Autumn along the Frome

Here are a few photos taken on a walk along the Frome Valley which was made all the more pleasant by the complete absence of Himalayan Balsam!

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Nightingale Bridge revisited October 5th 2016

A walk down Hillyfields to Nightingale Bridge in early October showed two things. First, all the balsam plants pulled by volunteers and stacked in piles have vanished, allowing new grass and other vegetation to grow in the mild weather. Second, a handful balsam plants have had the sheer nerve to spring up and flower near the back of the patch which was cleared by volunteers.  The overall picture is, however, of a job well done!

These two pictures show the area to the left of Nightingale Bridge. The bottom one is 'before', and the top one was taken in October.  You could not tell that this field was so heavily invaded.

2016 Summary

We started pulling Himalayan Balsam in the last week of May. At this stage some plants were two or three feet tall but the majority were less than a foot. This made pulling a more backbreaking task as well as being less satisfying than pulling out larger plants. However we cleared quite a lot in the field behind St Peter's Church which resulted in far fewer there later in the year.

Throughout the summer we've been going out almost weekly when the weather permitted. We've covered the Frome from the metal footbridge near to Cogmill down to just beyond Nightingale Bridge. In summary:

• from Cogmill down to Mill Lane, the near bank is not heavily infested though there are a few clumps and isolated plants amongst the other growth. The far bank is very bad in places. It's possible to access the upper part of the far bank via the metal footbridge though the water level dropped sufficiently by mid July to make wading across possible.
• the field behind St Peter's Church was not as bad as last year but will need regular visits to get it completely under control.
• Glebelands and Meadow Mead were much better than previous years. Much of the growth there could only be accessed by wading and some was still inaccessible because of deep water.
• the grounds of Bridge House were heavily infested as was the riverbank on the other side.
• below Bridge House the field edge and river bank were quite bad in the first field. The second field was much better than last year.
• the edge of Hilly Fields was very bad as were the paddocks on the other side of Nightingale Bridge.

We finished pulling in the second week of September. Although many plants had ripe seeds by then there were still many which didn't.

In total, local volunteers spent about 100 hours on balsam pulling. This was boosted by other groups organised by AIWF who spent a further 70 hours. Assuming each person pulls 60 balsam per hour, this represents 6,000 balsam by locals plus 4,200 balsam by others. Assuming an average of 400 seeds per plant, we have therefore prevented 2.4 million plus 1.7 million, ie 4.1 million seeds in total, from entering the environment!

One last session

John and I took a walk up to Cogmill, clearing a few stragglers on the way up there. A little before the metal footbridge, there were a couple of clumps on both sides of the river. Some seeds were ripe so we were careful to collect and bag as many as we could. We then moved upstream beyond the metal footbridge clearing and bagging as we went. Apart from one or two deepish spots this stretch was quite easy to wade.

Metal footbridge near Cogmill

Some plants had already shed all their seeds and were starting to die back. Next year, we'll have to try to tackle this area earlier.

Near Nightingale Bridge with Environment Agency Group

A group of volunteers from the Environment Agency came along to help tackle the very large stand of balsam in the paddock near to Nightingale Bridge. On a very hot day, they cleared hundreds of plants in a remarkably short period of time. 

The task ahead

A job well done!

Bridge House

On a very warm afternoon, we went into the grounds of Bridge House and along the river bed alongside. There weren't too many balsam in the grounds thanks to the work we did earlier in the year and we cleared them fairly quickly.

Wading along the river allowed us to tackle those plants low down on the river bank and also to access the opposite bank where there were a lot of balsam spreading into the grounds of houses along Park Row. The river bed was very muddy and still knee deep in parts despite recent lack of rain.  One section was still too deep to wade possibly because of a fallen branch slowing the river flow. The riverbank was also steep in most parts making access to and from the riverbed more difficult.

Lots of fairly large fish were enjoying some of the deeper sections until we waded in and stirred up the mud!

Return to Nightingale Bridge and Hilly Fields

We returned to Nightingale Bridge this week to carry on the work we did last week. It was nice to walk down there with no sign of balsam on this side of the river.

Nightingale Bridge

Initially we split up and while some started tackling the massive stand by the bridge, the rest of the group went to clear the large clump in the corner of Hilly Fields. A small amount of gymnastics was needed to get access to the river bank where huge balsam up to 9ft tall was growing.

A bit of gymnastics...	... and safely over
Seriously tall balsam	Nearly finished

A combination of pulling and slashing soon reduced this to ground level.

All cleared!!

Heading downriver to check the river bank

We then rejoined forces with the group by the bridge and helped to finish clearing all the balsam growing there.

The good news was that there were no ripe seeds yet. The less good news was that after we cleared the balsam by the bridge we could see the next field beyond which has a huge amount along the edge by the river.

Admiring our handiwork!!

A stroll upriver

There were still a few plants flowering along the edge of Glebe Fields which I dealt with but there are more on the other side which might be possible to reach from the river bed. I left those for another occasion as I wanted to revisit the area upstream from Black Rocks which we cleared in mid June.

The water level was low so wading was easy and I was able to clear quite a lot on the little islands in the middle of the stream. Thanks to our efforts earlier there wasn't a huge amount and it didn't take long to clear them.

There's still a lot along the edge of the field on the far side of the river. Some of the seeds are turning black now particularly where they are in the sun so there's not much time left this year to clear them.

On my way back I caught sight of an egret flying near to Black Rocks. I wonder whether it's the same bird John saw last week.

River fly monitoring and balsam bashing

We went down to Parsonage Bridge today to carry out a Riverfly Monitoring survey and while Hsusin collected samples and then counted the species gathered, I wandered 50 metres up and downstream cutting down any balsam I could see. Downstream there were a few on the ledge outside Bridge House and a lot on the opposite bank but it only took a few minutes to slash them down as it's unlikely they'll regrow to produce seeds now.

Upstream there were a few isolated plants on the Glebe Land side and a couple of large clumps on the other side which I managed to clear.

Sorting the sample

The sample

Picking off some of the stragglers Monday 25 July

I dealt with a few stragglers dotted around the field behind St Peter's and quite a few on the riverbank. Some were out of reach without getting into river but I cleared all I could reach, mostly by slashing rather than pulling.

I then walked up towards Cogmill and cleared a few hidden in the undergrowth on the way up towards Black Rock. I also cleared a few which were flowering at Black Rocks.

Nightingale Bridge and Hilly Fields

While waiting at Parsonage Bridge, John spotted this egret looking for its breakfast and managed to get a quick photo before it flew away.

We walked down from Bridge House to Nightingale Bridge clearing a few stragglers as we went. Thanks to our previous visits this area is a significant improvement over last year. Instead of pink balsam, the edge of the field is covered in white cow parsley.

2015

2016

The cow parsley and the nettles are making the footpath a bit more difficult to access however.

At Nightingale Bridge we crossed over into Hilly Fields and cleared huge numbers growing along the field edge by the river.

From this...	... to this

There's just one more massive clump in the corner of the field still to deal with. There's also a lot growing by the bridge on the Watley's End side of the river and spreading up a ditch towards the stables. We didn't come across any ripe seeds yet so we might be able to get in  few more sessions to deal with those.

A good day for wading

With water levels low and the temperature soaring it was a good day to wade across the river so five of us headed up the Frome Valley Walkway from St Peter's Church. Just beyond the Centenary Field a trodden path leads down to the river and a spot on the far bank where a clump of balsam was in full flower.

Donning wellies and waders we crossed the river which was relatively shallow and cleared this clump before heading upstream towards Black Rocks clearing balsam as we went.

At Black Rocks itself there were a few odd balsam plants to be seen unlike last year when this area was badly infested. This year there were pleasing signs of native wildflowers, including meadowsweet and purple loosestrife which were flourishing without the competition from the balsam.

Meadowsweet

Purple Loosestrife

Continuing upstream we worked along the far riverbank clearing balsam from amongst the undergrowth and up to the edge of the field beyond. We were hoping to clear all the way up to the metal footbridge at Cogmill but it was a little slower going than anticipated. However we cleared a huge amount and another visit should clear the rest.

We also saw some interesting wildlife including a glimpse of a kingfisher as it flashed up the river and this stunning damselfly which was a little more cooperative for the camera.

Nightingale Bridge

Nightingale Bridge is an ancient stone bridge used now as a footbridge for crossing the Frome between Frampton Cotterell and Watley's End.  It was nice to meet and talk to dog walkers there who make their own contribution to eradicating balsam while out with their pets and also to speak to some schoolchildren on their way home from school and to explain to them what we were doing to help the environment.

Balsam is now growing strongly and is producing its distinctive pink flowers. This at least makes it easier to spot amongst the other plants on the river bank. Once you've spotted one, there's almost certainly going to be others nearby.

Balsam was growing strongly on both sides of the river by the bridge and we were able to clear some large patches. We also cleared the footpath alongside the field next to the bridge. The path itself is barely visible as many people choose to walk across the field at this point rather than follow the footpath around the edge.

The balsam is often found amongst nettles which are a favourite food source of the caterpillars of the peacock butterfly. At this time of year these can be seen in large colonies which we try not to disturb as we cut our way through to reach clumps of balsam.

Peacock butterfly caterpillars

Along the river bed from Church Rd to Bridge House

Some of the balsam near the river bed along this stretch was getting very tall and flowers were beginning to develop so we decided to see whether river levels had dropped enough to enable us to wade or whether we could hack our way down through the undergrowth.

Fortunately we were able to wade as the dense undergrowth and steep sides made access from the top of the bank quite difficult in places.

Our intrepid team worked along the river bed from Church Road bridge clearing some large clumps and some of the largest plants we've encountered so far this year.

The river was still a bit too deep in places to wade safely but we returned to the river at Parsonage Bridge and cleared many more plants there.

A very successful and satisfying afternoon!