Jackie Robinson reports on one of her regular visits to a Langdyke reserve
What a difference a blue sky makes! Interspersed between the grey, miserable but still mild days there have been some very enjoyable sunny workparties.
The water is definitely staying at Swaddywell Pit Nature Reserve, but sadly not much of it yet in the cabin pond.
After some heavy rainfall over quite a few days, water is starting to form small pools all over the reserve. Wellies advised if you are visiting as there is a lot of water on the path from the visitor car park. Some of our determined wildflowers are adapting to the weather conditions. We appear to be growing an aquatic daisy!
Update on the Earth-tongues fungus that I was searching for – I found it! Tiny, beautiful little black tongue shaped fungi – looks a bit like an upright liquorice spoon. They are going over now but I’m glad I saw them.
Raking was on the list again for the workparty at Swaddywell, but as we were ‘wellie-deep’ in the bottom pond it was easier to move the strimmed Saw-sedge to the sides to haul it out. It is forming habitat piles at the moment for anything that wants to stay safely hidden in there. The brambles with their fiendish lateral stems are being tackled on a regular basis in the pit area; beware they will definitely grab your feet as you walk by. One area where they were bad, we are calling ‘Clouded Yellow Path’ as that is where I saw one in the summer, it’s the ‘alley’ between the open stoney ground and the boardwalk with a bank on the right-hand side. Certain areas lend themselves to ‘workparty’ names, nothing official; we have Spring Head, Lizard Point, Fairy Glen, Wasp Spider Hill, Nightingale Corner and Garden Warbler Way, amongst others! (They mostly exist in my head!!)
There are still plenty of Bee orchid rosettes showing at the moment, all over the reserve, fingers crossed for a good show next year if they don’t get eaten. A correction to last month’s observations, I saw Redwing in the trees and not Fieldfare (I took binoculars this time!) They were quite close to the path on the top field but even being very quiet, I disturbed them accidently.
In Helpston (my garden), the Moorhen seems to have decided to stay – I’ve now seen it roosting in the conifer and apple tree in the evening and it is getting braver in the garden during the day, chasing Magpies and Jackdaws away from the food. It actually stepped over some duck food I threw out, to get to the suet from the fat balls that the very agile Jackdaws were letting drop. It likes the songbird seed, hopefully it knows what it is doing and isn’t eating anything that will upset it.
The pond is looking a bit murky where it is pulling the weed apart, hopefully it will disappear and find some friends sometime. I am wondering if it is getting a bit too cosy as today it was on top of the incinerator where I had dumped some twigs and leaves, looking like it was eyeing up a nest site and jumped into the tin bath which was half filled with rainwater. I’m astounded by its ability to hear me open the upstairs window very quietly, and how it can spot me in the living room when I move to get the camera – it runs away very quickly, head down and jumps in the pond.
The Sparrowhawk however, sat and preened on the fence for over an hour, I think it is a young one – I took a few photos!
At the latest Christ College workparty on December 6 there were a good number of volunteers, so the task of raking cut vegetation was completed very quickly enabling the new volunteers the chance to do an orientation walk with Steve the Reserve Warden. A couple of the regular volunteers carried on with a bit of Willow clearing from the water’s edge. It is important to introduce new volunteers to the reserve they are helping manage as they can then see the greater, long-term management plan and how they are contributing to facilitating the implementation of that plan. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker was making use of the feeders and a couple of Mute Swans did a fly-by.
Steve got a shock when he visited the reserve a few days later as the strong winds had completely overturned the newly installed toilet facility; with some very willing local helpers and some machinery they managed to stand it back up and secure it. Luckily it didn’t suffer too much damage.
I notice from the Facebook page that a Kingfisher and Hare have been photographed at Christ’s College Pit, it really is a great place and developing all the time. Do think about helping out if you can spare a few hours.
The proposed Bainton Guided Walk in December didn’t take place due to a lack of participants, likely due to the weather. Keep an eye on the Events tab on the website to see if it is re-instated in the New Year especially around Snowdrop time. Bainton is a reserve that is a hidden treasure.
The Langdyke Artists in Residence, Kathryn Parsons and Sarah Lambert, were very pleased with the turnout at their exhibition at Torpel Cabin in November. Sarah’s stunning photos and Kathryn’s beautiful porcelain clay sculptures and other nature items were complimented by a map and information about the ancient Westings Meadow. There are some photos of the exhibition on the LCT Facebook page, if you haven’t seen them.
With not so much to report at this slower time of year, I’ve been looking back at old photos to compare with now. I found my first meeting with the Swaddywell volunteers at a Dragon and Damselfly talk and presentation by Stuart Irons at Torpel Cabin on June 23 2023, we then went down to the Swaddywell cabin pond to see some. I couldn’t believe my photos! It was a shock to see how full of water, plants and wildlife the pond was. I hope we can get it back to that state before too long.
I’m hoping to start helping out at Etton-Maxey in the New Year so may have more to write about some of the other reserves too. As usual, we are always happy to welcome new or returning volunteers on any of the reserves to enable us to maintain the sites for nature. Each reserve is different and has a variety of flora and fauna, choose one or choose them all. For more information you can contact us by email at volunteer@langdyke.org.uk, alternatively, you can ask anyone you know at LCT or message through the Facebook page (or just turn up). It is amazing how being outdoors, even in the winter months can make you feel more alive (there should also be less raking in the winter 😊).
Stay warm and enjoy the festivities.