SHORT FILM: LIVING AND WORKING ON LUNDY ISLAND

Following several sneaky cameo appearances, North Devon's iconic Lundy passenger and supply boat the MS Oldenburg has her own starring role in Living and Working on Lundy Island, the latest short film in the Boat Stories series.

In the Boat Stories series so far we have been up the rivers and out to sea, often catching a glimpse of the Oldenburg as she sails out of Bideford or Ilfracombe. We now travel with her out to Lundy to meet the Island's warden Beccy MacDonald.

On an island with a tiny working population, Lundy workers learn to multi task. Beccy overseas research projects and, working in the field herself, monitors puffins and surveys seals. She meets the Oldenburg as it delivers day trippers, wildlife enthusiasts and researchers and offloads essential supplies - like clotted cream - she keeps visitors informed - running guided walks and snorkel safaris. As a member of the island coastguard team Beccy's radio crackles constantly as she is the contact for all visiting charter boats and fishermen. Along with Jonny, her partner, Beccy fills divers’ air bottles and when housekeeping is stretched in the busy season, like the rest of the team and volunteers, she mucks in to help with bed making!

This short film captures the beauty of the island and its wildlife but also highlights an issue which is having an impact on marine life in North Devon and around the world. 

Boat Stories Producer, Jo Stewart-Smith says "We were walking along the coast path filming Beccy doing her seal survey when she turned and said ‘there’s something here I really want you to film.’ She’d spotted the pale seal with some plastic caught around its neck, which a diver had reported to her. While the other seals, hauled out next to it relaxed, totally chilled, the pale seal was rubbing her neck and scratching at it with her flipper. Beccy explained that unfortunately because Lundy is a rocky island it would be impossible to dart the seal to try and remove the entanglement because she’d jump straight into the sea and drown. 'It may upset people' she said, 'but it is something they should be aware of – the marine litter has quite a negative impact on all our wildlife, even on something as large as a seal.'"

Natalie Gibb from North Devon Coast AONB led Clean Marine project adds “It’s a fabulous film. Although incredibly sad, the example of the entangled seal on Lundy is a great way to put the issue of marine litter into perspective. I’ve seen many distressing images of injured wildlife, but I have never witnessed it directly, especially so close to home. It’s something that I hope many people can all relate to, with it happening right on our doorstep. It also reminds us that every piece of rubbish the Clean Marine and other volunteers pick up is worth removing. It’s that little bit of incentive we all need to keep us going when we head out on our next beach clean.”

Along with the other Boat Stories short films, Living and Working on Lundy can be viewed on the Boat Stories website www.boatstories.co.uk where you can read more about the making of the film.  Additionally, this coming September and October there will be two free Boat Stories celebration events, in Bideford and Ilfracombe, where members of the public will be able to view the complete series of films and meet the contributors and crew.

 

Simon Vacher filming Lundy warden, Beccy MacDonald

MS Oldenburg ferry sailing to Lundy 

Photos copyright Boat Stories Jo Stewart-Smith (All rights reserved)

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The Boat Stories series of short films is available to view free online at www.boatstories.co.uk.

Filmed and edited by Simon Vacher

Music by Rosamund Harper

Directed & produced by Jo Stewart-Smith

Baby boost for Devon beavers

New film footage proves that England's only wild beaver population is growing. The footage, taken by local film-maker Tom Buckley, shows baby beavers - known as kits - taking their first swimming lessons and being helped through the water by their mother at an undisclosed location on East Devon's River Otter. The births signal the latest chapter in a story which has attracted great support from the local community. Devon Wildlife Trust is leading the River Otter Beaver Trial in partnership with landowner Clinton Devon Estates, the University of Exeter and the Derek Gow Partnership. 

Devon Wildlife Trust's Mark Elliott said: "We are thrilled that the beavers have bred. The baby kits appear fit and healthy and the adults seem as if they are taking their parenting responsibilities very seriously. It tells us that the beavers are very much at home in this corner of Devon. "The slowly expanding population of these wild animals will help us to gain valuable insights into beavers and their environment - both in terms of animal behaviour and any benefits and effects on the surrounding river system." Mark also makes a plea to people who might want to catch a glimpse of the new additions to a local beaver population: "The beavers have proved enormously popular with local people and we understand that many will now want to see the kits for themselves. But like all new parents, the beavers will need a bit space and peace at this time. So we ask that visitors take care not to disturb them. This means remaining on public footpaths, keeping a respectful distance from them, and keeping dogs under close control especially when near the river." 

A population of beavers was first confirmed on the River Otter in February 2014. This was the first time that breeding beavers were known to be living in the English countryside for as much as 400 years. In summer 2014 Defra expressed its intention to remove the animals citing their potential disease risk and their unplanned introduction as reasons. It was at this stage that Devon Wildlife Trust built a partnership of supportive local landowners, academic institutions and beaver veterinary and management experts to offer a different solution, to turn the situation into England's first wild beaver monitoring project. In January 2015, Devon Wildlife Trust received a licence from Natural England allowing the beavers to stay. The licence also signalled the setting-up of the River Otter Beaver Trial - a project which will measure the benefits and impacts of the animals on local landscapes, wildlife, communities and businesses, especially farming.
Natural England's licence stipulated that the beavers had to be health screened. This meant capturing all the adults which were known to be living on the river. The captures were carried out in February this year - the tests found them clear of disease.

Mark Elliott of Devon Wildlife Trust looks ahead to the beavers' prospects: "Beavers give birth to an average of three kits. If both mothers have given birth that could mean that there are now up to 15 beavers on the River Otter. Beavers are relatively slow breeders and it's possible that not all the kits will make it to adulthood. This means the expansion of their numbers during the coming years will be steady rather than rapid. The River Otter certainly has room for a slowly growing population. The kits present us with a unique opportunity to study the development of a beaver population in the English countryside."
 Dr Sam Bridgewater, Nature Conservation Manager for Clinton Devon Estates, commented on the arrival of baby beavers: "The birth of the kits is very exciting as it indicates that beavers can thrive in the lower River Otter. We still have much to learn about the impacts of an expanding beaver population on the Devon landscape. Although we know that beavers can improve the ecological health of rivers, we also know that their damming - particularly in upper catchment areas - and tree-felling behaviour can cause conflict. One of the key objectives of the partnership over the five year trial is to gather evidence to clarify the positive and negative impacts of this species and the management techniques that will likely be required in the future to minimise any detrimental impacts of an increasing population."
Tom Buckley captured the fabulous footage of the beaver and kits. He said: "When I saw these new born baby beavers (kits) I was totally overwhelmed and thought it must be a miracle. My first sighting of this year's new born kits was when I saw their mother swimming with one of them in her mouth to an area nearby where their father was waiting to greet them. One of the kits, however, seemed extremely unhappy to be out in the big wide world and as soon as its mother let it go it rushed back to its burrow. Not surprising really - the world can be a very scary place. This was possibly their first experience of what lies outside of their burrow." The Wildlife Trusts are at the forefront of bringing back beavers to the UK. Read more at http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/beavers

Film of Devon's wild beaver kits taken by Tom Buckley who spent many weeks waiting patiently to capture this footage. These wild kits are a boost to the River Otter Beaver Trial which began in Spring of 2015 led by Devon Wildlife Trust in partnership with landowner Clinton Devon Estates, the University of Exeter and the Derek Gow Partnership.

All footage Copyright Tom Buckley (All Rights Reserved)

Counting Butterflies “Fleeting encounters, lasting memories”

I read the news today - over ten million Painted Lady butterflies are winging their way to the UK. Until the Buddleia starts flowering in my garden I’m happy watching the Speckled Wood as they dart and dance together over the garden before separating and settling momentarily. My first butterfly sighting in January was a Tortoiseshell which I disturbed when cleaning the downstairs loo. It settled on the window sill and remained dormant until late April, which I am sad to say was when it died. To date in my garden or on my walks I have seen ten Speckled Wood, ten White, three Orange Tip, four Common Blue, one Peacock, five Brimstone and a Small Heath plus a Silver Line Moth, Speckled Yellow Moth and finally a huge Drinker Moth caterpillar. When my Buddleia and Hydrangea are in full bloom in July, they are normally covered in Red Admiral, Peacock and Tortoiseshell but I will be watching out for those Painted Ladies and hope for the return of a seldom seen Clouded Yellow or Fritillary. Spotting them is easy, photographing them, however, is quite different. Get too close and your shadow and the lens scares them away, annoyingly not too far away, normally on the next flower. I now use a long lens with an extension tube so they don’t know I’m there. Here is a photo of a Speckled Wood taken a couple of days ago. It rested for quite a time on the fresh new leaves of the Rhododendron, conveniently opening and closing its wings as if posing for the shot. I wish they were all so accommodating. “Fleeting encounters, lasting memories” was just one of the aptly descriptive quotes on a wonderful Radio 4 programme presented by Brett Westwood, who you may have just seen on BBC Springwatch Extra. The programme, Natural Histories, Butterflies, depicts how butterflies have enthralled and influenced people throughout history. 

 

Speckled Wood Photo Pat Adams (All rights reserved)

Drinker Moth Caterpillar Photo copyright Pat Adams (All rights reserved)
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•  Brett Westwood is a radio presenter and author, specialising in natural history.  
• Wikipedia Stub https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_WestwoodI
• Butterflies Natural Histories http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05w99rp

• Butterfly enthusiasts should also visit The ButterflyConservation UK website for information or help with identifying species.
• Read all about it  http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/11-million-painted-lady-butterflies-set-UK/story-26705200-detail/story.html
• North Devon AONB News 

UPDATE. About 20 Painted Lady butterflies spotted on the Hartland Heritage Coast 21st June 2015