Video from Somerset Wildlife Trust

It is about time I showed this video made by the Somerset Wildlife Trust as part of their never ending efforts to protect our Somerset Wildlife


Please view this U Tube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YwNt10dhkI


There are other videos in which you can see more of the work of the Trust.

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.

Wild Life Crime

From:

Roger Dickey | Chairman Heart of the Level Group | 441458 273753 | 447973534282 | roger@dickey4444.freeserve.co.uk

Dear SWT Heart of the Levels supporter.

 

Our next talk is this coming Tuesday 14th March. Once again we gone for something a little different.

 

The subject that is very often overlooked, as crime statistics are mentioned, is wildlife crime – we all have our own views on what this means but it is a topic rarely reported in the Press unless it involves certain protected species, and even then hardly credits a mention. What actually is a wildlife crime, how much crime is there and is there anything we can do to help prevent it or indeed report it?

 

We are very fortunate to have Dave Pepper coming to speak to us on Tuesday, not only because he is a local police officer, but also because there are only a few Wildlife Crimes Officers in the county making him a bit of a rare breed.

 

I do hope to see you in the Parish Rooms at 7:30 pm for this talk with a difference.

 

Cheers

 

Roger

 

Wildlife Survey in Curry Rivel

Having spent most of the last two years ( in my spare time of course) helping to write a Local Plan for the parish of Curry Rivel in Somerset we managed to highlight issues concerning Wildlife and the need for conservation.
One out come has been to set up a local Wildlife Survey Group in the village. An important feature of this new initiative is an interactive map using Google maps. On the map we are identifying wildlife sightings within the 6 square miles of our Parish.If you are interested you can visit our page on our local community web site using this link:


http://www.curryrivel.org.uk/news/campaigns-events/currry-rivels-natural-health-survey.html

National Trust,Lytes Cary, Farming and Wildlife

Our local group of the Somerset Wildlife Trust reminds local members and friends about our next talk. All welcome of course.

Dear Heart of the Levels supporter,

For some time we have wanted to hear George Holmes (Head Ranger) talk on the National Trust property at Lytes Cary. As it is one of the closer properties to the Heart of the Levels area, many of us have visited the house, gardens, or the surrounding farmland and woods. George is going to tell us how he manages to balance the demands of running an on-site farm with the need to provide gardens and outdoor facilities to the general public.

For those planning to visit Lytes Cary this Spring, the talk will help you to familiarise yourselves with the extent of the grounds and the diversity of plant and wildlife that it offers.

The talk starts at 7:30pm on Tuesday 21st February in the Parish Rooms, off the Market Square in Somerton. There will be the opportunity to talk to George after his talk and over a cup of tea or coffee.

Entry as usual is £2.50 for SWT members and £3.00 for non members. 

I hope to see you there.

Roger

Roger Dickey | Chairman Heart of the Level Group 

Curry Rivel's Wild Life Survey

Since I posted this report on our web site some time ago we have decided to change the title to Curry Rivel Wildlife Survey just to keep things simple! Our objective is still the same!

Here is a post I have just put on our Curry Rivel Facebook page which describes our continuing efforts to find out about wildlife in our parish and protect it.

Curry Rivel's Natural Health Service

How healthy is Curry Rivel’s natural environment? What makes the village a good place to live? Our parish is blessed with amazing natural surroundings, with sites of county, national and even international significance, which make the village an interesting, stimulating and  relaxing place to live. We would like to find out more about what's around us, and we are inviting you to join in our search.

We are a group of villagers who are interested in the natural environment. We don’t have a group name yet, but here are some of the things that we would like to do:

·        Map what is around us

·        Provide information to help with responses to planning applications

·        Share our  local knowledge

And here are some of the ways that we will do that:

·        Put a map on the Curry Rivel website, showing where the interesting plants and animals are

·        Ask people in the village to use their eyes and ears to help

·        Explore links with the Somerset Wildlife Trust

We are starting by focussing on hedgehogs. Do they occur in our parish? Are they increasing/decreasing in number? Please help us start by sending details of any sightings, alive or dead, in Curry Rivel parish in June or  July, with the place and time, to David German, at: davidgerman555@gmail.com. 

Butterfly Conservation April news letter and Somerset Moth Group.

Continuing my quick review of my favourite conservation groups here is the into to the April  news letter from Butterfly Conservation:

Dear David, hello and welcome to April's ‘all aflutter’.                  The official start of British Summer Time (BST) has blessed us with more daylight hours to enjoy the great outdoors but, if you're heading out, remember the start of BST doesn't necessarily mean the start of the sunny weather. This month we look at how last year’s cool summer made life difficult for our butterflies. The Secret Gardener reveals why the humble rockery can prove a wildlife haven. We introduce the April Fritillary and we find out why one of our conservationists is pounding the pavement of the capital to save butterflies and moths. Links to the group are :  http://butterfly-conservation.org/? http://butterfly-conservation.org/?utm_source=Butterfly%20Conservation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6927511_April%202016&dm_i=DGT,44HAV,4B4HIB,EZ4UA,1 Here in Somerset we have several specialist study groups which includes Somerset Moth Group. Link here to their web site: lhttp://www.somersetmothgroup.org.uk/portal

Plantlife International

A follow up to my last post.

Here is a link to the latest newsletter from Plantlife for the month of April:

http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6387c261b542b56fc9cdf7726&id=86ae6360e6&e=3369987e57


Visit their web site on this link. Plantlife.org.uk -    http://www.plantlife.org.uk/

Wildlife. What to See in Somerset. PCNR, Local Wildlife Sites,

Only recently I found that a member of our Heart of the Levels Group committee, Chris Chappell, is the author of a regular feature in the Somerset Wildlife Trust web site. Follow this link to see the March write up.

http://www.somersetwildlife.org/Wildlife_to_see_in_March_2016.html

It motivates me to report on the awakening of our local Private Nature Reserve called Batty Piece which is the name shown for the area on the old Tythe maps from about 1840. I must post soon with photographs. This show were a couple of years ago and a bit later in May or June. We should see another great display in time for the open gardens.

It is, together with an adjoining 4 acre field, the nearest thing to untouched meadow around Curry Rivel. Increasingly rare in Somerset too. Well over 100 plant species have been identified growing there including Bee and Pyramidal Orchids. The field will be included in the Curry Rivel Open Gardens scheme set for 12th June. The last Open Gardens day was two years ago and over 300 visitors visited 16 gardens and two meadows.

Britain in Bloom competition.

You may have seen my earlier posts about our new Parish Plan. One idea that came up during the consultations was entering our village in the Britain in Bloom competition. Well its underway and I've just posted on our Community Web site Facebook page this note.


"Britain in Bloom"- the seed was sown at a small gathering last week in the village hall , now it needs a bit of tender care and next Tuesday 26th you can join a discussion forum to help the seed to grow and start the flowering of Curry Rivel. Interested? Contact me  for time and place.

A big part of the competition is aimed at the greening of the village  and wild areas can play a big part in the overall success of our entry.