A second bench
Members have continued to hold regular work parties and much has been achieved. Thinning of the trees has allowed the canopy to open letting light through to lower levels, hopefully encouraging a greater variety of feeding and nesting opportunities for animals and for diversity of flora. The bluebells planted during the autumn had their inaugural bloom adding colour and perfume to the area along with the flowering Cow Parsley hopefully these bulbs will multiply in years to come.
Three benches have now been positioned close to the wildflower meadow and have been welcomed by the local community. The meadow is in full growth and has encouraged a range of butterflies and insects to the area – a first sighting of the Orange-tip butterfly was seen in May and Marbled White and Small Skipper have also been seen recently as well as the more familiar butterflies. Once again the members will survey the numbers for the national Big Butterfly Count on Sunday 27th July between 12noon and 1:30pm and a general tidy up is planned for the same time.
Following the success of last year’s Bat walk, the Friends decided to contribute to the National Sunset Bat Survey by holding monthly Twilight Bat Walks, the first being Friday 27th June. It was a beautiful evening, ideal for this walk. Again this was well attended and with the aid of the recently purchased bat detectors several bats were seen much to the delight of those present. Our next Twilight Bat Walk is on Saturday 26th July meet in the clearing at 9pm. (weather permitting)
For more information visit our website: http://montefiorewoodland.org.uk
