Last night BBC Countryfile had a section, fronted by Jo Brand and Chris Packham, on their Photographic Competition 2009.
The theme of the competition is ‘Wild and Wonderful’ and is open to individual interpretation. The competition entry rules are here.
Maybe a suitable shot from Fleet Pond Nature Reserve might make a strong entry?
Chris Packham, the well-known TV-presenter, photographer and author, is the Patron of Fleet Pond Society.
Fleet Pond Society organises and runs a series of volunteer conservation activities at the Pond. The next conservation task is this coming Sunday, May 10.
Colin Gray writes:
“On our management tour recently we agreed to direct attention to the protective fencing along the banks above the pony paddock main access (where the water tank is located). The existing fence is now just a line of posts with odd bits of wire remaining to be removed. The Ranger, Joanna Lawrence, says we can have some of the posts from the workshop storage yard which should be longer lasting than the logs we usually use. This will be a dry task not requiring wellies but will need lots of cutting, sawing and hammering!”
If you have never been before and fancy trying it, please just turn up (details here) or else give Colin Gray a call on 01252 616183, who will be delighted to provide additional information.
Picture: Reed Warbler
From The Independent:
Tot it up. Buds are bursting. Leaves are opening. Blossom is blooming. Flowers are flourishing. Butterflies are emerging. Trout are rising. Birds are singing. Birds are nesting. And indeed, birds are arriving. The arrival of the migrant birds that winter in Africa and spend the summer breeding in Britain is perhaps the most exhilarating April event of all… it has been estimated that (before the declines began) as many as four million willow warblers alone landed in Britain every spring – four million pairs of tiny whirring wings crossing the Sahara, the Mediterranean, Spain and France and finally the Channel before fanning out across the land to begin their silvery descending songs.
For Fleet Pond specifically, we have had as many as 40 breeding pairs of Reed Warbler in the reedbeds. This bird is the one the cuckoos need at the pond because they are the cuckoos’ favourite for nests. They can watch the birds building nests in the reeds from the trees and then drop in and lay as soon as a few eggs have been laid (see picture below).
Picture: Reed Warbler Raising the Young of A Common Cuckoo
Also keep an eye out for house martins and swifts. Nothing says spring more than a flock of swifts screaming their welcomes overhead.
Picture: Swift in Flight
Peter Martin writes:
Although a few may have been seen during April, May is the month when there are often lots of Orange Tips flying around Fleet Pond. The footpath from Avondale Road alongside the Brookly Stream is often a good place to see them (see map on About page above). Like a large number of insects and animals, nature seems to make the male of the species more colourful and this is particularly true of the Orange Tip.
It is the male that has the splashes of orange on the upperside tips of the forewings. The female upperside is just white, apart from a black edging on the tips of the forewings. Underside hindwings of both sexes are a mottled green in colour. As females have no orange, they may be mistaken for Small Whites, or Green-veined Whites.
In some years, a few of the Orange Tip butterflies may be miniature – about half their normal size. The orange, lenticular-shaped eggs that are laid at the base of flower stalks on Cuckooflower or Garlic Mustard are unmistakable. As they are not much bigger than pin-heads, however, you may need a focus scope to really get a good view of them.
Before emergence, the colour of the eggs tends to pale and when the tiny caterpillars appear they may eat their eggshells, before turning their attention to the plants’ seed pods. As they grow, they may also eat the flowers and leaves and, as they are cannibalistic, even other caterpillars. After about 25 days, they pupate and, with their green hue and strange shape, the chrysalides closely resemble the seed pods of their food plants.
Orange Tips remain in the pupal cases until the following spring, when they emerge over a period of several weeks. It always seems a shame that such beautiful butterflies spend most of the year as egg, caterpillar and chrysalid, but each only flies for about 18 days. The first one recorded in my Fleet garden this year was a male seen on 19th April. If you have Honesty growing in your garden, the Orange Tip may lay its eggs on this plant.
To find out what butterfly will be featured next month, take a look at this blog in early June!
Peter Martin acted as author for a booklet entitled “Blackwater Valley Butterflies” which contains photographs of all 32 species found in this area together with information about their life cycles. Copies are available for £2.50 plus £1.00 p.p. from Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership, Ash Lock Cottage, Government Road, Aldershot, Hants, GU11 2PS. (Cheques should be made payable to B.V.C.P.).
Picture credit here.
Picture: Explaining What To Do
Even though it was Easter Sunday, there was a very good turnout! The aim of April’s task was to repair the stream banks (on both sides) near the Gelvert Bridge (see map on About page above). These have become badly eroded by the floods of last season and temporary repairs were needed. When the rangers have enough funds, the overflow problem will be handled by raising the bridge (other solutions are also being considered).
Poles were driven in to the sides to allow insertion of a sleeper on one side and old logs on the other. The sleeper was extremely heavy as it was waterlogged – so plenty of hard work was required (see photo below). The infill material was taken from Sandy Bay using a tractor and supplemented by overflow sand from the side of the bank itself.
Picture: Getting Stuck In With A Sleeper
This task was a project under the CSV Action Earth initiative (Title: ‘Save Our Banks’). Action Earth provides grants of up to £50 (funded by Morrisons) to assist groups in England, Scotland and Wales in carrying out environmental projects. Information on a previous Action Earth task carried out by Fleet Pond Society is here.
Picture: Group Picture (CSV Action Earth).
Picture: The Final Results – A Good Job Done!
I appreciate that getting out of bed on a Sunday morning to do conservation work may not be to everyone’s taste but, take my word for it, working in an easy-going team and making a real difference can be very satisfying and we’re always keen on new volunteers! Contact details on About page.