Every month between April and November we check all the dormouse presence investigation tubes that we have installed in local woodlands. This is an activity that has to be slotted into our calendar of conservation initiatives. Progressively all woodlands will be checked. The late August investigation did not reveal any definitive signs of dormice but many promising possibilities for later checks. Gnawed nuts, seeds and fruits were found in many of the tubes in one particular location with other clues of a mouse presence evident. Wood mice and yellow-necks compete with dormice for use of the tubes during the summer months and are identified if not present, by the debris left and construction of any nesting material introduced. Hopefully future checks will produce some positive results as in previous years.

 

Checks for dormice take place every month by a dedicated team of group members.

 

All results are recorded against each numbered dormouse tube together with their exact location within the wood.

Fred Hageneder delivered an excellent talk entitled ‘Wonders of Yew’ at the public talk hosted by The Woodland, Flora & Fauna Group on 23rd August. It was to an audience of 200 people and was very well received. The evening was further enhanced by his melodic harp music delivered in the interval. Overall the event was a huge success and resulted in many accolades from attendees afterwards. The group tries to get well known speakers each year to encourage new supporters to join to keep in touch with their achievements and activities. This year was very successful and boosted group membership considerably.

Michael Nailard (left) pictured with the renowned author and yew expert Fred Hageneder (right) at the beginning of the evening.

                       

The event was very well attended and began with a preview of the recent achievements of The Woodland, Flora & Fauna Group.

 

This was immediately followed by the excellent ‘Wonders of Yew’ presentation by Fred Hageneder for the rest of the evening.

 

A musical interlude between the two sections of his talk was provided by Fred Hageneder with some delicate harp melodies which were enjoyed by all. 

The Woodland, Flora & Fauna Group invite you to an illustrated talk with a live harp musical interlude by the renowned tree researcher and international author Fred Hageneder entitled ‘Wonders of Yew’ on Thursday August 23rd at 7.oopm in the Village Centre, Trinity Road, Hurstpierpoint, BN6 9UY.

 

 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23^rd 2018 at 7.00pm

The Village Centre, Trinity Road, Hurstpierpoint BN6 9UY

Entry is free and all are welcome

 

The event and talk description is provided in detail below:-

This is an event dedicated to the remarkable story of the oldest living things in Europe and their endangered future. The yew is one of the most versatile life forms on earth – botanically rich and intriguing.

The story of the yew has a rich cultural and historical background – it was the Tree of Life, the tree in the Garden of Eden and the original Christmas Tree. Yet, the British obsession with using yew for the medieval longbow led to the destruction of yew forests across continental Europe because the wood was superior.

Today, the mass destruction of yews overseas means that the UK is a Noah’s Ark for the conservation of ancient yews Worldwide. Eighty to eighty five per cent of these grow in British churchyards, where the Church is the guardian and custodian of this ancient heritage.

 

Fred Hageneder.

Fred Hageneder is a recognised authority on ethnobotany, and a founder member of the Ancient Yew Group. He has given presentations at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, the National Museum of Wales, Snowdonia National Park Environmental Studies Centre, Wakehurst Place Millennium Seedbank Centre, the National Arboretum Westonbirt, and at various ecological conferences in Germany, Spain and Turkey.

His books include: The Spirit of Trees: Science, Symbiosis and Inspiration (Floris Books 2001), Yew A History (The History Press 2007), and Yew (Botanical Series Reoktion 2013).

This talk provides a fascinating insight into the rich cultural and spiritual history of the yew tree and will immediately follow a brief introduction by The Woodland, Flora & Fauna Group as organisers of the event.

Fred has written various ethnobotanical books about the meaning of trees and their cultural and spiritual history which have been translated into ten languages and has given lectures around the world. He is a co-founder of the Ancient Yew Group working to enhance scientific and historical information about yew trees and their mythology. Come and hear his knowledge and expertise relating to this extraordinary species.

He spends a large amount of time working abroad and has to restrict the number of lectures he gives. This therefore, is a very rare opportunity to learn about our heritage from such a distinguished and internationally acclaimed expert and should not be missed.

We really look forward to seeing you there. Your support for our activities is highly valued. There is a car park opposite the building. We don’t charge a membership fee or event charge but are grateful for any contribution you are able to make to help us with our costs in a retiring collection bowl.

Please invite your friends and family. All are welcome.

 

Michael Nailard.     Chairman of The Woodland, Flora & Fauna Group.

This year has proved a resounding success for our barn owl conservation area with more young found in our boxes than ever before. Each summer when the time is right, our specialist licenced team visit all boxes to establish which ones have young in and then revisit all of these later to ring and record the occupants. This year we have recorded 45 barn owl chicks and 7 kestrel chicks on these visits. We also found a large number of adult birds either within the boxes or in nearby ones providing food for their offspring.

Although breeding success is dependent on many factors including weather and the availability of prey, our project has provided a large number of boxes over 14 rural settlements in areas that have a surrounding habitat suitable to sustain them. This has provided an area of sanctuary which provides them with shelter, food and breeding opportunities. Last winter our maintenance check found 22 adults roosting in these boxes. These have become a lifeline which has helped to restore the previously dwindling population as natural sheltering opportunities have become increasingly scarce. The presence of kestrel young in some of the boxes is a welcome addition as these birds of prey are also experiencing the same survival difficulties.

This success offsets the months of hard work undertaken by the team each year to clean and maintain the boxes, perform initial breeding checks and finally return to weigh, ring, measure, sex and record the emerging young population. It is a labour of love which is reaping encouraging rewards and we are grateful to all team members who give their time so generously.

 

This is one of  this year’s successful boxes mounted in a rural location with perfect adjacent habitat to sustain breeding barn owls.

 

  These are some of the many young barn owls found in our boxes this year.

 

They varied considerably in size.

 

Young kestrels also made homes in them. They make more of a mess than barn owls (note the wall splashes) but we are always pleased to see them. 

 

Often it is not immediately evident how many chicks are in residence as they huddle together and we often find more than we thought when we return to ring them.

 

Recording is done when they reach a sufficient size.  

 

All handling is gently and carefully done by licenced team members to minimise stress to the birds before they are safely returned to their boxes.

 

Our work at Pond Lye SNCI has currently ceased to allow the meadow and it’s indigenous wildlife to flourish during the summer months. This has resulted in a magnificent floral display from the species that exist there.

The only work that continues is the weekly return of a volunteer to cut off any thistles before they seed to prevent complaints from neighbouring properties. Work will resume in the late summer to undertake the annual meadow cut. Below are some of the pictures of the meadow in all its natural glory which sustains a multitude of wildlife species.