The Height of Summer

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

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HILLS FARM WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

Our Group Meet was held yesterday - Sunday 21st August 2016 -  on an overcast morning which turned brighter in the afternoon. Torrential rain showers the day before brought much needed water to this years young plants  and for now we have escaped the task of watering them.

Birds which had been silent for several weeks are now starting to sing again, with robins trying out short songs in chosen territories along the river banks. They will be singing strongly by the time of our next meet on 25th September - and won't be singing alone.

Wild Honeysuckle climbing across the old post and rail fencing 

twining around itself to reach new heights and spread its scent

across the field on warm days and evenings.

Moths are attracted to it and pollinate the flowers so that birds such as bullfinches, thrushes and warblers can forage on the berries later on. Some butterfly larvae eat the leaves and long-tongued bees such as Bombus hortorum (Garden bumblebee) and Bombus pascuorum (Common Carder bee) feed on the nectar - thus the plant is beneficial to a good range of wildlife - including bats on warm evenings - prospecting for plentiful insect life.

A Fine Day for Wildlife

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

To find Nature Note and records for Wildlife, click on

Hills Farm Wildlife Conservation

Our meet on 31st July 2016 was a special day,  being fine and warm the whole day, with only a slight breeze. A spell of warm weather usually means more work for us in clearing rubbish left by a few fair-weather joggers and cyclists - and others who only dare to venture outdoors when the sun shines, unfamiliar with the Countryside Code!

However wild flowers were flourishing everywhere and although most birds were in moult, hiding silent and out of sight in the undergrowth, butterflies were now on the wing, with some dragonflies too.

The damp cloudy weather of the past two months had encouraged green plant growth but now a very good variety of wildflowers were forging ahead in the marshy floodplain areas and on the dry banks, providing sustenance for butterflies and bees.

 Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica) a good nectar source for at least 18 species of butterfly and is a target for many bees. Easily overlooked as 'just another daisy' the flowers have a unique shape and their dazzlingly bright yellow light attracts insects. The leaves are soft and downy - it's a plant of wet meadows, riversides and ditches. 

Here a bee is busy feeding, working its way around.