issue no.23 www.damstodarnley.org Spring forward


Welcome to our twenty third edition of Wagtail, the newsletter and events calendar for Dams to Darnley Country Park.


Inside you will find:


– Winter events look back – A sticky surprise – Wildlife witter – Update on Scottish Water works


– From zero to hero! – Spotlight on freshwater invertebrates


– Spring events calendar


The next edition of Wagtail will be out in summer 2014.


Bluebells in Darnley Mill woodland. In with the new (year)


ThE BiggEST frighT at Halloween was the weather; it was pouring! We still managed to play a couple of games under our gazebo before going on a squelchy, spooky story walk. We had a wonderful day tree planting in November for National Tree Week. In a few hours we managed to plant 300 trees, creating a wildlife corridor and screening next to the railway line fence at Balgray reservoir. The last event of 2013 was ‘winter willow weaving’. We made beautiful wreaths and stars and generally got into the Christmas spirit. To kick off the new year 26 people joined us for a walk around the reservoirs. We shook off our winter


A sticky surprise Christmas wreath making.


blues whilst on the lookout for birds. We spotted a wintering goosander, as well as lots of residents including two dippers. The countryside ranger


service has a range of events planned for 2014 including archery, worm charming and archaeology. A full list of events can be found at www.damstodarnley.org


in JAnuAry, WhilE AT Busby Primary School looking for mini-beasts with primary one pupils, we made a horrific discovery! We found lots of glistening, sticky, dark brown New Zealand flatworms. These flatworms are thought to have been introduced to Scotland in 1965 in soil brought to botanic gardens and nurseries. People purchasing plants and trees from nurseries then unwittingly took the flatworms home in soil. They are now found across mainland Scotland and some islands, mainly in urban gardens where they disperse locally. Flatworms have not yet been recorded in natural environments, so their wider impact is unknown. Flatworms feed almost exclusively on earthworms.


A flatworm.


The reduced number of earthworms has serious negative impacts on ecology. Earthworms are a food source for many animals. They mix the soil and speed up the decay of organic material which improves soil nutrients. The holes that earthworms create also improve drainage. There is one case of a


farmer discovering flatworms in a field and within a matter of years no earthworms could be found. The field then began to flood, yet there had been no record of flooding during the three previous generations.


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