Hello Everyone, Whilst we expected April showers during last month we weren’t prepared for a cold and cloudy month with little sunshine to enjoy and despite the great efforts of many volunteers, the transect results for Week 4 were exceedingly poor with at least 46 sites of the 70 sites that were actually walked having zero counts – it can best be summed up by Mike & Mavis Allen and Brian & Jean Hallam who informed me that this week was their first Nil count in 10 years of transect walking!
At least the Orange Tip was trying to lift spirits with most observations last week being of this species in the County although a few Holly Blues were seen with sightings at Chesterfield (Andrew Woodhouse), Swarkestone (Mark Dewhirst), New Sawley (Roger Martin), Hilton (Wayne Cooper) and on the 25th of April 2024 in the Allestree garden of Pat & Ken Orpe. A couple of Speckled Woods were noted at Ball Eye Quarry, Bonsall (Dave & Sue Evans) on the 21st of April 2024, which is at the southern end of the Peak District.
However the big news this week is that a huge swath of woodlands is being destroyed on a hillside above Matlock by a Government Agency due to larches being infected with Phytophthora Ramorum. Apparently It’s standard practice to fell and remove infected stands as soon as this disease is confirmed as it infects not only larch but native species such as oak, beech and about a dozen others including Bilberry. What is disappointing though is the fact the work is being carried out during the nesting season for birds including Schedule 1 birds and what will be left after all the tree felling has been completed will resemble a Battlefield from the Somme. So much for protecting the Countryside!
In contrast, on the positive side, Butterfly Conservation East Midlands have been working with the Owner of West Hallam Ash Tip in creating a fenced off part of the site to enable cattle to be put into a wilderness area over next winter to clear scrub and bramble so as to create mosaic grasslands for the Dingy Skipper (have a look at the attached photos to see what can be achieved)
Many thanks to all the concerned members of the fantastic group of volunteers who offered help with information and links to various webpages with information on logging and birds nesting – I really appreciate your help and concerns – let’s hope that the destruction of the wood mentioned above will prevent Phytophthora from spreading elsewhere in the County.
Although the temperature is likely to rise in week 5 of the transect season, the forecast for the first 10 days of May 2024 is not great but at least there will be some sun and the rain should be warmer and hopefully most volunteers will be rewarded for their efforts.
