Still here but "gone to sleep"

I really don't understand all the notes about Blogger  that are appearing on my blog so I need to get some advice from someone who knows more than I do.

I've just tried to post details of a talk being given in Somerset but failed. Hope to work it out soon and resume posting.

Here is a bit of our poster!

"Roger Dickey has been conducting seabird studies at Cape Wrath, the most north-westerly and wildest part of the UK mainland, for over 10 years now, working on behalf of the MOD. Cape Wrath is home to huge numbers of seabirds from auks to skuas, and terns to divers. Roger's  talk provides a fascinating glimpse into the wildlife and natural beauty of a region on the edge of Britain's most desolate and inhospitable coastline. "

Changes to my Blog

Hi,
I've decided to have a fresh look at how I present my Blog. I've started by stripping out one or two features like the list of labels which filled up a lot of space. Each post will still have labels and you can still click on any shown on a post to see other posts on the same subject. I've taken off the heading and photo which was a bit old news! Ironically as the orchid and Ladies Bedstraw shown are just about to come into flower again!!
It will be interesting to see if I get any comments or if the viewings change. Its all a big experiment really.
I must also find the time to update my 365 photo coverage of the year but maybe there is a better way of showing you an album on Picasa or similar.
Any advice you can offer is welcome.
Best wishes to all,
David

Pictures below from my visit to a nature reserve on the south coast. There are three Turns here all squabbling about nesting space. The aerial acrobatics display was very impressive!

New Blog format

If your new to this format then join me in trying it out and I welcome your thoughts and comments. I've tried all the optional arrangement and like this magazine style best.
Maybe by coincidence the viewing figures have shot up today so I'll let it run for a few days to get a longer test run.

It seems that if you are viewing and scanning the items shown you just click on the window to see the whole posting.
Maybe you can revert to the original format.
What ever way you view it the content must remain the important element!

Blog Problem

There appears to be a problem with the layout of my Blog. If anyone can think why it has suddenly changed its layout please let me know!

2nd Aug and I'm still trying to work out what happened and I still cant get the layout back to where it was a week ago. It may be because of the new templates and preview arrangements that something has changed and its all a bit puzzling. It doesn't seem to have happened to my other Blog.

Severn babies in bathwater risk

Severn babies in bathwater risk

Here is a new venture for me!!!

Looking at the RSPB web site for news about the Severn Estuary energy proposals I came across a Blog they run and a post on the subject.

There were all sorts of links on the page including Blogger, and clicking on the symbol comes up with "Blog this" which I did ( bravely) and lo and behold it appears on my own Blog ( I had to sign in with my Google pass word etc).

So if you are still with me, and interested in what the RSPB thinks about flooding the Severn Estuary than click on the link above.  Then don't forget to come to our next public meeting . See previous posts.

New year message

Greetings to all readers and best wishes for 2010.

Whilst enjoying a very pleasant social evening yesterday I met someone who is interested in starting their own Blog. Not on the same subject as thisone but never the less it was quite a challenge to have to explain how and why I run my own. I have always hoped that the subjects I post on speak for themselves but that is probably a false assumption. There are many excellent blogs and I'm always impressed by the world wide contacts a blog generates and by the range of subjects covered. But to really catch visitors interest is not easy and I feel I must do better. I wonder if colour works!!!
So I hope I haven't put off a potentially very good new blog.
I did gain from our discussion a renewed enthusiasm for seeking to improve my writing and presentation especially as wildlife conservation is such a huge subject of great importance to everyone.

I must just mention our next public meeting on Owls on Jan 14th and full details are on our Diary of events. Link here.

I'm also adding another U Tube video clip showing a group of owls as I have never seen them before.

Welcome to all who stop to browse this Blog.

Its always a pleasure to hear from fellow Bloggers and so welcome to "suetommer".
It has made me think that it might be worth copying into a post, some of the stats showing the recent visitors . The first surprise has been the way people from all over the world have logged on.
Secondly where it is recorded, it is interesting to see what search words were being used.
For instance the words. "Do bats fly in the daytime", keeps coming up and so perhaps I should do more research on the subject for another post.
I'll check the most recent visits and post a summary in a few days.

Contributions to this blog

I am hoping to invite other members of the Wildlife Trust to post contributions to this blog and hope we will get some results soon.
I also hope that anyone reading this far will know how easy it is to communicate with me as editor and welcome comments using the comment button at the bottom of this post. I look forward to hearing from you.
Questions:
what is happening to wildlife where you are?
have you seen a Stag Beetle ( Lucanus cervus) recently?
have you visited a nature reserve recently and was it a guided visit?
what is your favorite bird, butterfly, wildflower, mamal, insect?
are you a volunteer on a reserve and if so what activites do you carry out?

Good luck with the quiz!

Group events for August , September and October

Details of our programme and involvement in SWT events have been updated on our Diary blog. See link on this page.

Spring review

Moth resting inside the water mill building.

Primroses at the Somerton water mill.


Spring time at the old water mill at Somerton.

Our group blog needs a spring review which can look at format and content. Its relatively easy to cherry pick news items from the many sources available which includes information from the SWT,newspapers such as the Times, Guardian, Independent, web site run by NGO's, blogs such as those linked on this blog and the BBC.
As editor I can pick and choose items that catch my interest and they may be directly wildlife or by association like climate change. I have been trying to include my own photographs and others by agreement and I think they add a lot to the interest. My camera had to be sent away for repairs which has stopped my photographic exploits but all is well again so one or two more will be added. The photo's shown above were taken during a visit to a 17century water mill near Somerton last week.
Most people who have commented directly or indirectly have said they find the blog of interests but it seems difficult to widen the audience locally which is a prime purpose. However it can also claim to be an important record over time of our group development as well as a means of communication.
Looking at similar forms of e communications it may be a better idea to see this blog as a diary using the model of Mark Mardell's European Diary which he publishes each week on a Thursday. It has the benefit of allowing a week to collect information and data and photographs and time to compose a more thoughtful report. It would be a high standard to aim for for so much the better. Perhaps I should set myself a date like March 22nd for my next post!

Change of format for blog in process

It may take a few days to sort out the layout for this blog now that I've changed to what they call the Beta Blogger . It should be possible eventually to improve the appearance and the ease of use for visitors.




With reports of tornados and floods and colder weather to come here in the UK I am including a photograph taken from the house of a friend living in South Africa. It looks a good place to be!





And here is a wild flower seen on a walking holiday last year in Croatia








Finally a typical meadow flower popular with butterflies in the summer just to cheer us all up. (greater knapweed)

Blog features

While I'm posting I'll add a photo showing the start of the Fungi Foray in Beer Wood. It wasn't raining at the start but did get a bit wet by the end but mild.

Searching this blog can make it more user friendly and easier to find items of interest to you.

Since starting in Jan 2006 there have been 61 posts. To see earlier posts you can either work your way through the archives or you can use the "search this blog" button on the top of the page. Select a post reference and click on it which will bring up the actual post.

If you use the search button this is part of what you will see:

Sorted by relevance - Sort by date. 61 posts matching blogurl:heartofthelevels.blogspot.com - showing 1 through 10

GM crops and DEFRA consultation
28 Oct 2006 by David

My post dated 27th Sept 2006 (which can be seen in the Archives section below) drew attention to the consultation by DEFRA on the proposed introduction of GM crops. Somerset County Council has just published its own submission to the ...

Heart of the Levels Wildlife Group - http://heartofthelevels.blogspot.com
test post
28 Oct 2006 by David

in case you are interested. I have found that after writing a post I wasn't able to publish it and got an error message to do with a java problem which I don't understand. I'm writing this from another computer to see if it publishes ok. ...

heart of the levels wildlife group - http://heartofthelevels.blogspot.com
Difficulties posting to the blog
28 Oct 2006 by David

Apologies for some disruption in the posts. I hope to clear it soon.

Heart of the Levels Wildlife Group - http://heartofthelevels.blogspot.com
GM crops consultation
28 Oct 2006 by David

I read in the local paper that the County Council had had its own consultation. A large number of individuals and organizations attended a meeting of the Councils Executive Board on 11th October at which the Council’s policy position ...

Heart of the Levels Wildlife Group - http://heartofthelevels.blogspot.com
RHS Rosemoor. Lichens
27 Oct 2006 by David

Having mentioned lichens, see my last post, I should add a few notes to go with these photographs. I had of course seen many lichens during our recent fungus foray but they were ignored whilst we concentrated on the fungi. ...

Heart of the Levels Wildlife Group - http://heartofthelevels.blogspot.com
more fungi, some lichen and a short story
26 Oct 2006 by David

its often surprising how we meet unexpected coincidences. This short story starts on the Sunday after the foray into the woods. During the clearing up in the village hall, after the expert identification display I saved some of the ...

heart of the levels wildlife group - http://heartofthelevels.blogspot.com
Fungi Foray II
26 Oct 2006 by David

Here are a few photos taken during our Fungi Foray, first out in the woods and later in the local village hall where the collected fungi were laid out for identification.I hope to get the correct names soon.

Heart of the Levels Wildlife Group - http://heartofthelevels.blogspot.com
Beer Wood Fungi Foray
22 Oct 2006 by David

If you have never been on an autumn trek into the woods in search of fungi then I can assure you, you have missed a treat. Today I was in Beer Woods, one of the best reserves in Somerset with about 60 other enthusiasts. ...

Test post

In case you are interested. I have found that after writing a post I wasnt able to publish it and got an error message to do with a Java problem which I dont understand. I writing this from another computer to see if it publishes OK. Here goes.

That went through OK. I'm now trying the edit mode which also refused to work.

Difficulties posting to the blog

Apologies for some disruption in the posts.

I hope to clear it soon.