World War II Practice Bombs found on Fenn’s and Whixall Mosses

December 10, 2019

On the 74^th anniversary of Armistice Day, conservationists working at Fenn’s and Whixall Mosses National Nature Reserve found two World War II practice bombs. The bombs were uncovered while workers were excavating to build water-retaining “bunds” as part of the regeneration of the Mosses near a former bombing range. A specialist in UXBs was employed on site overseeing the works. Part of Fenn’s Moss was used for the five years of WW11 as a practice target range for British, American and Canadian bomber crews flying Wellington, Hawker Hart, Avro Tutor, Harvard and Spitfire planes. Training crews came from several units, including 11 SFTS, Shawbury, 10 FTS, Tern Hill, and units from as far away as RAF Hawarden, Lichfield and Rednal.

The bombing site was set up near artillery ranges that had been created in the First World War. The site had a 700 yard radius with a 36 square yard target. Because it would have been impossible to paint the target onto the peat, it was made of wood, painted white and set up on mounds of peat.

The 8.5lb practice bombs found at Fenn’s Moss are typical of the thousands dropped on the target area. Painted white with green bands on the tail, the bombs were made up of three sections within its moulded Bakelite body: a nose section for the striker; a central section filled with lead-antimony balls and the detonator; and the rear section that was filled with chemicals that created white smoke when the bomb landed. You can still see the white paint on the bombs found in November.

The work that led to finding the bombs is underway to create cell bunds on the Moss. Made of peat, these bunds are essentially shallow dams built in large rectangles across the peat. These capture rainwater, which is needed for Sphagnum moss growth that acidifies the bog and creates more peat. It’s all part of the Marches Mosses BogLIFE project to regenerate Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve (NNR).

The Mosses make up the third largest lowland raised bog in Britain and, due to their importance, are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Peatland is one of the rarest habitats on earth and, because peat stores more carbon than plants, trees and other types of soil, the Mosses are an important weapon in the fight against climate change. Repairing the peatland has also let to an increase in biodiversity as plants and animals that thrive in the boggy conditions return.

The area where the WWII bombs were found is not accessible to the public. However, there are a range of walking trails at the Mosses, including a History Trail that starts at the Manor House NNR base near Whixall. Here you can learn more about the peatland’s contribution to both war efforts or just have an interesting day out under the wide, open sky of Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses.

Starling flocks attracting the crowds

December 2, 2019

Note: Please be aware that links on this page take you to a third-party website.

The cold weather and clear skies have made viewing the starling murmuration at Whixall a must-see over the last few days. With the forecast looking good for the next week, more people are likely to be visiting the Whixall area than usual for this time of the year. Over 60,000 starlings are thought to be roosting along the willow strip opposite the scrapyard. The sight is made all the more spectacular by the recent incredible winter sunsets.

Where is the best place to view the murmuration?

The starlings gather in the skies around the old scrapyard site on the edge of Whixall Moss. They can be viewed from the lane alongside Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s recently acquired fields at Morris’s Bridge and from the canal side anywhere between Morris’s Bridge and Roving Bridge. Click here to see a map

Where is the best place to park?

Although there are a couple of laybys along the lane towards the canal, we recommend parking on the official nature reserve car park, located just on the other side of Morris’s Bridge. Parking spaces are limited, so please park sensibly to allow the maximum number of people to use the car park.

What time does the murmuration start?

The starling flocks begin to gather at sunset. Arrive for 4pm to ensure that you don’t miss it.

Why do murmurations happen?

Starlings live in a complex societal system which we still don’t fully understand, but there are a number of reasons for them gathering in such spectacular fashion. During extreme cold, multiple starling flocks gather and roost together for combined body warmth.

But the key reason for so many birds flying in unison is all about safety in numbers. Starlings often fall prey to sparrowhawks, peregrine falcons and hobbies, all of which can catch them mid-flight. The best way to avoid being caught is to lose yourself in a huge crowd. Predators struggle to pick out individual birds when there are so many flying in close proximity. Studies have shown that starlings are able to move quickly and change direction as a group by reacting to the movement of the birds immediately surrounding them. Scale that up to tens of thousands of birds and the result is a mesmerizing spectacle; a shape-changing dark mass in the sky. Once the flock has determined that their chosen roost site is safe, they begin to pour into trees and bushes from the sky. It is estimated that there are around 60,000 birds in the flock at Whixall.

Below are some videos and images of the murmuration at Whixall. Visit the Shropshire Wildlife Trust website to read more about starlings, nature reserves in Shropshire and how you can help to protect them.

Mesmerizing murmuration over The Mosses

November 28, 2019

https://youtu.be/_pP5agrXzkk

Individually, starlings might seem unimportant birds. From a distance many people see them simply as black birds, often noisy and even described in some bird guides as pests.

But from November on through the winter, starlings create amazing murmurations – gatherings of hundreds – even thousands – of birds at dusk, swooping and diving as one entity over fields, woodland and open water.

Naturalists, as well as the general public, have long wondered why starlings gather in murmurations. The reasons include safety in numbers – it’s more difficult for predators to attack such as fast-moving, complicated entity that may not even be perceived as individual creatures – and for warmth. The birds gather over a roosting site until they decide it’s safe to land. They pack together overnight in groups of 500 birds per cubic metre or more. One theory is that the birds gather to share information about foraging, similar to honeybees that share information about the location of the flowers with the best nectar.

Researchers have used modern techniques such as high-powered video analysis, and computational modelling to study starling murmurations. These have given scientists insights that the murmuration patterns are similar to cutting edge physics. Italian physicists have related the flights to “critical transitions” – systems that are ready to become instantly and completely transformed such as iron in a magnet.

The researchers found that the starlings worked to match the direction and speed of just their nearest neighbours while staying about one wing span apart. As a result, each bird in the flock is connected to every other bird. The physicists describe this as a “phase transition”. Depending on the size and speed of the flock, weather conditions and other contributing factors that are still not clearly understood, the pattern of the murmuration changes.

While that research may provide greater understanding of the starlings’ flight patterns, it doesn’t diminish the sense of mystery and wonder that people feel when watching the swirling, shape-changing magic of a starling murmuration at dusk on a winter evening.

You can often see starling murmurations over Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses and the neighbouring Morris’ Bridge Fields at dusk from November until the birds fly back to their northern summer homes in the spring.

Do you have your own photos of a starling murmuration? Share them on @meresandmosses

More about starlings:

Not quite the black colour they appear at a distance, up close starlings’ feathers have purple and green reflections with creamy-coloured tips. Birds are generally about 22cm long with a wingspan of 37-42cm.

Starlings build simple nests in holes in trees or crevices in buildings and feed on open ground. Their song is a noisy mixture of whistles and they often mimic other birds. They can be noisy and quarrelsome; their walk has been described a “jaunty and shambling”. Starlings produce one brood of 4-6 blue eggs, often at odd times of the year.

The starling population has fallen by more than 80% over the past few decades. Loss of pasture land and increased use of farm chemicals has created a shortage of food and nesting sites. UK starlings are joined each autumn by thousands of birds from northern Europe that fly in from as far away as Iceland and Russia, creating the mass flocks that murmurate throughout the winter.

Pollution causes carnivorous plant to go vegetarian

November 20, 2019

The Sundews on Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses have stopped eating insects. Scientists working on restoring the Mosses have noticed this phenomenon over the past year or so and have worked out the reason why this has happened.

Note: Please be aware that the link on this page will take you to a third-party website.

OK, but what’s a Sundew? Sundews are carnivorous plants that live on the bog habitat of the Mosses. They add to their food supply by capturing and then digesting insects (and other invertebrates) in the sticky hairs around the edge of their flowers. Sundews do this because it’s difficult for them to get the nitrogen they need from the acidic water they live in on the Mosses; acidic water is very low in nutrients like nitrogen.

Why have they stopped capturing insects? Instead they’re getting all the nitrogen they need from the atmosphere particularly in the form of ammonia pollution. In effect, they’ve “gone veggie”.

What is ammonia, anyway? It’s a form of volatile form of nitrogen (NH₃) that has increased in the atmosphere over the past 5-10 years. It is man-made and is actually worse in rural areas than in large cities.

Ammonia in the atmosphere is polluting Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses, adding to the challenges for the Marches Mosses BogLIFE project team as they work to restore the peatland in this internationally important site and very rare habitat to a healthy, living state that will help to fight the climate crisis by storing carbon in the peat.

Why is ammonia pollution a particular problem for the Mosses? Peatlands are a very sensitive indicator of the overall health of the atmosphere around us all, particularly when it comes to ammonia pollution – they act as a “canary in the cage”. Indicators show up in very visible ways on the Mosses and threaten their survival. The impacts range from the spread of excessive amounts of Purple Moor Grass on the bog that shade out more sensitive bog plants, loss of lichens and moss species, to unhealthy Sphagnum Moss bleached by the ammonia, to those Sundews that don’t need to catch insects any longer for their dinner.

Why are peat bogs so important? Peat bogs are formed by Sphagnum moss, the dominant, cornerstone species in peat creation. It creates acidic, nutrient-poor conditions that prevent plant decomposition and, therefore, promote the accumulation of carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere. Acre for acre, peatland like Fenn’s and Whixall Mosses are better at storing carbon than any other type of habitat.

However, as the Purple Moor Grass spreads, it shades out the more sensitive bog plants particularly lichens and moss species , hurting the bio-diversity of the peatland. Also, this not only reduces the rate of new peat creation, it can even lead to the peat drying out and actually releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

By 2014, nearly all of the peatlands and other nitrogen-sensitive habitats in England were in receipt of more nitrogen than they could effectively cope with from ammonia in the atmosphere.

You said the changes on the Mosses are a “canary in the cage” for the atmosphere. What else does ammonia pollution affect? It’s not just the peatlands that are affected. Ammonia is in the air we breathe and too much of it isn’t good for any of us. Ammonia pollution can travel long distances in the wind. When it combines with NOx it contributes to smog and can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and seems to be a contributor to asthma. It is interesting to note that Whitchurch, which is close to the Mosses, is reported to have the joint-highest level of asthma in England.^*

What is causing these increased levels of ammonia in the atmosphere? According to Government figures he main contributor to atmospheric ammonia pollution is agricultural emissions.. These come from manure storage and use on fields, use of inorganic fertilisers, and dairy and cattle farming as well as intensive chicken farming.

What can we do about the ammonia pollution? DEFRA is working with farmers through the Code of Good Agricultural Practice (COGAP) for Reducing Ammonia Emissions 2018 to make sure they understand the problem. Through COGAP, farmers can learn about changes they can make to their farming methods to reduce the release of ammonia into the atmosphere.

Is there any good news? The UK Clean Air strategy 2019 requires reduction in ammonia emissions by 8% in 2020 and 16% in 2030, compared to 2005 levels. An example of how this can work is in the Netherlands, where a reduction of 64% reduction 1990 to 2016 was achieved.

Can I see the sundews in action on the Moss? You can visit Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses throughout the year. Visitors can explore a variety of trails at Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses. These are perfect for an autumn walk and to experience the tranquillity and the big, open sky of the Moss – and look for sundews as well.

https://phys.org/news/2012-06-pollution-carnivorous-vegetarian.html

Invitation to Tender: Viewing Tower – Design and Build

November 12, 2019

Note: Please be aware that the link on this page will take you to third-party websites.

We are offering a design and build contract for the roofed interpretation space – this will take the form of a Viewing Tower. We don’t have planning permission yet so we are proposing a two phase contract;

Phase 1 to agree the design; prepare drawings for the planning application and deal with any requests for further information.
Phase 2 – pending successful planning outcome – construction of the viewing tower.

This will include:

Reviewing the technical feasibility
Ground investigations (if required) to determine structural requirements
Preparation of concept drawings for the project team to agree final design
Preparation of design drawings for planning application
Assisting the project team with any technical enquiries or requests for further information during the planning application / review / consultation process
Mobilising contractors to build the tower
Constructing associated access boardwalk
Being responsible for any H&S / CDM regulations.

Materials and Final structure

We would expect the materials to be sympathetic to the area. Ideally the tower will be maintenance free and vandal proof.

A large consideration will be avoiding damage to the SAC and Ramsar site.

As a guide we anticipate the final structure to be no higher than 5 metres.

Location

Our preferred location is on the edge of Whixall Moss NNR, within the SAC and Ramsar designation and adjacent to the canal. The all ability trail finishes here and we recommend a short section of boardwalk to enable access off the all ability trail. The peat depth in this area is approximately 4m.

A site visit for interested parties will be held on 26^th November 2019 at 10.30am.

Budget

As a guide we expect this to cost in the region of £45,000.

Submission

All quotes should include the project reference – LIFE15/NAT/UK/000786 – Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project.

Shropshire Wildlife Trust exists to protect wildlife for the future; sustainability is at the heart of the Trust’s activities. However, we recognise that through our operations we can have an adverse impact on the environment. We will therefore seek to minimise any negative environmental impacts and to achieve continuous improvement in our environmental performance.

We seek tenders that are in keeping with our Environmental procurement policy. For further information please see appended Environmental Procurement Policy and appended Environmental Sustainability Policy.

Please supply a response including:

A covering letter explaining your past experience and suitability for the contract
Examples of previous work and references
An overview of your methodology and approach
Detail of the materials you will use, how you will meet the brief, what practises will support SWT’s environmental considerations and what your availability is for 2020
What regulations or standards you work to, what training employees are given etc
Project schedule with milestones
Total cost for each phase of the contract (incl VAT if relevant)

Your tender response must remain open for acceptance by SWT for a period of 90 days from the Tender Response Deadline. A tender response not valid for this period may be rejected.

The successful supplier will be required to complete an approved contractors questionnaire before the contract can be let.

Quotes should be returned by email to [email protected] by 18^th December.

Criteria

Quotes will be scored against the following criteria to achieve best value:

Ability to deliver the works (proven track record, relevant past experience and availability) – 50%
Cost – 45%
Empathy of the Trust’s environmental sustainability policy and environmental procurement policy – 5%

More information is available from Helen Trotman on the email above or 01743 284297.

You can also download the full tender ITT – Viewing Tower Design and Build

A peatbog is reborn

October 30, 2019

Nine acres of former peatbog are being restored at Fenns’ Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve, as part of a trial new high-tech process will help to create new peatbog habitat on the Marches Mosses. Healthy peatbogs are vital in the fight against the climate crisis.

Formed over 12,000 years ago and hidden away under grassland for decades, parts of one of the rarest habitats on earth are being reborn using a futuristic technique. The Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project team that is regenerating the peatland habitat at Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses NNR in northern Shropshire and North Wales will re-establish nine acres of bog on land adjoining existing peatland in the Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

The land, at the edge of Whixall Moss, was peatbog until the 1970s. Peat cutting and drainage took its toll and the peat dried out. Grass and other plants grew over the peat. The area was used for grazing until recently, but this has now become uneconomic. To return the fields to living peatbog the top layer of turf is being removed to reveal the underlying peat. This will help to protect the central area of Whixall Moss as well as adding to carbon storage, which peatland does better than any other habitat.

The cornerstone species of a peatbog is Sphagnum moss. The Natural England team will use a high-tech method of planting Sphagnum. They will plant Sphagnum that is being grown by BeadaMoss Micropropagation Services from small amounts of bog mosses taken from other areas of Whixall Moss to replicate huge amounts of the Sphagnum.

Robert Duff, Natural England Project Manager for the Marches Mosses, summarises the process this way: “Our aim is to restore this land to healthy bog habitat by using a cutting-edge technique developed by BeadaMoss and never before used as part of the process to revert grassland to healthy living bog. Planting bogmoss in this situation is an important trial of this approach.

“To do that, we looked at the Sphagnum species best suited for these fields. BeadaMoss took some 20 strands of each of these from Whixall Moss and are growing them on sterile material to yield large quantities of seedlings. We’re using this approach, rather than allowing the peatland to regenerate in its own time, to accelerate the growth process and establish the bog quickly.”

The new moss will arrive in the form of ‘hummocks’ of Sphagnum, each about the size of a tea mug. It will take some 150,000 of these hummocks which will be planted by hand in the newly revealed peat. After the Sphagnum is planted, the new bog will be covered with a ‘nurse crop’ of cotton grass and a mulch of dried straw.

Robert Duff continues, “We can share the results of these important trials with other peatland managers. Increasing the area of healthy peatland will result in additional carbon capture, vital in the fight against the climate crisis we face. In addition, I believe trialling this cutting-edge technology can be an additional source of pride for people in the area around Fenn’s and Whixall Mosses, who already feel a sense of ownership in the this internationally important site.”

The turf that is removed from the site of the new peatland is not going to waste. It will be used to cover contaminated areas of the former scrapyard on the edge of Whixall Moss. The Marches Mosses BogLIFE team will be re-wilding this brownfield site to allow bog edge woodland to develop.

Visitors can explore a variety of trails at Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses. They are perfect for an autumn walk and to experience the tranquillity and the big, open sky of the Moss.

A Brief Background to the Mosses

The Marches Mosses – Fenn’s, Whixall, Bettisfield and Wem Mosses – make up the third largest lowland raised bog in Britain, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a European Special Area of Conservation. This peatland was formed over 12,000 years ago when Sphagnum moss began to grow in the wetland formed by the retreat of glaciers. The Sphagnum acidified the water, stopping the decay of plant remains. These built up like a sponge to form the raised expanse of the peatmoss, with the pickled water creating an environment suitable for the unique combination of plants and animals that thrive here.

Peatlands depend on retaining rainwater for their existence. The Marches Mosses began to collapse when the bog was drained over several hundred years, the dried peat was cut for fuel and agricultural and horticultural use, and the edge habitat around the Moss was turned into farmland. The decay of the peat meant that carbon that had been stored for millennia was being lost and by the late 1980s the Mosses were badly damaged.

In 1990 the peatland was acquired as a National Nature Reserve and restoration was begun. This has led to an increase in biodiversity as plants and animals that thrive in the boggy conditions return and repair of the peat has meant an increase in the store of carbon. Because peat stores more carbon than plants, trees and other types of soil, the Mosses are an important weapon in the fight against climate change.

Bettisfield Moss trail

October 23, 2019

Note: Please be aware that the link on this page will take you to a third-party website.

Bettisfield Moss is a true picture of a lowland raised bog that has been rescued from the brink of extinction. It has taken work over the past thirty years, continuing today, to make Bettisfield Moss a national treasure and show what the rest of the Marches Mosses will look like as their regeneration takes shape.

The Bettisfield Moss Trail is a fantastic way to experience the mystery and beauty of the Mosses. Some twelve species of Sphagnum moss form the peat itself and bog plants such as cranberry and crowberry thrive in the acidic water of the peatland. You’ll also see hare’s tail cotton sedge, a sure sign of a healthy peat bog.

Watch and listen for curlew, snipe and lapwing overhead and the occasional hobby in search of its next meal. In spring and summer, you may find the air full of butterflies – brimstone and large heath among them.

About halfway around the circular trail, you will come to a seating area and interpretation board alongside an open pond. A good place to sit and contemplate the expanse and big open sky of the Moss, the pond was created as a habitat for dragonflies, including including the white-faced darter, seen only on the Mosses.

A Brief Background to the Mosses

The Marches Mosses are the third largest lowland raised bog in Britain, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a European Special Area of Conservation. Formed over 10,000 years ago when Sphagnum moss and other plants began to grown in the wetland formed by the retreat of glaciers. These acidified the water, stopping the decay of plant remains. These built up like a sponge to form the raised expanse of the peatmoss, with the vinegar-like water creating a environment suitable for a unique combination of plants and animals that thrive here.

Peatlands depend on retaining rainwater for their existence and not allowing groundwater to enter the moss. The Marches Mosses began to collapse when the bog was drained over several hundred years, the dried peat was cut for fuel and agricultural and horticultural use, and the edge habitat around the Moss was turned into farmland. The decay of the peat meant that carbon that had been stored for millennia was being lost and by the late 1980s the Mosses were badly damaged.

The trail is 2 km long, taking about an hour to walk and is marked by arrowed posts. Along its length are carved signposts indicating some of the iconic wildlife species you might see on your walk. The trail is level and easy to walk but often wet, so remember to wear wellies or boots. The trail starts at the World’s End car park near Bettisfield village. You can find the trail brochure in the box at the car park, or you can download it here: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/6258210805645312 Part of the trail incorporates a section of the Shropshire Way path.

Plans to create new moss areas and improve former scrapyard site

October 18, 2019

Work will soon begin to strip turf from fields adjacent to Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses as part of the effort to turn the former scrapyard site into a haven for wildlife.
We have put together some answers to frequently asked questions about the works, which can be read below.

What is happening at the edge of Whixall Moss and on the former scrapyard?

As part of the Marches Mosses regeneration, we are going to scrape the vegetation from peaty fields near the edge of Whixall Moss, firstly, to recreate bog edge habitat and, secondly, to use the vegetation to cap the polluted areas on the site of the former scrapyard. We will restore these stripped fields back to bog vegetation to increase rare bio-diversity. Our work will not only stop further loss of peat but will re-start peat accumulation and carbon capture.

Why are you doing this work? Aren’t the fields fine the way they are?

The fields are deep peat and are part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest, some were open peat bog as recently as 40 years ago until that land was agriculturally improved. More recently some of the fields haven’t been farmed for over 10 years. Grazing the fields has become uneconomic.

When will the work begin?

We plan to begin in October and finish by the end of the January.

How deep will you dig in the fields?

We’ll take out turf and the underlying roots to a depth of 12” – 18” (@40cm).

Sounds like it will be make a huge mess!

Yes, there will be bare plots of land for a while. Visitors will be able to see the work when they walk along the main track from Morris’ Bridge onto Whixall Moss. You’ll also be able to see the regeneration process in action, as the plots are surrounded by peat bunding, begin to be rewetted with bog water and planted with Sphagnum moss. It will look a lot like the lines of the old peat cuttings on Whixall Moss.

How will you move the turf cuttings from the fields to the scrapyard?

We’ll work within the Moss itself, with dumpers moving from the fields direct to the former scrapyard site, without passing near residents’ homes or the visitor car park. We will make sure that we cause as little inconvenience as possible to anyone using visitor routes.

For further information please contact: [email protected] or ‘phone 01948 880362.