Comma

Keith took this photo of a Comma during coffee break behind the tractor shed.

martin

bird count for may 26th 2011

Hi

here is the bird count for May 2011

We had a garden warbler in OL1, not a million miles away from the last one that I was with alan on a count say four years ago.  That was the just the other side of the road in OL2.

click on the link as normal to see or download the spreadsheet

click on link for spreadsheet


martin

Bird count for June 2011

Here is the link to the spreadsheet of the June Bird count.

Clicking on the link should take you to where you can either download or inspect it.  You may need to be a Google user to inspect it, but this is no sweat and you will find out what you are missing.

our first spotted flycatcher.  But the weather meant that things were a little on the quiet side.

click here for the spreadsheet

martin

Last of Wood Pile taken

After the end of play of Tuesday, we noticed a very large wood lorry and large trailer going down the old lodge lane.  This had come to take the last logs off to a eco-power station.

They have taken almost all the pine, but the large and small bits of chestnut are still there.

I have tidied up a little, but it would be best to use the small chestnut for firewood, and take the remaining pine down to the wood and ditch below, to create habitat piles.  This would just leave the very large chestnut pieces. Maybe these can be split in some way.

Martin

Mistle Thrushes

I was out behind the tool store, looking over the south heath, when I noticed some Mistle Thrushes.  They often come up the Old Lodge at this time of year.  The Rowan berries are red, but maybe not quite ripe.

I started counting them, and got to the enormous number of 51 birds.  I don't think they were going round in circles !!

Turtle Dove calling again in the normal place.

Martin

12th July 2011 ... Weekly Volunteers

Present:
John, Anthony, Mike, Alan, Neil, Katherine, Pat, Keith, David and Martin

Activities:
- Rounded up the Ponies and moved them onto the South Heath for a couple of weeks. lookered them.
- Did more work on the M1, including collecting the stones that had been picked up last week
- bracken and birch clearing on the slope down from the log piles
- clearing the odd ragwort that is in flower

Observations:
- Woodlark, crossbills, tree pipit, siskins, redpolls, linnets, mistle thrushes
- rain threatening stopped work


martin

scythe, small scythe and pitch fork

I have acquired these through tunbridgewellsfreegle.com for the volunteers.  They are in pretty good nick, though one of the handles of the scythe needs tightening a little.

They have been sharpened and oiled ready for use.

Thanks to Ann and her husband for providing them.

Martin