Seed Collecting and a Coffee Morning

BUMPER TURNOUT AT RED HILL FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER

Eleven of us turned up at Red Hill on this wonderfully sunny morning. Our aim was to collect the seeds of the Autumn gentian flowers which was a delicate process. One had to identify the flower and then gently shake the seeds into a container whilst protecting them from the breeze. The seeds are so tiny and after an hour I had only collected about an egg-cupful. I was relieved to learn that was about as many as most of the others had obtained.

Harry Turner was very pleased and told us that the seeds were very valuable. They will be planted in the meadow adjoining the Coronation Meadow. RW 

 

INFORMATION COFFEE MORNING SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER 1000 – 1200

CONOCOPHILLIPS ROOM, LOUTH LIBRARY

Each year the main fund raising event for LAG is the October Coffee Morning. In order to extend the interest and to attract more visitors we shall be having an Information Coffee Morningwhich will involve:-

A time to meet like-minded people for a chat whilst enjoying coffee and biscuits.

An opportunity to learn how the local wildlife sites are maintained as you meet the volunteers who carry out this work. Volunteers from Donna Nook, Red Hill, Toby’s Hill and our woodland sites have agreed to come along.

There will be a Raffle.

You will have a chance to purchase wildlife publications, Christmas Cards and gifts.

You will be fascinated to see how wild flower seeds look under a microscope.

You are welcome to bring your seashells for identification as you see what the tide has washed up.

The admission including refreshments will be £1.50 and there will not be a charge for children.

We do need Raffle prizes and a few helpers on the day. So please let me know if you can contribute.

With very best wishes

Ray Woodcock Chairman LAG

Seed Collection and Frampton Visit

SEED COLLECTION CORONATION MEADOW

Harry Turner tells me that the weather will be good on this Friday 25 September and that he has a lot of Autumn gentian seeds that need collecting. It is just a matter of shaking the seeds from the seed heads into a small plastic box - not bags. If you are able to help, please come along at 10.00 am to Red Hill for about an hour.

Harry and the LWT Mid-Lincs Warden, Kevin James really appreciate our help. This has enabled Harry to sow 4 acres of land with the Cowslip seeds that we collected last month.

LOUTH AREA GROUP VISIT TO RSPB FRAMPTON MARSH SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER

The weather forecast for next Sunday looks promising too and the migrant birds have started to arrive on the Marsh. The venue is well signed off the A16 south of Boston. Please meet in the car park MR TF 365392 at just before 1100 hrs. There is a charge of at least £2 for parking to help towards the upkeep of the RSPB site. Toilets are to be found in the Visitors’ Centre where we shall meet at 1100 hrs for a site briefing by Dr Chris Andrews.

We then explore the Marsh. If you wish, you may make your own way round the pathways or you can straggle along slowly with me! Bring your binoculars and telescopes as well as your lunch. There are plenty of large hides and grassy banks that will make good picnic spots.

Best wishes

Ray Woodcock Chairman LAG

Ted Smith

I regret to announce the death of Ted Smith CBE, President of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. He died yesterday, Sunday 13th September, at Boston Hospital. His daughters Alison and Helen were with him.

Ted, a founder member of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is also described as the architect of the modern Wildlife Trust movement.

Sir David Attenborough said in 2012 “Ted is quite exceptional. This countryside of Britain may not be as rich as Ted knew it as a child in the 1920s and 30s but it is immeasurably better than it would otherwise have been without him and The Wildlife Trusts. I believe that work will continue and be increasingly important to all of us living in this beautiful but crowded archipelago."

Back in the 1940s Ted Smith recognised the urgent need to save Lincolnshire’s most special places for nature. He fought to save our unspoiled coast, ancient meadows and heaths and to halt the destruction of native woodland. Ted campaigned on almost every front from saving roadside flowers from being sprayed with chemicals to pressing for legislation to protect otters.

His influence extended far beyond Lincolnshire. He travelled the length and breadth of Britain, lecturing on his vision for nature and for local Wildlife Trusts to champion it. Most importantly, he saw the need for local nature organisations which could own land and for them to derive support from a wide section of the community.

A short film about Ted was made in 2012 http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/who-we-are/ted-smith

I offer my deepest sympathy to his family and to his friends and colleagues, he will be so greatly missed. Dear Ted, rest in peace.

Paul

Paul Learoyd Chief Executive
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

The Last Cuckoo

Jane and I were at Donna Nook yesterday On the way down the approach road we saw a Little owl on a sign post. A good start for a walk on a lovely sunny day. As we went long the path  in the lee of the dunes we kept sighting a small raptor resting on the path and flying into the bushes. We reckoned the bird was a juvenile Cuckoo - its identity  has been confirmed by the LBC. I wonder if was recently fledged and was stocking up with insects before flying south to the tropics.

It was a good day in a poor summer for butterflies. We saw the usual Large whites with Meadow browns and lots of common blues.  

Ray

Neonicotinoids

The Wildlife Trusts Position Statement Neonicotinoid Insecticides 

The Wildlife Trusts are calling for an outright ban on the use of all neonicotinoid insecticides.

There is a growing body of evidence to show that neonicotinoids have a detrimental effect at sublethal doses on insect pollinators; pose a serious risk of harm to a wide range of beneficial invertebrate species in soil, vegetation, aquatic and marine habitats; and pose a severe risk to the wider environment and delivery of essential ecosystem services. For these reasons, The Wildlife Trusts believe that the continued use of neonicotinoids in the UK represents an unacceptable risk to insect pollinator populations and ecosystem health.

We urge the Government to retract its opposition to the EU ban, recognise the scale of the risks posed by the continued use of neonicotinoids and place a permanent moratorium on the use of all neonicotinoid insecticides.

Key points

• Neonicotinoids, which are used as an insecticide on crops such as oil-seed rape, are harmful to a wide range of invertebrates, including pollinators such as honey bees and bumblebees.
• Pollination is a vital ecosystem service that maintains biodiversity and sustains agricultural crop yields. It is estimated that a collapse in pollinators would cost the UK economy c. £1.8 billion per year.
• We could see a collapse in ecosystems across the agricultural landscape and beyond if pollinators become scarce.
• The risk of environmental contamination is high and the impacts of neonicotinoid pollution have already been documented in the Netherlands, where high levels of imidacloprid pollution have been linked to declines in insectivorous farmland birds. 

Download the full Position Statement

Wildlife Trusts website report

Dear Mr Cameron...

A letter has been written to the Prime Minister by environment and conservation groups representing millions of people to register their “major concern” at the cancellation or weakening of 10 green polices since he was re-elected.

The letter has been signed by the heads of ten organizations, including Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts.

Download the text here

and read Adam Vaughan's article in the Guardian here.

LAG VISIT TO WILLOW TREE FEN

25 JULY 2015

Yes, it was July, despite the fact that we were all wearing winter gear! The weather did clear but the East Anglian ‘lazy wind’ stayed for the whole visit. (According to my Norfolk grandfather, ‘Tha’s lazy ‘cause it don’t go round you. It just go through you.’) Nevertheless there were breaks from the wind in the lee of the embankments and shelter between the banks of wonderful, whispering, green reeds and rushes. I felt it was a more thought provoking outing than our usual meetings as we did have the chance to discuss conflicting views of LWT fenland management whilst we probably learned more about what we did not see than what we did see.

Our erudite and philosophical guide, John Oliver, had a huge bag from which he produced - in the style of a magician - animal skulls, bird’s feet and owl pellets to illustrate his statistics of what had been seen during the year. The second skull in from the left, just past the fox, shows the huge ridge on a badger’s skull that gives an anchorage point for its strong jaw muscles. John was having to balance the ‘wildlife management’ of the fen with the long established agricultural opinion of some local farm workers who remembered   the area as one that had produced arable crops. There were also 37 badges in 5 setts on site, again these creatures – with their cuddly image - are not popular with everyone.

Our gentle two hour stroll took us past the eponymous Willow Tree of the Fen. This huge hollow tree had been reduced in size with sections of its trunk being made into seats for use in the outdoor education area. Here school children are being encouraged to collect and identify specimens of wildlife, have a camp fire and learn about how their ancestors made best use of this wetland area. We reached a ‘bird seed’ flower field and were encouraged by John to walk into the waist-high crop of Fat hen, Redshank, Cornflower, Field marigold and Phacelia to enable us to be aware of the plethora of insects in all their stages that live on these plants. On our return to the visitors’ centre we saw from a large poo that badgers eat cherries and had a good view of all Willow Tree fen from the embankment of the river Glen.

The site is not well signed but it is worth a visit. I think we should go again in a couple of years in the winter time to see the waders from the hides where the views will have been cleared of reeds and rushes. Well done LWT for taking on Willow Tree Fen and for appointing such an excellent manager/warden/presenter. RW