Mink confirmed

 

Aside from the fabulous Otters otter cam is proving excellent at recording other wildlife as well. Since its first placement the camera has picked up wood mice, muntjac, roe deer, badger, and fox. All these have already been recorded by the main camera in the hedgerow, but one species known to frequent the site has never been caught on camera, until now.

This month a mink has been recorded on otter cam. Normally cursed by conservationists and rightly so this species was last seen in 2005 on the site. At this time, a single brown-black individual was seen swimming across the river before hiding inside a hollow tree stump on the bank side. Although no mink has been seen either by myself or a camera since then Mink were definitely there, their presence noted by the footprints left in the mud.

Quite often Mink are mistaken for Otters but once you have seen both it is obvious which is which. An easy reminder is that mink ride high in the water, almost floating on the surface whilst otters sink below the surface with only the top of the head and tail visible.

Mink are not native to the UK. They were imported in 1929 for fur farming, escapes and intentional releases by animal welfare activists quickly led to a self-sustaining population. The mink released were from North America and not of the native European species and the native species such as Water Voles had no defence. The voles tend to avoid predation by hiding in their burrows but Mink are small enough to follow them in. They have been responsible, alongside habitat loss for drastic species threatening declines in Water Vole and are probably the main reason Water Voles are not found on the Warwick Avon at present.

The individual recorded on the camera is a sleek black mink and has been recorded on three occasions, it is unclear if it is resident on the site or like the otters move through the site. I have mixed views on the mink’s place in UK fauna. On the one hand it is a voracious killer decimating Water Vole and water bird populations whilst on the other it is a species just trying to survive and doing this well in an environment, we introduced it to. For vole populations to recover mink eradication is necessary and that is hard for any wildlife lover to countenance.  Should one species be persecuted to save another? The ethics are tricky. On a similar path I am more comfortable with the idea of not culling Grey Squirrels despite their impact on Reds. Aside from the squirrel pox issue these two species could coexist and the latest research regarding the impact Pine Marten have on Grey Squirrel populations. For Mink however there does not seem to be a natural way to control numbers, they seem to coexist with otters and especially on the Avon there is ample food for both species to survive without competition.

Whilst I was hoping that there were no longer Mink on the site but I cannot begrudge a living being doing its thing I just hope it moves on before the  Swans nest.

The Gall of it

The storms in early January battered my patch and the surrounding area bringing down a few trees. One such trees was one of the old willows beside the path. Unfortunately for the farmer who is losing crops left right an centre from wider paths due to social distancing has lost even more crops as people are forced to make a wide detour around it. 

Luckily, for me the fallen tree gave me an option to investigate some interesting growths on the upper wisp like branches. During the winter it is easy to spot strange dark masses at the tops of trees. Often these attract my eyes thinking they are small birds sat in the tree.

Getting close up the growths very much looked out dried out clumps of moss.

This straggling masses are woody to the touch and emanate from the wood beneath. It could have been a moss but this doesn't feel right and in this wet weather should have been a nice dark green. I little research led me to one possibility Mossy Willow Catkin Gall.

Galls are created by insects, mites and viruses that cause undifferentiated cell growth at specific points. Many people will be familiar with spangle galls on leaves of the masses that grown on acorns. Many are caused by ichumenoid wasps which lay there eggs inside this mass of tissue.

Little is known about the Mossy Willow Catkin gall in fact its name describes pretty much all we know. They look moss like with fibrous projections that in the summer are a rich green colour. They are found on willow trees and grow from catkins explaining why they are seen from the thin twigs upon which these reproductive parts grow.

It was originally believed thy were caused by mites however it is now suspected that the mites are merely associated with the galls and that the primary cause is a virus.

Catkins are sensitive and delicate structures and those infected seem to be high up in the trees near the tops this leads me to suspect a wind borne pathogen that is carried on the breeze which infects exposed catkins at the top of the trees where there are less leaves to shield it from the breeze.

Galls are fascinating as are the creatures that make them and in the summer I will look for more on the leaves and record the species.

For more information on Galls go to: https://www.britishplantgallsociety.org/index.html