Winter wind chills the riverside

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

To find nature notes and records for wildlife - click on:

HILLS FARM WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

Our January Meet was held on 27th - in a cold wind but spared the forecast rain. It remained damp from overnight rain, the river fast-flowing but not high. It was good to see chaffinches amongst the Guelder Rose and Dogwood as they have become quite scarce in recent years.

Hazel Catkins have been visible on all the young Hazels for some

time. This young tree is one of several planted in a sheltered place on the meandering river bank where erosion could have caused bank collapse. New roots quickly bind the earth and stabilise it, allowing natural vegetation to grow up around the new trees.

Nuthatches Observe Us

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

To find Nature Notes and Records for Wildlife - click on

Hills Farm Wildlife Conservation

Our Meet for December took place on Sunday 16th, leaving rather a long gap until the next scheduled meet which is on Sunday 27th January 2019.

A list of our scheduled meets for 2019 is now on  the 'NEXT MEET' page.

Fortunately some of the group will be out and about before then. 

On 16th December, the river was higher and faster after rainfall the previous day and night which actually helped three of our group with the difficult task of hauling a large supermarket trolley up the steep banks of the Arun. It was quite cold, with shallow standing water on riverside land and ponds iced over.

Several nuthatches observed us from oaks near our meeting point and called out loudly on our approach. They are birds which establish their territories early in the winter and often commence cavity construction work on adapting chosen sites well before they are needed.

After a few more days of rain, the Arun Valley started to fill and 

water levels rose in rivers in the upper catchment - a good sign of normal

winter weather here.

This is the Arun looking upstream on 21st December 2018.