Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Volunteers

Tasting Broadway

2012-01-30T15:27:00.000Z

Sorry! This is staff hi-jacking the blog again ... but this time it's about volunteers and volunteering!

Last Wednesday, 25^th Jan, a group of 16 volunteers headed to Broadway Gravel Pit, a small 1.6 hectare wetland reserve just north west of Broadway village. The reserve is a seasonally flooded gravel pit featuring open woodland, scrub and carr woodland which has been colonised by plenty of birds, plants and animals since being used for gravel extraction. It's owned by Wychavon District Council but managed by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

Mark Turner, the volunteer reserve manager for the site, has been involved in the reserve for over 23 years. With his passion for the site and the need for more management, it was decided that we would run a volunteer taster day to raise awareness of the reserve and also to maybe start a regular work party. The taster day gave participants the chance to get involved with some hands-on practical conservation.

There are five species of willow on the reserve: white, grey, crack, goat and osier. These help support a wide range of wildlife - over 150 species of moth are known to feed on the foliage, for example. However, some of the large willows take up large amounts of water. Those of you who know the site will have noticed how dry the gravel pits have been recently. This is due to a combination of factors, such as the general lowering of the water table and the lack of rain, but it is hoped that reducing the amount of large willows will retain water on site. So we felled some of the large willows but stacked the large pieces of timber to form a valuable dead wood habitat.

We also constructed a woven willow screen adjacent to the hide to stop disturbance to the birds by passing visitors. The willow weaving team did a beautiful job, as you can see from this picture.

We also planted some hawthorn and blackthorn saplings in the new hedgerow by the car park so there will be plenty of berries for birds to feed on throughout the winter for many years to come.

The weather held up for us, and we all have a rewarding and fun day. A big thank you to all the attended and hopefully we will see you all soon.

Without our 450 Worcestershire Wildlife Trust volunteers across the county we couldn’t do the range of work we do. From practical conservation to education volunteering, volunteers are involved with all aspects of our work. It’s not just us that benefit, there can be enormous benefits for the volunteers too. It’s a chance to meet new people and learn new skills as well providing the opportunity to keep fit in the great outdoors. If you’re interested in volunteering, whether at Broadway Gravel Pit or elsewhere, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Anna Bunney anna@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org

Conservation Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator

Birdsong at Chance

2012-01-25T09:26:00.000Z

It's been a while since I described what has been happening in Chance Wood. We've continued to work on rhododendron and sycamore control and eaten plenty of cake!

This January we've taken the plunge and started to repair the fence along the public footpath; every previous attempt to make temporary repairs has soon resulted in the wire being cut and little messages written on the posts to the effect that the wood should be open for mountain biking! We've put off attempting more serious repairs until we've been able to gather enough material to make the new fence more difficult to dismantle. John's masterpiece of posts, wire and woven dead-hedge looks pretty substantial but only time will tell if it will stand up to a determined attack.

Our Reserves Officer, Andy, joined us this month and checked the wood for any dangers, particularly in the form of dangerous trees over-hanging the pathways. There is a little non-urgent work that we have now got planned for later this year. As is often the case Andy commented that although Chance Wood is a small reserve it has a great variety of substantial trees, it's always worth taking the time to stand back to admire them.

Yesterday, after the rain, the wood was full of birdsong. In particular two of the larger oaks held a flock of over 100 redwings making enough noise to fill the wood, then going silent before they changed trees, a process that was repeated several times.

There were good numbers of the normal woodland birds; blue, great, coal and long-tailed tits, nuthatches, a treecreeper, great spotted woodpeckers, goldcrests and a pair of colourful bullfinches. Blackbirds and robins were joined by mistle and song thrush, it was good to see a flock of 50 starlings just outside the wood and a number of chaffinches, which had a pretty bad year last year.

The snowdrops are appearing again in small groups and we look to see what effect the mild winter will have had.

Roger, Chance Wood

Devil's Spittleful update

2012-01-19T16:13:00.000Z

The Spittleful mound is starting to re-appear

Following John's blog earlier this week, I thought I'd hi-jack the volunteers' blog and give you a quick staff update on the work at The Devil's Spittleful - hope you don't mind!

I've been regularly visiting the site and, although the work appears extreme, it's great to see the Spittleful mound coming to light for the first time in many years. Clearing the trees makes it much easier to finally see what the heathland is going to look like once it starts to regenerate.

The work will give the rare heathland's plants and animals a chance to recolonise and expand their numbers. In time we hope that birds like woodlark and nightjar will return - they haven't been recorded on the reserve for many many years. Even more well-known birds like green woodpeckers, stonechats, wrens, long-tailed tits and yellowhammers will benefit from the work.

We're already starting to see regeneration of heathland grasses in areas that we'd cleared last year - which is really good to see. Some of the first colonisers of open ground (not just of heathlands) are foxgloves and mullien - both of which germinated last year and will be in flower this summer.

Mullein & foxgloves poking through

The work will take quite a while - we're expecting big machinery to be off site towards the end of February, which is when we'll start fencing. We hope you keep returning to the Devil's Spittleful to watch the changes as they happen over the coming couple of years - we're sure you'll be impressed!

One of several stands of trees we're leaving - this has a mix of old trees, scrub and dead wood - great for a range of wildlife

For more updates, keep an eye on our website.

Thanks
Andy, Reserves Officer

Work at the Spittleful

2012-01-16T16:37:00.000Z

Just been to the Devil's Spittleful where the Trust is undertaking a major piece of restoration work. There's lots happening and the Spittleful mound is slowly becoming visible again. The heathland landscape is re-appearing - the ground is frozen solid so it's easier to see what it'll look like later this year than if it were really muddy because of the heavy machinery.

John, The Devil's Spittleful

Flora of the Malvern Hills

2012-01-09T09:21:00.000Z

Malvern local group's New Year began enthusiastically with a packed hall, mince pies and hot punch. Rob Havard (Conservation Officer of the Malvern Hills Conservators) gave a fascinating talk with many excellent photographs, focussing to begin with on the beauty of the Malvern Hills and the ever-changing colours of the plants and trees which grow there. I don’t think anyone would predict that a talk on flora would start with several pictures of sheep’s sorrel but when you see it mixed with heath bedstraw and masses of wavy hairgrass, you become aware of the deep reds, whites and pinks - all surprisingly beautiful.

There is a remarkable diversity of plants on the Malverns, because of the mixture of acidic and alkaline soils, lowlands and uplands, tree cover and open grassland, wetlands and dry thin soil. Several species are common here but rare elsewhere like climbing corydalis on acidic soil and llime-loving spring cinquefoil. Yellow flags grow in abundance in the stream beds, foxgloves appear in exuberant swathes especially in the second year after a clearance or a fire and two kinds of gorse flower all the year round; the European and western kinds. In places there are thousands of orchids, mostly common spotted and southern marsh along with various hybrids.

It was interesting to see a photo of British Camp as it was in 1948 and to realise how it has changed since then. In 2001 the Conservators reintroduced grazing on to the Malverns and this has helped restore and maintain the balance between secondary woodland, bracken and open grassland. There has been a mixed public response to the gates, paths and fencing necessary for the livestock but on the whole walkers appreciate the reasons for them and the Conservators actively encourage dog training to reduce control problems. They are keen to promote all reasonable use and enjoyment of the land, maintaining harmony between conservation and tourism.

We are privileged to live near 3000 acres of beautiful open land, much of it designated SSSI. The Malverns are a haven for reptiles, birds, mammals and flora and we need to continue to look after them and appreciate their beauty.

The next meeting will be on February 2^nd at the Chase 6^th Form Annexe. Phred Newbury will talk about the unique wildlife of Madagascar.

Alison, Malvern Local Group

Dormice at Trench?

2011-12-21T11:57:00.000Z

Andy, James and I undertook a nut hunt at Trench Wood on 11^th December but, in spite of carrying our searches of 5 x 20m squares of suitable woodland, we didn't find any dormouse-eaten nuts. However, as we didn't find many nuts at all, it's likely that, in this instance, this method for detecting thes presence of dormice was not so effective. Next year, therefore, we'll instigate a tube survey to ascertain whether dormice are really absent from this woodland.

Elizabeth

The Natural History of Christmas

2011-12-08T11:08:00.001Z

Dr Michael Leach held us all spellbound at last night's local group meeting in Worcester. He started off by giving us a real insight into life as a wildlife cameraman (it takes at least 3 weeks to get a decent 8 seconds of wildlife film. A half-hour episode could take 4 years to film). Then he explored the natural history of Christmas with so many stories and anecdotes we only just managed to leave the building before the caretaker locked us in!

He's now off to film wolves, some have been tagged to help in tracking them...I wish I’d had the courage to ask if he needed an assistant!

Personally I'm really pleased to now have another autographed natural history book (I collect ‘em, and, YES, I have David Attenborough, Bill Oddie and Chris Packham).

Looking forward to seeing some of you in the New Year when we'll hear about garden plants for wildlife from Howard Drury on 1st Feb. Until then have a lovely Christmas and all the best for 2012.

Sandra, Worcester local group

Mammals of Malvern

2011-12-07T16:34:00.000Z

Johnny Birks, an excellent and well-known speaker, gave an extremely informative and often amusing talk entitled ‘Mammals of the Malverns’ last week, illustrated with his own beautiful photographs from the field. This was a much-anticipated talk with a turn-out that filled the hall at the Chase 6th Form annexe.

Although British mammals are some of our most loved (and most hated) animals, they can often be elusive and difficult to see. As a true mammal enthusiast, Johnny explained that following their traces through the art of field craft is often the only way to study them. Many species are nocturnal and wary of humans as a result of thousands of years of persecution.

The Malverns have a rich mosaic of rough grassland, scrub and woodland providing important habitats for over forty species of mammal. The woodland around British Camp has recently been found to support one of the largest colonies of lesser horseshoe bats and the even rarer barbastelle. Bat boxes put up as additional roosting sites are helping to boost population numbers and also reveal the presence of other nationally scarce species such as the dormouse.

It is also the presence of some of the most well-known and common mammals that has the most noticeable ecological impact. Rabbits are now doing well after the effects of myxomatosis in the 1990s and have resumed their important role as grazers of rough grassland, keeping the scrub at bay. Grassland is essential habitat for ground-nesting birds, butterflies and other small mammals such as field and bank voles. In these grassland areas, field voles in particular can have very high population densities providing the food source for kestrels and adders, both of which are in national decline.

As part of his work for Vincent Wildlife Trust, Johnny was instrumental in documenting the return of the polecat to the county. As the natural wild form of the domesticated ferret, these nocturnal and historically much maligned carnivores have been expanding their range from Wales, having been persecuted almost to extinction in the early 1900s. Radio tracking and the mapping of road-kill individuals have given fascinating insights into their behaviour. Due to their tendency to live in farmyard haystacks, the accumulation of anticoagulant rat poisons via their rodent prey is an issue for their conservation.

Other larger mammal species such as red deer are found mainly on the Eastnor Estate, with the smaller muntjac being more widespread. It is likely that over the next twenty years deer numbers will increase and it is possible that wild boar will move in from the nearby Forest of Dean.

The next meeting is on Thursday January 5th. Rob Havard, Conservation Officer of the Malvern Hills Conservators, will talk about flora of the Malverns. It starts at 7.30 pm and is held at the Chase Academy Sixth Form Annexe, Geraldine Close, Barnards Green WR14 3PF - we look forward to seeing you there!

Derek, Malvern local group

Dormice at Grafton?

2011-11-22T11:54:00.001Z

On a somewhat damp and misty Sunday morning (20th Nov), I trekked over to Grafton Wood with James, Andy and Veronica to search for hazel nuts eaten by dormice.

After searching through five 20x20m patches of mature hazel coppice for dormouse-gnawed hazel nuts we had to admit that, despite an intensive search effort, we hadn't found any.. However, we discovered many nuts eaten by voles, wood mice and squirrels. We even think that some of the holes had been made by a nut weevil!

Grafton is ideal for dormice so we'll put up tubes there next year to confirm whether or not we've got dormice at Grafton.

I'd like to thank John Tarburn for making some lovely dormouse nest boxes for my surveys at Hunthouse Wood.

We also came across lots of fungi including candle snuff fungus, green wood cup, deceiver and amethyst deceiver.

Elizabeth

PS In the meantime, have a look at Surrey Wildlife Trust footage from a survey of dormice next boxes

Autumn at Feckenham

2011-11-21T09:43:00.000Z

Our Galloways have been working hard in the meadows since July and have munched their way through the late flush of growth. They are currently in the southern end of the reserve and will probably stay there over winter before being moved into the meadows again for a short spring graze. We are hoping to have more cattle on site next year which will enhance our grazing programme.

Our volunteers have also been busy - starting our winter work program with some much needed coppicing of alders next to the dragonfly ponds. This will enable more light to get to them and avoid the dreaded leaf drop each year. We will be doing more coppicing, pollarding and tree maintenance during the winter and into 2012. We also hope to have another stretch of the Moors Lane hedge laid/coppiced by Mervin Needham and his excellent team who did a great job last year. I must also mention John Holder and his team who built our new bothy during the summer. We are now completely spoilt in having a large tool store and somewhere to sit/shelter when it's too wet to work.

The surface water levels have been significantly lower this year but now, after some rain, they are getting back to normal. We have been fortunate with good levels in all of our new dragonfly ponds and the main pool mainly because these are deep enough to maintain water during summer. As you can see from the pic of the reed next to our dipping pond, the autumn colours are brilliant.

Last week we decided to take a walk down the lane rather than across the reserve. On the way down I noticed there was a particular abundance of sloes on two of the blackthorn that we had planted a few years ago to fill a gap. They would appear to be a different variety than what we expect to find on the reserve. One of my volunteers, Jenny Tonry, suggested that we might look for brown hairstreak eggs on them ... lo and behold we found 14 new eggs. Following this excitement we went to the regular egg spot and found a further 10. This total of 24 is our best since finding the first eggs 2 years ago. As there are two large ash trees along our hedge near to the new find we will actively be looking for BH activity next year and hopefully one of these will turn out to be the elusive assembly tree.

Paul, Feckenham Wylde Moor

Hearing about urban wildlife

2011-11-14T15:19:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who came to our talk in Bournville on Friday night. Brian Draper gave a fascinating talk about urban wildlife. Brian's got quite a following and it was lovely to see some new faces.

We're already looking forward to our next talk in December - Wild Bees & Wasps by Celia Davis on Fri 9th.

Pat, South Birmingham Local Group

Urban Wildlife

2011-11-11T10:49:00.000Z

We're really looking forward to Brian Draper's talk to South Birmingham local group tonight. This ever-popular speaker will be talking about the hidden wildlife of a city - a subject close to many of us on the urban fringes of Birmingham.

Tonight is also a great opportunity to come along and find out more about the group. The current committee members are standing down in April after many years. We're looking forward to supporting a new team of people to take over the organising of indoor talks and running of the group ... but we need you to be part of that new team. If you've got a few hours a month to spare and think you can help out then please get in touch. We need everything from a chairman for the group to people to help out at the talks themselves. You don't need to know an awful lot about wildlife, you just need to have the enthusiasm to help run a group and spread the word.

Our talk tonight starts at 7.30pm at Dame Elizabeth Hall on Oak Tree Lane in Bournville. Some of the current committee members will be there to chat about the roles. Or you can call Wendy or Zoe at Lower Smite (Mon-Fri 9-5) on 01905 754919. Or check out our website for more information about the roles.

We're looking forward to hearing Brian and perhaps meeting one or two of you tonight!

Pat, South Birmingham local group

Reptiles in Malvern

2011-11-10T09:33:00.000Z

Nigel Hand, the well-known reptile ecologist, gave a fascinating insight into the reptiles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire when he gave a beautifully illustrated talk to the Malvern local group last week.

Nigel became interested in reptiles as a youngster in Stourbridge where they were common along the canals and local brown field sites. His passion has taken him around the globe to study them. Closer to home he's monitored reptile populations on a number of sites for many years and has built up an impressive photographic database of individuals.

There are four kinds of reptiles in our area: adders, grass snakes, slow-worms and the common lizard; the latter belying its name as it's becoming quite rare. Neither of the two other UK reptiles - the smooth snake and the sand lizard - are found here.

Adder (c) Peter Preece

Adders are rarely seen and are non-aggressive. Sadly, stories and folklore misrepresent them and exaggerate the dangers of our only venomous snake - they're sometimes deliberately killed. About 40 to 100 adder bites are recorded each year in the UK; the last recorded death was a child in 1975.

Adder populations tend to be in small isolated pockets, leading to inbreeding. Nigel is involved in a project with the Zoological Society of London to collect adder DNA samples; scientists will then compare the samples to see if the smaller clan groups are genetically impoverished. Adders are born live during August and September and can live for up to 30 years. Pregnant female adders will feed only after giving birth. Their main diet is voles and they consume between 4 and 12 of these a year. Adders are quite small, being only 50-60cm long.


Grass snakes (c) Rosemary Winnall

Unfortunately, grass snakes are often confused with adders and suffer the same undeserved fate at the hands of people. They are more common and considerably bigger (up to 1m long). They are non-venomous and the young hatch out from eggs, often in compost heaps. They're good swimmers and can travel several kilometres along waterways. If cornered or disturbed they will play dead and if that doesn’t deter a potential predator they can release a foul-smelling fluid.

Slow-worm (c) Nick Button

Most of us are familiar with the slow- worm. It's a legless lizard about 30-38cm long and can live for around 50 years. Malvern is ideal for slow-worms as one of their preferred habitats is stone walls. They're of great benefit to the gardener as their main prey is slugs!

Nigel concluded by showing two exotic pet snakes (a corn snake and a milk snake) from his private collection. This was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative talk, emphasising the beauty of reptiles and how they deserve our protection, not our dislike.

Our next indoor meeting will be held on Thursday 1st December when Johnny Birks will give an illustrated talk entitled The Mammals of the Malverns. The meeting starts at 7.30 pm at the Chase Academy Sixth Form Annexe, Geraldine Close, Barnards Green WR14 3PF and we look forward to seeing you there.

Derek, Malvern local group

Chance Wood - a new year of work parties

2011-10-20T10:15:00.000+01:00

As work party co-ordinator for Chance Wood my year starts now and runs until spring; we tend to leave the wood alone during the nesting season and late summer apart from the odd ad-hoc session pulling balsam and any other maintenance tasks that arise.

A couple of weeks ago three of us walked the wood and drew up a list of tasks for this season’s work parties. We’ve decided to try running our meetings on a different day of the week in order to meet the needs of the majority of our members; we’ll see how it goes!

The first, urgent task for this month was to remove the large numbers of sycamore seedlings before they lose their leaves and become invisible

and before they develop into young trees in subsequent years.

This gave us a relatively easy start to the year’s work, although a couple of us worked at digging out the larger specimens by the roots; quite hard work but the soil is very dry and sandy so it could have been worse!

As we worked we were accompanied by parties of foraging tits, the buzzard mewed above us and a pair of ravens ‘cronked’ as they flew overhead; returning from dragging a pile of brash to our pile I almost came eye to eye with a sparrowhawk strafing the small birds.

Some might say that we put rather too much emphasis on the party part of ‘work parties’ but we do like a piece of cake!

Roger, Chance Wood

Summer at Feckenham?

2011-10-18T11:40:00.000+01:00

I think we could all be forgiven for thinking that summer 2012 arrived early over the last few weeks.


buttercup

Common Mouse-Ear

Cut-leaved Cranesbill

Lots of plants have started to come into flower now on the reserve. After the recent hot spell I photographed these in bloom last week with others just about to burst forth. They are all in places where we did a late cut by hand a few weeks ago. The new growth and warm spell has meant that the grass, sedge and rush is now lush with many plants that would normally be in flower much earlier in the year re-appearing in these patches.

Meadowsweet

Common Vetch

Although I've heard of cowslips and primroses currently in flower elsewhere, our cowslips aren't but they have put on plenty of strong new leaf growth so who knows, they might.

The dragonfly laying is a migrant hawker (Aeshna mixta) which is only the 9th record on site since 1981, the last being 2005. It's good news that they are back.

Migrant Hawker

Visitors to the reserve will notice that our Galloways are munching their way round Hill Piece and Kernocks Middle Close but I think that the grass etc. is growing faster than they can eat it!

Our winter work schedule is under way and we have plenty of work to keep us busy so, if anyone out there would like to join our Wednesday workparty, we would be pleased to see you. It's the last Wednesday of each month, 10.00am start on the reserve.

As winter approaches we look forward to seeing flocks of redwing and fieldfare descending on the fully laden hawthorne and if the temperature drops dramatically who knows what else will pay a visit....

Paul, Feckenham Wylde Moor

Chance Wood - Now & Then

2011-09-21T13:03:00.000+01:00

I suppose you might think the title of this piece refers to my commitment to keeping up with the volunteer blog for Chance Wood but, in fact, I thought I'd show some of the changes which have taken place in the wood since I first got to know it.

This has been inspired by a bit of a tidy up at home in the course of which I’ve rediscovered a CD of photos sent to me by Tony Williams who volunteered in the wood in the mid 80s and early 90s. These are scanned copies of slides taken at that time. Due to the soil conditions and rapid drainage the woodland takes a long time to recover from any work we do, we’ve come to accept that, and so it was quite surprising to see how much the wood has developed over the last 25yrs or so.

I’ve tried to take pictures today from the same spot as the originals although obviously the time of day / year is different.

Gateway 1980s

Gateway now

We spent many hours discussing how to restore the summerhouse - until it collapsed!

Summer House 1980s

Summer house now

Many photographs were taken from the bird hide, we could never have dreamed how digital photography and 21st century equipment would have revolutionised our results.

Bird hide 1980s

Bird hide now

Who keeps moving the gravestones around? - that’s not a quiz question like Paul’s Feckenham Blog!

Pet cemetery 1980s


Pet cemetery now

Roger, Chance Wood

It's finished!!

2011-09-02T12:05:00.000+01:00

At long last, I have finished the painting and it's now with the framers.

I'll be dropping off the framed painting at Lower Smite Farm in mid September - they're currently planning where the painting can be shown before the bidding closes in January. It will certainly be on show at the Trust's AGM on 12th October.

I hope you like it and are thinking about bidding for it to help raise funds for the Trust. More information about how to bid can be found on their website http://www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/index.php?section=news:archive&id=3746

Good luck with your bid!!
Valerie

Painting update

2011-08-23T13:01:00.000+01:00

The painting is almost done! I'll be putting the finishing touches to it while I'm in residency at the Bevere Art Gallery this week - please come along and see how I'm getting on and have a chat.

We're currently thinking about finding somewhere to display the painting once it's done so if you don't get chance to come and see it this week, we'll let you know where to see it in the future.

Valerie

Silent auction update

2011-08-12T09:50:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to update you on the progress of my painting for the silent auction.

I'm really enjoying researching the wildlife for the vignettes. Learning about noble chafers was fascinating and I hadn't realised there were perry pears in Tiddesley's orchard.

The painting is coming on well and I'm hoping to finish it off by the time I'm in residence at the Bevere Gallery between 20th & 28th August.

It would be nice to meet some of you at the gallery and I do hope you'll bid on the painting and help raise funds for the Trust.

If you'd like to place a bid you can either email silent-bid@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org or send it to Sian Bakewell, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, Lower Smite Farm, Smite Hill, Hindlip, Worcestershire, WR3 8SZ.

Thank you
Valerie

Have you seen this bug?

2011-08-11T10:51:00.000+01:00

This vivid red and black hairy plant bug used to be restricted to a few places on the south coast of England but it's now on the move.

Corisuz hyoscyami (c) Oliver Wadsworth

Worcestershire is being invaded and we would like records please, preferably with a picture.

In the last few weeks we have seen them at Hill Court Farm (Longdon), Trench Wood, Chaddesley Wood and in Redditch so it could turn up anywhere. Several have been seen on thistles. The bug feeds on plant juices by sticking its long mouth parts into the stems.

We've only around ten records over the last couple of years so this is a real newcomer - please keep a look-out and let us know if you see any. If you could email your sighting and any photos to wendy@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org in the first place that would really help us out.

Many thanks

Harry

Summer at Feckenham

2011-07-27T16:31:00.000+01:00

Now that summer is well and truly with us the reserve is looking very good.

Firstly the meadows have been mowed and bailed and these are soon to be taken away. We have the Galloway's back in the southern end and they will be moved around in the next week or so. Our Roving volunteers visited last week and spent the day mowing and raking off the western end of Middle Ley Close.

Our Sedge Warblers are still singing in the reed bed as are the chiffchaff and whitethroat. On Sunday we had a pair of Cetti's warblers singing in the alders.

There have been some interesting insects about and these two longhorn beetles (Rutpela maculata) were spotted making the most of the sunny day. There are literally thousands of grasshoppers and coneheads in the un-cut meadows.

This wolf spider was busy carrying her young around on her back; I counted around 50 babies on this one.

Butterfly numbers are quite good but the strong winds over the past weeks have meant that there have not been so many seen on the wing. We did, however, have our first marbled whites for many years. Apparently these are having a good year in general.

Dragonfly and damselfly numbers are good and last week we saw our first emerald damselfly this year. I am hoping that white-legged are going to turn up in the next week or so. Black-tailed skimmer and emperor are also active around our ponds.

Paul, Feckenham Wylde Moor

Silent auction update

2011-07-26T14:33:00.000+01:00

Progress has been quite slow on the painting I'm doing to celebrate the 25th year of the Tiddesley Wood Open Day - I have to fit in painting this picture with other work. Researching some of the subjects for the vignettes around the central image also takes quite a while. But it's starting to fill up.

I'm not too keen on what I've done so far - but don't let this put you off as I am very rarely happy with what I paint or draw.

I'm now in the process of adding a noble chafer beetle and a white admiral butterfly. Tiddesley Wood is one of the few sites in England where noble chafers are found - they love old orchards and the one at Tiddesley is perfect for them.

(By the way, can anyone tell me what kind of pear is grown at Tiddesley before I have to bother Harry Green - again)?

Harry has very kindly sent me plenty of reference material for the noble chafer and is looking forward to my depiction of it. Thank you Harry.

I hope to keep you updated on the progress of the picture - and I hope it encourages you to bid for it and raise some funds for the Trust.

Valerie Briggs

Fun at Smite

2011-07-25T10:39:00.000+01:00

A great time was had by all who attended the Worcester Group guided tour of Lower Smite Farm last Sunday afternoon, 17th July.

We were especially delighted to welcome some members who hadn't been to Smite before (including Valda the retired guide-dog!) and very fortunate to have Steve Bloomfield as our guide. He shared his wealth of experience and knowledge with us as we explored the many different habitats at Smite: arable fields, meadows, hedgerows, orchard, ponds...

Steve explained how farming for profit can go hand in hand with conservation and looking after our wildlife and we learnt about how wildlife at Smite has benefited - skylarks, frogs, great crested newts, dragonflies, finches, bees, grasshoppers, hares, butterflies, you name it!..... wonderful stuff!

The rain decided to bless us just as we were passing the bee hives and making our way back to the farm ... which made the tea and cake waiting for us all the more welcome!!

A big thanks again to Steve and also to Zoe, who was brilliant at organising the event. As one lady commented - "what a super afternoon!"

Sandra, Worcester local group

PS For those of you, like Valda, who haven't been to Smite before then why not pop along between 11 & 4 this coming Sunday (31st) when there'll be a Farm Fayre full of local produce and craft stalls, guided walks, pond dipping & tractor rides!!

Nature in Art

2011-07-04T16:25:00.000+01:00

I visited Nature in Art last week (Twigworth, just south of Tewkesbury) to see the Artists in Residence: Worcestershire's Valerie Briggs and Trevor Smith. I was delighted to find Val working on the big picture she is giving to the Trust to help raise funds and celebrate the 25th year of Tiddesley Wood Open Day.

Centrally the picture shows springtime coppice and bluebells in Tiddesley Wood and is to be surrounded by twelve vignettes of Tiddesley Wood's wildlife through the year. Val finished the central picture that morning and was working on the first vignette of a blackcap singing amongst wild service tree flowers. The finished picture is going to be a stunning tribute to Tiddesley Wood.

It is to be sold by Silent Auction so you can have a go at purchasing a local picture by a nationally known artist who lives locally! If you are successful (there is a reserve price) you will also help fund the work of the Trust.

You can see Val's other pictures on the Worcester Bevere Gallery web site.

Val told me that she will update you all through this blog on the progress of the painting as she continues working on it.

Good luck!

Harry, Tiddesley Wood

Beetling About

2011-06-29T14:31:00.001+01:00

The noble chafer - a rare beetle whose larvae live in decaying fruit trees - had just emerged from a small hole in a plum tree. I know them better from our Tiddesley Wood nature reserve but this one was found in an old orchard in the Teme Valley.

If you see one please let us know - and preferably take a picture. In late June and July they visit hogweed, meadowsweet and elderflowers.

I've just heard of the first sighting in Buckinghamshire since 1914 and we've had two recent records from Tiddesley Wood. So it could be a good year as hot weather encourages them to fly.

Please get in touch with the Biological Records Centre or me via the main Trust office at Lower Smite Farm if you see any this summer.

Thank you
Harry Green, Tiddesley Wood

Colourful Feckenham

2011-06-23T15:45:00.000+01:00

The ragged robin has almost gone over now except for a few flowers that are still hanging on. Nevertheless, the reserve is looking good with the meadows showing an abundance of colour. Now that the marsh thistle, bugle, purple loosestrife, various vetches and the masses of umbelliferae are all in full bloom, the insects and butterflies are begining to increase in number and variety.

Scorpion fly (male)

Scorpion fly (female)

These two photos show male and female scorpion flies. There are many different flies on the reserve and they're well worth looking out for as you can see their colours and markings are spectacular.

We have had our first common blues, small skipper and large numbers of ringlet and meadow brown. There are also a large number of day-flying moths and in particular 6 spot burnet.

Meadow brown

Ringlet

Common blue

Reed bunting

Our warblers are still very active as is our pair of whitethroats. Reed bunting can be seen flying up from the long grass and sedge and a chiffchaff is still singing down by the main hide. The cuckoo was seen last week and we have had two sightings of a lone red kite which only stayed around for a very short time.

Common darter

Dragonfly and damselfly numbers continue to increase and many broad-bodied chasers are regularly seen flying in tandem with the female breaking off to lay in the larger of our new ponds. Emperor and southern hawker dragonflies are also now on site. This newly emerged common darter was sunning itself in the marginal vegetation.

What we need now is more settled, warm and not so windy weather!

Don't forget to have a go at the quiz on my previous blog.....it is really easy!

Paul, Feckenham Wylde Moor

All go at Feckenham

2011-05-27T16:45:00.000+01:00

I've been away for a while in sunny North Yorkshire but now I'm back I thought I'd tell you how the reserve is getting on now that we're approaching early summer.

Yellow rattle

The meadows are looking particularly good with masses of new flora. The yellow rattle (or hay rattle) is abundant and in flower underneath the tall meadow buttercups that are covering the grassy parts of the meadows. The common vetch is starting to show and this also looks like it will be another excellent year. There are also signs that the meadow vetchling is going to be more widesprad than in previous years; all good stuff for various butterflies that like these to feed and lay eggs on them. So far we have not seen any blues but the wind has been quite strong and this is keeping most of the butterflies grounded.

southern marsh orchid

The ragged robin is more widespread than in previous years and in greater concentrations. This is no doubt down to the cattle grazing which we also think has contributed to the discovery of a rogue southern marsh orchid which has appeared on it's own in the dryer cowslip patch at the southern end of the reserve. We have SMOs in other wetter parts of the reserve but this is the first in this particular meadow - we believe possibly brought across the reserve by the cattle. The leaf damage on this one is down to cattle grazing in the early stages.

Beautiful demoiselle

I've started to carry out the dragonfly and damselfly recording and so far numbers are encouraging. An early, newly emerged beautiful demoiselle was flying around the western edge just inside the reeds. This splendid agrion's habitat should be fast flowing gravel bottomed streams so as we don't have one of these anywhere near the reserve we can only assume that they are in fact emerging from one of our pools. There are a significant number of large red, azure and blue-tailed damselflies about, many in tandem, and I did find a fresh new female broad-bodied chaser in the grass by one of the ponds. She soon warmed up and was away with a male and immediately after flying in tandem was laying in the same pond.

Our sedge warblers are very active and in good numbers; this one was singing during the afternoon from a high perch. Reed warblers have also nested and are now busy feeding.

By the way, the orange tip caterpillar is now quite large and is happily munching it's way though the seed pods of the same lady's smock plant that the eggs were laid on. The second caterpillar is not evident and so I guess that this one had it for a snack at some point.

No quiz this time as I am still waiting for the last one to be solved.

Paul, Feckenham Wylde Moor

Hunthouse dormice

2011-05-25T13:02:00.000+01:00

We've found a dormouse in one of the tubes we put up at Hunthouse in an old coppiced area of woodland. It was a very sleepy yet healthy looking adult male of 19g weight. Nick Benbow (the reserve manager) was glad to have it confirmed that dormice are still present at Hunthouse.

We now will be monitoring the population pre- and post-breeding to get an idea of the number offspring produced - this can be compared with other sites or over the years at this site. With a tube survey it is only possible to get an index of population abundance in the area relative to other National Dormouse Monitoring Programme sites. It is most likely that many dormice are making use of the numerous crevices and holes in the trees for nesting - hence the number we find in the tubes represents a minimum estimate of dormice in the woodland.

Elizabeth, Dormouse Volunteer