The 43km (27m) long Somerset River Frome rises near Witham Friary, gathers smaller rivers and tributaries as it heads downstream through Frome to Freshford where it joins the Bristol Avon.

A great variety of wildlife live in or beside the river from the tiny invertebrates of Yellow May, Green Drake, Blue-Winged Olive mayflies, plus Brown Trout and Barbel to Green Sandpipers, Dippers, Kingfishers and Little Egrets to Badgers, Roe Deer, Otters and Beaver – pretty wild! This blog records wildlife along a stretch of river which we survey as volunteers for the Somerset Otter Group  Somerset Otter Group

31st May 2023 / Temp: 20 C / Water Level: Med

Not one but two Long-jawed Orb Weaver spiders stretched out on the leaves of a large nettle patch close to the river! They really are the most extraordinary looking creatures and they catch the eye in the brilliant sunlight. They are social creatures and often spin their webs close together and if they are disturbed they are said to leave their webs and scurry down to stretch out in this strange fashion so they will be less noticeable. These spiders sit in their web or on a nearby plant and wait for prey to tangle itself in the web. They generally eat small flying insects, including moths and leafhoppers. When their longer legs are stretched flat, these spiders camouflage themselves well against a twig or a plant stem. Despite that, they are predated by birds and other small animals.

Camouflaged against a plant stem is very effective as we once spotted one of these spiders in such a position and it was almost impossible to see – but against a green leaf? In bright sunlight? It doesn’t seem the ideal hiding place! In addition to constructing webs in vegetation, these spiders are known to be able to walk on water.

A very much more effective camouflage is surely that used by female Mandarin Ducks which nest in trees. She is so well hidden amongst the leaves that we would never have spotted her if one of her chicks hadn’t drawn our attention by quacking loudly and persistently in the river below the nest, a small bundle of fluff with a beautiful creamy yellow face and neck with the distinguishing dark bars above and below its eyes, like an American Indian in war paint! It eventually persuaded the mother to fly down and shepherd the chick down-river, well away from our prying eyes. Presumably there were other young in the nest, but we noticed that the male Mandarin who wasn’t too far away upriver made no attempt to go to the aid of the chick or the mother!

20th May 2023 / Temp: 18 C / Water Level: Low

Passing damselflies when carrying buckets, trays, nets, stools, rucksack and all the paraphernalia connected with kick surveys is always a bit problematic – do you drop everything and scare the insect away, try to retrieve your camera while knocking your hat off with the net or try both at once but slowly and grab a shot – probably best not to start from here!
Male Beautiful Demoiselle looking, well, beautifu! Jewel-like colours sparkling in the sunlight, lifting the spirits, great to be alive on an afternoon in May along the river!

Not just Damselflies announcing the month of May but also Mayflies, only Green Drakes at the moment, and not in anywhere near the numbers we saw last year but welcome all the same , watching them rise from the water, find the nearest vegetation on which to alight, and slowly dry out before taking to the air in their courting dance to attract a passing female, like the mating dance of the Maasai warriors, jumping high!

The beach is a litter of stools and buckets and sample trays as we stand calf-deep in the swirling water with our nets kicking the stones on the bed of the river to collect whatever we can find of interest.

Noticeable was how few green drake larvae we found compared to previous years, even finding dead ones turning up in the tray, something we had never seen before and all species seemed to be rather scarce.

Only one or two free swimming caddis larvae, no sign of damselfly or dragonfly nymphs, lots of freshwater shrimps as always, and fortunately there were a few Blue Winged Olive nymphs – beloved of Fly Fishermen and Trout alike, so good to see.

Always good to see Miller’s Thumb (European Bullhead) in the river. We usually see them, in various sizes – this was a very small, newly hatched fry, so pale and delicate looking, but sturdy and bidding fair to grow into a good, healthy specimen!

Our daughter whiled away the time whilst we were sorting and naming her catch by turning a few stones in the deep, middle section of the river and came up trumps with this wonderful find!

Miller’s Thumb eggs!! Something we had never seen before and greeted with great excitement and pleasure to see so many and imagining so much new life arriving in the river – these small fish are only found in clean, stony waters and on the Red List of Threatened Species.

Unusually among fish, the European Bullhead exercises a great deal of parental care. The male excavates a nest under a suitable large stone to attract a female. The female lays a batch of up to 400 eggs (2–2.5 mm in diameter), which adhere to the underside of the stone. The male then defends the brood against egg predators such as caddis larvae (in fact if you look carefully at the stone above you should be able to spot several stone clinger caddis larvae) and manages the nest by fanning the eggs with his pectoral fins. In the absence of the water circulation provided by the male, fungi rapidly invades the eggs.

18th May 2023 / Temp 17 C / Water Level: Low

Back at the stream to check on the state of the river by doing a kick survey. Very disappointing results, lots of freshwater shrimps, a free-swimming Caddis larvae Rhyacophila dorsalis, a Mayfly larvae, almost every underwater stone plastered with Agapetus (saddle-back) Caddis larvae in their humped cases meticulously crafted grain by grain of coarse sand where they graze algae from the surface of the rocks, but little else.

So these small egg masses took on an important and interest they wouldn’t have received in other circumstances. After much searching, we believe that they are of the family Chironomidae, non-biting midge eggs. Not altogether certain but it’s likely that the tiny segmented worms (also encased in jelly) are the first instar Midge larvae.

14th May 2023 / Temp: 17.5 C / Water Level : Med

Another beautiful May afternoon, warm and sunny, trees covered in new leaf, flowers opening, new life awakening. The most perfect month of the year! Orange Tip and Bristone Butterflies, Bee Flies, the first Azure Damselflies of the season and the Mayflies should be appearing any time soon. Perfect!

A Chiff Chaff constantly reminded us that he had arrived, while a Chaffinch and Blackbird sang louder in response and then a Robin joined in. No sign of either Buzzard or Sparrowhawk today but we did hear the local Raven calling out as he passed by.

As we were walking along the path to the stream, a female Pheasant appeared followed by three poults. She was ferocious in protection of her young, hissing and squawking and flapping her wings before ushering them into the safety of a large stinging nettle patch. Only then did the male Pheasant appear who stalked past in a lordly manner!

Our first sighting of Yellow Archangel anywhere in this area, in fact we couldn’t remember seeing it at all locally so a great find. We spotted it along the edge of the stream, where it appears to be very well established with a good number of plants. These are the native Yellow Archangels, easily distinguished from the more common garden escape plant which has variable leaves in contrast to our native species with its sharply toothed leaves, more akin to stinging nettles.

10th May 2023 / Temp: 15 C / Water Level : High

Always a welcome sight to gladden the heart in May – a watermeadow in full summer glory which never fails to lift the spirits. Nothing very rare or even remarkable, the delicate lace flowers of cow parsley standing tall, the palest mauve ladys smock, a for Orange Tip butterlies (a number of which were fluttering around, masses of buttercups, white deadnettle; the grass thick and long and lush so that the crushed resting places – Otter? Roe Deer? – could be seen clearly in several favourite places across the meadow – a perfect summer sight!

Our first sighting of damselflies this year! A Beautiful Demoiselle and a Large Red Damselfy – we saw other species but unfortunately they were too fast and too far away to feel certain of identification, but several looked at a guess immature Blue-tailed.

It isn’t quite summer yet – in fact the temperature was lower than it was three weeks ago (noticeably brisk chilly breeze) but seeing damselflies is a lovely promise of the months ahead.

After so much rain and even flash floods in the south of the county, the river was high and boisterous and we wondered how the female Goosander and her three young were managing to fish in the murky brown muddy water.

It was good to see the Goosander and particularly her successful brood, it has been several years since we last saw them on the river. We spotted two pairs of Mallard one pair with four young and the others shot for cover before we coun count, we disturbed a Little Egret, and annoyed a pair of Canada Geese who were happily resting on the river bank. They are handsome birds but if other rivers and lakes are to be believed, she will breed prolifically and swamp out the native species.

Another interloper, a pair of Mandarin Ducks with 5 young so they are also thriving here but sadly the Grey Heron lifting up from the flooded stream seemed alone with no sign of a female or young.

No signs of Otter either – they are around but not here. They are often called the Wanderers as they travel considerable distances to hunt and fish and there have been multiple sightings and film fottage of Otters in the centre of Frome at the beginning of the month, but it appears the have found better hunting grounds at the moment – they’ll be back!

1st May 2023 / Temperature 12 C / Water Level : Med

The Pendulous Sedge, an indication of Ancient Woodland, was thriving along the stream, the male catkins thick with pollen which smothered everything on the merest brush. It was a beautiful sunny day and very warm sheltered from the chill wind, a perfect May Day afternoon!

20th April 2023 / Temp: 15.5 C / Water Level: Med

Full sun, blue skies and a stiff breeze from the north-east – the perfect afternoon for a stroll along the river bank, searching for Otter signs and any other wildlife we could spot.

A solitary Chiff Chaff singing spring had arrived was the high note, a Swan, a single Magpie, one Blackbird and a few Crows and Wood Pigeons wasn’t quite what we had hoped for. Where are all the birds? Is this the Silent Spring arrived after years of warnings and concern? We were slightly mollified by spotting a pair of Mallard on the river, and two female Mallard disturbed from a marsh marigold filled field boundary ditch and then a Swan sitting motionless in the middle of a field. The river level has been high, and the water turbulent and in spate, but although Swans do spend time in fields in winter when the river weed, other acquatic plants, small fish and frog in the river is low, this seems rather singular well into spring.

Lovely to see a clump of Lady’s Smock on the river bank, but sadly only one other plant spotted all along the river. A couple of plants won’t be enough to feed the Orange Tip butterflies which should be arriving about now, recent field spraying may be the cause. However we did spot Brimstone Butterflies, 2 males 2 females, but no other butterflies.

When we reached the weir, we found one recent black Otter spraint in the usual place beside the low retaining wall, half hidden in the grass, and another red spraint above the fishing peg, also a favourite place – not on a prominent stone, again hidden in the grass and quite easy to miss.

A scattering of sunshine Dandelions glowing in the water meadows, many attracting hoverflies which are beginning to appear, but surprisingly the blackthorn, in full flower on the many trees and shrubs along the bank, don’t seem to be attracting many pollinators, although most are so tall it could be they are there, but too high for us

The beach was looking particularly beautiful with the new growth of plants greening the areas between the pebbles, stones, broken water snail, duck mussel and clam shells – a beachcomber’s dream. We found a cache of recent spraint decorating the gnarled roots of the old willow, with one signal crayfish pearl (gastrolith), so although the spraint was dark, and not yet the spring / summer distinctive orange-red tinge of an almost entire crayfish diet, it shows there are some at least around.

Attempting to photograph to identify the river moss coating the edges of the beach proved fruitless as usual, but I did manage to fish out what I thought was trailing algae attached to the bank underwater, on closer examination it looked as if it was possibly moss, however examination by hand lens should give a better idea.

While I was examining the beach, a man called down from the roof of the Creamery on the opposite bank with news of an Otter sighting the previous Thursday (13th April). It was when the river was very high and had flooded the beach, and as he watched, the Otter was diving and swimming, and eventually caught a fish. These physical sightings are so welcome, particularly at a time of flood when finding spraint is so difficult, so we were extremely grateful. We chatted about the Kingfishers which also fish close by and which he has often seen in May when the nestlings first appear and the Kingfisher has many mouths to feed.

ANNUAL TWO-DAY EVENT – OTTER SURVEY : Saturday & Sunday 8th & 9th April 2023 / Temp: 14-15C / Water Level: Med-High

The river was fast and high after a period of heavy rain day after day so one beach was completely under water and the others were a small narrow strip so this may have deterred the Otters as we only found two recent spraint and pad marks on the first day but fortunately one fresh spraint on the second day, confirmation we were looking for th show that the Otter had visited the site overnight.

The first day was gloriously sunny and warm, lots of fat female bumble bees disappearing into the long grass or holes in the ground search for suitable breeding sites and this vividly colourful Tawny Mining Bee, one of the earliest and the most easily recognised.

We spotted a pair of Mistle Thrushes under the apple trees in the Orchard and a pair of colourful Mandarin Ducks by the river, heard a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Chiff Chaffs, Wrens, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, heard a Raven, saw five Buzzards (probably a family group) circling above and even spotted a Tree Creeper doing what they do – creeping up the trunk of a tree on the opposite side of the river.

On the second day the most notable sighting was the Red Kite circling above the Orchard, but apart from ubiquitous Wood Pigeons, bird sightings were fewer, although the Mistle Thrush pair were still there and of course the Mallard who are resident.

The most exciting was this fallen branch lying across the river bank close to the water. We noticed the deep scars which appeared to us to be gnaw marks left by an animal… but which one? We know both Roe Deer and Badger gnaw at the bark of trees and fallen branches to get to the insects underneath, but as Beaver have recently been seen in this area, we wondered if it could possibly be Beaver!

Checking with all the experts we had contact with, we were absolutely thrilled to discover it was in fact Beaver signs, and to add a cherry on top, we had been asked to report any signs of Beaver when we completed our Otter survey – hooray!!

One other sighting which added to our red letter day was the semi-circle white mushrooms around a birch tree which were later confirmed as St George’s Mushrooms – we had only ever seen them once before and not in their notable circle so a lovely end to a thoroughly satisfying Two-Day Event!

4th April 2023 / Temp: 13 C / Water Level: Med-High

A glorious warm spring afternoon, full sun, blue sky and the perfect time to walk the river bank looking for Otter spraint and marking the change of the season and the welcome return of flowers, bees and beeflies, buterflies and craneflies!

The meadow was thick and lush with spring grass, lots of lesser celandines, chickweed and golden dandelions and the stone wall above the crashing weir was smothered in moss, English sedum and chickweed while on the wall below small clumps of yellow stonecrop held on to cracks in the stonework.

When we passed the weir, we only found old Otter spraint scattered around the low retaining wall, grey and crumbling, showing white chips of shell and a dried black winter spraint but no fresh. However, we did spot a Little Egret, rising from the tree hidden river, his great white wings lit by the sun and beautiful against the blue sky as he languidly flew across the meadow, no doubt heading towards the stream where he hoped for a quieter, undisturbed spot to fish.

Walking along the river bank towards the great beach we spotted fresh spraint at last, almost hidden in the long grass above a fishing peg, where the river at this spot is believed to be one of the best Trout fly fishing spots, downstream from where the Chub spawn – this Otter knows his river!

We walked on, checking for water birds (only one Swan and the Little Egret so far and no sign of Mallard or Kingfisher), but we heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a group of noisy Jackdaws and the wonderful call of a Chiff Chaff, announcing summer had arrived!

Two days without rain meant the water in the river shallows was relatively clear, and the flooded beach was navigable, only the rags and detritus left clinging to the low branches of the trees and the number of empty Duck mussel shells showing the extent of the recent flood.

Turning stones in the hope of finding caddis larvae, we instead discovered this small, rubbery creature clinging under a stone. Despite searching possibilities when we returned home, we were unable to identify it but, fortunately, Mark Wilson of iSpot came to the rescue and was able to identify it as a leech egg cocoon, almost certainly Erpobdella octoculata! Quite extraordinary!

Evidently the leech, an hemaphrodite, lays these cocoons usually containing between 5-10 eggs either on a plant or stone within a year of hatching and subsequently die.

The above sketch shows the eggs and their growth within the cocoon. As is the way of the world, leeches feed on insect larvae, snails and even other leeches and they are in their turn eaten by fish, especially Trout. I doubt anything would be able to pierce the thick, rubbery shell of the cocoon so the female leech is able to keep her eggs safe at least. The contrast with the hundreds of caddis eggs contained in an egg mass of transparent jelly also attached to stones in the river couldn’t be more striking.

Checking along the beach for Otter signs we noticed that luckily the sand had remained wet enough from the flood for a foraging Otter to leave clear tracks so although we didn’t find any more spraint, he left his calling card to show he had recently passed this way.

26th & 27th February 2023 / Temp: 4.5-6C / Water Level: Low

We have been exploring the triutaries to the Somerset River Frome – a very different environment from the main river. Small shallow trickling streams over gravel beds, so unlike the fast currents and crashing weirs of the river which as it cuts through farmland dirt banks inevitably disturbs loose earth and clouds the water. This constant erosion is exacerbated by the American Signal Crayfish which tunnel into the banks, causing yet more disturbance to the soil. Here, along with the other tributaries we have visited, the water is low, the beds are stony so the water is crystal clear, a mass of river limpets and caddis larvae on every stone with banks a thick mass of bryophytes, mainly liverworts a species totally unfamiliar to us, and mosses.

We discovered thick strappey mats of Great Scented Liverwort clinging the bank, and small, delicate Crescent Cup Liverwort which while looking beautiful, mixed up with bright green moss, glowing in the bright winter sunshine on the edge of the stream……

which we only managed to identify once we were able to examine it properly. It was then, with the help of our hand lens, that we noticed, the small crescent shaped cups, which, unique amongst thallose liverworts, contain green, disc like gemmae. A first for us and a very exciting discovery!

So intent were we in searching for the cups, we totally missed spotting the small slug which accompanied our specimen back to the house!

Wading the stream we saw great clumps of Hart’s Tongue ferns littering the banks, together with the thin but sharp tough upright leaves of pendulous sedge. The banks were covered in ivy, which with trailing bramble always make a hazardous trap for the unwary.

and when it becomes necessary to pull aside curtains of ivy trailing down from moss covered branches to negotiate the only path along the stream, the whole area begins to take on the atmosphere of an impenetrable jungle rather than a gentle stream in the south west of England!

However, the rewards are worth every near fall and wild clutch at a steadying strong branch and a full boot from a sudden dip in the stream bed. The sheer number of invertebrates in the stream are astonishing! We gave up counting and simply admired the sheer abundance of freshwater species.

An algae covered boulder smothered in midge larvae – so many it’s astonishing to believe that there is sufficient algae to feed them all! The large stones in the stream and even the gravel bed of the stream covered in masses of cased caddis larvae.

It’s difficult not to think that this overwhelming bounty may have been commonplace in all the rivers and streams of this country. The density of human population, with their profligate use of water for sewage and bathing, dishwashers and washing machine together with intensive farming and all that entails have overwhelmed the waterways. Such a toxic combination of pollutants which includes the runoff from roads and pavements have so badly affected the wildlife, numbers have inevitably fallen drastically and if this is not properly addressed, they may well be simply unable to cope and disappear..

19th and 25th February 2023 / Temp: 4.5-6C / Water Level: Med

If you want to see wildlife, take up fishing would be the advice of Paul Cook, a member of the Frome & District Angling Association!

During two quiet and successful days fishing he not only spotted an Otter swimming past and staring up at him, but on the second occasion he saw it again and followed it upriver before it was lost to sight!

Paul managed to capture some brilliant video footage of a Mink sprinting along the opposite bank (regretfully unable to upload) plus not one but two Muntjac grazing in the water meadow, as well as a Cormorant roosting at the top of a tree and a Red Kite circling overhead. A pretty impressive haul for for any enthusiastic naturalist!

13th February 2023 / Temp: 11.5-13 C/ Water Level: Med

The leaf buds of the Hawthorns make a cheerful splash of deep pink as they sprout and begin to open – a welcome sign that spring cannot be too far away. Pre-spring flowers are beginning to flower and it was also cheering to see the small clumps of snowdrops along the river bank. We spotted a pair of Mallard on the water, the male resplendent in his breeding plumage, the female looking drab and colourless beside him plus a single Swan were the only water birds seen during the whole of our walk. The river at this point runs parallel to the lake where we’ve heard that 19 Heron have been counted around the large untidy nest of the Henronry as well as a Little Egret, so no doubt the Cormorants which we usually see are also there.

The sizeable tree which was wedged firmly between the wall of the Creamery and the large old willow was a stark reminder of the force of the recent floods, as was the amount of scattered river debris spread across the water meadow, 20 feet or more from the river bank showing clearly how far the water rose above its normal level. Impossible to know where the tree came from and how far the flood water carried it but the farmer and the Creamery must be pretty fed up – it is only a matter of months since they had to clear a similar sized tree from the weir.

As the sun was warm on our back and the beach raked clean by the receding flood, we took time to turn stones in the river, with very little to show. A marked difference between the shallow water of the tributary where cased caddisfly larvae were plentiful, we didn’t see ever a single one here. However we did find lots of Horny Orb mussel shells, and for the first time ever, many of them complete which was a bonus. We collected several and when we returned home we couldn’t resist putting a few in a Duck Mussel shell, showing the extraordinary difference in size – we sometimes think Pea Mussel is a better description than the accepted Horny Orb given its miniscule size!

Good to see old, recent and fresh Otter spraint above the weir and above the beach which suggests a single Otter and not a female with cubs. It is always striking how black the spraint is in winter time, such a marked contrast to the usual red spraint when the signal crayfish are in season.

Not many birds to be seen although it was good to hear so much bird song from the trees and hedgerows, another good sign that spring is on its way. A Raven, a Crow, several Long-tailed Tits, a Wren and a Buzzard was pretty meagre sightings but the best is yet to be – not too long to wait!

12th February 2023

In view of the catastrophic fall in the number of insects, particularly the frightening decline in caddisflies it was heartening to see so many cased caddisfly larvae in one of the tributaries of the Somerset Frome glued to the stones in the bed of the stream.

1st February 2023

Exciting news for local anglers, FROME & DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION have just issued the following notice:

The culmination of two years of nurturing for the guys at the EA’s Calverton Fish Farm is when they see their babies set free. Thanks for these fish, we appreciate your efforts, it felt quite joyous setting them free.

500 barbel of around 4oz were introduced today to the River Frome at the Factory.

The aim is for a self sustaining population to eventually establish themselves, these stocked fish will start showing in catches in a few years and fingers crossed their offspring will grace our nets for years to come.

31st Jauary 2023 / Temp: 10 C / Water Level: Med-High

How lovely to feel the sun on our backs, the temperature rising above single figures, see the Alder catkins purpling up and drink in the blue, blue azure blue sky – can it really be – it certainly seems possible – it feels as if winter might be releasing its grip, at last!

It was wonderful to be out along the river after what seems months since we last checked for Otter signs so although the wind still held its icy edge, once we reached the line of trees lining the river bank we were sheltered enough to enjoy the walk.

Wonderful too to reach our second site and find two large stones with liberal amounts of Otter spraint, 2 fresh and 1 recent on one and 3 fresh and 1 recent on the other. Nestled among the tussocks of grass above a small inlet of slack water, 3 more large spraint, old and crumbling but a favourite spot so good to see that it is still being used and at our final site 2 fresh and 1 recent so the Otter are here, active in the vicinity as well as in the Nature Reserve and town centre upriver.

The spraint we see at this time of the year is very strikingly different to the summer spraint, black and tarry instead of red from the American Signal Crayfish which is our local Otter’s main diet. In winter they eat what they can get, including birds, which certainly looks like the possible contents of this particular spraint.

We were a little pressed for time but still found a few moments to turn stones at the edge of the river hoping for signs of life. Not much to see, mostly minute snails and smears of what might have been uncased caddis larva galleries, but we did find what appears to be a cased caddis larva – possibly Glossoma, due to its humped appearance (saddle-back) and lack of a ring of sand around the entrance, but impossible for us to definitely identify.

While we were busy checking the beach, we saw a Tree Creeper, a Blackbird and three Long Tailed Tits busy amoung the trees and around the hedges, a few signs of birdlife to add to the single Heron and a Herring Gull we saw flying over, a Little Egret and two Crows on the other side of the river, and three Jackdaws calling and chattering as they flew between neighbourikng trees. Not exactly alive with birds but we did disturb a small gang of seven Mallard, a tight group close to the river’s edge which took off in alarm as we walked by. A great clatter of wings but silent, unlike the noisey complaints they usually make if disturbed! As we were leaving, possily half an hour later, they flew around but didn’t land when the caught sight of us.

Another welcome sight of new growth to cheer us as we walked out away from the trees – the bright green leaves of the Arum lilies sprouting from their underground rhizones, often the first plants to show signs of life and another sign that winter is drawing to an end?

9th January 2023 / Water Level : High

The many niggling challenges of increasing old age are frustrating but never more so as when they prevent us from doing what we want to do! Unfortunately a bout of ill-health has stopped us from visiting the river as often as usual over the past couple of months so, as the wind was strong and decidely icy, the fields along the main river flooded and uninviting, it seemed a good idea to make a a trip to one of the tributaries to the main river, one of many small streams which trickle down either from springs or seepages or underwater streams from as far away as the Mendip hills. They are often sheltered by trees and shrubs and the step sides of the stream give excellent protection from the wind.

It is always a mini adventure to wade upstream, navigating the tangled ivy, moss covered elder branches which snap as we reach for support, ducking under fallen branches and negotiating skeins of interlaced tough honeysuckle vines, but at last managing to reach the main reason for our visit, a small tufa cascade, an outfall from one of the Mendip hills seepages.

The cascade is not very big, probably no more than a three feet drop, but the build up of tufa deposits at the point of the outfall, the coating of algae and the stalactites which have formed over the years make it quite an unusal and striking sight.

We searched the water below the cascade, looking for the Endangered caddis Adicella filicornisa larvae or, extremely unlikely, the particular rare cranefly larva Ellipteroides alboscutellatus, a species associated with tufa-depositing seepages, but although we found what appear to be Agapes cased caddis and the larval galleries of uncased caddis, in amongst the black river limpets, these were the only larval remains we were able to find. However, it is mid-winter and most of the recorded findings have been in the warmer months, so we will return later in the year and hope for better luck.

The stalactites are accumulations of calcium carbonate deposits from seepages of lime rich water. As the slightly acidic rainwater passes through limestone it reacts with it by absorbing the calcium carbonate which it then deposits when reaches the air.

We had rather more difficulty in climbing up out of the steep sided stream than we did wading along it, and promised ourselves we would plan a better route next visit, one which is more suitable to our age and lack of agility!!

20th December 2022 / Temp: 10 C / Water Level: High

Winter Solstice Eve

As we left the river the sun was beginning to set, and tomorrow would thankfully be the shortest day of the year, heralding the return of the sun. Always a relief to have managed the three darkest months of the year and come through it relatively unscathed with the knowledge that the worst is now over and the best months of the new year are not too far away!

The river had been pretty wild during the whole of our Otter survey! Rushing and tumbling along at torrential speed as we walked gingerly along the bank looking for spraint but keeping a weather eye on the river by not getting too close. Togged out against the cold we were conscious that a careless slip on the rain sodden muddy bank could result in a slide into the fast current that, given our age might prove challenging! Having been warned by the Health Minister’s very helpful (!) advice not to take risks, we didn’t want to be blamed for further endangering the present chaotic state of the National Health Service by our actions.

All of our usual sites were flooded and we felt it very unlikely we would spot any signs of Otters at all so were pleasantly surprised to find two fresh spraint on the grassy bank above a small inlet of calm water away from the main current.

Typical winter spraint in our area, lacking the usual orange/red of crayfish feeding, this looked full of snail shells – poor pickings for a hungry Otter but needs must in winter when they scavange on what they can find.

No water birds on the river of course although we did see the resident Swans (no sign of their cygnets) and four Mallard on the bank. Apart from a couple of Blackbirds, a Herring Gull flying over and c.15 Black-headed Gulls in an adjoing field, we didn’t see any other signs of life either.

A pile of logs were dressed in bright Coral Spot fungi, making a cheerful Christmassy splash of colour amongst the drab tones of winter, but with fresh evidence of Otters along the river, we could view the other sites, empty of all signs of life, with equanimity and merely note their flooded beaches with passing interest.

29th November 2022 / Rodden Nature Reserve

copyright : Jenny Vickers

An image taken from Jenny Vickers’ delightful video of two Otters playing in the reserve in the centre of Frome and posted on Frome Wildlife Watch https://www.facebook.com/groups/

14th November 2022 / Water Level: Normal, falling / Temp: 16.5 C

It was a huge relief to see the river beginning to recover from the summer drought, not yet up to its usual level at this time of the year which is usually after the wettest months of October and November but the flow is back to normal and if it continues at this rate, it won’t be too long before the river is fully recovered. No signs of water birds – not even a Mallard, so perhaps they have all moved to nearby lakes – only time will tell whether they return.

It was a beautiful morning, full sun, blue skies and lots of birdsong, at least the small birds of tree and hedge were about in numbers – Wrens, Blackbirds, Magpies, Long-tailed Tits, a flock of Jackdaws fly over, chattering as always and the wonderfully evocative croak of a Raven calling a greeting as it passed overhead.

White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum/terrestris/magnus/cryptarum)

Nothing can illustrate quite how unseasonably warm the weather has been this autumn better than this image of a White tailed bumblebee, still crawling around in the wet grass in mid-November. It’s wings were so wet it was unable to fly but the sun was warm enough to dry it and we left it in peace to recover.

Two fresh Otter spraint on the gravel beach but no other signs of life either on the ground nor under the stones we turned in the river. Rather disappointing not to find a single caddis larva, river limpet or even any ubiquitous freshwater shrimps clinging to any of the stones, we hope not a sign of the drought.

A very hot, very dry summer followed by a warm, dry autum has produced a bonanza of fungus, more than we have every seen in the woods and up on the downs and here along the water meadows they were blooming in profusion, fairy ring chanterelles scattered in numbers wherever we walked, Snowy Inkcaps, with their sprinkles of snowy fibres intact, Dung Roundheads, and the wonderfully delicate little Yellow Fieldcaps, so small they are easy to miss…

We spotted a Speckled Wood butterfly among the riverside plants as well as a dragonfly – sadly far too fast to get an identification and too far away for a photograph but heartening to see both, it’s still warm, winter hasn’t arrived even though the nights are drawing in and then we caught sight of not one but three Cormorants in their usual roosting tree – and lovely to see that one had a white underside – a juvenile, so mum and dad had at least one successful breeding season, although from a possible clutch of about 3-5 eggs, not a great survival rate.

It’s always easy to spot their roosting trees as, like this one, it has lost its leaves – sadly one of the side-effects of nesting together as a colony is the volume of droppings, which over time kills the breeding trees. We don’t know how long it has taken for it to decline to this extent, but we have seen them using this tree for a number of years.

18th October 2022 / Water Level: Below Normal / Temp: 16 C

All very calm along the river, surprisingly and very welcomingly warm for the third week in October. After checking the muddy beaches, wooden anglers’ jetty, under the bridge and along the grassy river bank for Otter spraint (none) we perched on our stools backs to the sun and basked. This field just above the weir often floods in winter so perhaps it is not surprising that it never parched as badly as the other fields on the farm, confirmed by the lush growth after a couple of days of rain.

No sign of the Canada Geese on the bank or river, or of their piles of droppings which make walking so unpleasant, but the warm sun had brought out the dragonflies – we counted 4 male Common Darters, a single female and a pair in tandem over the almost stagnant scummy pool, an overflow formed by the small stream draining into the river.

An Emperor dragonfly hunted relentlessly up and down the reeds, annoyingly just beyond the range of my camera, and difficult to follow with my Papillons. Given the warm sun, brilliant light and sheer number of dragonflies while watching its eratic flight, it was almost possible to persuade ourselves that it was still summer.

Moving from the sublime to the more mundane, although just as beautiful in its way, was finding what I believed to be the wonderfully named Cowpat Gem (Cheilymenia granulata) but which dejayM on ispot pointed out is not the only granular one, and thre wasn’t sufficient detail to persuade him to accept, so we therefore settled on Pyronemataceae as a likely ID.

Little bird life, 4 Crows, 6 Jackdaws, a Moorhen, a Mallard, a Blackbird and two Buzzards, mostly heard and a few seen – not exactly a hive of activity. The insect life was rather more energetic, we caught sight of at least 6 wasps, a couple crawling up and down the trunk of an catkin bearing alder tree, a Hornet hunting among the reeds, several drones and a bumble bee – it must be Indian Summer!

15th October 2022 / Temp: 15.5 C / Water Level : Normal (but very low) Mells River: Below normal

The view of the weir is rather sobering, the wall being visible for the first time shows very clearly the drop in the water level of the river. The old mill leat has taken the main flow of the river which is not that strong, but the hedge cutting has revealed the full view for the first the first time since the spring growth showing clearly the full effect of the summer drought.

Fortunately there was enough water to support this pair of Mute and the three remaining cygnets of the original six and they all look healthy enough so let’s hope they survive and thrive through the coming winter. They were certainly a pretty feisty pair, both objecting vociferously by hissing and growling as we passed them on our way to check for Otter spraint – we hissed back and trudged on, but were relieved to reach the beach whilst they remained with their cygnets on the bank!

14th October 2022

Great news! The large tree which was brought down by the violent storms last autumn and has been blocking the weir and causing more and more plants to lodge and root around it has at last been removed from the by Andros the creamery factory which owns the righ-hand stretch of the river. It was extraordinary to watch over the months how nature managed to get a foothold and expand to cover the whole of the top of the weir and slowing the river even when it was flowing well before the drought.

It is to be hoped that the autumn rains will clear the debris and flourishing plant growth from the top of the weir so that the water can flow flow once more.

It seems a pity that Andros didn’t clear the whole of the weir which their delay had allowed to build up.

11th October 2022 / Temp: 15 C / Water Level: Remains Below Normal at this location – Steady

A pair of Swans and four Mallard (two male and two female) were the only water birds we spotted along the river but thankfully no sign of dead birds, victims of bird flu which are beginning to turn up in places like Langford Lakes. We must hope that the wild bird population here is spared, numbers are not high and an outbreak spreads to this area the consequences could be devastating.

Days of heavy rain showers appear to have made little difference to the water level on the main river which is still lower than normal, as is the Mells River which feeds into the Frome where the level is falling. Surprisingly the level at the source in Witham Friary is normal and rising but it does take a good while before the effects of such a prolonged period of drought are rectified. Impossible yet to know the effect this is having on the wildlife in the river without carrying out a complete kick survey on our usual four sites which we have been unable to do this summer due to other commitments. It may be that we will have to wait until the mayfly hatch next spring to see how the invertebrates have fared during this exceptionally dry summer.

Despite the very sad loss of the female Otter and cub last month, generally the Otter news is very encouraging, with several sightings along the river and finding two fresh Otter spraint on one of the beaches. Although this is a lot less than we found earlier in the year, Otters are not called wanderers for nothing and females make full use of what is often a 20 kilometre territory and an even larger territory in the case of the dog Otters in their hunt for food.

4th September 2022 – Road Kill

We have received the extremely sad news of a female Otter and cub being killed on the very busy road a quarter of a mile from the river. This photograph was taken at 7.20pm last night so although we don’t know when the accident occurred, this is always a particularly dangerous time of the year for Otters when the light is falling earlier in the evening but the nights are still too short for them to only hunt at night.

All dead Otters in Somerset are collected and delivered to Cardiff University where they provide a valuable resource for their ongoing research into Otter, as the autopsy will show the health of both mother and cub to add to the bigger picture.

Update: Twelve other roadkill Otters have been collected over the county during the past month, which is a sad reflection that roadkill is still the greatest cause of death in Otters.

It is believed that this pair could be the daughter and grand-daughter who have been sharing the same holt along with her mother and this years brood. This is a fairly common practice when there is sufficent food in the river to support the whole family.

3rd October 2022 / Temp: 11 C / Water Level: Below Normal

Autumn is upon us and the first signs are already appearing as the leaves of the riverside trees are showing their gold and copper tints. It’s also the fungus season and across the river meadow and river bank small mushrooms and toadstools are sprouting, not unnaturally as these are cattle pastures, the delicate dung snowy inkcaps have sprouted everywhere.

We spotted a flock of at least 50 Black-headed Gulls feeding on the spillage from the recent maize harvest on an adjacent arable field, more than we have seen for some time. We also heard more birds singing than we had for months, mostly Robins but also Great Tits, Blackbirds, Magpies and Crows and even a Nuthatch flying across. But what delighted us most was catching sight of a Little Egret and then disturbing a Heron which rose languidly from his perch in a tree on the edge of the bank and as we contiued walking, he was joined by his mate who had remained hidden in the tree. A juvenile Cormorant remained motionless on the skelton tree at the edge of meadow during all the disturbance but a Buzzard appeared and began circling and circling above us in perfect cruise control!

1st September 2022/ Temp: 17.5 C /Water Level: Below Normal at this location – Steady

Drought!

The West Country is now officially designated as one of the areas of the country in drought as the water levels in the rivers, streams and lakes drop lower by the day and in one popular fishing lake close by, the water fell so low all the fish died.

The river has dropped so low that the weir is completely dry, depriving the mill leat of water and although there was no sign of dead fish, it seems certain that the invertebrates which fish and some water birds rely on for food will have perished.

The cattle are fortunate that the meadows where they graze have the river which not only gives them water whenever they are thirsty but the blessed shade ofthe trees which line the banks. However, the recent heatwave and so long without rain have bleached the fields so the farmer has been forced to start feeding them on the winter hay. So many parts of the country are also in drought that the situation come winter is likely to prove pretty dire.

The Mells River, the main tributary of the Somerset River Frome water level is below normal and falling at the time of writing and this will also have a marked effect on the river. Whether the fall in the water levels accounts for only one fresh spraint along the whole of this stretch only time will tell but it is a warning bell. We only saw 4 and then later 8 Mallard in the river, a Heron and Little Egret, Crows, a Raven and Magpie the only birds along the river.

A good showing of wild hops in the hedgerows along the track nearer the upper pastures which despitethe parched ground seemed still to provide enough for a mixed flock of Rooks and Jackdaws – c130 Rooks and c25 Jackdaws.

Finally, it was heartening to see a SmallTortoiseshell and several Large White butterflies around the red valerian – it may be September but there are still a few lingering reminders of what has been, despite the drought, one of the most spectacular summers we can remember in our long, long life!

27th August 2022 / Temp: 22.5 C / Water Level: Low

Fantastic afternoon at the river! We saw more water bird and dragonfly species than we had seen for months – we found Otter spraint on two of our sites and we heard from the owner of the farm that his trail camera had filmed two Otters, young foxes, roe deer, mink and hedgehogs!!

The river level was still low, lower than normal at this location but steady and even slightly higher than it has been at its lowest level. It was a great relief to see such good signs of life, including our favourite, a Dipper, his white bib and chocolate brown feathers a perfect camouflage amongst the stones, bobbing and exploring the crevices for a tasty morsel – caddisfly larvae perhaps!

Two Kingfishers flashed past in perfect synchronization as we were admiring the Dipper, obligingly the first tilting so we could get a perfect view of his dazzling electric blue wings whilst the second tilted in the opposite direction so we could appreciate the full pallete of fiery orange-chestnut feathers on her chest!

We spotted several Red Darters, Emperor Dragonflies and a couple of Brown Hawkers, including this beautiful female injecting her eggs either in the rotten wood as seems likely or in the stem of a plant in the river.

21st August 2022 / Temp: 22.5 C / Water Level : Low

Two lots of fresh spraint at our first survey site under the bridge and of course a Speckled Wood butterfly sun bathing on the dry and dusty path leading down the quite precipitous slope to the river. We haven’t seen the Butterfly Count results for 2022 but we fully expect to see a bumper year for this butterfly, they are everywhere!

During the whole time, almost twenty years, we have been walking the riverbank and watching the river through every month of the year, we have never seen such a low flow of water over the weir, nor seen the huge amount of sediment, fallen branches and plants being able to take root in such a restricted flow.

In the past, even in high summer, a rain storm or a week’s rainfall has always cleared the debris and allowed the river to run free. At the time of writing the river levels at the various stations are still showing below normal levels and steady as they are over most of the country causing great concern for the health of the wildlife living in the river.

We mention this because if there are Otters about, they climb out of the river, up the sloping grass and plant strewn steep slope just beside the weir, and leave their trademark spraint at the top.  When we arrive, we check the line of old white crumbling spraint, recent dried, but still coloured spraint, to see if the Otters have been around, and left their fresh orange-red spraint full of crayfish shell. 

No sign of fresh spraint today so we walked on and then noticed that a fresh beach had been formed where the river is usually high enough for the Chub to spawn in spring, and on the beach we found …… three lots of fresh spraint!   At least the signal crayfish are seemingly finding food to eat so the Otters are hopefully managing to find enough fresh food.

We also spotted three Heron, not stalking the river as normal, but finding something to feed on in the meadow where all three were hunting.  There were two Grey Wagtails hopping about in the shallows and stones beside the river, so there must be midges and snails enough for them to eat although we saw very few.

But the day belonged to the Saracen’s Woundwort – the edges of the river bank were lost to view by the ranks of tall, healthy-looking plants, covered in flowers which were covered in bees, wasps, flies and hoverflies of every description!

including a Common Blue Butterfly feeding on the flowers, a species we rarely see along the river so it was possibly a good omen for the future. Two Small Whites, a Banded Demoiselle and an Emperor Dragonfly were the only other insects we saw but we did see and hear three Buzzards lazily circling in the sky above the trees. We didn’t see or hear any small birds, so they would have to join the Heron and hunt the river meadows!!

12th August 2022 / Temp: 22 C / Water Level: Very Low

The river was lower than we had ever seen it, exposing stones which are usually completely covered, like the hunger stones on German rivers with dates of extreme droughts carved onto them. Some even had messages, one reading “If you see me, weep.” The weather forecasters say that there are only 3 or 4 days before this present heat wave of temperatures topping 33 C in this area so if the temperatures drop and we gets sufficient rainfall, hopefully the river will recover.

The only sign of life was one of a pair of Speckled Wood butterflies chasing each other amongst the trees of the riverbank, until one rested, beautifully camouflaged, and very helpfully for a woodland butterfly against the split trunk of a rotted tree, home to a myriad of tiny creatures.

There were no signs of algae bloom on the river which has devastated some of the Lakes in the Lake District and areas further upstream, however, we are unlikely to see the full extent of the damage of the drought until next year’s mayfly hatch and damselfly/dragonfly numbers.

Downstream is a different story. Along the river meadow just above the weir you would strain to find signs of drought. The water is held back by the weir, the level only marginally lower than a normal summer and the grass green and lush unlike the parched fields upstream, which are bleached and bone dry.

The insect life certainly reflects the greener conditions with many flowers in bloom, butterflies, moths and hoverflies around like this beautiful and striking Pellucid hoverfly feeding on the creeping thistles.

A Green-veined White, one of several we saw visiting the last of the brambles still in flower, and a beautiful, pale and delicate moth, which ispot fortunately identified as a Mother of Pearl moth, a new species to add to our ever-growing list.

Not many damselflies, but we did spot a Common Darter dragonfly, which as the name suggests is extremely common along this stretch of water from the end of summer onwards.

Sighting the Darter is a pleasure tinged with sadness, the first of many signs that these wonderfully sun-filled days of summer are starting to wane – oh how reluctantant we are to see them go and how we cling to the need for just one last day filled with light before the gloom of autumn!

5th August 2022 / Temp: 25 C / Water Level: Very Low

Swallows!! Wonderful to see a successful brood, a family of eight swooping and soaring above the river catching midges for two juveniles sitting on a branch still begging for food. This is the second family breeding pair along the river this year, how it raises our spirits.

Climbing over the stile into the river meadow, we eyed the cattle with some trepidation, having never seen so many in this field before, but we soon noticed it was the milking herd who are calm and well used to people and so it proved. Although watching us as they languidly chewed away, they moved before us as we walked the riverbank, an older female breaking up a tetchy pair of heiffers butting each other like trainee bulls!

Lots of butterflies to add to the Big Butterfly Count, a beautiful Comma glowing amongst the burdock buds, Green Veined Whites along the bramble hedges, Speckled Woods and Meadow Browns and even a tiny Holly Blue fluttering bravely amongst the big boys!

But as always it is the damselflies which touch our hearts, including the illusive White-legged damselfy, so tiny and oh so delicate and so beautiful – a female, cream and black.

We were pretty sure we spotted a Red-eyed damselfy through binoculars perched on a lily pad hoping to catch a passing female but regretfully too far away for our camera to capture, but also quite a number of banded demoiselles, both male and female over the river and resting on the riverbank plants.

As we wandered down the meadow, keeping a weather eye on the black and white cows contentedly tearing and chewing the grass and flicking their tails, we disturbed a Little Egret, showily snowy white against the green of the alders in their full summer leaf, and watched a mewing Buzzard circling overhead while listening to the haunting call of two Ravens flying across the sheep field on the opposite bank. The usual parties of Tits were flitting amongst the trees but if there were other birds around, they were well hidden and silent.

There were no signs of Otter on any of the sites, no spraint, crayfish remains or pad marks in the mud; no fishermen lined the riverbank, they had been asked not to fish in the depleted waters of the drought affected river, and no crowds of young teenagers either swimming in the river, warned off by reports of several becoming sick after bathing in the water, which had become polluted and toxic by the low flow, so it was just us, the butterflies, the cows and the damselflies, all pretty serenely enjoying the river.

27th July 2022 / Temp: 16.5 C / Water Level: Low

The river is worryingly well below the normal lowest level at this time of the year which not only causes stress to the fish and invertebrates living in the river as the level of oxygen falls but also concentrates the chemical pollution in the water from both the nearby sewage works and the creamery factory as well as from the dairy cattle.

A recent Riverfly Report from Wildfish (formerly the Salmon & Trout Conservation) makes sobering reading as it outlines the effect of chemical polution in all of the UK’s rivers and draws attention to the fall in numbers and species of the invertebrates which fish and other creatures feed on – as relevant to our river as it is to England’s famous gin clear chalk streams. https://wildfish.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2021-Riverfly-Census_200722.pdf?mc_cid=ffd73ea824&mc_eid=8fc0266882&mc_cid=72e04c2dba&mc_eid=8fc0266882

The water along the relief carrier stream, which leads off from the old Mill leat, was equally low with just a shallow trickle running down the centre of what is usually a deep channel of water. No sign of Otter along its length but as always lots of damselfies, mostly Banded Demoiselles, the vivid spectacular metallic blue of the males with their dark thumbprint mark on their wings were busy among the masses of flowering plants on its banks, proving a good hunting ground for insect prey.

The Banded Demoiselle damselfly favours slow rivers, streams or canals with a muddy bottom so this stream must be a perfect habitat and no doubt why we always see so many of them there. Interestingly the species is very sensitive to pollution, so a good indicator of clean water, showing that the stream must be comparatively free of any chemical pollutants.

Luckily for us the water level drop must have been recent, leaving an edge of still wet muddy sand on the beach of the main river, wide enough for a scampering Otter, or possibly its cub, to leave good clear pad marks. For some reason they didn’t linger as there were no signs of spraint. Otters travel some distance to find food and as we have been unable to find sprain beyond the main road bridge we think they must be working their way upstream.

As we walked along the riverbank to the next site we disturbed first a Little Egret which flew up into a tree, then a sizeable group of Mallard including a female with four juveniles, who swam or flew off with a great deal of fuss, complaining loudly. No sign of Mandarin but they are so quiet they could have swum off without us noticing. A careful crawl under the barbed wire fence produced its usual moans and groans and creaking of old joints from us which was no doubt what disturbed a Brown Hare and set him off racing down the fence line until he was lost akong the grass. It may also have alerted first one and then a second Heron lifting in their usual leisurely fashion from the river and set off, flapping nonchalantly over the river meadow where they joined another Heron standing in the grass.

Good signs of Otter on the last beach, mostly white and dried and old but there were two recent red spraint, filled with crayfish shell, on a large stone, a good sign with the pad marks that they were still about.

Blackbirds singing and a Chaffinch pinking was a delightful accompaniment to our spraint search and rest during which we spotted a stone with old caddisfly larvae cases glued to the side.

A climb up the bank and the start of a rather weary trudge across the river meadows and as we lifted our heads to glance around we were astonished to spot two Brown Hares running across the field before stopping to watch us. How wonderful they looked – so fit and glossy golden coated, their black tipped ears bolt upright and alert! We needed to get home and so we continued to walk slowly and steadily towards them. As we grew closer, but still too far away for my little point ‘n snap camera, they eventually took fright and bounded away at speed. What a delightful gift the river meadows gave us to send us happily on our way home for lunch.

21st July 2022 / Temp: 17.5 C / Water Level: Low

This bridge is always a favourite place for local Otters to leave their spraint when the river level is low enough to expose the generous sized pile cap in the centre of the river, we always check it and are often successful, today being no exception. Recent spraint, a scatter of crayfish remains spread over most of the cap among the river debris of broken branches and twigs.

Slightly downstream of the bridge the stones exposed by the low water and the tiny island of water forget me not make a good hunting ground for a visiting Grey Wagtail, hopping from boulder to stone, stone to island from which to search for prey. The good news for

this beautiful and engaging bird is becoming more common and has moved from the BTO Red List from Red to Amber which is really heartening, it doesn’t seem a good river if there are no Grey Wagtails, Kingfishers or Dippers

The tall reeds and water plants which line the edge of the river were alive with damselflies, the Banded Demoiselle whose brilliant metallic blue coloured bodies and thumb print marked wings inevitably catch the eye – a brief glance along the plants clocked at least nine, but just a couple of Beautiful Demoiselle.

Our delight at finding Otter spraint under the bridge suffered a sharp set-back as we checked the other three sites – no signs of Otter at all! The damage caused by the extreme heat of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday plus the lack of rain for weeks was very noticeable on the river pasture in dried bleached grassed and lack of insects.

14th July 2022 / Temp : 19.5 C / Water Level: Low

Another beautiful morning, full sun, blue skies and the air clear and fresh and thankfully not yet too hot – a perfect time to wander the river bank and saunter across the recently mown hay meadows, checking the wildlife and the summer flowering plants.

It was beautifully cool under the trees by the river and the owner of the farm who stopped for a chat said that it felt 10 degrees cooler on the stony beach than out in the full sun.

We certainly took our time searching the beach for footprints and other signs of Otter spraint, Mink scat or gnawed wood of Beaver as part of the 6th National Otter Survey of England which we had volunteered to take part in once our chosen 10 kilometer square area had been agreed. The Otters were living up to their name as “the wanderers” – only old spraint on their favourite stones where weeks ago we had found 8 or 9 spraint onthe same spot. No signs of Mink or Beaver either. What we did find was the line of cut stone revealed by the falling water level of the old Roman ford after which the nearby bridge was named.

Out into the hot sun where the newly flowering teasels, comfrey, butter yellow mullein and brilliant yellow ragwort flowers were all attracting pollinators – bees, hoverflies, soldier beetles, butterflies and flower beetles.

We counted the butterflies, a good number of Speckled Wood, Small Skipper, Small White, Green-veined White, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Comma and just one Peacock. A similar story with the damselflies, Common Blue were everywhere, a few Blue Tailed and even fewer Banded Demoiselles which a few days ago on another of our sites were everywhere but only one solitary dragonfly – a Brown Hawker hunting up and down, up and down the plants and hedgerows along the river bank.

After a long hot walk across the hay meadow we decided to stop under the trees and have a rest and a drink of water before checking the final two sites. Imagine our delight as we had barely perched on our stools with a good view of the river when a Dipper swept past, landed on the shallow rapids and began hunting among the stones for caddisfly larvae and other invertebrates. Although too far away for a photograph, we watched through our binoculars as it fed, dipping up and down, happily hopping from stone to stone or disappearing from view as it waded through the water – such an unexpected pleasure and delight!

It was time to move on. We still had to survey two more sites and the time was moving towards mid-day, when the sun was far to hot and burning to be ambling across hay meadows without shelter.

Clambering down to the next beach our delight in the day reached its zenith when we found first Goera pilosa Caddisfly larva case welded to the bottom of a stone in the water, an easily identifiable case as the larva glues larger stones along the sides of its case to prevent predation by Trout etc. It was our first sighting of this species of Caddisfly in our stretch of the river, so a very exciting find and also particularly satisfying having watch the Dipper hunting riverfly larvae to find a stone with three distinct specie’ cases of riverfly attached!

The second coup was discovering two areas among the stones, each showing what was certainly spraint left by two Otters, most probaly the female and cub which had been seen by several observers hunting, diving and catching crayfish beneath the weir some miles upriver. The Otter spraint in this area of river is notable among the Somerset Otter Group for the bright red/orange colour of the spraint and the amount of crayfish shells (and even antennae!) of the American Signal Crayfish with which this river is infested and is their main diet. When we find the spraint we usually find nearby crayfish claws, parts of skeletan and what are known as crayfish pearls – the gastroliths which the freshwater crayfish produce in an effort to retain calcium, all of which we found close by.

Unfortunately no signs of either Beaver or Mink for our National Otter Survey of England, but having proof of Otter, we still have until next January to find Mink and Beaver signs in our 10 kilometer area!

Mum and Dad and the kids arrived – the parents looking outraged to find us on their beach! We think these must be Harry and Sally (named by the owner’s wife) because she said they are well groomed and perfectly white whilst the other pair and their cygnets are a good deal scruffier and wilder looking (she calls them Tarzan and Jane!!).

Apart from the Dipper, we saw few birds, just a Heron taking off and a Buzzard overhead, but we did hear a Green Woodpecker, a Raven and a Bullfinch but most seems to be keeping cool in amongst the trees and we merely see or hear a flutter of wings as they move among the branches.

Time to pack up, leave the cool of the river beach and its tree shaded bank and strike out across the bleached hay meadows where the scent of new mown hay, straong and heady in the heat of the mid-day sun called up fond memories and an aching nostallgia in one of us at least of long days hay-making man and boy in the depths of the Sussex countryside.

12th July 2022 / Temp: 19 C / Water Level: Low

Quiet along the river but blessedly cool under the trees. No Otter signs, and very little bird activity but we did heard and spot a couple of Moorhen, the first sighting of these water birds for far too many months. No signs of the Canada Geese whose droppings usually coat the river bank or even Mallard so it seems most of the wild fowl have, like the Otters, moved on!

But fortunately, the insects are still staying put including this beautiful Black & Yellow Longhorn Beetle feasting on the newly opened bramble flowers, joined only yards away by another striking yellow and black longhorn – the Four-banded Longhorn Beetle feeding on a purple thistle!

Walking along the boundary hedge, alive with hoverflies, worker bees, damselflies and butterflies which were all very skittish and not staying long enough to catch a photograph, we were relieved to come across a beautiful Tiger Cranefly sheltering in the shade of a large branching thistle.

Lots of Common Blue and Banded Demoiselle damselflies but no sign of the Red-Eyed Common Blue damselflies we had hoped to see. This is the only site where we have seen them in previous years and they should be about but like all wildlife, there is no guarantee they will appear on cue!

28th June 2022 / Temp: 17.5 C / Water Level : Low

A wild and windy morning, the branches thrashing and creaking but the river meadow was blessedly free from cattle so we didn’t have to keep a weather eye out for the bull and could take our time examining the river bank for Otter signs.

The mats of water lilies were looking quite stunning – the flower heads newly opened, each one a perfect specimen – an absolute delight! The Meadowsweet, wild Watercress and Water Forget-me-not was in full flower along the river and carrier stream margins which was lovely to see, particularly as the wind had frightened off all but a handfull of damselflies, Common Blue and Banded Demoiselles, one solitary Brown Hawker dragonfly and a few Small Tortoisesheel butterflies.

Ispot is such a blessing. I posted several insects and flowers, amongst them this furry beastie with its head buried in a bramble flower confident that it was a buff-tailed bumblebee. Wrong! It was corrected to a Bumblebee Hoverfly – how careful one has to be not to see a common insect and jump to conclusions!

Not a single water bird on the river – it always catches us out every year, that period when the birds are moulting after the nesting period and keep out of sight until their new feathers have grown. The seasons move on almost without our noting the passing days, we turn and it is high summer already! We did at least hear a few birds – Crow, Wood Pigeons, a Common Whitethroat (which I always refer to as “Five Go Mad in Somerset” due to its frantic mangled song!) and a couple of Wrens but the strong blustery wind kept them hunkered down amongst the thick undergrowth of the hedgerow or hidden in the protection of the trees, heavy with summer leaf.

A few surprising awaited us at the last survey site. Recent spraint under the bridge and this large, dark almost orange and black striped hornet mimic hoverfly – a first sighting along the river – a magnificent wee beastie!!

22nd June 2022 / Temp 20.5 C / Water Level: Low

We arrived to see 4, 7, 9 no 11 Swallows swooping down over the river meadows and up again, travelling at top speed and no hesitation straight under the roof of the barn – presumably lingingering long enough to stuff a few beaks before out they came again, to repeat the same dare-devil manoeuvre – the Swallows have nestlings!

As usual one of us checked under the small bridge and walked along the banks of the carrier stream, the remaining channel of the ancient field flooding system until it joins the main river while the other checked the weir. Although we can see the water in winter, at this time of the year it disappears under a river of plants alive with worker bees from the nearby hives, hoverflies and damselflies and only visible by the line of trees showing its trajectory as the plants haven’t yet transformed into their full summer riot of colour, but still allowing an Otter taking a short cut along the stream, to be be completely hidden from view until the stream meets the river.

Where the two meet there is a muddy beach which is often a trackers’ treasure trove – covered in foot prints! Deer slots, Mallard, Heron and Mandarin, Badger, rarely Mink and, if we are lucky Otter pad marks. Not today. But before the beach was reached, a Brown Hare, who had been hidden in the tussocky clumps of rough grass, shot out from its form and “hared” across the river meadow, far too quick to photograph but in sight long enough to watch entranced with surprise and delight.

Lots of damselflies, mostly Banded Demoiselles, and butterflies, Meadow Brown, Large White, Painted Lady, two Large Skipper and a single Gatekeeper and water birds, at least 20 Mallard, a handful of Mandarin, 2 Mute Swan, a Little Egret and a Heron, the last two flying off over the meadows at our approach.

17th June 2022 / Temp: 24.5C / Water Level: Low

There are few wild flowers which are more beautiful than Water Figwort and it was an absolute delight to see a row of plants self-seeded in a line along the open culvert. The colour is so striking, a deep blood red with the deep cream centre wide open.

The rounded top petals are like the open lids of a pot revealing the pollen coated four fertile stamens huddled in a rectangle in the lower half of the flower. They are always a joy to see but particularly today, on such a beautifully hot summer’s day of cloudless blue skies and still fresh green leaves shading the river and offering pools of perfect cool out of the intense heat of the sun.

As we checked the beach we were astonished to find only recent Otter spraint, after months of so much spraint both from the female Otter and her cub we expected today to be no different but it appears they have both gone on a wander, as is the wont with Otters, but who knows where! What made it all the more perplexing was the amount of fresh spraint we found under the bridge close by only two days ago. However we were glad of an opportunity to take advantage of the shade by double-checking all their favourite stones and grass tufts and beach edge before venturing out into the full sun again.

When we came up to the wild rockery it was to find a wonderful display of wild poppies replacing the Mayfly strewn plants of barely a month ago. Today there wasn’t a single Mayfly to be seen either by the river or on the plants – it was as if the frenzied blitz of thousands of riverflies had never existed! In fact there were few insects about at all – around half a dozen or so Banded Demoiselle, about the same number of Common Blue damselfies and a couple of Beautiful Demoiselle were all that there we could see. A handful of Meadow Brown and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and just three or four Speckled Woods along the whole of the river bank – maybe a lull between broods.

But we did manage to catch sight of a small, fluttering moth, in amongst the grasses. By its pattern and behaviour resting along a grass we believed it might be a Sulphur Pearl moth which although it is a night time moth, does appear during the day to feel on umbellifers of which there were uncountable numbers lining the river bank.

It was glorious to be walking through the river meadows, thick with waving grasses already in seed, listening to the Blackbirds, a pair of Chaffinches, Wrens, Magpies, a few Crows and the jack jack jack of Jawdaws calling down as they flew overhead. We only spotted one pair of Mallard, a single Little Egret which we disturbed as we climbed downn to the beach but then caught sight of a flash of blue as a Kingfisher appeared and we were able to watch it flying inches above the water downstream until it was lost to sight at the bend of the river – a truly halcyon day!

15th June 2022 / 19 C / Water Level : Low

The Meterological Office have promised that this could be the hottest day of the year – not the best time to be walking across unshaded river meadows or clambering up and down river banks so we decided a very early start would be the best solution. And what a treat awaited us. The air felt fresh, the sun warm, the river sparkled and the meadows were thick with all the umbellifers awash with full summer flowering – quite magical. To raise our spirits still further, at our first survey site we spotted 4 fresh and 5 recent Otter spraint, bright orange-red and crammed as always in summer with crayfish remains.

Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue and Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies flitted all around us as we checked the stones, and we even caught sight of a Brown Hawker dragonfly – our first of the summer!

A glorious sight greeted us as we walked through the river meadows – the sun pouring down on to all of the wild flowers along the edge of the hay fields – the Corky-fruited Water Dropwort, Moon Daisies, Cow Parsley looking newly opened, the Timothy and so many other grasses swaying in the light breeze, a wonderfully uplifting sight to behold!

Seeing the mass of Moon Daisies makes us long to return at night to see if in such profusion they live up to their name – glowing in the dark! While on the steep sloping banks of the weir the clumps of Biting Stonecrop glowed sunshine yellow among the scattered vivid violet-blue flowers of the Meadow Cranesbill and Self-heal.

Who couldn’t be happy on this best of all possible midsummer mornings, walking along a river bank, seeing the fall of pink field roses coating a tree, the sparkle of the sunlight on the river and the flash of brilliant blue, black-blue, iridescent golden-green bodies and wings of passing damselfies!

A similar story awaited us when we reached the wide, stony beach – a veritable jungle of flowering plants, some even taller than us (and my husband is 6ft 4ins!) covering almost every inch. Reed Canary grass along the river’s edge, thickets of Hemlock Water Dropwort rather surprisingly offering nectar to hoverflies and butterflies alike, Red Campion, Hogweed, Nettles, Hedge Mustard, brambles, Teasels and tall grasses fighting for space, shaded in parts by the remains of the ancient Willow one of whose large branches, split during one of the named winter storms, still lying in full leaf at the rear of the beach.

A Beautiful Demoiselle (surely wrongly named in this instance) had caught and was slowly demolishing the delicate, most beautiful Yellow May, a rather scarce Mayfly along this section of the river amongst the profusion of the masses of Ephemera Danica.

11th June 2022 / Temp: 19C

Two clear days without rain as a prerequisite for Otter surveys can be challenging in the south west of England as the warm Atlantic winds make landfall into the prevailing wind from the south-west so we get a good deal of rain. Despite dry sunny days being promised, the rain fell and plans had been thwarted again and again for more than two weeks so we decided to explore the spring fed trickle feeding the carrier stream which drains into the river.

Summer growth had produced a veritable wall of large, tall Hemlock Water-dropwort, their heads thick with white balls of blossom a delight for pollen loving hoverflies, but these together with the brambles heavy with still tightly sheathed buds made any exploration of the stream extremely difficult, as barbs caught and tore our clothes and hair at every step. It wasn’t made any easier by the deep cattle hoof prints in the rain softened mud along the very narrow edges of the trickle. Sadly, after so much effort there was little to show for our trouble – a few wandering pond snails, a good number of freshwater shrimps was the sum of our finds, despite searching the water carefully. No sign of any cased caddisfly or any other invertebrates found in the water at our last exploration that we could see. However, we determined to come back at the next opportunity with a pair of secateurs to clear a path of thick bramble to allow us to follow the trickle to its source.

A vivid red longhorn beetle caught the eye, but true to this rather frustrating afternoon, it was determinedly exploring the Water-dropwort and bramble just too high for my camera to focus and what was worse it decided to play hide and seek every time I was able to manouvre into a decent position to capture a decent image!

However, the image was just sufficient to identify the longhorn beetle as Stenocorus meridanus which appears in bright sunlight in June-July to feed on the pollen of, among other plants, umbelifers! The hosts of these insects are often conifers but also deciduous trees like the mature Ash tree dominating the edge of the trickle. Steven Falk in his excellent paper “A Review of the Pollinators Associated with Decaying Wood……” mentions Hemlock Water-dropwort as one of the umbelifers Stonocorus meridinus will feed on. This is a new species for us, so the exploration of the area was not completely wasted.

We saw a number of damselflies, both Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles and this beautifully delicate Common Blue. We also noticed lots of very tall Pendulous Sedge plants intermingled with the Water-dropwort, which we discovered can be a sign of ancient woodland – rather surprisingly.

Before leaving the spring-fed trickle, we took the opportunity to test the water and found that the Nitrate level was 0 but the Phosphate level was still 2.0, matching most of the river level. We haven’t been able to establish whether the outflow from Orchardleigh Lake which according to the maps drains into this trickle – bearing in mind the treated sewage from the golf club drains into the lake might be the cause of the raised Phosphates or whether the source of contaminate is the cattle. Most likely a combination of the two.

28th May 2022 / Temp: 16.5-17C / Water Level : Med-Low

Beautifully quiet afternoon and from “The View from the Bridge” the river looked spectacular, flat and calm, reflecting the blue sky and drifting clouds  with the small huddle of ruminating heifers reassuringly surrounding the bull tight enough for us to venture along the river bank to check for Otter spraint!  Sadly not a sign along the whole stretch of river, but we did see a female Mallard with 5 duckling and 2 Canada Geese  Surprisingly only a handful of mayflies rising and only one spotted resting on a riverside plant.

Lovely to see the Yellow Water lilies coming into flower and to note the large rubbery leaves where we spotted three Common Blue damselflies.   This is the spot which we hope will soon show good numbers of Red Eyed Damselflies, the only place we know where they can be seen.  

There was a good show of Yellow Flag Iris this year along the border of the small feeder stream, standing proud amidst a tangle of white umbellifer (probably cow parsley), buttercups and white dead nettle.

We heard a Green Woodpecker, Buzzard and Song Thrush as well as several Blackbirds and two Jackdaws, saw a Little Egret flying over and two male Mallard but surprisingly perhaps very few insects bar a couple of desultory bees – maybe they we arrived just as they were settling down to their afternoon nap!!

We arrived at the second site just in time to catch sight of a Grey Wagtail fishing enthusiastically from a waterlogged branch caught in the river – a brilliant perch from which to spot any signs of activity in the water.

As if the Otters wanted us to know they are still about, we spotted two fresh and 1 recent spraint plus crayfish remains and pearls on the stones by the river and under the  bridge pier.  We also heard our resident Wren giving voice at top volume and a Chaffinch trying, and succeeding, in competing!  All’s well along the river, looking so beautiful and serene.

27^TH May 2022 / Temp: 16 C / Water Level: Med-Low

We arrived at the survey site as the Swallows were swooping down from their nests and zooming low over the river meadow, up into the sky, down again then up, up, up and whizzing full tilt into one of the five nests under the roof of the barn – a wonderful sight, redolent of summer!  Not so welcome was a Sparrowhawk which the farmer had seen diving out of the sky to catch Swallows and his White Doves.  However, he seemed pretty unconcerned as the White Doves were becoming too many so the hawks were performing a service in keeping the numbers down.

It was hay-making time and as usual the sky was alive with raptors swirling around above the machines covering a large space as they searched for prey!  We counted Five Buzzards and two Red Kites chasing the haymakers and on the ground after the tractors had left there were about twenty-five or so Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, Jackdaws and Crows well spread-out, feasting on the fallen seeds and insects. 

In the shallow water of the carrier stream the Brooklime was coming into flower and as we walked the banks we could hear but not see the Mallard squawking and complaining loudly under the arched stone bridge.  Wild Angelica, Red Campion and Cow Parsley were the only plants along the  stream which were in flower, it needs another month before they reach their full glory but they were already attracting a few damselflies, bees and hoverflies.

When we reached the beach we were pleased to find both fresh and recent Otter spraint and watched a number of both Banded Demoiselle and Beautiful Demoiselle flitting about the riverside plants, a Small White butterfly, disturbing a couple of female Pheasants who left surprisingly quietly, not making their usual noisy complaints.

A Heron flew off as we walked to the next site, about five Mandarin flew down to the water from the river bank but the Mallard stayed put on the grass.  Blackbirds singing from the hedgerow, a Magpie cackled and chattered and a Kingfisher zoomed past, heading downriver.

We were immediately struck when we reached the river at the last site by the incredible number of mating, non-biting midges swarming above the water.  These tiny flies do not feed, they only live long enough to mate, lay eggs, and die, but the fish beneath seemed oblivious – maybe having gorged on mayflies they simply weren’t hungry enough to leap for the midges!

More good signs of fresh and recent Otter spraint along the stones of the beach, damselflies, a Red Admiral and only one mayfly rising from the water and resting.

The beach is always protected from the wind, which was surprisingly cool and quite strong, so it was delightful to wander about, checking for spraint in the warmth of the brilliant sunshine, watching the Long-tailed Tits flitting from tree to tree, Swallows swooping overhead and listening to songs and calls of Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs and Chaffinches whilst enjoying the delightful sound and sight of a busy river, rushing, sparkling and splashing over stones in its constant dash downriver.

24th May 2022

Our Angler friend has also alerted us to a behaviour which I have not witnessed but which my husband tells me is quite common among wildfowl and other birds. The Angler writes that the two female Mandarin he has seen on the river appear to have amalgamated their broods. Evidently one female (which is darker than the other) is hanging out with the drake, without ducklings, and the other female now has 9!

There are several hypotheses why this occurs, it could be that two females join forces which improves their own probability of survival by sharing the demands of brood-rearing with other adults, which in turn increases their reproductive output. Another is that survival of young is higher in large, amalgamated broods, which provide greater protection from predators and access to food supplies. Our research doesn’t offer an explanation of a flighty female dumping her ducklings and swimming off with a male duck!!

23rd May 2022 / Temp : 16.5 C / Water Level: Med

OTTER NEWS – LATEST

Huge reluctance to move after a pretty exhausting weekend and only the threat of days of heavy rain forced us out. Trudging along to the first Otter site, convinced that, after the bumper sightings on our last survey, we would see nothing but – there they were – scattered acrossed the beach on 6 different stones and tufts of grass 6 fresh Otter spraint and 6 recent!

What made this particular find exciting was the confirmation (not that one was needed) from an Angler’s sightings over the past couple of months (Frome & District Angling Association) https://www.fadaa.uk/ In April, around the time of the Group’s annual 2 Day Event, he saw a female Otter and pup (who stay with their mother for the first year) foraging for crayfish, crunching away at the female’s catch on the shallow bank of the river and, as it grew darker and they swam off downstream, making bird-like, whistling signal calls to each other. It must have been a wonderful moment and we were extremely envious but felt consoled knowing that we now had hard evidence of what we suspected given the amount of spraint we had found, there were indeed a mother and pup along this stretch of the river!

The icing on the cake came yesterday when the same Angler reported again seeing a female Otter and cub this time downstream from the April sighting but not too far as an Otter swims where he believes there is probably a holt.

Amongst his other sightings of Heron, Little Egret, Mandarin (with 4 ducklings) and nesting Kingfisher, the Angler also spotted a female Goosander with five ducklings! We haven’t seen a Goosander along this stretch of water for years so five new additions to the river is extremely welcome news.

INTENSE HATCHES – MID-MAY ONWARDS

When fly fishermen talk about “intense hatches” we now know what they mean – and how! Coming up from the river we walked into an absolute blizzard of Mayflies. The so called Green Drake (Ephemera danica) had arrived mob handed. Apart from film of locusts in Africa, we had never seen so many insects in the air at the same time – it was an astonishing spectacle. What we had thought were great numbers only a week ago on another site downriver was put into the shade by today’s display. The owner and his assistant who were working on site stopped to chat and when we commented on the number of mayfly he said that earlier in the morning he was astonished to see a large Pike jumping out of the water after the Mayflies. He also said that at dusk he watches the bats around his house and barn feeding on them too.

Walking past a wild area of flowering comfrey, wild mustard and nettles we noticed that barely an inch of stem or leaf was free from resting mayfly – the vast majority Green Drake, but also our very first sighting of live Yellow May (we counted at least eight in our short stop) as well what we think may well have been Blue Winged Olive, (Sherry Spinners).

This is the area where the owner sees a large grass snake sunbathing so we intend to keep a look-out in future. This is the time of year we have seen grass snakes swimming in the river, but never so far in this spot.

14th May 2022 / Temp: 16.5 C / Water Level: Low

A perfect May afternoon, clear air, deep blue skies, all the trees dressed in new leaf and the river meadow carpeted with buttercups and cow parsley. All those long dark months of autumn and the cold grey days of winter seemed a distant memory which happened in a country far away, for here all is warmth and beauty, filled with male bird-song from nesting birds.

Sauntering along the river bank, stopping to admire the yellow crosswort (or smooth bedstraw, a member of the coffee family) just breaking into flower among the brilliant blue birdseye speedwell sprinkled among the tall grasses where many tightly budded Corky-fruited Water-dropwort stood erect, waiting for their spectacular debut not too many weeks away. While standing admiring and looking down into the river we suddenly began to see them, first one the another….

the damselflies had arrived! Fluttering along the river and settlingon the riverside plants in numbers. As fast as we counted them more appeared, the numbers jumping from three to seven to ten until we reached fifteen altogether! Twelve Beautiful Demoiselle, male and female and three Banded Demoiselle. This is summer arriving with a spectacular fanfare, a blaze of bronze and green and blue, vivid and sparkling in the sunlight.

When we reached the beach filled with tall pink flowering red campion and delicate white cow parsley, the old gnarled willow covered with fresh new leaves and the river dancing and sparkling in the sunlight we spotted shoals of minnows in the shallow stony edge of the river. We were intrigued by the way they flashed white and scarlet and when our daughter managed to fish one out, we could examine it closely. We can’t do better than include a comment from Steve Smailes when we posted the photograph on iSpot :

“Lovely photo and Nostalgic too. The male minnow in May / June is probably my favourite creature on earth, and that’s saying a bit. Most people in modern times are unaware of it (even naturalists!) – shown a picture they might guess at coral reefs and tropical seas.

It would be nearly 60 years ago now that I waded into a fast, mossy, cobbly run in my local brook. (This was in Derbyshire.) The water over-topped my little wellies. It surged on into a large, deep pool, but by some good luck I didn’t. I swept the net down through the rapid and lifted it to find, and feel the weight of, a mass of squirming, bejewelled fishes which I had never guessed were there. All were male minnows, gorgeous bottle greens and yellows, flagged with white and trimmed with scarlet and coal-black.“

While nothing can compete with the delight of discovery of a small boy, we were pretty astounded by the striking coloours of this, one of the most common fish in English waters.

How lovely to start seeing Mayflies in numbers! The earliest we have seen a hatch in previous years was the 10th May so the 14th is not that later. When we arrived we saw just a few rising but as the afternoon wore on the numbers started to increase and the mating dance of the males began in earnest! Impossible to count, we kept reaching a number, giving up and starting again until we abandoned the idea altogether and settled for “there are a lot of Mayfly!”

Whilst wandering around the beach, watching the Mayfly and checking the low hanging branches and tall plants for resting insects we came across this mayfly caught in a cobweb. It was fluttering wildly, and I tried to release it but there was one strand of web which seemed impssoble to break and remove. I settled the Mayfly on a plant and left it to its fate so cannot tell if it survived. At first I thought it might be a Yellow May but then checking with First Nature it also looked not unlike Baëtis fuscatus. To make matters even more murky, when we came to do a brief kick survey, we managed to find both a Yellow May nymph and a Baetis nymph so it would appear that both Mayfly are likely to be around.

!10th May 2022 / Temp 16 C / Water Level: Low

No swimmers to prevent us from surveying the Otter site, but sadly a large herd of heifers and a bull had taken possession of the river meadow so, as we can no longer run as we once could, we turned again to the small stream. Although it was beautifully sunny, the breeze was quite stiff, gusting to very stiff so climbing down to the stream, which was protected by high banks and thick undergrowth, proved to be an oasis of stillness and calm – a perfect solution.

This relief turned to delight when we caught sight of a male and female Wren flying out of a bramble bush with grubs or caterpillars in their beaks and disappearing into the undergrowth only feet away where they presumably had a nest of young hungry chicks.

Perched on a felled ash trunk we had a beautiful “birds eye view” of the action and sat entranced watching the incredible speed with which the birds flew betwixt food source and nest. Despite holding the camera ready, it proved impossible to catch a good shot and this blurred image is the only one of a dozen or so which at least shows the ghost of a bird!

We didn’t have our nets and trays with us, so just checked the stream by eye and still managed to spot a few interesting finds. Not quite so many freshwater shrimps, although they were still prolific, but lots of snails, including this wandering snail settled comfortably on the stream bed next to what looked like fragments of twigs or splinters of wood.

Very, very slowly, barely noticeably, the splinters began to move. It was so slow that I thought it must have been the current, but then it became obvious that although I couldn’t see any legs, they were moving across the bed of the stream. Could they be cased caddisfly larvae? Very likely, there is a possibility that they are Anabolia nervosa who build sand cases and glue sticks to each side to prevent Trout from swallowing them.

[Note: Sharon Flint at irecord has confirmed that these are indeed caddis larvae, but has been unable to offer any further explanation due to the photograph not offering sufficient information].

Close by we found what looked like the abandoned net of a net-spinning caddisfly larva, and although we couldn’t be entirely certain, the net was secured to a boulder and stretched between several stones, leaving a good sized opening to catch nutrients in the water.

{Note: This net has now been identified by Ian Wallace, the authority on Caddisflies at iRecord, as the snare of the Plectrocnemia Caddis (possibly conspersa) which is found in trickles where the bed of the stream is stony. This is very exciting news as it is a new species for us!]

There were three holes in the closed end, possibly from predators or larva leaving the net, difficult to say.

7th May 2022 / Temp : 20 C / Water Level: Low

Thwarted by hordes of young people swimming and picnicking from surveying the Otter sites, we made our way instead across the river meadow to check out a small feeder stream which trickles down to the river. The weather was gorgeous – warm, full sun, all the trees and shrubs covered in fresh new green leaves and the air full of butterflies, Orange Tip, Brimstone, Peacock, Marbled White and even a tiny Holly Blue up among the old ash tree beside the stream.

We had often been curious about this tiny stream and wondered whether would contain anything of interest beyond a few damselfly larvae, so we had never checked it out, concentrating on the river. But once we began to root around, we were astonished to find such a variety of invertebrates, particularly as the stream was no more than inches deep.

A free-swimming Caddisfly larva shared the tray with a Baetidae (Olives) Mayfly, the difference in size is really striking. Turning a few stones and rocks, we then came across this astonishing collection of caddis larvae…

which again look like the free-swimming species but which unfortunately we disturbed their retreat, the small cluster of tiny stones, cemented together where they hide from predators while waiting to pupate. We carefully returned the stone to the stream bed where we had found it and hoped they would find shelter before they were found by a hungry predator.

This lovely little case, beautifully constructed with grains of sand with larger stones protecting the sides, by the Caddify larva Gaerida, sometimes referred to as the weighted casemaker caddis, a scraper larva, a grazer, living on the algae growing on the stones of its preferred habitat. As ever, we are most grateful to Ian Wallace of iRecord for the identification and explanation.

A tiny little spire shell, possibly Jenkins Spire Snail, was another discovery, which I hope irecord will approve as I have so often hoped to find one!

It was such a beautifuly early May afternoon, and lovely to see a few butterflies, Orange Tip, Holly Blue and a Marbled White, as well as a few insects, a Cranefly, two St Mark’s flies, Alderleaf beetles, a couple of Beautiful Demoiselle damselfies and this strange looking little beast..

which we managed to identify when we to reached home as a Crampball Fungus Weevil! When back in the autumn we found a fallen branch brought down by a storm with a line of crampball fungus attached to its bark, little did we imagine that one of them might have had a small weevil growing inside!

A microlight flew back and forth above our heads a few times rather noisily, but redolant of summer and we spotted a few birds – lots of tits including at least four or five Long-Tailed Tits, and a Great Tit, a Little Egret, Jackdaws, Chaffinch, a Green Woodpecker, Blackbirds, Robins, 3 Crows and last but not least a lightning speeding Weasel haring for cover along the line of the hedge!

5th May 2022 / Temp: 17 C / Water Level: Med

Our first Mayfly of the season? What delight to spot it landing on a riverside reed, its tails still bent, clinging perfectly still while it dried and hardened off!

High winds, gusting strongly, persuaded us to check out the river whose steep banks provided the perfect shelter and where the sun felt deliciously warm. No signs of spraint on any of the stones, but our attention was distracted by the sheer number of midges covering the river, the recent sunny weather having lead to an explosion of newly emerged flies, a feast for the local wild brown trout!

We began pottering about along the edge of the river where the water was shallow and almost still. Imagine our excitement when we found among the usual freshwater shrimps, green drake and olive mayflies a totally unknown Mayfly nymph in our tray!

When we researched and compared we found it was a prong-gilled mayfly which, according to Firstnature, are seen mostly in the south and the west and never plentiful. The nymphs are poor swimmers, crawling among mosses and tunneling within waterlogged leaves, particularly in the slower moving water of river margins, so we were in the right spot to find one. We were so pleased as this new find brings to six the number of Mayfly species we have now found in this stretch of river.

23rd/24th April 2022 / Temp: 13C/14.5C / Water Level: Med

A busy weekend! The Two-Day Event which normally takes place on the last weekend in April, cancelled for two years running due to the pandemic, was able to go ahead this year. We set off to check the first of our sites for Otter spraint, which, once recorded, and spraint removed with a stick so that there was no human contact, the stones were clear so that on the second day any new signs of spraint would be obvious and show that an Otter had visited the site overnight.

We were so lucky in our choice as we had an absolute bumper haul – finding 9 fresh spraint, 8 recent and 1 set of pad marks on the first day, the most we have found at one site in all the years we have been surveying!  Lovely to see a large bed of wild comfrey edging the river but we had little time to check other signs of wildlife, and, as there was a stiff north-easterly wind blowing, sending spits of rain from lowering overcast skies, we certainly weren’t tempted to linger. However, we did at least manage to spot three Mandarin Ducks, 5 Male Mallard in a group and a Buzzard wheeling overhead.

Day Two dawned fair and by the time we arrived under blue skies and full sun it felt considerably warmer despite the same stiff north-easterly breeze. The heavily blossom laden fruit trees were humming with bees and hover flies and we even spotted our first St Mark’s fly of the year (said to arrive on St Mark’s Day, the 25th April) trying to settle on a gate post but struggling in the wind.

Unfortunately there were no signs of any new spraint where we found so much on the previous day, but we were extremely pleased (and relieved) to find 3 fresh spraint at the next nearest next, proving there had been an Otter(Otters?) in the area overnight – great news!

A fair sprinkling of butterflies spotted as we walked the river bank, 5 Orange Tip, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Brimstone, a Peacock and a Speckled Wood. We heard the lovely sound of Blackbirds singing their hearts out and spotted a male and female , almost certainly a nesting pair. We saw a Little Egret, a Heron, 2 Mallard, a Swan, and heard Wrens, Chiff Chaffs, a Chaffinch and Greenfinch and finally, joy on joy, two Kingfishers flashing up and down the river!

Our last cherry on the cake was when the owner of the property told us that he had seen a Hedgehog clost to his house, this added a new animal to our species list and made for a bumper couple of days, a thoroughly satisfying Two-Day Event and one which will be difficult to match next year.

10th April 2022 / Temp: 13 C / Water Level: Med – falling

Bonking beetles can mean only one thing – summer has arrived and for the first time this year the river level was low enough for the grandchildren to join us for an afternoon exploring the river.

As we tramped across the river meadow loaded down with nets and buckets, trays and pipettes, wellington boots and identification sheets it was delightful to see our first sighting this year of a Peacock butterfly on the bushes, two Mallard and a pair of Canada Geese in the river, a Little Egret flying overhead and numbers of Yellow Dung flies on the search for a mate.

Once we reached the small area where the river runs through a stony section where the river is shallow enough to wade, the business of the day could start, and two boys were soon wading in, nets at the ready, as they began searching amongst the stones for treasure – wee beasties, fish, fossils, river limpets, mayfly nymphs, signal crayfish – whatever turned up in their nets they were happy.

Their first find was an absolute beauty – a Mayfly nymph, one of the flat-bodied or stone clinger nymphs which cling to the bottom of stones and feed by scraping the algae. This one looked as if it had been in the wars as part of one of its three tails was missing.

Next was a Bullhead, a small fish, less than 10cm long, but with the most beautifully marked large pectoral fins which allows the Bullhead to hold its position in the fast flowing water.

After such excitement it was a bit of a let down that net after net produced nothing more exciting than freshwater shrimps, Caddis and Mayfly nymphs hidden by weed and murky water which made the creatures almost entirely indecipherable in the photographs, although we managed to see at least two Baetidae nymphs, several Green Drake (Ephemera Danica) nymphs, free-swimming Caddis nymphs (Ryacophilidae) and three net-spinner Caddis (Hydropsyche), not huge numbers of species but small boys are rather more interested in hunting for crayfish than wee beasties so not a bad haul.

One of the advantages of standing in the centre of a fast flowing river is being well positioned to catch sight of birds like a Kingfisher shooting past and two (probably a pair) of Grey Wagtails fishing from opposite sides of the river, our single Swan still patrolling and guarding the nest well hidden out of sight, and a Heron languidly lifting from the shallows.

One of the freshwater shrimps was instantly noticeable by a bright orange/red spot on its body which was rather concerning as we later learned it was the larva of the Acanthocephalan parasitic worm Pomphorhynchus spp. The larval stage, known as the cystocanth, causes a characteristic orange spot to develop within the body of the intermediate shrimp host, increasing the shrimp’s visibility to fish which prey on them. After the shrimp is ingested the larva burrows into the gut of the new host and develops into the mature worm.

Barbel and Chub (present in this stretch of the river) are both susceptible to these parasitic worms. According to the National Fishing Laboratory, emaciation and mortality have been recorded in infected fish, however, where infections of the parasite remain relatively stable, e.g. in the river Avon, fish growth and survival does not seem to be adversely affected.
There are no means to eradicate P. laevis after it has become established.  The intermediate host, Gammarus (freshwater shrimp) is an important food source of most freshwater fish and cannot be controlled without damaging the environment, so the life cycle of the parasite cannot be interrupted.

25th March 2022 / Temp: 17-18.5 C / Water Level: High

A lovely afternoon, hazy sun, but surprisingly warm as it was still the end of March and it appeared that the birds were reacting to the warmth as we saw a Little Egret and a Heron on the opposite bank almost immediately after we arrived (the first Heron we have seen for months). A pair of Mallard skittered across the river as we walked along, three Mandarin swam upstream away from us, followed by two Canada Geese.

When we climbed down to the beach to check for Otter spraint, we found one fresh and one recent spraint on its favourite large stone and then, when we checked the rest of the beach, we found more signs of Otter activity – two more recent spraint in the centre of the beach and another two at the far end. When we later chatted to the one of the owners, she told us that early one morning as she was walking alongside the shallow stream she saw what she supposed by its size to be a dog Otter reclining at ease on its back in the water, very relaxed and very much at home!

Given the warm sun we expected to see a number of insects, but apart from an ubiquitous 7-spot ladybird, the only other signs of insect life were these three alderleaf beatles marching across a dead stalk on their way to who knows where, looking very glossy and new minted.

A number of male Robins were singing loudly from the trees and bushes as we walked along the river bank to the final survey site where we could see a Mute Swan preening itself on the beach below, but once it saw us it moved off into the water, but stayed close by which was explained by the owner telling us later that it was nesting nearby. Another Heron flew over, we heard a Magpie chattering and a male Chaffinch singing, joined by a Wren announcing its presence with astonishing volume for such tiny bird, a Blue Tit searching through the branches of a tree and a beautiful Kingfisher, a sudden dart of vivid orange, blue-green and electric blue, flashed by with a sharp call.

Though resting only briefly from our climbing up and down banks and precarious loose stone slopes, we were still enough to spot a Tree Creeper living up to its name on a tree trunk on the opposite side of the river. They are always such a delight to watch, heightened on this occasion as we listened to the yaffle of a Green Woodpecker from a nearby tree.

On our way back we met the owners and had a long chat about the wildflife on their property, seeing the Otter for the first time and also mentioning that she was feeding both the ducks and the breeding Swans as well as the pair of resident Moorhens which had successful raised a brood of eight young last year. Whilst we chatted, the two Canada Geese flew over honking and calling and she mentioned that they had only arrive for the first time that day. It was heartening to see so many birds in a relatively small area – more than we had seen at any of our walks up on the downs, through the beech woods and along other stretches of the river – a veritable wild life haven. Maintain an area for wildlife and they will come!

23rd March 2022 / Temmp 16 C / Water level: High

A wonderfully sunny spring morning and the tone was set as we arrived at our first survey site to be greeted by a bright yellow Grey Wagtail seranading us with great gusto from a fence post and two Buzzards wheeling and circling overhead!

Fat bumble bees, hoverflies, two Small Tortoiseshell and a Brimstone butterfly buzzed and fluttered around as we walked and we even saw our first Beefly of the year of which sadly, despite many tries, I wasn’t able to get a good photograph.

Padmarks across the muddy beach at the first survey site, one fresh and one recent Otter spraint at the next but none at what is usually our most productive beach, which was a surprise. However looking again at the mere narrow passage of stones where there is usually a wide stoney beach supplied the answer – the river was too high.

Still, we still managed to navigate the beach and spent an enjoyable time “flipping” stones in the shallows and were delighted to find a couple of River Limpets which are so small not only are they difficult to see but even more difficult to photograph. I was unable to capture it’s backwardly directed apex – a shame as it is a clear identification if one is needed. Ancylus fluviatilis is an air-breathing limpet found in unpolluted running water clamped to the sides of stones.

Searching further under the stones we enter a secret, hidden world of the tiny Stone-clingers, minute creatures, no bigger than a thumb nail, beautifully marked and patterned with huge eyes and three long tails which confirms they are Mayfly nymphs.

Few pleasures in life can equal crouching beside a fast flowing river on a warm spring day with the sounds of the water splashing and tumbling over stones and a Robin singing his heart out while lifting stone after stone to discover every other stone with a tiny creature clinging to its surface. A veritable heaven.

Apart from the usual large flock of a hundred plus Rooks and Jackdaws rising and falling from the fields and over the stand of trees on the hillside, we saw and heard Greenfinch, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tits and Blue Tits, Wrens, Blackbird, Herring Gulls, Crows, but only 3 Mallard, 1 Little Egret, and one Swan, the only water birds to be seen. There were no signs of the other two Swans who usually gather together or of the 20-30 Mandarin Ducks we often see at this site.

No sign of Hares or Kingfisher either but we did see a small field mouse scampering for cover, the first flowering cow parsley of the season, joining red and white deadnettle, scarlet pimpernel, lesser celandine and perriwinkle, feeding the newly emerging insects and also a line of Roedeer slots across the small muddy beach down to the water’s edge which conjured up a magical image of the sun rising over the river and a small deer dropping its head to drink.

19th March 2022 / Temp: 16C / Water Level: High but falling

A glorious afternoon, full sun and despite the brisk chill wind there was a definite feeling of spring in the air – a perfect day to spend walking through the river meadows carrying our buckets and trays, nets and pippets ready for our first Kick Survey of the year – what fun!

We were delighted to find fresh spraint at our first site, and at our second site and even more to find two fresh and one recent at the next. Nothing to see on the last two sites but we felt pretty upbeat to find so many, two of them with crayfish claws alongside.

17th March 2022 / Temp : 12-13.5 C / Water Level: High

We were surprised to find clumps of frogspawn on the bank above the carrier stream when we were checking Otter spraint, one fresh, one old on either side. Otters do consume amphibian eggs and small juvenile and subadult frogs, so this is likely to be evidence of Otter activity, although not a phenomenum we have noticed before.

When we examined the spraint more closely, it appeared to contain not only black frogs eggs but also some of the jelly which encases it. An interesting find, confirming an article we had read on Tadpoles in the diet of Otters in the Journal of Vertebrate Biology. The scientests found that Tadpoles made up a large part of the Otter’s diet in June more than at any other time of the year, which although the Tadpoles must be a reasonable size by then, one would have imagined there were sufficient crayfish and fish to eat.

Great to see the first dungflies appearing over the past week gearing up nicely for the nesting season. It won’t be many weeks before every step across the river meadow will send up a cloud of dungflies – a sure sign of spring. We also saw a Tortoiseshell butterly (the first of the year) which flew away before I could snatch a photograph.

We were pleased as we walked the site to spot a male and two female Goosanders and 3 Mallard on the river, then obligingly flying over, joined soon afterwards two Cormorants and three more Mallard. We later saw another 3 Mallard, a Little Egret dawdling in the middle of an adjoining field, and a couple of Wrens flitting between the trees on the river bank.

There were goodly clumps of Dog’s Mercury in flower in the shelter of the hedge and it certainly felt springlike when we heard a Yellowhammer, several Robins, Great Tits, Blackbirds and the constant calling of Jackdaws from the stand of trees at the top of the rise.

Intermittent blue sky, periods of sunshine and the sound and signs of spring together with promise of full sunny days and 18 C temperatures in the coming week combine to lift our spirits and convince us as nothing else could that winter is definitely over.

28th February 2022 / Temp: 10 C / Water Level: High

A quick dash to the river before the rain sets in for the rest of the week. We expected to get soaked and see nothing – it shows how wrong we can be! First it was dry, not surprising give the still wind, and secondly we had one of our most productive visits to this stretch of river. We spotted fresh fresh and recent spraint, and under the hedgerow amongst the scattered broken twigs and small branches of the recent storms, these two skulls, within a few yards of each other.

They have been well cleaned so must have been there for some time yet we’ve never spotted them before. We were so pleased to find them because although we have a small collection of animal skulls, the only bird skull up until now is a pheasant, so it’s good to add a couple more, particularly the Mallard.

A pair of Canada Geese were quietly enjoying their snug little spot on the river bank and made the most almight row as we approached, took to the water, and hightailed up river in very high dudgeon! The bird count which began at zero and looked as totally unpromising as the overcast sky and dull meadows with their brown, leafless trees. But we also disturbed three Mallard who flew over, we could hear mostly Rooks and a few Jackdaws in the adjoining field followed by Wren, Blackbird, at least five Robins, a few desultory Gulls and totally unexpectedly – a Red Kite!

27th February 2022 / Temp: 11C / Water Level: High

The first hoverfly of the year! It lifted our hearts to see it there, settling on a newly opened dandelion in the last week of what has been a wild and stormy February. It was probably encouraged by the brilliant sunshine – despite the brisk and blustery wind, sheltered spots felt positively springlike as the sun was so warm.

We also spotted two Magpies when we arrived – two for joy and so it seemed when we found two recent Otter spraint, not where we usually see them but on the grass which may have been due to the high water levels and the fast and furious current.

Disappointing bird life – a couple of Crows – ditto Blackbirds but several groups of fishermen taking advantage of the sunshine. No signs of Otter at the next two sites and little other signs of life so we sat on the bank and imitated the fishermen – sitting still and quiet and were almost immediately rewarded by a pair of Canada Geese swimming up river towards us. We heard a Raven flying over, Rooks from an adjoining field, spotted 4 Jackdaws jak jaking a greeting as they passed and a tiny Wren glowing almost red in the bright sunshine and a party of tits slitting about between the branches of the tree opposite.

Walking back across the river meadows the stiff wind brought colour to our cheeks and good fresh air to our lungs and we meandered along, checking the fallen branches and twigs for lichen, moss and any other treasures when we found this tiny tree snail attached to one of the large twigs.

Difficult to identify but we plumped for Balea sarsii but have posted it onto the iSpot website and will change and update if this suggestion is proved wrong.

A large old Ash tree in the line of hedgerow was one of the victims of the latest storm. Sad to see such a beautiful tree down but we picked a handful of stems with their sooty black buds to take home in the hope that eventually they will break into leaf. Spotted some Red deadnettle in flower in the shelter of the hedge alongside several lesser celandine plants in flower. Spring is edging ever closer!

17th February 2022 / Temp: 10.5-7.5 C / Water Level: High

Overcast, strong wind, brief periods of brilliantly clean sunshine and a sudden heavy rain shower – apart from snow it was one of those days where all the seasons passed in a couple of hours, but one glance at the river and the recent weather is clear – high rainfall and swollen, turbulent rivers follows as night follows day! The resulting swirls, eddies and miniature whirlpools in the tumbling water make for a dramatic picture.

The fresh and recent spraint we found wan’t on boulders, large stones or on a scraped hillock as we usually find, but on a small patch of grass, up from the river and, as was the case in the last spraint a couple of weeks ago, red from its last meal of signal crayfish.

Another sign of the weather beginning to turn was a small cloud of winter gnats which followed us along the river bank. Annoying though they are, it is a reminder that there are warmer days coming sometime, winter doesn’t last all year despite every sign showing the contrary.

Some water bird activity, if comparitively few in numbers, at least we caught sight of a Cormorant, a Swan, a couple of Mandarin and eight Mallard, although no sign of Heron or Little Egret. A few Robins singing their hearts out, Long-tailed Tits and Blue and Great Tits flitting throught the trees, a small flock of Jackdaws and a few Crows and Gulls flying over. We may have missed some, as the sharp shower descended we headed at speed to the shelter of the car and gave little attention to what was flying overhead!

8th February 2022 / Temp: 11-13 C / Water Level: Med-High

One of a pair of Magpies, busy around the bank and trees, beside the river on a mild but very overcast day where the light was gloomy and wintry. As the weather had been a mixture of mizzle and heavy cloud for days we expected little, merely driven out by noisy builders from a neighbouring house, we thought the calm of the river might be just what we needed. We were proved right. Even on a dreary day in February there is always something to see and we were further rewarded by the unexpected find of two fresh and two recent Otter spraint. The fresh spraint was the first “red” spraint for at least 2 or 3 months which tells us that the crayfish are active again.

Almost every branch and the twigs of most of the trees are coated with lichen and the sunburst lichen earns its name – making a bold splash of colour in amongst the drab brown leafless trees – a delight to the eye and draws us every time to examine its tiny cups and delicate leaves.

Always a frision of excitement when we catch sight of or hear a Buzzard, so much more so when we see first one then two more Buzzard wheeling and mewing high, high above our heads and also hear as we did the croak of a Raven. The appearance of the raptors may have accounted for the few small birds we heard or saw – merely a couple of Robin, ditto Wren and a single Blue Tit. But later briefly sitting quiet and still on the river bank, we spotted a Coot, which has become a rare sighting for us, skittering across the river, scrambling up the bank and disappearing under the trees.

We met a local fisherman who was walking the bank, checking the fish stock. We often see him along the river and he is always a mine of information as he has fished these waters since childhood. He showed us the above photograph which he was sure was Otter kill, although we have always understood that Otters eat the fish head first so it was unlikely. We agreed to differ and he told us when and where to go to see the barbel and chub swarm, and where he sees Otters most frequently. He promised to take a film of the Otters next time he saw them and we promised to look out for the fish swarming.

Update: 10.2.2022 :

Well I was totally and utterly wrong! Having checked with the Somerset Otter Group, Lucy Mead writes: “Yes, a typical otter. Takes the food behind the head where the organs and best store of nutrients are.” Below is a link to the S.O.G. website with that and other signs of Otters being present.

I’ve sent my apologies to the fisherman.

http://www.somersetottergroup.org.uk/94-2/elementor-2862?fbclid=IwAR2bsMGmZNcnU6HvaTrtvo8J-hMgYEnMPsphe9HkwB90XpHEVEA-zzbxTNk

We were perturbed to see creamy-brown scum all the way along the river wherever there was slack water. We sent half a dozen photographs and exact locations to the Environment Agency even though they have recently announced that they do not have sufficient staff to be able to send one of their officers monitor the possible pollution incident they replied:

“The information you provided about pollution in the River Frome has been logged onto our system. We combine this incident information with other data. This helps us to assess how serious the incident could be.”

They also add the following:

This year the Environment Agency received less funding for responding to environmental incidents. This means we:

–        are unable to respond to every environmental incident reported to US

–        need to prioritise OUR activities on incidents that cause serious and significant risk

–        are reducing OUR response to less severe incidents

–        may in some cases, after assessing the risk, decide that no further action will be taken

–        will use the information provided to build a picture of environmental threats which may allow US to secure additional funding

–        will continue to regulate activities with an environmental permit so WE can prevent damage to the environment

–        will not provide feedback to individual reports of environmental incidents

26th January 2022 / Temp: 5C / Water Level: Med.

Sunny, cloudy morning, stiff chill wind and the air crisp and clear. As we arrived at the stile leading to the river, a Grey Heron rose languidly from the water and flew majestically across the water meadows, and a small flock of some six Mallard squawked off with a great flapping of wings – a good sight to see water birds back along this stretch of the river. Even better, as we walked down we disturbed a snowy white Little Egret who flew a short distance along the field and then moved twice more as we came ever closer to his previous spot. We looked across the small carrier stream to the bend in the river where a dead bare tree stood sillouetted against the sky. It is a favourite perch for the local Cormorants and there he was, a Cormorant, looking fine, standing tall and proud at the topmost branch – the pterodactyl of the riverside! A goodly haul for a chilly morning in January.

Lichens take the place of flowers in the depth of winter, when the days are short, often dark and invariably finger numbingly cold, providing, along with the purple alder catkins, what little colour there is to see. Even common shield lichen, and the golden splash of Xanthoria parietina though very widespread and, well, common, is a welcome sight.

No signs of Otter at any of the three sites but we stopped and chatted to a fisherman who was just setting up and told us how he had seen an Otter in the first week of December – great news. He felt the river was too slow and sluggish to give him much sport today but he was looking forward to a quiet time by the river. Fishing for him was the perfect antidote to a stressful job, allowing him to sit in the sun and unwind. We seconded that feeling – one we shared when out Otter-spotting – rivers are the most calm making environments we know.

20th January 2022 / Temp: 4 C / Water Level: Med-High

Choosing a different track to walk to the river, higher up, across a south facing slope, protected from the cold north-easterly wind we were able to bask in the warm sunshine and glory in yet another beautifully crisp clear winter morning – bliss. This has been the sunniest January either of us can remember and we count ourselves so fortunate to be able to enjoy it.

The warm sun had melted the hoar frost so the ground was wet and soggy and by the time we reached the river our boots were caked in mud becoming heavier and heavier as we walked. The Brown Hare we caught sight of running away up the maize field seemed to have no such problem! He kept running until he reached the open gate, when he stopped and then arched his back, almost like a cat, before lolloping off and was soon lost to sight.

Reaching the beach and splashing around in the stony shallows helped clear the mud and gave an opportunity to pick up stones and search for signs of life, which included this fearsome beast, for all the world like a minute dragon, glaring and threatening for being disturbed.

It looked like a flattened Mayfly nymph – with its large eyes – possibly Ecdyonuridae, difficult to be sure, but delightful to see clinging to a stone. Presence of flathead nymphs is often an indicator of good water quality, because they are relatively intolerant to pollution. [This has now been identified by Craig Macadam of The Riverfly Partnership via iRecord as Flat-bodied Up-wings Heptageniidae but he was unable to identify the species as the image was not clear enough].

If you take the time to to flip over enough stones and rocks in moderate moving water you’re bound to find lots of Flathead Mayfly (Heptageniidae) nymphs of various sizes. Trout feed on these larvae all the year round, tipping up the stones to find them underneath where the nymphs hide if they are disturbed.

Another unexpected find was a tiny freshwater river limpet, on its own which was a surprise as we usually see them (if at all) clustered together along a stone. It’s always difficult to get a good clear photograph to show its conical, backwardly directed apex, which we always think looks like a French Liberty or Phrygian cap, but it is clear enough to show some growth lines.

Messing about among the shallows rooting through the stones in the water made us forget why we were there so we eventually turned our attention to Otters and began a serious search and were delighted to find two fresh Otter spraint at either end of the beach. Interestingly no signs of crayfish in the spraint so they must still be staying in their tunnels, difficult to i.d. the contents but possibly frogs.

Magical to hear the warning peep of a Kingfisher flashing past which with the warm sun beating down on this sheltered beach reminded us that winter won’t last forever.

Walking back along the river, scanning the track for signs of Otter and the skies for signs of birdlife we spotted a pair of Cormorants flying up from the river and settling on one of the trees. Only 1 Mallard seen during the whole morning but a mixed flock of male and female Mandarin, only 7 so numbers still down, but a circling Buzzard, Jackdaws and a Raven as well as 2 Swans and 1 last year’s juvenile plus the usual Robin, Tits, Chaffinch, Magpie, Blackbird, Crow and Pheasant.

Along the line of electric fencing which we have to crawl under on our hands and knees we were amused to note the number of tracks, very visible in the long grass, of animals who have chosen the same route – probably badgers given the number of setts we see on the eathen bank at the top of the field, and not the adult and juvenile Roe Deer whose tracks we spotted on the mud of the big beach – they would have had no problem leaping the wire.

17th January 2022 / Temp: 7 C / Water Level: Med-Hi

Another glorious winter’s afternoon, warm sunshine again and blue blue skies, such a pleasure to be out and about and wonderful to spend a couple of hours pottering along the river bank.

Our one sighting was a splodge of anal jelly on the ford beach but sadly no signs of spraint and as far as we know there has been no record of Otter in the town for some weeks, so although this and the pad marks of three days ago shows that there is an Otter about, it seems pretty shy and doesn’t appear to be lingering.

Our first sighting of polypody ferns along the river – winter is the time for spotting fungus and such plants as there is little to distract the eye at this time of the year.

Not as many birds as we usually see on this particular stretch, but it was lovely to see a Song Thrush and 8 Mallard and also a Coal Tit (a first along the river) and Blue Tits in a party of tits in a favourite tree. We heard Jackdaws and a Robin and saw 6 Herring Gulls flying over, but disappointingly few given this stretch of river is our best area for bird spotting.

14th January 2022 / Temp: 5-4.5 C / Water Level: Med-High

A beautiful, perfect winter’s day, the air cool and fresh, the sun warm on our backs as we walked the route, and bathing the river and trees with golden light – good to be alive!

The meadows were drenched with melted hoar frost, which still lingered frozen on the sheltered margins. Three fishermen along the bank still hopeful of a good catch but when we passed they were out of luck. As were we – although not entirely! We checked the culvert which carries a winterbourne or overflow along a muddy stretch to empty into the river and found 6 pad marks. This is a favourite route for Otters as the pipe is easily large enough for them to use as a run between fields, and although it is not as welcome as lots of spraint, it’s at least a sign that the Otters are out and about.

There’s a lovely old tree on the water’s edge, possibly an alder, covered in moss and lichen where we sometimes find Otter spraint displayed on one of its knobbly roots. No luck on the spraint but we did spend time examining all the lichens which included my favourite Fanfare of Trumpets (brilliant name!) and just about spotted three tiny, tiny delicate and fragile fungus, like miniature parachutes, almost hidden amongst the moss and dwarfed by a clump of lichen (possibly Ramalina canariensis).

Although almost impossible to see, these droplets of melted frost were clinging to an invisible spider’s web – one of the delights of winter.

More spider’s webs with their cluster of water drops, these almost lost among the leaf litter at the foot of an old wall of a building, its stones providing a good home for masses of moss..

Little bird life, merely a few Blackbirds, a Wren, Wood Pigeons and Pheasants, we heard a Mallard and saw three more Mallard and several Crows flying over and heard Jackdaws from the neighbouring fields as we walked back across the meadows. The sun was still warm although sinking fast so we rather reluctantly headed home before the temperature began to drop too low but not before spotting one last reward – a beautiful fungus covered log along the way.

31st December 2021 / Temp: 15 C / Water Level: High

Richard Downes captured this wonderful photograph of an Otter hunting upstream and posted it on the Frome Wildlife Watch website. This raised our spirits considerably after we had spent the same afternoon checking two of our sites without success, we could find no signs of Otter whatsoever.

However, the afternoon was not wasted. A group of fishermen from the Frome & District Angling Club were just getting into their cars as we arrived and joy on joy Paul Cook whipped out his mobile phone and showed us film he took in November of an Otter swimming under water just where he was fishing, and told us of another sighting up river in the next field in October, the Otter too fast to catch on camera!

The day began to look up. Checking along the river bank (zilch!) we saw two fishermen on the opposite bank, one whom, Max Pang (F&DAA), said we had just missed seeing a Kingfisher and he had spotted a Mink streaking along the river bank a couple of hours before!

So good to hear of lots of action along the river – and we did see a Swan by the weir, a celandine in flower, several flowering dandelions as well as lots of winter gnats…. hmm.

We began to tramp back across the meadow as the light was fading fast and sunset less than half an hour away when quite suddently the sky seemed to be full of birds. In the first flock, flying over towards their roosts, were at least 30 Black-headed Gulls, followed by a mixed flock of 50+ Lesser Black-Backed and Herring Gulls, then a small party of 6 Mallard circled above and flew off downriver past the Swan, and finally a flock of about 30 Jackdaws with 3 Rooks among them headed towards the tall trees at the top of the hill, chattering vociferously all the while. Such a lovely sound in the gathering dusk, the golden hour on a winter’s day and surely an omen of good fortune, why not as it was New Year’s Eve!

21st December 2021 / Temp: 5.5 – 4.5 C / Water Level: Med

Winter Solstice

A cold, bright afternoon with a stiff icy wind blowing from the east so we wrapped up warmly and headed along the river in search of Otter. Three Blackbirds were feeding on the berries of the first tree we passed and a handful of Tits were working their way busily along the line, the sun was shining making the red windfall apples glow and gilding the great clumps and balls of mistletoe festooning the tree above.

We set up a pair of Mallard as we reached the river bank, flying off over the old ford with a good deal of squawking and complaining, disturbing a peacefully browsing Moorhen as they did so, making it also scoot off.

The river looked black and cold as it rushed and tumbled over the stones and swirled in the fast current, a black sloe river, reflecting the starkly sillouetted and leafless alders and willows along the bank.

No signs of Otter at our first two sites but we did spot a Heron and a Little Egret through the trees, sharing the field on the opposite bank within shouting distance of each other, and heard and saw a flock of Jackdaws and Gulls flying overhead.

Although the stand of trees sheltered us from the worst of the wind, it was still too cold to linger, so we hurried on to the next site, a lovely wide stony beach where we usually find at least one spraint but not today. Just as we were about to leave the beach a little disconsolate at our lack of treasure, we spotted a single fresh pad mark in the gritty sand – closer inspection showed the claw marks and two other pad marks, so faint in the drier area of sand as to be almost invisible to a passing glance. This raised our spirits considerably – not spraint or jelly but a sign that an Otter has passed by!

A couple of feathers showed that at least one water bird had tarried or passed by too – possibly Little Egret but more likely to be the feathers of an almost adult cygnet which we have seen recently which although it had lost most of its brown juvenile feathers, still retained a few which might be why one of the feathers had brown markings.

We walked on to check the last two sites where we had seen a pair of Dippers at our last visit and a good deal of spraint on the survey before that but not today – ah well, it is December after all, when the local Otters seem to make themselves scarce from our particular stretch. But we passed a wintering flowering cherry tree, its blossom beautiful and pristine in the lowering sunlight which warmed our backs and turned the grass and trees golden as we walked back across the fields, the air heavy with the smell of wood smoke – a good log fire warming some lucky householder’s hearth!

15th December 2021 / Temp: 12.5 C / Water Level: High

Our favourite willow tree has been in the wars again and has lost another of its main branches, split from the trunk and covering half of the beach. We couldn’t be sure whether it was caused by the recent Storm Barra or whether old age and disease led to its downfall but it was so sad to see. We always used to check the branches for their glorious moss and lichen which is often the only signs of life in winter.

Sadly no signs of Otter at any of the three sites and no sightings yet in the town, but we are still hopeful. The most striking aspect of the morning’s walk was the huge flocks of Gulls clustered together in the fields of which we counted 85 Black-headed Gulls and 16 Lesser Black-backed Gulls with about 16 Jackdaws and 4 Pheasants standing almost like sentinels well separated from each other and the Gulls. Suddenly, as if on a signal, they all rose in a huge cloud and flew off, soon to be lost to sight, however, during the whole of our walk across field after field small flocks of Gulls flew over our heads in a restless ever searching flight.

25th November 2021 / Temp: 6 C / Water Level: Med

Brilliant sunshine, sparkling icy air and blue, blue skies was the backdrop as we clambered over the five-barred gate with gusto and as we set off on the last Otter survey of November we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The northerly wind burned the tips of our ears with the fierce cold remembered from childhood so stout boots, warm socks and muffled scarves were a blessing as we took the full force in our faces.

The fields seemed frozen in their sunny perfection – not a movement – no birds, no cattle, no insects, no signs of life whatsoever, merely the confetti fall of golden leaves, melted frost on the grass and the bleached reeds bending and straightening along the water’s edge.

The Otters seemed to take the hint not to disturb such pristine perfection with their spraint as there were no signs of Otter at all on any of the three sites, the river slipped along almost silently as there are no riffles or stones along this stretch and the deep peace of a frozen silence gripped the scene.

Eventually first one, then another and another as three Herring Gulls appeared and flew across the field – sparkling white in the bright sunlight and as always surprisingly large. A few Wood Pigeons flew from one tree to another to no apparent purpose and then we disturbed a Pheasant hidden among the reeds below the bank, no doubt sheltering from the wind, who flew off across the river with lots of noisy squawking and fast claps as it bangs its wings together – startling in the frozen silence.

We began to notice clusters of apples caught in the river eddies in increasing numbers – a box thrown into the river upstream perhaps. Surprisingly Otters are known to eat quite a lot of fruit, blackberries and all varieties of berries and even apples, so this fruit should offer some valuable vitamins against the coming winter.

And then, at last – bonanza! We heard hidden Mallards quacking, we saw a Cormorant perched motionless on its usual tree at the end of the field, a Heron stalking the hedge boundary, no doubt hunting for frogs, and then two Buzzards appeared, mewing loudly, circling overhead above us, round and round searching the ground for food.

After checking the farthest beach, also empty of Otter signs, we headed back across the field – and reached the bridge in time to spot a pair of Magpies, another Herring Gull and flitting across the river and among the trees a brilliantly coloured Great Tit, its breast glowing yellow in the sunlight. We had noticed winter gnats and midges about so lots of delicious snacks for hungry Tits. There is life – even in this still and silent world where no birds sing!!

22nd November 2021 / Temp: 5 C / Water Level: Med

Strong icy wind and frost still thick on the shady areas of the fields unexposed to the sun, but a beautiful morning, cloudless blue sky from horizon to horizon – a perfect day for crawling under 2 foot high barbed wire fences and navigating steep, unstable river banks!

No signs of Otter at the first two sites but it was wonderful to see a number of Mallard heading upstream as we approached the river, seeing twenty plus take to the air followed by at least a dozen or more Mandarin and a Little Egret. We had been so perplexed during last month’s survey at the total absence of both species, so it’s a relief to see that event was an aberration rather than an abandonment of the site.

Good to see gulls lifting and swirling above the recently harvested maize field, a mixed flock of Black-headed and Lesser Blackbacked as well Herring Gulls in good numbers. The large flock of Jackdaws and Rooks in amongst the cattle (who appeared very calm – thank goodness!) and circling the trees on the hill slope seem to grow larger at each visit, their chattering and calls such an evocative sound of autumn.

Negotiating a very tricky and careful descent of the steep bank onto the last beach, battling with brambles and hidden hollows, we eventually made it and found two fresh and one recent Otter spraint. In one of the fresh spraint we noticed quite large fragments of freshwater mussel shells, almost certainly duck mussel. Although we knew that Otters ate mussels, this is the first time we have actually seen signs. Another undigested remain was a small spike – possibly from a stickleback – ouch! Otters digestive tract must be lead lined to be able to cope with such objects passing through.

We were pleased to see at least some signs of life at our last site – a just reward for our struggle! But possibly an even greater delight when we discovered that the beach was totally protected from the cold north easterly wind – oh the bliss of pottering and exploring the stones with the full sun on our backs, hot enough for early summer rather than late November!

Lifting stones and searching for caddis larvae, we found this specimen which crawled out from its temporary retreat, while I was trying to photograph its domed pupal cocoon enclosure of rock and stone fragments constructed by the larva when it is ready to pupate. We have posted on iRecord to check but we think it is a Net Spinning Caddis larva, one of Hydropsychidae species, which spins a silk net to catch small particles like leaf detritus and even animal parts.

December 9th – Note: Ian Wallace (author of Simple Key to Caddis Larvae) has confirmed that this is indeed one of the Hydropsychidae species – Hydropsyche pellucidula). This is extremely good news as this is the first sighting at this site and means that we have identified Net Spinning Caddis larvae along the whole length of our survey area.

These caddis larva are always exciting to see as most species of free-living caddisflies are very sensitive to pollution and levels of dissolved oxygen, so they are usually found in only the fastest sections of clean rivers and streams.

Having spent some time happily pottering about the beach, we scrambled back up the steep bank and headed across the cattle pastures towards home.

We were rather amused by a wayward mole’s tunnels across the newly sown field – not the most direct way from A to B!!

Altogether a successful, thoroughly enjoyable morning – quite extraordinary how the strong north-easterly wind blowing into our faces has transformed into being wonderfully refreshing rather than horribly cold as it was when we ventured out!

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A couple of excellent photographs from the Frome & District Angling Association’s Facebook page illustrating a number of American Signal Crayfish entrances in the banks of the Mells Rive. It gives a really clear indication of the damage that this invasive species is causing, undermining the banks by excavating their burrows in ever increasing numbers.

A photograph illustrating the half moon shaped opening which is a classic sign of a crayfish burrow entrance, Water Vole’s burrow entrances for example are round.

19th November 2021 / Temp: 12 C / Water Level: Med-Low

The mist had dissipated leaving an overcast, damp and chilly morning and the weather was reflected in the wildlife out and about – pretty much zilch. No signs of Otter at either of the two sites surveyed and very few birds. We heard what sounded like a few Mallards, saw a couple of Pheasants which had probably escaped from the nearby shoot, parties of Tits flitting along the riverbank trees, constantly on the move, Crows, a single Robin and cackling Jackdaws.

We saw a rather handsome red-legged black spider on a mission, racing along the bridge rail but were unable to identify it despite trawling through our spider books. Trudging back across the field we spotted a small cluster of mushrooms which we were just too dispirited to identify – bonnets? inkcaps? who knows!

However, we ran into a fisherman, also heading home, too cold to stay longer, but he was really bucked up by having landing a five and a half pound Chub earlier in the morning, a beautiful, healthy looking specimen, so his day wasn’t wasted. He hadn’t noticed any birds but mentioned a pair of breeding Kingfishers which he often sees along the river at Weylands Field. Heartening news – even the most gloomy of days has its bright moments!

17th November 2021 / Temp: 10.5 C / Water Level: Med-Low

To say we were reluctant to leave the comfort of a warm house, a comfortable chair and coffee within reach would be a bit of an understatement! But we drove ourselves out, mumbling, groaning and complaining all the way and of course once we began to walk along the river bank, disturbing three Mallard, who flew off with great squawkings, two majestic Swans and a Cygnet, our spirits rose and good humour was restored. The intermittent sun helped as did the still golden leaves on a number of trees and the friendly twittering of the flocks of Long-tailed tits flittering from tree to tree leading the way along the river cheered us still further.

When we reached the first Otter site, we found two fresh spraint and one recent on the beach of the old Roman ford despite the overnight rain. Moving on to the next beach we found one recent spraint and on the last beach we found one recent spraint and two fresh anal jelly! This is the most spraint we have ever seen on this site and made up for the disappointment of finding none on our last survey – great excitement!

But by far the biggest excitement of the morning came as we neared the last beach, just in time to catch a glimpse of two Dippers flying off. We’ve never seen Dippers at this particular stretch of river – normally we spot them, if at all, farther downstream below the Roman ford or upstream near the confluence of the River Mells and the Somerset Frome so it was wonderful to catch sight of them here – particularly a pair.

The river is joined here by the Mill leat, and forms small stony rapids, perfect Dipper country. Rather weary from scrambling up and down banks, climbing over fences and negotiating the stony beaches made treacherous by the thick layer of fallen leaves hiding the dips and larger boulders, a rest seemed a brilliant option. Unfolding our little fishing stools, we perched on the bank above the beach, half hidden by the trees and shrubs, enjoying the sound of the water tumbling over the stones, and the sun turning the yellow leaves into pure gold. Half dreaming, watching the water, imagine our delight when one of the Dippers returned! First perching on a stone in the rapid dipping and dipping and dipping, hunting for food before flying off, low, and disappearing upstream.

Still we sat, reluctant to move, when what joy – the Dipper returned again! This time it began foraging in the water on the edge of the beach, not 5 yards below where we were sitting. We had the most perfect view of the Dipper feeding, head down, walking under the water, a feat we don’t often see – such a marvellous sighting, although sad to say, again it didn’t stay that long.

Rather surprisingly we caught sight of three Noon flies basking in the weak sunshine and a Eristalis sp hoverfly resting on the large leaves of a mullein as well as clouds of winter gnats, so a few insects are still around. Steven Falk, the Bristol entomologist (author of the Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain & Ireland) mentioned on twitter yesterday that he has this autum changed the season for Noon flies, which used to finish in October, but has now been extended as there have been so many about this month.

Moving at last, checking out the good crop of mushroms under the trees, we walked to the boundary for a final check when a Kingfisher flashed by, downstream, following the bend of the river, although the sun wasn’t shining at that point, the bright, vivid blue was unmistakable. The well-known myth that Kingfishers are so difficult to spot, they have inspired a saying: ‘Only the righteous see the kingfisher’ sounds always rather unlikely – perhaps fortunate would be a better term or maybe blessed – whatever, it was a lovely final flourish to a very satisfying morning!

4th November 2021 / Temp: 9.5 C – 8.5 C / Water Level : Med

A sunny-cloudy afternoon, a chill in the air – fresh and clear, still no frost so far this autumn but colder, a hint that winter is not too far away. The river was also beginning to take on a look of autumn with the water level rising and making islands in what in summer are wide beaches. It won’t be long before the fast tumble and spates of winter raise the water level still higher and even the islands will disappear, not to be seen again until next summer. As the water rises we will look in vain for Dippers and Grey Wagtails who should be seen all year round but we never seem to spot in winter. There is said to be remarkably little difference in the behaviour of Dippers in winter, although we have yet to spot them, but the Grey Wagtails reportedly move away from the rivers to more urban areas, or farmyards and slurry pits or gardens.

No signs of Otter along either the river bank or the carrier stream, under the bridge or on the stones, maybe they like the water birds have moved on to more rewarding areas of the river.

All the insects have disappeared, apart from the winter gnats and midges, this beetle which I disturbed when pushing through the shrubs and trees – it looks like an alder-leaf beetle, quite the most common of the beetles almost everywhere and we spotted a single wasp around the ivy flowers. Very few flowers on the plants, just a tired looking bedraggled few still lingering – water mint, white dead nettle, dandelions, ragwort, hogweed and a few red clover – nothing to interest hungry insects looking for nectar.

Despite summer becoming an almost distant memory, these are the golden weeks – low bright sunlight turning yellow leaves, pale leafless branches and tree trunks to gold – a time of golden sunburst yellow scale lichen coating the branches, when fanfare of trumpets lichens offer good support for a cobweb spinning spider and shout look at me, look at me, I’m beautiful!!

Few birds although there were a good number of Jackdaws and Wood Pigeons, but apart from those a pretty meagre count of a couple of Crows, ditto Herring Gulls, ditto Blackbirds but again no signs of water birds, not even a single Mallard. We did hear a solitary Raven, his evocative call lifting our spirits but overall the river and meadows seemed quite suddenly empty but….. apart from the sound of the tumbling river it was also very, very quiet, calm and wonderfully soothing to bathe in the sunlit beauty of an autumn afternoon …. it’s so good to be alive and able to walk in such a place on such a day with such a dear companion.

14th October 2021 / Temp: 13.5 C / Water Level : Med-Low

Wrapped up against forecasted chilly temperatures, we walked from one site to the next, gradually removing a layer at a time, and still felt too warm – those same forecasters hadn’t taken into account the strength of the sunlight, surprisingly wonderfully hot, particularly for mid October!

Clambering up and down steep banks always added a bit of an edge to this stretch of our survey, will we or won’t we make it! Any doubts are ignored as these quieter, more out of the way, overgrown beaches are the most rewarding places for Otter spraint as proved to be the case today. One fresh, one recent, crayfish remains and two pad marks on the water’s edge – not a massive amount but proof the Otters are out and about.

There were no signs of Mallard at either of the first two sites, and astonishingly no Mandarin Ducks on a grassy bank where they are reguarly fed by a resident. We are used to seeing flocks of at least 20 Mallard and upwards of 30-40 Mandarin along this stretch of river so to see none at all seems a bit end of days! We had been listening to an 80 year old ornithologist on “Open Country” the Radio 4 programme who lives in the south of the county, and also mentioned the plummeting number of Mallard in his area. He believed there was something in the water which was causing the crash in numbers; certainly it appears to us here that it is the plant eating water birds which are suffering such a steep decline whereas Dipper, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail numbers although low appear to be constant.

Falling numbers does not seem a problem faced by Jackdaws and Rooks if today’s numbers are seen – the full grown sycamore dominating the hedge on the border of the field was full of swirling, chattering, calling birds enjoying the remains of the maize harvest – from a rough estimate there looked to be at least 100 odd Jackdaws and 50 plus Rooks – what a racket but a lovely racket, the most evocative sound and sight of autumn fields.

A thorough search of the final beach was rewarded by finding 3 fresh spraint, 2 recent and crayfish remains and pleasingly a pair of Mallard swimming upriver! Lots of hoverflies and wasps and even a soltary Red Admiral fluttering by.

Back across the harvested fields and watching yet more Rooks and Jackdaws above the wood of mixed mature trees at the top of the hill – this time joined by a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, all rising, swirling, calling and warning as three Ravens flew over and began circling, scavenging for whatever they can find.

12th October 2021 / Temp: 14 C / Water Level : Med-Low

Bright sunlight, fresh chill breeze, clear skies, a perfect autumn morning for walking and checking the river bank for Otter spraint. We were immediately struck by the amount of bird song as we crossed towards the river. It appears to be the perfect mixed habitat for the smaller garden birds – Chaffinch, Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Long-tailed and Blue Tits, etc as there is an abundance of cover from hedges, fruit trees as well as a broad belt of trees and shrubs along the boundary as well as a good number of full-grown alders, willows and hawthorns along the river bank. After the near silence of the bird empty fields of the previous couple of days, it was a delight to be walking in bird song.

No sign of Otter as we walked along but when we reached the wild area of stacked logs, nettle beds, giant mullein and clumps of still flowering comfrey we were astonished at the number of insects – honey bees, bumblebees, hoverflies, moths and ladybirds buzzing around, feeding on the nectar of soaking up the sun! All those lovely pollinators keeping the apple trees fruiting and providing fodder for the birds – a heartwarming sight.

As we arrived at the first beach we were delighted to see a Dipper flying away upstream although sad that we had disturbed it in what appears from previous sightings to be a favoured fishing spot. A good omen as just a few minutes later we found the first sight of Otter, recent spraint on the usual flat slab of stone. Sadly, this was to be the only spraint along the whole stretch of this particular survey area, despite careful and hopeful searching.

More insects as we made our way to the next beach – a common green shieldbug soaking up the sun, a potato leafhopper sharing a leaf with a dungfly, and what may have been a chalcid wasp of the Torymidae family as well as a good many Harlequin ladybirds and their pupae scattered across the leaves of low branched trees. Sad to say no native ladybirds – concerning how the invasive species seem to taking hold.

Walking back across the pasture we caught sight of a Little Egret flying in an arc overhead as it left our stretch to return the river further upstream. They are such beautiful snow-white birds, looking almost cumbersome in flight in comparison with their supremely elegant stance standing stock still in the shallows seaching for fish.

11th October 2021 / Temp: 14.5 C / Water Level : Low

Another gloriously sunny afternoon and having checked the cattle were at the far end of the field, we began searching the river bank and beaches for Otter spraint. Sad to say we drew another blank, no sign of Otters at any of the three sites, and although we were heartened to see a pair of Grey Wagtail flying up and down above the weir, we felt rather down after inspecting the last beach. However, we decided to sit and enjoy the sunshine – who knows it could be the last gasp before autumn gets really cold.

Almost dozing with the hot sun on our backs, idly watching and listening to the mesmerising sight and sound of the tumble of the river, we almost missed the flash of startlingly blue wings of a Kingfisher flying across the river not more than 18, 20 or so yards away from us! He disappeared into the low branches of a sycamore on the opposite bank and we stared waiting, expecting him to flash upstream from his perch. Imagine our delight and astonishment at the loud splash, almost like a good sized stone dropping into the water, as the Kingfisher dived, reappeared in seconds and again disappeared into the leaves!

Again and again he dived until we lifted our binoculars at just the wrong moment and he was off disappearing downstream, a brilliant flash of blue! Extraordinarily, he was barely lost to view before another Kingfisher shot past, coming downstream and took up position where we saw the first bird fly from! We could hear but couldn’t see him diving for some time before he also sped past, back upstream, his wings glowing, almost sparkling in the sunshine.

We have seen Kingfishers on the nearby lakes perched on a branch and diving into the water, often, but not always, emerging with a small fish in its beak and we have seen Kingfishers innumerable times, up and down the river, but this is the first time we have caught sight of them in the act of fishing the river. A wonderful sight worth waiting for which made us forget all about the lack of Otter signs and which we we always treasure.

We rather reluctantly got up to leave the beach and were disconcerted to see what we hadn’t noticed with our backs to the field – a long line of cattle ambling across the meadow forming a neat barricade between us and the gate out of the field! Rather than race them to the gate we decided to cross the field behind the stragglers and climb the wibbly wobbly leaning gate into the next field.

A good move, just walk slowly and calmly, the bull was in the middle of the herd, heading towards the far field, no problem….. except as we were half way across the field, the cattle turned around and watched us and then began ambling back! By the time we reached the gate the bull, now at the head of the herd, was only 3-4 yards away and our scramble as we wobbled and nearly fell as the gate, lurching first one way and then another, made our precarious climb on the panicky side, but oh the relief – before any of them got to us we were over and safe!! The bull and the rest of the herd gathered around the gate and stood watching us as we called a cheery goodbye and walked away. A farmer in the same position would have slapped the bull on his rump, chatted and turned his back and walked in front of him without a second thought – what a pity we are not farmers.

How calm the fields looked, how beautiful the ash tree bathed in sunshine, how welcome the sight of a clump of field mushrooms, a delightful distraction as we gathered a couple of handfuls for our supper at the end of what had turned out to be a memorable day by the river!

10th October 2021 / Temp: 18 C / Water Level: Low

Beautifully warm, sunny afternoon – astonishingly warm for the second week in October! It was delightful to saunter along the river bank searching for Otter spraint, so quiet, just the cackle of Jackdaws flying over, what a wonderful sound they make, and the mew of a couple of circling Buzzards.

We were pleased to see a Heron, the first for some time along this stretch of the river and then a beautiful Little Egret lifting off but few other birds, just Blackbirds and Robins apart from the usual Pheasants, Crows and Wood Pigeon. We were surprised to see not only a Common Darter but also an Emperor dragonfly patrolling the river as well as a Red-legged Shield Bug clambering around on the grass.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, no sign of Otter anywhere, not even old and dry crumblies. We haven’t been able to risk this site for six weeks or so due to the bull being in the field with young heiffers. We are almost sure he is safe but the “almost” which puts us off!

Still a few lingering water forget me not and trifid-bur marigold in flower and as we watched the dragonflies darting by we caught sight of a Kingfisher flashing upstream, his colours vivid and astonishingly bright in the low afternoon sun – magical!

29th September 2021 / Temp: 15 C / Water Level: Med

A brief trip to check the bridge at Oldford to see how Somerset Bridge Department had dealt with the damaged stone pillar and broken rails after the safety barriers erected to offer some protection had been thrown into the river. We were really pleased that the contractors appointed by Somerset County Council had been able to come so quickly after we had reported the damage, although rather disappointed that the railings hadn’t been repaired/replaced. However, replacing the missing safety barriers is a great improvement.

Whilst we were there we checked the riverside for Otter spraint but after so much rain the water had risen considerably since our last visit and covered the stones and bridge pier so no signs of Otter. A great many wasps, bees, hoverflies and noon flies all flocking around the flowering ivy.

The Myathropa florea hoverfly is always rather striking, and is often seen around ivy flowers at the end of summer. Evidently its larvae live in rot holes or cavities of decaying leaves amongst roots at the base of trees of which there are many at the top of the river bank. We are often struck by the varieties of trees in such a small area which include larch, oak, horse chestnut, ash, alder and even a full sized sequoia!

We hadn’t noticed a hazel amongst the trees until we caught sight of the Hawthorn Shieldbug which its distinctive markings, as if someone has left a toffee on its back which has dribbled a mixture of drips and blobs!

The only other creature which caught the eye was this small snail which we hazard Strawberry snail as an identification. We’ve posted it on iRecord and if the id is corrected, we will correct it here.

No sign of any bird life – no water fowl but no other birds either which was surprising as the day was sunny and not cold, but it was extremely windy so perhaps that had deterred them.

A view of the bridge on the undamaged side of the road. The road is very narrow and carries quite a steady stream of cars so it does make walking across the bridge pretty hazardous and we, like most other walkers, step off the road, perch on the raised concrete ledge and lean on the railings to keep clear of the traffic so at least one side of the bridge is safe for pedestrians.

18th Septeber 2021 / Temp: 20 C / Water Level: Low

Messin’ about on the river with our son and grandsons – what could be more fun! They are pretty indifferent to wrigglies so that attempting a kick survey was not on the cards although they were very happy to use the buckets, trays and nets for what they consider the business of the day – a’ hunting of the crayfish!

Who says that children have a short concentration span? They were relentless as they stumbled on the hidden stones and boulders, up and down the river, wellington boots full of water, soaking wet shorts shrieking with glee, shouting with triumph, standing in the middle of the river with the fast current swirling around them gazing awestruck as they excitedly demanded we look at the size of this huge and scary whopper! The crayfish looked less than amused and even possibly rather cross (see above).

Two Kingfishers flashed past which earned barely a glance, a Grey Wagtail flew up to what is a favourite perch on the river and executed an impressive handbrake turn when he saw the crowd. We saw Small White and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, a string of ponies crossing the bridge being led by a rider, we found Bullheads and small fry none of which could be allowed to interfere with the serious business of the day – catching the dratted crayfish. They are the bane of our lives, undermining river banks with their tunnels and contributing to the sedimentation of the river, killing native White Clawed crayfish either with the plague they carry or by dominating the habitat. Our eagle-eyed grandson who misses very little, noticed that one of the crayfish had white eyes. Searching the internet on returning home we discovered that this could have been a mutation or, perhaps more plausibly, a sign of the highly infectious species of fungus Aphanomyces astaci, the plague referred to which attacks the soft tissue, including the eyes.

But all of this is nothing to our intrepid hunters out on a mission and finding creatures which are extremely plentiful, look strikingly ferocious and are very easy to catch!

But then…. how can anyone not be impressed when one rampaging hunter bends down and picks up a pale yellow shell, not more than 4mm in size and holds it out in the palm of his hand. We find lots of these shells on the water line of beaches but we noticed that this one was a complete closed bivalve so we put in the tray. When we came to examine our catch later, the shell had opened and a single foot had stretched out and was clinging to the side of the tray. A live Horny Orb Mussel – a bioindicator of not too polluted water – the first we had ever seen!! What a brilliant find – what a wonderful grandson – what a marvellous day!!

7th September 2021 / Temp: 29 C / Water Level: Low

Forgive the appalling photograph but the best my little snap camera could manage in capturing a beautiful Dipper fishing downriver from us. We were perched on our stools, peering into our tray of treasures from a half-hearted attempt at a kick survey, when what looked like a male Dipper flew upstream, perched one legged on a convenient stone, and began to examine the water.

He seemed totally unaware of us, remained stock still for quite some time, possibly resting but eventually he flew across the river found another suitable stone and began his usual Steve Smith at the crease impersonation, bobbing, and bobbing and bobbing! It must be the answer because he soon stuck his head under the water and began feeding in earnest. So intent was he that he ignored our raised binoculars, camera and murmurs of delight and continued contentedly picking away at whatever he was finding under and around the stones.

Judging by the number of mayfly nymphs and caddisfly larvae we had been finding he wouldn’t be short of food. The mayfly nymphs looked rather small and thin but the fat net-spinning Caddis larvae (Hydropsche pellucidula) must surely make a tasty morsel for any discerning Dipper!

We found Flat-bodied Heptageniidae (stone clingers – possibly Yellow May), Olives Baetidae as well as the mayfly larvae, lots of Gammarus (freshwater shrimps) and a couple of leeches although as far as we know Dippers don’t feed on the latter two species, possibly shrimps at least swim far too fast.

What a difference a week makes – the temperature a mere seven days ago a chilly 15 C with a blustery north-easterly win and today a balmy 29 C with a soft south westerly breeze! A beautiful afternoon, hot sun burning the field but wonderfully cool under the trees, listening to the gurgle and chattering river rushing past tumbling over the stones of the ancient ford and watching the wind play with the leaves of the willow and alders on both banks. Good to be peering into trays of wrigglies, glancing up in time to see a Kingfisher flash past low over the water and watch the small white butterflies fluttering over the water and up into the trees.

7th September 2021 / Temp : 20 C / Water Level: Low

Gum boots and buckets, trays and dipping nets, sieves and spoons, cameras and anti-bacterials, stout sticks and notebooks, all essential items for a mooch by the river and a scooping up of wrigglies, and, if you are very, very fortunate, a beloved daughter willing to give up a day to help. Oh the relief – younger, fitter, sharper eyed, who can scramble up and down river banks with ease and spot what we have missed and tireless in sweeping vegetation, river weed, kicking gravel and stones from the river bed – marvellous!

Lots and lots of the usual mayfly and net-spinning caddis larvae in every net, counted and logged, even more tiny fishes, too small to be sure of identification but counted anyway, minute worms, but then we found a prize!

A diving beetle not previously found, a Platambus maculatus, with its subtle colours and beautiful markings which we eventually managed to corner long enough to photograph (it took two of us – we can confirm it swims fast, very, very fast!!). It is common and widespread throughout the country where it lives on vegetated margins of rivers and eaten by trout. Not a rarity but a great find. Note: iRecord hasn’t checked it but iNaturalist has accepted the species identification and given it Research grade status.

More little fishes but surprisingly we didn’t catch one freshwater shrimp when upriver we catch so many they become a bother separating them from more interesting finds. The margins turned out to be a good source of new species – including a water measurer (Hydrometra stagnorum) what looked like orange millipedes (3 but unidentified), a faucet snail (Bithynia tentaculata) .

We were all fascinated when my daughter spotted a tiny caddis larva, possibly left too long in the tray, begin to forage for plant debris and other detritus which it then assembled around itself, a small fragment at a time. Caddis larvae live underwater for most of their lives, where they make cases by spinning together stones, sand, leaves and twigs with a silk they secrete from glands around the mouth. Some live in them, discarding and constructing ever larger ones as they grow, some are free swimming and only build a case to shelter in whilst they pupate. This one was so small, it might have been building its first shelter; it seems quite extraordinary the lengths such tiny creatures go to to survive and mesmerising to watch.

We did take breaks from peering to wander around the beach, checking on large stones and grass tussucks for Otter spraint without success, but my daughter spotted a tiny brown frog, a single Beautiful Demoiselle female damselfy and a dragonfly, there were lots of bees, hoverflies and, as always very noticeably at this time of the year, craneflies.

We also checked on the number of birds – very few – we were rather relieved to see a Cormorant perched in their favourite tree at the far end of the field because we didn’t see any other water birds. Blackbirds, Crows, Wood Pigeons and a Magpie seemed the only birds around until my daughter spotted the Buzzards flying overhead – it looked like a family party of five and, happily, walking back beside the river we spotted a pair of Grey Wagtails below the weir. Impossible to know if this is the same pair which we have seen on occasion since spring but if so we have yet to see signs of successful breeding. Whilst we were watching the birds, my daughter scrambled down the track made by the Otters climbing up the steep bank and found clear signs of fresh anal jelly.

Further on the Otter spotting front, rather shameful to report that although both my husband and I had checked the shallow beach for Otter spraint before we began the kick-survey and found nothing, just before we were leaving and my daughter was emptying the species tray she spotted, yes you guessed it, a clear red fresh spraint! Oh dear…. However, we were at least able to spot 2 seperate deposits of fresh Otter spraint on either side of the bridge piers, one with 2 crayfish pearls – so good to see so many signs that the Otters are still here and seemingly thriving!

1st September 2021 / Temp: 15.5 C / Water Level: Low

The north-easterly wind not quite so strong but still hanging around and pulling the temperature down over the last week but the sun shone, if intermittently, and we were beguiled at the beginning of the Otter survey by Swallows still swooping around the buildings and the narrow carrier stream from the old flood workings a mass of flowering plants in a line across the water meadow.

The stream is barely visible beneath the tangle of which we managed to identify nearly twenty plants in flower: purple loostrife, woody nightshade, bindweed, water mint, angelica, leafy hawkweed, yarrow, stitchwort, valerian, teasel, white dead nettle, stinging nettle, creeping thistle, great willowherb, gypsywort, redlegs, comfrey, great willowherb and water forget-me-knot and water-cress!

Our spirits were further raised by spotting fourteen fresh Otter pad marks in the soft mud of the first beach, disturbing 10 Mallard who, as usual, complained in the most unreasonable fashion at our intrusion as they flew off.

At the next site even better, more pad marks as well as 4 fresh and 5 recent sets of Otter spraint and the 5 Mandarin who flew up at our approach did so silently – almost inscrutably one might even say! As we walked along the edge of the river, although screened by trees and shrubs in full leaf, we still disturbed the main flock of Mandarin – we counted at least 50 as they rose and flew across the fields to find a more secluded spot. Quiet they might be but the sound of such a sheer number of wings meant they were unable to make a silent escape! Was it the Mandarin which alerted a small flock of Ravens to take to the sky? Five in all – adults and juveniles? Difficult to be sure but so lovely to hear their friendly chattering to each other as they flew overhead.

Another trek, another beach – and what a beach! At the far end of our Otter survey sites, the longest walk, the most difficult barbed wire fences to negotiate, the most uneven, tussocky long grass where we usually arrive battered by low hanging branches, stung by nettles, scratched by a combination of barbed wire, rose briars and strands of bramble trailing under-foot across the path to trip the unwary or caught in our hair when we are studying the ground! But oh the reward – Otters just love this hidden beach and we usually find the most spraint there. Today was no exception – Eight fresh spraint (which often means more than one Otter) six recent and two old – crayfish claws, crayfish pearls and all the usual detritus of their latest meals scattered across the stones and pebbles, some easily spotted a strong orange red-rust from the crayfish but some black, glistening or dull and more difficult to see. It’s lovely scrambling around, eyes darting everywhere, listening to the river riffling and tumbling at this point, sun on our backs and all thought of tiredness completely forgotten!

A pair of beautifully marked Tipula lateralis Crane flies (mating so still enough for a change to get a good shot) who had found a perfect spot dangling down from the river bank. In a small cave at the foot of the bank, half hidden, were two Large Red slugs Arion rufus, only one of which was red! A long walk back being necessary we were forced to shift our stumps and very reluctantly leave the beach and head home. But the scramble up the bank did bring a rather surprising reward in the shape of a Glandular Globe thistle – a plant previously unknown to us.

Unfortunately the photograph simply doesn’t convey quite how spectacular the flowerhead is (or the height of the plant and size of the prickly leaves for that matter) but as it is an unusual find in such an unlikely place we thought it worth recording. They can live for 30 years so this may be an old plant which would account for its size – the fact that it usually flowers July-August, a period we often miss on our monthly survey, maybe why we have never noticed it before.

A Small Tortoiseshell, three Speckled Wood, a Meadow Brown and six Small White butterflies accompanied us across the sunny fields towards home – weary but oh so happy to be alive on such a day in such a place!!

31st August 2021 / Temp: 14.5 C / Water Level: Low

How often we have complained about the cattle trampling down the plants on our favourite beach with its full-grown ancient willow trees and massed flowers in summer.  Well, this is what it looks like when the cattle haven’t been in the field for some time!  Looking down to the river and, once we had scrambled down and edged our way through the less dense areas of undergrowth, looking up to the river bank!  

It’s the yellow season!  Swathes of saracens woundwort and tansy fill the beach, almost swamping the reeds, water mint, purple loosestrife and water forget-me-not.  Wonderful for the bees and hoverflies (of which there were countless numbers) not so good for the drangonflies and damselflies, only two seen – a single lonely male Banded Demoiselle and a Migrant Dragonfly.  No other insects either, which given the amount of flowers was unexpected.

No water birds (in fact apart from a pair of Grey Wagtails and a Buzzard we saw no other birds at all).  A few grasshoppers leaping about and we spotted a green shieldbug in its summer colours but very little life – maybe they were put off by the unseasonably chilly and pretty lively north-easterly wind!

What did catch the eye were the Euura proxima larvae which were feeding on the narrow-leaved willows causing these knobbly coffee bean shaped galls.  Evidently they transect the leaf blade but grow more on the upper surface according to what we have read.  We often see them but not usually quite so red.

Heading for home we eventually managed to spot some Otter spraint on some stones near the river edge which wasn’t swamped by plants and more near the weir and 4 fresh spraint under the bridge together with crayfish remains so all is not lost – at least there are Otters about.

4th August 2021 – Sad to report a dead Otter was found last evening lying by the side of the road close to the river.  Arrangements were made to bag and convey it to Jo Pearse of the Somerset Otter Group in Glastonbury where she will ensure it is delivered to the Cardiff University Otter project people who will carry out a post mortem. 

3rd August 2021 / Temp: 20 C / Water Level: Med

Full sun and a beautiful afternoon to explore our last Otter survey sites of the month along a quiet stretch of the river.  Hazel nuts are already dropping and the meadows have an end of summer air, straw coloured grasses heavy with seed, hugely tall mulleins with most of the blossoms dropping, but enough flowers in bloom to interest the hoverflies and bees on the bramble (10+), Himalyan Balsam (10+) and Comfrey (10+) a few on the welted thistle but none at all on the spear thistle, rather surprisingly.  A few butterflies about – Meadow Browns, Small Whites, Speckled Woods, Commas and Red Admirals.  2 Brown Hawkers were the only dragonflies and there were only a few Banded Demoiselles as far as we could see which was surprising on such a sunny day.

Very little activity on the water – they must have stopped working from home!  We disturbed a group of four Mandarin but the two Heron we spotted were in the middle of the water meadow on the opposite bank and there was only a single juvenile Cormorant on sentry duty on the top of a dead Alder tree.  There are a number of trees along the bank similarly afflicted by a type of fungus, Phytophthora.  Sometimes known as alder dieback, the disease is more noticeable in summer as the leaves of affected alders are abnormally small and yellow and often fall early.  Alders perform such a crucial job in flood mitigation along river banks where its roots help to prevent soil erosion so the spread of the fungus is a cause of growing concern.

When we arrived at the final site without finding any signs of Otter we were glad to perch on our folding stools and have a restful few minutes.   Surprising what you see when jus’ sittin’!  We idly watched the flies around the stones on the beach, continuously flying in, settling momentarily then flying off again in an ever moving swarm.  We had time to examine them through our butterfly binoculars and noticed that the sawn off appearance of the wing tips on some of the flies also sported a white splodge (a technical term!).

These were semaphore flies (Poecilobothrus nobilatus) we discovered when we reached home.  Evidently one of the most researched insects because they are easy to identify and there are a lot of them!  It’s a pity the photograph doesn’t show their beautiful colouring, lime green eyes and thorax looking burnished in the full sun.

We learned that they are called semaphore flies because the males fly down and stand opposite the female, fluttering and signalling with their white tipped wings.  If the female is interested they will mate but if she is not she will simply fly away.  It appears that with female flies size is everything as they always chose the largest males with whom to mate!

Well rested we move off the beach, looking carefully where we put our feet,  when to our surprise we spotted what we had missed earlier – fresh Otter spraint!  It was small, possibly a cub or female Otter, red and chock full of crayfish shell – the change from winter black to summer red does seem to follow the abundence of crayfish.  As mentioned, it’s interesting to notice what there is to see if we sometimes stop and stare!

22nd July 2021 / Temp: 23 C / Water Level: Low

9.55am Another beautiful heat-wave morning and we ran a bit late as we hoped to get our Otter survey done before the sun became too hot for us to bear but by the time we reached the river it was already very hot and along this stretch of the river there was not much shade but the Chub, growing bigger by the week, and leisurely swimming slowly up and down, for all the world like a fishy passeggiata, seem to be unbothered by the heat.

Brown Hawker copyright Tony Hisgett

The Brown Hawkers seemed equally oblivious – skimming up and down the riverside plants, in their everlasting hunt for food, we watched first one and then the two more who joined in.  They are so large we were constantly catching sight of them and expecting to see a small bird, a wren maybe or evena kingfisher dashing by.  The dainty, delicate Banded Demoiselles, Blue-tipped and Common Blue Damselflies went about their business totally oblivious to the bully boys amongst them. 

As we checked for Otters (no signs) and collected our water samples, we listened to the Green Woodpecker echoing across the meadows and a Raven calling his distinctive greeting as he flew overhead.  We admired the clumps of water forget-me-not almost hidden in the thick border of reeds, the beautiful purple loosestrife A steady stream of leaves fell from the riverside trees into the river almost entirely alder and willow although there were hawthorn and blackthorn.  No doubt the very early leaf fall was due to the nearly week-long heat wave where the heat of the sun was so intense.

However, the predominant sight which met us when we arrived and before we could carry out our survey was upsetting in the extreme.  Reluctant as we are to bring news of such devastation to our celebration of our beautiful local river, we cannot just let it pass by without comment.  Cartons, food packaging, drink cans, plastic bottles, socks, plastic bags, towels, plastic wrappers, tin foil barbecue containers, beer cans and bottles strewn over a large area all along the river bank.  In the centre of the field were three large dustbins bags full to the brim and spilling their contents of yet more picnic detritus onto the meadow. 

Seeing the cows and bull at the far end of the field we had no choice but to collect all the rubbish, making sure we collected every plastic bottle top, medicine package, crisp packet or anything else which might be harmful to the domestic or wild animals which frequent the field (although we did draw the line at picking up discarded plasters and we were unable to remive the plastic bottles thrown into the river as they were too far out for us to reach.

Given that this is private farmland regularly used for grazing cattle and the bank and river are owned by the local Frome & District Angling Association one would have imagined that tresspassers who swim and picnic would at least leave the river, bank and field as they found it but it appears that is not the case.

As for the water samples, the readings were much as expected, the Nitrates were above the safety level and Phosphates considerably higher than that and of course both much higher than that recommended by the Water Framework Directive. 

21st July 2021 / Temp: 22.5 C / Water Level : Low

9.05 am – Clear sunny morning after a hot muggy night and we’re off on an Otter hunt!  Not expecting to see the animal, we are never that lucky, but hoping to see spraint or pad marks or signs of them passing by.  Sadly just one sighting under the bridge, all other sites were Otter free.

The river looked beautiful, sparkling in the sunshine, the damselflies fluttering over the water, all through the riverside reeds and purple loosestrife – 2 or 3 White-legged, 13 Banded Demoiselles, a handful of Beautiful Demoiselles and a large, very important looking Brown Hawker patrolling his patch, looking very masterful!

There were also 9 Small White and 4 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, 8 ladybirds (almost entirely Harlequins), loads of grasshoppers and we counted 10 soldier beetles before we gave up as they seemed to be on every plant! 

Not many birds – a Buzzard circling, a busy Wren close to the river, a couple of Mallard scooting off at our approach with lots of noisy complaints, a lovely Goldfinch and at last the reward – a Kingfisher flashed past!!

17th July 2021 / Temp : 29 C / Water Level : Low

It was extremely hot and almost tropical in the house and the clear skies made for burning sun and a longing for the cool shade of the tree lined river.  We headed to the water to check along the beaches and banks for signs of Otter but despite our best efforts, we didn’t spot a single pad mark or spraint or even the tell-tale crayfish remains.

However, what we did see was a joy – we discovered river limpets for the first time!  We found loads of shells on the beach river line further upstream but we have never before found any actually living in the river, attached to stones, so we reconciled ourselves to the belief that the shells had been washed downriver from one of the tributaries.  But here they were – so incredibly small and so difficult to spot but once we found one we found many others, although disappointingly they also proved too difficult for my little camera to capture a clear image – hence the unfocused photo here! 

Naturespot writes:  A bottom living species found in unpolluted running water where it adheres to the sides of stones in moderate flows. Sensitive to pollution but is usually excluded from suitable habitat only by chronic pollution as it will normally recolonize lost territory after incidents.  This was extremely interesting to us as the water test showed a sharp increase or spike in phosphate pollution since our last test a mere 8 days ago so we were concerned that these limpets and the caddis fly larvae might be harmed.

We were surprised to see so few butterflies or in fact insects of any description – a couple of banded demoiselles, 5 small white and 1 meadow brown butterfly being the sum total of the afternoon.  Similarly apart from a family of Crows attacking a Buzzard, a few Wood Pigeons and Gulls and one Wren it looked as if that would be the lot, but when we were working the river close to the bank a Kingfisher shot past downriver, missing one of us by centimetres, and minutes later he shot back upriver again giving us a full view of his beatiful feathers, who could ask for more – river limpets and Kingfishers! 

9th July 2020 / Temp: 19 C / Water Level: Low

Fortunately the rain held off and we were able to spend part of the morning testing the water for phosphorus and nitrates as part of the BART Waterblitz project. It was disturbing to note the high levels of both (2.00 ppm and 40 ppm respectively) which must effect the health of the river. Some creatures are able to tolerate that level of pollution, for example some of the Mayflies, Caddisflies, Dragonflies, fish and crayfish etc but some cannot.  So that while we see a great number of Ephemera danica, both as larvae and as mayflies plus Yellow May larvae, we never see Yellow Sally Mayflies which are believed to be very susceptible to organic pollution.  On the other hand, species like the Blue Winged Olive, which are very susceptible to phosphorus so we wouldn’t expect to see any but we have recorded both larvae and mayflies in the river.

What was also very noticeable was that the water was colourless but, predominantly on the edge of the river, the moss and stones were covered with a substantial layer of sediment which turned the fresh green moss-covered stones mid-stream into brown, sludgy unsightly brown on the slower bankside water. This is borne out by never seeing the Southern Iron Blue Mayfly which are susceptible to sediment.

Standing calf-deep midstream watching the water rushing past one is reminded yet again that this isn’t a majestic river like the Danube with it’s huge commercial vessels ploughing all before, pushing steadily downstream, or commanding awe like the Sava, creating giant jagged slabs of snow covered ice along its banks in winter, full of pleasure boats and water skiers in summer, it’s not even deep and wide and serene like the Thames, carrying rowing eights with their beefy oarsmen and diminutive cox with a loud hailer almost larger than their heads – this is an intimate river, which, like an over-excited child, is always full of chatter.  It never stops telling anyone who will listen the tales it has to tell, of the amazing things it has seen on its dash across country through villages and town, through farms and nature reserves and all the magical creatures it nurtures.   As it tumbles over stones, like stumbling over words, runs deep and black and mysterious before weirs and shouts loudly over the rush and splash and thunder, that if you stop and look, really look, you will discover that here “there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” 

Wading back to the bank we walk along the edge of the luxuriant high summer growth of the feathery seed heavy reeds bending low beneath the weight, the opening common valerian, stately hogweed through which the damselflies which flash irridescent blue and emerald bodies with transparent or copper wings fluttering up and down, a small tortoiseshell butterfly, bees, hoverflies and swollen thighed flower beetle examining every bramble or ragwort flower, or craneflies hunting a convenient blade of leaf on which to rest, difficult when there are so many common wetland Amber snails clinging to reed stems displaying their spires with aplomb!

Our test completed, our wading done, we gathered sticks and binoculars, test kits and bottles and climbed the steep bank to the top.  Standing on the bank taking a last glimpse of the river sparkling in the sunshine, we were just in time to spot a kingfisher flashing downstream.  A perfect end to a perfect morning on the river!

1st July 2021

We are most grateful to receive a reply from the notable paleontologist Simon Carpenter who has kindly identified the fossil which our 9 year old grandson found in the river while we were doing our kick survey.

Simon Carpenter writes:

26th June 2021 / Water Level: Low

The idyllic calm of a fine summer afternoon looking upstream where the river is clear and full of fish and even fuller of empty ripped pupa cocoons and tumbled tiny stones of the free swimming caddis larvae Rhyacophila dorsalis escaping their bondage and now flying free!

Downstream are two young boys their father and grandfather a’hunting the crayfish, each catch larger than the one before, catching Bullhead from a tiny fry, looking for all the world like a flying insect, to good sized (for Bullhead!) fish,

and watching a single Cormorant diving and fishing totally oblivious of his audience of children and parents alike standing stock still, knee deep in the tumbling current until the bird, presumably well-fed eventually swam off downstream and soon lost to sight in the bend of the river.

Above the water meadow a pair of Kestrels were mobbing a Buzzard whilst two more Buzzards circled higher up in the sky keeping out of trouble!  We heard a Wren close by the bank complaining nosily at our intrusion and a Jay rattling from a tree near the carrier stream which may have alerted the Brown Hare to our presence because we caught sight of him racing down the line the stream to disappear towards the farm.  Very few butterflies, a large white and a small tortoiseshell looking rather lonely as they fluttered around.

A marvellous, memorable day, full of excitement and action, the boys stopping only to pour out their almost full wellington boots before thrusting soggy socked feet back into soaking wet boots and returning to the hunt.  And to crown what had been for a very happy but tired couple of boys a brilliant time messin’ about on the river was the younger one finding first a ramshorn snail and then this exquisite bivalve fossil.

We have found similar fossils but broken and incomplete but this one was a peach!  Fortunately the organiser of our Somerset Otter Group has a friend who is a notable paleontologist and suggests that we contact him for his thoughts on the find.  We can’t wait to hear what he has to say!

As the afternoon was drawing to an end, we oldies could think of nothing but a longed for cup of tea while the boys dragged their father off to the skate park – where do they get their energy from?!

2nd June 2021 / Temp:  20 C / Water Level: Med, falling

Mayflies!  It’s the season!  Everywhere we look, clinging to flower stems, stinging nettles, leaves of every description or caught in spiders’ webs, there is a mayfly clinging, hanging motionless.  Sitting on the river bank and watching the mayfly hatch on a warm early summer afternoon, what could be more mesmerising. The duns lifting and drifting to the reeds, those falling back into the river to flutter and fail, the leaping fish early in the season, or the lazy fish later just opening their mouths or completely ignoring them. The non-stop yo-yo mating dance of the spinners sometimes over the water or over the river bank, so thick it’s amost impossible to walk through – summer has arrived at last!

We were particularly thrilled to spot a Blue Winged Olive dun, rather sadly caught in a web, a tragic end to a joyful rise into the sunshine from the water after two years as a larva confined to the river, but exciting for us to see this species for the first time – one of the species indicative of unpolluted water.

Lots of damselflies joining in the flight, male and female banded demoiselles, beautiful demoiselles, blue-tailed, and common blues but still no signs of dragonflies – maybe too early.  No butterflies either, just one orange-tip and a solitary holly blue examining a large Otter spraint on the beach, but we did spot a nomad bee among the buff-tails and honey bees, what might have been a dagger fly and even a click beetle clinging to a blade of grass!

Little Egrets, a Heron, 29(!) Mandarin, 10 Mallard, a flock of Rooks and Jackdaws around the heiffers; a particularly loud Song Thrush singing from the tree, challenged by Whitethroat, Chaffinch, Chiff Chaff, Blackbird all giving full throat – a wonderful sound. 

We were so pleased to see a good number of Otter spraint at the first site, 5 fresh and 3 recent, more than we have ever seen which raised our spirits, lifted further by spotting two brown hares, running away from us and then squatting down, low on their haunches, even though they were not hidden as the meadow has been recently cut and hay gathered, but this year’s crop of maize should give good cover pretty soon.

Our next Otter site was even better – 7 fresh spraint, toffee-red and chock full of crayfish shell and pearls and 2 recent which raises the possibility of more than one Otter.  There were lots of fingernail clams and spiral water snail shells among the coarse sand on the waterline, a pond skater, male and female damselflies along the edge plants while in the water mayfly and damselfly nymphs, lots of freshwater shrimps of course, but also some intriguing small beetles, at least 25, which unfortunately were just too minute for us to identify. 

As we walked back across the stubbled water meadow we found what looked like a nest of pheasant eggs which had been run over by the farm vehicles – a common sight now that most farmers mow their hay fields twice a year, the first when the ground birds are still nesting.  As we neared the farm we watched with delight the rather more fortunate handful of Swallows streaming high and weaving low across the sky before disappearing into the barn, their beaks full of flies to feed their early brood.  Summer has arrived!!

31st May 2021 / Temp : 20 C / Water Level : Med. falling

A beautiful afternoon, sunshine and drifting fair weather fluffy clouds, the air full of blue tailed, banded and beautiful demoiselle damselflies, including several dark ink blue immature male demoiselles with caramel coloured wings, orange tip and red admiral butterflies and even a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers nesting in a tree close to the river.

It was a good time to get the second kick survey done and be out of the way before the coarse fishing season starts in a couple of days.  The water level in the river was also falling which makes it a good deal easier to negotiate, given that the current is fast and furious, tumbling over the stones of the remains of the old Roman ford at that point.  It usually has rich pickings and we were not disappointed but extremely pleased with our haul!  A caseless caddis, which Ian Wallace from iRecord kindly identified as Rhyacophilladae dorsalis, and what we think may well be its pupal skin abandoned on a stone when it left the river.

copyright Rebecca Muirhead

A good showing of Dragonfly and Mayfly larvae both Ephemera danica and Serratella ignita (both of which were rising from the river around us) several freshwater leeches, cranefly larvae, alderfly larvae (possibly the mud alderfly Sialis lutaria), uncountable numbers of freshwater shrimps, midge larvae, worms and river weed, the latter a thorough nuisance as everything hid under it.

copyright: Rebecca Muirhead

Lots of small humped Agapes cases secured to stones, they are extremely abundent here.  We are extremely ignorant and amateurish in our identification of these water creatures and what little we know has been garnered by hours spent pouring over the diagrams and re-reading the explanations in Ian Wallace’s excellent “Simple Key to Caddis Larvae” and the FSC Freshwater name trail but learning from books is very much second best to learning from experts in the field.  This is to excuse our lack of naming the Agapes species – as far as we know, unlike the caseless caddis, we haven’t been able to see one let alone photograph one!  The same applies to this little black creature, we have a photograph but it remains able to travel totally incognito as we have not the slightest idea what it is!

When we began to tire, we packed up all our paraphernalia, and made our way slowly back along the river bank and across the water meadow disturbing two pairs of Mandarin and one duckling, a Grey Wagtail, a Heron lifting laconically from the bank, a small flock of Herring Gulls with a Lesser Black-Backed gull amongst them passing overhead and a Red Kite, hanging around above the grass cutting machinery in the next field, hoping for a supper of small fat mammals fleeing the machines.

30th May 2021 / Temp: 20.5 C / Water Level : Med

On what promises to be a gloriously sunny Whitsun day we head to the river over burdened with rucksacks, kick nets, buckets, trays, cameras, binoculars and, most importantly of all, the picnic!  Our dear daughte,r having offered to give up a couple of days of her holiday weekend to help with our kick sample which is becoming really too difficult for us to manage on our own, deserved a reward which I offered as soon as we arrived at the river – gin and tonic iced lollies!   They were absolutely delicious, even though, melting fast, they dissolved into iced crush.  We toasted Beltane with many cries of “Happy Belters!” which set the mood for the afternoon. 

 Beautiful Demoiselle (f) – copyright Rebecca Muirhead

We had found fresh Otter spraint (with crayfish pearls) at our first site on the way to the beach, scatterings of crayfish remains every 2 yards stretching for 30 yards and more fresh spraint on the beach.  The beach was alive with damselflies, beautiful demoiselle, banded demoiselle and common blue, thick with flowers, red campion, cow parsley, buttercups, stitchwort, vetch all growing tall and so thick we had to edge through to make a narrow path through the undergrowth, and the mayflies were rising with a good number one after another and then another and yet more in a steady flight all afternoon – wonderful to see the river so alive and delightful to watch as we tucked into Mowbray pork pies, baguettes thickly spread with homemade pates, black olives and watermelon & feta salad.

Common Blue Damselfly (m) – copyright Rebecca Muirhead

We resisted the temptation to fall asleep in the sunshine with the only noise the soft soporific sound of the river tumbling and splashing over the stones, and set to, dragging the net through the long, green hair-like tendrils of the water weed and kept to the edge of the river, the main channel being too deep and fast to wade out to.

We struck gold!  Almost immediately we captured this small creature in our net and watched it careering around the shallow bucket at top speed.  A completely new species for us which we hope won’t be too difficult to identify – always a forlorn hope – a faint possibility it might be a net-spinning caddisfly larva but all these grub-like larva look so similar we may never find out! 

Note:  This larva (above) has been identified by Ian Wallace of iRecord as Rhyacophila dorsalis, a free swimming caseless caddis larvae, now been confirmed as present in both kick survey sites.

However a goodish haul – dragonfly, damselfly and mayfly larvae (many flattened mayfly nymphs including 2 Yellow May) as well as the caddis larvae, the usual huge number of freshwater shrimps, plus water fleas, fish eggs, both biting and non-biting midge larvae.  We weren’t able to carry out a full survey but working with what we had, it confirms that the water here meets the “moderately impacted” category, disappointing given the number of species indicating clean water, but not unexpected. 

Breeding season for nettle weevils seems to be in full swing, three Pied Wagtails flying ackwards and forwards across the river, and up into a tall tree, bringing food for their nestlings, three Mallard, one male and two females, 3 Wrens, a Great Tit and as the afternoon wore on 4 or 5 Swallows suddenly appeared, weaving around the trees, feeding, before flying off.  Short by incredibly sweet to see Swallows, harbingers of summer.  Checking the last site, we disturbed a Heron but there were few other birds and no butterflies and by now it was time to pack up.

All afternoon the farm machinery had been working the water meadow, cutting the hay, and as we walked back along the river bank we startled a Buzzard  threatening a Crows’ nest, it immediately flew up and away, being chased by both parent birds squawking loudly and shouting abuse.  Three other Buzzards circled above the lines of drying new mown hay, all on the lookout for prey, two Red Kites were also on the look-out, one quite low over the grass, another higher up and also circling and finally we spotted a Kestrel joining in the small mammal hunt.  None appeared to be successful whilst we were walking through.

A good crop of dandelions by the five-barred gate, each one filled with lots of fruitworm beetles crawling between the petals feeding on the pollen.  What a wonderful day to spend in the brilliant sunshine of early summer, away from all the cares and burdens of this long, seemingly endless plague, where our only concerns are river creatures and nestlings.

28th May 2021 / Temp: 18.5 C / Water Level: Med

Such a relief to get out along the river and check what’s new, what’s happening with the Otters.  After an unseasonably cold and dry April, it has been an unseasonably cold and wet May – horrible weather, almost autumnal but definitely October, grey and dreary so although the sky was overcast, at least it wasn’t raining!

After the bumper sightings of so much Otter spraint on last month’s survey along this stretch of the river, we had high hopes of finding lots.  Sadly, not the case.  When naturalists refer to Otters as wanderers, we can certainly second that, as despite almost crawling along with a large magnifying glass so carefully did we check every inch of the banks and beaches, we saw nothing but two dollops of recent spraint on the corner of the beach at the far reaches of our stretch of river.  This exceedingly frustrating sighting fills us with deep gloom – as the river beyond that point is not accessible to us an we have visions of an adult female Otter and her cubs cavorting about just out of sight around the bend in the river, chortling happily!

However, searching for spraint meant we were looking everywhere and spotted this beautiful longhorn beetle going by the magnificent name of Anaglyptus mysticus which sounds very much like mysterious wallpaper!  Whatever, he’s a handsome beast, whose larvae feed for two years in the dead wood of broad-leaved trees (we spotted him on nettles close by a wood pile) and after overwintering under the tree bark, emerge in April.

Very heartening to see both Swans with cygnets and Mandarin with at least four ducklings, Mandarin do very well here and their numbers are ever increasing, but whether that is because a householder farther upstream feeds them regularly or not is impossible to tell, but is extremely likely. We saw several pairs of Mallard but strangely no sign of young but they could of course have been hiding under tree roots in the river when they heard us approach.  Little Egret, Pheasant, Chaffinch, Wren, Robin, a pair of nesting Crows in their nest high up in a tree and even a cockerel making his presence known.

There seem to be a fair number of alderflies (left) this spring, which is always a good sign of a healthy river where their larvae can thrive. 

Another sign of reasonably clean water is the number of mayflies (we only saw the most common, Green Drake) clinging to grass stems and tall plants and low hanging leaves of the trees along the river bank.

We also spotted this half-drowned insect caught in the cleft of a teasel stem; we eventually identified it as a Dock Shieldbug, bamboozled by its amber body, almost glowing reflecting the golden buttercup, when we are so familiar with its more usual dull brown colouring and striking shape, although evidently its body does show red when in flight but we have never recognised it when flying.

We had a friendly and informative chat with the owner of the property who allows us access to his stretch of the river to carry out our monthly Otter survey.  He was telling us that he had received a letter from a women who had been an evacuee at the farm when she was a child and was hoping to visit later in the summer with her family.  It was still a working dairy farm when she had stayed there and she was longing to revisit and see if she could find reminders of her old haunts.  We hope to hear or read in the local newspaper an account of her visit which should be fascinating.

9th May 2021 / Temp: 15.5 C / Water Level: Low

Dark and gloomy afternoon – difficult to believe it is the second week in May, usually the most beautiful month of the year but not this year.  Easy to look around at the lifeless fields and grey sky and think this is what a plague inflicted country looks like, the temperature in the brief periods of sunshine warm but the wind cutting and more like March than May.  The contrast from last year couldn’t be more marked – then we were basking in day after day of brilliant sunshine and balmy temperatures, this year it is so cold we see few insects and again no damselfies.

No sign of Otter spraint either, although there were signs of recent spraint at the second site on a favourite stone underneath the bridge, so they are still roaming around.  Signs of what may be field voles in the field, piles of short nibbled grass stems scattered around one area close to the river bank, well away from the mole hills which line parts of the field.  Lots of birds, a Green Woodpecker yaffling from the nearby wood, longtailed tits, robins, blackbirds, great tits, and the usual flocks of gulls and two pairs of mallard.

Just as we were leaving, walkng across the water meadow, there suddenly appeared a flock of swallows and house martins – out of nowhere – the swallows skimming inches above the grass no doubt feasting on the yellow dung flies which are everywhere!  The weather may not feel like May, but Swallows and House Martins appearing for the first time, it must be!

2nd May 2021 / Temp: 14.5 C / Water Level: Low

A quick check along the water lily stretch of the river where we have been told we will find Red Eyed Damselflies, the males of which rest on the lily pads waiting to pounce on passing females.  No luck.  They usually appear from April onwards we have been led to believe but of course this year the weather has been unseasonably cold with ground frosts still covering the ground on some nights, and although the sun was warm, the wind was from the north east and decidedly chilly so perhaps the water temperature is too cold for them to appear.  No sign of Otter at either of our two survey sites, or in the centre of Frome either where they appeared to be spending the winter months, so perhaps they have moved upstream to quieter stretches of the river.

However, it was good to see that there were a good number of birds – a Little Egret, a breeding pair of Mallard, Rooks, Crows, Wood Pigeons, Pheasants and Gulls around and over the fields and Longtailed Tits, Blue Tits, Robins, Blackbirds, Chaffinches and Wrens busying themselves flitting backwards and forwards across the river and in and out of the trees.  Last year’s cygnet, now almost fully grown but showing traces of brown on its wings, joined later by an adult swan who flew in repeated circles round and round over the river, the sound of its wings in the still air creating a moment of pure magic.

The brilliant yellow of the marsh marigolds and buttercups, pale mauve ladies’ smock were enough to bring out the orange tip butterflies, several bumble bees and a single tortoiseshell butterfly and even a mayfly so surely the damselflies cannot be far behind.

We also found a small clump of wild garlic, and picked enough for the a chorizo & wild garlic tortilla for supper – delicious.

Full of good cheer, we walked to the second site and spotted two Wagtails, probably the same breeding pair we had seen upstream a few weeks ago.  Three Mallard, a Tree Creeper, Wren and female Chaffinch so bird life is on the move despite the arctic conditions!

22nd April 2021 / Temp: 10 C / Water Level: Low

Final round of this month’s Otter survey on yet another glorious April morning with the sun shining, the river sparkling and Blackbirds and Chaffinches serenading us as we walked. No signs of Otter at the first two sites and only two Mallard on the water. But when we reached the third site after disturbing 7 or 8 Mallard and a Mandarin from the beach we found both Otter spraint (one fresh and five recent) but also crayfish remains and lots of pad marks which was very good news. Alongside the pad marks were deer slots and much smaller prints, possibly muntjak. Normally there are several Swans, Canada Geese and Mandarin Ducks sharing this beach so when the animals come down to drink it must be pretty busy! We followed the badger path to the next site and spotted yet more more spraint on the grass on two separate places – fresh and recent – surely signs of more than one Otter?

We met the farmer on the edge of the next field, he was becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of rain in a month which the weather forecasters say might well be the driest on record. He wants to get his crop planted but with no sign of rain for the next ten days or so he says there is no point as if the seeds do germinate, they will just shrivel in the ground. In passing, he mentioned that there were lots of Hares around this year and when his son was out the previous evening with his night-vision binoculars he had spotted ten Hares in all. As he spoke, two Hares raced past us uphill across the madow and turned and watched us before crouching down until they were almost hidden in the grass. We chatted for a few minutes more and then watched as another pair of Hares dashed across the bleached field, almost golden in the sun!

We moved off, he to his work and us to check out the next site. As we arrived at the beach a Kingfisher flashed upstream and a Blackcap, perched on a branch over the river, treated us to his full repertoire. Always a bit of a clamber down onto this last beach but it usually repays our efforts and today was no exception – no less than four fresh spraint and five recent spraint desposited on five different stones across the beach! What a bonanza! We have seen more spraint along the whole of our survey stretch over this last week than we have seen for years. All very heartening.

On the walk back, rather tired, we suddenly spotted a Swallow, the first of the summer, skimming low over the grass. The meadow was scattered with dandelions (some with small bees heads buried in their centres), red deadnettle, chickweed and field speedwell and lots and lots of dung flies so the Swallows should have a feast day. I’ve read that they skim low over meadows like these so they can hoover up the dung flies – the wheel of life, cows = cow pats, cow pats = dung flies, dung flies = Swallows, on it goes.

The dry and dusty path along the top of the field with its hedge of blackthorn in full flower and hawthorns in tight bud with ground ivy, white deadnettle and periwinkle half hidden in the long lush grass made a lovely area for the butterflies, difficult to count the Orange Tips as they were never still but at least two males and one female and what looked like a Small White. A couple of pear trees were in full white delicate bloom and the small orchard of apple trees were in tight bright pink bud – we’re beginning to dream of summer.

Suddenly a Kestrel swooped up towards us, hovered for a few minutes overhead, and then flew away to perch on a telegraph wire. We had seen an eviscerated pheasant close to the river bank at the beginning of our walk. The scattering of the softer breast feathers some way away from the still fresh and bloodied bones shown signs of a tussle – probably fox, but we wondered if the Kestrel might have had a share of picking over the carcus.

20th April 2021 / Temp: 15 C / Water Level: Low

A beautiful morning, fresh, clear and full sun and although Otter signs along this stretch of the river have become increasingly rare, we still enjoy the walk and noticing the river and water meadows waking up to spring.

When we reached the weir we are always aware that we have seen Otter spraint only once (last March) in all the time we have been surveying. So imagine our astonishment when we saw first one, then two and eventually counted four recent spraints along the stones and on an ants knoll at the top of the weir. We had a bit of a spring in our step as we moved on to check the next site – a well worn area around the roots of an old tree and here we found one recent and two old spraint, all displayed prominently on several large roots – all pretty astonishing!

Walking through the water meadow to the next site we pass the trees lining the river bank and listened to the Chaffinches, Robins, Blackbirds, Chiff Chaffs, Wrens and Blue Tits singing from the trees, such a delightful sound on a sunny spring morning. One one of the trees we spotted what we think is possibly a Chocolate Mining bee sunning itself on the bark. They don’t appear until mid-April and are gone by the end of May so we don’t often see them, not enough to be sure. We were sure about the Common Carder bee and the Bee flies we saw in the same area although the photographs were disappointingly out of focus.

Another beach and astonishingly, more Otter spraint! Three recent and one old spraint, the first we have spotted since last May and before that in April and May 2019. There seems a pattern here! Although our enthusiasm is tempered with the memory of our excitement last year and the hope that the Otters were returning to what once had been a favourite spot, only to have our hopes dashed, so we are a bit more circumspect this time, they may have just been passing through – hoping for the best but prepared for the worst!!

There were at least a dozen alderleaf beetles on the old willow – not a good sign, there seem to be so many this year. We wandered up and down the beach, hovering in the hope of spotting a Kingfisher or even a Grey Wagtail but not sign of either. We did see a Tree Creeper, a Goldfinch, a pair of Mallard and on our walk up to the final site, spotted two Little Egrets and a Heron.

No sign of Otter at our final site, but our first buttercups of the year, a couple of Orange Tips (male and female) and a Brimstone butterfly and on the walk back a couple of Small Tortoiseshells. We spotted a Buzzard, heard a Raven and some Jackdaws, Pheasants of course and those dratted Wood Pigeons and Gulls but also a Dunnock.

Sunshine, birdsong, butterflies and a sparkling, dashing river trailing bright green river weed and the first tentative mayflies – how our spirits are lifted and life becomes not just bearable but positively hopeful once again.

18th April 2021 / Temp: 14.5 C / Water Level: Low

If you are fortunate enough to have 20 20 vision, you might be able to discern a pond skater in the top right hand corner of this lily pad! Not a great shot but the first of the season so it has earned its place.

After the extraordinary harvest of Otter spraint along the river a couple of days ago, we saw not the smallest sign of Otter all along the two sites we checked. However, it was a glorious day, warm and sunny so we enjoyed checking the river and water meadow for signs of life, hoping for perhaps an early damselfy but were content enough with the pond skater and a few pond snails, also clinging to the lily pads.

We watched an early crane fly puddling about in the mud on the edge of the river which was unseasonably low. April has been both much colder than usual but also much drier and for that reason the retreating water has exposed a much wider muddy beach than is often the case. We didn’t know quite what the crane fly was doing, fluttering and dipping, although we have read that crane flies do take minerals from muddy beaches so perhaps that was its purpose.

We find it almost impossible to tell one crane fly from another, particularly given the lack of clarity in our only photograph, but given the habitat and the time of the year there are not that many to choose from and so we tentatively suggest it might be a Tipula vittata which do in fact breed in mud on the edge of streams, rivers and lakes. It’s at times like these than I so envy the owners of macro lens cameras – the difference between looking through my close focusing binoculars and then through my point & snap camera is astonishing.

Ladies smocks are always a welcome sign of spring and in the area of the meadow which for a large part of the year is under water, there were a dozen or so plants although there wasn’t a sign of another plant across the whole of the rest of the field. As if on cue while looking at the ladies socks we soon afterwards spotted our first sighting of a male Orange Tip butterfly checking one for nectar. There was also a small clump of garlic mustard nestling in the shady area of long grass; it is often an unnoticed plant but if one looks carefully, the flowers are always so perfect – simple but beautifully pure.

Another sign of spring, the increasing sight of bees, here there were several bees on the dandelions which covered the meadow, Ashy Mining bee and what was possibly a Hairy Flower Bumblebee, also an early visitor, difficult to be sure as it was buried so deep in the flower head it was difficult to decipher – whatever, it’s just so lovely to see them.

Always a joy along rivers is the peep peep warning note of the Kingfisher, “here I come” followed almost immediately by a bot of blue, a flash of orange, and gone, leaving an image on the retina which can be carried for hours. We were lucky to spot this bird flashing upstream then later back downstream and later still upstream again – magical. It was also good to see a few more water birds for a change, two Little Egrets, a Heron, two Swans, a female Mallard, we heard a Coot and spotted a solitary Mandarin Duck. There is a large flock of Mandarin further upstream so maybe they are becoming more widespread.

We were so pleased to see them all, so many times when we have walked this particular stretch of the river, apart from the occasional gaggle of Mallards there have been so few water birds.

Watching the families of small birds darting from branch to branch, tree to tree we spotted Great Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Wrens, Blue Tits, two Tree Creepers and heard Blackbirds and Chaffinches.

As we were watching a Buzzard circling and mewing high overhead, we were surprised to see it joined much lower down, barely clearing the tree tops, by one of the Swans which also began flying in continuous circles above the river, the sound of its powerful wings in flight echoing across the water meadows.

Crows and Rooks joined in the fly over, together with gulls, too high to identify, but the sound of the Green Woodpecker yaffling in the distance was loud and clear enough for anyone to hear.

Whether it was the longed for sun at last having some warmth which has brought all the birds out after what has seemed a very long winter an an unseasonably cold early April, is impossible to tell, but whatever the reason – we saw more bird species busying themselves along and around the river than we have seen for time. Signs of a promising year to come we hope. But whatever the year brings, it was a joy to soak up the sun and wallow in the pleasure of surviving this long, long, plague filled winter and know that the warm days of summer are still before us. So reluctant were we to leave the river that if a dark grey cloud hadn’t blotted out the sun and the north-easterly wind reminded us that it was still spring, we might be there still!

Finally, we cannot think of April along the river without mentioning the wonderfully thick clumps of Marsh Marigolds (or Kingcups) scattered along the edges of the streams and ditches, their large, deep golden flowers out-rivalling the lesser celandines which are beginning to fade and heralding the buttercups which are yet to arrive.

Writing about fading lesser celandines reminds me of the flowers we frequently see at this time of the year. They catch the eye with their white petals and yellow centre and often is the time when I have thought we have spotted a new, rare flower and then notice they are only celandines, fading as they grow older. We know how it feels!

15th April 2021 / Temp: 11 C / Water Level: Med

Full sun, blue skies, a slight chill in the air still lingering from the morning frost, a beautiful clear and sparkling spring morning and the perfect time to attempt the first Otter survey since February. Being laid low with an illness which didn’t shift for six weeks, left me horribly feeble and imprisoned in the house, so seeing the river looking shimmering and flashing in the sunlight as it tumbled helter skelter downstream, spraying over rocks and forcing its way through the river weed made my spirits soar and my view of life transformed!

Spring was confirmed by hearing the penetrating call of a Chiff Chaff’s repetitive song and the trilling song of a Wren as we walked along the river bank and clambered down to to our first site on a stony beach. Three lots of spraint on three separate stones, one fresh, two recent, interestingly showing no signs of crayfish in both the colour of the spraint or the contents. In fact we were so uncertain we poked the recent one with a stick and took a good sniff – and there it was, the distinctive smell of Otter, jasmine sweet with hints of lavender – someone should bottle it!

As we walked to the next site the path passed masses of sweet smelling blackthorn in full flower alive with swarming insects darting about high up in their branches. They looked like bees but they were so high and so fast it was impossible to tell. Lots of white dead nettle and comfrey nestled amongst the long grass under the trees and clumps of primroses close to the river and a single Swan making its way slowly upriver matching our slow pace.

There was no sign of Otter at the next fairly sizeable long beach which we wandered over, eyes checking every stone and log and grassy knots but without success. We weren’t surprised as we had never seen any signs on this beach before, but always checked just in case. But then, at the end of the beach where there was an area of coarse, gritty sand on the edge of the water, there were dozens of pad marks leading in and out of the water and on a fairly large stone nearby four spraints, all recent and nearby another recent spraint decorating another stone, and farther on yet another! It certainly looked like Otter heaven, so very quiet, no sound disturbing the peace but the rippling sound of the river, an area undisturbed apart from the occasional fisherman, with a mixture of fast and slack water, sparkling in the sun.

As we walked to the last site, I caught sight of an alder leaf beetle which had landed on my husband’s coat. I can’t remember a year when we have seen so many. Alders vie with willows as the most numerous trees along the river so we shouldn’t be so surprised, but this year they seem to have appeared so much earlier than ever before.

Lots of white dead nettle, comfrey, ground ivy and field speedwell as well as a bed of greater periwinkle, their flowers only just opening so showing a glorious deep purple instead of the usual blander blue.

We were quite astonished when we reached the final beach which we checked out of duty rather than expectation so imagine our surprise when we there were three separate large spraints left on three prominent stones widely spaced across the beach. This stretch of river has turned out to be Otter heaven indeed!

4th April 2021 / Temp: 13 C / Water Level: Med

We thought we might treat you to a rather more visible photograph of a Grey Wagtail, taken by our daughter, which is a considerable improvement of the fuzzy image of a couple of days ago! The absense of a black bib under its bill persuades us that it is a female. We believe the other Grey Wagtail close by was a male, but not in its full summer plumage so difficult to be absolutely certain, however, both looked as if they were busy nest building. Whether the male is the same one we saw a couple of days ago, we can’t know, but he was alone so it’s good to see a pair. Both of them were feasting on the masses of midges clouding just above the water; although the wind meant the day had an edge of chill, the sun was hot and strong low down, protected from the wind by the river bank.

Managed a short walk only along the river bank and an even shorter check along the carrier stream but it was left to my daughter to do the Otter survey of both stream and river. No recent signs but we were not surprised given local news of the Otters moving upriver. The river looked wonderful, glinting in the sunlight, as it rushed and crashed over the stones of the old Roman ford and we disturbed 7 Mandarin Duck altogether, as they rose in 2s and 3s from roosting places in the trees or from the river. A Mallard couple dabbling and exploring the water weed and a single Mute Swan, who took exception to our coming too close and took off with the maximum amount of noise and fuss but when its wings were fully extended and it was flying it looked and sounded magnificent. We had been amused earlier when watching it travel downstream to see it choose the fastest part of the current to sail past at top speed for all the world like a surfer riding the waves!

We caught the tail end of a Kingfisher flashing past, watched a Tree Creeper examining a couple of willow trunks, listened to a Green Woodpecker yaffling from the trees on the edge of the water meadow, spotted Jackdaws, Crows and Rooks, several small Wrens (one very crossly and agitatedly rushing up and down what was probably a nest site) a Buzzard slowly wheeling overhead, heard a Yellowhammer’s distinctive call, and watched Blue Tits, Great Tits and a brightly coloured Chaffinch high in the tree tops along the river bank.

While we rested under the willows, a small insect felll out of the tree and landed on my husband. The photograph is not very good (one of mine!) but clear enough to tentatively identify it as one of the myriad species of leafhoppers, most likely to be a Idiocerus herrichi which are ubiquitous around willow trees.

We were extremely surprised to spot our first crane fly of the year, which after a good deal of searching in books and online decided it could only be a Tipula lateralis, which is found around water from March to October. It has been seeing such a huge number of crane flies in this particular field which alerted us to crane flies appearing for a good deal of the year when we had only noticed them before in the autumn.

Lots of red deadnettle, and white, all over the meadow, scatterings of dandelions making bright splashes of deep yellow, lesser celandine and the very first umbelifer, a poor stunted cow parsley, but showing white so it shouldn’t be long before they appear in numbers.

A few other brave insects have begun to appear as well as the cranefly and leafhopper, and of course those uncountable numbers of dung flies who shoot up at almost every step. We spotted a 7 spot ladybird, a dark edged beefly, a buff-tailed bumblebee, and so lovely to see, a Red Admiral and a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly – it really must be spring!

30th March 2021 – Temp : 20 C / Water Level: Med

After nearly four long, long weeks we plotted a daring escape from my sick-bed, wobbly legged down the stairs, thick socked, booted and fleeced, sun-hatted and clutching my trusty Papillions we made it to the garage and into the car and away, off into the bright sunshine of a perfect spring day and headed 5 minutes down the road, parked the car, and then with thumb stick assistance slid down the river bank, perched on a conveniently placed tussock of grass, and looked and looked.

We basked in the hot sun and watched the cool fast water racing downstream, tumbling over stones and being forced into a log and finding a spout to spurt out of like a miniature fountain. We watched two male Mallards squabbling over a single female and saw one withdraw defeated while the pair happily nibbled their river weed. We saw a Grey Wagtail dash up, land on a stone, look around, flick his tail up and down and dash away.

We had a lovely chat with the kind farmer over whose land we walk to carry out our monthly survey who had spotted us when he was driving his tractor between fields and came over to say hello. He’s a keen ornithologist and we always swop our latest news and sightings; he had also spotted the Green Sandpiper when going about the farm and told us about a female Mandarin who was nesting in a tree quite close to the farmhouse and on a first outing had mistakenly led her 8 chicks into the slurry mistaking it for a pond. She immediately escaped but abandoned her chicks to their fate and the farmer and his son had the unenviable task of scooping them out and putting them into a cardboard box. They retired to some distance away and waited, and sure enough the female came back, fussed and squawked and led all 8 off to the river appearing to be none the worse from their mini adventure.

We decided to wander a little way upstream and although feeling stupidly feeble, I managed a slow hobble and was rewarded by this beautiful Comma which obligingly settled on a log, displaying his patterned wings and then slowly closing until the wings closed, presenting the perfect camouflaged underwings, so well disguised on the log that we would never have noticed it walking past.

We could hear a Blackbird singing its heart out, soon joined by a male Chaffinch, a Great Tit and a Song Thrush. We spotted a tiny Wren flitting amongst the plants at the rivers edge, saw a Brimstone, that most beautiful of Spring butterflies, fluttering downriver, followed soon after by the short peep peep warning cry and then the vivid flash of brilliant, vivid blue as a Kingfisher shot downriver.

We waited, watching while a cabbage white butterfly explored the opposite bank, too far away to judge the size, a couple of Crows hunted through the trees and we heard first a Magpie and a solitary Jackdaw. We waited, noticing the brilliant yellow lesser celandine star like flowers scattered along the river bank and the wild garlic, still in bud and the lovely red flowers on the larch and still we waited, and then – at last, the peep peep, the flash of blue and the Kingfisher flashed upriver again!! Halcyon Days indeed.

17th March 2021

Exciting win for the Floodplain Meadows Partnership and it was good to see that of their defining plant list for floodplain meadows, we have identified 80% of the plants growing along our survey stretch of the Somerset Frome. Sadly no signs of Snakeshead Fritillaries but there are very few truly wild specimens left and most have been planted.

https://www.theguardian.com/lets-live-clean/2021/mar/17/how-do-floodplain-meadows-affect-the-planet-nine-questions-for-the-winner-of-the-fertilise-the-future-contest

Signal Crayfish pearls (gastroliths)

We were reading an interesting piece in a Fishing Forum which was discussing American Signal crayfish pearls (gastroliths) which are often found in the stomachs of the trout they catch.  The photograph above is a selection of the ones we have found, usually  around Otter spraint.  We knew of course that crayfish are a staple part of our local Otters’ diet but we  had no idea that trout ate crayfish in such numbers as well.  Not being a fisherman, when I think of trout I inevitably think of food and do wonder what crayfish fed trout tastes like – delicious I imagine, rather like salt marsh fed lamb.

Anyway to get to the point, one of the Fisherman asked the group if they knew what he had found in the Trout’s stomach could be.  He said:  “They were in the stomach of a good sized still water caught Rainbow trout which was also pretty stuffed with crayfish. The water I fish has a large number of American signal crayfish which appear to form a staple part of the trout’s diet as almost every fish I catch has evidence of crayfish inside.

I have noticed these before but only singly and have always just thought them small pebbles ingested when the fish were feeding on the bottom, never found five before and the uniform shape is what made me realise that these couldn’t just be stones.  They feel cold to touch like stone, feel heavier than bone and are identical in shape, just vary in size.”

Another Fisherman in the Group explained that  “all crayfish have a hard outer shell (exoskeleton) composed of calcium carbonate but no internal skeleton. Their body is formed of three parts; head, thorax and tail. The carapace protects both head and thorax. As the crayfish grows it must moult/shed its shell and grow a larger one. However, to do this it has to have a store of calcium to draw upon. It achieves this by growing a pair of gastroliths in its stomach prior to moulting.

 The gastroliths are composed of calcium carbonate and are used to build the new shell. The process is repeated throughout the life of the crayfish. Any discarded shell may be eaten by the crayfish (or another crayfish) as an additional source of calcium. Just after moulting the crayfish is extremely vulnerable to predators as it no longer has its ‘armour plating’ to protect it from a predator.

3rd March 2021

Well, here’s a spot of good news.  Yesterday we posted our photograph of the unnamed and unidentified mussel/clam on the iNaturalist observations page in the hope that someone would notice it and help us with identification.  Help arrived prompty this morning from Canadian Ian Gardiner who confirmed that the shell was a European Fingernail clam  (Sphaerium corneum) sometimes known as a Horny Orb mussel. A great relief because they all looked exactly the same to us so we were pleased to hear from an expert. 

The clam is evidently “mainly a filter feeder and prefers healthy waters with good nutrition that provide a greater food source. These clams have exhibited a unique ability to climb up plants and structures around their habitat to find more optimal locations for feeding”.  So mystery solved. 

What a boon the internet is and how easy has it made identification and widened and increased our knowledge of the wildlife around us, however tiny and insignificant it might appear.  We have a lot to be thankful for.

26th February 2021 / Temp: 7 C / Water Level High

Another glorious morning, sunny and bright, clear fresh sparkling air with a lingering chill from the remains of the heavy overnight frost.  Perfect weather for checking Otter spraint.

We knew it was going to be a red letter day when we spotted a Kestrel perched motionless and watchful on a power line and who seemed pretty unfazed by our walking through the water meadows down to the river, we set up 6 Mallard as we approached the water and caught sight of a Chiff Chaff – a harbinger of spring.  No sign of Otter though.

The two Swans preening themselves on the wide beach got reluctantly to their feet and stepped disdainfully to the water and swam off without a backward glance.  Good that they moved as we then spotted a line of six clear Otter tracks across the soft gravel sand. 

Although we didn’t see them until they took off, we must have alerted a small flock of 20 Mandarin Duck to our presence because they flew up from their hidden place a little way up river and, unlike the Mallard which are always so noisily complaining if they are moved, the duck were silent apart from the sound of their wings flying off across the fields.

There were three Herring Gulls sitting in the middle of the field, one last year’s juvenile, Jackdaws shouting above us, a Raven croaked, a Buzzard mewed as it circled above the woods and a Spotted Woodpecker drummed loudly, echoing in the fresh, almost springlike air.  Blackbirds, Crows, Wrens, Robins, Great Tits and Long Tailed Tits yet another sign that the year is turning.  There were clouds of midges everywhere both above the fields and above the river.  We spotted Wolf spiders scattering at almost every steps, a couple of yellow dung flies, birds eye speedwell, the first of the year, red dead-nettle, snowdrops and even a clump of wild daffodils.

Climbing down the the beach of fine sand at our final site we were sad that there were no spraint, pad marks or any other signs of Otter.  Whilst there we checked for pea/fingernail mussels as this is another very small stretch where the river drops its load.  We collected a few, not many, but amongst them three or four new ones which we didn’t recognise.

We checked them with our eye glass and spotted what looked like the shell of a river limpet!  We were stunned, but the backward facing horn like apex surely couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.  We always thought the shape was so like the phrygian cap or liberty cap worn by the sans cullottes in the French Revolution, and this had the unmistakeable shape!When something you have desired for so long is suddently presented to you, when you are not looking for it but concentrating on something else entirely, the surprise is so strong for quite some time we didn’t quite know how to react.  We couldn’t wait to get home, check all the usual sources, contrast and compare, and when we did, it was confirmed.  We had actually found four minute river limpet shells, three no larger than about 3.5 mm and the other larger one was still only about 5 mm so they are not that easy to spot.

What a day!  What a triumph!  What celebrations – Joy unbounded!!

25th February 2021 / Temp: 10.5 C / Water Level: High

Very sunny morning, blue skies without a cloud but a chill wind.  When we arrived at the river there were already 5 fishermen scattered along the bank.  They were a pretty affable crew and well disposed to sharing their Otter sightings and fishing catches.  One had caught a 5lb Chub and another a large 7lb Pike which he said was the reason all the other fish were making themselves scarce – nothing like a cruising Pike to clear the waterways!

No sign of Otter and very little action, although we were pleased to see 7 Mallard in the flooded stream well away from the fishermen.  They scurried off when we approached but made no attempt to fly off so they probably realised we were only passing through and they could return to their favoured spot. 

Last year’s cygnet was also hanging around, we see a grandfather and young boy feeding him so he now thinks that everyone is coming with food and follows us as we walk upstream.  A few Long Tailed Tits, Robins, and the usual Jackdaws, Crows and Wood Pigeons.  We spotted the feathered remains of a Pheasant by the hedge, probably fox as the carcus was missing and the wing feathers intact.

We were intrigued to see a half circle trail of earth showing what was probably a mole’s shallow tunnel, but what was surprising was that it led from the path in an arc to the river and only stopped at the very edge of the bank.  There were no pad marks on the soft mud directly underneath, so presumably the mole realised he had run out of ground and beat a hasty retreat. 

23rd February 2021 / Temp: 10 C / Water Level : High

Beautifully sunny morning with blue skies and sailing clouds and although the wind was extremely strong and chilly, it proved exhilirating and we walked out with good cheer.  The water meadow and riverside is pretty empty of life at this time of the year so spotting a single yellow dung fly was something of an event!  Heartening, however, to see the tentative beginnings of life returning – scattered clumps of flowering lesser celandine made cheerful splashes of colour, good to see the occasional snowdrops right on the bank of the river and red deadnettle opening its blooms, as did a solitary daisy and common chickweed. 

But what confirmed that winter was finally coming to the end was the sight of hazel catkins glowing in the sunlight while being tossed about in the wind, hearing the Wrens singing for the first time for ages and Robins shouting out their territory to all and sundry.  No signs of any water birds down the whole length of our survey stretch and sadly no sign of Otter either.  There have been so many sightings and film of Otters upriver in the centre of the nearby town we weren’t at all surprised but the lack of water birds is rather concerning.  We saw a few other birds, a few Tits and of course Crows, Gulls, Pheasants and Wood Pigeons, heard a Blackbird’s warning rattle, spotted a couple of Magpies flying over and then three Buzzards circling above the trees which raised the tone a little but overall, little action.We scoured the wide gravel beach looking for signs of Otter without success.  Although the river was high and very fast, almost in spate, we could see from the lay of the grass that the whole beach had very recently been flooded so the water was dropping.

We love exploring this beach which in summer is a mass of flowering plants feeding butterflies, beetles, bees and hoverflies so a riot of colour, but it has its delights whatever the season.  On this occasion shreds of white plastic had been caught in the dead reeds when the water level dropped leaving them fluttering and streaming in the wind like so many ragged prayer flags on a Tibetan hillside.

As the current flows fast around the bend in the river it creates an eddy on the inside of the bend forming an inlet where the water is slowed and where it deposits finer material.  At the farthest end of the beach there are two pockets of fine sand where the water is slowed down yet more downstream of a tree and that’s where it drops sediment like sand and shells.  The advantage of winter when the beach is exposed is checking for duck mussel shells (two small closed ones today – very few on past numbers) and for the tiny pea mussels which are only about 4-5 mm in size.We have had innumerable tries at identifying this tiny mussel (which could equally be a nut orb mussel or a horny orb mussel!) and thought we had hit the jackpot with fine-lined pea mussel but abandoned that idea when we found out how rare it is.  When we looked at the list Penny Green found in the River Adur on the Knepp Estate :

Horny Orb Mussel, Lake Orb Mussel, Caserta Pea Mussel, Porous-shelled Pea Mussel, Rosy Pea Mussel, Short Ended Pea Mussel, Henslow’s Pea Mussel and Shining Pea Mussel

and realised that there are still further 8 species to chose from, we threw up our hands in despair and settled for calling them just “pea mussel” or even”orb mussel” and left it at that!  Whatever, these tiny pea mussels are really pleasing to see.  Although most only live for about a year producing one brood, under certain conditions their growth is much slower and they can live for several years and have several broods during that time.  These smaller mussels are hermaphrodites, which deliver living larvae.  Conditions must be pretty good here as the edge of the water in the small area of coarse, very dark brown sand, there is a line of these empty mussel shells.  What always draws the eye are the white ones, presumably bleached by the action of the water against the sand, but when we look closer, the duller but less worn light brown newer shells are just as abundant.  As mussels filter and thus improve water quality for other species such as fish, eels, otters etc, even such tiny creatures as these are a very welcome sight as they fulfil an important function in the overall quality and cleanliness of the river.

The great old willow tree is a bit of a shadow of its former self since its main limbs were lopped by the fisher folk so our main lichen garden and is no more, no doubt to a local stoat who use it as his hunting ground, but there was a nice clump of lichen on a nearby tree – fanfare of trumpets lichen with what may be the leafy yellow Candelaria concolor but I’m not altogether certain.

We walked back along the edge of the field hoping for some protection from the strong wind in our faces, checking the stream which was clogged with new plants, bright vivid green of new growth, and admired the beautiful arrow shaped leaves of the lords & ladies plant, splattered with dark brown sploges. Fingers crossed that all these signs really do signal that this long, dark winter, full of tragedy, worry and endless shocks is finally coming to the end and we can all welcome spring with a lightening of the heart.

6th February 2021 / Water Level : High / Temp : 7.5 C

A fine afternoon, chilly and damp but sunny spells and clouds drifting across blue skies.  The river was high and fast and what was particularly noticeable was the height and flow of the water in the carrier stream – quite the highest we had ever seen.  There were the first signs of early spring everywhere, a scattering of celandines and lots of clumps of snowdrops in flower all along the river bank, the hazel catkins a good length and even the wild chives were already 9 inches or so high when our cultivated chives at home have only just appeared.

 As we walked along the carrier stream we suddenly saw a Green Sandpiper lifting from where the stream broadens out as still and quiet as a mill pond – a perfect environment for Sandpipers.   This is the spot where our daughter spotted the Green Sandpiper the last time we came here so it seems extremely likely that the bird might have been here all winter and will stay until it flies off in March back to Sweden or Finland where it will remain until July. 

When we reached the pond area we saw lots of holes in the mud we did wonder if it had been pecking with its long beak searching for food except of course they rarely do this, they more usually pick up insects from just below the surface of the water so they are more likely to have been worm holes.  While we stood examining the mud, a Song Thrush began singing loud and clear from the tree nearby – so beautifully, so heartbreakingly and heard for the first time this year. 

There seemed plenty of tits, both Long Tailed and Blue Tits, we disturbed a fat little Wren flying low along the stream, Gulls, Wood Pigeons and Crows as usual overhead and we could hear the loud cackle of lots of Jackdaws but they remained hidden.  We heard a Raven’s croak twice during the walk, but whether it was the same or one of a pair we couldn’t tell, but we love to hear a Raven’s greeting us when we walk.

To add to our pleasure we spotted 2 lots of recent Otter spraint which was surprising given there have been so many sightings of Otters in the Rodden Nature Reserve in the centre of Frome, we thought they had probably moved on.   There were two or three other droppings which looked as if they might have been owl, possibly a Tawny Owl by the nearby neat pile of bones.

What there was in abundance were mole hills everywhere!  Almost all follow the course of the river, quite close to the banks, or near the hedgerows on the edge of the fields.  There must a goodly supply of earth worms in these water meadows given the number of mole hills and also the groups of badger setts along the banks on the rising ground.

18 January 2021 / Temp: 7.5 C / Water Level: Med. – Rising

A very quick dash between showers to get in an exercise walk which was pretty bracing in the north easterly wind and the water meadows did not look very enticing with the low cloud and gloomy light.  Of the two trees caught on the weir, the trunk of one looked to be petty substantial but heavy rains are forecast for the next few days so perhaps the river will rise enough to lift them off and send them downstream.  The Angling Club removed lots of trees and branches from the river back in September but unfortunately well before the Friends of the Somerset River Frome drew attention in their latest newsletter to the advantages branches and logs offer fish and other wildlife as shelter, as well as slowing the current to help prevent flooding. (See Instream Habitat on our September Blog page).

Nothing of interest all the way around but a lesser celendine in flower between two buds and a single cygnet on its own, a stark contrast to the abundance of spraint and the spotting of a rare winter visitor of only two days ago.  The cygnet was one of last year’s young, still retaining its grey-pink beak but having lost quite a number of its brown feathers making its unusually mottled colouring and appearance quite striking.

There were two fisherman along the bank, neither of whom had caught anything.  We stopped briefly to chat about the state of the river and  Otter spotting.  Not surprisingly one of them had seen Otters fairly frequently, always in the very early morning just after dawn so if we are serious about spotting we must get out earlier.  Although we are early enough risers, getting up at around 5.30am, we are slow to get going what with coffee and breakfast and newspapers and crosswords and our reluctace is reinforced  as it is difficult not to imagine a scenario when we arrive at the riverside to pace up and down in the cold for our hour’s exercise, see nothing but feeling convinced the Otters might be a couple of miles up or down stream or even just around the bend out of sight and we have only just missed it.  Everything comes to he who waits… we will wait and trust to our luck!

16 January 2021 / Temp: 9 C / Water Level: High

Oh the joy!  First walk for six long, long weeks tied to the house with a broken toe – too late for the earlier sunshine but ecstatic to be outside whatever the weather enjoying some longed for fresh air and exercise.

The rewards were manifold and totally unexpected.  At well spaced intervals all along the carrier stream we found fresh, recent and old spraint, chock full of fish bones and scales as well as signal crayfish remains.  The water from the river directed down the carrier stream was higher than we have ever seen it and although fast, a good deal quieter than the main river.  This would no doubt make more attractive hunting grounds for roaming Otters, particularly if these are the mother and two cubs which have been reguarly spotted father upstream in the centre of the town, both in the river but also recorded investigating the inside of a derelict boathouse.

When we reached an area where the carrier stream widens and the cattle have created beaches on either side, our daughter Rebecca (who had joined us for our support-bubble walk) spotted a Green Sandpiper on one of the beaches.  Oh for the sharp eyes of youth!  It flew off before we arrived but we were all so excited.  This is only the second time a Green Sandpiper, a winter visitor, has been spotted on our survey stretch, the first time not by us but last year by the farmer who is a keen birdwatcher.  Rather more mundane sightings were merely the usual Jackdaws, Rooks, Crows and Robins, and, rather more interestingly a Kestrel being mobbed by a Gull.

Walking back along the river bank, more fresh spraint and also anal jelly, and then spraint filled with blue-green irridescent beetle shells and snail shells which may or may not have been Otter (Owl pellets or Fox scat were suggested) and scat along a branch of a river bank alder. We also saw the remains of a blackbird, its bright yellow beak fully agape possibly a sign of its death throes.

The river was in full spate, fast and furious, churning around the flooded trees, making the most extraordinarily noisy rushing, swirling splashings which struck us that a recording might aid sleep in these turbulant times! 

Our hour being up we very reluctantly left the water meadows and headed home.  It was a brilliant first outing and as one of our number received his Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccination against Covid 19 the day before, we hope like the first signs of spring, this might be the first signs of the epidemic beginning to come under control, the tragic news of the relentless numbers of deaths will end and we can return to fully enjoying the woods and rivers once again.

January 2021

Happy New Year!!  And are we happy to write as it signals the end of plague year 2020!  Good riddance family traumas, marriage breakdowns, job losses, broken bones, arthritis flare up and hospitals and welcome 2021 – may this with its promise of Covid 19 vaccines and spring on the way be the new beginning we are all hoping for.

2020 wasn’t a complete disaster, we added an astonishing 59 new species to our records list including the wonderful Grasshopper Warbler (the first sighting for over 50 years!), dozens of saddle-case caddisfly larvae and our first sighting of Stoneloach and a Diving Beetle, the beautiful Black Stoneflower lichen and our favourite, the extraordinary Gasteruption jaculator (see photo of the year above) parasitic wasp!  We were pleased to add our Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly to Durham University’s wing measurement study and see our cauliflower slime mold photograph added to Ispot’s permanent collection.

But most of all was the delight and pleasure we experienced on our Otter hunts, trekking across the water meadows, clambering down the river banks, wading though the river with our dipping nets, we blessed our good fortune in being able to experience all the joys of a beautiful lowland river throughout the year.

16th December 2020

Breaking News :  Very exciting news that over the past ten days there have been 3 confirmed sightings of a mother and two cubs being spotted in the centre of Frome – upriver from our survey stretch.   Unfortunately two were at dusk and the morning sighting was bugged by heavy cloud so no photographs.  However, fortunately the two cubs exploring David Sugrue’s boathouse in early autumn were caught on his trail camera.

9th December 2020

Cardiff University Otter Project message: Last post mortems of 2020! Busy day in the lab; 17 new arrivals (12 from south Wales, and 5 from East Anglia), 7 post mortems completed, samples archived. From a tiny juvenile found on a river bank in Worcestershire, to a large adult male with royal otter spotting* from Wiltshire. We look forward to examining more otters in 2021.

*A Cardiff University photograph of a previous Royal Otter from Worcestershire.  These markings are extremely rare but very beautiful.

1st December 2020 / Temp: 6 – 9 C / Water Level: High

It was such a beautiful early winter morning as we set out to check for signs of Otter for our survey – full sun, blue skies and a light wind which was cold but as most of the time we were protected by the trees the air was not nearly as bitter as we expected.

No sign of Otter at the bridge or the tunnel but we had a good chat with a fellow who was magnet fishing.  It was the first time he had explored this particularly stretch of water and he was interested to see if there were any interesting finds.  He said that he enjoyed getting out in the fresh air through the winter lock-down and checking and clearing debris from the river was he felt a good use of his time.  His main catch was usually abandoned fishing gear and cans and even road signs which have been thrown into the water which he hauls up and disposes of.  He gets huge satisfaction in removing detritus which sullies the water quality and might trap fish but always with the hope that he might find something a little more interesting.

We understood what he meant about hoping for something interesting as we returned to checking along the river bank and the exposed beaches, but in fact eventually we were extremely lucky to spot Otter spraint not on one of the many large stones scattered near the water but among the leaves on the raised ground alongside.  We were quite surprised to see broken signal crayfish claws in the spraint as although they don’t hibernate, crayfish are usually much less active in winter so more difficult for the Otter to catch.

One of the many alders along the river bank was riddled with four or five pretty large woodpecker holes (probably the Great Spotted Woodpecker) while all the others are untouched.   Some of the trees were hung with  male catkins which always look particularly striking in winter, their branches laden with the soft purple coloured catkins, beautiful in the sunlight against the blue sky when there is so little colour about.

There were lots of specimen trees dotted amongst the alders, sallows and hawthorns along that particular stretch, Mahonia, Silver Variegated Holly, Weeping Willow and the winter flowering Daphne, it’s pale pink flowers scenting the air, all of which must have been planted 30/40 years ago by the size of the trees to create an ornamental woodland.  The tree which caught the eye was the Wild Service tree, vivid purple red leaves glowing in the sunshine.

While clambering with difficulty along the river edge below this little wood, searching the stones for spraint,  a squirrel scampered up to examine the ground inches from my boots, looking very fluffy and healthy, no doubt full of hazel nuts which had given it’s fur a glossy gleam. Suddenly it caught sight of me – gazed terrified for a moment, before leaping and dashing off at lightening speed.

The tits were very busy all along the riverbank trees, Great Tits, Blue Tits and family parties of Long Tailed Tits as well as Chaffinches and Robins flitting from tree to tree.  We heard a Magpie rattling, Jackdaws chattering, Crows cawing and a Blackbird’s warning cry.  A beautiful Little Egret, snowy white and majestic, lifted languidly from a tree and flew off across the water meadow, while a pair of Mallards puttered about on the river.  In the meadow on the other side of the river we spotted Herring Gulls making a great deal of noise as they explored the grass around the cattle.  Surprisingly these were the first time we had seen this species of gull on the river.

Several flowering crab apple trees which stood in a line in the clipped contoneaster hedge were absolutely laden, their fat orange-red fruit looking ripe and luscious.  Good news for the birds when winter really sets in, these smaller fruits often attract Redwings, Thrushes and Robins – and the laden trees offer more than enough for a feast for all!

12th November 2020 / Temp: 10.5 C / Water Level: High

Blue skies, full sun, chilly, breezy wind – the perfect day for a stroll by the river and the rhyne and the meadow in between where every tree seemed to be covered in moss and lichen, including these tiny Bark Bonnets appearing out of the moss on a tree trunk leaning precariously over the river.

On another tree we spotted a growth of Black Stone Flower lichen, a first for the river, and one of my favourite lichens, the only one I know which has the lovely black or brown sheen on the underside of its leaves.

We saw flies every where, clustering together sunning themselves on tree trunks, or in the case of this rather beautiful Noon fly, on fence posts.  He stayed still long enough for me to get a photograph, a little out of focus, but clear enough to see his gold face and tiny gold paws as well as his striking gold epaulettes.

Despite the beautiful morning, there seemed to be little other activity, few birds – a Blackbird rattling its alarm call as it flew out of the hedge when we arrived, two Ravens calling and flying overhead, flocks of Jackdaws, Rooks and Crows flying down from the colony up on the hill and strutting and circling the cows and a solitary Heron sqawking loud enough to draw our eyes and we spotted it, flying over, quite some distance away.

What was most notable, apart from the flies, were the cluster of wasps which appeared amongst the ivy.  We have rarely seen so many so late in the year, the longer we looked, the more appeared so possibly they are helping the queen set up a new nest.

But the most striking sight was of course the lichen, at its best at this time of the year – the Common Greenshield below nestling among the wood bristle moss glowing in the sunlight, each growth forming a delightful garden along the branches of alder, ash and hawthorns along the river bank and willows beside the carrier stream.

The river was flowing fast and high, turbulent over the stones of the old Roman ford and swirling and flooding all of the beaches where we often see Otter spraint, so maybe if there was a passing Otter, he didn’t stop and leave a calling card  – no sign of Otter anywhere.

4th November 2020 / Temp: 9.5 C / Water Level: High

Glorious sunshine and despite the low temperature and early morning frost, the sun was so warm it felt lovely to be pottering along the river.

We decided to survey the small brook which was the tail drain of the original meadow flooding system running along the edge of the fields.  We decided to work up from where the leat or brook drained into the river as we had read that damselflies and dragonflies often lay their eggs in the quieter, calmer waters of these waters.  We had intended to check it in the spring but didn’t manage it so it seemed a good idea to check it now before winter sets in.  The bed of the brook had quite a layer of mud on top of which was a good layer of fallen leaves so we tried a figure of eight pond dipping technique through the river weed, and the aquatic plants.  It proved to be difficult to do this without disturbing the muddy bed as the water here is not very deep but we did manage to scoop up a few treasures.

As might as have been expected, there were lots of snails!  Every net had at least three or four pond snails and rather more interestingly, an almost equal number of juvenile fish.

Unfortunately most of our photographs were out of focus – but we believe the pond snails above look like wandering pond snails, and the juvenile fish a common groby.  We were sad that the photo of the ramshorn snail was not clear enough to ID.  There was a common minnow (we see lots of these in the main river). 

The above is the only clear photograph of a pond snail.  However, we did find freshwater hoghouse, a swimming mayfly nymph and what we think might have been a caseless cadisfly larva.  The one somewhat intriguing find was a black spider that may or may not have been a water spider.  We have never seen one before, the photograph was out of focus so we are really unable to confirm or deny.  

Not altogether a satisfying morning’s work but the weather was glorious, it was lovely to be out in the sunshine (despite the noise of the constant guns of a pheasant shoot in a field on the edge of the woods a couple of fields away) and it was interesting to see there was lots of life despite the cold weather and frosts beginning to set in.

28th October 2020

A wide ranging report in The Frome Times about the current state of the Somerset River Frome including an interview with Sue Everett of Friends of the River Frome and details of a town council meeting where this matter was raised and discussed.  A letter will be sent to the local MP asking for intervention with  Wessex Water to reduce the amount of raw sewage flowing into the river.  The Council and Friends of the River Frome are also liaising with local farmers to tackle the problem of run-off of pollutants into the river.   To read the full story, follow the link below.

http://www.frometimes.co.uk/2020/10/28/heal-our-river-river-frome-in-poor-condition-due-to-pollution-and-sewage-overflow/

16th October 2020

An interesting article in The Guardian (below) on the Environment Agency’s latest data on river quality in rivers in England also has links to its detailed analysis.

The stretch of the Somerset River Frome which we survey was deemed Moderate for both Overall Water Body and Ecological but Fail for Chemical pollution. 

A couple of areas leap out – every year from 2013 until 2018 the Chemical content was deemed Good but in 2019 it was deemed Fail.  As there was a stricter test for this latter period, it is difficult to know whether the pollution is worse or whether it is simply down to the new test – common sense would lead one to suppose the latter.

The Somerset River Frome receives discharges from sewage works at Rode, Beckington and Frome, trade effluents e.g. cooling waters, boiler blowdown water and dairy effluent.  For our stretch the pollution caused by continuous sewage discharge by the Water Industry and pollution from agricultural and land management (PBDE and Mercury and its compounds) were already in the river when it reached the beginning of our survey stretch, i.e. the confluence of the Mells River with the Somerset River Frome.   The Environment Agency data doesn’t give details of whether the pollution becomes heavier downstream from that point so it is difficult to draw any conclusions about the health of this particular stretch of river. 

Nevertheless, it is very likely that cattle from the dairy farm and the creamery factory outfall add pollution to the river.  50 years ago the entire River Frome was category 5, the highest pollution category, so there have been improvements, enough for Dippers, Kingfishers, Brown Trout, Stoneloach and invertebrates like saddle-case caddis fly, damselfly, mayfly and dragonfly larvae to survive. 

However, despite PBDEs being banned in Europe since 2004, these pollutants are still found in virtually all European river fish, including those of the UK.  We do not know the long term consequences of these pollutants, not only on the entire flora and fauna of the river but also on the Herons, Little Egrets, Otters and others at the top of the food chain but  Bernd Heinrich in his book A Year in the Maine Woods as long ago as 1994 drew attention to these consequences when he observed: “Eagles along Maine inland lakes, rivers, and marine habitats reveal some of the highest levels of mercury and PCB contamination ever recorded, and they are among the slowest to reproduce of any birds in the whole of North America”.  He also notes that the Bald Eagles near his log cabin although they built nests were unable to produce young which he believed was a direct result of these pollutants.

We contacted the Freshwater department of Earthwatch and asked for their thoughts on the Environment Agencies failing our water quality and our finding so many species which are normally only associated with clean water.

Kes Scott-Somme, Research Assistant in the Freshwater department replied:

“I would imagine that the Environment Agency ran more tests than just for nitrates and phosphates, so it may be an issue of something like heavy metals or other chemicals. Saying that, you can have high nitrate levels and still have a lot of animals present, nitrate pollution tends to lead to excessive growth of problematic algae, but if you have a resilient and healthy system, it can cope with quite a bit of nutrient input. Similarly, phosphate pollution is usually quite localised, so you might have an area where they are impacting the environment, but further downstream could be ok.

The Environment Agency operate using the Water Framework Directive ‘one out, all out’. So if you fail for chemical pollution, your river fails to get good status, even if you have lots of wildlife present. This is actually a good principle, because if you have issues of chemical pollution, your system may be able to cope with it to an extent, but if it continues, over time the quality of the habitat will deteriorate. It’s the science version of being ‘on the safe side’ and to make sure there isn’t any ‘optimistic sampling’.”

We found this extremely helpful and we hope to take up her suggestion of testing the water on a regular basis to check any signs of deterioration from the present levels.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/17/rivers-in-england-fail-pollution-tests-due-to-sewage-and-chemicals

FROM THIS…..

TO THIS!

“Sound the All Clear!!”

15th October 2020 / Temp : 10.5 C / Water Level: Falling

Another day another Otter hunt – the last stretch of our survey sites and one which we hope to complete quickly as the strong north-easterly was at our back, chilling us to the bone.

No signs of Otter at any of the four sites which was a great disappointment, but Mallard gallore!  We counted 27 altogether as well as 17 Mandarin Ducks, 2 Heron and 1 Little Egret so good news on the water bird front; we also heard a Green Woodpecker and a Raven and watched two Buzzards slowly circling above us as we walked. We reached a stretch of river bank protected from the wind so the sun felt warmer and despite the lack of Otter signs it felt good to be able to enjoy such a beautiful stretch of countryside.

Lots of mushrooms like shaggy inkcaps growing in the grass, bracket and honey fungus appearing on the trees and lichen covering the tree trunks, branches and on the fallen logs (like common powder horn above), cows in the fields, large flocks of Rooks and Jackdaws scavenging together in the fields and clouds of gulls circling above the hillside, turning leaves, golden yellow and pink-purple, scarlet berries and black-purple sloes – a classic autumn scene.

14th October 2020 / Temp: 13.5 C / Water Level: Falling

A beautiful autumn morning, the air clear and fresh and good tree cover provided protection from the stiff wind and we were excited when we came across the site of a Roman ford which the owners of the land had told us about.  Extraordinary to think that just from the sloping banks on either side, the stony bed and the shallowness of the water the site is perfectly discernible.  As if to salute the area, an Otter had left his calling card on a large (possibly Roman!) stone!   Interestingly it’s the first spraint we have seen in years without any signal crayfish remains and instead of our usual red coloured spraint, this one was a classic black tarry specimen.  Whether this shows that the crayfish are already retreating to their burrows for the winter or some other reason, we will be interested to see as the season progresses.

We were surprised to see this beautiful opium poppy in flower so late in the season and to notice quite a few hawksbit and scarlet pimpernel also in flower.  The hedgerows had a good crop of sloes and hawthorn berries and the grass under the trees scattered with fungus so it was definitely autumn.

Finally, a totally unknown lichen growing on the bridge.  Something to spend the long dark winter nights trying to identify – like chasing rainbows, totally pointless but enjoyable.   However, there is of course an outside possibility that it is Varrucaria mamoria a crustose endolithic lichen which grows on limestone rocks and as the bridge is built of limestone, is it a strong likelihood?  Hmmm.

13th October 2020 / Temp: 8.5 C / Water Level: Falling

Beautiful morning, occasionally hazy, mostly full sun so despite the chill wind it felt wonderful to walk feeling the warmth on our backs and seeing the sun turning the autumn leaves to cascades of gold. 

As we set out we were thrilled to see a Common Crane flying overhead – a sign of long life – so we continued walking with a definite spring in our step!  When we heard of a Common Crane in Coleford in August and sightings over Colliers Way we never expected to see one here but all very exciting! We heard a Raven and a Buzzard, saw Magpies, Robins, Blackbirds, Rooks and Jackdaws and first a Swan and Cygnet gliding downriver past us, then two adult Swans and on the way back a Little Egret, also flying over.

Sadly, still no sign of Otter at any of the three sites we surveyed and despite walking the entire river and back along the stream in the hope of some signs of life, but to no avail.   We still have two more stretches to complete the survey and hope to see spraint or pad marks at one of them at least, otherwise it begins to seem like a repeat of the past couple of years when Otter signs disappeared with the end of the optimal period for Signal Crayfish in October.

Everywhere was very quiet with virtually no signs of life; a number of common wasps, noon flies and cluster flies on almost every fence post, but the pink leaved guelder rose branches were heavy with bright shiny scarlet berries, the spindle trees were displaying their striking Schiaperelli pink, there were crowded clusters of fungi in the grass and the sun was shining – autumn is not without its compensations.

11th October 2020 / Temp: 13.5 C / Water Level: Med

No signs of Otter at either of the two sites but what was striking at the first was the field yet again flooded when the pasture had barely time to recover from last autumn and winter’s almost permanent flooding.  This year there were 18 Mallard  swimming around in the newly created lake (last year it was gulls).  When three more Mallard flew over and looked to land, it seemed the whole group set up the most almighty racket, quacking away, possibly telling them to clear off there wasn’t enough room, despite the large area of water available!  We did wonder why they preferred the flooded meadow to the river – possibly warmer as it was in full sun all day?