Newsletter January 2013
Dear Members,
It has been another six months of success and improvements on the Carrs. We have retained our Green Flag status and hopefully at last have seen a permanent solution to control the water level in the ponds. Despite the wettest autumn on record we have photographed and recorded the seasonal changes to the wildlife in our Local Nature Reserve. In July we had a walk around the Carrs for the local U3A Local History Group We learned that we had won a Green Flag Community Award 2012-2013 for excellence of our green space. This award was presented to us by SMBC Councillor Kevin Hogg (Executive Councillor for Public Realm) on July 25th and publicized in the Stockport Times and Express and on Pure Radio FM. The only negative comment was on the unattractive state of the car park, but a new fence and information boards have been installed, although the pot holes remain! The Green Flag is proudly displayed at our bimonthly general meetings. We discovered in August that two local photographers have produced videos of the Carrs on the Internet winter and spring scenes and high summer 2012 - both well worth watching! By September the effects of the wet summer were evident with fewer berries and fruits on our shrubs and trees, although fungi flourished. At the end of that month Emma Marston, SMBC Nature Development Officer, went on maternity leave and her duties were partly taken over by Anthony Crook, Trees and Habitat Manager. Community Payback workers cut the streamside path and in October raked the cut grassland. The long awaited engineering works to stabilize the pond water level .were carried out in November with a new outfall constructed in the ‘Saxon Ditch’ and a clay barrier or bund separating the ponds from the ditch. This seems to be effective as the water level of the ponds has remained fairly stable despite the draining of the ditch. Also in November contractors for SMBC prepared the site for a Community Orchard of 30 trees in the grassland of the upper field, south of the football field. So far members and friends have donated nearly all the trees required for an orchard of apple, pear, plum, cherry and damson trees to be planted in the New Year. A new car park map board sponsored in memory of a member of Cheadle and Gatley Round Table and ‘Nature Watch’ panels on Pond Life and Water Birds, purchased with a remnant of a grant from the Stockport Fund, were installed in November by our senior ranger Jane Bardsley and her team, to whom we are most grateful. A very wet Sunday in early December caused a task day to have to be cancelled The successful treatment with weevils of the Azolla water fern on the pond has become apparent as open water has reappeared ready to welcome returning water fowl. There has been some minor vandalism recently with one car window broken, a bug hotel burnt down and tree stakes and the pond board uprooted. We have plans for 2013 with the planting of the Community Orchard and pond side reeds and other plants. There is some concern over possible reduction of maintenance assistance with further reorganization of SMBC ranger staff. We shall be carefully monitoring our ash trees for the appearance of ‘Ash dieback’ which has been reported in nursery stock of ash trees as near as Knutsford. We send our good wishes for 2013 and hope that you may be able to join us at our regular bimonthly meetings at Gatley Hill House on January 9th, March 13th, May 8th or on a task day probably in late January or February on a date to be posted on the Carrs as usual. John Pollard GATLEY CARRS WILDLIFE IN HIGH SUMMER JUNE – AUGUST 2012 Swifts, which first appeared in May, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Wren and Robin were still in song but some species like Song Thrush were singing with less gusto. Many species like Blackbird, Robin and Hedge Sparrow were on their second brood with discarded egg shells visible. Moorhen and Little Grebe persisted on the edge of the pool. Also on and around the pond were Coal, Great and Blue Tits, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Chaffinch, all in song although not easily visible because of dense foliage. Herons, up to four at a time, have been seen and also fleeting glimpses of Kingfishers. Kingfishers and Nuthatch were also seen around Gatley Brook. Buzzards were often to be seen soaring in the sky above the reserve. From time to time we found small piles of feathers, evidence of successful kills by Sparrow Hawks, but Kestrels were seldom seen over the reserve, nor were they seen locally. During the summer we saw bees on flowers on the reserve but like butterflies not in as great numbers as in previous years. Large Whites and smaller numbers of Commas and Peacocks were among deeper patches of vegetation. Small Blues appeared on the woodland edges and the striped orange and black caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth occurred on Ragwort in August. Dragonflies appeared on edges of woodland and over the pond edge where there were also small numbers of bright Damselflies. White Convolvulus (Bind Weed) has had a good year but was now past its best as were many flowering plants. Blackberries were not quite so numerous as usual and sloes were almost no-existent as were apples and pears on our wild and cultivated trees. In the grassland Vetches remained in flower as did Popies, Rosebay and Great Willowherb, Golden Rod and a few Purple Loosestrife. The wildflower meadow has been prolific this summer with colourfull white and pink Musk Mallow, yellow St John’s Wort and Ladies Bedstraw, purple Knapweeds and Carline Thistles with fluffy seed heads which tended to dominate the meadow. The last major flowers of summer, Wild Carrot, raised its white umbels among the thistles. By the pool there were still a wide variety of plants in flower and we had a good number of Teasels this year as we moved towards autumn. Water plants have been prolific in the pond with Broad-leaved Pondweed in the dipping pond and white Water Lilly by the island in the bird pond, where Duckweed and rust coloured water fern, Azolla, covered the surface. This invasive water fern was treated with weevils to eradicate it over time. Pond dipping from the new dipping platform installed in June netted Waterboatmen and Sticklebacks while near the main outfall, pond snails, pea mussels, leeches and dragonfly larvae were found. Six Golden Orfe ornamental fish unfortunately were placed in the main pond in August where shoals of Roach, absent since 2010, were happily seen again. AUTUMN ON THE RESERVE SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2012 Among the birds on the reserve this autumn mostly still in song were Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Wren and Dunnock. Song Thrush, Blackbird and Mistle Thrush were still in song across the wildflower meadow. During October Skylarks and Fieldfare flew over the reserve in a westerly direction. One morning up to 200 Pink-footed Geese flew over the reserve, again in a westerly direction from the east coast – a further sign that migrants were already beginning to think of migrating back across the Atlantic at the first hints of warmer weather over the eastern ocean. Two Buzzards were again noted in flight over the reserve during slightly warmer weather in late autumn. The pool began to attract up to 20 Mallard. Grey Wagtail, Little Grebe and Heron began to appear more regularly in the reserve towards the end of the autumn. Kingfisher appeared and one sat on the ‘No Fishing’ notice in the pond. A couple of Swallows appeared briefly over the reserve in late October but summer migrants were clearly on their way out. Redpoll and Siskin were both signs of the imminent approach of winter. Dragonfly and Ladybirds were among the commoner insects seen widely on the reserve even in late autumn. Weevils have slowly been eating the invasive rusty coloured Azolla water fern that covers the pond. Hopefully this will slowly clear the pond. Late in the autumn came brief sightings of Dandelion and Rosebay Willowherb still in flower as the colder weather gradually took control. This year has been a poor one for autumn fruits. There were no sloes on the Blackthorn and our two eating apple trees and wild pears were barren. However, with SMBC this winter we are planting a Community Orchard of donated trees in the grassland south of the football field. So far apple, pear, plum, cherry and damson trees have been sponsored. Autumn fungi began to appear in October as shown by the photos, displayed in the upper field wildlife notice board, but they were not as diverse as in 2011. As winter takes control we look forward to Chiffchaff in song and then to the first signs of spring with Tawny Owl hoots from the mature woodland. Peter Wolstenholme (RSPB) ------------------------------------------------------ Thank you for supporting Gatley Carrs Conservation Group Annual subscription - £3 per member or £5 per family – payable January Please fill in the tear off slip at the bottom of the form and give this slip with the subscription fee to an existing member or send to our Treasurer: - Mr Alan Butler, 22 Brookside Road, Gatley, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 4BG Cheques payable to ‘Gatley Carrs Conservation Group’. Gatley Carrs Conservation Group can be contacted at; admin@gatleycarrs.org.uk X (cut) --------------------------------------------------- Application for membership of Gatley Carrs Conservation Group 2013 Name:------------------------------------------------------- Address: --------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- Tel no: Email address: Signature: Date: Subscription amount: £--------
