WORK PARTY REPORTS 2005/06

• Over Railway Cutting March 2006
• Devil's Dyke Feb 2006
• Holland Haven CP Jan 2006
• Dunmow Railway Cutting Dec 2005
• Devil's Dyke Nov 2005
• Thrift Wood Oct 2005

Over Railway Cutting - March 2006

The sixth and final conservation work party of the 2005/06 season took place at the railway cutting near the village of Over, NW of Cambridge on Sunday 19th March.

Trevor Grange, site warden, led a total of 9 other volunteers (4 BC members and 5 local helpers) who cleared an area of blackthorn on the SW facing side of the line, originally built to take away the extracted gravel from nearby Fen Drayton pits. Thankfully the work was sheltered from a sharp E wind which made it unseasonably cool in the more exposed areas and we were cheered by a few seconds of sunshine around the time of our lunch break. Optimists? Well, given the very real threat that the whole site will soon disappear under concrete to make way for the guided bus project, one has to look on the bright side and hope that this wonderful species-rich habitat can survive the developers' plans. Trevor was able to show us the stretch of land adjoining the NE side of the line which is proposed to be handed over 'in mitigation'. At present, this is basically flat arable land. While it might be possible over several years to re-create some of the habitat which will be lost if the project goes ahead, it is stretching the imagination beyond limit to think that the butterflies might be able to survive in the intervening period.

Over Railway Cutting © photo: Tony Moverley

Find out more about the site and the project on Page 25 of the C&E Branch Newsletter No: 49 (Feb 2006) and keep in touch with developments at Cambridge County Council's website.

Devil's Dyke - February 2006

The February gathering saw us meeting up again at Devil’s Dyke near Newmarket to continue the habitat improvements on behalf of Chalkhill Blues and Dingy Skippers. Last November we had focused on the area which currently holds the main population of CBs, just a few hundred metres NW along from the car park area (at the end of the dead end road at TL616613).

This time we worked on an area further along the ditch, past the July racecourse grandstand and just before ‘Bomber Gap’, hoping that we might improve the habitat enough to encourage the butterflies to spread further along the embankment.

James Fisher, the overall manager for the Devil’s Dyke project, led several members of our branch and a strong contingent from the Cambridge Conservation Volunteers.

We were 17 in all, a magnificent turn-out and the highest this season. Three brush cutters set to work on the grass on the south facing bank while others ‘scrub bashed’ on both sides. The weather was once again very kind to us and the threat of rain never materialised although a fresh East breeze was keenly felt by those working on the NE side and on top of the dyke.

Although the five year Devil’s Dyke project itself finishes at the end of 2006, we anticipate that conservation work parties will continue along this stretch of the ditch for the foreseeable future. Let us all hope that the splendid efforts of all these volunteers will be enough to maintain the wonderful success of all their previous work (see the piece on the Recording page entitled DEVIL'S DYKE 2006).

Holland Haven CP - January 2006

The first work party of 2006 found 10 volunteers meeting up with Head Warden, Leon at Tendring District Council’s LNR Holland Haven Country Park, just south of Frinton-on-Sea. The day looked set fair – reasonably mild for the third week of January but cloudy as we set about continuing Dr. Zoë Ringwood’s magnificent efforts to conserve the extremely rare Fisher’s Estuarine Moth.

Zoë had brought along a van load of black pots each holding a tiny Hog’s Fennel plant, lovingly germinated and grown on by her (pricking out into pots alone is estimated to have taken 3 people 3 days!).

The team was split – the vanguard laid out the pots in positions 1m apart, more people then dug out the holes with square shaped diggers designed to remove exactly the correct shape and volume of earth, and the rearguard planted and firmed. All executed with military precision. A Short-eared Owl flying low over the marsh and perching on a nearby fence post was an added bonus as was a more distant Marsh Harrier towards the end of the session.

Three and a half hours later and 1,456 plants were in their new homes by the sea. We wish them well and, if past records at other sites are anything to go by, we can expect almost three-quarters of them to survive to their first birthday. We shall be back to check!

Dunmow Railway Cutting - December 2005

	The final work party for 2005 took place at the Dunmow railway cutting (TL609216) along the Flitch Way. The Senior Ranger Nigel Wood divided 7 volunteers between clearing an area of heavy scrub on the south bank and strimming this year's herbaceous growth on the sunny north bank.
Lunchtime at the Dunmow Railway Cutting © photo: Tony Moverley

Raking was left to a future work party and with nearly 100 Flitch Way volunteers signed up for these events, conservation efforts along this old railway line look set to be maintained for a good while. The weather was once again very kind - quite mild with long periods of sunshine. The burn-up was much appreciated by all, particularly by mid afternoon as the sun sunk towards the horizon, casting the cutting into shade and sending temperatures down rapidly.

The area behind the bonfire cleared at Dunmow Railway Cutting © photo: Tony Moverley

	Although this site has no 'specialties' as such, the efforts of Branch volunteers over the past years have ensured that it remains a good site to see many of the more common species, such as Brimstone and Common Blue. Anyone wishing to 'adopt' this patch and keep butterfly records should contact , the Branch's survey officer.
The North Bank strimmed - Dunmow Railway Cutting © photo: Tony Moverley

Devil's Dyke - November 2005

The November outing saw us enjoying some fantastic weather (a sharp frost followed by brilliant sunshine) as we maintined a stretch of the Devil’s Dyke (TL616613) , near Newmarket.
Numbers of the Chalkhill Blue butterfly have increased dramatically over the past few years and the site also holds one of the largest regional populations of the Dingy Skipper.
This site just goes to show what can actually be achieved by a relatively small number of people who are willing to put the effort into conserving a site on a regular basis and it stands as a real tribute to those who have helped at these conservation meetings.

Devil's Dyke © photo: Mike Gittos	Packing up & job done! Devil's Dyke © photo: Mike Gittos

Scrub bashing on the south facing bank consisted primarily of cutting down birch saplings and other unwanted growth - several of us took well over an hour to remove one particularly dense and thorny hawthorn patch. Those trained and capable of handling the power tools strimmed the long grass over a 50m stretch (this is undertaken on a rotational basis and it’s quite easy to spot last year’s efforts) while the rest raked off the debris. It was 20th November and yet we found examples of Scabious, Harebell and Horseshoe Vetch all in flower!

Thrift Wood - October 2005

The winter conservation work schedule for 2005/06 kicked off at the end of October at Thrift Wood (TL 790017), an Essex Wildlife Trust reserve a few miles SE of Chelmsford.

This ancient wood is one of the main Essex sites for the Common Cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense, the food plant of the Heath Fritillary. This beautifully marked butterfly became extinct in the county and was successfully re-established here in 1984.

Carl Blamire led a group of 9 other volunteers in warm sunshine. Half the party set about strimming and raking off an extensive bramble patch while the rest coppiced an area of silver birch to form a ‘scallop’ off the main clearing. While sitting for lunch, no less than three Heath Fritillary caterpillars were found in and around the leaf litter, with one specimen particularly attracted to a pink kneeling pad!. Let’s hope this bodes well for next season.

Members wishing to see these wonderful insects should try and time their visit for the middle of the main flight period, namely mid to late June. The warden George also took the opportunity to show us some examples of Dog Stinkhorn Mutinus caninus, a smaller (and it has to be said, less smelly) version of the more common Stinkhorn Phallus impudicus.

Additional Report by member and volunteer Christopher Rawlings

It was a beautiful sunny and pleasantly warm October morning, this little woodland as quant and charming as ever, was a joy to be in. We were coppicing an area last done approximately twelve to thirteen years ago, and the rewards for our labours were instantly visible as with every stool felled the sunlight shining down upon us significantly increased.

11.30am, time for a coffee break. We sat in the sun, all relaxed and idly chatting away, my seven year old daughter Jessica sitting on a log beside me with her little bright pink kneeling pad on the ground next to her. Quietly she said to me, “dad, there’s something crawling on my pad”. So on picking the pad carefully up and observing a tiny dark hairy caterpillar, I thought, “could it be?” On passing the pad amongst the group, the general consensus was that yes, it was a Heath Fritillary larva, which was a first for me. So there we have it. Never mind spending hours crawling amongst the undergrowth searching for tiny elusive creatures, or spending vast amounts of money on scientific equipment. Just bring along a little pink kneeling pad price 50p from Asda, put it on the ground, sit down with a cup of coffee and watch the rarities turn up, and, of course, well done to Jessica for showing us grown ups how it should be done.

Heath Fritillary Larva © photo: Peter Eeles

Editor's note: Carl Blamire, who was leading this work party, confirmed that in fact quite a few larvae were seen that day.

Authored by Christopher Rawlings