Meet Chris, he very kindly delivered a very splendid load of Ash woodchip that will do very nicely on our paths.

Many thanks to Northumberland County Council for my free hedging pack and free tree pack. There were 60 hedging whips of Dog Rose, Hazel, Hornbeam and Hawthorn which I have used as hedging alongside the track up to Dunces Houses. There was also a 10 tree pack consisting of Wild Cherry, Rowan, and Silver Birch which will be planted to replace some of the Ash that we have lost to Ash die back.

Its that time of year when our Jays are constantly visiting the oak trees and collecting acorns for their winter stashes.

Each Jay can take and bury up to 3000 acorns ready to recover during the winter months.

Its been shown that they remember about 70-75% of the locations where they bury the acorns.

Meet the latest member of the the Clarks Bog Team:-

Meet Polly the Polaris Ranger, an electric All Terrain Vehicle that I’m hoping will make things easier for an old man to move ‘stuff’ around the site. Not so many wheel barrowing trips I hope!

Many thanks to Kevin Davies of Davies Tractors who supplied the ATV, he went over and above. He negotiated a swap with Gateshead Council (thanks to them for cooperating) from the original grey bodywork to a camouflage pattern. Once the swap was agreed Kevin sorted out the swap.

A very friendly and helpful company daviestractors.com

I came across this pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers that were dancing around the power poles and having a real battle:-

One of our Tawny Owls paid a visit recently.

I unlocked one of the hides this morning only to find two dead bodies on the floor. Two rats had met a gruesome end, which was a puzzle as there was no sign of a perpetrator!

I considered calling in Vera but then the chief suspect showed himself in the window:-

Yes our Mink is still at large!

It seems to be a goods season for Grey squirrels this year. I think I have seen more on the reserve this year than any other.

I haven’t seen a red yet although last year it was November before I saw a red.

Here are a few pictures of our current invaders:-

They are busy plundering the hazelnuts at the moment!

We had our first visit of the term from Collingwood School today. They brought with them the present of three 12 week old ducklings.

I hope they are going to be happy in their new home, they now have a slightly bigger pond from the one at school (a paddling pool). These ducklings were a school project raising them from the egg.

Meet Quacky Chan, James Pond, and Destiny, the names given to the ducks by the kids! They were all asked for suggested names for the 3 and then voted on their favourites and these are what were the favourites.

After a little research I think these ducks are the breed called Khaki Campbell, not one I’ve heard of before.

A big thanks to the Morpeth cubs who joined me on the reserve on Tuesday evening.

First they all made Hedgehog houses and then they all pitched in to help put down some wood chippings on one of my paths, until bad light stopped play.

We had a wander through the reserve in the dark, thankfully we didn’t lose anyone!