Wildlife Gardening the easy way.

In preparing for our village entry for the Britain in Bloom competition I have suggested we should try to promote wildlife life gardening. I am copying advice given by RSPB which is a good review of how we can do that. Follow the links given for more information.

RSPB email.

Let parts of your lawn grow long this summer - it will provide a home for minibeasts and save you time too! Find out more here: http://bit.ly/2H20Mdi  Do you have a patch of long grass - what bugs and beasties have you noticed there? #GiveNatureaHome

By leaving our front lawn to grow naturally this year we have now found 12 wild orchids,(Pyramidal) just coming into full flowering over the last two weeks. All self sown not planted by us!

All just as the RSPB suggests we can do!!

How can I record wildlife I see in my village?

On Tuesday this week our local group of the Somerset Wildlife Trust organised a talk to explain to members how we can do this.
I was interested to listen to an excellent presentation of the on line recording system developed by Somerset Environmental Records Centre.( SERC) I followed up the same evening by entering my sighting of a Orange Tip butterfly in my own garden two days ago. I expect many people have seen them recently. After a couple of tries I have entered this sighting onto the Somerset Records. Not remarkable but as was apparent from questions a common reaction to being urged to report common sightings is  why report something which is thought off as not worth the effort.

For me the reason is the same as led us to start our own local village system which you can see in operation if you visit Curry Rivel Community Website. Use this link :http://www.curryrivel.org.uk  A map is shown with the Parish boundary marked  using Google Earth maps and on the map are symbols to represent the reports we have receive, their location and description of what was seen. We set that system up because of our interest in wildlife and because as on of small group of volunteers said," if we want to protect out wildlife then we first need to know what wildlife is currently resident in our area!"

What I learnt form our talk was that SERC have given us the means to pass on our sightings so that they can be " officially" recorded centrally for Somerset where they are available for planning departments , developers and local councils who are considering housing and other projects.

So its a lot more than just local curiosity and interest and I hope we will be able to use this tool and well as keeping our local initiative going in parallel.

SERC web site and the way to make our reports are clearly shown at this web address link:   http://www.somerc.com/who-are-serc/

To see the Facebook page for our local area group of the Somerset Wildlife Trust try this link:http:://www.somersetwildlife.org/Heart_of_the_Level

Curry Rivel wildlife

I posted this short report on our Community Web Site and have already had several new sightings so happy with that.

The Wildlife Survey Group has set up a map of the village and we add a marker every time someone reports any form of wildlife. 
To view the map simply click here 

To report your sighting if you use a mobile phone or other computer device email to: davidgerman555@gmail.com or editor@curryrivel.org.uk or curryrivelnews@gmail.com
It will reach me, David German, eventually!

At the recent Annual Parish Assembly I was able to report that the Wildlife Survey Group is indeed still alive and well and collecting news of fresh wildlife sightings around Curry Rivel.

Most of the reported sightings so far have been added with an approximate location to the Village Wildlife Map on the website.

Reports for 2018 include the following:

5.3.18.I was contacted about an unusually large "creepy crawly"

I've copied how I asked SERC for identification!

Sent to SERC:
"Help please!
What is this? Sent to me this morning. Found on a slab sunbathing yesterday in a garden next to Batty Piece. Looks very pale and seems to have a pair of legs per segment. I've checked the length and was told it was about 10 cm.It seems to be a centipede but rather big? Mobile phone picture included.The person sending this didn't actually see it and will contact the originator for more info if possible.
Regards,
David"

Response from SERC:
"Thank-you for the creepy crawly photo, it is indeed a centipede. As to which is not so easy to say, there are 57 species of centipede in the UK!
Here is an interesting link

The Western yellow centipede (Stigmatogaster subterranea) seems plausible, up to 70mm, not so long as your specimen but possible. The Nature Spot website says there are several very similar species and they can only be identified conclusively with an id key and a microscope, not from a photo sadly! So, centipede sp. is as good as we can get.

Actually, some people keep non-native centipede species as pets so it could even be an escapee." 

8.4.18 Video clip of two stoats fighting in a local ditch. Very dramatic and serious with probably only one winner! Will try to show video complete with sound effects!


Tried but not working!

Other reports in April so far include ,Swallows,House Martins, early purple wild orchids, Bluebells, primroses and Cowslips in East Field and Batty Piece in large numbers.

By coincidence there will be a Wildlife Trust public meeting with a presentation of the recording work by Somerset Environmental Centre organised by the Heart of the Levels Volunteer Group 8th May in Somerton.
"It is the endless task of the Somerset Environmental Records Centre (SERC) to record the county's plant and wildlife. Why is this so
important, and what is this information used for? Come and find out how you can make a big contribution to counting our wildlife."

Dragonflies., from our very own garden pond!

Possibly a Southern hawker ( Aeshna cycnea )

 Just emerged from lava case

 Ready to fly

Some of the more than 30 lava cases recovered this summer from the pond just 2.5m by 1.5m

Curry Rivel Wildlife Survey Group report.

Good year for DRAGONFLIES

We all know and admire the beauty of dragonflies and those of us with garden ponds will have the pleasure of seeing damselflies hovering over the water on sunny days.  This charming species is very ancient, around 300 million years old as fossilised remains have proved.  So, a very successful insect perhaps because in contrast to their beauty they are aggressive, carnivorous predators during their short summer lives.

Dragonflies are recognisable to most of us in two groups - dragonflies and damselflies.  Dragonflies are the larger and stouter and damselflies are smaller and daintier.  When trying to identify them there is one very obvious difference.  When at rest dragonflies keep their wings spread open but damselflies keep them folded together along their backs.  Otherwise they have the same characteristics and only differ in where they hunt and where they tend to lay their eggs. 

 All of them need to be near water but certain dragonflies (known as darters or hawkers) will hunt along hedgerows or at woodland edges.  To catch their prey dragonflies are known to fly as fast as 60 mph!

Eggs are laid in water, mud or in waterside plants.  These eggs hatch into larvae which sometimes remain in their watery birthplaces for several years feeding on all sorts of underwater prey including small fish and frog spawn.  When weather and temperature conditions are just right they emerge, climbing up the stalks of water plants and start to change into their adult form.  Once able to fly they immediate look for mates and start the whole process again but within 2-3 weeks they have completed their work and die.

Dragonflies are usually seen on sunny, warm days when there is plenty of food about but in poor weather they will stay hidden sometimes hanging underneath leaves (perhaps sheltering from our frequent rainfall!).  As with all animal life poor conditions and lack of food sources will affect the survival of dragonflies and indeed there are some that are now giving cause for concern. In fact dragonflies are an indicator species because of their reliance on healthy water courses.  If dragonflies disappear from a watery habitat then there is something wrong with its ecology.

Water pollution is a serious threat which has reduced where control is possible but is still a danger where thoughtless waste disposal continues.

There are some 30 species of dragonfly and 20 species of damselfly in Britain but identification is not easy because they are only visible for a short time and they can fly very fast.  Nowadays with camera phones perhaps it is possible to take a photo for later identification.  There are a few websites devoted to dragonflies e.g. www.british-dragonflies.org.uk  where you can find more information.  Identification is not necessary for most of us to enjoy the sight of a dragonfly with its fragile shimmering wings and striking body colours.  If you find them in your garden you know that you have created a healthy habitat and many other invaluable insects will want to join them.

Batty Piece, wild Orchids. Pyramidal and Green Winged, and Broomrape

Having recently discovered a Green Winged Orchid flowering in our meadow, on a walk about today I found our Pyramidal orchids just beginning to show a slightly pink tip of the flower spike. Last year we had hundreds on display.The single Green Winged orchid is now on its last flower and hopefully will produce a lot of seeds. It was fortunate that we found it as the grasses and other flowering plants make it difficult to see.  I also spotted a lovely pale pink and almost colourless Broomrape plant . Again hard to spot.

Curry Rivel Wildlife Survey Group weekly reports April / May

Emails between members of Curry Rivel Wildlife Survey Group.  ( edited)

I will walk Eastfield each week and report what my untrained eye observes. We're away some of the time in the next few weeks but I shall do my best.

I'm on Nightingale listening!

Paul 

Thanks David and Liz for joining us yesterday.

You can double your bird count, David! I have attached a spreadsheet showing what we saw, when. Catherine, her niece, and I continued on up to the fields above us this morning, and on into the woods on the scarp. We saw some different species, as you might expect. In total, 33 species over the two days.

I will log that on the wildlife map.

It looks like the swallows are properly back now; I saw a group of them on the telephone wires on Dyers Road by the Church Lane junction, where they usually hang out in the summer.

The orchids are on the top part of the road,  about half way along, on the southern side (nearest the village). Yes, spotty leaves, and there are a dozen or more of them. You have to look carefully amongst all the bluebells there. Lots of yellowhammers along that lane too, as usual. And two or three skylark territories. 

Matt

On 14/04/2017 15:15, David German wrote:

Wow,
First one reported ! No spotted leaves though? Was it a single specimen?  Thats the lane up from Dyers Lane?
Our first 2017 CR WSG early morning bird spotting walk went well this morning  Waiting for Matts record of the number heard and seen for most. Expect it was about 15 or so!
Will record the orchid. Wish we had it on Batty Piece or Eastfield.  Maybe too dry for us.
David

On 14 Apr 2017, at 13:31, Paul wrote:

My first Orchid 
On the lane to Woods

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Happy Easter
Paul

CR WSG weekly report on Eastfield 2/17

The second survey report

CRWSG Eastfield Survey Report 2/17

Time 1700 hrs    6.4.17  Fine sunny day breezy.

Walking down Holdens Way to Eastfield its worth noticing that the  vegetation on the verge is growing strongly. Cow Parsley is flowering and Hogweed is showing quite spectacular growth and flowering is not far away. The old hedge, perhaps ancient, has recovered from a rather rough cut back and layering some time ago and is  now regrowing.  From the gate you can see a noticeable difference in the look of the meadow.  Cowslips have sprung up clear of the grasses and many more have appeared in all areas. The well  established clump of flowers near the Electricity pole half way along the southern side catch your eye,  bright and cheerful. This clump is always protected from any mowing or other activity by the pole and its supports. Buttercups are not as showy as the cowslips but have also risen clear of the grasses and are evenly distributed  across the meadow. Walking round the mown path these changes can be seen in more detail. Vetches are noticeable now and should be flowering soon. Even in the mown path cowslips have grown up and are flowering. I haven’t mentioned the Dandelions so far but of course they are everywhere fully open in the sunshine and looking like miniature sunflowers.

A pleasant change this time is to see a Peacock and a Speckled Wood butterfly,  flying back and forth in front of the Blackthorn hedge. Here there is a particularly  numerous display of Cowslips.  There will be many other species of butterflies to look out for in the weeks ahead.

David

Glow worms! Short item on the BBC One Show a few days ago on the 28th I think. This link should take you to the programme and the item comes up at about 23 minutes into the programme. Hope it works.
Our local Wild Life Survey Group has a walk planned for August to look for them!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08k5d1y

Wildlife action in Curry Rivel , Somerset

Article for Curry Rivel News April 2017 edition.    But you can see it here first!!

Each month in 2017 a free wildlife activity will be laid on to give Cury Rivel residents the opportunity to get to know what amazing wildlife is on their doorstep. In April the activity –in fact there are two – focuses on birds

Watch the birdy

What makes Curry Rivel a great place to live? Well, lots of things. Many people would say that it’s the scenery, the hedges, trees, views, greenery – and birds. It’s specially birds, along with the delicate new shoots on plant and the first flowerss, which herald the spring. As soon as Christmas is over, days start to lengthen and dunnocks, great tits and robins begin to sing, marking their territories with song to make sure they have enough food for when the young ones hatch later. As weeks go by, other birds join in the singing, and by March all the resident birds are at it.

Would you like to know what the birds you can hear singing are? Which ones are bringing your garden and our village alive? There are two opportunities in Curry Rivel in April, both free, led by local ecologist Catherine Mowat. If you like, you could try bringing a smart phone to record the songs and help you learn them. There’s no need to book, just turn up, but if you would like to know more, contact Catherine on 01458 250655.

Good Friday 14^th April 7am-9am: Early morning walk along the lanes, stopping to watch and listen as we go. Meet at St Andrews parish Church

Friday 28^th April 8.15pm-9.30pm: Owls and nightingales. Three species of owl are found in and around Curry Rivel, and amazingly, in recent years, a pair of nightingales – a species which has become incredibly rare. No promises, but we hope to hear or see some of these, and enjoy the evening bird chorus too. Meet at Eastfield.

For more info on wildlife in Curry Rivel, visit http://www.curryrivel.org.uk/news/campaigns-events/currry-rivels-natural-health-survey.html

We’re looking for people to join in with wildlife activities, do contact the wildlife survey group if you’re interested - http://www.curryrivel.org.uk/local-info/clubs-societies.html

 I'll publish our draft programme for 2017 here soon.