Best Boot Forward

Best boot forward Newsletter for East Lothian Countryside Volunteers

November 2017 November. Hacking, bashing and burning. At this time of year there are plenty of heavy-duty conservation tasks available for those willing to take them on. Great for keeping warm on a winter’s day and good mental therapy too, though perhaps not so good for joints and muscles. My advice? go easy and take all the tea and biscuit breaks on offer. The next issue of BBF will be a Christmas SPECIAL!!! So get your creative juices flowing and if you can bring yourself to, try to get into the festive ‘zone’(?) and send me any content you can to make it a bumper edition!

Conservation Volunteer tasks scheduled this month: New faces always welcome! If you would like to join in with a group for the first time, please get in touch with the relevant ranger to confirm details.

Sun 12th Nov & Wed 6th Dec Aberlady John; jharrison@eastlothian.gov.uk Thurs 23rd Nov & 7th Dec Yellowcraig Dave; dwild@eastlothian.gov.uk Thurs 16th Nov Path Warden team task dpriddle@eastlothian.gov.uk Tues 28st Nov North Berwick Sam; sranscombe@eastlothian.gov.uk Tues 28st Nov Levenhall Nick; naitken1@eastlothian.gov.uk Wed 29th Nov Dunbar CVs Tara/Laura; dcv@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please ‘Join’ ELCV on Facebook!

East Lothian Countryside Volunteers have a new Facebook group! Anyone can see the group page and the information and news that has been posted on it. If you join the group you can post your own (related!) news and comment too. It should be a great way to spread word of all the good things we do to a wider audience. Please get involved if you can. And if you have yet to climb aboard this new-fangled social media band wagon thing, perhaps this is just the excuse you need to give it a go...

A dedicated ELCV website is also being created - watch this space!

Stranger things have happened at sea? This picture of a skeleton on a surfboard was taken at the boating pond in North Berwick. Not quite sure of the story behind it… but how about a caption competition? Send your ideas to kbaird@elothianmail.net Please send in ideas or content for the next ‘Best boot forward’ to kbaird@elothianmail.net Apologies for any omissions, inaccuracies and typos.

Volunteer activity

Litter pick at Aberlady Bay Path Wardens digging

Digging apple trees out of the dunes at Yellowcraig.

A fantastically productive beach clean in North Berwick

Path Warden Tool work

Gorse control on North Berwick Law

Tea lady Tara making a brew for DCV.

Junior Rangers hard at work making hay whilst the sun shone

Step improvements up Yellowcraig hill The Aberlady line-up before some serious buckthorn bashing

QUIZ NIGHT Haddington Saturday 18th November 7:30pm Masonic Hall, Hardgate, Haddington There are several teams lined up to battle it out for the glory of winning the “Golden Pickaxe” but still room for more! If you don’t have a team to join then just come along and join one on the night.

Please email Thomas tom@tbower.plus.com by 8th November if you are thinking of coming so he can let the hall know numbers.

Seasonal wildlife: The Whooper Swan A new column to highlight wildlife that is out and about at the moment (and an attempt to broaden the BBF content away from butterflies, moths and spiders). All contributions welcome, from finished articles to suggestions for species to feature in future.

Several bird species migrate to Scotland for the winter (‘warmth’, after all, is relative). In East Lothian, Pink-footed geese are perhaps the most familiar of these, with their noisy overhead skeins a comforting sign of Autumn. Another winter visitor is the Whooper swan. They come in smaller numbers than the Pink-foots, but as they are large and white they are a conspicuous sight when they gather together to feed in muddy fields. Whooper Swans are white with a black and yellow bill and black legs and feet. They can be confused with the similar Bewick’s Swan but Whoopers have more yellow on their beaks - at least half is coloured yellow - and we don’t (shouldn’t) get Bewick’s in Scotland. The yellow bill markings are unique and its extent and pattern can be used to identify individuals.

‘Our’ Whooper swans spend the summer breeding in Iceland. Both parents take care of their cygnets when they hatch and come the autumn the family fly south together.

The cygnets stay with their parents over winter and start the return migration with them in the spring.

Whooper swans can be noisy! They have a very loud trumpeting call which sounds a bit like an old fashioned car horn and in flight their wing beats make a whistling noise. On a more sombre note, the global spread of H5N1, commonly known as bird flu, reached the United Kingdom in April 2006 in the form of a dead Whooper Swan found in Scotland.

Whoopers in Iceland © Katty (lucky me!)

Meet the Trustees!

Over the next few issues we will meet the brave/foolish/kind souls who have volunteered to be Trustees of the East Lothian Conservation Volunteers (ELCV). charity. First up: Dave Oldham (Chairman) and Dick Gill (Treasurer) and Jane Campbell (Levenhall rep)

Who’s who: Dave Oldham Group(s) you volunteer for: Path Wardens, Friends of Aberlady, Quadrats at Barns Ness, ELCV Trustee Background: We moved to Haddington in 1988; I worked in Edinburgh and Dalkeith for the Edinburgh Green Belt Trust, then for the Falkland Heritage Trust in Fife and finally as the Access Officer for West Lothian Council based in Linlithgow before I retired in 2012. Then I started volunteering for the Haddington Car Club and Paxton House redrafting their Designed Landscape Plan but dropped these as I volunteered more for the ELC groups. We have also been on a number of long far away holidays especially in the Far East.

Why do you volunteer/best aspect of volunteering: being outdoors, exercise and meeting and working with people. Best aspect is that it’s not something that I have to do and can stop doing if I don’t enjoy..

Favourite volunteer tasks : Grass cutting on the Tyne Path; Litter picks at Aberlady; Quadrats at Barns Ness Most memorable volunteering moment: Being a founder Trustee for the Path Warden’s charity and then revising that to establish ELCV

Favourite place in Scotland/UK/World: St. Kilda/Peak District National Park /Hong Kong Place you’d most like to visit: Vienna Best wildlife experience: seeing a Gyrfalcon on Sandoy in the Faroes Wildlife you’d most like to see: Blue Whale If you could be a British wild animal, what would you be: Otter Favourite wildlife joke: What’s the difference between a wild cat and a comma? One has claws at the end of its paws and the other is a pause at the end of a clause Lunchbox essential when volunteering: An apple When I’m not volunteering I like to… walk, visit art exhibitions and go to the theatre Hidden talents: Holiday planning and hiding things!

Who’s who: Dick Gill Group(s) you volunteer for: Background:

Aberlady Nature Reserve Originally from Solihull West Midlands. Moved to Aberlady from Croydon in 1992 – what a culture shock! - with partner Jackie and 2 young kids Jessica &Alex. Never wanted to go back South, kids now moved on. Started volunteering in 2013 after early retirement from previous (desk-bound) career as auditor/ bureaucrat.

Why do you volunteer/best aspect of volunteering?

Always wanted to work outdoors (even if it’s not paid!).

Favourite / least favourite volunteer task?

Most memorable volunteering moment?

It’s all good. Especially guddling about in the wader scrape removing reedmace in August …

Finding massive caterpillars (forgotten species, doh) in reeds in wader scrape, August 2015

Favourite place in East Lothian

Picture above… it’s an Elephant Hawkmoth Definitely a (real ale) pub, but which one ….?

Best aspect: helping conserve a special place on my doorstep in Aberlady

Oh you mean in nature.

Best wildlife experience?

Aberlady Bay LNR in spring & summer Orca camp in Johnstone Strait, Canada 2003 – orcas, sperm whale, bears, moose!

Walking holiday in Montenegro May 2013 – flowers, insects, snakes!

Walking holiday in Zagori, Northern Greece June 2017 - flowers, insects, snakes!

Wildlife you’d most like to see?

If you could be a British wild animal, what would you be?

Favourite wildlife joke?

Don’t have a list, anything new and/or unexpected Hare or Fox

Lunchbox essential when volunteering?

When I’m not volunteering I ... [other hobbies or commitments?]

Flask of proper coffee (no offence, John!).

Hidden talents?

What do you call an alligator in a vest? An investigator!

Other hobbies: Home brewing Other commitments: 2 days a week as volunteer adviser at Haddington Citizens Advice Bureau What you see is what you get .

Who’s who: Jane Campbell

Name: Jane Campbell Background: Retired as PE/Guidance teacher in 2015 Joined EL volunteers in September 2016 Have lived in Musselburgh for five years.

About your volunteering: I love the variety of tasks undertaken with Duncan as group path wardens but would like to see the Tyne Path group reinstated on a more formal basis.

Other volunteering involves litter picking at Levenhall (I try to do six hours a month) which involves some interesting finds!

Also do one session a month at Levenhall with Nick Aitken.

Occasional volunteering connected to Sustrans.

Looking forward to getting involved with the Otter watch group Thomas is helping to organise.

Some favourite places: I enjoy exploring East Lothian by bike and walking.

Skye is a favourite place of mine but increasingly too busy!

I also like the Braemar area.

The Northumberland Coast especially around the Seahouses /Beadnell area is lovely as well although camping can be challenging there because of the wind.

Other interests: These include gardening, reading, baking and knitting ( nothing complicated but have recently sent twenty five baby bonnets for newborns in Malawi to an orphanage connected to my previous work place).

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Path Wardens scoop Paths for All award!

East Lothian Path Wardens have been maintaining our local path network for 6 years with an impressive 54 volunteers recording 2,161 hours of volunteering in 2016/17. They have become established as the people to go to with any path-related issues, making them a great asset to their local communities and the local authority. Duties range from practical management of paths, through to raising funds for project work, securing grant awards and successfully becoming a charitable group. 2017 saw the group commence a series of free guided walks for the public with plans to develop a series of walk guides.

Back On The Sap

By Abbie Marland

When last I wrote about my home-reared Red Admiral butterflies, they had found a novel source of food in my garden. I expected them to duly disperse. But instead, October brought some new adventures.

Firstly, I realised that two of the butterflies were sporting an unusual colour aberration called “bialbata”, which means they have an extra white spot on the red wing band, and I’d be able to distinguish them from others.

Secondly, my curiosity about the sticky white “sap” flow grew, as I watched it attract many flying insects as well as Red Admiral and Speckled Wood butterflies. The Red Admirals would turn up early each morning, even in cool and windy conditions, often staying until dusk. They made repetitive "searching” flights to approach the spot through a tangle of willow branches. The butterflies clearly disliked wasps, and would interact by actually treading on them (rather a high risk activity). After a bout of feeding, each butterfly would plummet down into long grass, then emerge to bask in any available sun before making a return to the sap.

What was this strange substance? Presumably something with a very attractive scent, containing nutrients of high value. I knew that Red Admirals often feed on rotting fruit in autumn and also use sap flows on oak, but this was on willow. No aphids appeared to be present, so it wasn’t honeydew processed from tree fluids and thus digestible to the butterflies. I wondered if the odour was detectible to the human nose, so with some difficulty (the stuff is quite high up) I collected a small sample.

The first inhalation test proved positive. To make sure, my elder son bravely volunteered to do a sniff control. His reaction clinched the answer. A strongly pungent, but oddly familiar, erm, bouquet.*

A Red Admiral feeding on the sap, in competition with a wasp

I carried on enquiring, and learned that that some species of hoverfly actually spend their larval stages inside sap flows, possibly feeding on yeasts which, too, are hosted. And then the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. A disease occasionally occurs on a variety of trees when they have been under stress/damaged. The sap leaks out from the tree, but is full of bacteria which ferment the sap to produce various by-products, including alcohol and carbon dioxide. The resulting sticky pungent froth has the truly brilliant name of “Slime Flux".

So, my butterflies were indeed drunk on fizzy willow pop. This encouraged me to check the flux after dark for nocturnal visitors. Sure enough, I found caddis flies, moths, mosquitoes and large slugs feeding there.

November has arrived, and only a single original Red Admiral still visits the willow. She is getting a bit worn, but I hope to see her around this winter when the weather allows, and look forward to a new generation in the spring.

Congratulations to my youngest son who first observed butterflies on the sap, and to those who have helped solve the mystery: Alastair Sommerville, Colin Legg, Nick Morgan and Iain Cowe.

*Oh, and if you were wondering: Sports socks.

Nocturnal visitors to the sap: A Caddis fly (species unknown) and a Moth (the jury is out as to whether the species is a Dark Chestnut or a Chestnut)

Things to do More SUSTRANS volunteer tasks in East Lothian 8th November (10.30am-2.30pm) Snowberry removal, Ormiston Details at: www.sustrans.org.uk/events or contact Richard renglish@eastlothian.gov.uk

TWIC Autumn Conference!

In Pursuit of Wildlife Date: Sat 25 November 2017, 10:00 - 16:30 Location: Stow Town Hall, Scottish Borders Cost: FREE, including buffet lunch.

Numbers limited and booking essential Details: The TWIC Autumn Conference will provide an opportunity for all those interested in wildlife recording and conservation across the region to join together at the end of the season. Talks will showcase a number of recording initiatives and citizen science studies in southern and central Scotland that are furthering our knowledge of wildlife and sometimes using novel approaches in pursuit of their target organism! The event will also host TWIC's AGM and the presentation of the Bob Saville Award.

Full programme and how to book at www.wildlifeinformation.co.uk

Botanical Society of Scotland/RBGE talks Lectures are free and held in the Lecture Theatre of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR at 6pm. Tea is available from 5.30 pm. All welcome!

THURSDAY 30th NOVEMBER, 2017, 6pm Dr Richard Milne, Edinburgh University The secret world of rhododendrons THURSDAY 21st DECEMBER 2017, 6pm Dan Watson, NTS Wildlife from a wild place – the flora and fauna of Glencoe National Nature Reserve Lectures continue in 2018; these are just those scheduled for the remainder of this year.

Join a Ranger-led Hike!

November 26th Winter wonderland: A chance to warm up on this 9 mile (14.5km) circular walk around East Linton in the winter time using good tracks and quiet roads by fields, woodlands and rivers.

Details, including how to book at: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/rangerevents

Moth answers from The Last Page

The Last Page East Lothian names Following on in a similar vein to last month’s terms of vernery, Duncan has supplied me with a list of local East Lothian names for birds. And quite frankly in many cases they are much better than the national ‘accepted’ versions.

Unless you happen to be called Mavis. Perhaps we should start a campaign to put them back into general use?

Can you match these birds to their East Lothian colloquial name? Answers below.

1. Little Douker

6. Skirl Crake

a. Turnstone

f. Quail

2. Wet-my-feet

7. Ox-eye

b. Moorhen

g. Treecreeper

3. Gowdy Duck

8. Bark speiler

c. Blue tit

h. Curlew

4. Stankie

9. Big Mavis

d. Long-tailed tit

i. Goldeneye

5. Whitterick

10. Juffit

e. dabchick

j. Mistle Thrush

Spot the moth! Moths on the wing in autumn are often the colour of autumnal leaves and so really hard to spot! There are five species of moth hiding in these four pictures. Can you find them and do you know what they are? (Answers below and on previous page.)

Where in EL? Collective nouns answers: 1e; 2f; 3i; 4b; 5h; 6a; 7c; 8g; 9j; 10d Moth answers: November Moth, Canary Shouldered Thorn, December Moth, Mottled Umber, Feathered Thorn

Last month’s answers: Knowes Mill, East Linton and Giant Clam in grounds of Gosford House