Saturday Morning Sunshine
A rare Saturday morning work party drew six volunteers to East Beckham Common in beautiful sunshine – after days of either icy or foggy or windy weather. But even on so gorgeous a morning, the wind at the top of the Common was keen and didn’t encourage much hanging around. While Nigel, Pete R and Peter M carried out tree care duties – removing grass, stabilising bamboos – Nick scythed a little and cut back brambles; David H dug a trench to carry more water into the pond; and Val did a bit of tree care, cut back some overhanging branches and checked the boundaries.
After a coffee break, Nigel and Peter took off for Aylmerton Surveyor’s Allotment, where they de-brambled the entrance path and checked the site for fallen trees, finding one freshly fallen Silver Birch leaning precariously high up in another tree – a potential candidate for chainsaw work. While we were there, a Muntjac left the undergrowth and sprinted off over the field to the north of the site; and a Wren, unused to human interruption, issued loud alarm calls.
Back at East Beckham, an area of brambles and Bracken was cleared to make way for spring flowers. In the background, a Great Tit was singing its see-saw song, announcing that spring will be here soon! Don’t forget National Nest Box Week – February 14th-21st.
Our next work party is at Hindolveston on Thursday February 6th. It will be good to see how things are there after quite a long interval.
Peter Maingay
January 25th 2025
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