Environmental News March 2010
At least March has started in a more spring-like fashion, but it is still quite cool, and will take a while for the land to warm up. It will probably take even longer to dry out. Perhaps we should all have good drainage and undersoil heating, like the top football pitches.
As yet, most flowers have been keeping their heads down, but now things have started moving, we should expect a glorious spring, with all species of flower blooming simultaneously. Most bulbs seem to have lasted through the winter, but alas in our garden it looks as if the snowdrops have been drowned.
First butterflies of the year have been spotted, about as far away from here as possible. But there should be more appearing in the current sunshine. If anyone is really interested inwalking and counting butterflies, the E. dorset walkers have their annual meeting of Friday (5th) at the catholic church hall in Wimborne.
Still a lot of winter visiting birds to be seen along the various reserves and harbours along the shore. The Dorset Bird Club website gives some idea of the range to be seen. Probably they are still around as it is a bit cold to head north. Our own local celebrities, the bitterns on Hatch Pond, have been very visible of late, and a friend saw three at the same time last week.
As the weather is far from gentle, there is not a lot of food around for the smaller birds, so keep those feeders well stocked up. We are getting virtually all the smaller bids round the feeders, and this last week the pirate band of redwings has been rampaging around our woodland.
No Coast and Countryside yet, so completely devoid of activities Sorry! The Dorset aonb website is an alternative.
If weather permits, most of the areas run practical conservation groups, and details of these and further interesting walks should be available at the numbers below. Broadstone Library should have the new Coast and Countryside, where you can get your own free copy, and find information about the coming March events in Dorset.
Useful Numbers for tasks and events :-
| Local Dorset Wildlife Trust | 01202 692033 |
| Durlston Country Park | 01929 424443 |
| Avon Country Park | 01425 478470 |
| Poole Countryside (BoP) | 01202 265265 |
| Moors Valley | 01425 470721 |
| NT (Studland) | 01929 450259 |
| Natural England | 01929 557450 |
Other useful wildlife web sites for wildlife news in this area are:
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