Abington Naturewatch: March 2015

Tuesday 31 March 2015

Spring has arrived!

Spring flowers are springing up all round.

Jennifer saw these on the Recreation Ground:

Celandine

Violets - near river

and these are appearing in our back garden:

Cowslip

Monday 30 March 2015

2015 Dates for your diary

ABINGTON NATUREWATCH 2015

Provisional Dates

Date	Venue	Responsible	Description
January 24-25^th	Abington	DT	RSPB Garden Birdwatch
Sat. Feb 28^th	RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes	DT	Birdwatch via Guided Bus
Sat. March 28^th	Abington Institute	DF	Members meeting
Sat. 11^th April	River Bridge	ADN/PB	River Sampling 10.30
Mid May	Beech Wood	JH/ST
May 23^rd – 25^th	Abington	DT	Abington Birdwatch
Sat. 6^th June	TBC	JH/DF	Moth Trap Results
Weds 24^th June	River Bridge	ADN/PB	River Sampling 18.30
Sat. 27^th June	Wicken Fen	JH	Dragonflies 10.30
Tue. 30^th June	TBC	DF	Project Team
Sat. 11^th July	RSPB Lakenheath	DT	Birdwatch
Friday 24^th July	Devils Dyke	JH	Butterflies/flora
Sat. 1^st August	Roman Road-west	JH	Butterflies/flora
Wed. 12^th August	River Bridge	ADN/PB	River Sampling
Sat. 15^th August	TBC	JH/DF	Moth Trap Results
August	Bourn Bridge Road	JH/ST	Protected Verge TBC

Friday 20 March 2015

Bat in High Street

Jennifer found this bat in her garden on a wall hidden behind a fence panel. She believes it is a Pipistrelle – it is very small as you can see from the brick it is clinging to.

Saturday 7 March 2015

Snowdrops in Granta Park

It seems to be a good year for snowdrops. These are in the Southern Wood at Granta Park.

Monday 2 March 2015

Rivercare & Beachcare Winter Conference 2015

Robin and Peter attended a one day conference at Catton Park in Norwich, hosted by Andrew Walters, Rivercare Project Manager and Robert Martyr, Rivercare Officer.

We were treated to an update on all things RiverCare and BeachCare, notably their campaigns; spreading the message using social media; Biodiversity work for river habitats; a new phone app for recording data, reporting sightings and incidents; and Non-native species. We heard about a project by the Friends of Tove Wetland Pocket Park and told delegates about our Shoal project. There was time for discussion of problems and opportunities.

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)