OUT & ABOUT WITH WILDLIFE – WALKS PROGRAMME

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Coming up

 Wed 15th Sep – Bat Walk with Martin Price & Nots Bat Group. Meet 7 pm at the Skylarks Nature Reserve car park – on right along Adbolton Lane, after Holme Pierrepont Country Park entrances. Bring suitable warm clothing and a torch

Coming up  our 2021/22 Winter Wildlife Talks Programme

Each winter, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s South Notts Local Group presents a programme of monthly talks covering the whole spectrum of wildlife.

Last winter, Jack Perks, the renowned local wildlife cameraman, took us underwater with the fish that swim in our rivers.  We visited the icy wastes of Antarctica and saw fabulous scenery and fascinating animals.  Kyle Carsen, a lifelong birder and musician, joined us from Ohio and opened our eyes – and ears – to the amazing complexities of birdsong.  We heard about successful Welsh bird conservation projects, learnt about the wide range of British reptiles, and shared the amazing range of flora and fauna to be found at Centre Parcs’ Sherwood Village.

This winter’s programme promises to be equally diverse and rewarding:

  • Roadside verges are things most of us drive by without taking much notice, but in October we will explore the wide range of wild flowers to be found there and learn about their fascinating lives.
  • Butterflies nationally are in decline; in November we will look at how our gardens can help these beautiful creatures to survive and grow.
  • December’s talk will transport us from the depths of our winter to sunshine safaris in the national parks of South Africa.
  • In January, best-selling author Gordon Hamlett will take a light-hearted look at the stories behind his book on birdwatching in the Scottish Highlands.
  • We stay in Scotland in February, exploring the magical landscapes and wildlife of Skye, the Outer Hebrides and the Shetland Islands with wildlife photographer Nick Martin
  • Leaving the otters and eagles of Scotland behind us, in March we look at the more prosaic but rapidly-declining Hedgehog, and how two brothers inspired a village to protect and sustain this beautiful creature.

Each talk will be available through Zoom, both live and recorded, so come and join us from the comfort of your own home  in a winter wildlife wonderland.  Each talk costs £3; subscribe for all six for £15. Full details, including technical requirements and how to book, are available on our website at http://www.southnottswildlife.org.uk/content/?page_id=234

 Also see our FACEBOOK PAGE  https://www.facebook.com/SouthNottsWildlifeGroup  for local wildlife news from groups in Rushclife

The Great Big Green Week: A Wilder East Bridgford –

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Saturday, 25 September 2021 | Sunday, 26 September 2021 at East Bridgford Village Hall, East Bridgford, England. Find event and ticket information on this link

 
East Bridgford Wildlife and Biodiversity Group

Big Green Week – Carbon Literacy Course

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Carbon Literacy Course

What to look out for in Sept/Oct

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Summer’s almost ended, and (meteorological) autumn is nearly here. Flowers and leaves may soon be gone for the year, and our summer visitors leaving but the coming two months offer the prospect of lots of birds coming in for the winter to join our resident species, and there will still be plenty of insects to look out for. To find out more, follow this link: http://www.southnottswildlife.org.uk/content/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/month-ahead-sept_oct-2021.pdf

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Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with the Community to fight Barton/Mill Hill Quarry

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been fighting to protect wildlife from the threat posed by a new sand & gravel quarry proposed for Barton in Fabis – directly across the River Trent from our much loved Attenborough Nature Reserve – since at least 2017.

Whilst we accept that sand and gravel extraction is needed in our county, this allocation is one of the most ecologically damaging we’ve dealt with and we’ve objected to it from day 1 – working closely with local residents, community representatives and members of the Save the Ancient Valley Environment (SAVE) campaign group.

Our efforts alongside the community have resulted in significant and welcome modifications to the planning application, illustrating the importance of us continuing to fight wildlife’s corner but this proposal still poses a threat to wildlife both on the Barton-In-Fabis side of the River Trent and at our much loved Attenborough Nature Reserve and risks disruption and disturbance of people’s enjoyment of a number of vital wildlife areas.

Our Nature Recovery team are currently preparing our official objection to the proposal but given the importance of the sites in question and the strength of feeling within the local community we are asking our supporters to help directly by responding to the official planning consultation by the 10th September 2021.

Having cared for Attenborough Nature Reserve for over 50 years and having only recently been backed by members and supporters to take ownership of the site the prospect of damaging disturbance to its wildlife and of impact on people’s enjoyment of this cherished site is a real cause for concern.

Our key concerns for wildlife

The proposal will result in loss of and damage to areas of designated Local Wildlife Sites (LWS). This is unacceptable given that Nottinghamshire has such a low level of protected habitat and the urgent need to reverse the ecological crisis by ensuring that 30% of land can support nature.

The proposal could have a negative impact of Schedule 1 protected breeding birds recorded within the proposed quarry site

Designated LWS’s including Clifton Wood may be affected by noise disturbance – a real concern for both breeding birds and bats. We are also concerned that the noise modelling data doesn’t enable us to assess the full impact of the noise pollution on species or particular sites.

Noise disturbance could be a real issue for birds just across the river at Attenborough Nature Reserve too – both for breeding birds and species choosing Attenborough a safe haven to spend the winter.

Birds overwintering at Attenborough could face a double blow due to the loss of important grazing habitat on the Barton-in-Fabis side of the river.

Follow this link for guidance https://www.barton-in-fabis.net/wp/?page_id=214

Coming up localy

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There will be a special puppet performance for children 11am to 2pm this Monday 23rd August on The Hook Nature Reserve. Follow the nature trail, see what you can spot and discover the puppets. Flyers available at Mona Road entrance to The Hook.
Handmade Theatre has been funded by Lady Bay Arts Trail.
Also Nick and Jackie Sparrow is holding an official Butterfly Conservation charity garden open day on bank holiday Saturday 28th Aug 1 to 5pm at 20 Trevor Road, West Bridgford. Tea and cakes etc. £3 to get in. Hopefully there will be some butterflies joining us on the day.

Winter Wildlife Talks

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South Notts Local Group is delighted to announce it`s Winter Wildlife Talks programme will be returning again this autumn. It will be on ZOOM again this year enabling us to draw in speakers from around the country and make the talks accessible to people across Rushcliffe and elsewhere for that matter.
 
As with the venue based talks we are still looking to provide a varied range of wildlife related topics and we start on the 7th October with one about the Wildflowers of Verges and Reserves with Gerald Ponting, followed by Gardening for Butterflies on Nov 4th with Max and Christine Maughan. After that we will be going to Scotland, South Africa and deepest darkest Kirklington. For full details of the six talk programme (and details of how to book) follow this link http://www.southnottswildlife.org.uk/content/?page_id=234
 
You will need is a laptop or tablet (with an internet link) and the ZOOM app downloaded (you will not need a ZOOM account). Links will be stated on the ticket.
 
So join us on a dark evening for a taste of summer from the comfort of your own home.

Nature Conservation in Rushcliffe

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Rushcliffe has had a nature conservation strategy in place since 2003 and one of the key was to try and ensure that the Strategy was more than just good intentions. So over the years the Steering Group has been supporting, promoting, cajoling and on occasion despairing of nature conservation and wildlife protection in Rushcliffe.
There is certainly more going on in the Borough now, sometimes as a result of initiatives by a committed individual/dedicated group – as evidenced for example by the Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project, Friends of Bingham Linear Park, Wild Things Keyworth (Hedgehogs), Grizzled Skipper Project and East Bridgford Wildlife Group. And behind that is the commitment of organisations such as Notts Wildlife Trust and Rushcliffe Borough Council in supporting these initiatives but also with their own activities and projects. But in the end time and commitment by motivated individuals (professional and volunteer) is a big driver for taking things further.
The current range of local actions can be gauged from the following http://www.southnottswildlife.org.uk/…/2020-RNCS… and the list of Rushcliffe sites currently classed as nature reserves http://www.southnottswildlife.org.uk/…/2020-RNCS-Nature…
Is it enough ? Clearly more can be done, indeed more needs to be done, as there have always been counter pressures from development, changes in land use and now the impacts from climate change. Probably at the moment we are, at best, holding the line.
So what are YOU prepared to contribute ?

Nature Counts and you can help with the accounting

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Notts Wildlife Trust is using a new biological recording system called “Nature Count” originally pioneered by Sheffield Wildlife Trust. The idea is that people including members of the public can feed sightings into the software and subject to verification by the County Recorder for the Species it will be fed through to the Notts Biological Records Centre (keeper of the county wildlife database) and from there into the National database. In addition where it relates to Trust reserves into their database as well.

Whilst NWT are particularly interested in all records relating to their reserves, they form only a small part of our natural world. So we are interested in getting people to send in records from all over the county. Sites with Friends Groups like Sharphill Wood/Bingham Linear Park may arrange to set up a site specific input page that then becomes their site record (please contact MWalker@nottswt.co.uk about this).

But if you walk the dog there is no reason why you can`t also record what you see – rare records are important, but REGULAR records of common species are invaluable (and not that common). Firstly if everyone thinks its presence is understood, no one records it. Secondly just because someone has recorded it last year in the area, your record reinforces it`s presence this year. Multiple records matter, they build a picture. So take a notepad and pen with you walking the dog, visiting a reserve or just sitting in your garden, they all matter.

What you need for a record is

Date,

Species (a photo might be useful with rarer critters,

Numbers even if an estimate

Location (you can use either a location name, finding the location on a map search built into the software or using Grid Ref to pinpoint the record to an area).

Habitat type

Photograph of items if you are unsure of OR if it is something unusual.

You can enter a single casual record or create a list for a location. Reserves will have pre-existing lists set up for adding to.

The web site for Nature Count is https://record.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/

Hedgehogs & Rushcliffe Borough Council

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You may be interested in to know that the Rushcliffe full council considered and passed the following motion at its meeting on 1 July.
This Council notes the alarming decline in number of hedgehogs and threat of extinction and pledges to:
– Adopt landscape management practices on land it owns and manages that are supportive to hedgehogs and their habitat.
– Encourage other agencies/councils operating in Rushcliffe to do likewise.
– Conduct a public awareness campaign to encourage the public to adopt supportive practices.
– Include appropriate conditions and advisory notes on planning consents to support the species.
Exactly how this is to be implemented is still to be worked out, but it is a another step forward and hopefully will supplement the local hedgehog initiatives (see https://www.facebook.com/wildthingskeyworth/ for a prime example of a local hedgehog initiative by committed locals.