ver 12pp october:Layout 1 05/10/2015 10:48 Page 1 Ver Valley Society N E W S L E T T E R Published quarterly for members of the Ver Va ey Society N mber 127 - October 201. www.riverver.co. k President: Peter Fo5, 789 W ter Crowfoot on the Ver t Red,ourn,ury. 012len Beeche.5 October Annual General Meeting N TICE F 39th ANNUAL -ENERAL MEETIN- To be held on Tuesday 27th ctober 2015 St Michael’s Parish Centre St Albans 7.30 pm Free parking in the 7 se m car park after C.30 pm. ominations for Chairman and Committee are invited and sho.ld reach the Secretary, 4ohn Fisher, by Friday 28rd October. Proposers and seconders will be reF ired. All the present committee are willing to stand for a f rther year. After refreshments the speaker will be ALLEN BEECHEY Chalk .ivers fficer of the Chilterns AN B He will be telling us all about the Colne Catchment Plan. 1i2er Ver Archi2e: St A bans Centra Library 87,0a 9istory 1eference Section) O2er 1,000 pages of information ver 12pp october:Layout 1 05/10/2015 10:48 Page 2 Chairman’s Report Jane Gardiner World Rivers Day n 2.th September was an initiative from the 7nited 8ati ns f r every ne w rldwide t celebrate their l cal river. The Ver Valley 1 ciety g t inv lved by putting n vari us activities which appeared t stimulate c nsiderable public interest n a l vely autumn Sunday. I h pe s me f y u were able t visit ur displays in Verulamium Park with th se f BacCui DanfieldETayl r’s hist rical ph t s, r managed t watch the ne f the riverEfly m nit ring dem nstrati ns in Bell Mead w - the resulting c llecti ns f invertebrates and fish beside the main displays really caught the attenti n f children wh als enH yed c l uring in s me f Ernie’s utline drawings. Maybe y u went n Andy Webb’s guided walA in the aftern n r H ined in with ne f Sue Frears n’s Acti n Lroup sessi ns w rking in the Frogm re Pits area. Other rganisati ns had rganised litter picAs in Park Street and Verulamium Park by the river, s we can be pleased that the day was well marked here. I h pe s me f y u have been able t admire the three new wildlife interpretati n b ards r und the end f the laAe in the Park which are the w rk f ur wn Ernie NeahyO I’d liAe t c ngratulate him n these. It was a shame that s me dead ducAs in the laAe, due t b tulism, sp iled the view f r a while. It seems 1ADC are still l Aing f r s luti ns t the build up f t xic sludge in the b tt m f the laAe. I’m s rry t have t rep rt delay regarding improvements t the path and river access at the s uth east c rner f Verulamium ParA fr m the R lywell Rill entrance. The plans f r this were being drawn up by B n C llins fr m CM1, in c nHuncti n with 1ADC. R wever B n left CM1 this summer bef re the actual plan was finalised. R wever we still Ge ing Ready for World Rivers Day” – 01ohn Fisher] h pe impr vements c uld happen within a year, with help in actual c nstructi n from CMS Volunteers and VVS Acti n Lroup w rkers. The main c nstructi n w rk n a path beside the Ver in Frogm re Pits from Ryde Nane appears t have been c mpleted alth ugh huge piles f l gs from felled trees remain. Rimalayan balsam is rampant al ng much f the path, which bec mes very narrow t wards Park Street where it has n t been resurfaced. I have t maAe tw appeals. Firstly, is there any ne might be prepared t taAe minutes at s me f ur C mmittee meetings which are nly S times a yearO this w uld relieve ur 1ecretary, B hn Fisher, f s me f his many resp nsibilities. Sec ndly, is any ne living near Markyate prepared t send in ccasi nal rep rts f what is happening in that areaO there is n t ften any water there but we d need t have evidence when we try t persuade Affinity Water t c nsider reducti n in abstracti n from Kensw rth pumping stati n. Please d get in t uch if y u might be able t help in either f these ways. Finally, n 19th December the Acti n Lr up will be w rAing behind the CheCuers pub, Redb urn having a preEChristmas drinA at the pub after their hard w rk with ther members f the C mmittee and we’d welc me Bailiffs t H in us as well from 12 n n. Rita Cadisch Rita the wife f ur l ng serving treasurer and newsletter edit r passed away last m nth. Alth ugh n t an active member f the 1 ciety she Aeenly supp rted B hn and was a cheerful h st with tea and caAes whenever we had a meeting at their l vely h me in Prae Cl se n the banAs f the Ver. Our th ughts are with B hn at this difficult time. ver 12pp october:Layout 1 05/10/2015 10:48 Page 3 Bailiff Notes Jane Gardiner 2iver lows measured Ey our Baili s are now Iuite low unless they measure a ter some o the heavy rain alls we’ve Eeen having since July. Summer rain is not very help ul in recharging the aIui er as the water tends to run o Iuickly and not soak into the ground. Any that does soak in is used up Ey growing vegetation and there is evaporation in warm weather. As you can see rom the taEle the groundwater at the start o SeptemEer is still more than three metres Eelow average Eut as it was 4m Eelow average in August that might Ee regarded as a slight improvementL (roundwater le0el at 1allingdon Rainfall in millimetres Month 2015 Farm in metres [± average* [ ong-term average* (figures rom ,hris .all at (figures rom EA) 2othamsted) 4ay 130.71 [1,4 1.* 68.4 [+1,.1* June 130.130 [1,,.,2* 2626.7.7 [-23.11* JuJulyly 12A .15 [1,,.2,* 132.6 [/42..[/42..1*1* AuguAugustst 128.31 [1,2.13* 83.2 [+15.45* SeptemEer 127.74 [1,0.8.* Not yet available The head o the river is now in 2edEourn and the 2iver 2ed is lowing Iuite well Eut .anstead Brook has only lowed a ter some o the downpours. There has Eeen consideraEle vegetation growth this year, so some paths have Eecome rather overgrown. Although some trees are Eeginning to show autumn colour many still seem Iuite green or the time o year Eut there are plenty o nice Eerries Erightening Eushes Eeside the river. Among wild lowers still making nice displays are some 4ichaelmas daisies, purple loosestri e, knapweed, and water mint Eut .imalayan Ealsam is only too prevalent especially in Frogmore Pits. The Action Group and ,4S have made good attempts at clearing this invasive species south o 4oor 4ill and along 2iverside in Bricket Wood this summer. Among the usual reports o raEEits and sIuirrels, oSes, a hare and muntTac have Eeen seen and also a grass snake swimming in the river. Some o Eutterflies are still Eeing seen on warn sunny days mainly whites Eut also some speckled woods, holly Elues, peacocks, red admirals and tortoishells. Among dragon lies I have had reports o a southern hawker, Elue damsel lies and Eanded demoiselles. Fish seen include Erown trout, Eullheads, roach, gudgeon, chuEE and minnows. The river-fly monitors continue their work and we now have some new recruitsW their reports or most sites indicate the Ver is a healthy river. Some swallows and house martins T e brig t red of awt orn had not yet departed Ey mid berries” -.ane /ardine"0 SeptemEer. I have had reports o grey-lag geese raising a amily this year and king ishers seem to have done well, a sighting o three at once was reported recently, and notaEly an osprey was spotted near Sha ord. Other nice reports include whitethroats, a whinchat, yellowhammers, grey wagtails, little egrets, chi cha s as well as plenty o herons and red kites. (See John Fisher’s Eird notes or more on Eirds). Again may I ask i anyone living near 4arkyate could send in occasional reports? Although there is rarely water in that area, we do need evidence when we try to persuade A inity Rater to consider reduction in aEstraction rom Kensworth pumping station. Finally, on 19th December the Action (roup ,ill be ,orking behind the Chequers pub, Redbourn and after their hard ,ork ,ill be ha0ing a pre-Christmas drinA at the pub ,ith ther members f the Committee. F.’d liAe to invite all 1ailiffs to Goin us as ,ell from 12 noon on that occasion. A late display of water mint by t e river -.ane /ardine"0 ver 12pp october:Layout 1 05/10/2015 10:48 Page 4 Bird Notes John Fisher I nderstand that nationally it has been a .oor year for barn o0ls b t aro nd 1edbo rn 0e ha2e had some reasonable res lts4 ho0e2er they did breed 2ery late this year.