Return of the Swallows, Bluebells and Blossom.

Enjoyed a relaxing weekend watching the natural world as it stirs from a cold winter. A refreshing walk on the beach at Wesward Ho! on Saturday revealed no wrecks but three huge jellyfish on the strandline. Portugeuse Man of War, I think - still waiting for confirmation from the Marine Conservation Society.

The 23^rd April marked the arrival of the Swallows or the advanced party as I like to call it. One lone Swallow swooping low across the field as though it was celebrating St. George’s Day. 

Two devoted Goldfinches are singing to each other and flitting across the garden and yesterday they were nest building stealing away the new leaves from the Willow. I like to think they are our regular visitors. Last year their tiny nest was located precariously atop the twisted Russian Vine, I am hoping to photograph them in the Apple Blossom so watch this space. Another vibrant visitor pecking at the blossom was a male Bullfinch followed by his much duller mate. The Doves are cooing in the Willow and the Wood Pigeons are cooing in the Spruce so all is well with the world once again. 

In my local ancient woodland the first of the Bluebells are up and uncurling together with the first of the flowering Ramsons. Cow Parsley, Alexanders, Early Purple Orchid, Red Campion, Greater Stitchwort, Dog Violet and Speedwell are sparse but more are to come and there are traces of colour from the new leaves on the old trees. It is so sheltered in this wooded valley that the ferns have been prevalent all through the winter, but new fronds are now unfurling and form a vivid green backdrop to the Bluebells.

Though slightly more formal, another sheltered location is RHS Garden Rosemoor. We joined the RHS last year, money well spent as it has enabled us to photograph Rosemoor in all its glory through the Seasons.  On our visit on Sunday we took several shots of the Apple and Cherry Blossom and Rhododendrons. The Tulips were big bright and beautiful  at the entrance and the RHS National Rhododendron Competition was running in the newly built Exhibition Centre. This National Show has over 60 classes covering all types of Rhododendrons, as well as trade and advice stands plus magnificent displays of Magnolias and Camellias too. The Rosemoor Exhibition Centre will be officially opened soon.

 FOOTNOTE

The old bridge by the pink Cottage at Peppercombe has had a bit of a battering over the past couple of years. Holidaymakers staying at the cottages, associated service vehicles who knows, it used to be traffic-free here. I don’t normally vent but stupid, inconsiderate drivers are ruining some of Devon’s historic bridges. Huge 4x4’s amongst other non-country road friendly vehicles are continually clipping the ancient stones causing structural damage. SLOW DOWN PLEASE. These bridges are in most cases “Listed” by English Heritage. Some years ago we volunteered for the Images of England project, photographing listed buildings throughout Devon

Images of England is a ‘point in time’ photographic library of England’s listed buildings, recorded at the turn of the 21st century. You can view over 300,000 images of England’s built heritage from lamp posts to lavatories, phone boxes to toll booths, mile stones to gravestones, as well as thousands of bridges, historic houses and churches. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/default.aspx

Clovelly Lectures: “Can NATO defend Britain: What is the Russian threat “ ?

Clovelly welcomes General Sir Richard Shirreff KCB, CBE, to Clovelly’s Forum on World Affairs, International Relations, Security & Defence and Science & Technology. A platform for providing information for informed choices.

Now in its 7th year, Clovelly Lectures has found a reflective and responsive audience. A curiosity and interest in listening and discussing matters that directly impact our lives in a fast changing and confusing economic and political world.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

General Sir Richard Shirreff KCB, CBE was educated at Oundle and Exeter College Oxford. In 1976 he was commissioned into the 14th/20th Kings Hussars.

IRAQ, NORTHERN IRELAND, KOSOVO. General Sir Richard Sir Shirreff saw active service during the Gulf War. He was appointed as Commanding Officer of the King’s Royal Hussars in 1994, deploying to Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Queens Commendation for Valuable Service in November 1995.By 1998, he was promoted to Commander of 7th Armoured Brigade and deployed to Kosovo.

CHIEF OF STAFF and COMMANDER OF THE ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS. In 2003 General Shirreff was promoted to Chief of Staff at Land Command, rising to General Officer Commanding 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division and was deployed to Iraq in July 2006. In 2007 he was appointed Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and promoted to Lieutenant-general.

DEPUTY SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER NATO. In March 2011 Shirreff became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe and promoted to a Full General. He retired from the post in March 2014.

Honorary Colonel of Oxford University OTC. Honorary Colonel to the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. Advisory Board of Genderforce. 

General Sir Shirreff is currently the Honorary Colonel of Oxford University OTC and served as the Honorary Colonel to the Royal Wessex Yeomanry from 2005 to 2015. .

“2017: War with Russia: AN Urgent Warning from Senior Military Command.” 

In 2016, Shirreff published a book entitled “2017: War with Russia: An Urgent Warning from Senior Military Command.” War between Russia and NATO would be possible. Britain would have a large role to play.

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CLOVELLY LECTURES
CHAIRMAN : SIR MICHAEL BURTON . KCVO CMG
DIRECTOR : THE HONOURABLE MRS ROUS
RECEPTION-LECTURE-DEBATE-DINNER
Saturday May 20th 2017 at Clovelly Visitor Centre
“Can NATO defend Britain: What is the Russian threat “ ?
Speaker: General Sir Richard Shirreff KCB, CBE
DEP: SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER NATO 2011 to 2014

For tickets and further information please contact:

Clovellylectures11@gmail.com or Tel: 01237 431200

www.clovellylectures.com

Plea to help save one of Devon’s most endangered species

A conservation project which aims to save one of Devon’s most endangered animals is now urgently seeking donations from the public so that it can continue its vitalwork.

The freshwater pearl mussel might not look as stunning as some wildlife but the conservation charity Devon Wildlife Trust describes it as a ‘remarkable animal’ and one that can have a positive impact for us all.

Freshwater pearl mussels filter bacteria and algae. So a large population helps to clean up our rivers for the benefit of other wildlife - and people. They have been wild residents of Devon’s rivers for thousands of years. But now the mussels are declining significantly across their range and in the whole of Devon they are only found on the Torridge and the Taw.

But even these rivers are too polluted for the mussels to breed successfully. Although they can live to 130 years of age, the youngest freshwater pearl mussels on the River Torridge were born in the 1960s. Now Devon Wildlife Trust is warning that if they are unable to breed, this unique animal will be lost from the county.

Devon Wildlife Trust is working to clean up the river and to breed mussels in captivity - so they can survive in healthy water at their earliest stage of life, before being returned to the wild. However, it now needs to fill a £9,000 funding gap in the project and is asking people to help.

In her role as Freshwater Pearl Mussel officer for the national ‘Restoring Freshwater Mussel Rivers in England’ project, Devon Wildlife Trust’s Izzy Moser has been working with landowners to help improve water quality in the River Torridge for the last two years. She is also involved in the captive breeding programme, as part of this nationwide effort co-ordinated by the Freshwater Biological Association.

Izzy Moser said:

“This winter, we had some great news: the first signs of breeding success for freshwater pearl mussels from the River Torridge in more than 50 years!”

This animal's amazing life cycle involves a stage of living on the gills of Atlantic salmon or brown trout, so right now, the fish – and the mussel larvae - are all in tanks in a hatchery in north Devon. Once they are big enough, the larvae will drop off the fish, down to the gravel bed of the tanks and then grow to become juvenile mussels. And the juveniles then have a real growth spurt, growing approximately 200% bigger in their first year.

But even in unpolluted rivers, only an average of five larvae from the five million released by an adult mussel each year will survive to become an adult freshwater pearl mussel.

The next stage of the project is crucial. Izzy will have to move the juvenile mussels from their gravel habitat in the tanks, to specially selected points of the Torridge riverbed - and then monitor these sites to check on the progress of the first young mussels on the river since the 1960s.

Although this project is largely funded by Biffa Award, Devon Wildlife Trust has to find a further £9,000 to cover the costs of this critical work on the Freshwater Pearl Mussel project over the coming months.

Izzy Moser said:

“Despite the projects recent successes, there is still a significant amount of work to be done on a catchment scale to reduce run-off from farmland, roads and domestic sources and protect our local waters. We have already planted 80 trees and 250 willow stakes this year to reduce riverbank erosion, and fenced 1km of river but there is much more to be done!”

Anyone making a donation to the Freshwater Pearl Mussel appeal will be playing a role in the rescue plan for one of Devon’s most endangered creatures. And by supporting work to improve water quality in one of Devon’s grandest rivers – the Torridge – they’ll be helping a wide range of other wildlife too, including otters, dragonflies, bats and kingfishers.

People wanting to make a difference to one of Devon’s most endangered species should visit

http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/freshwater-pearl-mussel-appeal

Photos show Freshwater Pearl Mussels in a tank at the hatchery in North Devon; Izzy

Moser in the River Torridge; Devon Wildlife Trust’s Izzy Moser inspecting a freshwater pearl mussel for larvae