Camel
Local members met recently at the home
of Camel Committee member Trevor Renals to view the fabulous display of heath
spotted and southern marsh orchids that were in flower in his superb unspoilt
meadows near St Kew.
Camel Secretary Bet Hartley also held an Open Garden Day at Treligga on the north
coast, raising £100 for the Trust and a further £240 for Oxfam. Well done and
thanks Bet!
In June there was a visit to Wadebridge from a rare species: a rose-coloured starling
in full breeding plumage. It fed regularly at a garden bird table on a housing
estate, along with common starlings, and fortunately the owners of the garden
were delighted to share the treat with local birdwatchers.
We have continued to enhance our committee meetings with recording on our reserves
and in June we tracked bats at Hawkes Wood and some of the neighbouring properties
at Treneague.
I followed up reports of a family of otters on the River Camel, and my wife, son
and I were fortunate to watch three otters playing and feeding for over 20 minutes
on successive evenings. It was an absolute treat as they came very close, breached
the surface like dolphins and generally showed off to us. We were able to follow
their bubble paths as they submerged and we watched as one caught a fish and they
writhed and tumbled about in the shallows with it. There were two adults and one
cub, which kept calling to its parents as it kept fairly close to the banks of
the river.
There are some things in nature that stick with you for the rest of your days
and these moments undoubtedly fall into that category!
Adrian Langdon
A rare rose-coloured starling visited Wadebridge in June.
Photo: Adrian Langdon |
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Caradon
Well, now that the foot-and-mouth crisis
appears to be receding, our thoughts go out to all those affected, particularly
those who lost animals - Cornwall was lucky.
I suppose we've been affected by the restrictions applied to events and even a
stroll in the countryside. Things are getting back to normal and good evidence
of this was another well-attended group event at Grove Farm, near Saltash.
We were invited to see the 20-acre hay meadow of David and Jean Davis. This is
a meadow established with the Trust's help and managed under the Countryside Stewardship
Scheme. Patches of wild flowers, including knapweed, mallow and scabious, had
been planted in the meadow to attract the wildlife, particularly insects. The
sun shone and despite a breeze the sun brought out a good selection of butterflies:
ringlets, meadow browns by the dozen, skippers, marbled whites, six-spot burnets
and the highlight - a newly emerged vibrant purple hairstreak. How our guide Dave
Gibbon spotted it in the hedge defies belief! I'm sure he's got butterfly radar!
A silver-washed fritillary also glided by.
Many thanks to the Davises and also to the usual, excellent, eagle-eyed commentary
from Dave Gibbon.
To contribute to the Hedgerow Campaign, Gail recently collected just under £50
in a few hours in Liskeard. Many thanks to all who contributed.
We hope to see more of you all at the next events in Caradon.
David and Gail Cory
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Caradon
The Carrick Group ensured that the Trust
was well represented at the Falmouth Big Green Fair in early July. This is a popular
annual environmental event in Cornwall and it attracted a large audience. The
main theme this year was waste reduction and recycling, and many stalls showed
how various local organisations are developing projects that promote sustainable
solutions to the county's waste crisis, which in turn has a direct impact on local
wildlife and fauna. In addition to recruiting new members and gaining donations,
our volunteers manning the stalls were pleased to meet many young Fox Club members
and other Trust members who were very knowledgeable about the massive waste problems
we face.
Two events that we are looking forward to are illustrated talks by Kate Stokes
on mammals in general and otters in particular (on 24th October at Carnon Downs)
and secondly by Rowena Varley on the habits and behaviour of bats with the chance
to see and feel some real live bats (on 22nd November at St Agnes). Both groups
of species are under considerable threat from loss of habitat and these talks
will update us on the progress the Trust is making to reverse this trend. Members
of other groups are welcome, as are non-members - the more we can attract non-members
into our talks and activities the better!
In my view, one of the most challenging objectives for the Trust is to attract
and persuade the "unconverted" to support these types of initiative. All groups
should reach out beyond their membership and communicate as much as possible to
the huge non-member audience out there in Cornwall!
Bob Bridges
We were sad to hear that John Hill, who became Secretary of the Carrick Group
when it was re-formed last year, died during June after a short illness.
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