Marsh Fritillary Project
Marsh Fritillary butterflies are to be found in large numbers at Trelusback thanks to the work being carried out to improve and enlarge the area of suitable habitat. Over eighty larval webs were found when the site was surveyed in the late Summer of 2022.
Volunteers from Cornwall Butterfly and Moth Society and Kernow Conservation have worked to clear parts of Trelusback to increase the amount of suitable habitat and South West Lakes Trust and Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteers have planted the newly cleared areas with Devils-bit Scabious seedlings. The Marsh Fritillary site still needs further work due to invasion by bracken, willow, gorse and bramble. This year there was a 60% increase in the number of larval webs compared with last year. When the site is finished the levels of Marsh Fritillary should increase further. It is hoped that these butterflies will spread to neighbouring sites which until only a few years ago contained substantial numbers of larval webs.
Volunteers from Cornwall Butterfly and Moth Society and Kernow Conservation have worked to clear parts of Trelusback to increase the amount of suitable habitat and South West Lakes Trust and Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteers have planted the newly cleared areas with Devils-bit Scabious seedlings. The Marsh Fritillary site still needs further work due to invasion by bracken, willow, gorse and bramble. This year there was a 60% increase in the number of larval webs compared with last year. When the site is finished the levels of Marsh Fritillary should increase further. It is hoped that these butterflies will spread to neighbouring sites which until only a few years ago contained substantial numbers of larval webs.
Water Vole Project
Water voles were reintroduced during late Summer 2022 and have thrived. Further details to be added plus photographs. A further release is planned for 2023. These water voles were purchased by Kernow Conservation with funding from Mossy Earth Limited, Cornwall Council, Paradise Park, local companies and many members of the public. The release was filmed by a number of organisations including ITV and BBC camera crews.
Water voles are taken by many predators but normally enough survive to reproduce and therefore keeping populations stable. The release of American Mink by animal rights activists many years ago was however devastating for water voles because the mink were able to enter the burrows of water voles and therefore able to wipe out whole families. It is believed that mink are no longer present in this part of Cornwall but the site is being carefully monitored. Four mink rafts were purchased by the Trelusback Foundation for Wildlife Conservation charity to monitor the site for mink and these rafts have also proven to be excellent for monitoring water voles and other mammals. The rafts contain blocks of wet clay and any animal walking through the rafts leave behind their footprints. Female Water Voles, conveniently for those who are monitoring them, also use the rafts for marking their territories with their droppings.
Water voles are taken by many predators but normally enough survive to reproduce and therefore keeping populations stable. The release of American Mink by animal rights activists many years ago was however devastating for water voles because the mink were able to enter the burrows of water voles and therefore able to wipe out whole families. It is believed that mink are no longer present in this part of Cornwall but the site is being carefully monitored. Four mink rafts were purchased by the Trelusback Foundation for Wildlife Conservation charity to monitor the site for mink and these rafts have also proven to be excellent for monitoring water voles and other mammals. The rafts contain blocks of wet clay and any animal walking through the rafts leave behind their footprints. Female Water Voles, conveniently for those who are monitoring them, also use the rafts for marking their territories with their droppings.
Pond Mud Snail Project
Pond Mud Snails Omphiscola glabra have been introduced to some of the ponds and ditches to increase their populations in West Cornwall. These rare snails typically inhabit low nutrient shallow ponds and ditches which may dry out seasonally. Many of these ponds and ditches have been filled in therefore causing the snails to become endangered. Further details to be added plus photographs. The Pond Mud Snail reintroduction was carried out at the Trelusback Foundation for Wildlife Conservation site by the large national charity Buglife. A considerable amount of work has taken place to improve existing ponds and a contractor was used by Kernow Conservation to create additional ponds and ditches. These will not only be suitable for the snails but also for water voles and dragonflies.
Barn Owl Project
Barn Owls have been seen flying at Trelusback on many occasions and have sometimes used the barns and nest boxes whilst roosting. To date the owls have not used the nest boxes for breeding and have instead been used by Tawny Owls, non-native squirrels and Jackdaws. The Jackdaws have also used a nest box intended for Kestrels.
Nest boxes have been attached to trees and inside barns to provide Barn Owls with suitable nest sites. The fields and scrub have been managed to encourage voles and mice which will provide food for the Barn Owls and other predators such as Kestrels and Buzzards. In April 2023 a survey of the nest boxes was carried out and the boxes had been used by Grey Squirrels, Jackdaws and a pair of Tawny Owls. The three Tawny Owl chicks were ringed whilst the parents were absent from the nest.
Nest boxes have been attached to trees and inside barns to provide Barn Owls with suitable nest sites. The fields and scrub have been managed to encourage voles and mice which will provide food for the Barn Owls and other predators such as Kestrels and Buzzards. In April 2023 a survey of the nest boxes was carried out and the boxes had been used by Grey Squirrels, Jackdaws and a pair of Tawny Owls. The three Tawny Owl chicks were ringed whilst the parents were absent from the nest.
Disease-resistant Elm Project
The disease-resistant elm tree trials continue to do extremely well and the different elm species and hybrids have mostly proved to be very suited to the local soils and climate. Most of the elms, which were mainly sourced from research centres and universities in Europe were planted in 2012 and further trees have since been obtained from Spain. Ten of the trees are now flowering profusely each Spring. This makes them suitable for colonisation by the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly. It is believed that the elm trees will also be suitable for a future White-letter Hairstreak research project to study the butterfly's dependence upon the elm's flowers for the early stages of its life cycle. It is anticipated that this research will be carried out by researchers from Exeter University. This butterfly has not been seen at Trelusback for over 20 years since the previously existing Cornish elm trees succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease.
Some of the disease-resistant elm trees have been used by the Comma butterfly with their larvae typically being found on the South side of the trees. Purple Hairstreak butterflies have also been seen feeding on the honeydew left behind by aphids. Many moth species have also used the trees as larval food.
These elms were tested at the research centres and found to have high levels of resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. It is hoped that they will now be suitable to replace the many trees lost to disease over the last fifty years.To date the trees have shown no evidence of damage by disease despite being near the native elms which continue to die back to ground level. Two of the elms obtained from Italy are shown in flower below.
Some of the disease-resistant elm trees have been used by the Comma butterfly with their larvae typically being found on the South side of the trees. Purple Hairstreak butterflies have also been seen feeding on the honeydew left behind by aphids. Many moth species have also used the trees as larval food.
These elms were tested at the research centres and found to have high levels of resistance to Dutch Elm Disease. It is hoped that they will now be suitable to replace the many trees lost to disease over the last fifty years.To date the trees have shown no evidence of damage by disease despite being near the native elms which continue to die back to ground level. Two of the elms obtained from Italy are shown in flower below.