Page 34 - br-dec-2022

December 2022 December 2022

As we entered the cool,
BERE REGIS WILDLIFE AND
clear water I could feel the
tingling salty water rising up ENVIRONMENT GROUP
my legs. First ankle deep,
then up to my knees and
then my thighs. At this point I We have been treated to some marvellous Autumn
mentally count to 10 and colours this year. By now the vast majority of tree
dive straight into the water. leaves will have fallen. Despite the winter months
ahead of us, look closely and you will see some
hopeful signs of next year’s Spring – one of the most
obvious being the small developing catkins on hazel
trees.
It’s a wonderful feeling and truly liberating. The birds and mammals that remain active through the winter need food and
I have seen swimmers gradually immerse water more than ever. If you have a garden please put out a bird feeder – it is
themselves and to me it looks like torture. always a joy to spot the birds enjoying an easy meal. Water is just as important as
The rest followed and for the first couple of food to birds and mammals, especially during periods of frosts. So, please ensure
hundred metres they have to play catch - there is unfrozen water available in a bird bath and at ground level. Seed heads
up. from the summer’s flowers are a good food source for some birds. There is real
benefit to wildlife by leaving or piling up leaf litter in the flower beds. It provides
Dave and Les then as usual ploughed cover for insects which in turn is another food source for birds and mammals whilst
ahead with the rest of us bringing up the suppressing weeds and, in time, the leaf litter will rot down and enrich the soil. It’s
rear. Well Dave is a fit young man of 58 and Les is not much older! These days, I a win win for all!
refuse to take myself too seriously. I am the old boy of the group – but it still gets to
me when I am taken by the arm and told very kindly “you are doing very well” Pic
Acorns
The swim down to Sheps Hollow took us around 15/20 minutes. We passed
hundreds of brightly coloured beach huts lining the beach. The occasional early This autumn has been a bumper one for acorns, known as a ‘mast year’ for oak
morning stroller ambled by. When I breathed to my right, I got the occasional trees. The nature of the seasons will have influenced this with great conditions for
glimpse of the Isle of Wight standing regally in the distance. On the skyline I could pollination in the spring producing more abundant numbers of acorns. Some
see the occasional motor boat or yacht mast. acorns have also dropped earlier than normal which was caused by the hot, dry
summer. If you are out and about you’ll still notice plenty underfoot. So, why not
On and on we swam towards our
destination. We encountered the pick some up and try going them on into oak saplings for plenty out in a year or
occasional patch of seaweed: was that a two. An easy way to get good germination is to put the acorns in a plastic bag
with some damp soil or compost and leave them there until March. Then, when
crab scrambling sideways? Small fish darted you open up the bag you should notice small shoots extending from the acorn.
hither and thither. Every couple of hundred They are then ready to plant out in a nursery bed. You can plant them quite
yards we would pass the wooden groynes closely as they will be dug up in a year or two for replanting in their final positions.
which protects the beach from erosion from
the sea.

When we all got there it was time to re- Wasps
group and have a short chat “That was a OK, they may not be your favourite insect especially when they are buzzing
cold patch halfway. Did you see that big around and annoying you whilst having a late summer or autumn picnic! But,
barrel jelly fish?”, that sort thing. Then we they are an important part of our ecosystem, both as pollinators and pest
were off again, striking out for home. The controllers.
swim back always seems shorter but in

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