The Autumn Members' Meeting will be held in the Abington Institute on Saturday 9th October, starting at 10:45 and ending at about 12:15.
We shall hear the reports on the past season and plan our winter bird-watching, as we usually do at this meeting. We shall also be discussing the longer term development of Naturewatch, so please come if you possibly can.
In addition:
Items of interest (natural objects, photos, posters, books, etc) on display ... please bring them along!
Café open
No entrance charge, chance to contribute to costs
Non-members, sympathetic friends etc all welcome
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Sunday, 26 September 2010
River improvements in Sluice Wood
The Environment Agency has recently carried out some repairs and improvements around the old Bottomer sluices. With the kind permission of the riparian owners, two Environment Agency staff members, Ruth Hawksley of Water for Willdlife and two heroic Naturewatchers (Jennifer Hirsh & Derek Turnidge) successfully installed two stream deflectors in the river nearby.
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The deflectors, one at each bank, consist of a short line of vertical poles, angled upstream, to which are wired substantial bundles of brushwood and long faggots. These are permanent fixtures, in which silt and vegetation accumulates. Their aim is to improve the habitat for a wide range of animals. By diverting the stream to the centre they enhance its flow, thus scouring out the bed to make it more gravelly and improving oxygen levels. Fish find refuge in the 'pools' above the deflectors, and the silt and vegetation provide habitat for many species of invertebrate.
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The site is fairly inaccessible and can only be approached from private land but the effect should be to improve the wildlife we see in the river elsewhere. We will be looking to see what happens on our regular river sampling trips.
The agency has also been doing similar work in Hildersham, upstream of the village hall.
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The deflectors, one at each bank, consist of a short line of vertical poles, angled upstream, to which are wired substantial bundles of brushwood and long faggots. These are permanent fixtures, in which silt and vegetation accumulates. Their aim is to improve the habitat for a wide range of animals. By diverting the stream to the centre they enhance its flow, thus scouring out the bed to make it more gravelly and improving oxygen levels. Fish find refuge in the 'pools' above the deflectors, and the silt and vegetation provide habitat for many species of invertebrate.
.jpg)
The site is fairly inaccessible and can only be approached from private land but the effect should be to improve the wildlife we see in the river elsewhere. We will be looking to see what happens on our regular river sampling trips.
The agency has also been doing similar work in Hildersham, upstream of the village hall.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Have you seen this fungus?
The Turnidges have this bracket fungus some 15' up an oak tree in their front garden. They think it is probably Laetiporus sulphureus - Chicken-of-the-Woods... can anyone confirm this?