Swarming for spawning

This gorgeous spring weather has brought the frogs to life in a big way, and Scouts' Pond (off Jubilee Boardwalk) is heaving with them. Quite apart from the sight of hundreds of amorous amphibians, the sound is pretty pleasing too.

Cutting programme completed well ahead of schedule

Hello All

 

Very well done indeed to everybody for such a splendid conclusion to this season’s work.  Despite all the problems, both meteorological and mechanical, we finished in grand style and ahead of time.

I always enthuse about The Common’s appearance at this time of year,  just as the new growth starts to appear, and this morning’s sunshine does justice to the place.  You can feel proud of your contribution to village life which apart from giving pleasure to residents and visitors alike, also has a very real cash value because we know what a contractor would charge to do not such a good job.

The remaining 2 working parties, 16th and 23rd March, are cancelled in favour of ad hoc sessions as the need arises.  I will publish a programme for 2014-15 later in the year. 

 

AGM is Monday 12th May at 7:00pm in the Social Club.  Whilst making it brief and to the point, I nevertheless honour the occasion for what it is and present an annual report.  We have refreshments and would love to see you there, ready to answer questions and suggestions.

 

Thanks again for your dedication and hard work.

Best wishes and regards

John

Record breaking working party 16th February

Today's working party, in wall-to-wall sunshine, saw a record-breaking turnout of 22 volunteers, including three people there for the first time. It's not surprising that we managed to complete the cutting of area A on Warren Road, which means that the main cutting programme has been finished, and earlier than usual. The combination of a consistently good turnout of willing helpers and the new winch, which has made the task of hauling cut vegetation to the dumping sites so much easier, is the reason for this excellent progress.

We had enough people to be able to sweep the boardwalks clear of leaves, and to trim the edges of long stretches of the boardwalk, so preventing future rotting of the boards.

One of our new volunteers is particularly handy with a camera, and took loads of pictures to record the event. Here's a selection of Sheila Robinson's lovely images:

Here's Chairman John's message of the day:

Hello All

 

I hope you basked in a warm glow of satisfaction and pride, not to mention a nice bath, after this morning’s work. 

We have come close to finishing this season’s quota of work given us by Natural England which, after difficulties both meteorological and mechanical, reflects incredibly well on all of you.

Anybody with experience of  community work that I’ve ever spoken to would be very impressed by what we achieve and today’s record turn-out of 22 volunteers.

The next working party is Sunday 2nd March when we will certainly finish our primary task and go on to who knows what.

Thank you and well done.

 

Regards from John

Beautiful morning for a working party

This morning was a glorious spring-like one; warm bright sunshine with little or no wind. A slightly smaller turnout of volunteers than of late turned out and put in another excellent shift; we will probably complete the cutting programme next time. This is Chairman John's message:

Hello All

 

Many thanks to all who helped today.  We are making real progress and it is even conceivable that our fine-tuned and efficient team could  finish Area A next time.

If you want the satisfaction and pride of participating in such an impressive feat, make Sunday 16th February a date.  The end-of-season party starts to beckon.

 

Thanks again

John

Here's the cart under a full load, being towed by the famous winch.

Presumably the unseasonable warmth was responsible for waking up a bee which visited our base camp. It may be from a nest that has been made in a box intended for birds in the alder carr along the Beck. The amber coloured mess is honey that has run down the outside of the box.

More excellent work was done trimming growth back from the edges of the boardwalk. This is important not only to ensure the full width of the boardwalk can be used, but it will also help prevent the boards from rotting. Here is the edge team:

Their job is made much less pleasant, not to say unhealthy, by the presence of dog mess in depressingly large quantities. Although many do of course, we do wish ALL dog owners would clear up after their pets!

Sticklebacks and bees

Today we had a visit from a couple of men from the Environment Agency, as part of their ongoing survey of the quality of water in streams and rivers, and the fish that those watercourses support. They came armed with lots of nets and buckets, and the equipment necessary to stun fish by giving them a mild electric shock. Here they are at work in the Beck:

Their first sweep of a stretch of the Beck leading from the bridge in the centre of the Common yielded 13 three spined sticklebacks, and one ten spined stickleback.

All that were caught were measured before being returned to the stream: this was one of the larger specimens at around 6 centimetres.

While we were out in the area we spotted one of our large nestboxes, which had fallen from the tree it had been tied to. Last time I had checked it I had discovered that it had been occupied by bees, and in fact some honey had dribbled down the front to the box. Looking into the entrance hole we could see the honeycomb, and even some bees; not very active of course, but certainly moving.

Working parties back on track

After a delay waiting for the right part to arrive from Germany, Grizzly has finally been repaired and we have been able to resume work on the cutting programme for the Common. On Saturday six of us managed to finish off the cutting and clearing away on area G (the bit where the cotton grass and most of the orchids grow), and on Sunday another magnificent turnout of 17 volunteers got about half of area A (Warren Road) done. The weather on Saturday was beautiful; Sunday started out wet, but by the time we started work the rain stopped, and we ended up getting pretty warm in the unseasonably mild conditions.

Here's Dr. Tim pretending to haul the cart; the winch was actually doing the real work!

Lots of small froglets about, a shrew and a vole, and we were serenaded by a song thrush. Great spotted woodpecker also drumming nearby - spring almost here!

Here is Chairman John's message of thanks:

Hello All

 

Many thanks to everybody who  helped on The Common yesterday (Sunday) morning.  All who use and enjoy the place deeply appreciate your work, even if they don’t exactly realise the level of commitment you displayed by ignoring the truly grim weather early on.  But I told you the rain would stop, the sun would shine, and suddenly there was no place you’d rather be.  Together with what was achieved by a few of us on Saturday morning, I think we have made up time and are in a good position to complete this season’s work. 

 

My thanks and greetings go out to Mike, another newcomer who joined us yesterday all the way from Norwich, introduced by Liz.  Also, Brian came along in a blind act of faith despite having dropped of my address list since early December, unbeknown to me.  This happens from time to time because my computer sits brooding in the office thinking up ever more ingenious ways of messing up my life.  So if you don’t hear from me between working parties, please enquire by email or telephone (01263 833001) to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

 

We shall resume the good work on Sunday 2nd February at 10:00am and I hope to see you then.

 

Kind regards and appreciation

John

Barn owl hunting

After several years of hoping, today at last my visit to the Common coincided with a barn owl's visit. Better still, I had my camera with me, and at about 3.00 p.m. the light was pretty good. I took 15 photos in the minute or so that the owl hunted over areas A & B (i.e. the Warren Road side if the Beck). The best of them, even if still far from perfect, is this:

So far, 2014 is looking good!