RSPB in the Mersey Valley

Recently Manchester City Council issued the following press release:

PRESS RELEASE BEGINS
Manchester City Council invites the RSPB ‘home’

Manchester City Council and the RSPB are set to develop an exciting new vision to connect people with nature in the Mersey Valley.

The two organisations will work closely with local people and groups at Chorlton Water Park and Fletcher Moss, to explore ways of encouraging people to do something positive for wildlife, reconnect with nature and help look after the Mersey Valley by getting actively involved.

This summer, two events will be held to launch the partnership and celebrate the RSPB’s 125th anniversary, with the organisation ‘coming home’ to Fletcher Moss, Didsbury - the place where the RSPB was founded in 1889, in protest against the barbarous trade in plumes for women's hats.

The RSPB’s Big Wild Sleep Out will take place in June and a 'Giving Nature a Home' Festival will be held in August.

A series of workshops has also been planned to take place throughout the year, allowing local people and organisations to contribute their ideas - and help shape and deliver the vision for the Valley.

Local friends groups and other key stakeholders are being encouraged to form a Mersey Valley Forum, which will be jointly managed by the council and the RSPB.

Councillor Rosa Battle, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, said: “We're looking forward to working with local people and the RSPB, to continue to look after the Mersey Valley and help develop it for nature in the future.

"We want to encourage as many people as possible to get involved with this summer's events, whether it's by trying some exciting new activities, volunteering to help out, or by contributing their ideas."

The RSPB has already started talking to people and collecting information on site, using questionnaires - and will continue to do this until the summer, with both organisations keen to involve as many people as possible in the Mersey Valley vision.

Peter Robertson, RSPB Regional Director for Northern England, said: “I'm pleased the RSPB is returning to its roots to deliver this inspiring project. Recent studies have shown that Britain’s wildlife is in trouble but we know that together, people can make a difference; so we hope to work with the local community to help give nature a home, whether that’s taking action in their own homes or getting out and about in the valley, and lending a helping hand.

"Staggeringly, 60 per cent of Britain’s wildlife has decreased over the last 50 years, and more than 1 in 10 British species are threatened with extinction. In the same period, Britain has lost 44 million birds and 95 per cent of our hedgehogs have disappeared since the 1950s.

"Some shocking statistics have also revealed that children now spend less time playing outside and have less contact with nature than ever before. We believe that being connected with nature should be part of every child's life and through this partnership, we hope to enable this to happen.”
PRESS RELEASE ENDS

This is very exciting news! The RSPB is the UK's top nature conservation organisation and I'm sure that the Valley's wildlife will benefit enormously from their involvement.

Dave Bishop (FoCM Chair), 09.05.2014

Nature and Me

Recently, Manchester Museum have been undertaking a project called 'Nature and Me' (http://naturemanchester.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/tree2yourdoor-for-nature-and-me/).  Local people, who were known to be interested in Nature, were invited to make short films describing their passion for the subject. Participants wrote their own scripts and supplied photographs or other illustrations and the films were made and edited by persons skilled in that art. I took part in this project and was filmed last year, partly at Stockport College and partly in Chorlton. The Producer of my film was a gentleman named Didier DuBois.

This project is now complete and I have been told that a total of 42 films have been made. The project was launched one night last week at the Museum. If you visit the Zoology Gallery you can see all of the films running in continuous loops on three or four screens. For some reason my film, and one other, seem to have found their way on to You Tube; you can see mine here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O-odLKVJRA

Frankly, I find it a bit embarrassing watching myself on screen but others have told me that they enjoyed the film (Didier should have got someone else to play me though ... George Clooney or Tom Hanks, perhaps?).

Anyway, I bet mine's the only one to mention the 'Scarlet Peony of Constantinople'!


Dave Bishop, 10.03.2013

Re-scheduled Bat & Moth Night

Well, the evening of the Bat & Moth night turned out to be a bit 'moist'. Nevertheless, about ten (mad? dehydrated?) people turned up! Everyone seemed perfectly happy to stand around in the dark and the pouring rain, in a flooded car park, chatting about bats and moths - while the subjects of these conversations were sensibly tucked up in their little bat and moth beds. Eventually sense prevailed and we all went to the pub.

Obviously we didn't see any bats or moths that night ... well that's not entirely true because Ben Smart brought some moths in plastic boxes which we peered at by torchlight.

Later, in the (warm, dry) pub, we decided to re-schedule the evening. Details of the next, hopefully less moist, Bat & Moth night are as follows:

Date: Sunday 16th September

Time: 7:15 pm

Place: Ivy Green car park on Brookburn Road, Chorlton (opposite the bowling Green pub).

If you decide to attend, you may like to bring a torch with you.

Hope to see you there.

Dave Bishop (FoCM Chair)

Forthcoming Bat & Moth Night

Here's another outing for you - a nocturnal one this time!

BAT AND MOTH NIGHT Chorlton Ees & Ivy Green

Date: Saturday 25th August

Time: 8:15 pm

Meeting Place: Ivy Green car park, Brookburn Road, Chorlton (opposite the Bowling Green pub)

The plan is to wander along the bank of Chorlton Brook until we reach the river bank and then back to the car park. We will have bat detectors with us to pick up the ultra-high frequency bat calls.

On our return to the car park we will check a special moth trap with local moth expert, Ben Smart, to see how many species it has attracted (no moths will be harmed - hopefully!).

PLEASE BRING A TORCH WITH YOU.

Hope to see you there.

Best Regards,

Dave Bishop (FoCM Chair)

Forthcoming FoCM & 'Grey to Green' Events

Just a reminder (if you haven't put it in your diary yet) that FoCM's next event is a Butterfly walk with local butterfly expert, Peter Hardy.

Date: 5th August 2012

Time: 10:30 am - 1:30 pm

Meet: Ivy Green car park on Brookburn Road, Chorlton (opposite Bowling Green pub)

Another upcoming event is part of the Greater Manchester Local Record Centre's 'From Grey to Green' project:

Last year the Greater Manchester Local Records Centre (GMLRC), which is attached to the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU), submitted a bid to the National Heritage Lottery Fund - and the bid was successful. The resulting project, which will run for three years, is called 'From Grey to Green' and its aim is to encourage the people of Greater Manchester to appreciate and record the wildlife around them. I think that this is a very exciting development and that FoCM should be involved as much as possible.

The next 'Grey to Green' event is entitled 'Summer in Manchester' and will be led by Steve Atkins of GMLRC

Date: Saturday 18th August

Time: 10:30 am to 1:30 pm

Meet: Mersey Valley Visitors' Centre, Rifle Road, Sale.

Further events in this series will be entitled: 'Autumn in Manchester' and 'Winter in Manchester' and I will send out details in due course.

GMLRC will also be running a course entitled 'An Introduction to Wildlife Recording' at Manchester Museum on Oxford Road. There will be six sessions on the following dates: 8th Nov, 22nd Nov, 6th Dec, 10th Jan, 24th Jan, 7th Feb. All will be evening sessions from 6 pm to 8 pm. This course will be free - but you will need to book through Steve Atkins: stephen.atkins@tameside.gov.uk

Friends of Chorlton Meadows - Summer 2012 Events

Here are details of three events coming up in the next few weeks:

1. Sunday 8th July - Balsam Bash

Meet Chorlton Ees car park at 10:30 am

2. Sunday 15th July - Wild Flower Walk

Meet Chorlton Ees car park at 10:30 am

3. Sunday 5th August - Butterfly Walk with local Butterfly expert, Peter Hardy

Meet Ivy Green car park at 10:30 am

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ! :

There are two car parks for the Chorlton Ees and Ivy Green sites: Chorlton Ees car park is at the end of the cobbled road off Brookburn Road (between Brookburn Road Primary School and Chorlton Brook) and Ivy Green car park is on Brookburn Road itself (opposite the Bowling Green pub). This seems to cause endless confusion!  Please check the meeting point before setting off!  

For all events you may like to bring a packed lunch. You will also need to wear suitable footwear (boots or stout shoes) and dress for the weather.

The Wild Flower Walk has been organised by the MV Warden Service but will be led by Dave Bishop (FoCM Chair)

Dave Bishop, July 2012

Grey to Green Taster Session, Chorlton Ees

Last year the Greater Manchester Local Records Centre (GMLRC), which is attached to the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU), submitted a bid to the National Heritage Lottery Fund - and the bid was successful. The resulting project, which will run for three years, is called 'From Grey to Green' and its aim is to encourage the people of Greater Manchester to appreciate and record the wildlife around them. I think that this is a very exciting development and that FoCM should be involved as much as possible.

Initially Steve Atkins, of GMLRC, will run a taster session on Chorlton Ees - details below:

Wildlife taster session – Sat 2^nd June 10.30 to 12.30 at Chorlton Ees. This will be an introduction to the From Grey to Green project, explaining why it is important to record flora and fauna. There will be a walk around the local area demonstrating how the course will teach people to identify and record wildlife. The aim is to explain to people how they can contribute to protecting sites and conserving species through recording and to encourage people to sign up for future courses.

The meeting place will be Chorlton Ees car park which is at the end of the cobbled road off Brookburn Road, Chorlton (the entrance to the cobbled road is between Brookburn Road Primary School and Chorlton Brook).

More events are planned and I will let you know about them when details become available.

If you want to know more about the 'From Grey to Green' project, please contact Steve; his e-mail is: stephen.atkins@tameside.co.uk.

Dave Bishop (FoCM Chair)

Get fit in the outdoors - THIS SUNDAY (8th)

Blast awat those January blues and get the blood pumping while helping nature at the same time. Join the Friends of Chorlton Meadows as we help the ground flora of Ivy Green by removing some of the sapling regeneration along a strip of woodland between the nature reserve and the allotments.

Meet: Ivy Green Car Park, Brookburn Road, opposite the Bowling Green pub

Time: 10.30am

If you're late just follow the path to the right hand side of the reserve, if entering from Brookburn Road, and you'll see us.

Winter Bird Walk - wigeon and willow tit star

A blustery but bright morning at Sale Water park saw six novice bird watchers assemble and set off on a walk where we saw 31 different species of bird. Not bad for the local patch. Our first look at the bird feeders outside the centre revealed a surprise. Two willow tits and a woodpecker on the feeders. I get so used to seeing blue, great and even coal tits on the feeders that the dusky pinkish flanks and the bullish head of willow tit stood out from the crowd. We rambled on ticking off some of the usual suspects such as the greedy blackbirds gobbling hawthorn berries. The bright orange chest of a bullfinch was spotted by about half of us before darting for cover.

After a little detour we arrived at Sale Water Park which was lower than normal raising promise of seeing more wading birds and wildfowl than usual. Unfortunately, no waders but lots of teal, coots, black headed gulls and most exciting of all, a small flock of wigeon were preening themselves at the west end of the lake. We even saw two wagtails; the grey and the pied (one of our number evocatively described the pied wagtail as a 'midget magpie').

The view from Broad Ees Dole didn't disappoint either. Nine herons lined the bank on one side with scruffy and spikey splendour. Three shoveler ducks pirouetted their way round the pools filtering for microscopic life in the water and a gang of teal looked resplendent in the sun. No winter thrushes though which we all put down to the mild start to winter. All in all a great morning's birdwatching in the Mersey Valley.

Blackbird
Black-headed gull
Blue tit
Bullfinch
Canada goose
Carrion crow
Chaffinch
Coot
Cormorant
Goldfinch
Great crested grebe
Great spotted woodpecker
Great tit
Grey wagtail
Heron
Jay
Kestrel
Little grebe
Long-tailed tit
Magpie
Mallard
Moorhen
Mute swan
Pied wagtail
Robin
Shoveler
Sparrowhawk
Teal
Wigeon
Willow tit
Wood pigeon

Report on Insects of the Mersey Valley Walk, 03/07/2011

Glorious weather was met with a super turnout, one of the best I can recall for a FoCM event.

The numbers were boosted thanks to the joining of a group of MAD walkers, who tagged on as part of their programme.

Richard and I had chosen a variety of habitats and techniques to try. Indeed, when planning the walk, it was apparent that within not much more than a stone’s throw you could step from meadow, to scrub, to woodland and wetland habitat, all of which have their particular specialist ‘minibeasts’ in residence.

Our first challenge was to survey the ground level dwellers of grassland and scrub, our choice of location the old orchard by Jackson’s Boat Bridge, now well broken into and pedestrianised with footpaths.

A few days earlier we’d secreted around the orchard a few pit traps. These are fairly simple devices, comprising two plastic cups, the kind found on any water cooler, sunk into the ground. The reason for two is so that the inner cup can be removed from the ground smoothly without caving in the hole, which can then be reused for any longer term survey. We poured into each cup a small amount of an alcohol solution so as to quickly drown any fallers-in. Though seeming sound unkind, there is a sound reason for doing this, as in order to get a representative sample it is necessary to quickly stun or kill what happens to fall in. Without this, it is likely that all you’d be left with in the trap would be one fairly fat ground beetle: the top insect predator of the undergrowth, who would have happily fed on any lesser equipped species. Not that it was necessary as the days leading up to the walk were all very sunny, but we placed a piece of plexiglas over the top of the trap, secured into place with tent pegs and tilted at a angle to drain away any rain water from flooding the cup.

We quickly found all 6 traps hidden around the orchard and tipped out their contents into white plastic trays to better observe what we’d caught. All the traps contained some specimens, with most a spattering of small-sized representatives from the arachnids and springtails – two of the more common families which play an important dietary component to larger species. Equally enjoyable during this was the joining of our group of two or three unexpected insect guests, namely a common grasshopper and froghopper, both obligingly seated onto people’s coats, and in the case of the froghopper, onto the rim of the tray, making them easy to be caught in viewing pots.

One of the more impressive specimens, and something we’d hoped to catch, was a species of large ground beetle. The ground beetles are a numerous family, possibly containing many hundreds of species, their individual types only often separated through close observation of such things as the number hairs on their legs. One notable feature of the two we found is that they were all black, including their legs. Other species I’m familiar with, often from turning over logs or old carpet!, exhibit violet or black colourations to their legs or flanks – so, if anyone has any more exact information on the all black species we caught, please let us know.

The next stopping off point was the boggy drainage channel which connects the Mersey to Sale Water Park. This slow moving water is often left undisturbed, the sluice gates connecting it to the Mersey only rarely opened when the water levels get particularly high. As consequence, it’s a rich habitat for many invertebrates. Some of the star groups are the damsel and dragon flies that live out their lifecycles here – and sure enough, we observed in the reeds and grass around the channel a few examples of damsel flies, one of the most attractive a male banded demoiselle, replete with it dark thumb print on its wings.


We then took some scoops out of the channel using pond nets and tipped the contents into our trays. This is always an exciting process as it’s not everyday you come into contact with the invertebrate life of ponds, and when you do I’m always struck by the impressive size and alien shapes that thrive. Species which were observed ranged from leeches, molluscs, including a small fresh waster muscle, pond skaters and water boatmen. However, the best capture was arguably a large, silvery species of diving beetle – seen up close fierce and otherworldly looking.



We rounded off the walk with an exploration of the woodland habitat close to the visitor’s centre at Sale Water Park. Here we all got involved by turning over logs and seeing what we could see living among the dead wood. Slugs were particularly common, with one particularly large example of a leopard slug being particularly impressive. We also found woodlice, lots or millipedes and beetles, all of which play an important role in the breaking down and recycling organic material back into the soil.

Julian Robinson

Chorlton Open Gardens

Chorlton is full of talented and enthusiastic gardeners but their gardens are usually private places. Here's a rare opportunity to admire some of the best those gardens and, if you're an enthusiastic gardener yourself, to swap horticultural hints and tips.

It's also worth noting that gardens can be great places for wildlife - so who knows what birds, insects and other creatures you'll spot whilst visiting some of these little 'private paradises'?

For details of this scheme and how to book, see the flyer above.

Dave Bishop, April 2011

My Forthcoming Talk on South Manchester Plant Life

I've been invited to do a talk on the Plant Life of the Mersey Valley and South Manchester. The talk is hosted by the Friends of Chorlton Water Park at The Albert Bowling and Tennis Club, 39/42 Old Lansdowne Road, West Didsbury, on 19th April starting at 7:30 pm (it should last about an hour). Entry is free.

Because I retired a few years ago I've had the leisure to explore local plant life in more detail than I have been able to do before. A summary of my talk is given below:

Living plants are the foundation of our local biodiversity and they may provide clues to many historical aspects of our local area, for example:

- Former landscapes and habitats

- Former land uses

- Former economic and cultural practices (e.g. herbal medicine and cottage gardening).

Botanists from South Lancashire and Manchester have played a very important role in the development of both British and European Botany.
Many of the plants that the old botanists knew are (with a few exceptions) still to be found locally.

Dave Bishop, March 2011

Litter Picking on Ivy Green

Yesterday afternoon (Sunday, 27th March) a litter picking event was held on the Ivy Green part of the Chorlton Ees and Ivy Green Local Nature Reserve (that's the part north of Chorlton Brook). The event had been organised by the Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service in conjunction with FoCM.

We know that there's a lot of concern locally about litter but we were suprised, and very gratified, when 22 people turned up for this event! A fanatastic turn-out for what is not a very glamorous task.

In all between 45 to 50 black, plastic bin liners were filled with rubbish. Last month a smaller number of people filled 15 bags - so that's over 60 bags of assorted litter removed from the reserve in a month.

Mainly the litter consisted of:

- Plastic soft drinks bottles.

- Beer, cider and soft drinks cans.

- Beer and spirits bottles.

- Plastic bags - the most unpleasant of these being those containing dog faeces.

- Discarded clothing.

- Various scraps of wood, cloth and paper.

- Miscellaneous 'stuff' - the most surprising being a part of a steel exercise machine and a small safe which had been prised open!

Sadly, among all of the responsible people who enjoy our precious green spaces, there's a sizeable minority of anti-social people who spoil it for everyone else. No doubt, if challenged, those people would whinge about there not being enough litter bins - but they should bear in mind that it costs money to empty bins, and if there were a bin every few yards, I doubt that such selfish idiots would use them.

I must also add that looking at the types of litter picked up it's fairly obvious which types of users are the main culprits.

Over the last few years the local authorities have prioritised access to the Meadows over everything else. But they have to realise that giving priority to access is a 'two-edged sword'. On the one hand it is a good thing that more people are now enjoying the countryside on their doorstep. But every population contains anti-social elements and these people also now have increased access to our Meadows and are threatening to spoil things for the responsible majority. I think that the local authorities are themselves guilty of irresponsibility over this and they are now compounding the problem by cutting the Warden Service even further. FoCM are not happy at the prospect of having to do even more litter picking - that's not why we formed in the first place! If you are as concerned about litter as we are please ensure that you complain long and hard to the Council.

Dave Bishop, March 2011

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A reminder for this coming Sunday’s Birdwatching For Beginners (winter migrants) walk

On Sunday 21st November 2010, Friends of Chorlton Meadows members will be leading a Birdwatching For Beginners walk. It is a free two-hour walk around Chorlton Meadows and Sale Water Park, with the intention of getting beginners young and old into birdwatching.



FoCM members will be on hand to point out any winter visitors and other birds that make their home in this beautiful mixture of grassland, woodland and water habits.

Timetable For The Day
9.45 – 10.00 Meet at Mersey Valley Visitors' Centre, Rifle Road, Sale (near Sale Water Park).
10.00 Introduction, housekeeping and walk plans
10.05 Walk along Sale Water Park to bird hide at Broad Ees Dole nature reserve
10.35 From Broad Ees Dole along River Mersey to Chorlton Ees
11.15 Walk around Chorlton Ees and Chorlton Meadows to Jackson’s Boat
12:00 Arrive back at Visitors’ Centre for final review and dispersal

Bring binoculars if you can, though some provided by Friends of Chorlton Meadows members will be available on the day.

Report (rather late!) on the Birdwatching For Beginners walk on 6th June 2010

12 hardy people attended this event, taking place on a drizzly Sunday around Sale Water Park and Chorlton Meadows. The walk encompassed a variety of habitats around this diverse part of the Mersey Valley.

FoCM member John Agar had arranged for the feeders outside the visitors’ centre at Sale to be topped up with food, and, sure enough, his foresight paid dividends as, waiting for everyone to arrive, we were lucky enough to watch a Greater Spotted Woodpecker repeatedly come to take food. This gave us all a chance to test out our binoculars, many of which loaned to us by the Mersey Valley and Countryside Warden Service. Thanks again to them for their assistance on the day.

We set off towards the dipping pond adjacent to the visitors’ centre, pausing along the platform to take in the terrain over the marsh. As if on cue, soon after our arrival, we were treated to the sight of a Kestrel appearing overhead and taking up its distinctive hunting behaviour by hovering above the marsh, only a few feet above us. Even better, we witnessed it make a successful kill, a few of the mammal knowledgeable among us even able to identify the prey dangling from its talons as a short-tailed field vole, which the Kestrel took to a nearby tree to eat. This was a wonderful piece of luck (for us, not the vole!), and goes to show you never know what you’ll see, even on what at first seemed like a wet day, low on promise.

Our walk continued along the brook towards Sale Water Park, from the banks of which we added to our list a Sedge Warbler, betrayed to us by its messy trilling call. Our patience paid off as we were also able to catch glimpses of this elusive bird as it volleyed in and out of cover.

Around the lake we added many more species, including Lapwings, Little Grebes and a family of Mute Swans by the bird hide at Broad Ees Dole.

Our final stretch took us through Chorlton Ees, some of the eagle-eyed among us picking out from nearby woodland a number of Herons hidden among the branches. This was the Heronry, a place where Herons nest and breed, and one of Chorlton Meadow’s ornithological jewels. The more we looked, the more we saw, including one posing at the top of a Larch, silhouetted against the sky analogous more to a mango grove than a beauty spot 2 miles outside the city centre!


Our final ‘star’ species was the Reed Warbler, singing constantly from cover in the reed beds at the heart of the meadows. Hearing this bird’s repetitive and chirring song, as opposed to the more variable song of the Sedge Warbler, enabled us to put our ears to the test and appreciate that for many bird species it’s the aural realm where they’re best admired. A few of us saw the bird occasionally flit through the reeds, but it largely remained in cover, brilliantly camouflaged against last year’s dead reed stems.

For more information on the birds in and around Manchester, pay a visit to the Manchester Birding website, where, among many gems, you can find up-to-date records for what’s been seen in and around Chorlton Meadows:

http://www.manchesterbirding.com/

A complete list of birds we saw on the day.

Blackbird - Sale Visitor Centre
Black-headed Gull - Broad Ees Dole
Blue Tit - Sale Visitor Centre
Canada Goose - Broad Ees Dole
Carrion Crow - various locations
Chaffinch - Cow Lane
Chiffchaff - Broad Ees Dole/River Mersey
Coot - various locations
Cormorant - flying east to west towards Sale
Goldfinch - Stretford Ees/Turn Moss
Great Spotted Woodpecker - Sale Visitor Centre
Great Tit - Sale Visitor Centre
Greenfinch - Hardy Farm
Herons and Heronry - Broad Ees Dole, Chorlton Ees
House Martin - Stretford Ees/Turn Moss
Kestrel (successful kill) - Sale Visitor Centre
Lapwing - Broad Ees Dole and Stretford Ees
Little Grebe - Broad Ees Dole
Long-tailed Tit - Broad Ees Dole/River Mersey
Magpie - various locations
Mallard - Sale Water Park
Moorhen - Various locations
Reed Bunting - Sale Water Park and Chorlton Ees
Reed Warbler - Chorlton Ees
Robin - Cow Lane
Sedge Warbler - Sale Visitor Centre
Song Thrush (star singer!) - Stretford Ees/Turn Moss
Swallow - Mersey overflow
Swan with 6 signets - Sale Water Park
Swift - Stretford Ees/Turn Moss

Julian Robinson, August 2010

A reminder for this coming Sunday’s Birdwatching For Beginners walk

On Sunday 6th of June 2010, Friends of Chorlton Meadows members will be leading a Birdwatching For Beginners walk. It is a free two-hour walk around Chorlton Meadows and Sale Water Park, with the intention of getting beginners young and old into birdwatching.

FoCM members will be on hand to point out any summer visitors and other birds that make their home in this beautiful mixture of grassland, woodland and water habits.

Timetable For The Day

9.45 – 10.00 Meet at Mersey Valley Visitors' Centre, Rifle Road, Sale (near Sale Water Park).
10.00 Introduction, housekeeping and walk plans
10.05 Walk along Sale Water Park to bird hide at Broad Ees Dole nature reserve.
10.35 From Broad Ees Dole along River Mersey to Chorlton Ees.
11.15 Walk around Chorlton Ees and Chorlton Meadows to Jackson’s Boat.
12:00 Arrive back at Visitors’ Centre for final review and dispersal.

Bring binoculars if you can, though some provided by the Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service will be available on the day.

Task and Events Summer 2010

Friends of Chorlton Meadows Task and Events Summer 2010.

Task/Event
Search for Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars of Hardy Farm with Ben Smart.
Date
Sunday 23rd May.
Time
10:00 am.
Meet
Entrance to Hardy Farm at the end of Hardy Lane, Chorlton.

Task/Event
Fern Walk with the British Pteridological Society (the Fern Society).
Date
Saturday 29th May 2010.
Time
10:30 am.
Meet
Chorlton Water Park car park (end of Maitland Avenue).

Task/Event
*Story Walk with Ingrid Burney and Dave Bishop (this is a Chorlton Arts Festival Event).
Date
Sunday 30th May 2010.
Time
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.
Meet
Ivy Green Road Entrance to Ivy Green (Not Ivy Green car park on Brookburn Road).

Task/Event
Bird-watching for Beginners with Julian Robinson.
Date
Sunday 6th June.
Time
9:45 am – noon.
Meet
Mersey Valley Visitors’ Centre, Rifle Road, Sale.

Task/Event
*Historic Uses for Wild Plants – A Walk Led by Dave Bishop.
Date
Sunday 27th June 2010.
Time
10:30 am – 1:00 pm.
Meet
Chorlton Ees Car Park.

Other events are in the planning stage. We’ll be doing more Himalayan Balsam pulling - as this was quite successful last year. We’re also planning a bee walk (probably also in June) and another moth and bat walk (which will be an evening event in early September). More information is in the Mersey Valley Summer Events Programme: www.merseyvalley.org.uk

IMPORTANT:

Please make a careful note of the venues.

The Chorlton Ees Car Park is at the end of the cobbled Road off Brookburn Road (by the side of Brookburn Road Primary School).

The Ivy Green Road Entrance is about three quarters of the way down Ivy Green Road on the left hand side just past Edward Avenue.

The Hardy Lane Entrance is at the end of Hardy Lane, Chorlton.

The Chorlton Water Park Car Park is at the end of Maitland Avenue (off Barlow Moor Road).

For some tasks and events you may wish to bring a packed lunch. You will also need to wear suitable footwear (boots or wellies) and dress for the weather.

* Note that some of these events are also included on the Mersey Valley Summer Events 2010 Programme

OTHER CONTACTS
Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service
Website: www.merseyvalley.org.uk
Email: info@merseyvalley.org.uk
Chorlton Water Park: tel. 0161 881 5639
Sale Visitors’ Centre: tel. 0161 905 1100
Dave Bishop (FoCM Chair): tel. 0161 881 6276; mobile: 07947535691 (voice calls only, please!)

Fern Walk with the BPS

The British Pteridological Society (BPS) is the society for anyone interested in Ferns ('Pteridophytes'). I recently joined this society and when I casually mentioned to other members that I had found around 18 species of Ferns in the vicinity of Chorlton Meadows they were very surprised and suggested that this is a very good total - especially in a semi-urban area.

As a result I've been asked to lead a walk which, I hope, will take in as many of the local Ferns as possible. The details of this walk are as follows:

Meeting Point: Chorlton Water Park car park (at the end of Maitland Avenue, Chorlton).

Date: Saturday 29th May 2010

Time: 10:30 am (until approx. 2:30 to 3:00 pm)

My co-leader on the walk will be Dr Yvonne Golding - who is General Secretary of the BPS. As well as being a Fern enthusiast Yvonne is a professional Entomologist and she tells me that she has conducted research on Hoverflies around Chorlton and Sale Water Parks.

The walk is open to non-members of the Society, but if you would like to join us could you please email me beforehand (at davegbishop@aol.com) so that I can get some idea of numbers.

Posted by Dave Bishop, 30th April 2010

Sunday's Volunteers' Day Cancelled

We've decided to cancel Sunday's Volunteers' Day because of the weather (we don't think that it's going to get any warmer!). So see you all in January.

Actually, speaking of January, John Agar and I are going for a walk on New Year's Day (just a gentle-ish stroll to fettle us after the festivities). If you'd like to join us we're meeting at 12:30 at the Ivy Green car park on Brookburn Road. A 'de-brief' in a pub might well be in order afterwards.

Dave Bishop, December 2009

Noticeboard

Some of you may have noticed that the Chorlton Ees and Ivy Green Nature Reserve is now equipped with a brand new noticeboard. If you haven't yet seen it, it's sited at the entrance to the Brookburn Road car park.

The front of the board gives some general information about the reserve and the rear of the board (viewable from the adjacent path) gives some information about our Friends group. Here you can find out how to join the group, if you're not already a member, and details of upcoming volunteers' days. We also hope to add information and photographs of interesting wildlife that might be encountered on the reserve at particular times of year.

Manchester City Council supplied us with a grant to purchase the board with and the Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service installed it; we are grateful to both of these organisations for their support. The front of the board was designed by Rachel Costigan and Alex Krause, formerly of MVCWS. Rachel and Alex have both now moved on to other posts but we would also like to thank them for their input.

Finally, much thanks must go to John Agar (FoCM Treasurer) who went to a great deal of trouble to make this happen.

Dave Bishop, November 2009