A large flock of goldfinches were feeding on the thistles by the Aldcliffe Road ponds. Photo attached.
Steve
Goldfinches and Thistles
1 Reply
Category Archives: Uncategorised
Treecreepers
There was a family of treecreepers in Pony Wood yesterday.
Steve
Large Skipper Butterflies
Five large skipper butterflies in SE corner of Arable Field.
Steve
Whirligig Beetles
There were hundreds of whirligig beetles (Gyrinus natator) on the surface of the Aldcliffe Road ponds this afternoon.
Steve
Breeding Damselflies
Common blue and blue-tailed damselflies were egg laying in the new ponds today.
Steve
Wildlife Surveys
Look out for Dan’s winter bird count and Rob Zlock’s diptera survey on the website. Now follow the link to the surveys directly from the home page.
Whitethroats and Hare
At least four whitethroats in the hedge along the pads footpath. They seem to be benefiting from the hedge becoming taller and thicker.
Also a hare in Arable Field.
Steve
Red Mason Bees
Good numbers of red mason bees, the species that are attracted to cardboard tubes for nesting, feeding on gooseberry flowers near the Millennium Oak. There were also a number of solitary wasp species on the flowers.
Steve
Swallow over Hay Meadow
First swallow I have seen over reserve this year.
Fairfield volunteering Saturday 10th April 2021
Here is Jonathan’s message
Hello All,
The Fairfield Association’s monthly Saturday volunteer sessions will resume on April 10th using social distancing to maintain safety.
People will work in teams of up to six and there will be staggered start times. Volunteers must maintain two metre distance at all times.
The meeting place will be the Orchard stump circle and not the shed.
To facilitate this we need to know the numbers planning to attend. Please could you let Ian Procter know by noon, Thursday 8th April.
Ian will then allocate people to teams and start times and inform volunteers no later than noon on Friday.
Ian can be contacted via email, like so: sysaf123@gmail.com
Or you can contact him via the miracle of modern telephony over at the Volunteer Co-ordination Helpdesk, which is: 07811 970595
We have two main jobs on the Saturday:
* Burning the brash stored alongside the Fauna path.
* Moving brash into the ‘wild’ section of the Orchard to block the recently much overused path. This will once again preserve the area for wildlife.
Very best wishes,
Jonathan.