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June 2022 June 2022

POETRY CORNER WILD WOODBURY

Narcolepsy Over the past month at Wild Woodbury there has been a lot of change. With
vegetation growing and many species breeding across the site, we are no longer
seeing an area of bare ground from hedge to hedge, but instead, we are
Extrapolating theories on the humdrum and mundane, welcomed with the humming of invertebrates, singing birds and colour popping
Can sometimes be a trigger to the mind. up in every field. Carpets of Field Pansy, towers of Thistle and swathes of Winter
When mental relaxation takes the links out of the chain, Mint and Charlock have been drawing the eye, taking advantage of the bare
soil and brightening up the landscape. These, along with many other plants, will
And cohesive thinking processes unwind, be providing vital protection and food for many species on site and will hopefully
Then the wave just sucks her under. She is powerless to resist, be attracting lots of new ones too.
As the numbness oozes through each gland and pore. At the beginning of May I carried out the first mist-netting session at Wild
No-one really minds much when the lady falls asleep, Woodbury, along with members from Stour Ringing Group, to help survey the bird
But they only wish to God, she wouldn’t snore. populations on site. These are in addition to the winter bird ringing we were doing
for species such as Woodcock, Snipe and Jack Snipe. It was a successful session
with 20 birds ringed, including 4 Yellowhammer (pictured), all of which looked to
The seductive pull of dreamland will beckon from be breeding on site – excellent news! If you are walking around Wild Woodbury
somewhere, and happen to see a bird with a small metal ring on its leg, it’s likely to be one
As a narcoleptic yawn becomes a chasm. that we ringed during this session!
Things evade the grasp of logic, to beckon from somewhere, We ring birds to gain valuable
information about migration
And the effort is too much to fight the spasm. patterns and move men ts ,
For why, who knows the reason, but resistance won’t avail, population numbers and breeding
As the senses send a shockwave to the core. success. This data enables changes
No-one really minds much when the lady falls asleep, (population decline, for example)
to be seen, and conservation
But they only wish to God, she wouldn’t snore. measures to be put in place to aid
the bird's survival.
It isn’t just a case of burning candles at both ends. We’ve also recently had the first
Sometimes a deficit of sleep is not the cause. moth trapping session on site of the
Even on a straight day when there are no curves or bends, year. Joined by two of my
colleagues, we put out two moth
The woman will take time to have a pause. traps and crossed our fingers for an interesting catch. All this initial data is of
She will bow her head just slightly, then she’ll tilt it to one side, course interesting, be it good or bad, so we know what our starting point is for the
As metaphorically she shuts a bedroom door. site, but we were certainly hoping this would be good! When morning came, we
No-one really minds much when the lady falls asleep, started going through and identifying all the moths, getting to a total of 100+
But they only wish to God, she wouldn’t snore. moths of 41 different species. A modest, but very positive, start for the site
(especially when we’re only in May). The biggest surprise of the morning was an
Paul J Openshaw Emperor moth (pictured) in one of the traps!
In conjunction with species surveys, I have been doing further work with local
schools on site, focussing on floral surveying and looking at Wood Mice burrows.
They have been excellent to work with and I am looking forward to them

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