Nethan Valley Angling Association

Just to prove that questions about silt were asked.

2009-03-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

Our Chairman Kemp Meikle was in contact with Hugh Keane Environmental Advisor with Scottish Water Solutions approximately 6 weeks prior to the environmental disaster at the Logan Reservoir happening. Please note the fact that Kemp raised the question of silt on the 27th of March 2008.
Please also note Mr Keane stated that the silt was to be monitored as the reservoir was being drawn down. There were also severe storm warnings for the week the incident occurred! SO WHAT IS THEIR NEXT EXCUSE?
The contact name given in point 3 Mr Kenny Michael must be a figment of their imagination as there has never been anyone of that name on the River Clyde Fishery Management Trust could it have been Kemp Meikle? who is actually asking the questions so why would he be asking if he already knew the answers duh?
Who has egg on their faces now!!!!!!!!!!!
We have also heard through the fishing grapevine that one of Scottish Water's so called independent expert witnesses has jumped ship and is being commissioned by U.C.A.P.A. Ltd to carry out 2 years monitoring the rejuvenation of the upper Logan damaged by the siltation. Is he still a credible independent witness? We also heard that U.C.A.P.A. are to sue Scottish Water for £24,000.00p to pay for the Clyde River Foundation to carry out the survey. What happens if U.C.A.P.A Ltd fail in their claim for compensation will the £24.000.00p be paid from their funds????
The Anglers Conservation Association has reluctantly informed us that they cannot represent the N.V.A.A. as there may be a conflict of interests as they already represent U.C.A.P.A. Ltd. We have asked that our membership fees of the A.C.A. be returned. What happens on other rivers if there is a conflict of interests between two clubs for instance and both are members of the A.C.A.? Who will the A.C.A. chose to represent? Looks like we will need to fight this one on our own and we are not about to let this one rest!!!! If you know any good lawyers out there who can help free of charge or for a small fee please tell them about us DON'T Let Scottish Water get away with this. They are up in front of a Sheriff at Lanark Sheriff Court on the 12th of March 2009 as are Scottish Water Solutions we will be there to watch the proceedings.

OOR WULLIE

2009-02-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

We were sent this cartoon by one of our visitors we thought that it was very appropriate and have decided to post it.Hope you get as big a chucle at it as we did.

Scottish Water Deny Responsibility for Logan Disaster

2009-02-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

Further to receiving this letter we have trawled through our records and found some interesting stuff. A perfect example is the botched attempt at removing silt from the river bed by Scottish Water or their contractors. We have a Scottish Member of Parliament as an eye witness. The photograph at top of page demonstrates exactly what Scottish waters attitude towards the environment is. This is them (or their contractors) having pumped sludge from the river allowing it to break from bund and further pollute a part of the river that had escaped original pollution.
We also had a meeting with 3 representatives from Scottish Water at our hatchery one of whom admitted that it should never have happened and another who advised us in how to claim compensation. Now it seems that they were either lying to us or Scottish Water are now shirking their responsibilities.
For them to claim that such an incident could not be foreseen to escape paying compensation for ruining years of work by the N.V.A.A. is not only immoral its down right disgusting. We will be taking legal action against Scottish Water over this and will be supplying our Lawyers with the names of the Scottish Water representatives who made the statements ( wonder if they will be prepared to deny in court what was said at the meeting and did N.V.A.A.secretly record the meeting????? Did the Scottish Water Representatives happen to notice the video camera siitng in the corner of the hut which may have been accidentally left recording?( in the words of the above letter 'The N.V.A.A could not have foreseen that the camera was recording' If Scottish Water want to go to war over this we say let the 'Games' begin. More damming evidence of Scottish Water polluting our rivers to follow.

Clyde River Foundation Snub Nethan Valley A.A.

2009-02-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

This is a copy of an invitation to a meeting sent to the Mid Clyde Angling Association apparently many other clubs within the Clyde catchment received a similar invite.
It appears that Dr Yeomans of the Clyde River Foundation has chosen not to invite members of the Nethan Valley Angling Association to the meeting which demonstrates his total lack of professionalism in matters relating to the fish stocks and matters relating to the Clyde Catchment area for which he claims the self ordained title of Catchment Manager.
If you read the last paragraph of his letter where we have underlined he has clearly contradicted himself by not inviting our association to the meeting.
Is it perhaps he feels threatened by the knowledge and experience of our river management and research teams? Or is it simply the fact that he has personal issues with Jimmy Delaney and has allowed those issues to cloud his judgement?
He will probably claim that he simply forgot to send an invitation of it was lost in the post. the man is the same when it comes to surveying the River Nethan he basically ignores our association and does what pleases.
The Foundation has been in existence for the same length of time as our association and in that time they have achieved very little except to con local authorities into parting with cash to fund their 'Clyde' in the Classroom project.
Ask the man where is his catchment management plan? what has all his survey work proved? The truth is all of the money spent on surveys etc could have gone to build much needed fish passes.
This is year 10 since the Foundation was initially set up and not one extra fish has made it up the system thanks to any of the work done by them.
The truth of the matter is they are teaching children how to hatch fish artificially instead of teaching the children the problems that face fish in the wild and how to remedy the situation.
There are two hatcheries within the Clyde catchment yet the CRF chooses to buy their fish eggs from Howietown. Any fish that survive the classroom are released into local waters, where is the sense in this stocking with fish alien to the catchment? Perhaps the CRF should re-name their project as Howietown in the classroom and stop conning people into believing its Clyde in the Classroom.

Ask Yourself This

2009-01-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

If Scottish Water are not responsible for the Logan Water Pollution then why are they paying scientists £24,000p out of the public purse? No doubt we will have to fight tooth and nail for any compensation due to us but here we see them handing over more than twice what we have claimed for scientists to monitor a section of river for which they have no baseline data. What are any results of surveys going to be based on 'pie in the sky figures'? Easy money if you can get it.
Several angling associations and clubs are now actively seeking information in relation to pollutions which have happened in their own particular sections of river which involve Scottish Water these figures when compiled will be published and no doubt will make for interesting reading.
We have also heard that U.C.A.P.A.Ltd have engaged the services of the A.C.A. and are currently pursuing a claim against Scottish Water in relation to the Logan 'Incident' given the fact that they have done nothing to improve or stock said tributary then surely it would be in order for the Mid Clyde Angling Association to also submit a claim as any of the migratory fish spawning up there have to come through their section of the river first therefore any damage to stocks caused by the pollution directly affects them too. It is a sad state of affairs that a recovering salmon system should be subjected to such avoidable catastrophes.
We hope that valuable lessons have been learned on this occasion and that nothing like this is EVER allowed to happen again.
What we advise Scottish Water to do the next time is before any reservoir is drained
1 Video tape the first mile of river downstream from the proposed works
2 Carryout aquatic invertebrate surveys above and below the reservoir
3 Carry out electro-fishing to establish fish species and approximate numbers present
4 CONTACT ALL people with fishing interests within the chosen catchment area as they may have information on 2 & 3 They may have stocked the section so should have records of numbers and size.
5 When reservoir has been drained down ensure that someone is on 24hr standby to close the valves if a major storm is forecast, yes this may delay the works by a few days but surely that is better than wiping out a full section of pristine river or is profit the driving force in these scenarios?
6 God forbid it but should a similar incident occur Not only S.E.P.A but the angling associations or clubs should also be informed. Instead of having to find out from a third party like we did. Fortunately we had a warranted bailiff who was in the area and who was able to attend immediately on receiving the information, to video tape the whole scenario or perhaps we would never have gotten to hear about it hmmmmmmmm.

We believe that the above six steps are not beyond reason and are very simple to do
and if they help prevent another ecological disaster like this one then it will have been money well spent.

E-mail from Bell Ingram

2009-01-09T04:22:00.000-08:00

Is This Company for |Real?

2009-01-09T03:43:00.000-08:00

It appears that Scottish Water has taken the view that they are not liable for the Logan Pollution incident in May of 2008. If not them who is? Who can they blame? their sub contractors? We would imagine that the sub contractors produced a method statement which was approved by Scottish Water. We would have been unaware of the current situation had we not contacted Bell Ingram in relation to the length of time which had elapsed since they last contacted us. So much for the promise that was made to us by certain representatives form Scottish Water about keeping us informed. We have also asked Scottish Water for various details under the Freedom of Information Act which they appear to reluctant to disclose. For this reason we have chosen to subscribe to the Anglers Conservation Association who represent angling clubs in cases like this. If you are a member of an angling club and your club has had problems with pollution incidents from Scottish water i.e sewage effluent or other nasties that seem to get into our rivers please contact us. We think the public should be made aware of just how much pollution is actually getting into our river. We are currently investigating how many pollution incidents have occurred within the Nethan Catchment since 2000 and we will publish the results on here. I know that other angling association are carrying out similar investigations.

David against Goliath

2008-10-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

I have been informed by a Scottish Water spokesperson that their legal team are reviewing all of our communications sent to them as I appear to have written derogatory comments about them. What are they going to do to me sue me? I have no money so let them come ahead. I look forward to my day in court as I have a massive portfolio of evidence to present given half a chance.
I have one witness who had Scottish Water at his property today after severe flooding and whose septic tank had overflowed due to the ingress of field water.
When the Scottish Water operative was asked if the bacteria in his septic tank were dead he was told yes. When asked how to kick start the bacteria again he was told by the same operative to shoot 10 rabbits or find a dead sheep and stick that in his septic tank and that would kick start the bacteria.
All correspondence between Scottish Water and the NVAA will now be published on this blog page for the general public to read and they can decide if we are wrong or not.
Perhaps its because we have threatened to highlight every pollution incident above the Tidal Barrier involving the Scottish Water infrastructure.(We are now researching every pollution which has happened in the last 20 years within the Clyde Catchment in an attempt to see which rivers are worst affected by pollutions of any kind. Who knows what we will uncover?)
If it is the NVAA they intend pursuing then they won't get very much as we only have around £350.00p in the bank and even that will soon be spent feeding our wild birds throughout the winter. I for one would love to have my day in court and I hope that the National Press will be there too. It looks like the NVAA now need to seek legal advice which could finish us off financially but we won't go down without a fight.
I am prepared to sell all of my fishing equipment to help fund getting legal assistance.
We have passed copies of all correspondence to date to various parties within the angling world. Which means that if a gagging order is placed on the NVAA the information will still be made public by our supporters.

JD
N.V.A.A.

Clyde River Foundation 'Expert's' Opinion on Upper Logan/cont.

2008-10-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Clyde River Foundation 'Expert's' Opinion on Upper Logan

2008-10-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

So called experts extensive reports on Upper Logan

2008-10-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

NVAA Proposed Upper Logan rejuvenation plan

2008-10-14T04:10:00.001-07:00

N.V.A.A. Proposed Upper Logan rejuvination plan

2008-10-14T03:54:00.000-07:00

Nethan Valley Angling Association Reply to Tree Huggers Comments

2008-10-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

We at the Nethan Valley Angling Association implore that 'Tree Hugger' does not carry out his or her threat to release beasties as they put it into the Upper Logan. We ask that no action is taken by any well wisher and leave this one to the so called 'experts'!
We are awaiting their reports which we will publish on this blog page when we receive them.

James Delaney N.V.A.A.

FISHING UPPER LOGAN

2008-10-07T12:40:00.001-07:00

We invite readers to send in captions of their own, to fisheryinformation@nethan-valley.co.uk

Baby Chinese Painted Quail

2008-10-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Nature doing it for itself cartoons

2008-10-03T16:14:00.001-07:00

Let the Rivers repair themselves

2008-10-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

Latest Information in Relation to Logan Pollution Incident

2008-10-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

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Fran has asked me to update you as to where we are at regarding implementing an appropriate post clean-up monitoring of Logan Water.

Scottish Water Solutions has developed a survey programme designed to assess the recovery of the affected reach of Logan Water (including invertebrate populations) and we are currently discussing the implementation of this programme with ecologists who can undertake the sampling and analysis for us.

Whilst Scottish Water appreciate your intention to assist in the stocking of invertebrates and their eggs into Logan Water, unfortunately we cannot be associated with such work in any way either from an environmental, ecological or legal perspective. I can confirm that none of the ecologists I have spoken with in respect of these waters have recommended the re-stocking of the Logan with invertebrates, but I also recognise that you have known and worked with these waters for many years and therefore respect any decision you make with regard to this action.

The proposed monitoring programme is designed to assess and demonstrate the ecological recovery of the Logan Water over a period of years. For this reason, any introduced numbers of invertebrates could and most likely will affect the results of any monitoring programme that is carried out.

Please contact me should you require further information on what we are proposing.

Kind regards
Hugh Keane

Environmental Advisor
Scottish Water Solutions
Leven House
Balmore Road
Glasgow G22 6NP
Telephone: 0141 355 5800

As you can clearly see Scottish Water have decided allow the Upper Logan Water to recover under its own steam so to speak. If this incident had occured on the likes of the River Tay or Tweed do you think the respective District Salmon Fishery Boards would allow them to basically wreck a river then walk away from it? I think not.
We at the Nethan Valley Angling Association were prepared to restock the affected area with similar invertebrates to those wiped out by Scottish Water free of charge.
As the River is apparently being abandoned to its own devices we would like Scottish water to answer the following questions.
1. Were invertebrate or fish surveys carried out in affected area prior to their major fauxpas? If not where are the scientists going to compare figures against as no one knows how much of the River was affected.
2. Is this not the second time that the Water Authorities have caused serious damage to this very important spawning tributary in the last 20 years and what did they do to help its recovery last time they destroyed it?
3. What food is going to be available to juvenile fish hatching from this years spawning of sea trout and brown trout or are they merely just another acceptable casualty in the big game of science?
4. Given that S.E.P.A. intend fitting a fish pass at their gauging station further down the catchment in the very near future and that lots more fish are expected to get past the structure what will their protege feed on if they chose to spawn in Upper Logan?
5. When will there be an acceptable number of invertebrates available for these anticipated extra fish's protege to feed on?
6. Evidence of otter activity was clear to see when pollution occurred, when will there be enough food IE fish available for them to survive on?
7. Several pairs of Oyster Catchers use upper Logan as nesting sites will there be enough food available for them and their brood?
8. We can see that by letting the river recover on its own scientist may learn how quickly a river recovers after such an incident occurs. Truth is it should never be allowed to occur again in the future and we hope Scottish Water have learned a valuable lesson on this occasion so there is no need for the boffins to do the tests. The river must be put back to the way it was with the greatest of urgency.
We have asked 3 river managers for their views on Scottish Waters answer to the problem and they all disagree with the boffins. I think given the experience of these guys have I would tend to listen to them before listening to some academic. The only people who will benefit from all of this will be the scientists who will no doubt be paid an exorbitant fee for their study work and not one penny will be spent helping the river or its related fauna.
It is also our understanding that we are not the only angling association who have on going issues with Scottish Water in relation to their equipment causing pollution to our rivers.Sewage Pumping Stations 1 & 2 at Cambuslang are faulty on a fairly regular basis. We can produce evidence to support this if required.
What Scottish Water need to realise is the River Clyde is a recovering salmon river and many of her tributaries are vital to the continued expansion of the salmon numbers within the catchment. Many rivers have limited access for migratory fish because of man made barriers etc, therefore every spare square inch of spawning water is vital to the system as a whole. Yet they are prepared to play around with 1.5kms of spawning and nursery area. If it is going to take 5 years for the Upper Logan to fully recover naturally does this mean that it will be that length of time before it is use to fish?
As for allowing nature to look after itself one of our members sent us some cartoons which we thought might highlight the fact that Mother Nature often needs a helping hand. Hope they make you smile but there is a serious message behind them.
We have asked for copies of the reports compiled by the consultants, to date we have had no reply. We will now be formally requesting the information under the Freedom of information(Scotland)Act
If you disagree with Scottish Waters approach to the recovery of the Upper Logan please contact Fran Millar, Fran.Millar@scottishwatersolutions.co.uk

New Compound for Ducks and Quail

2008-07-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Resued baby Teal Duck

2008-06-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

This young duck was rescued after it's mother and siblings were lost to a Mink, he has been named Squeak and appears to have settled in with the rest of our ducklings.
Hopefully the youngster will be ready for release in a few weeks.

Bubbles ,Fudge and Chiko enjoying new home

2008-06-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Chiko, Fudge and Bubbles enjoying new home

2008-06-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Update on Logan Incident

2008-06-03T01:32:00.000-07:00

We are very happy to report that we had a meeting with three representatives from Scottish Water Solutions on Friday 30th May. The meeting went exceptionally well with both parties agreeing to work very closely together in an attempt to quickly re establish the fauna as soon as the section has been totally cleaned up. Contractors are now pumping sludge from the river bed in an attempt to remove it. We presented a re rejuvenation plan which we hope will be adopted which should mean that the river recovers quicker than by simply allowing natural re establishment.

Bubbles, Fudge and Cheeko after swim

2008-06-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

Fudge is the little dark one, Cheeko is bigger of two light coloured ducklings which means that the smaller one is Bubbles. These are pet names for my Grandchildren.

Fluffy and dry

2008-06-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

baby ducklings enjoying swim

2008-05-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

Younger ducklings enjoying a swim

2008-05-31T15:42:00.000-07:00

The three young ducklings in the video are too small to be taken up to the Hatchery Pond. They are being cared for at home until they are a bit bigger which shouldn't be too long given the amount they eat.We hope to take these little guys around local schools to let the children see them. We allow them two swims a day for about 15 minutes each time and they seem to love it.

New Kids on the block up close

2008-05-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

We have invited the pupils of Robert Smillie Primary School Larkhall to name our new ducklings.

Our New attractions

2008-05-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hatching a plan or planning a hatch?

2008-05-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

Due to the loss of our wild ducklings to crows and seagulls we decided to try hatching some eggs ourselves. Not only will the chicks and ducklings prove to be a great attraction to visiting children, but we will also have a source of organic free range eggs when they become adults. We have kindly been given eggs by Hugh Smith of Kypeside Fishery and Lawrie Clelland of the Hawksnest Farm, Burnfoot. The quail eggs were bought not knowing if the were viable or not but it seemd that they are as we have seen the eggs rocking slightly. We hope to follow the hatch of our first egg and film each stage.

Evidence of siltation 16kms from Logan Reservoir

2008-05-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Since the association found out about the pollution, we have been out checking the river from the source of the incident. We have checked 16 kilometers so far and are still finding silt deposits in every slow glide or pool. So much for Scottish Water's press statement about only fish in reservoir and 1.5 kms of river being affected. One would think that the big companies would be sure of their facts before opening their big fat lying mouths. S.E.P.A. are as bad in this case as they claim that operatives were out in the field and found no siltation below the Dunside feed. These are supposed to be trained personnel yet our trained and untrained team found silt 16kms from source of the incident having tracked it all the way from the Logan Reservoir. They managed to spot it wearing polarised sun glasses cost £10.00p, we would ask that S.E.P.A. issue their field staff with such glasses and go back and have a proper look. Or perhaps it is imaginary silt we are finding throughout the course of the river. It is also strange that none of the feeder burns are silted, so where could it have come from??? The answer is simple it came from the Logan end of story. Take a look at the film and make your own minds up as Scottish Water's spin doctor will probably come up with another fairy tale.

A past project and proof that burns did not cause siltation

2008-05-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

If feeder burns are neglected they become blocked and useless for fish, it is our policy to keep an eye on our spawning and nursery burns and indeed the whole river ensuring that blockages do not occur. If they do we try to address them as quickly as possible to prevent that area from degrading in habitat for fish and indeed other fauna. The video clip shows an area that had a completely blocked channel after a landslide in 2003 and with the permission of the riparian owners, a team consisting of Scott Delaney(15) Scott Connahan(15) Chris Fraser (15) Jim Stewart (16) and Jimmy Delaney (48) cleared the blockage and diverted the burn to prevent further erosion. That was 5 years ago and the results can be seen today.
The film was also taken to demonstrate that our feeder burns did not cause siltation in following piece of film just in case the Water Authorities try more misleading spin.

BBC web page report on pollution at Logan reservoir

2008-05-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

The N.V.A.A. would like to point out that the local angling club mentioned in Scottish Waters statement on their web site refersto the Wellbrae Angling Club who have the fishing rights to the reservoir. They have not, repeat not approached the N.V.A.A. in regards to compensation. We however are trolling our records and are compiling a year by year account of how many fish have been stocked. It also appears from the Scottish Water statement that the only fauna to suffer was the fish in the reservoir. How wrong they are !!!!! What idiot issued that statement it can clearly be seen from our video footage that the river is destroyed and that more than just fish have suffered and continue to suffer through their negligence. This is company that supplies drinking water to the private and public sector, we bet that if we had polluted their reservoir we would be in the criminal courts. We are also checking the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 and believe that we can press criminal charges in relation to knowingly injuring or destroying salmon juveniles however before we go down that route we will check with the Scottish Executive. We feel that given the bank of silt apparently collapsed on the 9th of May and given the weather forecast for the following day they knowingly allowed that silt to escape. The fact that they may not known that sea trout ( for the purposes of the act they are classed as salmon) spawned below the reservoir is down to them not contacting us before works commenced we would have told them about them. They say ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law.
Perhaps they will be a bit more clearer when trying to sell their spin, you know us, we like everyone to know the facts and will keep everyone updated through this blog page. this is not spin!!!!!!! We invite Scottish Waters Spin Doctor to reply to this!

Logan Pollution 10.5.08

2008-05-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Nethan Valley Angling Association may have mistakenly mentioned the 8th of May 2008 as the date of the incident. The date which it did occur was Saturday 10th of May we apologise for any confusion.
We have now walked the entire length of the Logan Water and part of the River Nethan as far as Burnfoot, near to Kirkmuirhill. We found evidence of siltation at Burnfoot which is 16 kms from the Logan Reservoir. We are sure that it will probably reach as far as the River Clyde given the ferocity of the storm that night and the amount of rain that fell in a short period of time. An example of how the storm affected some areas can be seen on a previous blog.
While we concede that the river is not badly affected that far down it is the upper 3kms that worries us. We estimate that 1.4km has been totally destroyed the next 3.7km severely affected then below that every slow pool or glide has some degree of siltation. We checked every feeder burn and the River Nethan above its confluence with the Logan Water for similar siltation and surprise surprise we found none. This leads us to the conclusion that most of the silt witnessed throughout the section checked emanated from the Logan Reservoir. Scottish Water have discussed compensation for the Wellbrae Angling Club who have the fishing rights in the reservoir. They have not contacted us and we have been stocking that water for around 7 years with brown trout fry and parr some of which were eye-tagged. The good news is that Scottish water have been served with an enforcement notice and have 4-6 weeks to clean up their mess.
They made a comment on the BBC web page about local angling club having been offered compensation. What we want to know is why was this kept quiet? Scottish Water are aware of our interests in the river but failed to inform us of this disaster? Has there been an attempt to keep this from the angling and indeed general public? We understand that public health warning notices are to be erected in the area!!!!

Major pollution incident Logan Water 1

2008-05-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

The following 9 sections of video cover approximately 1.5 kms of the upper Logan Water. You will see in the videos that a major incident has occurred in this area which apparently happened on the 8th of May 2008. We find it shocking that such a pollution could be allowed to happen especially in a tributary of a recovering salmon river namely the River Clyde. We stock this tributary every year with up to 10,000 trout fry and 5000 parr and have been doing so since the hatchery was first built.
Scottish Water report that they were unaware of our existence and for that reason did not contact us prior to repair works to the valves in the Logan Reservoir Dam. We did however let them know of our existence a few months ago and informed them of our fears regarding these works.
Given that the pollution took place almost a week ago we find it strange that we had not been informed of its occurrence and had to find out about it through a third party. We could not believe what we had been told and set out to examine the area in question for ourselves. What you are about to see is shocking evidence in relation to engineers not knowing what to do and you will see straw bales laced at various locations within the most heavily affected area. these bales have proven to be totally ineffective in preventing over 1.5km of river being choked to death.
What we would like to know is 1 who is responsible for this ecological disaster
2 what do Scottish Water propose to do about removing what is thousands on tons of thick black stinking sludge from the river bed.
3 what are they going to do to get the river restocked with aquatic invertebrates and fish
4 what other fauna has been affected by the siltation, birds such as dippers wagtails sandpipers and oyster catchers all rely on this area to feed their young from aquatic invertebrates.
How many baby otters are going to starve to death because all the fish have been killed. The valve in the reservoir is now closed but we were informed by the workmen that it will need to be opened again which will cause more silt to be released into the Logan watercourse. We publicly demand an explanation from Scottish Water in relation to what has gone on and we will be seeking a fair bit in compensation once we go over our records and try to establish exactly how many fish were released each year. To prevent this incident being lost in some obscure file somewhere we thought that the pollution is so bad that the general public should be made aware. 2 national news papers are looking into it and BBC have shown a great deal of interest too
We apologise for the 9 sections of film but it was the only way we could upload film from start to finish. Each section filmed reveals its own particular horror story..
Our research team will be back out on the river to check for evidence of further damage through siltation downstream of their lower 'Barrier'. Any idiot can see that when the water reaches the top of the bales it will be forced out across adjoining fields thereby polluting farmers land as well as his river.
We would beg anyone who is having similar work carried out on a reservoir near them to monitor it very carefully in a bid to prevent a similar situation arising

Major pollution incident Logan Water 2

2008-05-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Major pollution incident Logan Water 3

2008-05-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Major pollution incident Logan Water 4

2008-05-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

Major pollution incident Logan Water 5

2008-05-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

Major pollution incident Logan Water 6

2008-05-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Major pollution incident Logan Water 7

2008-05-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

Major pollution incident Logan Water 8

2008-05-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Major pollution Incident on Logan Water Part 9

2008-05-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Major Ecological Disaster

2008-05-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

We needed some, rain we got some!

2008-05-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

After a week of very high air temperatures often in the mid 20's Celsius our water supply at the hatchery began to dwindle. Pond temperatures soared to 20c by the end of the week and water supply was becoming an issue. On Saturday 10Th May 2008 temperatures again reached into the mid 20's c but the air felt muggy. Around 1630hrs thunder could be heard in the distance but seemed to be approaching rapidly then around 1640 hrs the storm was directly overhead. The following footage of that storm was captured on video.
Our biggest fear now is that a lot of damage will have occurred to river beds through extensive scouring. Fortunately the storm only lasted for about 30 mins before abating or extensive flooding could have occurred locally.

Are these Swans mating?

2008-05-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

In conjunction to what appears a mating display, Angel has been attempting to build a nest on our island. To help her we placed half a bale of straw on the island which she has formed into a nest. We were lead to believe that the two swans were siblings will they interbreed?

A Moose Loose Aboot Oor Hoose

2008-05-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

Smooth Newt tadpoles

2008-04-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Heartbreak at Hatchery

2008-04-28T03:55:00.000-07:00

We think that the blue tit was stung to death by wasps which had decided to use the nest box too. The wasp bike was lying on the floor of the box and was either knocked down by the blue tit prior to be stung or during the ensuing struggle while being stung. Either way sadly the blue tit died. This type of conflict must go on all over the country in nest boxes unnoticed by anyone, so if you are checking your nest boxes be careful their may be something a bit more sinister than a blue tit inside it. This is Nest Box 4 our observation box, it has been cleaned out and hopefully another blue tit may take up residence.

Daisy and her brood

2008-04-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

7 ducklings successfully hatched and are seen swimming close to mum, unfortunately this is the best image we managed to capture

Is this a Rock Bunting?

2008-04-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Can anyone help us identify this bird, we have checked a few bird books and the nearest we can find to it is a Rock Bunting. This is another first for us at the hatchery and we are very keen to establish the true identity of this little bird.

Clearly a Great Idea!!!!

2008-04-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

This fantastic inexpensive bird feeder is a fantastic asset to us in our quest for good film footage of the wild birds. It cost around £1.99p from Pets at Home but can be sourced by contacting the manufacturing company by e-mail at following address bertram.meripac@btinternet.com or check out their web page on www.meripac.com

Large Stonefly Nymph AKA Gadger

2008-04-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

This nymph is a large Stonefly ( Plecoptera) which like clean well oxygenated water, these are one of the species used by biologists etc to monitor water quality. Full details can be viewed on our web page. This particular species rates a score of 10 which is the highest. If they are placed in a limited supply of water as the oxygen is used up they insect begins to do press-ups to force more water through their gills which are located on body between the legs.

Hugh Johnston with new bird feed station

2008-04-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

Mr Hugh Johnston from Lesmahagow kindly agreed to take on board a wild bird feeding station and a Bumble Bee hive. We hope that Hugh gets as many hours of pleasure from his bird table as we get from ours. Hugh gave association a donation of £10.00p and for this we are grateful.

We have recently been given a 20kg bag of wild bird seed by Sandy Stewart from Carluke, and a 12.75 kg bag of wild bird seed by Hugh Smith from Kypeside Fishery, in return we gave Hugh two nesting boxes to be erected at his fishery.

First Frog Tadpoles being released

2008-04-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

Young Paul and Ross releasing frog tadpoles into wildlife pond, these are the first of many hopefully.

Grey Squirrel getting free feed

2008-04-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here we see a Grey squirrel taking advantage of a free feed notice the plump condition of this little animal. Although cute they have a devastating effect on our native Red Squirrel populations by passing on a deadly virus which they themselves are immune to. They are also guilty of taking young birds, steps are being taken throughout the country to eradicate them.

Creating a floating food station

2008-04-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

This raft feeder can be filled with water and thereby lowered in height to suit young ducklings when they hatch.

A friend of the Nethan

2008-04-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here we see the proud recipient of one of our bird feeding stations built by the lads. Mr Hugh Johnston kindly agreed to take on board a feeder and a Bumble Bee Hive which we set up outside his home in Lesmahagow. He reports that he is getting lots of Blue Tits and Great Tits at the feeder with the occassional visit from a squirrel. We hope that Hugh gets as much pleasure from his feed station as we do from ours.

More Woodpecker footage

2008-04-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today both Woodpeckers arrived together, however they were slightly less tolerant of each other than normal. They are fascinating birds and are very intelligent, their antics are often comic, which fascinates our visitors. Although they come to feed every day, sometimes several times a day, we are still enthralled by their sheer beauty

New arrival at pond

2008-04-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

This female Mute Swan (pen) was rescued from being killed by bullying by other swans, she has a deformed wing and cannot fly. We thought that it would be in the birds best interest to remove it from harm and provide it with a safe haven. The swan will also help us combat weed growth in the pond, cutting down on the amount of heavy maintenance work. The swan has been named Angel due to the fact that her wings are always erect similar to an angel cake.

Mute Swan on nest

2008-04-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

Trout Fry being released

2008-04-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

These are the first of our fed fry to be released , we released over 10,000 pre-fed fry into the Logan Water at various locations at the beginning of February this year. In this film there are approx 3000 trout fry being released.

A Bird in the Hand

2008-04-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

We are happy to report that this little bird fully recovered, flew away and was later seen returning to feed at the bird table.

A Bird in the Hand

2008-04-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

What a privilege it was to approach the little Blue tit and for it to sit on my thumb without showing signs of distress. We are happy to report that it fully recovered and was seen feeding a few minutes later.

A slightly injured Blue Tit

2008-04-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

We found this little Blue Tit in a state of distress and think that it had been attacked by a Sparrow Hawk. We took it into one of our huts and kept it warm, it subsequently recovered and managed to fly off.

Ringed Siskin

2008-04-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Over the last two winters we have noticed that some of the young Siskins that visit us are ringed. We have tried in vain to find out more about possible ringing in the local area. If anyone can help with information we will be grateful.

A simple Bumble Bee Hive Part 1

2008-03-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

We apologise for the fact that the video had to be loaded in three parts due to the size of file. Unfortunately Steven Speelburg (fictional character) was not available to direct this film.

To build this simple Bumble Bee Hive the following tools and materials are required

Tools. Handsaw, hacksaw blade, cordless drill with screwdriver attachment or screwdriver, a silicon gun and silicon, ruler and marker pen.

Materials. 3 lengths - 400mm x 150mm x 13mm timber

3 lengths - 400mm x 100 x 50mm timber

1 length - 90mm x 20mm dia. plastic pipe

1 x 300mm plastic flower pot

1 x 300mm plastic lid (exterior ply could be used)

25 x 30mm screws,

Polypropylene wool

Method. When all materials have been cut to size begin by constructing base, then cut hole in pot through the lip to take the 20mm dia. pipe. Place nesting material ( poly prop wool) inside pot then turn pot upside down and screw on to base, the back of the pot being positioned approx 15mm in from edge of base. If the pot has a lip drainage holes will be required. The 20mm pipe is inserted into the prepared slot and silicon in position. A bead of silicon in then applied around the whole of the base of the pot where it meets the wood. Finally the lid is fixed into position by means of a screw down through the center.

A simple Bumble Bee Hive Part 2

2008-03-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

A simple Bumble Bee Hive Part 3

2008-03-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

Donnald and Daisey Have eggs

2008-03-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

Great news, today 31st March 2008 while checking the island, we discovered that Daisey was sitting on 9 eggs, we managed to grab this picture when she was off the nest feeding thereby creating minimal disturbance to the nest. She may lay more as Mallards can lay up to a clutch of 12 eggs. We will keep this particular blog updated and hopefully in around 20 days we will be able to film the ducklings. We will also be keeping a wary eye open for predators especially when she is off the nest feeding, we have a colony of Rooks nearby and the odd Carrion Crow is known to visit feeding area.

Ducks have nest with 9 eggs

2008-03-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

A simple Bumble Bee Hive

2008-03-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

Linford the Pond Snail

2008-03-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Pond snails can travel quite quickly through the water on solid surfaces such as plants or the glass of an aquarium as you will clearly see in the film footage. They have also been observed ascending and descending in the actual water column. They have excellent control of their buoyancy and are graceful in both the ascent and descent. They graze on pond weed but have been seen to scavenge on dead fish. They lay their eggs in batches in a jelly like substance which adheres to any material below the water surface. Snail numbers can rapidly increase throughout the summer months. Fish feed on the smaller snails which often form a major part in their diet.

We have calculated that this snail is travelling at 100mm/min or 6 mtrs/hr.

Frog tadpoles in aquarium

2008-03-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

These are some frog tadpoles hatched from the first batch of spawn we collected, they hatched within 3 days of being placed in aquarium due to water temperatures being around 18c. The hatch rate in the wild would be much slower than that. These tadpoles will be used as study subjects then released back to the pond the spawn was removed from.

Yellow Hammer

2008-03-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Yellow Hammer or Scottish Canary is a strikingly beautiful little bird and could once be heard on a regular basis when walking in the countryside. sadly like many other species they are now in serious decline. The song is very distinct and sounds like it is singing "A little bit of bread and no cheese pleaseeeeee" or so my grandpa told me many years ago. We sometimes have a pair but so far this year only one has been seen, lets hope the partner isn't too far away.

Birds get new feed station

2008-03-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the generosity of our close neighbours Mark and Paula our wild birds now have a state of the art bird feeding station. The whole thing including accessories and a bag of sunflower seeds came to around £25.00p. With caring people like these about we can ensure that at least some wild birds will survive. Thank you both!!!

Frogs gathering to spawn

2008-03-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

The second lot of frogs have arrived and are currently spawning in all of our ponds, we collected a further 10 batches of spawn and moved it to the safety of a 9ft diameter circular tank. The tadpoles will be released back into wildlife ponds when hatched.

If you disregard the sound of passing aircraft you will clearly hear the frogs croaking and birds singing.

Frequency of visits by Blue Tits and Great Tits

2008-03-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Peanuts and bird seed was scattered around bird tables and placed in feeders at 1040 hrs on Tuesday 25th March 2008, and observation of Blue Tits and Great Tits began at 1045 for a 30 minute period. This was repeated throughout the day at different times and the results were as follows. (Blue Tits took only peanuts whereas Great tits seemed to favour sunflower seeds) Almost every bird took their chosen food away.

1045 until 1115 82 Blue Tit visits 28 Great Tit visits

1355 until 1425 93 Blue tit visits 35 Great Tit visits

1500 until 1530 95 Blue Tit visits 32 Great Tit visits

this equates to an average of 90 Blue Tits every 30 mins and 31 Great Tits over same period

We also weighed sample batches of Peanuts and found that they each weighed on average approx 0.5g

Blue Tits weigh approx 11 gms whereas Great Tits weigh approx 19 gms

Given that Blue Tit numbers remain fairly constant throughout the day and that 1 individual bird was seen to take 1min 12 secs to eat a peanut can anyone out there estimate how many Blue tits we have visiting . We estimate that a total of approx 427gms of peanuts were removed by Blue Tits during the observation time period .
If each bird eats its own body weight in peanuts per day(11g) we recon that we have at least 38 individual birds is this true???

Variety is the Spice of Life

2008-03-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

They say that variety is the spice of life, then as far as bird species visiting the hatchery feeding area life must be spicey indeed.

Over the last two days the following species have been seen feeding

Blackbirds Robins Mallard Ducks Great Spotted Woodpecker Yellow Hammer Wren Rook

House Sparrows Greenfinches Chaffinches Dunnocks Pheasant Carrion Crow Goldfinch

Wood Pigeons Pied Wagtail Coal Tits Great Tits Blue Tits.

Also seen within the hatchery grounds were Fieldfares Redwings Heron Tufted Ducks

Teal Ducks Magpies and a Sparrow Hawk.

On other occasions we have had Bramblings Long Tailed Tits Starlings Jackdaw Black Headed Gulls and

often seen flying above the hatchery are Buzzards with the occasional sighting of a Peregrine Falcon

In some cases the individual species numbers can be quite high. Chaffinches being the highest number recorded to date, last year 104 were counted at one time.

Today we counted 84 peanuts being taken away by Blue Tits in a 30 minute period, given the fact these the birds had been feeding since 0800hrs and that the observations were carried out between 1410 hrs and 1440 hrs we feel that this is an exceptional amount of visits from this particular species. We carried out the same observation time in relation to Great Tit Visits and the result was that there had been 38 visits in the same time period.
Perhaps some keen ornithologist out there can make some sense of these numbers. We will carry out a similar count tomorrow as soon as feeders have been loaded to see if there is an increase in frequency of visits or decrease.

Robin

2008-03-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

We have identified 4 different robins which are regular visitors at the feed station, they can be quite aggressive at times towards each other. They are beginning to display as spring arrives and the aggression levels are increasing.

Rook

2008-03-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

We have a rookery about 3/4 of a mile from the hatchery and we often get rooks visiting taking advantage of the free food.

A Rook

2008-03-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

Another new visitor

2008-03-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here we see a Pied Wagtail although they can be seen on a regular basis down near the river this is the first time we have observed one at our feeding area. We hope that it will nest close to the pond as these little birds are a delight to watch catching flies on the wing.

'Great news' as of Tuesday 25th March we now have a pair of Pied Wagtails we are hopeful of these beautiful birds nesting nearby.

New Nesting Box being inspected by first time buyers

2008-03-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

This year the association has constructed 8 nesting boxes and erected them at various locations around hatchery. We had 2 boxes last year which were successful in producing two families of Blue Tits. This year we have launched Sponsor a Nest Box and so far 5 boxes have been sponsored. The box in the video is sponsored by Jane Kirkwood and as you can see the Great Tits seem very interested in being first time users of this box. Each of our sponsors will be kept informed of how the box performed and if it was occupied. We hope to construct more boxes which will be erected at various locations within the Nethan Valley.

If you are interested in sponsoring a nest box send a cheque or postal order for £2.50p made out to the Nethan Valley Angling Association and send it to Ross Meikle (treasurer) 5 Cedar Crescent, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. (please include your e-mail or home address so that we can keep you up to date on box)

Sponsors So Far

Box 1 Jane Kirkwood

Box 2 Jane Kirkwood

Box 3 Neil Donnelly

Box 4 Christine Weir

Box 5 William Weir

Box 6 June Gibson

Box 7 June Gibson

Box 8 June Gibson

Box 9 June Gibson

Box 10 June Gibson

Box 11 June Gibson

Saved from certain death

2008-03-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

By removing frog spawn from our wildlife ponds, placing it in our frost free hatchery and nurturing during times of hard frost, we hope to save thousands of tadpoles for the future.

Saving our Frogs

2008-03-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

We have recently noticed that the frogs are beginning to spawn in our various wildlife ponds. The first batch was destroyed by overnight frost so we have now taken the precaution of removing all new spawn close to the surface of the water and transferring it to our frost free hatchery. We hope that this ensure that many more tadpoles will hatch given the fact that frog numbers are on the decline. We will keep you informed as to our success. We have compiled a fact sheet for looking after frog spawn, although we do not condone removal of spawn from the wild, if resulting tadpoles are returned to their place of origin then no harm will have been done in fact some benefit might occur

New Hatchery building getting a roof fitted

2008-03-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

There is always some form of improvement going on at the hatchery, here we see some of the lads fitting roof sheets to the new building in October 2007. There has been a tremendous amount of work carried out since we first began the hatchery project much of it unseen, but those who participated know only too well what has been achieved. The work is a credit to the lads and lassies who made it all possible and who do it all for free.

Beauty and the Beasts

2008-03-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

A walk around the hatchery facilities

2008-03-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

This film was taken last year and a lot more work has been done since then. We thought that you might like to see what the area is like when in bloom.

Siskins

2008-03-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

These are some of our favourite visitors and although small they can be very aggressive at times, they are also the least timid of our visitors often allowing us to get very close. The colours of the males can be spectacular.

Wood Pigeon

2008-03-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

We often get some passing visitors taking advantage of free food and this wood pigeon first appeared a few weeks ago but is now becoming a regular

Building trust

2008-03-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here we see young Paul standing close to feeders and you will see birds coming in to feed. Some of our little birds show complete indifference when we are about

Male Brambling

2008-03-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

We would ask you to excuse the commentary in the background. the radio was playing in the research room and the film has picked up the conversation.

Feeding Frenzy

2008-03-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

This film shows just some of the little birds that come to us for food, on average we put out 2 kilos of peanuts and 1 kilo of wild bird seed every day. Often something unusual will catch our eye when observing the birds, such as spotting a young male Brambling on the 13Th of March which had a pink ring attached to its left leg. We are actively trying to get some photographs of this bird. Perhaps someone can help here, if they have any knowledge of Bramblings being ringed particularly with pink rings.

Upper Avon Angling Association

2008-03-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Upper Avon Angling Association is another one of the small associations who work tirelessly to improve the river and surrounding habitat. The association has several brown trout leases in the upper reaches of the River Avon in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Like us the guys are all volunteers and give up most of their spare time to help make the association a success. We also know what it is like when starting out initially, many will view them with suspicion the truth is the upper Avon was sadly neglected in the past but it has now received attention. The main players are William Weir, J C Tait, John McSkimming who have spent a few years running their hatchery facility at their own expense, but the other members on board are also dedicated to the task.
We wish them well for the future and if they require any assistance then we will be there to help them. We look forward to the new season and hope to come over for a couple of days fishing on this excellent stretch of water controlled by the lads. To see what this great bunch are up to, visit their web page on http://upperavonangling.googlepages.com/
P.S. They have some of the cheapest brown trout/grayling fishing in the country with adult permits being £6.00p and children under 12 being allowed to fish for free.

Eye-Tagging the Movie

2008-03-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Eye-tagging the movie

2008-03-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Eye-tagging

2008-03-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

The association sometimes eye tags trout parr to monitor upstream/downstream migration of fish. The tag is a type of resin called Elastimer which has fluorecent properties and comes in various colours. We use a yellow Elastimer, which is inserted into the mucus membrane behind the eye using a siringe similar to the one used for diabetes. The tags have a 95% retention rate and by tagging both eyes we decrease the chance of loosing the tag. The fish are measured, tagged then have their adipose fin removed all of which is done under anaesthetic. When the complete batch of fish have been tagged they are taken to a specific point within the river catchment, usually above a barrier and released after being acclimatised to the river.

The fish can be spotted at night by using a special ultraviolet torch, the tags glow in the dark and show the fish as two little yellow dots in the water. Others are sometimes captured by members fishing, members are asked to report any of these fish captured stating location and if possible scale samples are taken. The scales will determine the age of the fish which immediately lets us know when and where it was released. During an electro-fishing survey three years ago we captured a tagged fish which had been released 4km downstream the year before.

Beauty and the Beasts

2008-03-11T14:43:00.000-07:00