OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE
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The day of our January 2020 meet on 26th was yet another overcast day with intermittent light drizzle in the morning turning to heavy rain during the afternoon and evening, fortunately long after we had finished work. Birds were very active during the morning, with song thrushes and robins singing loudly, a moorhen active on the bank and several dunnock foraging along a verge.
Most wildlife activity however was concentrated amongst the Ivy clumps, with eager blackbirds, more song thrushes, wood pigeons, collared doves, and a few fieldfare and redwing foraging.
The attraction was the presence of ripe Ivy berries which appear
after most of the brighter berries have long since been stripped,
with Hawthorn and Holly the first to go. Only the bright Dog Rose hips remain and those are growing far out on fragile high twigs overhanging the river. Even heavy birds can reach these dark Ivy berries which hang close to their support plants, although woodpigeons frequently tumble upside down in order to grab them. Groups of other birds such as goldfinches and house sparrows were singing from their sheltered perches in amongst the large leaves.
It is fortunate that the Ivy is retained and only removed if threatening to topple a tall tree, as it provides so many benefits to a large diversity of wildlife throughout the year.
