Migrants arriving

With the last week's beautiful weather it is hardly surprising that the first spring migrants have started to arrive. There was apparently a major influx of chiffchaffs a few days ago, and they have certainly found their way to our little patch. The first couple were reported yesterday, and today I counted at least eight singing males.

The resident birds are also in full swing: lots of great tits, robins, blue tits, blackbirds, dunnocks and one song thrush were all in good voice.

Nothing yet for our wildlife survey, which is a shame since I found a couple of brimstones elsewhere a couple of weeks ago. I did see a comma on the newly cut common today, but that doesn't count for the survey. The butterflies on the survey are brimstone, peacock and speckled wood: let's hope some turn up soon!

Cutting season finished

Today was the last scheduled working party of the cutting season, and we finished the programmed work on time.

This is what the great swathe of the central area looks like at the moment; already the reeds are beginning to sprout on the area cut a few weeks ago. It doesn't often look like this, but the cutting regime calls for this to happen once every four years.

Here's what Chairman John had to say:

A bold, "Hurrah" I say and congratulations to all who helped bring the 2011-12 cutting season to impressive completion today.  We have acheived all that was asked of us and truly shown that a large public amenity can be successfully managed by voluntary effort alone, given the will and the right people.  You are all invited to  celebrate in style at Welland House on Sunday 29th. April, about which more later.

 

Regards and best wishes from John 

 

Younger members of the working party celebrated by climbing to the top of one of the piles of cut reeds:

The rest of us celebrated in a more restrained way, with a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie or two. We know how to party!

Froggy went a-courting

Now we've got some real spring weather, we've got some real spring love action going on in Scouts' Pond. There were dozens of frogs there yesterday, doing what the do, as the following shows:

By way of contrast, a solitary toad on the main boardwalk was enjoying the warmth of Sunday lunchtime:

Lots of birdsong, but no spring migrants yet.

Southrepps Wildlife survey 2012

Now is the time to launch the Southrepps Commons Trust's wildlife survey for 2012. This is the second year we have run it, and so we can compare data we're going to record sightings in the area for the same species as last year.

On the butterfly front, this means male brimstone (bright yellow), peacock and speckled wood. Last year our first sighting of a brimstone buttefly was on 12th March, so we're keen to see if we can beat that!

The birds we're looking out for are swallow; house martin and swift. Last year the first of these was a swallow, on 9th April.

And we're also on the look-out for hedgehogs. Sadly, most hedgehog records were of dead road accident victims, but please let us know about them just the same.

You can record your sightings online at http://www.southreppscommonstrust.org.uk/scttopfinal/wildlifesurvey.htm (where you can also view the results from the 2011 survey) or email them to birdsightings@tiscali.co.uk . We will also have some paper forms for use and deposit at the information point at the Lower Street entrance to the Common in due course.

Sparrowhawk, and working party 4th March

Driving down Bramble Lane on Saturday morning I realised there was a sparrowhawk in one of the fields, feeding on a wood pigeon. I pulled up and my companion and I had a wonderful view - initially at the expense of a chap in a van who was parked on the other side of the lane and had been watching the bird for 10 minutes already. Once the initial fascination was over I realised I was parked front of said van, and moved a bit further forward, worried that by doing so I might spook the hawk. No risk of that; it carried on plucking feathers and gobbling flesh without any concern, even though it was only 30 feet at most from the car. An ideal opportunity for a wonderful photo; except I had not brought my camera with me! Will I never learn?

The next day was the penultimate working party of the cutting season, but having guests meant I was not there. Instead, we were in Southwold, suffering from the vile weather that the working party will have mostly avoided. Here is Chairman John's message:

Hello All

 

Well, with typical bravado and brinkmanship we courted the weather demons yesterday and scored another major success.  Thanks everyone for turning out in defiance of all the predictions.  We have one more scheduled session, Saturday 17th March at 9:00am, when we shall finish the small bit in the middle and create, for the first time in 4 years, one great mowed expanse across the whole central part.  And I think all that deserves a celebration, the exact nature of which is under consideration already.

 

Kind regards from John