Real summer

Had a very satisfactory walk across the boardwalk this morning. As had been forecast, it was already pretty warm (25 degrees according to my car thermometer), and I had hopes of getting some photographs of the butterflies. In the event, the best I could manage was this shot of a ringlet, briefly still amongst some buttercups. Of the 5-spot burnet moths, which I had been particularly hoping for, there was frustratingly no sign.

The stream was looking lovely with the sun streaming through the leaves, and I thought that was worth a snap too.

However, the best and least expected, were the comparatively excellent views I had of reed warblers. It is hard enough to see these birds at the best of times, so I was very lucky to have such clear views of one rather agitated bird waiting for me to get out of the way so it could feed its young, and a little later another, slightly clearer view. I got the impression that there must be fledged young somewhere near, as I could hear the alarm calls in several places. 

If you look carefully at the image above, you can see that there is a ring on the bird's right leg. How I would love to know where and when that was fitted!

And finally, calling in at Scouts' Pond on my way back, I managed a few shots of a dragonfly. I think it's an Emperor Dragonfly, but I'm awaiting confirmation of that from the ever-reliable network of experts who monitor the excellent iSpot website, where I've posted my observation.(By the evening the result was in, and it turns out that the dragonfly was a black tailed skimmer.)

Butterflies galore

The butterflies are beginning to come into their own now. Lots of large whites, a fresh crop of speckled woods, and large numbers of ringlets. Today I also saw my first 5 spot burnet moths of the season, on the grassy area near Warren Road.

Heard two ssinging reed warblers, and one reed bunting. Blackcaps and chiffchaffs are still singing, although there seem to be fewer of them at it than before. Sadly, the willow warbler has stopped: I hope this doesn't mean its breeding failed, but I fear it might.

I'm also beginning to fear I will see no lizards on the boardwalk this year. A few weeks ago they were very common at Strumpshaw Fen, but no sign here. There were very few last year too, but in previous years they had been quite common. I wonder if the two snowy winters have killed them off?

Young whitethroats

Had a quick spin across the boardwalk and through School Common yesterday, trying without success to dodge the downpours. At least we don't need to bemoan the lack of rain at the moment! It was interesting to see how quickly the water level of Scouts' pond has risen.

Inevitably there was not much to be seen, but I did find either a female or juvenile blackcap. The highlight however was in the bushes on the area near Warren Road: an adult whitethroat was busy feeding three wonderful youngsters - very heartening.

Thanks - from John Houlgate 11th June

Thank you everyone who helped this morning.  Whilst not so grand as another parade taking place in London today, nevertheless I have no hesitation in saying we all passed muster.   And we had Margaret's cakes which is more than anyone on Horse Guards did.  A great job was done by all and the timing was immaculate - job done on the stroke of 2 hours.  Thanks again.

 

Next working party is earmarked for Sunday 17th July but tasks and dates are not so rigid during the summer.  I'm not going to create a job just for the sake of it.  We continue to have the help of BTCV for another 3 months at least so it may work out that they can have a session of what we did today.  I think you'll agree that it needed doing and that we've left the site looking well cared for.

Regards from John

All rather quiet really

Had a walk across the boardwalk this afternoon, and was struck by how few birds were singing. Granted it was warm, but not exceptionally hot, and it's not really so late in the year that they should have stopped yet. I was at Strumpshaw Fen yesterday, and the warblers were still in very good voice there. At Southrepps today, there were only two chiffchaffs and two blackcaps prepared to sing, along with the inevitable blackbirds and wrens. Not a squeak from reed warblers, reed buntings, whitethroats or willow warblers: I hope it's only temporary.

I did see a couple of red admiral butterflies, and there appears to be a second brood of speckled wood butterflies around. Also lots of grasshoppers going at it full pelt.

Good to see the original bench from the boardwalk in its new home, half way along the stretch of boardwalk between Warren Road and the Beck: I'm sure it will be very welcome. There had been a bit of a tidying-up working party this morning, and this was one of the jobs achieved.

Great to see Tim's posting - keep it up Dr!

Norfolk Reed

Norfolk reed, or to be more accurate Phragmites australis is the signature plant species of our commons; it’s what makes them so environmentally distinctive and visually exciting. It’s the backdrop, against which, everything else: willow, willow herb and rush, takes its place. I was walking through the boardwalk just this afternoon and once again marvelled at the contrast between the fresh vibrant green stems, springing from last winter’s cut and the mature parchment-tinted reeds, matured and sun-dried for three years. Of course this is entirely due to management– a well rehearsed regime of cutting, clearing and rotating, all designed to mimic what was, after all, a genuine working environment, where the reeds were cut, not for the amenity value of the landscape but for the material value of the crop.

Harvesting reed for Thatching has a long tradition in Norfolk but thatching-reed has to be of a particular quality and cut on a yearly cycle (which they call single wale). The common’s reed beds are cut in a way that is more environmentally focused (a two or three year rotation is actually better for wildlife). This also suits the volunteer workforce who, after all, are driven by the joy of it all, rather than the sale of the harvest.

For many years now I’ve been trying to find ways in which reed can be used for projects other than for thatching and in particular for sculpture. Of course Norfolk reed is perfect for thatching because it’s stiff, smooth and, when dry, sheds water. As a medium for sculpture however, it’s not particularly forgiving or easy to work. One thing’s for certain, it doesn’t bend, and believe me, I’ve tried everything from steaming to (very toxic) chemical treatments – it just won’t budge. Reed is particularly high in the glass-like material silica, which explains why the ancient Chinese potters used reed-ash as the basis for their glazes. This also goes some way in explaining its brittleness.

It does however bundle and bunch very beautifully and this is key to working with reed – you have to use methods that are sympathetic to its working character (which is another way of saying: ‘do what it tells you and stop trying to be clever’). As the photographs below go to show - you can bunch it, bind it and bundle it, but whatever you do, don’t bend it!

Moths

Excellent night last night. Tim hosted a moth hunt in his meadow, and for 3 hours we attracted a large number of moths to my expert friend's bright light. If it had not been so windy, we would have got more. The highlights for most of us were the exquisite Emperor Hawk moth, and the larger, but greyer, Eyed Hawk moth. It was fascinating to see how, once they had been convinced it was daytime, they settled down to rest in full view of everyone.The full list of moths recorded is now online at: http://www.southreppscommonstrust.org.uk/sct2/wildlife.htm

What a treat, and many thanks to Tim and Jane for their brilliant hospitality.

Summer already

Walking across the common today it struck me that although we are only a few days into June, summer is well and truly here. It has been exceptionally dry for weeks of course, but I notice the reedbed is still reasonably soft. Both the Pit and Scouts' Pond are now quite low, and I only hope we don't need a repeat of the fish rescue drama at the Pit. The orchids look to be past their best already, but there is still plenty of cotton grass and ragged robin to see.

Not very much bird activity, but there were still plenty of recently fledged blue tits in evidence, and the reed bunting was still singing from the back of the reedbed. Chiffchaffs are not singing with anything like as much conviction as recently, but blackcaps and whitethroats were still singing.

What I found less enchanting was the remainder of a picnic on School Common. At least, amongst all the other rubbish they had left behind, the litter louts had left their carrier bag, so it was relatively easy to clean up after them. I am very happy to do my bit for the community by helping where I can with looking after the commons, but it does infuriate me when I come across such laziness, thoughtlessness and downright anti-social behaviour.

On the same theme, Pit Common suffered some rare vandalism the other day, when someone took it into their head to dive a car up the track beside the pond. In doing so, they wrecked the dog waste bin that had only been in place a few months, after much lobbying of the parish council for the need.We can only hope that it can be quickly replaced.

A Queen's Award

The news that Southrepps Commons Trust has been granted the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is marvellous news, and a really meaningful expression of how much everyone involved does to make the commons such special places.

There has been a good write up of it in the Eastern Daily Press today: click this link to see the article.

EDP article:

We must be very grateful to the Parish Council for nominating us, and of course everyone who has ever been involved for making the area what it is. The challenge now is to keep up the good work!