Birdsong kicking off

On a wonderful warm early Spring day the common was alive with birdsong, already well under way. Great tits, robins, song thrush and skylark were in fine voice. It took a little tracking down, but I found a blackbird skulking in a bush murmuring away to itself; perhaps getting itself in tune before giving it the full welly.

The were several dunnocks singing in the bright sunshine, and I managed to get some shots of one, the best of which is here.

Enjoying the warmth of the sun I took a seat on the Chadwick bench, and after a while I realised I could hear a reed bunting; this struck me as rather early. Looking across the reedbed I spotted the bird right away, typically perched at the top of a reed, gently swaying in the breeze. It was a long way off and difficult to get a good steady shot of it, but the picture does at least show it really was a reed bunting.

A little further on my walk, no longer on the common but near enough, I found this cluster of ladybirds warming themselves.

All in all, a lovely morning.

Fully loaded

Another working party today, with 10 volunteers putting in a solid shift. Once again we were lucky with the weather; the threatened rain holding off until the afternoon, by which time we were long gone.

As can be seen, a serious attempt was made to so load the cart that it would sink in the mud up to its axles. Since the dry reeds were light, it actually wasn't as over-loaded as it looks, as can be seen by the happy smiling faces of the doughty cart crew!

Off, then on

After a deceptively mild winter so far, the weather turned mean with a vengeance on the night of 4th February. The scheduled working party for the next day was called off, since it's hard to cut reeds when they're buried under snow. Such was the reasoning of our leader. However, nothing daunted, he re-convened the working party for the next Saturday, and although it remained pretty chilly and no mistake, the snow had thawed enough to make the work possible.

Your correspondent was not present this time, entertaining his visiting relatives instead. However, the evidence is there for all to see, with a lot more cut and mounds of reeds waiting to be removed by the BTCV stalwarts during the week - just in time for the next working party on the 18th.

Here's the Chairman's message:

Hello All

 

I am running out of ways to say thank you and congratulations on another successful morning's work.

This morning was another example of the splendid team work which is the hallmark of our group.  Well done.

 

Next Saturday, 18th. at 9:00am we resume where we left off today.  Hopefully, BTCV will have cleared all our heaps and a bit more besides. 

 

Thanks and regards

John

Rather damp working party

Yesterday's working party didn't start off too well, as despite all meteorological predictions, 16 intrepid volunteers were treated to a few heavy showers, interspersed with rain of varying degrees of nastiness. However, after a while it cleared up and the sun even struggled out. The brisk wind helped dry us out, if not the ground, which had got pretty squelchy. Nonetheless, we managed to cut the central area where the cotton grass and orchids grow so went away feeling damply pleased.The new tea and coffee making facilities are a big hit, and keenly sought out, as illustrated below:

Chairman John's message follows:

Hello All

Apparently we are still in drought but if the Director of the Met. Office would like to visit Southrepps Common soon, I wonder if he would still be so sure!  This morning's team deserves to feel especially proud of themselves; first for just getting out of bed and then for achieving such a fine result.  We are well on the way with this season's work now.  Thank you everyone, your next chance to romp in the hay (only joking) is Sunday 5th February at 9:30am.

Regards

John

First working party of 2012

And it turned out to be a very productive one. Twelve good people and true turned up in lovely bright weather - not too hot and not too cold. We were very productive, getting all of the part of area G south of the boardwalk cut. This has usually taken at least one and a half sessions, so our techniques in using the magnificent cart appear to be working well.

I intend to take more photos of working parties, but today this after the event picture will have to suffice.

Here's John's message:

A big thank you to all who helped to make such a fine start to the new year this morning .

Really, on such mornings it's a  pleasure and privilege to be out there and what we acheived speaks for itself of a fine team effort.  Next opportunity to join the team is on Saturday, 21st. January, same place starting at 9:00am.

 

Best wishes

John

New Year, new project

A glorious day to start my observations for 2012. Cool, yes, fresh, yes - but a beautiful clear blue sky and a bright sun. The sun lit a pair of male bullfinches magnificently at the edge of School Common.

I've started a new project for the year, to take record photos from 16 different vantage points around the common. The aim is to take pictures from exactly the same positions once a month, and I started today. We hope that this will provide a good record of how the common looks at each month of year, and the extent to which invasive species such as Alder are affecting the site. Here's an example:

No camera - silly!

This morning was bright and warm, but foolishly I decided not to bother to take my camera across the common and round about. Whilst this was vindicated on the common itself (I did see two Reed Buntings, but would not have had a chance of a picture), when I reached the path behind Warren Barns I found myself surrounded by Goldcrests. Now these are never going to be easy to photograph, and sometimes they are very hard to see although you can hear them. Sometimes however, as today, they are very confiding and show themselves quite openly. Then I saw a Tree Creeper and again would have had a chance of a picture. Perhaps I've learned my lesson, but we'll see!

Was pleased to see the water level on Scouts' Pond is a lot more healthy after the recent rain.