Wild flowers and "Plantlife"

This is a good time to get out looking for wildflowers in our verges, hedges and nature reserves. This is an extract from Plantlife's latest newsletter.

Dear supporter, Happy Spring! Get ready to hunt for woodland flowers, learn more about how we are protecting ancient trees and help us speak up for wild flowers in Government. Read on...

Great British Wildflower Hunt 2018

The 2018 Great British Wildflower Hunt launches next week with a new list for those who enjoy a woodland walk. Help us discover where those bluebells and primroses are blooming!  Here is a link to Plantlife's web site where you can find out much more about the important work done for wildflowers :https://mailchi.mp/plantlife/plantlife-news-april-2018?e=3369987e57

National Meadow Day , Curry Rivel

National Meadows Day - Saturday 1st July.

Curry Rivel Wildlife Survey Group

To mark this day we invite you to visit our own local meadows located in Holdens Way for a guided walk.

Eastfield Community Meadow and Batty Piece, a private nature reserve and wild flower meadow.

Car parking by Westfield Recreation Field.

Contact us for details of guided walks between 2pm and 5pm.

Please contact me for alternative arrangements

Contact David German 01458 259688 or email at davidgerman555@gmail.com

               

        Pyramidal Orchid                                            Marbled white butterfly                       Grass vetchling and   Goat’s-beard

"Meadows, once a feature of every parish in Somerset are now an increasingly fragile part of our national heritage but all is not lost. National Meadows Day is the perfect way to explore and enjoy the flowers and wildlife of Somerset's magnificent meadows and understand their special place in our shared social and cultural history.

 "Beyond being a quintessential sight of summer, meadows' value to our wildlife cannot be overstated — a single healthy meadow can be home to over 80 species of wild flowers, such as cuckoo flower, yellow rattle, orchids, knapweed and scabious, compared to most modern agricultural pasture which typically supports under a dozen species."

Claire Parton, ‘Save Our Magnificent Meadows’   Project Manager for Somerset Wildlife Trust

Local wildlife news, wild orchids

We haven't heard from our nightingale for a couple of weeks now. and we don't know what has happened to it.

Early this morning about 5am noticed a fox out in the nearby field. Looked as if he was trying to find some food, even chasing after birds on the ground but unsuccessful. The usual group of rabbits was nowhere to be seen.

Mowing our front lawn I was looking out for signs of wild orchids and just in time I spotted one. See photo below. We found one last year also but in a different location. You can see in the photo that its leaves have been cut a little. That must have happened when I did an early cut on the lawn. The flower spike is intact and should be opening as a pyramidal orchid soon.