The First Day of Spring - 20th March

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

Our meet was on 20th March 2016   'The First Day of Spring'

and the riverside landscape looked like more like the last day of winter with the cold, windy and overcast weather continuing.

The riverside sounds, on the other hand, were definitely springlike, with quite a 'fall' of spring migrant Chiffchaffs now singing their unmistakable song from the trees, in competition with the loud song of resident robins and wrens.

Areas under the trees were populated by numerous blackbirds, a few song thrushes and a mistle thrush foraging as here the ground was still damp although the cold wind was fast drying out the earth in less sheltered places.

Nesting is now well underway along the riverside for some birds with others prospecting for nest sites. 

The scheduled work has been carried out on trees and hedgerows for the summer, and for ever on the remaining development site, we have been assured, leaving birds to nest undisturbed throughout the spring and summer. 

Hills Farm Wildlife Conservation - click here to see The Wildlife Reports for our area. 

A young Hornbeam planted by the group, doing well, keeping its old leaves well into spring

when the new buds will burst into green leaf.

Photo taken on 20th March 2016

The Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) keeps its leaves all year and provides continuous and valuable roosting and nesting shelter for small birds. In the autumn its seeds provide food for birds and

small mammals of the riverside as well. Note that the undergrowth is used all year too, forming part of the riverside wildlife habitat.

February 2016 ends without Winter

The bitter North East wind on our meet yesterday Sunday 28th February was a sign that perhaps we haven't avoided winter after all - but it warmed up in the sun later. The Riverside is still very bare but fresh green shoots of river bank vegetation are appearing fast. On the Wild field - a surprise - small patches of Cuckooflower already flowering amongst the dry grasses - so watch out for the Orange Tip butterflies! 

The cold dry northerly wind was actually welcome after many weeks and months of wet, overcast, mild weather which we had become used to on our meets. Sunday 31st January was no different, wading around in the mud and drizzle - there seemed to be no hope of either winter or spring then.

 OAKS - The old and the young.

 The young oak in the foreground was planted to replace the very old oak which fell in a storm on 26th April 2012. See River News on the Hills Farm Wildlife Conservation site for photos of the Environment Agency working on removing the fallen tree - a major task!

 In common with all young oaks, the new tree keeps it's leaves over the winter and only loses them when the new leaf buds are about to burst into life - whilst in the background the very old oak loses its leaves in the autumn.

The Turn of the Year

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

A look back at our meets in 2015 confirm the general impression that it hardly ever stopped raining for more than a day or so during the year!  Our meets on first two months of the year were on cold and frosty days but  then no less than seven of the meets took place in mostly continuous drizzle  with only our meet days in June (warm and humid) and September and October (fine dry weather) breaking the pattern. The rainfall was generally light however - ideal for growth of vegetation and autumn fruits and berries, benefitting wildlife.

After a long and warm autumn the landscape quickly changed, with rivers running high and muddy amongst the bare trees.

The Arun looking downstream, running high and fast

This year, 2016, we hope for a real spring and summer with more frequent glimpses of the sun….as our last meet of 2015 on 20th December was typical of last year, warm with continuous drizzle and some heavier bursts of rain.

Look at  'Hills Farm Wildlife Conservation'  wildlife record for 29th December 2015 

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.