Volunteers

We had a very successful children's activity here at Thornham Walks yesterday. Around 35 children built bat boxes from kits to take home and put up in the garden. We also provided a fact sheet on the best place to site a box and how to encourage bats into your garden, (plant night-scented flowers such as Evening Primrose to attract moths if you are interested).

We have two volunteer teams meeting on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We are looking to boost numbers on our Wednesday team so if you are interested please get in touch. The work is very varied. In the winter months we may be planting new hedges:

During the summer we manage a variety of wildlife sites such as wildflower meadows and churchyards:

Or it could be creating or managing wildlife ponds:

If you are interested in joining the Wednesday team please give my colleague Tim Page a call on 01379 788008. He will be able to give you a lot more information on future tasks and would be delighted to hear from you.

Birds seem to be singing everywhere now that we have some milder weather. At Thornham the Great Spotted Woodpeckers are busy drumming away and Nuthatches are singing from the tops of oak trees.

Homes for Bats

I have been away for a week in the snowy Peak District. After the snows we have floods with water flowing everywhere today. Despite the coldest winter for many years there are signs of life. Snowdrops are looking at their best at the moment and should last for another couple of weeks if the cold weather sticks around.

Hazel bushes are beginning to flower, especially those in sheltered south-facing spots. The yellow catkins are lengthening and releasing their pollen. If you look closely on the twigs you will see the tiny red female flowers ready to receive the pollen and grow on as hazel nuts.

Next week is half-term and we are holding our first children's activity of the year with Thornham staff. The bat-box building activity will be held here at Thornham Walks on Monday 16th February at 2pm. It is aimed at 5 to 11 year olds and the cost is £3 a child with accompanying adults free. We will be building bat boxes from kits and the boxes can either be put up at Thornham or taken home for an additional £3. Please call me on 01379 788008 for more information.

We have lots of bats around here including these Long-eared Bats: