A Ranger writes
Throughout late September and October the ranger service will be involved in assorted attempts at grassland management. The aim is to remove much of the standing vegetation so that it doesn’t die back over winter and rot down into the soil. This reduces the nutrient levels in the soil which, to cut a long story short, should allow wildflowers to flourish long-term (at least that’s the theory). In the past we’ve done this by strimming the area and then raking and lifting the cuttings, but recently we’ve taken to using scythes as an alternative to strimmers.
After our most recent session spotted several voles, frogs and toads within the area. The latter two species will not be out and about for much longer, as both will soon be looking for damp, dark corners in which to spend the winter. Strictly speaking they don’t hibernate, but they will become largely inactive – although frogs and toads will take advantage of warm spells to emerge and forage for insects, worms and slugs. Being amphibians, adult frogs and toads can survive in and out of water, but spend most of the year on dry land, indeed they only really need water to breed in and to live in as tadpoles. The commonest amphibians we’re likely to come across in East Lothian are the aptly named Common frog (pictured above) and Common toad. Common frogs come in a variety of colours ranging from grey, through greens to a sort of yellowy-brown. They have a dark stripe around their eyes and dark blotches scattered irregularly over their body. The skin of the common frog is smooth and moist to the touch - although it’s not a good idea to handle frogs too much, as their skin is sensitive and easily damaged. Frogs have long back legs and will often spring away when threatened.
Common toads are superficially similar to frogs, but there are several differences to distinguish them. Their colouration is usually a grey-brown and the skin is dry and “warty”. This latter fact probably accounts for the old wives’ tale about catching warts from toads (with apologies to any old wives reading this). Toads don’t jump very much, and will tend to crawl away when threatened, or even just sit there. This may be related to the fact that they have very few predators and therefore don’t really need to escape rapidly. Instead they rely on their unpalatable skin, and rather unpleasant toxins exuded from glands on their back, to put off most threats (although hedgehogs and some birds will happily chomp on them).
October may well be your last chance to see these lovely amphibians before they disappear for the winter so keep your eyes peeled when you’re out and about this month.
Share your weather stories to help East Lothian respond to climate change
Online story map gathering details from across South East Scotland
People living and working in, and visitors to, East Lothian are being asked to share their weather stories as part of a project looking at climate change impacts across South East Scotland and how to respond to them.
Through Climate Ready South East Scotland’s online story map, people can add their experiences of how weather is having an effect on their communities, day to day lives, and livelihoods.
The project is led by charity Sniffer, in partnership with six local authorities, including East Lothian Council, to support collaborative climate action in the region. It’s looking at the risks and opportunities from climate change for South East Scotland to guide what action is needed to respond to these and produce a risk assessment. Gathering details from people about how they are being impacted is vital to ensure the responses suggested meet the needs of communities and help to build their resilience.
Climate change is already having an impact in East Lothian as recent extreme weather, such as the high tides and storm on 30 October 2023 which caused damage to North Berwick harbour wall, and Storm Arwen in November 2021 which caused extensive damage, including the felling of a large number of trees at Hedderwick, near Dunbar – part of the John Muir Country Park. We also had a sustained period of heat above 30 degrees and water scarcity warnings in summer 2022. In future there is likely to be more extreme weather like this with hotter, drier summers, wetter winters, and rising sea levels.
These changes are being felt by communities across South East Scotland and the project is gathering evidence of this and how prepared the region is for it. This is being done in two ways; a formal call for organisations, sectors and communities to share any assessments they have done on these issues, and the online story map asking people to contribute their experiences to capture the realities for those whose lives are being impacted by the changing weather.
Stories are added to the map by searching for the location of where it occurred or placing a pin on it, and then answering a few short questions about it – covering what took place and what could be done to help respond to it. Photos can also be added. The project is also working with the region’s community climate action hubs on a programme of events and activities to help communities share their stories and explore solutions to our climate challenge.
The story map is open until 20th December 2024.