Leading Guided Walks

More than two years have now passed since assisting with the first ever guided walk on that gloriously sunny Easter Sunday 2011. I have lost count of the number of guided walks where I have either been the leader or assisted but one thing is clear;  a balanced commentary as you walk round the reserve is essential.

Many of our guests have little or no knowledge of the countryside whereas others have a depth of knowledge that is humbling so it essential to maintain that balance keeps both groups engaged during the walk round the reserve.

I have found a successful formula that seems to work; I include in my commentary some of the history of the reserve from the time of the last ice age where the gravel beds were laid down; stories of the times the Roman 20th Legion marched by on route from Coccium (Wigan) to Bremetennacum (Ribchester); the building of Lower Hall at Samlesbury across the river and its subsequent sacking by Robert the Bruce in 1322 and the grant of the land to Sir Robert de Lathom in the 13th century.

Pointing out the birds visiting the reserve and stories of their migration always interest visitors as well as pointing out our success in the numbers of breeding birds here at Brockholes.

Similarly identifying some of the 297 species of wildflowers, grasses, sedges and trees that grow within our 106 hectares present an ever changing opportunity for comments as they experience the changing seasons. Most visitors are fascinated by tales of poisonous plants, of plants used by herbalists and some of the old country names for plants that are all but forgotten.

Many of these facts can be found within postings on Brockholes Volunteer but recent research has revealed a wealth of material in Malcolm Greenhalgh's book, "Ribble river and valley - a local and natural history. As a member of the Wildlife Trust speaker team I have done a considerable amount of research in an attempt to keep my talks fresh and alive which spills over into my commentaries when leading reserve walks. The four members of the speaker team, Rick Hall, Brian Ashworth, Malcolm Alderton and myself can provide talks for community groups around the county. For more information see: www.lancswt.org.uk/book-a-talk

Inspecting the moth trap this morning within the reserve compound we had the opportunity to examine a magnificent Poplar Hawk Moth Laithoe populi before it was released to continue its life on the reserve.

The moth with a wingspan between 70 and 100 mm normally feeds on poplar but also on willow, oak and ash.

The warm sunshine has brought many of the reserve's wild flowers into bloom. Like several of the Trust's volunteers I have been following the wild flower identification workshop written by Dr Brenda Harold; the assignments of studying many species has been considerably delayed by the late spring but this morning I was able to identify many of the species needed.

This week the conference centre in the Visitor Village is hosting two large groups of visitors to the reserve and, as a member of the Trust speaker team, I have been asked to provide a presentation using the conference centre's audio visual system.  This will outline the purchase of the 106 hectare site and the development of Brockholes to the  present day

Pond Dipping at Brockholes

My long held belief that pond dipping is too much fun to be restricted to children was reinforced this week-end by the enthusiasm that parents were showing as they took over the pond nets from their children. One mum told her boys as she left the pond dipping platform, "That was really good fun boys, will you bring me again tomorrow."

To ensure the well being of the aquatic life within the lakes of the nature reserve pond dipping can only carried out during sessions supervised by trained volunteers from the platform over our dedicated dipping pond.  Pond dipping is not permitted at any of the other lakes around the reserve to to preserve the delicate ecosystem.

On arrival pond dippers are provided with an inspection pot, magnifying glass, samples tray and Field Studies Council guide to pond life.  These guides are available to buy from the shop on the floating visitor village.
After a safety talk the dipping can begin with samples carefully netted from the pond placed gently in the sample trays for closer inspection and identification.

One of the first trays examined showed a leech, ramshorn snails Planorbis planorbis and tadpoles of the common frog Rana temporaria which had hatched from the 4,000 or so eggs that each frog had laid. These will take around 12 weeks in their metamorphosis from frog spawn to a frog.

Common Newt Triturus vulgaris

 Perhaps a highlight for one family was a Common Newt that became a centre of attraction as all the pond dippers gathered round to view their find.

All the finds were gently returned to the pond after the session to resume their aquatic life style.

Pond Dipping sessions are held on a regular basis and details can be found on the web site at http://www.brockholes.org/events_calendar

Sessions are provided free of charge thanks to the hard working team of Brockholes Volunteers but donations towards the work of the Trust are very much appreciated and allow us to continue to provide events like these for the benefit of man and for wildlife.

The slightly warmer weather has brought many of the spring flowers into bloom around the reserve. So much so that walks through Boilton Wood take far longer as we try to identify the species as they appear. One of the more unusual wild flowers is the Arum maculatum which rejoices, it is said, in more than 100 common names around the country.

Arum maculatum

In Wales it often known as Pregethwr yn y pulput or Preacher in the Pulpit, in many other areas of Britain it is known as 'Cuckoo Pint' ( pint pronounced like 'mint' ) as the flower tended to appear about the same time the cuckoo's call was first heard and pint was an old slang expression for penis.
This led to the more prudish Victorians creating the name 'Lords and Ladies' to try and avoid these connotations.

Other names include, Wake Robin & Adam and Eve. The roots of the plant were once used to make starch but both the leaves and berries can be poisonous. During a four year period there were 23 cases of Arum maculatum poisoning seen in A&E with only Deadly Night Shade causing more cases.

The bright orange berries and the easily recognised sagittate or arrow shaped leaves are very acrid and cause an almost immediate tingling sensation in the mouth so are rarely eaten but even  if eaten in small quantities can  result in an irritation that can last for several days and severe stomach upsets.

The Wildlife Trust speaker team can now provide a talk on the wildflowers of Lancashire which is available to local community groups. The talks are delivered free but donations towards the work of the Trust in conserving our countryside for both man and wild life are gratefully received. More information is available at www.lancswt.org.uk/book-a-talk

New bird watching hides

Visitors to Brockholes Nature reserve today were delighted to see the new hides in place. After the arson and vandalism attacks on the wood construction hides the first of the new steel hides are now in place.

Motorway path hide

Both hides overlook the popular No 1 Pit and the island where species like lapwing, cormorants, ring plovers, coot, great crested grebe could be seen today.

The hides are soundly constructed and should be impervious to the sort of vandalism we have experienced and the rough texture may deter the graffiti 'artists'.

This weekend also featured the trailer rides around the reserve giving a feel of the 106 hectare site within a meander of the River Ribble.
 Accompanied by a reserve guide our visitors will learn more about the reserve and we  hope will want to explore more of the site on foot for a closer view of the birds and wild flowers that abound on the reserve.

The May Bank Holiday weekend also features a scarecrow trail and lots of families were out and about ticking-off on their list collected from the welcome centre some of the 'sculptures' they found around the reserve paths.

Mindless vandals strike again

Sunday 7th April was another busy day at Brockholes, made even busier by the Crafty Fair on the visitor village platform. Volunteers were drafted in again to supervise the car pack  which had reached maximum capacity by 12 o'clock and some patient visitors mentioned on our afternoon walk that they had waited for 20 minutes to get on the car park.  This was operating again on a one-out, one-in basis.

There were several incidents of visitors bringing dogs onto the reserve and deliberately failing to understand the reasons for our dog ban. "I've always walked my dog here" can't be accepted as an argument when the whole ethos of the site has changed from industrial quarrying to a nature reserve.

One family group were apparently so incensed by this and being told they couldn't light fires on the reserve they set fire to the 'Bug Hotel' close to the river view point as they  left the reserve.

Volunteers on duty dashed up to the site of the fire armed with fire extinguishers to control the flames until the fire brigade arrived.

Chris had been on duty all day but was the first to seize control of the flames until another volunteer was able to load a four wheel drive vehicle with extra extinguishers and supplies of water to finally quench the flames.

The site of the fire was fenced off with hazard tape until the site can be cleared.

I am afraid that it beggars belief that visitors taking advantage of the facilities offered by the Wildlife Trust at Brockholes should have so little respect for their surroundings or the nature reserve that has been enjoyed by more than 5,000 visitors over the Easter Weekend.

Caddishead Moss

John, Brian, Elspeth, Rick

Along with Brian Ashworth and Rick Hall, two other members of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust speaker team I was able to visit the Caddishead and Little Woolden Mosses this week.

The mosses are now owned by the Wildlife Trust which will prevent further peat extraction and save the last remnants of the thirteen and a half square miles of pet that used to exist in this area of Lancashire.

Dr Chris Miller

Work has begun under the direction of Dr Chris Miller the trusts mossland project manager who was on the Little Woolden Moss site carrying out laser levelling. This is to set out the site for machinery to grade the remaining peat so that pools can develop creating varying habitats throughout the 107 hectare raised peat bog.




As the site recovers from the commercial peat extraction it will become home to many more species of birds, mammals and plants to accompany the Yellow Hammer, Reed Buntings, Brown Hare and Coltsfoot that we noted during our visit.

Silver Birch stump

So called 'Bog Oaks', actually the remains of ancient Birch trees. have been revealed by the peat extraction which have been preserved due to the anaerobic conditions in the wet peat. Closer examination showed that small branches of the Birch has retained the well known silvery bark.

We had the good fortune to be shown round the site by the very knowledgeable  Elspeth Inglesby  from the Trust's Bolton office who pointed out that the mosses can only be visited by members who have obtained a permit from the Bolton Office.

Little Woolden Moss being levelled