Dry Stone Walling at Wallington

A sunny day was enjoyed by staff and volunteers at the dry stone walling training day lead by Wallington Rangers Tom and Matt. After Matt had explained the basics we all got stuck in clearing the stones back and preparing the area ready to relay the wall.

A short break was well deserved after all that heavy lifting.

The wall started to take sharp as a home was found for each stone.

We didn't quite get the wall finished as we ran out of stone, but we were all pleased with our days work. Thank you to Tom and Matt for teaching us the art of dry stone walling.

Pond Life

For the forth Wildlife Wednesday of the summer holidays it was time to get the pond nets out. We had a perfect sunny day and lots of fun was had by children and adults delving into the depths of Gibsides historic Lily pond in the shadow of George Bowes' iconic Monument to Liberty.

The nets were cast into the pond to see what slimey treasures would be revealed.

  

After some wet toes and a hunt around for the

emergency pair of socks at the bottom of Mum's handbag...

...the wonderful, alien creatures of the pond...

Azure Damselfly

 

Southern Hawker Dragonfly

   

 ...and the air, could be identified!





Running Around in Circles

Roe deer are the only species of deer present here at Gibside and late summer is  their breeding season or 'Rut' as it is known.  Dominant bucks with their well developed antlers are busy patrolling and marking their territories by fraying young trees and scraping the ground with their feet as a warning to other trespassing bucks.  Fights occasionally break out between well-matched bucks and these can be brutal resulting in serious injury or even death for the loser.

Roebuck during a bout of rutting

Roe deer scrape done to leave scent from glands in feet

Tree 'frayed' by roebuck to leave scent from gland between antlers

Yearling does usually come into season first and the older does, with their new kids born during April and May, a few weeks later.  When in season the doe will be closely accompanied by the buck and they will endure bouts of chasing and games of 'follow the leader'.  The doe leads these chases followed closely by the buck, often nose to tail,  and often on reaching an object such as a tree, bush or hillock they will often chase around it in circles many times forming a well defined ring known as a 'Roe Ring'.

Roe doe with new kid

Roe deer ring around tree

All this rutting behaviour can take its toll on the bucks and between bouts they can sometimes be observed taking a well-earned rest.

All this rutting is tiring work

As you walk around Gibside or your own local woods you may be lucky to witness some of this behaviour or come across some of these signs.

Bird Ringing at the Stables

As part of the Wildlife Wednesday events over the summer holidays, Richard Barns a local bird ringer has been doing bird ringing demonstrations at the Stables. Richard rings birds all over the borough, logging vital data which he then passes onto the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). They then use the data to find out important statistics about bird population sizes and their breeding and migration patterns.

Thin nets called mist nets are set up along rides in wooded areas and checked regularly to see if anything has been caught. This is Richard with an early catch as he has five birds. The bags are used to keep the birds in a safe, calm place while they can be processed. Morning is the best time for bird ringing as it's when the birds are at their most active.



 Back in the court yard at the stables the birds are processed. This is where the birds get a ring gently put on their leg (the ring can move freely up and down and is just like you or me wearing a braclet) they are then weighed, their wing measured, sexed and aged. The birds colourations and feather patterns in their wings are used to tell their sex and age.

  



Female Great-Spotted Woodpecker in the hand



When the birds have been processed its time to release them. Sometimes the birds fly away straight away, but if your lucky they lie for a short time while they get used to their surroundings. They soon hop up though and fly away to get on with their day.

Catch Richard for one last time bird ringing at the Stables on 22nd August. You can also come along and pond dip with us on the 15th August and learn about animal tracks and signs on the 29th August.

Mini Beast Hunting

Hollow Walk Mini Beast Hunt

 

It was a fairly overcast day when the time came for this years mini beast hunt, but this did not darken anyones enthusiasm. Fun was had be children and adults running round the meadow trying to catch something in their nets. The tricky part was identifying what the creepy crawly was!

Even the Rangers joined in with the fun, demonstrating through dance the different way that Drangonflies and Damselflies hold their wings.

Invasive Species

During the summer months our rangers and volunteers spend a great deal of their time controlling invasive plant species.  Invasive plants are robust and fast growing and if not controlled spread rapidly shading out more delicate flowering species.  Many are non-native having been brought here as colourful additions to parks and gardens.  Examples include rhododendron, japanese knotweed and himalayan balsam.

Japanese knotweed

Japanese knotweed grows typically 2m to 3m tall at a rate of up to 10cm a day and is difficult to control as tiny fragments of root can grow into living plants.  The stems are rather like bamboo shoots, the leaves large and and spikes of tiny white flowers are produced in late summer.  It is best treated with a herbicide although even then repeat applications may be required.

Volunteer Mathew pulling himalayan balsam

Himalayan balsam is a member of the bizzie lizzie family and grows rapidly to a height of up to 2m or even more in favourable sites.  The stems are very succulent, the large leaves spear-shaped and pinkish flowers are shaped like an old fashioned policeman's helmet giving rise to its alternative common name.  A shallow root system makes this an easy plant to control simply by hand pulling.

Rhododendron

Rhododendron is an evergreen shrub with dark green leaves and attractive large purplish blooms.  We contol this by cutting back stems with saws and loppers and treating the stumps with an herbicide to prevent re-growth.

  

The bees are back in town!

The observation beehive in the corner of the Walled Garden

The beekeepers of the Newcastle Beekeepers Association brought a colony of honey bees back to our observation hive this weekend.  The bees have been overwintering in another hive at Gibside's Cut Thorn Farm.  Usually they would have been back in the observation hive much earlier in the summer, but because of the unseasonable weather, it was safer to leave them at the farm.  The beekeepers were waiting until the weather was fine for a few days running, so that the bees had time to orientate themselves in our Walled Garden.

Open the door of the hive and watch the bees at work

There are more conventional hives in the corner of the garden, behind the pond, but the observation hive has doors to open on each side, so you can watch the bees working inside the hive through a perspex window. 

Next time you're at Gibside have a look in the hive and see if you can spot the queen bee.



Up close with honey bees

There is a chimney up the side of the hive which has two pipes running through it.   At the back of the hive, at about two metres high, the pipes emerge and this is how the bees get in and out of the hive.  It is designed so that the bees go in and out above human head height, so they don't come into contact with people. 

The entry and exit holes for the hive

Once they come out of the pipe, they can make their way to the nearest flowers in the garden.  The herbaceous border which runs along the wall from the greenhouses was planted with bees and butterflies in mind, and it contains lots of nectar-rich flowers.