River Dipping

A slight variation on the theme of pond dipping, same equipment, even some of the same animals to be found. This visit was to be on the River Tale at Escot Estate with my daughter, (as a birthday treat!!!). Having bought some bits and pieces for me.... errr I mean her, we set off full of enthusiasm despite the threatening weather. En route we found many insects some we were able to catch and examine and some to photograph. Large White butterflies feeding on the thistles along with a 5 Spot Burnet Moth, numerous grasshoppers, hover flies, damselflies and even a fleeting glimpse of a dragonfly!

On arrival at the riverside we dispensed with our sodden footwear, (somebody forgot to pack the wellies!!!), and proceeded to prod, sweep and generally churn up the bottom of the river to see what we could turn up. Indeed what we caught was a large amount of Bullheads, Stone Loach, an Eel, Minnows, several Mayfly Nymphs, Nematodes, Screech Beetles and a stunning Damselfly larvae, all in all a very successful dip, until we were disturbed by some out of control Labradors!!!. So lunch had, wildlife viewed, identified and returned we headed to the gardens to see what we could find of the Lizard variety.

This turned out to be particularly successful with 6 adults found and a dozen 1-3 week old babies, I'm sure there are more, last year saw over 60 individuals in a single survey, however the weather was not in our favour nor the time of day. They like to bask in temperatures between 9 - 21 Celsius and have an optimum internal temp of 30 degrees, so in the middle of the day tend to seek shade or hunt for small insects rather than sit invitingly for us to view.

Beaver Hunting

If you go down to the woods today, ( as long as it also has dollops of water!), you may hear a sound rather like somebody sanding stonework. Well not quite yet but maybe soon. However in the grounds of Escot Estate, Devon, you can hear such sounds of an evening should you venture near the stock ponds alongside the Capability Brown designed lake. For within these ponds lives a pair of Rodents once hunted to extinction in the UK. Now reintroduced to Scotland on a trial basis, a feat we hope to see expanded to the UK as a whole. what can they be I hear you ask, well even if you didn't, I'll tell you - Beavers! The sound - their gnawing at fresh tree stock for food or lodge building.



Beavers are entirely herbivorous and unlike tales to be heard do not eat fish. They were hunted for their fur, meat and due to their diet which consisted of a heavy dose of Willow their scent glands could be used as a form of aspirin.

The pair at Escot have not only built one dam but two, the second with a lodge complex built in and yes the reason for this has recently proved to be for the purposes of a family life, earlier this year they gave rise to a pair of Kits. This is the first case of Kits being raised in natural environment in the uk for nearly 800 years, quite a feat and coup for the estate.

Tracking and photographing these intriguing creatures has proved to be immense fun yet time consuming, however ultimately enjoyable and an adventure into learning for both myself, my daughter and hopefully others