The wonderful thing about our Field Trips is that there are so many of the knowledgeable and expert to help those of us who are neither. But we all share what we do know. It's such fun, noticing something that turns out to be quite interesting and coming away knowing a little bit more.
Garston Wood came up with a whole range of things to fascinate - Andrew Carter's eye was caught by a meadow brown, a greater butterfly orchid, a handsome snail and something nasty-looking going on on a phallus impudicus also known as a stinkhorn fungus. Every day's a school day ... For more about this happy day, go to Field Trips/What you missed. This is Swift Awareness Week and our project to increase the population of Swifts in Tisbury is reaching its final stage - for this year! The project was in response to a nationwide campaign, described in this press release and we have been magnificently supported throughout by the team from Hampshire Swifts. They've advised us, made the nest boxes and installed them, along with some calling systems if swifts aren't already nesting nearby. We certainly couldn't have done it without them. Thank you, Hampshire Swifts! Now, we need to survey how many are breeding here, so that we can assess how effective all the new nest boxes are over the coming years. We're getting together on Thursday evening before going to the ten areas of Tisbury that we're focusing on for the survey. So look out for us, walking slowly around listening and watching for swift activity. If you're interested, please email me at elizabeth_forbes@btinternet.com, or phone me on 07831 253616. Meanwhile, if you'd like to view videos of these amazing birds, I've put the 'library' of those that have so far come our way, on the Projects page. Kingston Lacy Estate, The National Trust
Organiser: Peter Shallcross Our Chairman led an evening walk on Holt Heath Nature Reserve (roughly 5 miles north-east of Wimborne Minster) for an hour or so as dusk came down, in search of glow-worms and nightjars. In a welcome innovation, we joined Peter for supper at the Cross Keys Inn, Holt Rd, Wimborne BH21 7JZ before setting out. If you'd like to go yourself, plan to get there at sunset. Holt Heath is unhelpfully on two different OS maps - OS 118 (Shaftesbury & Cranborne Chase) and OL22 (New Forest) but you can also find it on Dorset Explorer - search for Holt Heath. Head for the pub and then continue westward along the road onto the Heath and look out for a parking area on the road on the left - on the map, its the more westerly of the bridle tracks that cross the road, at SU 051 045. There's an information board (sadly illegible) by the track that you can follow down to a 'cross roads'. Don't forget to take a torch as the ground is quite rough and it will, of course, be dark. First, the Committee's decision to go ahead, then Ed Mayer's brilliant talk in January, recording all the 'expressions of interest', visiting all the potential homes for swifts throughout the village, mapping them and previous known/believed nest sites village-wide, commissioning over 30 nest boxes, installing them and call systems - it's been quite an adventure. Without the encouragement of Ed Mayer at Swift Conservation, and the advice and practical support of Tim Norriss of Hampshire Swifts, we'd definitely not be where we now are. Which is - surveying the existing population to give us a base-line from which to monitor what we hope will be its growth in the years to come. Andrew Graham, our wildlife recording expert, emailed everyone who's expressed interest in the campaign explaining what's involved and asking for help in recording observations. Those who can are getting together on Thursday before going out to each of the 10 areas of the village Andrew has outlined.
By way of celebration and to inspire us, here is the 'library' of videos that have come my way over the last few years. Enjoy!
Because this is a long term project, we'll be repeating the survey every year at around this time. so if you'd like to be involved in future, please email Laura, who's managed to keep us in some kind of order as we made our way through this unknown territory. Andrew Graham keeps us posted on the exotic-looking moths that come into his garden, but we're going in search of other night time wildlife a bit further afield - to Holt Heath, for nightjars and glow worms. Go to Field Trips for more details but hurry - it's this Tuesday, 6 July. By way of apology for having been away so long (it's still that Swifts project that keeps me away!), here is a real Sunday treat. A glorious paean of praise to the nightingale, from the stronghold it's established in Berlin. Enjoy! |
Photo: Avocets (Izzy Fry)
The headers display photos taken by our members. Do get in touch via the Contact Form if you'd like to submit a photo for selection.
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