dipped and dived to shake the corvids off its tail.

These boys were in awe of this incredible bird of prey, and yet these are the kids who may have been stereotypically labelled as those who never notice wildlife and are disengaged from the world around them

The boys cheered and clapped like spectators at a match. The whole group were captivated by it. It was at this point that it hit me – are we getting it all wrong? These boys were in awe of this incredible bird of prey, and yet these are the kids who may have been stereotypically labelled as those who never notice wildlife and are disengaged from the world around them.

So, I tentatively texted school group chats with ‘got any nature pics in your phone galleries?’ Obviously this was not without personal risk - but I was prepared for any teasing which might follow…I was already accustomed to occasional chants of Em loves nature as I went about my day to day business. However, word soon got around and pictures began to trickle in. After sharing some on my social media accounts, more arrived and more people joined in! The reasoning behind my request was that each photograph represents a moment when a young person has stopped to capture and appreciate nature. In that moment they were engaged in their own way.

With the pictures came stories too, for example Lydia had helped rescue a young owl found in the woods, Blue had relocated a caterpillar found at the tip, and Harry had fed a vole which wasn't looking very healthy. But who would know about these good nature deeds if I hadn't asked? Are lots of young people interacting with nature but not mentioning it - who would they tell? Do they need to tell anyone - perhaps it's just instinctive to help out an animal in need or to gaze at a beautiful view. Should we re-evaluate the assumption that the youth is disengaged? How do we measure such a thing anyway?

Nature isn't a subject deemed cool to talk about among a typical group of 15 and 16 year olds. Individuals may feel isolated in their interest and have no way of developing it further. Memberships to organisations are expensive, the curriculum is nature-deprived and at secondary school we lose much of our free time plus our access to nature clubs and Forest School. How do we expect a love of nature to flourish?

I believe the launch of the Natural History GCSE in 2025 will have a massive impact on youth engagement with nature

I don't have all the answers - but what I do have is a collection of nature photography and stories from students at my comprehensive high school. Students who may have been branded 'disengaged'. It is a source of optimism, it is growing and it is spreading! My Headteacher has given me permission to display the pictures in school as a ‘Green Gallery’ and my English teacher and I are planning writing workshops based upon students' pictures. We hope to make it more commonplace to celebrate nature and for young people to have a way of expressing their interest.

I believe the launch of the Natural History GCSE in 2025 will have a massive impact on youth engagement with nature - it will firmly place nature on the curriculum and provide a space for young people to interact and develop an interest. In the meantime, maybe we should question the assumption that the youth are disengaged, maybe they simply have very few avenues in which to register their interest. Let's find more ways, however small they may seem, to change this!

Exploring The Land Of The Long White Cloud - Part I

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 10:07:00 GMT

By Amy Hall

Tomorrow I will have been in New Zealand for 6 weeks. 6 weeks. Time has raced by since touching down on the tarmac in Auckland. I have travelled more than 2000 km from north to south (and back north again!), seen heaps of new species, met amazing people, and the best part - I still have 46 weeks on my visa.

Because I have managed to pack so much into my first couple of months here in Aotearoa I am finding it difficult to know exactly what to write about. Each day could have a whole chapter written about it. To make it more digestible I’ll write about the earth-shatteringly fantastic wildlife encounters which have punctuated my adventures so far in the land of the long white cloud.

The Muriwai Gannet Colony, 13th September 2022

The first part of the road trip in New Zealand began in Piha, an awesome little surf spot 45 minutes west from Auckland CBD at the bottom of lush hills, facing out to the Tasman Sea. There is a black sand beach that extends north along the coast away from the settlement, with an enormous rock, Te Piha (or Lion Rock) that gives the area its name. The Māori word ‘piha’ describes the way water moves at the hull of a boat as it cuts through water, a perfect analogy to the Rock. Te Piha stands proud facing the ocean, cutting the beach to give two surf breaks in some pretty gnarly looking water.

An hour’s drive north of Piha was the first pin in my Google Earth file ‘New Zealand Wildlife Destinations’, at Muriwai. A short distance from the car park up on the headland there are viewing platforms which are within and above a colony of Australasian gannets (tākapu), a species which is very similar in appearance to the northern gannets I have seen in the UK. The colony at Muriwai is self-established, beginning in the 1970s after overcrowding at the offshore islands of Oaia and Motutara forced birds to find another suitable nest site.

In September the Muriwai gannets are returning to this spot having spent the winter off the coast of Australia. Like pretty much all bird migrations, gannet chicks at Muriwai make this journey at the end of the breeding season without guidance from their parents, and won’t come back to New Zealand for a few years. In this time they kind of just do what gannets do - foraging, interacting with conspecifics, and surviving in one of the roughest seas on Earth. In this time they perfect their plummet, employing a deep U-shaped dive which allows them to catch up to 5 fish at a time (paper published in 2011, read here: https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2011/442/m442p255.pdf ), and if they make it to the 30% that survive to breed they will head back to Muriwai to become parents themselves.

Muriwai is one of the three mainland gannetries in New Zealand with many offshore islands hosting the rest. Over 80% of the world’s Australasian gannet population breeds in New Zealand (the rest in Aus), and it was great to see so many of them at Muriwai getting ready to make their contribution to the population. Almost everywhere I looked across the colony there were pairs cementing their bond with their elegant rituals of bowing, bill fencing and mutual preening (as well as plenty of scrapping over nest boundaries). It was wonderful to be so close to the colony and sample what their life will be like for the next few months. There is something visceral about being in amongst a seabird colony - the cacophony of calls and smell of guano and salt in the air really bathe the senses, not to mention the hundreds of birds swirling in the air. From the observation platforms we could look gannets in the eye as they sailed past.

Spring is a great time to be a zoologist. It is also a great time for me to get out with my camera again after neglecting it for a year. The gannets of Muriwai were the perfect appetiser in what would be a true feast of wildlife. I’ll be back on the Cameron Bespolka Blog soon with glow worms in Part II.