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Countryman
Diary - May 2007
The Dawn Chorus
You either greet it with great joy or put a
pillow over your head and try to get back to sleep… yes,
it’s time for the dawn chorus which in late April and early
May tends to reach its crescendo. Migrant male birds returning
to the UK and resident males will spend weeks singing their hearts
out to defend a territory and attract a female. There’s
even an International Dawn Chorus Day – Sunday 6 May – conceived
by the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country.
From the two-note cuckoo to the tiny wren,
with its 740 notes, a dawn chorus can be heard not just in the
countryside but all over Britain. Personally I find it uplifting
and will gladly leave the bedroom window open for the concert
to wake me each morning. This year many National Trust properties
are setting the alarm clocks early to cater for those wanting
to witness the chorus away from home. There are guided walks
available, too (booking advisable). Highlights include: Sunday
6 May – Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. 01353 720274.
Sunday 6 May – River Wey Navigations
and Dapdune Wharf, Surrey. 01483 561389. Wednesday 9 May – Sizergh,
Cumbria. 015935 60951. Saturday 12 May – Montacute, Somerset.
01935 823289. Saturday 12 May – Lanhydrock, Cornwall. 01208
265950. Saturday 12 May – Greenway, Devon. 01803 842382.
Saturday 12 May – Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire. 01765 608888.
Saturday 12 May and Sunday 13 May – Calke Abbey, Derbyshire.
01332 863822. Sunday 13 May – Longshaw Estate, Derbyshire.
01433 631708. Sunday 27 May – Attingham Park, Shropshire.
01743 708162.
There are plenty of trust properties you can
visit under your own steam such as Kinver Edge in Staffordshire,
Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, Dovedale in Derbyshire, Leigh
Woods in Bristol, Rodborough Common in Gloucestershire, Shervage
Woods on the Quantock, Cotehele in Cornwall, Alderley Edge in
Cheshire, Formby in Lancashire, Borrowdale Woods in Cumbria and
Coniston in Cumbria.
More information can be found at www.nationaltrust.org.uk
or by calling 0870 4584000 www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/urbanwt/idcdsite
A number of guided walks have also been organised
by the National Forest Company (NFC), including: Rosliston Forestry
Centre, Saturday 5 May from 5-7:30am, 01283 535 039; Calke Abbey
on Saturday 12 May and Sunday 13 May, 01332 863 822. The NFC
publish a pack of walks from 3-22 miles through ancient forest
and new woodland.
Contact the NFC on 01283 551211, email: discover@nationalforest.org or
TICs throughout the National Forest
Counting on the plover
Scientists working for the British Trust for
Ornithology (BTO) are appealing for help with three surveys this
spring and summer. Anyone who watches birds on the coast or at
gravel pits can take part. Two plover species – ringed
plover and little ringed plover (pictured by Lawrence G Baxter) – will
be the focus of this attention. Their two main habitats are beaches
and machair (the sandy grassland areas that occur on windswept
Scottish islands), though they also frequent inland gravel pits
and river shingle. There is concern about populations nesting
on beaches, where rising sea levels and increasing visitor numbers
are making life tough for this smart little wading bird. This
will be the first national survey since 1984. Greg Conway of
the BTO said: “Ringed plovers rely upon camouflage for
protection, hoping that their clutch of eggs will be mistaken
for pebbles. Sadly, this makes it all too easy for an unsuspecting
beach-walker to trample on a nest. The species is also threatened
in areas where rising sea levels are reducing the width of beaches.
The survey will aim to find out the present numbers of ringed
plovers and how the species is faring in different habitats.”
Time to cherish mill tradition
Over the weekend of 12-13 May more than 400
of the country’s wind- and watermills will be open to the
public as part of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
(SPAB) National Mills Weekend – an event which celebrates
Britain’s milling heritage. With questions about sustainable
energy and interest in where our food comes from, traditional
wind and watermills may provide some of the answers. All over
the country families and individuals will be able to visit a
variety of mills that have harnessed natural power for centuries.
Many mills, from Little Salkeld in Cumbria to Lyme Regis in Dorset,
have in recent years opened bakeries where visitors can sample
the produce made from the flour which is usually grown locally
as well. More than thirty mills nationwide are run commercially,
these include Mapledurham in Oxfordshire, with its unique lady
miller, and Maud Foster Windmill in Boston – probably the
finest working windmill in the country. For a book giving details
of which mills are open to the public call SPAB on 020 73771644.
Help fight cancer by walking
BBC broadcaster and Macmillan supporter Clare
Balding is encouraging everyone to get out in the fresh air this
spring to hold an event for Walk Wonders. Walking enthusiast
Clare comments: “Join me and thousands of others this May
and hold your own Walk Wonders event to help us to raise £1
million for Macmillan Cancer Support. It’s a great excuse
to spend time with friends and family of all ages on a springtime
stroll, while helping improve the lives of people living with
cancer.” It doesn’t matter which date in May, or
where people choose to stroll. Anyone who registers will receive
a free npower pedometer. Call the hotline on 0845 6021490, or
register online at www.macmillan.org.uk/walk,
and for inspiration, fifty free walking routes can be downloaded
from www.go4awalk.com
Paul Jackson |
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