March 2016
1st March 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
This morning, Teréz and I embarked on our latest project: 'Change THAT Channel' .... sounds like a game show, doesn't it ? In under 30 minutes, we had unblocked 'our' channel, and used the spoil to block off the 'rogue' channels. After that, it was business as usual, as the rainwater started surging through our channel, and the waterfall started to roar again. A great shame that the load of building rubble has been dumped on the opposite side of the road though, as 'he' can simply bring an empty wheelbarrow up the hill and use that rubbish to block our channel in a big way. Fingers crossed. It seems that the culprit IS the guy down at the bottom of the hill, with the footbridge in the garden. On the way down, I was able to see that his pool, under the bridge, is now full of brown rainwater, so maybe he will leave our channel alone now. Seen today was a small flock of Fieldfare, and a small group of Long-tailed Tits, which were photographed, but not very well ! A frog or toad moved in RB1, but it could not be identified.
2nd March 2016 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
Teréz visited this morning, and I visited this afternoon. This was mainly because we wished to 'patrol' the site, just in case 'he' decided to re-configure the channel again ! But, we were pleased to see that all was well. The strange thing is that all of the brown water seen under the ornamental bridge in 'his' garden yesterday, has vanished ! A mystery ! Anyway .... several Common Spadefoot Toads - Pelobates fuscus - Barna ásóbéka were heard 'clucking' underwater near the reedbed, so we will soon see some giant tadpoles again ! Apart from that, no other amphibians were sighted or heard, despite the nice sunny weather. Having said that, the wind was rather icy.
Teréz's photos for the same day:
4th March 2016 - (Friday, Péntek)
All was quiet for my SQ morning visit ... except for the waterfall, which was still bringing rainwater run-off into the site. There were also many underwater 'clucking' sounds coming from the reedbed area, meaning that the Common Spadefoot Toads - Pelobates fuscus - Barna ásóbéka were still in courtship action. Despite a wellie-clad paddle on the rocky plateau, I still couldn't see the amphibians themselves. A few Great Tit were flitting around the site, as was a male Blackbird. Two butterflies were seen, a female Brimstone, and what I think was a Peacock ... but it wouldn't settle to be photographed.
7th March 2016
Teréz paid a solo visit, and these are her photos:
8th March 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
A rather rewarding day, but also a rather strange and confusing day. Rewarding, because we saw 3 of the 9 species of amphibians that we've recorded at the SQ. Strange and confusing due to matters relating to the irrigation channel. On arrival, we saw that our channel had been blocked in 4 places, and that 4 'rogue' channels had been cut from it, as in the past few weeks. In just over 5 minutes, my garden fork had cleared our channel and blocked 'the rogues'. Muddy water started to flow into the SQ, soon changing to crystal clear water as the mud settled. We enjoyed seeing and hearing Fire-bellied Toads and Common Spadefoot Toads, and also observed the first Smooth Newt males of the year. About mid-afternoon we left the site, but when Teréz returned from Gyöngyös later in the afternoon, she found that the channel had been blocked AGAIN ! Then, a youngish man walked up the hill to her. It turns out that he's German, and has a house in one of the side roads, about 100 metres from the SQ. He told Teréz that, although he likes the SQ, his cellar, and that of others, keeps getting flooded with water from the SQ. This is rather strange as we've been doing this since 2008, and no one has complained before. He told Teréz that he will block our channel every time he finds it open, and will also contact his solicitor. This is obviously something we must take seriously as we don't wish to be sued for structural damage to their houses, when we're only trying to protect and conserve the local wildlife. For the moment, we will leave our channel 'closed until further notice'. I am hoping that we can have further dialogue with our German friend, as conflict will solve nothing. It would also be good to view the affected cellars. On a brighter note, our new 'real' friend, who has a house just outside the SQ has printed and laminated 4 signs, asking people not to dump rubbish in the SQ. He has erected these signs at strategic places around the perimeter fence. Nice to know that SOMEONE is in 'our corner'.
Teréz's photos from the same day:
9th March 2016 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
It wasn't easy to watch precious rainwater running wastefully down the hill, but, nonetheless, we kept to our decision and left the channel in its 'closed' mode. It was very much a 'bird day', with a group of Jays making some weird territorial or courtship cries, and visits by a Greenfinch, a pair of Hawfinches, a male Blackbird, a single White Wagtail, and a few Great Tit. One male Smooth Newt was seen, but not photographed, and there was much 'clucking' by Common Spadefoot Toads, and a little 'piping' from a single Fire-bellied Toad. Our new friend (who made the 'no dumping of rubbish' signs) came across to speak to us. Teréz spotted a fine Oil Beetle - Meloe proscarabaeus - Közönséges nünüke - and I found a new ant nest with masses of ants huddled together. An unwelcome visitor was one of the local cats !
Teréz's photos for the same day:
11th March 2016
Teréz's photos from her solo visit - (1848-1913)
14th March 2016 - (Monday, Hétfő)
It was a sunny afternoon for my visit, and warm in sheltered spots, but a cool wind cut across the site in other places. During my walk around, I sent 2 small Green Lizards - Lacerta viridis - Zöld gyík into cover. In The Bowl, there were many male Common Spadefoot Toads calling - Pelobates fuscus . Barna ásóbéka. A newt was glimpsed in the water, probably a Smooth Newt - Triturus vulgaris - Pettyes gőte. A Peacock butterfly was seen and photographed from a distance. Our new friend has again been active, adding more 'no dumping' signs to the fences, and placing a token rope barrier across the gap used in the past by the 'strange' mother and son, when dumping their garden rubbish. We may have a formidable ally, at last ! The final 1.5 hours of my visit was spent outside the site, as I made a concerted effort to clear up the rubbish that had been dumped on the opposite side of the airfield road. I brought a roll of 10 strong bags, and soon filled 2 of them with old lino, cardboard, etc. Then I started to sort the lumps of concrete and bricks from the soil piles. We could really do with a small skip being delivered to the roadside, as this debris is too heavy for plastic sacks. Maybe a word in a friendly ear at Gyöngyös town council is called for !
17th March 2016 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
The last remnants of rainfall run-off were 'running-off' past the Small Quarry and down the hill. Yes, our channel was still in 'blocked configuration', thanks to the German man. Our channel now looks a real mess. Teréz and Robika busied themselves by cleaning the steps in front of the SQHQ. I affixed two of the new information signs on perimeter fencing, one at the top gate, and the other in front of the house of the 'strange family'. There should now be no excuse for further rubbish dumping from their garden. A few Fire-bellied Toads were calling, and many Common Spadefoot Toads were 'clucking' underwater. Two butterflies were seen: A Brimstone, and a Peacock, but only the former was photographed. We moved two clumps of Agile Frog spawn from the shallows to deeper water. A flock of Crane flew high over the site ... too high to be added to the species list ! A female Green Lizard was using a hole next to a rock as a shelter. This made for some interesting photos. We walked down the hill to check on the area of the German's house. It is now known that he has no cellar, and that the water problem relates to the grassy drive outside his house. Although large ruts have appeared outside a neighbouring house, we are convinced that the very wet patch is caused by water running down the road, NOT our SQ water ! Before leaving the site, I unblocked our channel again ... but I felt very tired after the work, so tired that I forgot to photograph the new configuration !
Teréz's photos from the same day:
18th March 2016 - (Friday, Penték)
A brief visit by Teréz and Robika (1300-1315)
21st March 2016 - (Monday, Hétfő)
On arrival, I was pleased to see that the channel was just how I'd left it last week. Maybe our nemesis only shows interest in rainy weather, or perhaps he's paying a visit to his home country of Germany. As expected, the water levels are starting to drop, but the situation is not serious at the moment. The morning was the sunniest part of the day, but I could only get there after lunch, by which time more cloud had appeared, accompanied by an icy wind. I saw no reptiles or amphibians (apart from some brief movement by the female Green Lizard in the hole beside the rock - as last time). A few more plant species were found, some of them in flower. No butterflies, and a Great Tit and a Blackbird were the only birds seen. My information signs were still in place on the fences.
24th March 2016 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
Teréz and I visited after lunch to check on the site. Although mainly sunny, the strong wind made certain parts of the SQ feel rather chilly. Even so, one female Green Lizard was basking in a sheltered spot near to the waters of The Bowl. Two big news items: the men had been to clear all of the rubbish from the top entrance gate, and, a new species of Bee-fly was recorded today: Dotted Bee-fly - Bombylius discolor. We also found some strange little pink 'items' at various places. These looked like seeds or flower buds, but we cannot identify them ... yet. A few Fire-bellied Toads and Common Spadefoot Toads were in evidence, and I moved 4 clumps of Agile Frog spawn from the shallows and into deeper water. There were some free-swimming tadpoles from these clumps.
29th March 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
Teréz and I arrived at lunchtime, when the weather was sunny and quite warm. Soon though, a strong, cold wind developed, and by the time we left the site, the sun was completely obscured by cloud and a few rain spots were falling. We heard our first Green Tree Frog of year calling, and also saw our first GTF, but sadly, it slipped below the algae in Rock Bath 1 before it could be photographed. A great pity as it was a stunning bright green colour. 2 butterflies were seen: a Peacock, and what was possibly a Green-veined White, but neither could be photographed. Common Spadefoot Toads and Fire-bellied Toads were seen and heard, but no newts were observed. The irrigation channel was 'as we like it', and the boggy area in front of the garden had been repaired over the Easter weekend.
Teréz's photos from the same day .......she also photographed a mating pair of 7-spot Ladybird – Coccinella 7-punctata – Hétpettyes katica ... but, unfortunately, the camera focused behind the thin stem.
31st March 2016 - (Thursday, Csütörtök)
We arrived at lunchtime with a dual mission: 1) recording the various amphibian species, 2) cutting and removing the old stems of Blue-stem Grass from the area adjacent to the SQHQ. Both objectives were met, admirably. We recorded four of our nine amphibian species, but hopes of a tenth species being added to our species list (Common Frog - Rana temporaria - Gyepi béka) were dashed after subsequent, careful scrutiny of the photos. We've often 'wondered' whether we've got this species or not, and we'll keep checking carefully ! We heard a Green Tree Frog calling from the reedbed area, but then found one grounded above the Coffee Pool. So grounded, in fact, that it was lucky I didn't stand on it ! The practical conservation work went well. Although only two sacks of grass cuttings were removed, the work site looked much greener afterwards. Butterfly-wise: a Peacock, and (most probably) a Green-veined White, were seen but not photographed. Blackbird, Great Tit, and 5 Jays constituted the bird life.
Teréz took a few photos on the same day: