Environmental News May 2010
At last Spring is stirring, but even our recent sunshine has had to start from pretty cold mornings. I did one of my butterfly walks recently. 1005 sunshine and temperature up to 20 degrees, but my thermometer measuring the 'shade' temp. said 13.5 degrees, so no wonder the butterflies were a bit shy. We did see a number of orange tips and several peacocks but not much else.
We did however see a mass of woodland flowers, and they seemed to like the sunny days and cold nights.
Trees still seem a bit reticent, but perhaps today's rain will encourage them. Our conker tree is very happy, and has it's flower candles already in bloom. Star turn in our garden though, is the wood cyclamen. We imported a small piece about 5 years ago, and it has struggled each year to produce about 20 leaves and 2 flowers. This year our original plant has stayed about the same, but we have now got three new plants, all with healthy leaves and flowers, and spread well away from the original.
As last month, many birds reported in the reserves and harbours along the coast, including a couple of sightings of a red Kite. So don't forget to look up occasionally! Currently our nest boxes are in use, and our green woodpeckers have returned to their favourite hole. We also have at least 3 pairs of robins in the garden, one pair choosing the roof above our dustbin shelter. We are very unsure when depositing rubbish.
Finally tracked down the current copy of Coast and Countryside, and it is packed with events in Dorset for May - over 40 of them. Events cover birds, butterflies, flowers, seashore and much else. The only local events are a walk on Canford Heath (2nd, BoP) and Coy Pond (12th BoP). If you have a computer, a full copy of the magazine and the events list are available on the dorsetforyou website
During the month I went on two litter picks, one for Broadstone and one for Holes Bay. It always surprises me both as to the quantity and the variety. On heathland bottles and tins can be very dangerous for lizards, as they make nice little caves to hide in, but then very slippery to get out.
Most conservation groups, are less active now, as birds start nesting. Further information on events, regular walks or any ongoing conservation work, can be obtained from the numbers below.
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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dudley hull
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