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Wednesday 17th January 2007 After raining all morning, it cleared up twenty minutes before the start of this month's work party, and the afternoon turned out to be mild and sunny, very Spring-like! Nevertheless only three volunteers turned up. Ranger Mark shovelled some gravel onto the wet areas of the approach to Willow Pond while we split up to do some lopping back of the vegetation along the paths. We also managed a litter-pick, sorting through the dog mess to remove the usual cans, bottles, plastic bags and confectionary packets. If you're walking through the Reserve, look out for small groups of fieldfares (winter migrants) and goldfinches. Wednesday 21st February 2007 This month's work party attracted seven volunteers. Most of us continued with the coppicing of the blackthorn near Puckles Pond whilst two of us cleared rubbish from the paths (including removing a couple of supermarket trolleys). Litter picking is ok, but it does mean that you have to look closely at the ground, and it's impossible to avoid noticing all the dog mess. The worst of it has been cleared from the start of Plotlands Way by the main entrance, but by now it's probably back to how it was. Most of the verges are covered with it. At present, the Reserve can't be recommended to people in wheelchairs or those with young children. More positively, all the ponds are looking healthy as a result of the recent rain. In fact the meadow at the Eastern end of the Reserve is so water-logged it's more like a swamp. However there's still a worry that as the water-levels drop over the summer the ponds will once again dry up. Although Countryside Services are committed to maintaining permanent ponds in the Reserve their current budget is tightly stretched and they have no spare cash for new projects. The eight reserves and parks thay are resonsible for no longer even have a truck or van between them, which makes it difficult to move stuff about. (The other seven are Wat Tyler, Norsey Wood, Mill Meadows, Queens Park, Nevendon Bushes, Vange Hill and The Wick.) So there is not going to be any major work done on pond renovation until 2008. This will give us an opportubity to bring in outside expert consultation as to why some of the ponds have been drying up in the hot weather during the last few years. Wednesday 21st March 2007 It was very bright and sunny at the start of the afternoon, but once the sun went in it was quite chilly. Two volunteers litter-picked and another two, assisted by Ranger Mark, continued with trimming back vegetation along the side of the paths, a never-ending task! Ranger Gary and his assistant took some of the fine gravel from the pile at the end of Plotland Way and spread it along part of the milkcrate track. It was effective in filling the holes, but there's still a lot more to be done. The Spanish Steps need some renovation. One of the wooden slats is missing and another one is about to break. Apparently a contract has gone out to renovate the whole flight, and it'll probably happen next month when the new Countryside Services budget kicks in. So until they've been repaired take care if you're using them. (The Spanish Steps are the ones closest to the entrance by the footbridge over the A127.) Spring flowers are starting to appear - violets, red & white dead nettles, and lovely patches of delicate single daffodils in the East Meadow. There are plenty of huge queen bumblebees but no sign of frogspawn in the ponds. Egrets were spotted in the big field bordering the north-east of the Reserve earlier this month, and herring gulls have been circling above. Blue tits and great tits often gather round the bird table, and the newly filled ponds are once again attracting mallards as well a few coots and moorhens, and listening carefully you might hear a green woodpecker! Wednesday 18th April 2007 This month five volunteers turned up, along with rangers Mark and Gary and the new shiny pickup truck they have the (temporary?) use of. It was lovely and sunny, and the ground was quite dry following the last few days of hot weather. Spring flowers are now blooming and there were plenty of butterfly sightings -- it was almost like being in the countryside! Ranger Mark supervised the replacement of the missing stair on the Spanish Steps. The top step still needs to be done, but is being left for the contractor who will be in next week to renovate the whole flight. In the meantime if you're using them, take care! Ranger Gary meanwhile was putting the grass-cutting machine to good use on the High Ridge, up and down the milk-crate path, and along the verges of Plotlands Way. We also did some trimming back along the sides of the Eastern woodland path. Wednesday 16th May 2007 The day was quite overcast but the rain just about held off, though it meant there were hardly any butterflies about. However we heard plenty of bird song. Blackcaps and whitethroats have both been seen in the Reserve this month. Most of the ponds are still very full, with only Willow Pond's water level being below average. There were just three volunteers for the work party this month. However Ranger Mark and Ranger Gary were both there together with an assistant, and all in all plenty of work got done. Again it was general maintenance, cutting back the overhanging branches from the paths, strimming the verges and clearing litter. The contractors have completed the renovation of the Spanish Steps, and they're now a lot safer with all the individual steps good and firm. Wednesday 20th June 2007 What a lovely day - warm sunshine, and a pleasant breeze to stop it becoming too muggy. The summer meadow flowers were out in full - red & white campion, ox-eye daisies, huge swathes of purple vetch, birdsfoot trefoil, buttercups and white clover. In the hedgrows there are pretty clumps of purple dead nettles and above them the white flowers of the wild roses and briars. The water lilies in Willow Pond are as beautiful as ever, though harder to see than in previous years because of the spread of the tall typha (great reedmace, popularly known as bulrush) which has now become dominant. There were lots of butterflies sighted, including comma, meadow brown, small tortoiseshell, small white and one of the blues, and several species of dragonfly. Ranger Mark took some photos so that he could try and identify them. Their wings are more primitive than those of most insects, but very effective. The order Odonata, which now includes dragonflies and damselflies, is thought to have arisen beetween 250 and 300 million years ago, with some of the ancient varieties having a wingspan of over two feet We had six volunteers assisting Ranger Mark in the usual activities of cutting back the new growth along the paths and picking up litter (not so much of it this time for a change). Also, although it's a bit late in the year for it, we put up another nesting box using our hi-tech extendable ladder. Earlier in the month, we'd had a report of an illegal building being erected in the area below the High Ridge. Ranger Gary investigated found and removed what looked like the beginning of some sort of shelter. There was a further report a few days later of sounds of construction work coming from the far side of Willow Pond, so we did a search for evidence of intruders, but nothing was found. Wednesday 18th July 2007 The afternoon started sunny but turned cloudy followed by a couple of showers. But then the sun came out and it was hot again. Once more the butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies put on a splendid show. There has been at least one butterfly survey done in the Reserve, and we're hoping to arrange a moth survey for later this summer. Only three voluteers turned up to help Rangers Mark and Gary and their assistant. There was the usual litter-picking along the paths, and a start was made in cutting the grass in the area round the bird-table and beyond. The cut grass was raked up and removed to deprive the soil of excess nutrients in the hope that this will encourage species diversity. Wednesday 15th August 2007 Another nice day, with a bit of wind, plenty of clouds at first and then some sun. We had five volunteers this month. Ranger Mark was away on a course so it was left to Ranger Gary and his assistant to organise our activities. There was the usual litter picking, and some of us did more work on the milk crate path, which is finally beginning to look a bit like a grassy walk. though it's taken about five years. However there are still many bare patches and gaps which needed filling with granite dust. In the meantime, Gary was busy strimming along the verges of Plotlands Way. Wednesday 19th September 2007 Ranger Gary and his assitant plus four volunteers made up this month's work party, Ranger Mark being on holiday. The weather kept fine (despite a forecast of possible showers). Again, we were mostly clearing the walks of overhanging side vegetation and cutting the grass either side of the milk-crate path. This time we discretely heaped the cut grass so that it would compost, at the same time providing somewhere for smaller creatures to shelter and hibernate. The ponds continue to lose water, and even Fox pond is now looking a bit dismal. The most exciting wildlife moment of the afternoon was coming across a couple of shield bugs which appeared to be mating. Wednesday 17th October 2007 There were five volunteers this month, together with Rangers Mark and Gary and an assistant. It was a mild sunny day, and we were hoping to see the new Allen Scythe cutter in action, but there was a problem with its trailer, so that will have to wait until next month. However with two strimmers and a hedge-trimmer on hand, we finally made the breakthrough into the far Eastern end of the Reserve, reopening up the path leading to Meadow Pond. It's probably been at least a couple of years since it was last visited, and though filled with bullrushes it did contain some water (but exactly how much is hard to tell). We also checked the alder trees that were planted along the Eastern boubndary back in Ranger Paul's time. They can tolerate very damp conditions, and the boggy area by the far fence seemed ideal. Five of them are still there and are looking healthy. The berries and fruits are now out. Along the High Ridge bright red holly berries can be seen. There are plenty of elderberries on the few elders we have in the Reserve, and a good crop of sloes on the blackthorn bushes. (Some of the older gnarled branches along the woodland path host magnificent miniature tree-like specimens of light grey-green lichen.) On the ground, various fungi are beginning to sprout, but we were missing an expert on fungi, so none were identified. There were few sightings of animals or birds apart from the occasional jay breaking cover, and a grey squirrel in one of the oak trees. It's surprising squirrels aren't seen in the Reserve more often - maybe they find food easier to come by in gardens, especially those where food is put out for birds? Masses of late flowering Michaelmas daisies are now blooming, especially at the end of Plotland Way and along the north side of the milkcrate path. Presumably they're remnants of the old plotlands gardens. Michaelmas daisy flowers are often blue, but the ones in the Reserve are mostly white. Another plant to look out for while walking along the woodland path is the spindle (a food plant of the holly blue butterfly). This is an ancient native hedgerow shrub, which can grow into a small tree, whose wood was commonly used to make spindles in looms. The greenish-white flowers on their green stems are not so obvious, but it's easily identified in the late autumn by the small pink-purple fruits which look quite spectacular when they split, each revealing a bright orange seed (non-edible to humans). Wednesday 21st November 2007 Again we had 5 volunteers, and guided by Rangers Mark and Gary and their assistant we had a productive afternoon. At last we got round to cutting the meadow at the south east end of the Reserve. It's so long since it was last done that shrubs have started appearing, some of them 6 feet and more in height. Despite the deep furrows, the new cutter was more than a match for the job, and about a quarter of the meadow was cut, the grass been piled on the side to provide a habitat for smaller animals to shelter in. Meanwhile others were doing a general tidying up, clearing away the litter, and after that doing some more coppicing in the area near Puckles Pond. The path along the High Ridge has now been cut back to a respectable width, and if one can put up with the constant noise of traffic from the adjacent A127, it's a pleasant late Autumn walk brightened by the occasional splash off red holly berries. |