It’s not been the driest of task days today… but to the 6 volunteers who turned out his morning.
We were clearing up the springheads area (Dalby’s water supply) and removing the build up of leaf litter in the compound.
The before and after photos don’t really do the task justice but we also show the spoil heap with Jim for scale! It was a satisfying task which despite the low turnout we pretty much completed. Thank you to the Courtyard Cafe for the very much appreciated hot drinks at breaktime!
It was crisp and autumnal this morning and we had a great turnout to our work task. We returned to complete some regen clearance from some archaeological earthworks – a task we started last year. Very satisfying and we welcomed new volunteers Nicola and Dave too!
Quite a misty morning in the forest today. We were clearing some renegeneration to make the most of the views from Jerry Noddle – some new volunteers took some convincing there was a view at all. It did start to clear up after every one had left of course!
There were a lot of very hot and sticky FoDFers at the work task this morning!
We were removing sycamore regeneration from a wet woodland site that is designated an SSSI (because of a beautiful little snail). Thankfully we were under the tree canopy although the dense undergrowth added to the jungle feel. Definitely one of the sweatiest tasks we’ve ever done!
It was a split work task this morning so while some were at the forest garden where lots of changes are afoot, a further party was creating another turtle dove drinking pool. The ground was hard and stony to dig through, so was a great effort by everyone including 3 new volunteers, who we hope are happy to return next month!
Thunderstorms are forecast for later but 12 volunteers turned out to a sunny maze this morning. It was quite a physically demanding work task – shifting palettes, clearing some paths of stones and rolling some of the heavier ones out of the way. Some stiffness forecast for tomorrow I should think!
Thank you to everyone who came. We were surrounded by birdsong (I was trying out my new Merlin app) and there were lots of tadpoles and newts lurking in the puddles around the edge of the site.
We were making another drinking pool for turtle doves on our work task this morning, the ground was stony and there were a few troublesome tree stumps but this one was important to create as the doves return to the forest in a matter of weeks. The pool will be filled with water this week and while we were there we checked on the first pool we created last year and cleared the edge back to bare earth as the doves like to have walk in access to their water!
Thanks to all the volunteers who gave up their Easter morning.
We had a great task this morning. We cleared vegetation (mostly pine saplings) off a section of one of the many scheduled (protected) archaeological features that sit within the forest. In this case, it was a post medieval enclosure/ boundary, which probably sits upon an even older pattern of land division dating back to the prehistoric period. The bank and ditch feature has not been excavated, so keeping it clear of tree saplings means the stratigraphical information it contains remains intact and preserved and is part of the long term management of the feature. Bit more of a busman’s holiday than usual for me this time since my day job is in archaeology!
Little frogs, beautiful clusters of fungi and birds’ nests provided some extra highlights.
Today’s worktask was thankfully in the cool under the trees at the Enchanted Wood at Dalby Forest. The Enchanted Wood is a natural play area that we help to look after that is specifically for the under 5s. We replenished materials in the barefoot walk, repaired parts of the stone wall & remade the nature art area. The woodland tiny folk have also moved in! Can you find all their doors on your next visit?
Cooling off under the trees at the Barefoot walkNature art areaLittle door. There are 5 in total. Can you find them all?
It was a beautiful sunny morning in the forest as we embarked on our work task and latest project – Drinking Pools for Turtle Doves. Mattocks and spades were the tools of choice (it was quite stony!) as we made the first of a series of drinking pools.
The Turtle Dove is one of our most threatened breeding birds, and it has suffered a very serious decline in the UK. There are various pressures on them such as unsustainable shooting on their migration route, habitat loss in their wintering grounds but also a lack of breeding success here.
Once they return to the UK (usually from late April), Turtle Doves rely on water – much more than other farmland birds. This is because their chicks are fed a ‘crop milk’ of water and seed, so it’s important that they have access to summer-long clean water sources with walk-in access. FoDF will be making a series of drinking pools to support the population that we know returns to nest every year in Dalby.
We banked up unused spoil alongside one side of the pool and sowed it with wildflower seeds which should encourage some butterflies later in the summer.
Thanks to everyone who came along today! A brilliant effort!
A special shout out should go to all the bird watchers who took part in this year’s ‘Michael Clegg bird race’ which raised the funds to allow us to get the tools and materials for the pools and get the project off the ground.
Friends of Dalby Forest 