Sunday 27 September 2015

Bats in the belfry?

Not just in the belfry, but in the church itself! Mary Miles noticed this Longeared Bat on the lectern in Little Abington church on Satruday 26 September and Derek took this photo:



Friday 25 September 2015

Young Muntjac in Cambridge Road garden

Derek took this photo of a young Muntjac in their garden this morning (25 September).



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Thursday 10 September 2015

River sampling - 9 September 2015

Riverfly sampling - Sept 2015
Organisation: Abington Naturewatch
Site name: The Ford, Abington, Cambridge (not the usual place)
River: Granta
Grid ref: TL534490
Monitoring Group Coordinator: Rob Mungovan
Date: 09 September 2015, 6.30pm
Recorded by: Peter Brunning

Cased caddisfly: Nil
Caseless caddisfly: B, ca 10
Mayfly (Ephemeridae):  Nil
Blue-winged olive (Ephemeridae): Nil
Flat bodied up-wings (Heptageniidae): Nil
Olives (Baetidae): C, ca 200
Stoneflies: Nil
Gammarus (Freshwater shrimp): C, ca 100

A:1-9; B:10-99; C:100-999;D:>1000

Hatches seen: none
River low; fine, dry weather, cool evening; 3 kick-shuffles undertaken within the allotted 3 minutes (1. Some Weed (water crowfoot) with rocky gravel bottom; 2. Gravel/rocky bottom in main flow, deeper water; 3. Lower flow, rocky bottom, edge of weed).

Other fauna:
1 signal crayfish - 3cm
4 fish (stone loach) - 3 x 10-12cm, 2 x 5 cm

Non-sightings (we’ve often found these): leeches, worms, minnows etc.

Stone Loach
Signal Crayfish
Olive nymphs
Caddis larvae, Shrimp
Freshwater Shrimp
Caddis larva, Shrimp, Olive nymph 
Shrimp

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)