18th March
Chris' memorial page
I am returning to my usual format with the daily entry at the head of the page. Chris' page will remain on here so should anyone ask please get them to scroll down until they find the details.
With the close of the river coarse season Darrel has moved location to the lakes. The move doesn't seem to have interrupted his catch rate as well as the great looking 33 common above he managed a mid twenty during a day session today. darrel's catches from the river during Feb and March are equally impressive including barbel of, 10.06, 11.04, 12.03, 13.04, 14.06 and 15.06, plus a couple of single figure fish and that doesn't include the chub. Considering the terrible conditions we've endured over that period that's a pretty good six weeks.
Judging by the number of pairs of Egyptian Geese that are about the valley we are going to see a population explosion of this non-native species. The Great Crested Grebe is a more welcome sight with several pairs now busy nest building.
16th March
John caught a roach a cast if he used maggot, having to resort to pellet to slow the action. Last season it wasn't until May that the silver fish came on the feed. He did manage to get through the roach and rudd to land one tench adding to the mix. It will be an interesting season ahead if the silvers continue to show in such numbers. I haven't heard of any carp over the weekend but I imagine they won't be long in showing up, if the number of fish topping on Friday is any indication. One aspect that will add to the interest is that the weed has remained in the north lake at least. Just how dense the beds will be this season may well determine how the fish respond to anglers bait.
An unseen consequence of these prolonged floods is the confusing effect it has on some of the valley residents. The last time I photographed this particular island, the two Oystercatchers that are currently occupying, was when Dave was heading out to the river last 30th October. The island is in fact the gravel covering of one of the carrier culverts. Should the Oystercatchers build out there I imagine they will be left high and dry before the end of incubation, as the water drops back.
15th March
Halfway to the river.
If you look back a few weeks I put a similar clip up showing very little change to the current state of the flood. I am stood in knee deep water that if you look closely can be seen to be flowing quickly across the meadow. If you look back to the entry for last September the 21st you will see the first time the river came out into the flood plain.
Ibsley Pool, looking well.
Ibsley Pool.
Once you manage to get out to the river, the water is looking well. Three clips that provide an update as to the current conditions.
Provosts.
The flow through Provost's or the Aquarium, dependent on your discipline, has eroded a large chunk out of the bank. The gravel that has been washed out can be seen fanning out into the meadow.
A couple more shots from my hour or two wading about in the meadows. The first shows the root of, Hemlock Water Dopwort, that has been washed out of the bank during the prolonged flood. Water dropwort is one of the most poisonous plants in the UK. Having proven fatal to cattle and humans when they have mistakenly eaten the root. There are quite a few exposed roots that have been swept out into the meadows or exposed along the banks. Should you come across any such roots and you're close to fenced woodland or the river throw them where stock can't reach them. Just picking them up won't do you any harm, don't go overboard breaking or cutting them up, just lob or kick them into a safe area.
The second shot is another poignant casualty of the flood, alone and lifeless, sadly cast ashore . I don't think dropwort was to blame, a family mishap upstream would seem the most likely.
There are a couple of other points in the two shots above. The first, in the lefthand shot, is the hay bale, that has been out there since last Summer when the ground was too wet to get them off. We are in the lap of the gods when it comes to drying out by hay time this Summer. Another impact of these floods will be the masses of docks that will establish once the flood does finally clear off. I fear there will be lean pickings for grass in the valley this year.
The other point to note is in the second shot where the force of water in the field, immediately beyond the casualty, is sufficiently powerful to sweep you off your feet unless you take care.
14th March
Well that's it, the river coarse season is now closed and it went out as we feared with us still under water. I was out and about after lunch, looking for a photo for the diary. Unfortunately despite finding Adrian, Martin and Dave, trying their hardest, there was nothing to see the season out in style.
It was almost on dark when the mobile rang and Dave Noble asked if I was still looking for a photo as he had a 30+ pike in the net. I didn't need a second invite and asked him to rest her in the net whilst I got to him. Now that is defintely the way to sign off for the season and as icing on the cake he, had added a 21.07. Along with most of us Dave has been struggling with the flooding this winter and decided to finish the season on dry land and not standing in water for hours. He even decided to give the chub and barbel search a miss and dug out the pike gear, that has gone unused for almost two decades. The change of venue and species certainly paid dividends, congratulations Dave, a stylish end of the season indeed.
I was putting this entry together this evening when the email pinged and and I could see one from Dom Longley had arrived. An email from Dom very often contains good news and this one was no exception, containing what I consider one of the most magnificent shots of the season. As you can see that is just a wonderful chub and at 8.03 certainly a fish of a lifetime. The backdrop of the photo just perfectly captures the state of the meadows and the effort it takes to get onto the river. It is just perfect, congratulations Dom and thanks for the photo.
I had seen Dom's car parked in six inches of water in the car park as I came back from lunch and I spotted him some way down river, across the even deeper floods, so I didn't stop to catch up on his news. What I feared would be a very disappointing end to the season has thanks to Dave, with his pike and Dom's stunning chub, turned into a classic Avon send off.
As you can see from above that despite the almost six months of floods there have been some fabulous catches from the river, for those who braved the elements. To give a taste of the wonderful Hampshire Avon I'll give a rundown on some of the catches in the next few days.
The sun did poke its head out from behind the clouds for two or three hours this morning and everything in the countryside responded to its welcome warmth. The butterflies, bumblebees and hoverflies, appeared as if by magic along with basking grass snakes just soaking up the early warmth.
Brimstone, well into double figures, Comma, Red Admiral and Peacock a butterfly count I would be delighted with next month when the transect gets underway. Fingers crossed we don't see a repeat of the north easterly winds that have been such a brake on the arrival of Spring in recent years.
The first shot is a territorial Bluetit that is convinced the bird he can see in my wing mirror is a rival for his mate. Over the next few weeks, as Mockbeggar gets underway, if you are parked in the northern car parks please fold in your wing mirrors, or cover them with a cloth or bag, to save this confused bird from knocking himself out. Interestingly you can see this bird is ringed, probably by Kevin or Brenda over at Blashford. The celandines just shout Spring from the woodland edge, they make the heart swell with pleasure. The shot across to Blashford is just to illustrate the water that remains. There is a Marsh Harrier in the shot just to add a little extra interest.
12th March
Any members visiting Ibsley in recent weeks will have seen that preparation are underway to improve the passage of fish through the Trout Stream and improve on the instream habitat. All very commendable and the passage element I have been bleating on about for years in the hope of such improvements. Wessex Water have appeared on the scene and are keen to ensure their asset, in the form of the abstraction bay weir, is as fish friendly as possible. As I'm sure anyone who has fished that area, particularly the By-pass Stream, will know, it is already an extremely vibrant habitat. My concerns are that the efforts to improve the habitat do just the opposite and mess what already exists. To that end I thought I would just confirm my belief in the success of this little stream and do my own kick sample survey of one or two points. This will provide me with a baseline that is independent, not having been supplied by outside interests.
Way back in 1991 when I first became involved with the fishery one of the first jobs I undertook was to clear the complete coverage of Goat Willow that had collapsed into this channel almost completely choking it. Since that time on my regular visits to the Ibsley Gates I have always kept an eye on this small stream. It has become very popular with some of the fishing club members who often fish it almost guaranteed a great catch of dace and small roach. Such a nursery habitat is irreplaceable and great care must be taken to ensure its survival.
This is just a glimpse of what turned out to be an enormous invertebrate sample. As I was just exploring the possibilities of a survey I did a recce kick sample of less than two minutes. When I lifted the net I was staggered at the content. Bullheads, dragonfly larvae, caddis both - cased and caseless, olives, flat-bodied nymphs, mayflies, gammaris by the hundred, damselfly larvae, countless molluscs and beetles. A completely dazzling collection that we must ensure remain in such numbers. Having discovered this abundance I will make sure I do a regular sample over the next few months.
Invertebrate sample.
A glimpse of part of the two minute kick sample.
A stone loach, which is actually sitting on top of a bullhead, plus a shot of two bullhead, the female looking full of eggs.
11th March
It looks as if Phil and Millie are about to become extremely busy as the first of this years lambs put in an appearance exactly as scheduled. Lets keep our fingers crossed that the weather finally gets its act together and the lambing can remain outside, where the Romney ewes are happiest. In the event the weather does turn against us its good to know we have sufficient room in the barns to house the entire flock in an emergency. Thanks for the photo Phil, its always a delight to see the first lambs of the year.
As for news from the river I'm afraid little has changed. It may have dropped a centimeter or two but remains out across the entire width of the valley in most places. With the end of the river coarse season just three days away I'm afraid the last half of the season has to go down in the records as a total washout. There have been one or two good bags of chub, to those brave enough to have faced the elements and prepared to stand in the flood water for the day. The odd barbel and some fine pike but in reality for the majority of the members, a season to put behind them and look forward to a new start in June.
The salmon news has also seen very little change. The water looks well, once you manage to get the bank. The visibility is once more superb as the bottom is visible in eight feet of water. The tally of kelts, to the one or two rods that have been out, has now reached half a dozen, plus an unwelcome capture in the form of an escapee spartic/brook trout. Please don't put these escapees back, knock them on the head and remove them from the river. Please also report them to the EA or myself and I'll pass on the news.
6th March
Two crack willows that originated at the heart of carp fishing, from the "Willow Swim" at "Redmire Pool". They arrived with us about the size of a pencil, kindly provided by that lovely guy, the late Stew Glover. We have been nuturing them for the last twenty odd years and two of the original six cuttings have survived to maturity. I'm not sure that they came from the actual willow that gave its name to the swim but certainly in the proximity, which is good enough for me. They have been pollarded once before in their progress and now are in urgent need of further attention. We are well behind with this years tree work and it was a great day to be playing catchup, sunshine, blue skies and no wind. There were even several butterflies, passing by in search of early nectar, Curlew calling from the valley and a pair of Marsh Harriers drifting south over the flood.
The middle shot is an unusual view from the top of one of the pollards. That's Henry, over to the left, in the middle of Green Bank, fishing out into Canada Bay.
One of the Harriers.
Dave Winter has just sent me this through, he's fishing in "Duck 2" tonight with Malc. Stunning shot taken across the lake in direction of the House. Looks like they've landed!!
Brilliant shot Dave, thanks for sending it through.
I feel like Orson Wells, but I feel I just have to come clean. The three shots immediately below were taken across the river from "Pile Pool" the lower two earlier today as I crossed the park.
Certainly lots going on.
Two massive cranes used to support the filming lights.
5th March
The North Bay at Mockbeggar looking well in this afternoon's grey light.
The lake certainly looked well today but there is a downside in that there is an awful lot of work still to be done in the next week or two. In the first photo the alder regrowth in the margins has yet to be cut in several areas that remain flooded preventing clearing. In the background of the first shot a large willow can be seen to have fallen into the lake. If this doesn't present a snag that can give rise to damaged fish it may well be left where it fell. If however it has to be removed it will be some time before we can get a tractor and winch across the soft ground to remove it. The car park in the clump of trees where that willow has fallen looks like a war zone with rotten branches spread everywhere. Certainly a further day to clear potential disasters under those old willows and ash.
The middle shot is interesting in that the swan in the shot is feeding on the weed beds out in the middle of the lake. It is only in the last year or two that we have managed to establish abundant weed growth on these previously turbid lakes. To see that the weed has survived the winter with sufficient volume to attract the ducks and swans is very pleasing. Hopefully the coming season will see the continued growth that will benefit both the bird and the fish world providing grazing, plus the accompanying snails and invertebrates.
This is not such a pleasing sight being about half the number of fallow that were about the place today. These should be out on the forest, not around the lakes eating the wild flowers and grasses we are trying to encourage for the pollinators that should be with us in the coming months. I have to admit to most definitely not being a fan of deer. The odd pair of roe are fine, they fit into the natural pattern of things. Fallow, sika, red and muntjac most definitely do not and are best seen in association with red currant jelly. If we are to prevent the destruction of the shrub and bramble understory in the woodlands, so important for our passerines and the wild flower meadows, so important for our bees, butterflies and beetles, everyone needs to eat more venison. Minced, in game pies, same as cottage or shepherds but made with minced venison. Steaks, stews, roasts and pies all with organic healthy, fat free meat. It needs careful cooking, especially roasts and fried, as it needs to be rare. Its a bit like squid, either flash fried or casseroled for several hours, get it correct and its second to none. For the brave or adventurous try it twenty eight day aged, it is wonderful. Chose the carcass carefully to ensure you get the age of animal that will mature well. If you claim to be a bird watcher of lepidopterist, get on with it, eat it at least once a week.
River update.
As promised, I've done my best not to post depressing, daily photographs of the flood. With the coarse season on the rivers about to end, in ten days, one or two members have asked for the latest news in the hope of getting out for a final visit. Alas, nothing has changed, in fact if anything the situation has got even more depressing with further rain adding several inches to the already flooded meadows. Harbridge to Ibsley road remains unpassable to all but tractors and the fool hardy. At least five vehicles have failed to make it through and required rescuing in recent days. Not by us I hasten to add. You drive about out there you deserve all you get.
I have attached a video clip of the state of play, taken from the lodge at 07:30 this morning. "Nuff said"
29th February
Spot the lone angler. You can tell the end of the river coarse season is looming!
Thankfully the lakes remain more accessible. Where James managed this good looking mid thirty this morning, proving there are still one or two fish coming out. Nice one James, thanks for the photo.
27th February
Not a photo you will see often with us, as we do not generally photograph kelts. I have made the exception with this fish Gary landed today just to illustrate how bright and well mended an Avon kelt can look. I was onhand to ask Gary if I could take the photo and he kindly agreed. The other reason a photo did not pose a risk to the fish was that there was a foot of water out in the field where Gary landed her. It wasn't a problem keeping the fish, wet due to the surrounding flood, allowing a very well rested and recovered fish to return to the river. This is a 2SW hen that was in perfect condition for a kelt, Sparkingly bright, no fin damage or scale loss, she looked immaculate. This is definitely a candidate to return as a second spawner if she avoids the perils of the North Atlantic.
26th February
Yet another giant oak bites the dust after the blow last night. Thankfully, Kevin had the unenviable task of cutting this stress laden monster into shape.
Whilst we may all be fedup to the teeth with floods they have far more serious implications for much of our wildlife. With the watermeadows flooded the food source for the insect and small mammal predators unavailable a real risk of starvation threatens them. They are also far too deep for waders to probe the rich soils for their worms and grubs forcing them further afield to forage. Oddly as you go south. down the valley, the flood water actually gets shallower. With us the flood plain is narrower with less area available to disapate the volume of water. The waders will initially find shallower feeding in these southern fields making their way back upstream to us, as the flood recedes.
The Kestrel is seeking the beetle larvea that these floods cause to migrate to drier ground. As they cross the roads and tracks, exposing them to the birds, they are gratefully snapped up by the struggling foragers. The Curlew and the Oystercatcher were searching the small exposed patches of ground at the edge of the flood plain. Normally their feeding grounds would be up on the North Marsh, at Hucklesbrook.
24th February
You will have seen similar shots as that above as its a scene that I find extremely thought provoking. Be it the Summer time, when the hay fields are full of wild flowers and swaying grass or winter scenes of frost and flood, looking south from the valley the tower of St Peter's and St Paul's, down in Ringwood, can be seen in the distance. The particular representation that currently watches us from the south is a mid 19th century Victorian version, being at least the third incarnations since the Doomsday Book record. If you ignore the Ringwood bypass, that almost abuts the tower, to a cursory glance much of the 3000m of intervening valley from where this photo was taken, may look familiar to the time that it was built back in the 1850's. This familiarity is a result of very gradual change that has advanced under cover of stealth. Many structures have gone, the mill and the hotel, compulsory purchased to make room for the bypass. The weir, or more correctly the control hatches that replaced the old weir, designed by the EA and has never worked as intended. The only impact being the loss of one of the most important lengths of fishery on the Estate. Yet the valley flood meadows, dividing around Upmead, retain their constant presence. The large Marl Pond, that once occupied the ground just north of the present dual carriage way, beyond the river, has silted up and now for the most part consists of dense sedge beds and willow car. The channels of the Kings and Ashley Streams seem familiar, albeit with reduced flow due to poor farming practices in the flood plain. Unfortunately their appearance hides the fact they offer little environmental, particularly riverine, benefit. In light of the changes listed above that mankind has imposed, recognition from those distant days would seem unlikely.
What is so thought provoking about today's scene is that it is not directly, certainly not locally, the result of mankind's bungling intervention. Just how familiar would extensive floods, with a six month duration, have been one hundred and seventy years ago? Were they a one hundred year probability event, as I was assured by the EA they were when I dealt with the consequences of the first one I endured back in the late 80's? My subsequent experience would seem to point to something more akin to a five year probability event. Just how the future will unfold and how we make a living and survive these prolonged floods, remains to be seen.
What will need to happen is the regulators and the impacted parties sit down together and discuss what is desirable and just what will be achievable.
To avoid frustration, don't look at the shots above as further pix of the flood, consider them as further tales of our egrets. The left hand shot captures a bend in the river where thirteen egrets were busy spiking out bugs and fry in a totally natural and egret friendly scene. The middle photo gives a nice comparison between the two species and the righthand shot captures a Great White Egret hiding in plain sight. We are so used to our swan population being the large white blobs that are dotted about the valley. The presence of a further large white blob concealing an egret can be easily overlooked.
Time rolls on whatever the state of the valley and we are seeing more and more signs of Spring surrounding us. The herons have been building for a month and the Eygptian Geese are sitting on full clutches of eggs. Around the lakes the Great Crested Grebe are dancing, Black-headed Gulls are displaying and Oystercatchers a whistling and chasing overhead.
As the Avondiary I just have to include this.
This is not news for those of us that have known the Avon for many years. Trying to persude the EA there is a problem and getting them to act is the hard part.
23rd February
I think we will be very lucky if after months of floods when we do get out on the valley again all our bridges remain in place. Whilst we have most anchored to heavy concrete foundations I can almost guarantee one or two will have broken their moorings. In anticipation of such failures today I spent several hours productively splitting a four meter length of spiny oak that will provide two long lasting replacements.
22nd February
In future my updates will be of a different nature to that of endless photos of flooded meadows. To avoid depression and flood overload, I will only put up photos of the floods when they have receded and drained the meadows. This move is in recognition of the fifth birthday of this flood, it first flooded the meadows five months ago and hasn't dropped since. We are now entering the sixth month! As can be seen in the photo it was raining and we are forecast further heavy rain over the weekend. This probably means, unless you are prepared to wade and stand in the water, the river coarse season is likely to be a complete wash out.
In recognition of the floods fifth anniversary, Anne and I decided we would drown our sorrows and cheer ourselves up, by eating out. Its amazing what a fine meal and a good selection of wine can achieve. Certainly accepting that the weather and the conditions are out of our control is easier after a thoroughly relaxing evening. It almost makes the potential sixth anniversary a date to look forward to if it involves a further evening at "La Fosse" in Cranborne. I can certainly recommend, "La Fosse" if you wish to enjoy a relaxing and distracting evening, involving good food and wine.
19th February
The higher meadows proved dry enough to break open with the plough, much to the delight of the gulls.
Today's update. The approach to Penmeade Pool, if it comes to that it is also the approach to, Swan Island to Blashford Island, the Tail of Blashford Island and Above the Breakthrough. All look as if they would fish perfectly if the water would just drop six inches. As it is, waders are still required to get to the river. Interestingly the very head of Penmeade has a steady run on the nearside that looks as if it may well fish well on the float. Just above the top of the pool alongside the reeds was alway a spot that big chub and the odd barbel could be found. It is also the spot where roach can be seen once the water has cleared in the Summer. Where those Summer roach spend their Winter is the question still to be answered. Anyone with an hour or two to spare and feeling adventurous you could do worse than giving that swim a try. If the water is still high you could hang your tackle box on the rails where the reeds end.
The gorse is in bloom and was covered in honey bees at lunchtime.
18th February
Just an update to show Ellingham Bridge Pool this morning. As I drove over it the river was still rising and we are forecast heavy rain mid-week.
17th February
Just reaching the river.
Just getting out to the river at Ibsley remains a bit of a trial.
Once you actually make it to the river it is looking spot on and fished beautifully. Unfortunately there wasn't a salmon waiting for me but I will be back!
I don't think I have put the name of the mystery duck on here. To put several of you out of your misery the answer is a Red-crested Pochard, duck.
15th February
Almost complete, as the Yorshire board is fixed into place. Three days ago that had a squirrel running up it in the wood visible in the background. Now fixed in place, where it will season naturally over the next year or two.
Ian and Nick planting the next generation of timber. This season has been extremely difficult due to the high rainfall and mild conditions, water-logged ground and triggering the saplings into early growth.
The hellebore are now taking the place of the snowdrops and daffodils in brightening the front garden.
13th February
The Kestrel is seeking the beetle larvea that these floods cause to migrate to drier ground. As they cross the roads and tracks, exposing them to the birds, they are gratefully snapped up by the struggling foragers. The Curlew and the Oystercatcher were searching the small exposed patches of ground at the edge of the flood plain. Normally their feeding grounds would be up on the North Marsh, at Hucklesbrook.
24th February
What is so thought provoking about today's scene is that it is not directly, certainly not locally, the result of mankind's bungling intervention. Just how familiar would extensive floods, with a six month duration, have been one hundred and seventy years ago? Were they a one hundred year probability event, as I was assured by the EA they were when I dealt with the consequences of the first one I endured back in the late 80's? My subsequent experience would seem to point to something more akin to a five year probability event. Just how the future will unfold and how we make a living and survive these prolonged floods, remains to be seen.
What will need to happen is the regulators and the impacted parties sit down together and discuss what is desirable and just what will be achievable.
23rd February
22nd February
In recognition of the floods fifth anniversary, Anne and I decided we would drown our sorrows and cheer ourselves up, by eating out. Its amazing what a fine meal and a good selection of wine can achieve. Certainly accepting that the weather and the conditions are out of our control is easier after a thoroughly relaxing evening. It almost makes the potential sixth anniversary a date to look forward to if it involves a further evening at "La Fosse" in Cranborne. I can certainly recommend, "La Fosse" if you wish to enjoy a relaxing and distracting evening, involving good food and wine.
19th February
18th February
17th February
15th February
13th February
A change from the river in that the forestry has taken top priority in recent days. From past entries you may remember that we have thinned many of our woodlands over the past year or two. One of the problems associated with large scale thinning operations is that you open up the remaining trees to the risk of windblow. On many occasions you may get away without damage, on others, the wind will get in and uproot several trees. The losses do not warrant the return of the chipping operation, so, to avoid wasting these trees we pull them out and stockpile them in the yard. Once we have sufficient volume we call in a mobile saw bench and process the trees for use about the Estate.
The first shot shows Will's mobile bench getting underway first thing in the morning. The middle photo shows the newly processed boards ready for moving into the timber store, for later use in cladding the barns with Yorkshire boarding. The right hand shot the slab wood, that will go for temporary shelters for the sheep and trees stakes for supporting the newly planted whips. This is the forestry equivalent of the locally sourced food movement that is the driving force of today's restaurant world. Its certainly a vast improvement on all the Scandinavian and North American imports.
There is something enormously satisfying in cutting out a tree, processing it and making use of it, all within a distance of two hundred meters.
If you require the services of a mobile sawbench I can thoroughly recommend Will. He made light work in producing seven hundred boards for our use.
Will's Patterdale, looking less than impressed with the distinct lack of rats and to add insult to injury it had started to rain. Certainly proved a successful ploy to get into the truck out of the weather!
I have added three clips of the sawbench showing the way large sawlogs are manipulated and converted into useable timber.
Handling the log.
Squaring off.
Cutting the boards.
11th February
After five months of floods there comes a point where it's hard to find anything positive to say about the situation. The forecast for the coming week threatens further rain, so it appears it will be at least a week or two before we see dry banks once more. The Ellingham water meadows are flooded out, the volume of water currently making managing the levels impossible.
Even more depressing, at this time of year we used to have the Six Nations to lift the spirits. Now, when the most influential person in the game is sat in a shed watching tele, you just know the game is finished! Its akin to the excitement of watching Deep Blue play chess!
The WeBS count was very much as expected, with most of the wildfowl retired to the lakes to sit out the day. One or two unexpected sightings in the shape of a pair of Oystercatchers, a Curlew, I flushed the Bitterne again and the duck above. I haven't named as it will allow readers to see if they can ID it. That's a Coot to its right to give an idea of the size.
10th February
Its a WeBS weekend and strangely with probably well over five thousand ducks in the valley, the count on the Estate will be very low. There will be the resident swans and geese plus a scattering of oddities and several hundred Lapwing. After the rain of the last couple of days the valley is once more flooded to the full width of the floodplain. Providing perfect feeding conditions for the duck and after dark they appear in clouds, dropping on the flooded meadows and feeding until the early hours. Once sufficiently fed they retreat to the large bodies of water over in the lakes to spend the daylight hours loafing, before heading back out into the valley to feed the following evening. The counts from those lakes will probably set records for the number of duck in the valley, certainly in recent years.
The shot above is one of the dozen or so Little Egrets that are also enjoying the flood and being sight feeders, visit us during the day. One other visitor that I spotted today as I made my way around one of the lakes was a fine Bittern that as I disturbed it from its reedbed flew lazily ou across the lake before dropping into another reedbed to disappear without trace.
9th February
An update on the rivers conditions for any members planning a visit. This was the Avon Valley Path at 08:00 this morning, less than twenty four hours after the middle shot below was taken. The water is back over the Harbridge road and Ellingham car park is once more underwater. Basically, a complete wash-out.
8th February
It was good whilst it lasted! The water looked as if it were actually going to clear the meadows completely this week, that was until the rain of the last forty eight hours. Mid-afternoon and the water was rising rapidly and the colour of mud above the hatches at Ibsley.
The Avon Valley Path, that had been passable in wellies has disappeared once more, heading for its fifth month unusable. It wouldn't be so hard to stomach if those "experts" at Hampshire County Council, who oversee the footpath network, had taken the opportunity to solve this reoccurring problem they had been offered a few years ago. Instead of the ill informed, totally inflexible stance they adopted. Sadly, in reality that doesn't really come as a surprise. Come to think of it, I think I may just have thought of a partial solution to the massive shortfall in the Counties funding.
Lastly the way across to Blashford Pool and the Island Run, rapidly disappearing. Yesterday, Dave S, Manny and I stood at that point discussing the pleasing drop in levels, before Dave made his way comfortably out to the river through just one or two spots of welly depth water.
7th February
A couple of very distant shots of some of the birds about the valley today. With the meadows now having drained the Egrets and Gulls are making the most of the freshly exposed food. Three of five, Great White Egret that were about, often in the company of 13 Little Egrets. There are at least three different Harriers visiting most days, sending gulls and waders scattering when they pass.
6th February
We've removed the windblown willow from Tizard's Pool, making it a great deal easier to fish. There remains a small snag on the left bank that is easily avoided and I will remove it when I can find my pruning saw. The remaining stump of the willow looks a complete mess but that is intentional, left along with the brash to provided invertebrate habitat.
The third shot is Ringwood Weirpool that I started clipping out today. This is "running water" when fish are running through the system, they won't hold here when the flow drops. This means its worth a little attention when the river is high, as it is at present. If you have an hour at the beginning, or the end of your visit, its worth giving it a go.
4th February
The above shots, of Ibsley Pool and Dog Kennel, give a slightly false image of the current conditions in the valley. Whilst many of the pools are fishing well, getting to them can be a bit of a trial. Conditions that understandably account for the lack of rods out and about. I quite understand the reticence of facing such tiring conditions but a February Springer is a fabulous reward for anyone lucky enough to find one. I will certainly be out looking, with everything I have firmly crossed.
During my travels today, with both strimmer and rod, I bumped into one or two coarse members making the most of the milder conditions. The chub were feeding and I believe the barbel have been active so don't miss the opportunity of a visit if circumstances allow.
2nd February
The first shot is the carrier we cleaned out a year or two back. The impact of the rapidly draining meadows is controlled as the carriers water level is balance by the main channel, at its confluence downstream. The middle shot shows some of the thousands of caddis grubs that are slowly retreating with the dropping water levels.
As for the third shot, is it possibly the remains of a British Record chub? Afraid not, it looks as if one of the local grass carp has succumbed to the winter conditions. Not the greatest loss, they should not be in the Avon and will not be missed by many.
As for the newly opened salmon season, nothing to add today as I didn't see any rods out trying their luck. Hopefully the weekend will see rods out looking to open their own and the rivers account.
1st February
Some of today's rods at the lodge at lunchtime. It was good to catch up and discuss just what the season ahead holds for us and take a break from staggering about in the aftermath of the flood.
Opening day of the salmon season and I was delighted to see seven or eight members came to wet a line. Those hardy souls may not have been rewarded with a Springer, the day however proved to be absolutely glorious, mild, with the river looking in near perfect condition. Getting about remains difficult but as the river continues to rapidly drop back matters are improving almost hourly. Fingers crossed it won't be too long before we hear of the first fresh fish off the river.
The clip below is just a second or two showing the thousands of gammarus, freshwater shrimp, heading back into the deeper water as the water levels drop back. With the flood water dropping back and the wildfowling season over I am able to clear one or two of the obstructions in the carriers. I am unable to do this with a machine as the ground remains waterlogged and would be damaged. I can't drain the waterlogged ground because of the obstruction coffering back the water, catch twenty two! The remedy, do it by hand. This has the advantage of being a very labour intensive, slow process. I say advantage from the perspective of the ecology of the stream and its relationship with the flooded meadows. Heavy machines make light work of most obstructions, lifting them out in minutes. The resulting surge of released water rushes downstream scouring all life before it. Similarly as the water levels quickly drop back and equalise above and below the blockage, drains and carriers at the higher level drain is minutes, potentially stranding masses of invertebrates and fish. By doing much of this work by hand a far more gentle and invertebrate friendly regime is created. To fully clear the carrier, as weed and rubbish is either removed or chased from one pinchpoint or hatch downstream to the next, may take a full day. Alternatively if the process is spread over two three or even four days the advantages are obvious for the river and in most cases two or three hours heaving weed and rubbish about is plenty.
Draining flood water.
31st January
Last look before it all starts in earnest. Ibsley Pool looking spot on height wise, now just below the top of the bank. Should you be lucky enough to contact a fish in Ibsley Pool, don't let it run downstream into Tizard's as there is a large willow laying in the pool that has fallen from over in the lakes. We will get the winch over by the lakes, where the ground is a little drier, and remove the thing as soon as we can. It will be weeks beore the meadows are dry enough to allow a tractor to reach it from the right bank.
Tightlines to all who venture out and I hope to see you on the bank in the near future.
30th January
The shots above are for the most part aimed at the salmon rods who will be joining us on Thursday as the salmon season once more gets underway. We are all holding our breath in the hope this year will be a marked improvement over the disaster that we suffered last season. Only this week the water levels are at last receding allowing me to get a look at the pools for the first time in over three months. I'm afraid conditions remain very difficult, plus the fact I have been unable to get to the pools to clean them up in readiness for the comong season. All that in mind please, please take care if you intend to pay us a visit in the next week or two. The photos above were taken on my walk from Ellingham down to Blashford and back again of course. Suffice to say I was Kn....ed by the time I got back to the car. Wading through the flood water, mud and floating vegetation is extremely tiring, so don't bite off more than you can chew, fish just one or two pools well rather than rushing about like a mad thing.
As you can see from the photos, we are still confronted by a very high river. Tackle will need to be balanced to meet the demands, fast sinking lines will be the order of the day. The water clarity and temperature are in our favour so there's every chance any early fish that have entered the system will see the fly without too much effort, so keep positive and don't over do it. For those of you that didn't recognise the pools, one flooded field looking remarkably like another, they are starting top left; looking upstream to Dog Kennel, Pile Pool, The Pipe down to Coomer. Bottom row left to right, the run into Mackenzies, Sydney Pool and finally Blashford. Good Luck!
Whilst out and about looking at the pools I also had tiime to consider the state of the carriers and oxbows. Over recent years we have been maintaining the carrier system and cleaning out several oxbows in an affort to provide safe habitat for our juvenile fish stock and resident mammals and birds. With such a prolonged flood we are keeping our fingers crossed that the flood water hasn't scoured our juveniles out of the system. Once the flows reach a certain level, beyond which it by-passes the hatches, inundating the carriers. When I first arrived on the Estate, many moons ago, we suffered a prolonged flood that I was condidently told by the EA officers at the time was a one in a century event. Well,surprise surprise, we have subsequently experienced similar floods a couple of times a decade at least in the intervening years. Just what impact these more frequent floods are having on our invertebrates and fish numbers remains a mystery. Perhaps an ongoing PhD study might shed some light and answer a few of the questions we have been asking for the last thirty plus years!
Sydney Pool.
One step forward and you're into twelve feet of very cold water. So please be careful.
28th January
With the water dropping back into the channel the waders are starting to appear, to enjoy the feeding on the muddy shallows. The two shots above show seven Green sandpiper that were sat beside Gypsy Hole, as I drove by on my rounds this morning.
27th January
The shot above is of one of two flocks of Lapwing that were loafing out on the meadows today. The water is dropping quite quickly, allowing the waders to access the meadows at long last. The two flocks of Lapwing could be seen at the same time ensuring no duplication and allowing a good digital count of 453, the coloured counting dots can be seen in the photo. They were quite jumpy as a pair of Marsh Harriers were drifting about looking for Snipe that chose to sit too tight.
The main issue included in today's entry is that high water spinning will not be available at Somerley this season. I doubt it will be available on the Avon but to ensure clarity before the start of the season, Somerley will be fly only until the 1st of June. The quite understandable reasoning on the part of the regulators is included below.
In the latest species reassessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, released at COP28 this week (11th December 2023), Atlantic salmon have been reclassified from 'Least Concern' to 'Endangered' in Great Britain (as a result of a 30-50% decline in British populations since 2006)
English Chalkstream salmon and the Leven subpopulation in Scotland are given a separate regional assessment and are now classified as ‘Vulnerable’ and ‘Least Concern’ respectively.
As I say above, the thinking on the part of the regulators is quite understandable, its just a pity that its once again the fishery that has to make the sacrifice in the name of conservation. We don't need a body that has proven unfit fit for purpose to lecture us on the state of the fishery. That body should be ensuring we fully understand the requirements and the threats to the species from the great list of outside influences that have brought about this situation. Whilst the fishery, hence the investment in the river infrastructure, is once more made to bear the cost, we still have major barriers to passage at the tidal limit, millions of litres of sewage and contaminated water being deliberately flushed into our rivers and millions of litres of water abstracted and lost to the catchment. Just to give a pointer or two! If the regulators have allowed themselves to be starved of funding through ineffectual management pressure perhaps what funding is left from the GIA and the rod licence income should be distributed by those having to face the consequences?
26th January
I took this shot a week or so back that captures Gavin and his guest, Chris, enjoying a day on a very flooded river. Cold, bright, flooded and gin clear, about as difficult as it comes but a great Avon winter scene.
25th January
Warbler Report 2024.
The above link will take you to Brenda's nesting report for Mockbeggar. As you will read in the report, 2024 was not the smoothest for Brenda but I'm sure you'll agree the report is once more a superb record of the Mockbeggar nesting season. Its a download so give it a minute to arrive. Many thanks for sharing your work once again Brenda.
22nd January
This is just a reminder about my request for dead salmon that I put up on here the other day. Should you see a pair of these large gulls out on the flooded meadows please drop me a text, or call, as they will have almost certainly found a corpse. At this time of year the odds are higher than average that it is likely to be a kelt. Raven, crows, magpies and even the Red Kites may have struck lucky and also found a meal, so if you see any of them feeding out on the meadows I'd appreciate a call.
The result of donning the waders and splashing out across the meadows to investigate. A kelt, ideal for the research project, washed fifty meters out into the meadows. The stream in the background of the left hand shot, is in fact the Avon Valley Path, so little sign of the water dropping as yet.
Thankfully, we escaped quite lightly from the passing of storm Isha last night. There were one or two willows that succumbed but nothing requiring out of hours attention. The exploded willow pollard in the photo stands, or more correctly stood, between Tizards Pool and the Ibsley Ponds. From the amount of rotten timber at its heart it would appear its time was up, storm Isha or not.
The other day I had occasion to visit some of the casualties from earlier storms. I was looking for a reasonably clean oak stick to provide us with a six or seven meter oak beam. The tree in the first photo came down five or six years ago and was partially naturally seasoned. With any luck Kingsley, in his yard on the Estate, will be able to convert this into the length of timber required.
Whilst out and about I visited one of the Douglas Fir plantations that we thinned a year or two ago. As can be seen in the second photo the natural regeneration looks very well indeed. If the weather permits over the next week or two, to avoid over crowding we will lift several hundred of these young trees for planting elsewhere.
16th January
With the river as about as difficult as can be, the weather is now trying to shut down the lakes. Lets hope the warmer weather forecast for the weekend arrives to save the day.
13th January
WeBS day today that was completely disrupted by the state of the flooding. I did spend an hour or two in the valley but trying to make sense of the birds out on the floods proved impossible. What is perhaps the most difficult challenge is avoiding duplication. There are thousands of wildfowl in the valley but you wouldn't believe it looking out across the valley floods during the day. Yet as the sun sets the sky fills with the sound of wildfowl heading out into the flooded meadows to feed. Literally thousands of duck; Pintail, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Widgeon and Gadwall make the bulk of the numbers yet in the failing light accuracy is an impossibility. Thankfully since the gravel extraction in the valley there are numerous disused gravel pits, where the wildfowl loaf during the day, making counting a great deal simpler.
Although the waders and wildfowl may be difficult the valley remains a great place to spend a few hours. The two shots above show a pair of our resident Kites that have been with us for four or five years. No sausage rolls or sandwiches for them to steal, these are real kites, having to contend with the thousands of chip nicking shite-hawks that appear as if by magic if you drop so much as a crust, or fire out a boily! The cock Stonechat is one of several pairs that can be found about the edge of the floods. They may just be down from the forest, over-wintering in the warmer valley, although we now see several pair rearing young in the valley each Summer.
13th January
Anne and I have been away for a day or two, hence the lack of entries, enjoying the sights and tastes of Marlow up on the Thames. An extremely pleasant break if at times a little over indulgent. On occasions it also seemed to be somewhat of a busman's holiday. The hotel almost becoming part of the Thames at times, with the high water knocking at the doors. The third shot is the Harbridge road, taken this morning, as the pair of swans enjoyed their new found pool. If you look closely beyond the swans, towards the church, you can see the car that I photographed abandoned further out in the deeper flood water, is still out there. The road does remain closed with the highways signs shutting off both ends.
In our absence the Avon has dropped. Don't get over excited, it is all of 10mm on my guage at Ibsley Bridge. Its not an official guage but its one I have used for over twenty five years so I do trust it. One other change during our absence has been the water visibility. When the light is right, the bed is clearly visible in ten feet of water. It all looks very cold, clear and wintery that I suspect will make the fishing on the river extremely difficult for the foreseeable future.
You just know know when you're in a posh area! Surely a sign of the most successful reintroduction in the country.
8th January
Not everthing in the valley is grey and dismal, the old willow pollards looked magnificent in the afternoon sunshine today.
7th January
Oops, got that wrong by he look of it. Spot the car in the first, long shot, of the Harbridge Road as it crosses the valley. The road remains flooded and will do so for several days, so give it a miss if you're in a normal car. You may get away with it, alternatively you may have quite a long walk to dry land.
6th January
The view this morning from the lodge doesn't look very encouraging for the start of the new salmon season in four weeks. The only straw to cling to is that any fish entering the system will have plenty of water to run through to us. The middle shot shows Kevin trying to unblock one of the old brick culverts under an Estate road. Along with Adam and Phil, they have been doing their best to clear ditches and blockages in an effort to get rid of as much of this flood water as possible.
On a brighter note, these are the two late juvenile Great Crested Grebe I featured on here back on the 5th and 18th of November. They now have adult feathers and seem to be coping with the recent floods well. They have had an even more precarious start in that one of the adults died a month ago. The remaining adult has done an excellent job in rearing these two extremely demanding offspring.
5th January
Fed-up with looking at a flooded valley this afternoon I went for a walk around one of the lakes. After so many wet and miserable days it was a relief to enjoy a dry and sunny hour or two. A couple of highlights being a male Marsh Harrier working the reedbeds and four Great White Egrets arriving for roost.
One of two herds of fallow about the lakes this afternoon.
2nd January
I've put similar photos to the ones above on the diary on numerous occasions, I've added them once more purely as a record of the conditions we are currently experiencing in the valley. The first is of the ford at Moylescourt that is now unsafe to cross in anything other than a tractor. Centre, is the Ibsley to Harbridge road that at midday was not suitable for anything other than large 4 x 4, with about ten inches of water flowing rapidly across the road. The third is the view from the lakes across to Blashford Corner. It clearly illustrates the extent of the flood that seven hundred acres of the flood plain on the Estate are currently suffering.
1st January
Not the first of the New Year, as Mike landed her yesterday afternoon, which I believe makes her the last thirty plus from Meadow in 2023. He did land a further brace of twenties making it quite a Winter session. Roger did manage a brace of doubles from Vincents today to open the new year, unfortunately he slipped them straight back without a photo. None the less, they did open the 2024 account on the lakes. The lakes have enjoyed a great year so fingers crossed the New Year continues in a similar fashion.
Thanks for the fabulous photo Mike, great way to sign off 2023.
Chris' Memorial Page
As I say above, the thinking on the part of the regulators is quite understandable, its just a pity that its once again the fishery that has to make the sacrifice in the name of conservation. We don't need a body that has proven unfit fit for purpose to lecture us on the state of the fishery. That body should be ensuring we fully understand the requirements and the threats to the species from the great list of outside influences that have brought about this situation. Whilst the fishery, hence the investment in the river infrastructure, is once more made to bear the cost, we still have major barriers to passage at the tidal limit, millions of litres of sewage and contaminated water being deliberately flushed into our rivers and millions of litres of water abstracted and lost to the catchment. Just to give a pointer or two! If the regulators have allowed themselves to be starved of funding through ineffectual management pressure perhaps what funding is left from the GIA and the rod licence income should be distributed by those having to face the consequences?
26th January
I took this shot a week or so back that captures Gavin and his guest, Chris, enjoying a day on a very flooded river. Cold, bright, flooded and gin clear, about as difficult as it comes but a great Avon winter scene.
25th January
Warbler Report 2024.
The above link will take you to Brenda's nesting report for Mockbeggar. As you will read in the report, 2024 was not the smoothest for Brenda but I'm sure you'll agree the report is once more a superb record of the Mockbeggar nesting season. Its a download so give it a minute to arrive. Many thanks for sharing your work once again Brenda.
22nd January
This is just a reminder about my request for dead salmon that I put up on here the other day. Should you see a pair of these large gulls out on the flooded meadows please drop me a text, or call, as they will have almost certainly found a corpse. At this time of year the odds are higher than average that it is likely to be a kelt. Raven, crows, magpies and even the Red Kites may have struck lucky and also found a meal, so if you see any of them feeding out on the meadows I'd appreciate a call.
The result of donning the waders and splashing out across the meadows to investigate. A kelt, ideal for the research project, washed fifty meters out into the meadows. The stream in the background of the left hand shot, is in fact the Avon Valley Path, so little sign of the water dropping as yet.
Thankfully, we escaped quite lightly from the passing of storm Isha last night. There were one or two willows that succumbed but nothing requiring out of hours attention. The exploded willow pollard in the photo stands, or more correctly stood, between Tizards Pool and the Ibsley Ponds. From the amount of rotten timber at its heart it would appear its time was up, storm Isha or not.
The other day I had occasion to visit some of the casualties from earlier storms. I was looking for a reasonably clean oak stick to provide us with a six or seven meter oak beam. The tree in the first photo came down five or six years ago and was partially naturally seasoned. With any luck Kingsley, in his yard on the Estate, will be able to convert this into the length of timber required.
Whilst out and about I visited one of the Douglas Fir plantations that we thinned a year or two ago. As can be seen in the second photo the natural regeneration looks very well indeed. If the weather permits over the next week or two, to avoid over crowding we will lift several hundred of these young trees for planting elsewhere.
16th January
With the river as about as difficult as can be, the weather is now trying to shut down the lakes. Lets hope the warmer weather forecast for the weekend arrives to save the day.
13th January
WeBS day today that was completely disrupted by the state of the flooding. I did spend an hour or two in the valley but trying to make sense of the birds out on the floods proved impossible. What is perhaps the most difficult challenge is avoiding duplication. There are thousands of wildfowl in the valley but you wouldn't believe it looking out across the valley floods during the day. Yet as the sun sets the sky fills with the sound of wildfowl heading out into the flooded meadows to feed. Literally thousands of duck; Pintail, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Widgeon and Gadwall make the bulk of the numbers yet in the failing light accuracy is an impossibility. Thankfully since the gravel extraction in the valley there are numerous disused gravel pits, where the wildfowl loaf during the day, making counting a great deal simpler.
Although the waders and wildfowl may be difficult the valley remains a great place to spend a few hours. The two shots above show a pair of our resident Kites that have been with us for four or five years. No sausage rolls or sandwiches for them to steal, these are real kites, having to contend with the thousands of chip nicking shite-hawks that appear as if by magic if you drop so much as a crust, or fire out a boily! The cock Stonechat is one of several pairs that can be found about the edge of the floods. They may just be down from the forest, over-wintering in the warmer valley, although we now see several pair rearing young in the valley each Summer.
13th January
Anne and I have been away for a day or two, hence the lack of entries, enjoying the sights and tastes of Marlow up on the Thames. An extremely pleasant break if at times a little over indulgent. On occasions it also seemed to be somewhat of a busman's holiday. The hotel almost becoming part of the Thames at times, with the high water knocking at the doors. The third shot is the Harbridge road, taken this morning, as the pair of swans enjoyed their new found pool. If you look closely beyond the swans, towards the church, you can see the car that I photographed abandoned further out in the deeper flood water, is still out there. The road does remain closed with the highways signs shutting off both ends.
In our absence the Avon has dropped. Don't get over excited, it is all of 10mm on my guage at Ibsley Bridge. Its not an official guage but its one I have used for over twenty five years so I do trust it. One other change during our absence has been the water visibility. When the light is right, the bed is clearly visible in ten feet of water. It all looks very cold, clear and wintery that I suspect will make the fishing on the river extremely difficult for the foreseeable future.
You just know know when you're in a posh area! Surely a sign of the most successful reintroduction in the country.
8th January
Not everthing in the valley is grey and dismal, the old willow pollards looked magnificent in the afternoon sunshine today.
7th January
Oops, got that wrong by he look of it. Spot the car in the first, long shot, of the Harbridge Road as it crosses the valley. The road remains flooded and will do so for several days, so give it a miss if you're in a normal car. You may get away with it, alternatively you may have quite a long walk to dry land.
6th January
The view this morning from the lodge doesn't look very encouraging for the start of the new salmon season in four weeks. The only straw to cling to is that any fish entering the system will have plenty of water to run through to us. The middle shot shows Kevin trying to unblock one of the old brick culverts under an Estate road. Along with Adam and Phil, they have been doing their best to clear ditches and blockages in an effort to get rid of as much of this flood water as possible.
On a brighter note, these are the two late juvenile Great Crested Grebe I featured on here back on the 5th and 18th of November. They now have adult feathers and seem to be coping with the recent floods well. They have had an even more precarious start in that one of the adults died a month ago. The remaining adult has done an excellent job in rearing these two extremely demanding offspring.
5th January
Fed-up with looking at a flooded valley this afternoon I went for a walk around one of the lakes. After so many wet and miserable days it was a relief to enjoy a dry and sunny hour or two. A couple of highlights being a male Marsh Harrier working the reedbeds and four Great White Egrets arriving for roost.
One of two herds of fallow about the lakes this afternoon.
2nd January
I've put similar photos to the ones above on the diary on numerous occasions, I've added them once more purely as a record of the conditions we are currently experiencing in the valley. The first is of the ford at Moylescourt that is now unsafe to cross in anything other than a tractor. Centre, is the Ibsley to Harbridge road that at midday was not suitable for anything other than large 4 x 4, with about ten inches of water flowing rapidly across the road. The third is the view from the lakes across to Blashford Corner. It clearly illustrates the extent of the flood that seven hundred acres of the flood plain on the Estate are currently suffering.
1st January
Not the first of the New Year, as Mike landed her yesterday afternoon, which I believe makes her the last thirty plus from Meadow in 2023. He did land a further brace of twenties making it quite a Winter session. Roger did manage a brace of doubles from Vincents today to open the new year, unfortunately he slipped them straight back without a photo. None the less, they did open the 2024 account on the lakes. The lakes have enjoyed a great year so fingers crossed the New Year continues in a similar fashion.
Thanks for the fabulous photo Mike, great way to sign off 2023.
Chris' Memorial Page
Several syndicate members have asked in recent days if I knew of any intention to have a memorial for Chris Ball. I also know that many friends of Chris, other than syndicate members, have expressed a similar desire.
I can now let you all know that several people have been looking into the possibility of a permanent memorial over at the lakes. Lynne has been kept in the picture and is on board, so we are hopefully about to get matters off the ground. The idea of a stone bench, or standing stone, with a suitable engraving, beside the Back Lagoon is being explored. The “Back Lagoon” seems a fitting location, being the scene of several of Chris' exploits in recent years. His brace of thirties and his PB UK mirror, all taken off the top, being within feet of the proposed site of the memorial.
Chris with two of his captures from the Back Lagoon.
I'm sure many readers will be pleased to see Chris remembered in this way and may wish to donate toward the memorial. John Slader and I are happy to collect any donations toward the cost and keep you all informed as to progress.
To that end John Slader has opened a dedicated bank account and whilst in his name a full record of donations will be maintained. Bank transfers can be made to:-
A/C name - J Slader
Bank Lloyds – 30-84-23
A/C Number - 26085460
Please quote your name as a reference
At the time of making a transfer please email both John Slader and myself to ensure a suitable record and audit trail can be maintained :-
jslader@btinternet.com
cbmemorial@jlevell.net
or any of the email addresses that accompany this blog.
The other means of helping the cause is to spread the word, as I doubt the majority of Chris' friends are readers of my blog. If you have contacts that knew Chris and may wish to contribute, please pass on this message.
29th December
I must start with congratulating, Jim Night, who has broken the Avon barbel record with an amazing 20.04 fish. Fantastic result Jim, the first Avon fish over twenty pounds.
You just know when everything has had enough of this high water when the otters have to climb a tree to find somewhere dry to eat their dinner. Still on the otter front, one of the large dog otters further down in the Estate at the Lakes, has been spotted laying on his back drifting down the middle of the lake. Either that or the high water has seen a sea otter looking for a new home! As an indicator of the change in biomass that now occupies the valley, as opposed from a couple of decades ago, in a wider shot of the otter up the tree I also had a Great White Egret and a Goshawk. Unfortunately the latter two where unidentifiable in the shot. I'll put up one of my famously terrible short clips below that if you listen carefully you will hear a pair of magpies shouting at the otter. One of the easiest ways to locate an otter is to listen out for these scolding magpies. They shout at the otters in the hope of scaring them off their meal, allowing the thieves to nick it.
Aboreal otter.
Listen for the magpies.
Worming otter.
Thanks to Damian for sending through another clip of today's otter activity. He caught the tail end of the activity that he thought may well have been worming out in the flooded field. I've never seen or heard of such behaviour but what ever it was up to, its a atmospheric clip of the flood. It looks as if the last thing it did before entering the river the first time was to spraint mark his territory.
Its a pity we missed the back stroking specimen skulling up the middle of Vincents. It would have made for a pretty interesting set of clips.
If any further proof was required to illustrate climate change, today there was midge smoke where ever you looked. Any sheltered spot around the lakes and along the miles of roads and tracks about the Estate. There are of course potentially problematic issues attached to these immense, unseasonal hatches. The larval stages of these midges are the food source for many juvenile fish within the lakes and the river. If the hatch takes place early, before the juvenile and fry stages of our fish are present in the lakes and rivers, when they do finally become active in the Spring the food source is no longer available. If this is a direct result of climate change I fear our fish will not be able to evolve as quickly, leading to mass starvation.
Before this Greater spotted flew to the top of the willow where I managed a photo of him, he was drumming in the large poplars close by. Obviously something else that is under the impression Spring has arrived. If you look closely you can see this bird has been ringed at some stage.
27th December
Interesting patch of rough ground just north of the Bridge at Ibsley. If you look closely you can see the arc of the old course of the river that was diverted at the time of the bridge construction. The section between the old channel and the river has always been rough ground, mostly, nettles, sedge and reeds. The further section used to be cut every year for silage but the size at less than an acre and the wet ground makes it uneconomic. For the last couple of years we have let it revert to the natural vegetation of the valley. It has been interesting to watch the bird
life that now makes use of the rough ground, when flooding permits. It is frequently visited by a pair of Marsh Harriers that quartered the field as they pass on their travels up and down the valley. The Barn Owls visit as do the Kestrels and the Buzzard. The Great and Little Egret, Grey Heron and the occasional Water Rail, Reed, Sedge, Cettis and even a Marsh Warbler have been recorded there. Such an insignificant patch of rough ground that provides an island of vital habitat.
That's the obvious state of affairs as we stand on the Bridge and look north west just a few meters. The hidden threat to that patch of habitat is the latest thinking eminating from Defra in the form of BNG, Biodiversity Net Gain. A scheme along the lines of carbon off-setting that requires property developers to show a ten percent gain for nature from their building activities. Where there is no room for the developer to create this ten percent gain on his site he can buy in units from off site, ie the local landowners. For the landowners to have units to sell they must be able to show that their land is capable of being improved for the benefit of nature. There in lies the rub. We have already improved that patch of rough ground, leaving little scope of value for further improvement or financial gain. This environmental improvement is reflected across much of the Estate, leaving less room to improve. If we had an over-grazed sward, mown and grazed to within an inch of its life, and drained to remove any wetland areas, we would have plenty of room for improvement. Those that have farmed to the maximum permissible degree and greated an impoverished landscape stand to make millions. If we are to jump on this BNG bandwaggon the best thing we could do with our acre or so of rough ground at Ibsley is to mow it to death and drain it.
The sunset shot was taken this evening after all the rain we had endured today finally stopped. I was attempting to discover the where abouts of an Egret roost, without I'm afraid any success. Egret roosts often use islands as they offer safety from many ground predators. The problem at the moment with all these floods is that there seem to be island where ever I look! Currently between Our Bickton boundary and Ringwood there are in the region of six hundred and sevety five acres, two hundred and seventy three hectares, still under water in the flood plain. That provides lots of places to hide a roost but will continue to look. Also on the bird front, it would seem the Starlings have moved over tp the reedbeds to the north of Ibsley Bridge. They put on a good display this evening before settling down for the night.
Just a couple of updates in that our lemons ripened perfectly in time for the Christmas celebrations. The second is yet again a photo of our Christmas daffodil that once more bloomed before the New Year.