Local Wildlife News
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Local May - September 2013 A news and events diary from wildlife and conservation groups in Wildlife the Ipswich area News The elusive Nightjar . can be found on page 2 and in the Events Diary © Mike Richards (rspb-images.com) Produced by the Up late with Beasts Of The Night the Nightjar Thursday Aug 1st 8:30pm – 10:30pm Sutton Heath South car park (B1083 to Sutton village) Grid Ref: TM306475 Booking event: £4 adults, £2 under 18s, pensioners and students. Find out how bats catch their food in the dark. How does a bat detector work? What is a Nightjar and where do they come from? Which male and female Owls sing a nightly duet? Join this Ranger led walk to find out the answers and more. Friday June 14th 2013 Please bring a torch if you have one. Wear stout shoes and bring 9.00 pm – 11.00pm waterproof clothing. Please contact us to book a place: Sutton Heath South car park 01394 444619 or e-mail: (B1083 to Sutton village) [email protected] Grid Ref: TM306475 Booking event: £4 adults, £2 under 18s, pensioners and students. Blooming Heathland Join a ranger lead mid-summer night walk to seek out the elusive and rare nightjar. This nocturnal bird, famed for its churring love call and aerobatic courtship dance can provide a magical display. The well camouflaged ground nesting bird enjoys the recently cleared areas of Saturday 10th Aug 10am – 12.30am lowland heathland. Sutton Heath South car park (B1083 to Sutton village) Grid Ref: TM306475 Please bring a torch and insect Booking event: £4 adults, £2 under 18s, pensioners and students. repellent, wear stout shoes and warm clothing. Did you know that the UK’s lowland heathland amounts to 20% of one of the rarest habitats in the world? Join this walk and learn much more about heathland wildlife and Please contact us to book a place: its conservation while enjoying a pleasant walk through 01394 444619 or e-mail: the blooming heather. [email protected] Please contact us to book a place: 01394 444619 or e-mail: [email protected] Welcome Local Wildlife News Welcome to the Summer issue of LWN, produced mainly by the Greenways Project providing a voice for local wildlife, conservation and other ‘green’ groups. 4 In this edition we are sad to be saying goodbye to the Access To Nature Ipswich Project which has done so much to promote the importance of wildlife and open space in the town for the last three years. Please see their article on page 13. We would like to wish all of the staff from the project the very best for the future and hope they will remain © Matt Berry interested and involved in the sites they have helped to transform. As their article points out, it is the volunteers that have worked with the Project that have made it successful – so a big thank you to volunteers again! We are delighted to report that Ipswich Wildlife Group member Jen Jousiffe won the Green Hero award at the ‘Creating the Greenest County’ awards. Congratulations to Jen and IWG for this important recognition. We are always keen to receive feedback about the publication and look forward to 8 receiving any suggestions for improvement. Contributions We are always happy to receive articles of anything up to 800 words, photographs of local wildlife or conservation work and local sightings or wildlife ‘snippets’ – so please do send in anything which may be of interest to: Greenways Project, Stable Block, Holywells Park, Cliff Lane, Ipswich, IP3 0PG. 01473 433995. [email protected] Mailing lists – Please note We are aware that some who are members of several conservation organisations may well receive more than one copy of the newsletter. If this is the case we would be very grateful if you could pass on the spare copy to someone who will appreciate it and contact the Greenways Project on 01473 433995 or [email protected], 9 stating which organisations you are a member of, so that we can ensure that you receive just one in the future. If on the other hand you don’t currently receive LWN regularly, but would like to, please consider joining one of the groups that distributes LWN to its members (i.e. Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Ipswich Wildlife Group, RSPB etc). 10 Contents Page Suffolk Wildlife Trust 4 Ipswich Wildlife Group 7 © Reg Snook Butterfly Conservation 8 Landguard Partnership 9 19 Orchard Barn 10 Local Wildlife News is published by Greenways Countryside Project. Greenways Countryside Project 12 Editor: James Baker Access to Nature 13 [email protected] Tel 01473 433995 Friends of Holywells Park 14 Production Editor: Colin Hullis [email protected] Friends of Belstead Brook Park 14 Tel 01473 728674 Artwork production: Chris Saunders Friends of Christchurch Park 15 [email protected] Tel 01473 721550 RSPB Ipswich Local Group 16 Printed by PJ Print Portal Woodlands Conservation Group 18 [email protected] Tel 01473 276010 IBC Wildlife Rangers 19 Printed on recycled paper Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group 19 The opinions expressed in Local Local Wildlife News Snippets 20 Wildlife News are not necessarily those of the Greenways Project. Events Diary 21 3 Ipswich Group Newsletter Chairman: David Munday 01473 217310 [email protected] Secretary: Wendy Brown 01473 259674 [email protected] Treasurer: Tony Clarke 01473 741083 [email protected] Newsletter Editor: John Ireland 01473 723179 [email protected] Group contact: [email protected] We are the Ipswich Group of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. We offer an interesting range of monthly meetings with guest speakers which take place usually on the third Wednesday of the month at 7.30 p.m. in the hall of St Margaret’s Primary School, Bolton Lane, Ipswich. Trust members and non-members are equally welcome. During the summer months we offer a variety of trips, some local, others by coach. Details of these and our monthly meetings can be found in our ‘Diary’ section which follows, or on the SWT website, www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org. Chairman’s Letter Communication 1 Coach Trip The Ipswich Group now has its own e-mail address, Why not brighten up a winter’s Saturday on 23rd so if you want to contact the Group to ask a question, November by joining our coach trip to Ely with a chance criticise, comment, or praise! please go to ipswichswt@ to explore its lovely cathedral and then going to Welney gmail.com and one of the committee will reply. But if you to marvel at the arrival of thousands of Bewick’s and still prefer use the old dog and bone, don’t hesitate to Whooper swans coming in to feed; not to be missed! Full ring one of the above numbers where a real live person details will appear in the next edition of the Newsletter. will reply. This is an additional feature, and if you wish to access the excellent SWT HQ web, you can still go to Chalara fraxinea - Ash dieback www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org where you will find details of If you come across signs of dieback on ash trees and all the reserves, the ‘Whats 0n’ feature and much more. wish to report it or find out more, you will find loads of information and a report form at www.forestry.gov/ Communication 2 chalara. Similar information including photos, can be As an ‘Aide-memoire’ you will find a pocket size found at the SWT website www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org. programme guide with your magazine which details On the home page go to ‘search’ and enter ‘ash dieback’. our evening meetings, summer walks, and coach trips. In the new growing season sadly there are likely to be I hope you find this useful for pocket, purse or kitchen more sightings and I’m sure the Trust would also like to noticeboard. (All details will still appear in this magazine know about them on their own reserves. as usual). Dave Munday Many thanks to Committee member Steve Pritchard for (Chairman) his skill, time and effort in bringing these two items to fruition. Ipswich Wildlife Watch Suffolk Wildlife Trust volunteers have been running a decorations and learning monthly nature club for children in Ipswich, based solely about animal survival. at Holywells Park over the past year. ‘Wildlife Watch’ This spring, the group is the junior branch of the Wildlife Trust and the UK’s has been out discovering leading environmental club for children. The Ipswich the wide range of birdlife group focuses on exploring the natural world with that call the park home, children, through the use of nature themed art and craft, making homemade bird games and wild learning. feeders and building ‘wool hangers’ for birds As one of the Wildlife Watch Leaders who volunteers to use for nest materials. time to run the group, I see at first hand the benefit of using Holywells as a base for the Ipswich Wildlife Watch. For more details see the The variety of habitats and species within the park, mean regular events section of that the group can really explore nature throughout the this newsletter. seasons. ‘Wool hangers’ - Wool and natural materials are loosely Andrew Mackay The group has been very busy over the last 6 months, attached to hanging twine for Ipswich Wildlife with activities including fungi walks, making winter birds to collect. Watch Leader 4 Ipswich Group Newsletter Coppice Many will have been fascinated by the talk on the diaries This process is of great benefit to plant and animal life. If of a West Suffolk woodman given at our January meeting the trees are left to grow to their full height their canopy by Pip Wright, in which he showed the importance of cuts down the light at ground level.