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