Lochwinnoch

Blog post: Aird meadow works news

Rita Gries — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:06:00 GMT

I’m sorry to announce that this will be my last blog for Lochwinnoch, as I am leaving to work for the RSPB in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park. Although I am excited about my new role, I will be missing a lot of things about Lochwinnoch, and one of them will be seeing how the works progress in the next couple of weeks!

The team has continued working weekends, (some of them haven’t had a day off in a month) to catch up the delay incurred because of bad weather and machinery breakdowns. I am sure though, that wildlife will appreciate their efforts. In fact, mallards and herons have already started using the new water channels.

The deeper middle of the channels have been dug up, but the shallow edges are still dry, since they haven’t been connected with the main loch yet. The third (and final) channel is also starting to take shape. A couple of bits have been dug up but have not been joined together yet, in order to leave some soil for the trucks to drive on!

The contractors are not the only ones working hard though; our volunteers Natalie and Kathy spend one afternoon stomping about clay and mud to bring a finishing touch to the pond renovation. They seemed very happy to be stomping about in the mud!

Blog post: The beginning of the end

Rita Gries — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:45:00 GMT

Blog post: All hail the bogmaster!

Rita Gries — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:33:00 GMT

To be honest, our habitat work so far seemed to be an arduous, time-taking, meticulous enterprise. Diggers and dumper trucks have been working very hard and the habitat work had been progressing slowly but surely.

However, this all changed when the new kid in town arrived. For four days only, we had the lease of a brilliant machine, designed to manoeuvre on boggy ground without sinking, hence it’s epic name: the bogmaster (tah dam!)

The bogmaster is basically a digger with a larger base, designed to spread its weight and avoid sinking. This wide base meant that it had to be transported by special convoy, with a police escort. It also has a bigger shovel than our usual diggers. The bogmaster was thus able to go were no digger had been before, and get a lot of work done in a flash! See the difference a few days made for yourself!

Before:

After:

Blog post: Pond makeover

Rita Gries — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 17:01:00 GMT

Most of us would have forgotten -or never realised-, but the little patch of scrubs and bushes behind our feeding station was originally a pond. Over the years though, soil and fallen leaves have built up enough substrate to sustain the shrubs and reeds that now hide the little amount of water remaining. But since we had a couple of diggers available on site, we thought this was the opportunity to restore the pond to its original state.

As the rain and the raised water levels ad once again delayed the Aird meadow works, the contractors have had to come in to work at the weekend to catch up. This is why this Saturday, instead of a flurry of birds, visitors could see a digger in action at the feeding station.

The birds didn't stay away for long though. Maybe because they have become used to heavy machinery in the last couple of months, or maybe because it was a very cold day with little food elsewhere, the birds quickly came back to the feeding station. A robin, in particular, seemed to enjoy the extra help in digging up worms and sat by the digger, waiting for juicy grubs to be delivered.

A lot of material had accumulated in the old pond, and it took almost all day to get it all out and remove the old pond liner. The shrub on the left hand side of the pond, where the sparrowhawk likes to perch, was of course preserved. Instead of a plastic pond liner, the contractors lined the new pond with clay which has the same waterproof properties and the advantage of being natural and freely available in the newly excavated channels of the Aird meadow.

Overall, the habitat work is still progressing well, with the first two channels now complete. You can see in the photograph below the gently sloping edges with will hopefully attract lots of wetland wildlife.

Blog post: Working on the edge

Rita Gries — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:59:00 GMT

A week of grim weather slowed down the habitat work slightly, but thankfully it wasn’t to last and the contractors have been back hard at work almost as soon as the rain stopped.

The temporary tracks

They have progressed well since then, and even started working on the northern side of the Aird Meadow loch. Using a raft they created themselves (move over McGyver), and which was pulled into position by a canoe, they planted two lines of stakes in the bottom of the loch, some ten metres away from the edge. They will then place bundles of branches between those two rows of stakes, dump the spoil from the new channels and cover it with turf (also removed from the Aird Meadow). This will create shallow, gently sloping edges which are the favourites of dabbling ducks and waders.

The work has also progressed well on the Aird meadow itself. The second channel is being dug through the highest point of the meadow, and is therefore taking a bit longer to complete than the first. The contractors have been at it tirelessly, digging and ferrying the spoil to the northern edge of the loch on their little caterpillar trucks.

The second channel, overlooking the visitor centre

Meanwhile, the birds seems to have become very familiar with all this agitation and are visiting the feeders as if nothing had changed!

Blog post: Brilliant progress on habitat work!

Rita Gries — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:41:00 GMT

What an amazing weather we’ve been having the last few days! Granted, not all of us enjoy freezing temperatures; but a cold, dry spell is best for our habitat work. Low water levels and hard ground meant that the contractors have been able to make a lot of progress.

One of the new water channels (the one extending in front of the centre) is already completed, whilst the second (the one extending towards the Loch) is well underway. All the spoil created has attracted a lot of hungry birds. It’s not easy finding worms and insects when the ground is frozen, so a bunch of freshly upturned ground is like an oasis in the desert for birds such as stonechat, pied wagtail and fieldfares.

stonechat

Fieldfare

There has been a slight change in the way this spoil is going to be moved to the North edge of the loch. The initial plan was to create a temporary crossing over the Aird Meadow ditch, using a floating pontoon. However, this would have been troublesome when the water level fluctuates. It has therefore been decided that the spoil would be moved around the ditch instead. The contractors have already created a temporary path to take them safely through the marshland. (See map below).

The resilience and motivation of the contractors has to be commended. Even today, they kept working hard through what can only be described as a blizzard.

Blog post: Drumroll please...

Rita Gries — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:04:00 GMT

It’s a shame we did not have any ribbon to cut nor champagne to pop. After much planning, quite a bit of paperwork and a week of hard work, we finally opened our new-look shop late this afternoon. What a difference a week makes!

This is the result of the hard work and dedication of Robert the electrician and Robert the fitter, who tore all the old shop fittings down before carefully refurbishing it. Retail staff also put in a lot of effort, working late into the night to get the shop prepped and ready. “I’m really grateful to all my staff” said Sam, our retail manager, “they’ve been working very hard but always with a smile on their face”.

All this hard work was not in vain, our shop now looks fantastic: cleaner, brighter, younger and cosier! If you don’t believe me have a look at the photos below, or better yet, come and see for yourself!

Before:

After:

Before:

After

Blog post: Diggers digging!

Rita Gries — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:04:00 GMT

After a wee seasonal break due to loads and loads of rain chucking down and almost drowning the digger (the machine, not the person), our habitat work is now progressing really well.

The little map below shows, in more details, what is going to happen to the Aird Meadow within the next few months. As you can see new channels will be dug up and the pond will be enlarged, thus creating more wildlife habitats, closer to the centre. I mentioned in my last post that the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools full of soil would be removed. It is not going to be wasted though.

The banks of the Aird meadow loch, especially on the bund separating it from Castle Semple loch drop quite steeply. This is a shame as ducks, geese and other waterfowl usually favour slowly slopping edges, where they find loads of food. The spoil from the Aird meadow work will therefore be used to create some shallow, gently slopping edge habitat on this bund.

After a forced new-year break, work started again on the meadow on Tuesday. The first thing the contractor did was to scrape off the turf on the area where the new channel will be dug up. Again, this will not be wasted. Once we have created the new edge habitat on the bund, the turf will be laid on top of the new ground, to consolidate it. In order to move the turf easily, it has been laid out on a giant net, which will then be folded over and fastened. This will create a giant net bag which will then be attached to a tractor and dragged to the other side of the reserve.

The diggers have now started digging the turf-less area. Hopefully, the cold spell predicted for next week will give them a boost! (Frost is apparently the perfect condition for that kind of work!) We are all looking forward to further developments (it’s quite fascinating watching other people work!) and to our new-look shop after next week’s refit.

Blog post: 2012

Rita Gries — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:57:00 GMT

At this time of the year, all magazines, mewspapers and TV shows run “Best of 2012” stories (spoilers: this year it’s all about the Olympics). We decided to do our own retrospective and look back at all the things that happened at Lochwinnoch in 2012. I have to say, it’s been a pretty good year.

Reserve improvements: Over the last twelve months, we’ve built two new viewpoints over the Aird Meadow, one new path by the Barr Loch, and launched a very popular nature play area!
Habitat works finally underway: Some of my colleagues had been working on this project for years, and there were quite a few hiccups along the road, so saying we were very pleased when the first shovelful was dug up on the Aird meadow is a bit of an understatement. On the other side of the A760, the Barr Loch part of the work was completed within a week in October, and has already been used by otters!
Most birds in a year... ever! 2012 was a bumper year, with a record-breaking 124 different species of birds seen throughout the course of the year. That’s the highest number since records began in 1974. Highlights included smew, brambling, hen harrier, marsh harrier, Slavonian grebe, garganey, merlin, knot, barr-tailed godwit, guillemot, tree pipit, jay, waxwing and exceptional numbers of waterfowl (mute and whooper swans, mallards, goldeneyes, goosanders, wigeons, tufted ducks...)
New “firsts” for the reserve. 2012 was also a bumper year for unusual birds, including several first-ever records for RSPB Lochwinnoch. A white stork was seen in May, a bird seldom seen in the UK, let alone in Scotland. Nuthatches have been spotted in the village for the last year, but the first ever record of a nuthatch on the reserve was this May, during one of our breeding bird surveys. Finally, last week, our volunteer Angus sat in the hide on a very wet day and was rewarded with our first-ever sighting of a Mediterranean gull!
Successful shop: It is no secret that the recession has hit the retail sector hard, and this sadly includes RSPB shops. It is therefore even more amazing for Lochwinnoch’s shop to be in the top 5 RSPB shops when it comes to profit made! This has meant that a little sum was awarded towards shop improvement. Starting the 14^th of January, the shop will be closed for a major refit (the centre remains opened and bird food, snacks and drinks are still available). We hope it will re-open for business on Saturday 19th, do come and check it out! As all profits go to help wildlife, we would like to thank all our customers for helping nature through their purchase. We couldn’t do it without you!
Plenty in line for the New Year. A big bit of 2012, especially the last few months, has been spent planning stuff for 2013. We have a lot of exciting things lined up: exciting events, habitat work, and more improvements to the reserve’s infrastructure. 2012 has been great, let’s try and make 2013 greater!

And then, of course, there’s the countless little stories which would be too numerous to recall here but which make Lochwinnoch what it is: the more common, but no less appreciated wildlife whether it is newts, butterflies, hogweed or blue tits; our lovely volunteers, without whom we couldn’t function, and of course our many visitors.

Very happy hogmanay to all of you and see you next year!

Blog post: Diggers in action

Paula Baker — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 10:26:00 GMT

We've all had a very welcomed Christmas present this week - the diggers have been in action on the Aird Meadow! It has mostly been preparation work so far, but it seems like we've waited so long for this to finally happen, we should be popping the cork on the champagne to celebrate!

Digger in action on Aird Meadow

Alas, the weather has hampered any further progress but so far Don Plant (Our contractors) have installed the access route for machinery to get onto the site (including the exotically named 'Bog Master') and they've started to create our new future access path, for us to get on the meadow once the channels have been dug out.

The ducks have been providing us with some entertainment. Don Plant have erected a fence around the worksite, but the ducks couldn't work out how to get to their usual food supply. Yesterday they just flew over the top but we'll have to wait and see how hungry they get before they decide whether to do that today as well - if they looked slightly further along there is a gap. Perhaps we should install a duck tunnel??

We held the first of our project meetings on site, to review our progress every couple of weeks. Gerry supplied us with the usual stash of cookies (I do love those oatmeal raisin ones!) and we talked about timetables, marking out points and changes to the design of the channel lay out.

Project team hard at work

We'll keep you updated with photos and information as the project progresses, but for now we're all pleased to see those diggers in action!

Paula

Blog post: A better reserve for wildlife and people

Rita Gries — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:44:00 GMT

What an exciting time for RSPB Lochwinnoch! Our long-awaited and ambitious habitat redevelopment work is finally underway!

Some of you might remember that, last summer, we asked you to support this project by responding to the planning application consultation. The response was amazing: We received over 130 positive replies! You were “right behind us”, called the project “wonderful;” “excellent”, “super” and “fabulous”, and urged us to “keep up the good work”. And so we did.

Thanks to your support and those of other partners, all the necessary permissions were granted (Renfrewshire Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Clyde River Foundation, Scottish Government, etc). There was, of course, quite an input from local wildlife experts and other interested parties. Finally, all the paperwork was in order, the breeding season was over, and we were finally ready to dig the first shovelful.

On the 8th of October, the first part of the project started: re-naturalising the Millbank Burn. Many, many years ago, the Millbank Burn flowed into the Barr Loch. However, some three centuries ago, its course was artificially changed, and directed away from the Barr Loch, following an entirely artificial 90° turn. Between the 8th and the 12th of October, diggers were hard at work reconnecting the burn to the loch, restoring its original course, the way nature intended.

Now that this has been completed, our focus has turned to the next part of the project: the Aird Meadow works. This is probably the most exciting part of the project and the easiest to follow, as we will get a prime view of the excavations from the visitor centre. These works aim to create more opportunities for wetland wildlife whilst improving wildlife viewing for our visitors. New channels will be dug across the Aird Meadow, near the visitor centre, and the existing pond on the meadow will be enlarged. In addition to this, we will use the spoil from the excavated area to create a better habitat on the north edge of the loch. These works will start in early December (only a few weeks to go!) and should be completed by the end of February 2012 (weather and water levels permitting).

Stay tuned to follow the progress of the project and all related news and stories!

(Photos by Zul Bhatia)

Blog post: Brilliant Bramblings

Rita Gries — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:45:00 GMT

As the days have become shorter and colder, migrants and uncommon birds have started to appear at RSPB Lochwinnoch, but bramblings have been one of the most exciting winter arrivals so far.

Brambling (photo by Dean Bricknell)

Bramblings are very striking birds and members of the finch family. Although they are, at first look, similar to chaffinches, (especially females and young birds), they sport a much more vibrant and elegant plumage than their relatives. Bramblings have a brighter orange breast and shoulder, a white rump as well as black spots on their flanks, and a yellow bill. This plumage is a very good camouflage in winter, against a background of fallen leaves and naked trees. In summer, however, males have a contrasting black head.

Brambling: female, male; chaffinch: female, male (Mike Langman rspb-images.com)

Winter visitors in Lochwinnoch, their numbers depend on what food is available to them throughout Europe. In 1988, we had up to 250 bramblings in one day, the most ever recorded here. However, last year we had only occasional sightings of one or two birds, so we are definitely not taking these scarce visitors for granted.

Photo by Harald Olsen, Wikimedia.org

Those “mountain finches”, as they are sometimes called, are found from Western Europe to Japan, breeding in the birch and pine forests of Northern Europe and Asia in the summer, and then migrating to the South in the winter. (It might not seem like it to us, but compared to Scandinavia, Scotland is indeed the warmer South) There, they tend to form large flocks, especially where plenty of beech mast is available, sometimes reaching thousands, or even millions of birds in one single flock.

Flock of Bramblings (Marion Schneider & Christoph Aistleitne, Wikimedia.org)

However, bramblings are not dependant on beech mast and are happy to feed on berries and grains. Although both mast and berries can be found on the reserve, we have been providing them with plenty of high-energy seeds, scattered in front of our viewing area. This has attracted lots of chaffinches, but also up to five bramblings. Spotting them amongst their relatives can be a challenge, a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, but look out for the occasional flash of an orange breast or a white rump, or ask one of our lovely volunteers to point it out for you!

Male in winter plumage Photo: Birdguides.com

Blog post: Autumn delights

Rita Gries — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:15:00 GMT

The radiator and the lights are on -even though it is daytime- a fine drizzle is falling against the window... no doubt: autumn’s here. You might be tempted to shelter at home with a blanket round your shoulders, a cuppa in your hands and the telly on, until warmer weather comes back, but how wrong you would be! Think of all the natural delights you would miss! Instead, put on some wellies, wrap up in a scarf and hat and come down to visit us at the reserve, one of the best places to enjoy Autumn wonders.

The high summer grass has been cut, creating a better habitat for lapwings and stopping saplings and bushes from taking over the meadow. The view from the visitor centre is strikingly different, and plenty of birds are feeding in the short grass.

The lochs are getting busier as ducks and geese arrive to spend the winter here. Already, pochard, teal, whooper swans, goosanders, goldeneyes and tufted ducks can be seen enjoying the water.

The grass being cut (Photo: Vandana Lake)

Take a stroll down in the woodland; it is home to plenty of amazing autumn wildlife. Birds are getting easier to spot as the leaves become sparser. With a bit of luck you might see a flock of long-tailed tits flying from branch to branch, calling each other.

(photo: Ben Hall, rspb-images.com)

The trees along the path have taken a variety of intense colours, from bright green to deep red, and are heavy with glossy berries or strangely-shaped seeds.

(photo: Rita Gries)

Mushrooms of all shapes and sizes have also sprouted all over the reserve. A visiting expert found more than 40 different kinds in just one haul!

(photo: Rita Gries)

Why resist the temptation? Let your inner child run free to collect shiny conkers or mercilessly crush crisp fallen leaves, winter will take over sooner than you think!

(Photo: Rita Gries)

Blog post: Living classrooms

Rita Gries — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:39:00 GMT

If you come to the reserve mostly at weekends, there is a big part of our work you might not be aware of. However, if you pop in during the week you will see lots of children wearing muddy wellies over their school uniforms, walking about the reserve, their cheeks pink from the fresh air and great big smiles on their faces.

On average, 1500 school children visit the reserve every year. That’s about 50 classes receiving hands-on environmental education each year. This covers all ages, from nursery to high school, and is very popular, especially with primary schools.

So what do these kids do on their school trip to Lochwinnoch? Activities range from bird-watching, minibeast hunting or pond-dipping for the youngest to ecosystem investigation for the older pupils. Classes can also learn about flight, food chains, habitats and even the different types of wood and their uses. Our natural play area is also a useful tool in helping children connect with nature, as they discover the joys of the swings, seesaws, climbing ropes, and the mud pit. Even city-dwelling teenagers could not resist giving it a go!

Our educational work isn’t limited to the reserve though. Our field teachers do a lot of outreach work, visiting schools to teach schoolchildren (and teachers) about the wildlife of their playground, helping children build hibernation havens and bird feeding stations to encourage wildlife in their school ground.

So why do we do it? I have already highlighted in a previous blog post the importance and benefits of nature for children: improved mental and physical health, additional playing skills. In addition to this, children are very enthusiastic, and (I am sure you will have noticed that) have excellent persuasion skills. By teaching children about nature, we hope they will grow up to be responsible adults that care for our environment, but we also hope their enthusiasm will communicate to their parents and families.

For more information on our environmental education contact lochwinnochschoolvisits@rspb.org.uk or go to http://www.rspb.org.uk/livingclassrooms/lochwinnoch.aspx

Photos by Zul Bhatia, Atticus Tayar and Andy Hay

Blog post: 2012 photo competition results

Rita Gries — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:45:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce the winners of our 2012 Photography Competition. All entries were taken on the reserve and voted for by visitors to the reserve throughout August. Many thanks to all the participants; we were really impressed with the quality of this year’s entries, so well done everyone!

We have also decided to award the Photographer of the year title to Ivor Wilson. It was a tough decision but Ivor’s entries were of consistently high standard and well liked by members of the public too. So congrats to him!

The results in each category are as follows (not all images were available in digital format for us to use):

BIRDS CATEGORY

1st. Beautiful blue tit by Ian McKendrick (71 votes)

2nd. Major in Flight by Stevie Clark (62 votes)

3rd. Golden eyes by Gerry Alvarez-Murphy (61 votes)

WILDLIFE CATEGORY

1st. Foxy Lady by Gerry Alvarez-Murphy (179 votes)

2nd. Weasel by Margaret Sweeny (105 votes)

3rd. Damsel in Blue by Ivor Wilson (101 votes)

LANDSCAPE CATEGORY

1st. Frozen Seat by Terry Cawthorne (195 votes)

2nd. Swan and Moon by Ivor Wilson (159 votes)

3rd. Red Loch by Mark Stalker (101 votes)

PEOPLE CATEGORY

1st. Watching the Sun Go Down by Frank Donnelly (165 votes)

2nd. Peek-a-boo by Catherine Frew (156 votes)

3rd. Free as a Bird by Jacqueline Bain (117 votes)

UNDER 15's CATEGORY

1st. Lovely Lilypads by Georgia Bill (254 votes)

2nd. The Ducking Duck by Georgia Bill (170 votes)
3rd. Grasshopper Warbler by Emma Anderson (124 votes)

Congratulations to all the winners and we will be looking forward to next year’s entries!

Blog post: Birds of prey and the change of seasons

Rita Gries — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:14:00 GMT

Wednesday 30^th of August started like many mornings this summer: with buckets of rain. Luckily, it did not last very long and by noon a glorious sun was shining on the meadow. It was turning out to be a brilliant day, but got even better with the icing on the cake: at about 1.30 a juvenile marsh harrier was sighted on the reserve. It circled over the Aird meadow and its loch for about 45 minutes, flushing out birds and giving us brilliant views. This is quite an unusual sighting for the reserve, the latest one being just under a year ago.

Marsh harriers were almost extinct in the UK 40 years ago. In 1971, only one breeding female was recorded in the whole country. Nowadays, thanks to conservation efforts, there are over 200 breeding pairs in the UK, one of whom gave birth to yesterday's bird. Knowing the history of this beautiful bird made watching it soar above the reserve even more special.

In Scotland, Marsh Harrier nest on the reed beds in the North East, including the RSPB Loch of Kinnordy reserve. This bird was probably on its way south, as marsh harriers migrate to continental Europe and North West Africa in the winter.

Photo: Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)

Ospreys have a similar history: this species was extinct in the UK in the 1950s, but after a pair from Norway found its way back to Scotland, and with a lot of help from the RSPB, there are now 200 breeding pairs in this country. Over the last few years, ospreys have been seen quite frequently in Lochwinnoch. The most recent sighting of an osprey in Lochwinnoch was on the 11^th of August. This was probably the last sighting for 2012, as they too will be on their way to kinder climates.

Osprey (photo: Chris Gomersall, rspb-images.com)

Our first hen harrier of the season, a female, was spotted on the 30^th of August at the south side of the Barr Loch. Although they are not migrating birds, hen harriers are only seen seasonally in Lochwinnoch. Those birds breed in upper moorlands, but spend their winter in lowlands. Before the 30^th of August, we hadn’t seen a hen harrier in Lochwinnoch since mid April. This female hunting on the reserve is therefore a sure sign that winter is coming.

Hen Harrier female (photo: Andy Hay, rspb-images.com)

We have recently created a new wheelchair accessible viewing platform, at a short distance form the visitor centre, overlooking the western side of the Aird Meadow and the village of Lochwinnoch. The landscape is beautiful, but look closer and you will see swallows and sand martins hunting over the long grass, butterflies feeding on marshland flowers, and with a bit of luck, a majestic bird of prey soaring over the long grass.

View from the platform (photo: Rita Gries)

Blog post: Playing, naturally!

Rita Gries — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:34:00 GMT

Ever heard of Nature Deficit Disorder? It’s not a medical condition, but a recent phenomenon observed in Western societies: children spend less and less time in nature. Actually, less than one in ten children regularly play in wild places!

Most adults remember fondly playing in the wild when they were younger, but nowadays, many children are losing out on the benefits of playing outside. Not only are they losing out on many health benefits, but they are also growing up disconnected from the natural world. At a time when human activities posing a huge threat to nature, do we really want the next generation to loose all interest in wildlife? The usual suspects blamed for this disconnection with nature are video games and other indoor gadgets as well as parental fears of strangers, cars, or even dirt.

So what can we do? Well, at the RSPB Lochwinnoch we thought long and hard about this and decided to create our own natural play area! Recently launched, it is located in the reserve’s beautiful woodland and is complete with swings, stepping stones, seesaws, climbing ropes, dens and a very muddy mud pit. What makes it different from usual play zones is not only its scenic location, but also that 95% of the material used is completely natural. The seesaws, for example, are made out of trees fallen during last winter’s wind storms. There, children are free to explore, build, get muddy...

We officially launched the play area on Wednesday 1^st August, National Play Day, during a festive launch event. Despite the rainy weather, children stormed the play area, climbing, jumping, building and getting muddy. Parents didn’t mind though “Dirty children are happy children” summed up one happy mum. If you don’t believe her, simply look at the photos below.

Photos by Zul Bhatia

More info on Nature deficit disorder: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17495032

Blog post: Get out!

Rita Gries — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:51:00 GMT

Everybody knows going outdoors is good for you. But few of us understand just how much nature can do for our health, both physical and mental. I’m not talking about herbal remedies and the like, but about spending time with nature.

Our lifestyles are becoming more and more sedentary, and it’s no secret that this has bad repercussions on our health. The media, relevant charities and government bodies all join it together to encourage us to exercise. But where you choose to exercise, a gym or your local green space, might have more importance than you think. Scientific studies have shown that people are more likely to keep exercising if they exercise outdoors. Exercising at home or in a gym, they are more likely to become demotivated and quit. Exercising outside, they are more likely to keep doing it!

photo: David Levenson (rspb-images.com)

This is only one of the positive effects of nature. Spending time outdoors not only has a positive effect on our bodies, but also on our minds. People suffering from mental health issues, such as depression or stress, can greatly benefit from spending time outdoors, whether it is exercising, gardening, walking, or even birdwatching! Here are a few figures from the mental health charity Mind:

90% of people reported an increase in self-esteem after an outdoor walk verses 17% indoors.
71% of people experienced a decrease in the levels of depression after an outdoor walk verses 45% indoors.
71% people stated they felt less tense after an outdoor walk verses 28% indoors.

Research even showed that hospital patients with a view on green spaces go back home earlier than those with a view on buildings.

Photo: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

So what can we learn from this? Obviously, we should spend more time outdoors. But this also gives us an extra reason to protect our wild places. The RSPB, with over 200 nature reserves in the UK isn’t only protecting wildlife, it is also protecting everyone’s well being. This is why the RSPB Lochwinnoch nature reserve, the RSPB Baron’s Haugh nature reserve and RSPB at Kelvingrove, have launched the “Just breathe” campaign. This campaign encourages people to visit those sites, not just for their wildlife, but for their health benefits. It’s cheap, it’s beautiful, it’s good for you. So what are you waiting for? Come along, get out, get active ... unwind!

Photo: Carolyn Merrett (rspb-images.com)

More info on the subject:

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/health-science/benefits-of-outdoor-exercise-go-beyond-fitness-1.915657

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/may/14/socialcare.comment

http://www.mind.org.uk/help/ecominds/mental_health_and_the_environment

Blog post: Flower power

Rita Gries — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 11:52:00 GMT

As most of you will know. the RSPB Lochwinnoch nature reserve is not only a haven for birds but for other wildlife too, including plants. To discover a bit more about the plants of Lochwinnoch we invited Keith Watson, curator of botany at the Kelvingrove museum, to host an event on the reserve. Our Wednesday with Widlife: Wildflower event took place on the evening of the 6^th of June. It was a mild dry evening (we even had a bit of sunshine towards the end) and there was quite a good turn out.

Ragged robin

The reserve is a good place to see a variety of plants, as there are several different habitats. Different plants will grow in different conditions so the woodlands, the area by the pond. The marshland, the dry grassland and the wetter grassland all host different plants. Keith Watson helped us discover a bit more about those, first by taking us onto the Aird Meadow.

Forget-me-not

Most lowland grasslands need human management to remain wildflower rich meadows. Allowed to grow without control, a few competitive plants will take over, and the meadow will be less diverse. If, however, the meadow is sustainably grazed, a variety of rarer plants, better adapted to survive grazing, will thrive. Left to themselves even longer, trees will start growing and the meadow will slowly turn into a forest. And even though we enjoy forests, it would be a shame to see those wildflower meadows disappear. In Lochwinnoch, we have been trying to get cattle to graze the Aird meadow, with no success. Instead, we cut the grass at a very short height every autumn. This is not only beneficial for plants but also for lapwings.

Keith pointed out a large variety of plants: clover, ladies mantel, bush vetch, yellow rattle, ragged robin, forget-me-not, wood cranesbill, sorrow, water aven,, tufted vetch, valerian, creeping buttercup, tall buttercup...

Ladies mantel

wood cranesbill

Valerian

Red campion

In the woodland, the star of the show was the bird’s nest orchid. A fairly rare orchid, the reserve is the only place Keith ever saw one in Renfrewshire. Small and yellowy brown, it is easy to miss and looks a bit like it is decaying, but it’s not! The reason it is brown is that it doesn't do photosynthesis. Most plants get energy from the sun (photosynthesis) using the green pigment chlorophyll to absorb light, and this why they're green. The bird's nest orchid gets its energy from decaying matter in the ground with the help of a fungus.

Blog post: April round-up

Rita Gries — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:35:00 GMT

It’s now been a month since this blog was last updated, but what a month! Here are a few snapshots of what happened at the reserve for the last 30 days or so.

A load of rubbish: The Song of the Paddle canoe club did an amazing job collecting about two tons of rubbish from the shores of our lochs. Remember take your rubbish away with you when you’re out and about!

The Great Egg Drop: We celebrated Easter in style with our Easter EGGstravaganza: young visitors looked for 25 chicks scattered around the reserve, made some funky decorations and built egg-protection devices, out of paper, plastic cups and string. Not all survived the drop from the viewing tower though.

Not all eggs survived the drop!

One of our "lost" chicks

One hundred and one birds: Our reserve bird list reached 101 species yesterday! Not bad when we consider there were 118 different bird species for the whole of 2011. This was the highest count in ten years and it seems that 2012 might beat it. Highlights in April included a goshawk, a merlin and a hen harrier. Whilst our smew finally left (it was last seen on the 28^th of April, which is the latest we’ve ever seen a smew here) summer migrants started to arrive. Swallow, swifts and sand martins are flying over the loch; warblers are singing in the woods and the marshland…

Chicks and ducklings: It’s that time of the year again! Starlings are nesting in our roof (I can hear their chicks chirp frenetically as I type), mallard mums are taking their ducklings to our feeders and our nestbox cam is spying on two blue tits nests (one has six eggs, the other doesn't have any yet but there is loads of home improvement going on).

All in all April has been a pretty great month and I have a feeling May is going to be just as full of excitement, pop along to the reserve to be part of it!