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Jim's Diary |
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| Current Jim's Diary | ||
| Jim's Diary Archives | ||
| November 08 to Jan 2009 | ||
| August to October 2008 | ||
| April to July 2008 | ||
| February to April 2008 | ||
| August to mid October 2008 | ||
I walked around the centre of the village on 1st. August clearing-up litter, yet again, all thrown from passing cars. The area I cleared included the Lewes Road and Horsted Lane to the parish boundaries and two black sacks were filled just in time for the refuse truck. Fast food outlets have a lot to answer for and the increasing number of bottles, especially glass ones, being thrown from cars are most dangerous to the verge cutter as well as to people and animals. Later I cut across the Brooks towards the Anchor and cleared more rubbish from the river banks. As I walked back to Isfield I saw a brood of young Pheasant poults which were looking good. I returned via White Bridge and cut back some Brambles from the footpath by the playing field to the village. It was then time to treat myself to a relaxing cup of tea.  On Sunday 3rd. it was drizzling and raining when I walked to Cowlease and back. There were a few anglers about and also a problem with some travellers who were fishing at the Mills. However, they moved off when asked and were not serious anglers anyway. I spotted three Herons and a Cormorant fishing in deep water above the Anchor. I could see large Heron footprints in the mud beside the Iron River. The overnight rain had been enough to put a small increase in the flow through the Mills on Tuesday, 5th. The water looked clear with a bit of a sparkle about it. I walked as far as Hamsey and on my return to the Mills I watched a shoal of large Mullet in the Mill Pool. A Sea Trout jumped and I thought perhaps the extra water had made it lively. There was a Kingfisher fishing from a root in the river bank and I watched as it caught a small fish. For once the Mills was clear of litter. Perhaps the wet weather had kept the litter louts away. I walked back to Isfield after I had checked the flow from the fish passes. On Sunday 9th. it was Barcombe Mills Country Fair. The weather was not looking good but still there was a grand fireworks display with some large aerial shells at 10.00pm despite pouring rain. On the 10th I walked the Ouse and the river was up but no sign of Sea Trout. I spotted an Egret on the Longford Stream at the point where it joins the Ouse at Isfield. I also disturbed a Heron with a large Frog, probably a Marsh Frog because there are plenty around this area judging by the noise from them earlier in the year. I also saw a Hobby over the Brooks. There were heavy showers all day on 14th. and the river flow was reasonable but it needed to be watched. The Bevern flow was very low possibly due to abstraction form bore holes in the upper reaches. These are situated in the Downs and must affect flow through chalk to the upper Bevern. I was invited to a very good barbecue on Sunday, 17th. where I met many new people and old friends. The weather held out too. The next day I was visited by a student and his mother. The lad had spent a week with me last year and he told me what he had learned while out with me. Perhaps one day he will get a job in countryside and river management. It was nice to catch up with his news. On 22nd. there were heavy  showers. I saw the Kingfishers again and noticed that a lot of fly were hatching. These supplied the House Martins and Swallows with plenty of food. Sunday, 24th. was wet and miserable but a few anglers were about on the river with catches of mixed fish. The flow was moderate but it could have been better. I walked down river and saw an Egret and watched a Hobby among the Swallows and Martins which caused them panic stations ! A pair of Buzzards were circling high up in the distance towards the Downs. On Wednesday, 27th. my neighbour and I, in a joint effort with the garden, were voted overall winners for 2008 in the Wealden Garden Competition. We won a £50 voucher which we spent on Spring bulbs and were presented with a large cup at Hilliers Garden Centre near Eastbourne by the Chairperson of Wealden District Council, Councillor Mrs Chantal Wilson. The presentation of prizes and certificates was followed by an excellent buffet. Sunday, 31st. presented us with a thunder storm from the south-west that broke with heavy rain as I was walking along the river. It was very humid at 7.30 am and the thunder was quite close. As I was out I carried on to Barcombe Mills but when I got home at 12.15 pm the rain started to fall heavily again with more distant rumbles. No anglers were out no doubt due to the fact that most rods today are carbon fibre which is an excellent lightning conductor. SEPTEMBER More heavy rain fell on the 2nd and it went on all week. On Saturday, 6th. the rain was very heavy in the Lower Ouse Valley with roads awash. Fields were very wet and I feared for the farmers and their harvests in these difficult times. The river was very high and coloured on 8th. I saw three Sea Trout going up the fish pass at Sutton Hall and watched a pair of Kingfishers in the area of the old Paper Mill in the Cut. One flew down river as I watched from the footpath but these plucky little fishermen of the Bird World seem to be on the increase. They suffered badly in the bad winter freeze and snow of 1962/63. On Thursday 11th. September, I walked the river from above Isfield to Lewes and watched three Buzzards and then a Hobby over the Brooks below Barcombe Mills. A few anglers were catching Roach and Bream and one hooked a large Carp which he lost. The angler was not trying for them and it was hooked very briefly on double red maggot on a size 12 barbless hook. This was truly the case of the one that got away ! I found a slide in the mud indicating signs of a Seal at Hamsey Old Lock. The next day large numbers of Swallows and House Martins were gathering no doubt preparing for their long journey home. There were heavy thunder storms over the Uck valley on the 12th. but the next day was warm and sunny which brought out the butterflies and I hoped the good weather would last to allow the farmers to get some crops harvested after the tough time they had been through with the poor weather.  On 14th the Task Force went out gravel jetting on the Bevern which was the first of three outings to jet and release compacted gravel to help the spawning of the Sea Trout. The SOCS jetter worked very well for us to carry out the task. Thank you John for donating the jetter to SOCS and thanks to all the volunteers who turned out. I was called back to Barcombe Mills following a report of coloured water and smells of ammonia. There were no dead fish thankfully but enough discolouration to deter fish from feeding. I guessed the water colour was a result of the heavy storms recently over the Uck valley which was later confirmed by a report from an upper Uck resident. I wondered whether the water company had found signs of ammonia at Barcombe Works. On 15th. Isfield Parish Council met and the new 30 mph signs had been erected. Drivers were still speeding through the village and talking on mobile phones whilst driving.I walked the main Ouse on the 17th. and marvelled at the large numbers of berries on the Elders and Hollies which would become Nature’s larder for our birds in due course. I will watch with interest just how rapidly they are devoured later on if we get flocks of Redwing and Field Fares with the onset of colder weather. On some Wild Roses I found a few Robins’ Pincushions which look just like a bright red ball of moss growing on the Rose stem. The Pincushions are caused by the Gall Wasp laying her eggs in the leaf bud which makes it develop in that way. Sloes seem to be very scarce this year though September is too early to pick them for Sloe Gin. The bloom was probably caught by frosts. The river was looking fair on the 18th. as I walked the river to Lewes in warm sunshine. I hoped the ammonia had washed out now the coarse fish were feeding again. I saw the Hobby over Hamsey. There were a few Mullet about and the Seal came up on the tide to Lewes and I thought it looked like a half grown Harbour Seal. I hope he gets back to sea because a Seal will eat a lot of coarse fish as well as the Sea Trout. When I last saw him he was going towards the sea on the outgoing high tide. It was a fine and sunny day for the SOCS Open Day on 21st. It was held in the car park at Barcombe Mills. A lot of interest was shown and some new members enrolled. The ever popular Hi-Tech Wild Trek Trailer was present so many thanks are owed to Dr. Richard Osmond and his wife for coming for the day. People were  fascinated to see the mini-beasts that live in the River Ouse. It was a very good day and we all enjoyed it in the sunshine. It was the start of the Autumn Equinox and the days were shorter and the nights longer and I thought the birds and animals would be feeling it as I walked the Uck to Uckfield from Isfield. I saw deer in the fields and Buzzards over Whartons Wood. There was not too much litter in the river or on the banks which was a real bonus for me. The Balsam was as tall as me in places but was just starting to go over in places. On 23rd. there was a report of a dead Sea Trout above the Mills. I checked the flow for over abstraction and then all the fish passes at Barcombe Mills but found nothing. Anglers told me that a few Pike were being seen but mainly the catches were of small silver fish with some larger fish, Bream and Perch, in mixed catches. I set about clearing the leftover litter from a barbecue and some wine bottles too. Why do people do this ? If they enjoy the countryside these people certainly show no respect for it. On the 27th. I walked the Upper Ouse above Lindfield. The river flow was very low and I disturbed a Cormorant fishing. Discharge from Ardingly Reservoir kept up the flow of the main Ouse despite the wet weather. The harvesting conditions were still very difficult for farmers. The 28th. September was a fine and warm Sunday. It felt good to walk the banks of the Ouse in the sunshine. There were a lot of people about and more anglers had been tempted out too - all making the most of the weather. A few late butterflies emerged but it has been a poor summer for them. OCTOBER On Wednesday, 1st. October there was early heavy rain and at first light I saw a flock of twelve Cormorants fly upriver. I noticed the river flow at Barcombe Mills was low but some Sea Trout had made it over the weirs and fish passes at the Mills. The weather was a bit colder and it was dark by 7pm. I expected it would be a colder night. A Barn Owl flew over fields near my house just before dusk and I heard a Hedgehog snuffling about in the bottom of a hedge in my back garden. On the 4th. I went to Ardingly Showground to the Autumn Game Fair.  It was a good show with plenty of interesting things to see but such a shame about the dreadful weather. On Sunday evening, 5th. October all the sluices at Barcombe Mills were wide open during the evening and the Uck was well up after a day and night of rain. There was plenty of colour and run off from roads. No doubt some Sea Trout ran up on the small flood. The 9th. was a warm and sunny day with a variety of autumn colours starting to show well in the woods and hedgerows. I watched a Grey Squirrel collecting acorns and also a Jay doing the same thing but adding a few Sweet Chestnuts to its winter larder. Blackbirds had started on the Hawthorn berries and I disturbed a Fox in some rough grass near the river. No doubt he was lying up after a meal or simply warming himself in the October sun. A Kingfisher flashed past flying down river and I felt it was a perfect autumn day by the Ouse. The next day the Task Force were in action jetting gravel again ready for Sea Trout spawning.I spent a morning with a fellow Parish Councillor clearing rubbish and generally performing an Autumn tidy up around Isfield. We were impressed by Wealden District Council for their prompt collection of our rubbish sacks and old tyres. Next we planted bulbs around a tree in memory of the late Dick Jeffries who had been a member of SOCS. On another sad note I am keeping a watchful eye on a local Horse Chestnut or Conker tree which is under threat from Bleeding Canker and Leaf Miner insects. As Parish Tree Warden it concerns me to see the unsightly symptoms of gaping wounds that ooze black liquid. It can be fatal for the tree. It is first noticed as it attacks the bark of the tree. I hope this disease will not be like the effects Dutch Elm disease had on Elms. I watched the local children gathering and playing conkers and hoped this Autumn pastime would be available for the generations to come. I close this Diary and watch the fields as Autumn stubble goes under cultivation. I hope for better harvest and crops for next year so I wish all our farmers and landowners my very best wishes for the future of agriculture in the Ouse Valley and the county of Sussex.
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