Dark November gales

DARK DAYS BRIGHTENED

OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE

Sunlight this November was scarce and more gales were forecast for the day of our meet this month on 29th, so work was completed early to avoid the threatened storm.

Bright yellow Hazel leaves remain on a young Hazel tree (Corylus avellana) on the river bank.

Hazels, once old enough to produce nuts and shelter, form ideal habitat for the Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius). The trees do well along the riverside here and in species rich hedgerows. Provided the thickets are dense, grow several meters tall, are diverse and continuous enough to allow foraging on a variety of fruits, nuts and flowers and contain nesting material such as Honeysuckle

bark, Hazel Dormice may well return. They are an endangered species and becoming more so as their habitat is destroyed or 'tidied up' - we hope to preserve the existing habitat and increase its value.

A Slow October Fall of Leaves

OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE

Field Maple on the river bank

Late October - and leaves have been gradually turning colour in the autumn sun and falling at a slow pace, unhurried by bad weather.

The day of our meet on 25th October 2015 was fine after a cold start, with no wind to disturb the riverside trees. The sun eventually heated up the earth and towards the end of the morning, buzzards were gliding and circling overhead on the thermals.

A Fine day for our September Meet

The Group met on Sunday 27th September 2015 - a fine autumn day, in a dry spell when dragonflies and butterflies were still present on the riverside in good numbers in warm sheltered places.

A Common Darter dragonfly Sympetrum striolatum (f) warming up on a Bramble leaf, ready to

dart out when it spotted an insect - plenty to choose from at this time of the year.

Given reasonable weather, this species will be seen throughout October as well.

September was notable this year for the Group - we were awarded a certificate by

The Royal Horticultural Society 

and

South & South East in Bloom

with a 2015 'It's your Neighbourhood Award' of Level 5 - Outstanding

- for work carried out during the past year along the river.

Autumn in the air

On our meet on Sunday 23rd August 2015, the approach of autumn was evident from the abundance of autumn fruits,  berries and acorns, thankfully far more than last autumn when there was a dearth of wildlife food from the start.

The day was very warm and humid with fine misty rain falling later. Nuthatches were now calling loudly from the oaks where two days earlier a Purple Hairstreak butterfly was seen, on 21st August. Other butterflies such as Gatekeepers and Brimstones were also flying, with Banded Demoiselle damselflies over the river. Bullfinch, treecreeper, green woodpecker and other common woodland birds were present too, the star being a kingfisher flying low over the river, its brilliant blue plumage caught by the sun.    

Food for Wildlife - Crab apples ripening. Planted for birds such as thrushes, robins, greenfinches

and others which will feed on the fruits in winter. 

The early spring blossom on the trees attracts early bees when flowers are scarce and the trees also attract a very large diversity of other insects which in turn attract insect-eating birds. 

A Summer of Contrasts

Our Meet on the 26th July 2015 was the wettest we have encountered for a long time. 

Everyone was soaked - but at least it was warm.

The rain did not last the whole day, with rainwater sinking quickly into the dry ground - and no flooding occurred. Wildlife was all the more abundant as a result. During rain, butterflies drop down low under the stalks of long grasses and other meadow and hedgerow plants where the shelter, wings folded, until the rain ceases and sunlight filters through, warming the earth.

On 2nd August a large number of fresh Peacock butterflies were 

seen, most on the wild field, just across the river from where

we had seen Peacock caterpillars on the river bank nettles

some weeks before. 

They were in the company of many other butterflies -

see the Hills Farm Wildlife Conservation record

for 7th August.

Fleabane, a wild flower which flourishes on damp meadows and marshes

is doing well this summer and is a great attraction to butterflies, as are

the thistle flowers.

SUMMER - life on the River Bank

In Summer the river bank ecology undergoes rapid changes. 

Only a few days ago there was no sign of Meadowsweet flowering but at the beginning of July flowers appeared and insects started crowding in.

Ragged Robin was a good find amongst many other plants in the damp

bank vegetation - hopefully it will spread along the river.

The Group met on 28th June 2015 and cleared the rubbish which always appears as soon as the weather warms up and people are out and about. The Group however had been active throughout the month clearing rubbish every few days and watering the new trees. Fortunately their roots are shaded by tall grasses, maintaining a damp layer of earth under existing mulch.

Survival depends on biodiversity, the variety of grasses and wild flowers provide shelter, collect moisture and provide food for wildlife all the year round and protect the young tree roots, sustaining growth.

SPRING INTO SUMMER, April and May 2015

Light rain all morning on our 31st May meet was welcome, at least for the plants and wildlife along the Riverside.

Here are some of the plants flowering well this spring on the land we protect: 

Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) in the Wild Meadow

and damp verges - 25th May 2015

Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus) flowering well this spring - 25th May 2015

Very attractive to insects

Buttercup (Ranunculus) prolific in the meadows and verges

with spider -12th May 2015

Blossom on a young Crab Apple tree,  one of the first to attract

bees in the spring - April 2015

SPRING DISCOVERED - 2015

March seemed to last a long time, with winter clinging on until the last few days.

The wild field appeared to be devoid of life but under the dry

stalks and grasses new growth was appearing, with Cuckooflower

plants in bud and the very first sighting of a butterfly - a Peacock -

then later in March, Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell were seen.

Green woodpeckers have found plenty to eat in the form of ants

throughout the winter here in the sheltered earth along the river.

The end of March - Blackthorn blossom on the river bank.

The Group met on 29th and retrieved trolleys from the banks.

These appear at all times of the year! More mulch was added

to the new trees on 1st April as the ground was becoming dry after

weeks of sparse rainfall. 

WINTER - WORK GOES ON IN 2015

Our first scheduled group meet for 2015 took place on Sunday 25th January. 

With the earth hardened by frost, at least on the surface, the going was slightly less muddy than usual.

Some of the group are experts at removing trolleys from the river:

Here's an example of how to remove one in three easy steps.....

Step 1 - First locate the trolley in the fast flowing water and aim to

throw a line across the river to catch onto it.

Step 2 - If at first you don't succeed......approach from the opposite bank:

This worked, using two ropes and hooks, as the trolley was 

firmly embedded - not as easy as it looks.

Step 3 - Once the trolley is on the bank, extract the hooks,

which are actually small anchors.

First one retrieved, now where's the next one -

about half a mile away on the Arun....

Plans for the New Year 2015

Crab Apples last autumn 2014

The end of 2014 was quite hectic with planting activity taking priority. 15 trees were planted and about 1000 native spring bulbs went in along the verges under the hedges before the extremes of winter weather could prevent any further work.

Now the ground has become unworkable - after only 25mm of rain overnight - about an inch - the river burst its banks today and filled its natural wide river bed to the brim at about 11.00am - but the tide had turned down on the coast at Littlehampton, and the rain had ceased earlier in the morning. By the afternoon the water was quickly receding. With the Arun valley brooks full and the fields saturated, we wait for the low tides to allow the river water into the sea.

The river spreads to fill its natural and ancient river bed, the water

carrying mud from bare fields far upstream.

Looking ahead.

Birds this winter have rapidly finished off most of the available berries and fruits

and are busy on the ivy berries now, which have ripened just in time.

Our aim will be to increase the numbers of native berry and fruit-bearing plants and trees

along the river to sustain wildlife during the autumns and winters and also to increase the pollination corridors, using native blossoming trees and plants and early-flowering spring plants which can provide a continuous source of foraging for pollinating insects such as bees. Insects attracted to plants provide early food for birds too and are an essential energy source for hungry and exhausted spring migrants landing on our shores and making their way inland along the river.  

Hawthorn Berries - usually the first to be eaten!

Guelder Rose Berries - usually one of the last to go

There are still some hanging on to the bushes in January