Current News
News from the Reserve. by Chairman - Shirley Scrivener.
Well, I’m afraid that like so much of this summer the glowworm hunt had to be abandoned because of the weather. It is only the second time this has happened so I suppose we have been lucky.
Derek had a good day for his summer walk and people who went on it were rewarded by a good display of pyramidal orchids even if they were not in their usual area. The wet weather meant that the grass on the chalk bank was unusually tall and there were not as many orchids there. In contrast though there were good numbers where the dogwood had been sprayed and cut down which shows the importance of keeping scrub under control and a reward for all the hard work of the volunteers who burn it during the winter.
The weather for Frank Banyard’s walk on Holtspur Bank and Holtspur Bottom was not absolutely ideal for butterflies but we did manage to see many ringlets as well as meadow browns, marbled whites ,skippers ,cinnabar moths and others. It is always interesting to see the difference in the flora and fauna on the two reserves. Cooperation between the two organisations has always been good and is even more important now, as the Town Council and Butterfly Conservation are putting in a joint application to Defra for funding.
As I mentioned in the last newsletter we have arranged two walks in the autumn. Derek Bourne will lead one to see autumn fruits and Chris Ryde has kindly agreed to repeat his popular fungus walk in October. Our work parties will take place as usual on the last Sunday in the month. Everyone who takes part enjoys them and it is always good to see some new faces. The details are given on events page.
