Abington Naturewatch: April 2014

Monday 21 April 2014

Sunset over Abington (St Mary's Great Abington)

George took this photo on 17 April

River Sampling - 19 April 2014

Saturday 19 April 2014, 1600—1700, sunny but cool

River Granta at Abington, Grid Ref: TL534490

River level = medium, strong flow

Recorder: Anne Dunbar-Nobes

Cased caddis = 0

Caseless caddis = 3 -- Category A

Mayfly ephemeridae = 1 – Category A

Blue-winged olive mayfly = 0

Flat-bodied mayfly = 0

Olive mayfly (Baetidae) = c. 70 – Category B

Stoneflies = 0

Freshwater shrimps (Gammarus) = 8 (widely varying in size from a few millimetres to 1 cm) -- Category A

No other species found in the sample apart from lots of miniscule hairworms.

Jennifer took these photos:

Caseless Caddis larvae

Freshwater shrimps (Gammarus)

Mayfly (ephemeridae)

Small specimens of Olive mayflies (Baetidae)

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Flora of Sluice Wood

Jennifer took these photos on 15 April:

Wild Arum

Yellow Archangel

Sunday 13 April 2014

Cowslips on the Roman Road

Jennifer took these photos on the morning of 13th April.

She reports that "They are very abundant this year and looking very healthy."

Caterpillars in hedgerow alongside path to Granta Park

George took this photo on 12 April:

Monday 7 April 2014

Abington Naturewatch - The Record 2013

An electronic copy is now available here. A higher resolution copy is available on request.

Sunday 6 April 2014

Longtailed Tits in Great Abington

Andy M took these fine photos of Longtailed Tits on 5th April:

Young Collared Doves

Pam P took this photo of two young Collared Doves perched on one of their garden conifers. They were being fed by their parents.

Hayley Wood visit - Thursday 27 March

Twelve Abington Naturewatch members went on a visit to Hayley Wood, near St Neots, at the end of March. This is an ancient woodland now owned by the county wildlife trust and is once again being actively coppiced. We went particularly to see the abundant population of rare oxlips, related to cowslips, which grow there on the damp clay soil. David F took these photos:

The group

Oxlips

wood anemones

violets

and the special badger tubes in the deer fence to allow them in and out

The Aims of Abington Naturewatch

At their meeting on 9 April 2005 the members approved this revised version of the aims of Abington Naturewatch:

To monitor and record the wildlife (fauna & flora) within the borders of the Abingtons;
To encourage protection of our wildlife, maintain its quality and foster its diversity;
To promote awareness of the richness, potential and problems of the natural environment of the Abingtons;
To cooperate in improving access to the local natural environment for the benefit of all Abington villagers.

Pat Daunt, Founder

The organisation is informal and communication is by email if possible; members are notified of events from time to time. Contact details are maintained by a small "project team". There is currently no membership fee as costs are covered by voluntary contributions at events.

Members are encouraged to report notable sightings of flora and fauna within the Abingtons to the appropriate sector coordinator and an illustrated record is published annually.

A map of the area covered, with some features noted, is available here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=213774935674882866424.00000111dca2be9f06ab8&z=13>

For more information or to join, please contact David Farrant on (01223) 892871.

Contributions to our records should be sent to sector contacts or either of the above. Photographs may also be submitted to Andy Merryweather (amerryweather61@gmail.com)