Hassacarr Nature Reserve
By the time you read this our wonderful show of snowdrops will be over and replaced by bluebells and lords and ladies, frog spawn will have evolved into tadpoles, great crested and smooth newts will have laid their eggs, butterflies such as orange tip, comma, brimstone and speckled wood will be on the wing and our summer migrants; blackcaps, chiffchaffs, whitethroats and willow warblers will be in full song. Other wildlife to look out for during May will be moorhens, blackbirds and song thrushes with their first broods of the year, the first swallows, swifts and house martins will be flying overhead, dragonflies on the wing will be four spotted chasers, azure and large red damselflies.
Our winter feeding programme was once again successful in attracting up to 65 tree sparrows, 20 house sparrows, 23 yellowhammers, 17 chaffinches, 6 greenfinches, 3 bullfinches, 19 goldfinches, 6 robins, 5 dunnocks, 6 great tits, 8 blue tits, 2 coal tits, 4 long tailed tits, 16 blackbirds and 6 stock doves. Birds feeding around the reserve away from the feeders were; fieldfares, redwings, mistle thrushes, kingfisher, tree creepers, wrens, goldcrests, jays and magpies. On occasions a barn owl was observed hunting along the dyke, kestrels and buzzards were also recorded around the reserve.
The rescued tawny owls were heard calling during the day; hopefully they will be successful in raising young again this year.
Dunnington Conservation Group volunteers give their time generously and work hard to maintain the reserve as a haven for wildlife, education (5.000 children have visited the reserve over the past 27 years) and a place to seek solace.
Dog walkers please respect our notices, keep your pets on a lead and remember we have rare water voles living on the reserve.
Terry Weston, Voluntary Warden
Tree sparrows (above) and a female Blackcap (below) at Hassacarr.
Friends of Hagg Wood
What strange times we are living in, very sad for so many but let’s hope that those remaining will be wiser and stronger at the end of this trial.
The wood should be looking beautiful at the moment. Our expert ecologist, Martin Hammond, author of the York Biodiversity Audit, said at the outset of our project that we should concentrate our efforts in the southern area near the abundant indicator species of ancient woodland. This we have done and it has paid great dividends – in recent years the carpet of bluebells has expanded magnificently, interspersed with hundreds of white stitchwort and yellow celandines. The ditches have been full of primroses and we expect now that the buds on the trees are just about to burst into life. It will be so wonderful to be able to walk freely again in our wonderful English countryside once the current restrictions are over.
What a shame that the old and the young have since last October been so inconvenienced from taking pleasure in these simple joys by the blockage of the path into the wood from Intake Lane. One of our friends, an internationally renowned fly expert, loves to explore the wood but at the age of 87 he cannot walk the long distance that the blocked gates entail.
The Friends of Hagg Wood submitted two claims to the City of York Council in 1997, to get the footpaths recognised and put on the Definitive Right of Way Map. After the Ombudsman was called in to look at a claim in Fulford, the Council was ordered to make progress and our claim is currently being processed. We’ve been gathering information to add to our claims and would like to thank everyone who has come forward to help us. The consultation period ends 17th April and the outcome depends on the strength of the objections. We will keep you informed.
Have you thought about joining the Friends of Hagg Wood? It’s £4 individuals, £6 for a family for usually 3 lectures, 2 cycle rides, several social occasions and monthly working parties each year once we return to normal. Your support at this difficult time would be immensely encouraging as we work tirelessly to get our paths open again. We have no doubt that we will win.
Our Wildlife Community – Enjoying our Wildflowers
Wildflowers in our Shared Spaces
On our early morning walks around the village we have recently spotted lots of wildflowers. For example, we have seen daisies, shepherd’s purse, groundsel (aka Old Man in the Spring), garlic mustard (aka Jack by the Hedge), and birch catkins. Today we found some wild strawberry! We sometimes chalk on the pavements explaining what wildlife is there, to make everyone’s walks a little more interesting during these tough times. We often record our wildflower observations on our monthly Herbology Hunt spotter sheets. You might also like to try PlantLife’s Great British Wildflower Hunt.
Wildflowers in our Gardens
With garden waste bins not being emptied and recycling centres closed, it’s a good time to let at least part of your grass grow long (Blue Campaign) or try a reduced mowing regime (e.g. RSPB’s Adrian Thomas). If you do this, you should find more wildflowers in your garden. If you’d like to help with some citizen science you could take part in the BSBI’s Garden Wildflower Hunt and PlantLife’s Every Flower Counts 23rd-31st May.
May all your weeds be wildflowers.
Alex & Mum
Special branches
We hope this new title, to replace My Favourite Tree, will become a regular feature. This month’s contribution is from Mick Storey of Dunnington.
Send your choice, preferably with a photo and a brief reminiscence, to derekutley30@gmail.com.
The Oak – My oak
I love the muscularity of the Beech and the delicate elegance of the Silver Birch, but the tree that commands my greatest respect, admiration and gratitude is the magnificent Oak, and a very particular one at that.
Many years ago I suffered a devastating loss when a very close person in my life was tragically killed in a car accident. The effect of the grief on me was immense, and for several weeks I wandered around with a gnawing aching hollowness in the pit of my stomach. One night whilst walking the streets of Fulford, I came across this majestic towering Oak standing by the roadside. It seemed to beckon me as I passed by, and I found myself wrapping my arms around its wide solid rough skinned girth. After ten minutes the hollowness I had been carrying about with me for weeks, and that had become part of my very existence, subsided, and I began to feel earthed to life again through that huge bold sturdy tree, healed by its overwhelming generosity and power. That was the night I became a proud hugger of trees and my heart was opened up to the immense healing magic, compassion and beauty of our leafy friends with whom we share this universe of ours.