24 Members present. Apologies received from Norman Clyde-Watson, John Appleton, Geoff and Doreen Smith.
Sheila Hardy reported for on behalf of the Chairman
Matters arising
- Winter and spring work sessions had been well attended with completion of re-seeding of wild flower areas and creation of a new path as well as the annual litter pick which pleasantly produced less litter than in previous sessions.
- The two Nature Reserves will be judged for the Green Pennant Award on Tuesday 1 June when it is hoped the areas will look their best.
There were no other notices so then Sheila introduced Nigel Salter who captivated members with slides and recordings of garden bird songs. An obvious enthusiast and very knowledgeable about his subject, we were introduced to Robins, Owls, Chaffinchs, Chiff Chaffs and many more. No excuse to ignore the dawn chorus in future!
In passing we learned that:-
- Male birds sing to attract a mate and also to define territory.
- Female Robins sing in the winter months.
- Blue Tits can digest cream, but not milk which is why they no longer attack milk bottle tops.
- The 9 million pet cats can kill 92million birds in only 5 months - they are the biggest reason for the loss of birds. Nigel's advice is to keep the cat in at night, and preferably all day as well
Refreshments were served at the interval
Sheila thanked Nigel for his stunning photos and his entertaining talk
The meeting closed at 9:00pm
The Friends are always looking for extra pairs of hands to help out or to simply support their work, so...
- to find out when the next work session will take place, click here, or
- to find out about becoming a member please contact us here, or
- to discover what goes into managing the sites click here.
