Page 31 - BR May 2023

May 2023 May 2023

BERE REGIS WILDLIFE AND
BERE REGIS ENVIRONMENT GROUP
SURGERY NEWS

May is a month of blooming. The early signs of spring
May Bank holiday closures are past, gone for another year. But, May brings a
fullness of new growth, with everything seeming to be
The surgery will be closed on the following hurrying along towards summer. The local woods are
Monday bank holidays. now awash with the wonderful colour of bluebells. The
We will re-open at 08.30 on Tuesday Hawthorn (also known as May)bushes are in blossom.
following the bank holiday And, the dawn chorus is at its best this month, with resident birds defending their
territories and newly arrived migrants establishing theirs. Hopefully, you’ll have
If you need medical assistance whilst we are closed, please phone 111 seen newly arrived swallows and house martins during April and maybe heard the
If you have a medical emergency phone 999 call of the migrant chiffchaffs. May sees the arrival of the last migrant species –
Monday 1 May, re-open Tuesday 2 May swifts will hopefully reappear in the village. It is a real treat to hear swifts
nd
st
screaming through the early evening skies or spotting them high up searching for
Monday 8 May, re-open Tuesday 9 May insects on warm days.
th
th
Monday 29 May, re-open Tuesday 30 May 2023
th
th
Bee-Fly

Spring COVID vaccinations
During the spring you may well see
Patients eligible for the Spring COVID vaccinations will be contacted directly by these charming little insects, often
Dorset Healthcare who are facilitating these vaccinations. There will be mistaken for bees. They frequent
appointments available at Wareham Hospital as before. Please don’t contact gardens and may be seen in the
the Surgery about your appointment as we are no longer involved with the clinics churchyard. They have similar fur and
shape to a bee, hence its name. But

they are one of several hundred or more
Hay fever species of flies. They have a straight
swordfish type of proboscis (insect
We will soon be getting into hay fever season. Below are some self-help tips from tongue) which they hover and prod into
the NHS: a nectar source - see picture of one
It's sometimes possible to prevent the symptoms of hay fever by taking some feeding from a celandine. However,
basic precautions. there is a darker side to this little fly. The female bee-fly flicks her eggs into the
nest holes of solitary bees and when the larvae hatch they become parasitic on
 wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting in your eyes when the solitary bee larvae so a Bee-Fly hatches out rather than the solitary bee!
you're outdoors
 take a shower and change your clothes after being outdoors to remove Mayflies
the pollen on your body
Another flying insect makes its appearance in May – the Common Mayfly, also
 stay indoors when the pollen count is high (over 50 grains per cubic metre known as the Green Drake Mayfly. It can be found along the Bere Stream. The
of air) Common, Mayfly is one of 51 species of mayfly in the UK, and (despite its name)
 apply a small amount of Vaseline (petroleum gel) to the nostrils to trap may be seen throughout the summer. Mayflies are common around freshwater
wetlands, from fast-flowing rivers to still lakes. Their larvae spend their lives
pollen

70 31