the grebe magazine summer/autumn 2014

Cheshire CheshireGrebeThe Autumn 2014

also...

Your guide to autumn’s hedgerow bounty

The magazine of Cheshire Wildlife Trust

Man’s best friend sniffs out rare species

15 ways to go wild with your kids

Winds of change for nature at Red Rocks

Cheshire Cheshire

Berry tasty

@wildlifetrusts

TheWildlifeTrusts

wildlifetrusts

iii THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

Cheshire CheshireGrebeThe Autumn 2014

also...

Your guide

to autumn’s

hedgerow

bounty

The magazine of Cheshire Wildlife Trust

Man’s best friend sniffs

out rare species

15 ways to go wild with your kids

Winds of change for nature at Red Rocks

Cheshire Cheshire

Berry tasty

WELCOME

Cheshire Cheshire

Charlotte Harris

On the coverThe stunning waxwing adorning this cover of The Grebe

is by Jon Hawkins. Although usually a mid-winter visitor,

waxwings have been seen as early as November in

harsher weather, gorging on cotaneaster and other berries.

You can see more on our autumn berry bounty on page 16.

In late August, you will have received our urgent appeal for support to help continue our project to bring back the white-faced darter at Delamere Forest.

This iconic dragonfly – recorded in

Cheshire almost as far back as records

began – was once a regular sight above

our meres and mosses, but disappeared

as recently as a decade ago. Now, after

years of dedicated planning and work to

secure exactly the right habitats, we have

a chance to bring the white-faced darter

back in a first for the Cheshire region.

The Trust is at the forefront of this

exciting and ground-breaking wildlife

reintroduction scheme, and I hope you

will be keen to support us as we look

to bring dragons back to Delamere.

You can find out more and donate to

the appeal on our website, along with a

chance to see a video on the difference

your support will make.

We can only achieve success for wildlife

in the future if we’re able to inspire

our young people – no mean feat

during perhaps the most technology-

driven era in our history and one

when youngsters get just a fraction

of the time outdoors they enjoyed a

generation ago. That’s why as I write

this, we’re opening the doors to a

new £120,000 learning centre here

at the Bickley Barn in south Cheshire.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery

Fund and countless others, including a

number of generous individual donors,

the centre will act as a hub for the

thousands of schoolchildren who visit

our farm each year from across Cheshire

– often getting their first ever connection

with nature. As your local Wildlife Trust,

we’re excited to be delivering these

valuable opportunities with your support,

now and for the future.

Finally, after what seems like the blink

of an eye, we’re again taking the time

to reflect on and celebrate the last 12

months in our Annual Review, included

with this edition of The Grebe. The Trust

has enjoyed another positive year at a

time when challenges continue for many

in the voluntary sector, despite a generally

improving picture for the UK economy.

Following our members’ survey and

your hundreds of comments earlier this

year, we have tried to reflect the views

of as many of you as possible in our

plans for the years ahead – please do

take a moment to look at our strategy

in the centre pages of this addition of

The Grebe magazine.

I also hope many of you will be able

to join us for our Members’ Day and

AGM on the 25 October at the National

Trust’s famous Quarry Bank Mill near

Cheadle. Full details and a booking

form are enclosed with this copy of

The Grebe.

Charlotte Harris, Chief Executive

“we can only achieve success for wildlife in the future if we’re able to

inspire our young people today”

Cheshire Wildlife Trust is the region’s

leading independent conservation

charity and has been working for wildlife

across Cheshire East, Cheshire West and

Chester, Halton, Stockport, Tameside,

Trafford, Warrington and Wirral for over

50 years.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust receives no direct

Government funding and would not

exist without the support of you, our

members. To add your voice to over

13,000 others and show how much you

value Cheshire’s wildlife, give us a call

today or visit our website.

Cheshire Ecological Services

CES is a member of the

Association of Wildlife

Trust Consultancies

(AWTC) and is the

ecological consultancy

arm of Cheshire

Wildlife Trust, with 20 years of industry

experience. All profit revenues generated by CES go directly to supporting the work of Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

Who are the Wildlife Trusts?

There are 47 Wildlife Trusts across the UK,

the Isle of Man and Alderney. With over

800,000 members, we are the largest

UK voluntary organisation dedicated

to conserving the full range of the UK’s

habitats and species.

People taking action for wildlife

Chief Executive

Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Bickley Hall Farm, Malpas, Cheshire SY14 8EF

Tel: 01948 820728

web: www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk

email: [email protected]

Registered Charity No: 214927 A company Limited by Guarantee in England No: 736693

@cheshirewt

Cheshire Wildlife Trust

CheshireWT

Cheshirewildlifetrust

16

“autumn’s berry bounty

is here”

6

4

08“ there came a deep croak like no other”

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 1

In this issueWelcome With our Chief Executive Charlotte Harris

02 UK News The big wildlife issues from around the UK

and a word from Stephanie Hilborne OBE

04 Local News What’s been happening on your doorstep,

including our regular badger vaccination

update and more

08 Something to natter about on Wirral A new lease of life for our Red Rocks reserve

10 Looking ahead The Trust’s strategy for the years ahead

12 Get out and go nature Your top tips for going wild with little ones

14 Sniffing out rare species How man’s best friend is helping out dormice

16 Seasonal menu The autumn berry bonanza in our hedgerows

and which creatures may join you at the

dinner table

19 Doors open on Bickley Barn The Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire joins us to

celebrate the opening of our new education

centre

20 Box clever this Christmas Super stocking fillers for the festive season

Your MagazineThe next edition of The Grebe magazine will be published in January 2015. We welcome letters, comments, photographs and contributions to The Grebe. Please write to the editor at the address below or email: [email protected]

All contributions including events to be featured in the Events Diary should reach the editor no later than 1 November 2014. Events listings in the Winter edition will run from January to April 2015. The views expressed in The Grebe are not necessarily those of Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

Contents © Cheshire Wildlife Trust 2014. No part of this publication shall be reproduced without prior written consent.

Advertising in The Grebe

We invite enquiries for advertising in The Grebe magazine, with various packages available. Please contact the editor for our current rate card or an informal discussion. Allowing advertising in The Grebe lets us cover some of the costs of producing our members magazine, meaning we can spend more on conservation projects.

The Grebe Editor Tom Marshall Communications Officer

Patron The Duke of Westminster KG DL

President Felicity Goodey CBE DL

Chairman Chris Koral

Chief Executive Charlotte Harris

Designed and Produced by Orchard Corporate Ltd

Ideas for large-scale nature restoration along the proposed route

A greener vision for HS2

UK NEWS

2 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

LONDON WTThe Trust has a new reserve – Braeburn Park. A large brownfield site, it has ex-Victorian landfill, a shooting club, an orchard and a geological SSSI. It’s notably rich in scarce invertebrates. wtru.st/BraeburnPark

AROUND THE WILDLIFE TRUSTS

The Wildlife Trusts propose a greener HS2The Wildlife Trusts are calling for the

controversial HS2 railway to become one

of England’s biggest nature restoration

projects, if it goes ahead.

We oppose the current route because of the

environmental damage it would cause. The

proposed mitigation measures also miss the

chance to achieve a net gain for nature.

“Improved public transport is an important

part of our transition to a low carbon

economy, but this must not be achieved at

the expense of the natural environment,”

said Paul Wilkinson, Head of Living

Landscape.

The Trusts are proposing a 1km ribbon

of wildlife-rich landscape either side of

the railway, with regular green bridges,

pathways and cycle tracks (‘Low Speed 2’)

reconnecting communities and habitats cut

through by the line.

“It could be planned, established and run by

a partnership of residents, landowners and

local groups,” explained Paul. “Recreated

habitats would link and provide ‘stepping

stones’ between wildlife sites. In time there

would be new meadows, woodlands and

wetlands for people to explore, alongside

existing farms, communities and housing.”

Independent research puts the cost of

establishing and managing the green ribbon

at less than 1% of the overall HS2 budget

of £42bn.

Read ‘HS2 – A Greener Vision for HS2’

wildlifetrusts.org/hs2

Badger TB vaccination schemes led by county Wildlife Trusts are being demonstrated

as a practical, cost-effective option in dealing with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in

badgers, according to a report released in August. The report outlines the progress

of 10 badger vaccination schemes across the UK over the past three years, including

programmes on Wildlife Trust nature reserves and privately owned land, in partnership

with farmers, vets and other landowners.

The report includes lessons learned from activity so far, as well as a detailed

description of the vaccination process including costs (£380 per dose

administered/£998 per km2). Cost of delivery is variable and depends on the size,

nature and accessibility of the sites involved.

The report reiterates that, although offering the most effective approach to dealing

with bovine TB in badgers, vaccination represents only one element of an overarching

strategy to reduce prevalence of the disease in cattle, and should therefore be

delivered alongside a comprehensive package of cattle measures.

Badger TB costs revealed in Wildlife Trusts’ report

New Wildlife Trust binocularsThanks to a partnership with

Opticron we now have five

Wildlife Trust binoculars,

ranging from £30 to £130. Sales

will help fund work on our

reserves, keeping them a great

place to see wildlife. The range

comprises 8x21, 8x32, 8x42,

10x42 and 10x50. You can buy

them from optics retailers and

selected local Wildlife Trusts.

See more on page 20

Tackling bovine TB in cattle makes more sense than killing badgers, say The Wildflife Trusts

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There are five models in

The Wildlife Trusts’ range

AVONA derelict former sports ground in Bristol’s Avon Gorge will become Bennett’s Patch and White’s Paddock nature reserve from 2015 when Bristol is the European Green Capital of the Year.wtru.st/AvonGorge

BBOWTThe 34th annual count of snake’s-head fritillary plants at Iffley Meadows revealed a record 84,190 individual plants despite the site being under water for eight weeks earlier this year.wtru.st/RecordCount

B’HAM & BCThe Trust has taken on the historic Deer’s Leap Wood, on the boundary between the Edgbaston, Harborne and Soho Wards of Birmingham. It now has a secure future as a nature reserve.wtru.st/DeersLeap

CUMBRIASince 2012 16 volunteers have been mapping distribution of the Lake District’s smallest tree, dwarf willow. Its habitat requirements make it a potential indicator species for climate change.wtru.st/DwarfWillow

ESSEXA new Education and Visitor Centre at Walton on the Naze will be created with £1.145m from the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund. It will help develop understanding of the Naze’s ecology.wtru.st/NazeCentre

See the report at wildlifetrusts.org


MANXThe first juniper grove has been planted in Glen Auldyn just a few hundred yards from where the last native tree was dug up nearly 70 years ago. It’s part of the 30-year Ramsey Forest project. wtru.st/ManxJuniper

SOMERSETTwo million baby eels were released into Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve and Catcott Great Fen by the Sustainable Eel Group, the Rivers Trust and Somerset Wildlife Trust. wtru.st/SomersetEels

ULSTERGrazing animals will return to Bog Meadows in Belfast thanks to £50,000 from the Alpha Programme. The reserve will also become easier for visitors to access.wtru.st/BogMeadowsWork

S & W WALESThe Trust is urgently raising money to continue critical breeding seabird studies along the Pembrokeshire coast. Government funding cuts are withdrawing support just when it is needed the most. wtru.st/SeabirdSOS

Alliance challenges fracking rulesAll protected wildlife areas, nature

reserves and national parks should be

frack-free zones. Each drilling proposal

should have a full environmental

assessment. The shale gas industry

should pay the costs of its regulation

and pollution clean-ups.

That’s the message in a report by The

Wildlife Trusts, the Angling Trust, the

National Trust, RSPB, the Salmon &

Trout Association and the Wildfowl &

Wetlands Trust which challenges the

way fracking in the UK is regulated.

Weaknesses in the current regulatory

framework could put species such

as pink-footed geese, salmon and

barbastelle bats at risk and chalk

streams could be contaminated or

affected by water stress. More at

wildlifetrusts.org/fittofrack

Ospreys thrive on Wildlife Trust reserves

Wildlife Trusts and RSPB call for Nature & Wellbeing Act The UK’s two leading conservation organisations have called upon all political parties

ahead of the general election to value nature and secure its recovery by committing

to a new Nature and Wellbeing Act. The call comes as a recent State of Nature report

revealed 60% of wildlife species in the UK were under threat. The Liberal Democrats

have declared they will commit to a Nature Bill in the party’s manifesto.

Osprey revivalThere are signs the UK’s osprey

population is expanding with birds

prospecting and fighting for nesting

sites. In Montgomeryshire the regular

Dyfi pair saw off stiff competition

for their nest. At Rutland Water one

nest was abandoned after territorial

disputes. Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s

Foulshaw Moss saw its first clutch of

eggs. And in Scotland the old female

at Loch of the Lowes laid her 70th egg.

wildlifetrusts.org/ospreysM

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The Wildlife Trusts want to see nature top

of the agenda at the next election

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Four generations ago

children roamed, on

average, six miles from

their home on foot.

Now children roam 300

yards and spend twice

the time we did indoors.

Four generations ago Britain had more

than three million hectares of wildflower

meadows. One generation ago we had

only three per cent of this left and this

is vanishing fast. So the chance today

of a child stumbling across a wildflower

meadow is almost non-existent.

Yet we know our happiness is tightly

bound up with experiencing the

natural world. The UK’s children are the

unhappiest in the Western world, Unicef

reports. And the most overweight.

And many parents wish their kids

were outside more. I know I do. The

reasons are clear. When I was a child

the doors were open, the woods were

nearer and there was a limit to how

much entertainment could be found

indoors, especially after a winter of

board games and books. Now the

doors protect us from strangers; the

woods and meadows are further away

and the garden, if there is one, may not

entertain older children for very long.

Meanwhile, indoors there is a constant

and varied scene of entertainment.

The solution is more wildlife places

nearer where most of us live. It means

forest schools being core to our

learning. It means parents being more

actively involved. And that’s no bad

thing because whilst we may have

been outside more we are ecologically

illiterate compared to the generation

before ours. Thanks to your support,

your Trust is doing all it can to help

change this. Let’s say it loud and clear:

No Child Stuck Indoors!

Stephanie Hilborne OBEChief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts

No child stuck indoors

There are 47 Wildlife Trusts. With

more than 800,000 members, we are

the largest UK voluntary organisation

dedicated to conserving all the UK’s

habitats and species.

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Darter’s designs on Delamere This summer saw our first major season of white-faced darter dragonfly

translocations in Delamere Forest, with the support of the Heritage Lottery

Fund and our partners at the Forestry Commission. Consistent weather

during May and June saw a trouble-free release of 100 new larvae (right)

from our donor sites at Natural England-managed National Nature Reserves

Fenns & Whixall Moss and Chartley Moss. By the end of the monitoring

season, we had confirmed counts of a minimum of 28 emerged adults

(based on larval cases or ‘exuviae’), up markedly on last year.

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the John Lewis Spedan

Foundation for their generous donation in support of the Delamere’s Dragons

project, helping us to continue in our efforts toward the recovery of the white-

faced darter in Delamere, where it was last recorded breeding in 2003.

FIND OUT MORE cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/white-faced-darter

Nocturnal discovery in Northwich We were delighted in spring when experts

from local bat groups discovered a small

group of rare Nathusius’ pipistrelles (below)

at our Marbury Reedbed nature reserve, near

Northwich. The find was made by members of

the South Lancashire Bat Group and Cheshire

Bat Group as part of a Bat Conservation Trust

pilot study into the species. The presence of

an apparently pregnant female is believed to

be a first for the North West.

The largest of the UK pipistrelles, the migratory

Nathusius’ had previously only been recorded

in flight along tree-lined stretches in the area.

However, the recent finds were part of a bat

box checking scheme within the area of wet

woodland at the Trust’s reserve.

Blooming marvellous fundraiser A summer open garden event in aid of the Trust raised almost £1,000. Sue

Makin threw open the gates to her Tarporley garden, providing visitors with

a chance to see a huge array of wildlife-friendly and green-fingered features,

including habitats for birds, bees and bats. The Trust has run its Wildlife

Friendly Gardening scheme for a number of years, with more than 200 gardens

receiving a gold, silver or bronze award in that time for their backyard nature

reserves. Collectively, our gardens remain the single largest area of land in

public management in the UK, making them vital stepping stones for wildlife

within our Living Landscape. Sue said: “I was keen to open my garden and

support the Trust in their outstanding work, while spreading the word on the

value of gardening for wildlife. They helped by promoting the event and came

along on the day too, to speak with visitors, along with assisting on some of

the practical aspects of hosting a public event. It was a great success and I

look forward to opening the garden again for them next year”.

Would you like to open your garden in aid of the Trust next summer?

For more information or an informal chat, contact Jacquie Rogers on

[email protected]

Peregrine success in Beeston One of Cheshire’s few pairs of peregrine falcons nesting at Beeston Castle

had one of the most successful seasons in recent years, raising four chicks.

The healthy family made it through against the odds, after at least two

attempts to illegally disturb the nest were thwarted by volunteers from the

local Beeston Peregrine Watch, who collectively provided more than 1,500

hours of round-the-clock observations during the spring and summer.

LOCAL NEWS

TOM

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Dormice in the limelight Our conservation officer Sue Tatman took centre stage in June, when

we joined the BBC’s One Show and presenter Miranda Krestovnikov

at Natural Resources Wales’ Bontuchel Woods to introduce our

innovative new project using detection dogs to help us learn

more about one of our rarest and most charismatic mammals. The

successful nine hour shoot included a chance for Miranda and the

team to get up close to a pair of sleepy dormice, an unexpected

bonus at that time of year.

FIND OUT MORE Turn to page 14 to see more on our work with the

Conservation Dogs.

Petty Pool students get hands-on The Trust joined partners the Forestry Commission at Delamere in spring,

to celebrate the work of students from Petty Pool College on our Delamere’s

Lost Mosses project. In recent months, more than 80 students have worked

with project officer Katie Piercy on tasks to help uncover lost meres and

mosses which have become locked away beneath trees and scrub within

the forest.

In total, the Trust aims to restore more than 90 football pitches’ worth of

these internationally important habitats, which not only have a role to play in

balancing climate change but are also home to some of our rarest wildlife like

the round-leaved sundew, green hairstreak and white-faced darter dragonfly.

Man Diesel join Trust Trust chairman Chris Koral (pictured, right) recently

welcomed Man Diesel and Turbo UK Ltd of Stockport

to the Trust as our latest top level Platinum

Corporate Members. The company has been working

in partnership with the Trust over the last year to

develop a 60 acre greenspace on their operations

site known as ‘Mirrlees Fields’, for the benefit of

wildlife and the local community. This followed a

full ecological survey undertaken by the Trust, also

commissioned by the company.

Best foot forward in Chester There are now three self-guided walks you can

enjoy across our Gowy Connect Living Landscape

just south of Chester. The latest edition added

in spring takes in our Hockenhull Platts reserve

near Waverton, where summer visitors include

purple hairstreak butterflies (above) and spotted

flycatchers, all easily seen from the route. Further

on beyond the famous Roman Bridges you can

see our work with local farmers as well as stroll

alongside the River Gowy where water voles and

otters are always a possibility. Our Gowy Connect

scheme is supported by WREN, the Environment

Agency and United Utilities.

FIND THE WALKS AT

www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/livingwalks

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Families get a taste of life on the farm We opened the gates to our Bickley Hall

Farm headquarters back in June for another

successful Open Farm Sunday event, in

association with Linking Environment and

Farming (LEAF) and the Meres & Mosses

Landscape Partnership. Around 700 visitors,

many of them families, took a chance to

get up close with our Hebridean sheep and

Longhorn cattle, along with exploring a new

education and learning area through pond

dipping, willow weaving and taster sessions

for our Forest School scheme. There was also

an opportunity to climb aboard our tractor,

grab some local British produce and of course

sample our nature-grazed beef with burgers

prepared specially for the event by recent BBC

Retailer of the Year award winners, Edge & Son

Butchers. Next year’s event will be Open Farm

Sunday’s 10-year anniversary and the Trust is

expected to feature in a special short film due

to be released to celebrate the scheme.

Brimstone boost on the Wirral After years of dedicated work with local volunteers, the team at New Ferry Butterfly

Park revealed in June that brimstone butterfly caterpillars have hit their highest

ever numbers at the park – and become the first confirmed breeding on Wirral. The

caterpillars of various sizes were discovered feeding on alder buckthorn planted

over a decade ago by 4th Bebington Scouts St John’s New Ferry and will eventually

grow into the handsome yellow adult butterflies – typically one of the first species to

appear each spring. Being the longest lived British butterfly they have a prolonged

flight period, giving visitors to the park a great chance to encounter them.

Gone fishing… on the Mersey Local wildlife watchers got a real treat in early

July, when a rare osprey decided to drop in

for a few day’s fishing on the Mersey estuary.

The iconic bird of prey – which is usually only

seen in Cheshire on migration – was thought

to perhaps be a young, non-breeding adult.

The bird spent a lot of time at Norton Marsh,

where the Trust grazes floodplain meadows

in partnership with the Forestry Commission

using our traditional breed English Longhorns.

An osprey last spent an extended period on

the Mersey during 2006, after which feeding

perches and platforms were installed to

encourage the species’ return. The sighting

came in a year that saw milestones for

ospreys in their traditional Scotland haunts,

with the 100th egg hatched at Loch Garten

and the 70th egg laid at Scottish Wildlife

Trust’s Loch of the Lowes nest.

LOCAL NEWS


New accolade for Wirral butterfly haven In May, members of our Wirral Local

Group ‘Wirral Wildlife’ welcomed special

guests including the Lord Lieutenant

of Merseyside, Dame Lorna Muirhead,

to the annual summer opening of the

Trust’s New Ferry Butterfly Park. Dame

Lorna joined long-standing volunteer

Paul Loughnane BEM to help raise the

Park’s first ever ‘Green Flag’ confirming

its status in the UK’s benchmark for

local parks and green spaces. The day

proved as popular as ever with hundreds

of visitors and families in particular

heading through the park’s gates to enjoy

pond dipping, art and crafts, bug hunts,

planting for minibeasts and much more.

Poors Wood facelift Thanks to our supporters at

INEOS Enterprises, we were

able to complete a number of

access improvements at our

Poors Wood nature reserve at

Kingsmead in Northwich. This

gently sloping valley woodland

next to the River Weaver now

has an established footpath

network, extended boardwalks

through formerly inaccessible

areas and bluebell planting to

enhance the spring scene by

visitors’ feet.

Two new information boards

at entrances to the site via the

river and neighbouring housing

area also provide information on

what visitors can explore.

Badger ‘Edge Area’ boost welcomed A report released by the Royal Society of Wildlife

Trusts in August listed Cheshire as hosting the

second largest Wildlife Trust badger vaccination

scheme in the UK after Gloucestershire. This year

our scheme will encompass around 10 farms

across more than 2,800ha – almost double the

area undertaken in 2013, when nearly 90 individual

badgers were treated. The Department for the

Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) also

announced in early September that a new Badger

Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS) will provide up

to 50% financial support for farmers who want

to undertake vaccination in Edge Areas – which

currently includes Cheshire. The Trust will continue

its badger vaccination appeal, which allows us to

visit landowners to discuss vaccination, undertake

surveys and other strategies to encourage

vaccination as an effective tool in tackling bTB.

School’s brew and bake raises £500 Children from Mablins Lane Primary

School in Leighton, Crewe, raised £500

for the Trust after holding a ‘Brew

and Bake’ day in support of our new

education centre at Bickley Hall Farm.

Around 80 youngsters were then some

of the first children to enjoy the new

centre in early July. The school has been

a regular summer visitor with classes

since 2011.

Trust gets behind the wheel with SHB Keeping the wheels rolling on our conservation work

is a constant challenge, which is why we recently

welcomed a new replacement to our vehicle fleet

thanks to more than £2,400 of support from SHB

Vehicle Hire & Management in Carrington. The Toyota

Hilux will allow us to transport tools, materials and

most importantly our livestock to all four corners of

our nature reserve network, and updated Cheshire

Wildlife Trust visuals on the side of the vehicle help to

raise awareness of our work when we’re on the road.

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Earlier this summer, there was a Tiger on the loose in Hoylake as The Open came to town. Just a few yards from the Royal Liverpool Golf Club tees, however, there are even more rarities to be found on Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s only coastal nature reserve – Red Rocks.

It was a chilly spring evening earlier this April that found a group

of Cheshire Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers standing on the

beach near Hoylake full of anticipation. It may have been almost

dark with just a few early rising bats for company, but the sea

view wasn’t what everyone had come along for. Suddenly,

gurgling unmistakeably through the low whisperings amongst the

wellingtons and waterproofs came a deep croak like no other – the

natterjack toad.

This astonishingly loud duet, or perhaps it was a three-piece,

brought cheerful relief all round. After several nervous weeks of

waiting, the vocal performance finally confirmed that new habitats

for these rare amphibians – found nowhere else in Cheshire and

Wirral – had attracted the house-hunters we’d been hoping for.

The success was also all the sweeter given the short time from the

Trust taking on a management extension at Red Rocks earlier in the

year to achieving a result for one of the reserve’s rarest residents.

Nestling in a long strip alongside the Royal Liverpool Golf Club

and tipping its toes into the Dee estuary, Red Rocks has the classic

mosaic of habitats that always attracts a rich diversity of wildlife.

A backdrop of mature sand dunes and younger ‘embryo’ dunes at

the shoreline, along with a reedbed and scattered stands of scrub

come together to form a home for rare plants, invertebrates, birds

and of course amphibians like the natterjack. Curiously named

‘yellow’ and ‘grey’ sand dunes and salt marsh too are constantly

changing and adapting, in turn bringing an opportunity for wildlife

populations to expand.

Dunes of distinction

NATURE RESERVESRed Rocks, near Hoylake, is home to an array of habitats including mature and ‘embryo’ sand dune systems


For many living nearby, Red Rocks is perhaps a place to enjoy a

stroll with the soundtrack of skylarks and murmurings of the reeds,

with not everyone realising the variety and often rarity of much of

the wildlife found along the reserve.

Taking on around 35 hectares in additional reserve management

meant the Trust could, for the first time ever, consider the site as

whole and how the various different habitats interact with each other.

The whispering stands of Phragmites (common reed) play host

to an array of our most enigmatic summer migrant birds like

the reed warbler, sedge warbler and, on the scrubby fringes, the

grasshopper warbler with its fishing reel-like rasping call. Managing

the reedbed is an annual task, with a proportion of the reeds cut

in swathes or ‘rides’ each autumn allowing for new growth and, in

time, creating a healthier, more robust reedbed.

Just one of the pieces in the jigsaw at Red Rocks, the reedbed

is flanked on the seaward side by a series of embryo dunes, a

habitat unique to this part of the region. As a constantly changing

micro-landscape at the hands of wind and tide, the dunes are by

definition always new, making them an ideal place for so-called

‘pioneer’ species.

Amongst these species is the curiously named Isle of Man cabbage

– found in fewer than two dozen locations in the country. Endemic

to the UK, the cabbage is now at risk of extinction. In a bid to turn

around the cabbage’s fortunes in the region, Chester Zoo have been

cultivating stock from the main Wirral colony (Wallasey Gun Site)

for several years, and re-planting there. Although not a stronghold

for the cabbage, new sand dunes forming at Red Rocks mean it

could become a vital location for more re-planting schemes.

One of the rarest plants at Red Rocks, however, is the least

spectacular, a hybrid horsetail growing extensively along the board

walk at the south end. It has only recently been correctly identified,

and is now known as ‘Wirral Horsetail’ Equisetum x meridionale. It

grows in several places across north Wirral, and in one colony on

Anglesey, but the Red Rocks population remains the largest.

Other plants such as sand couch, sea-holly, saltmarsh grass and

strawberry clover hunker down within the dunes, some acting as

a food plant for the sandhill rustic moth, another species heavily

reliant on the maintenance of these coastal dune habitats, along

with the grayling butterfly.

This range of complex and intimate interactions between the

habitats and species at Red Rocks makes it one of our most

fascinating nature reserves, and one where how we carefully

manage and even reinstate some of the most vulnerable and

diminishing habitats will determine the future of much of the

wildlife that lives there.

From the successful new pools or ‘slacks’ for natterjack toads –

which have since seen a bumper crop of baby toadlets – to healthy

reedbeeds and reinstating dunes for rare flora, looking after Red

Rocks remains one of our most exciting challenges.

Red Rocks nature reserve can be accessed on foot via Stanley

Road, Hoylake (limited on street parking) or with a slightly

longer walk north from West Kirby. There is a boardwalk

running alongside the reedbed and mature dunes on the

landward side. Please observe seasonal signage relating to

breeding natterjack toads which are largely restricted to

fenced-off areas for their protection.

FIND OUT MORE

www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/red-rocks-marsh

VISITING RED ROCKS

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Listen for calling male natterjack toads in April at dusk

Grayling and small heath butterflies, warblers in the

reedbeds and natterjack toadlets at your feet!

Passing migrants like wheatears and terns offshore

Wading birds offshore, special visitors like snow

buntings along the beach

Seasonal Highlights

sand couch, sea-holly, saltmarsh grass and strawberry clover hunker down within the dunes

Fingernail-sized natterjack toadlets emerged this summer from pools created just months earlier

BBC North West Tonight’s Judy Hobson joins Matt from the Trust to meet the toads

Isle of Man cabbage Grayling butterfly

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PEOPLE & NATURE


Hello worldTaking young children out? Here are our experts’ tips to introduce them to the wonderful planet they are a part of

1 Explore under logs, in crevices in trees, on leaves, in meadows, in

streams. Children love holding millipedes that are ‘playing dead’ and watching them unfurl. For advanced ‘mini-beasting’ set an overnight pitfall trap: sink a yogurt pot to ground level and prop a rain proof roof over the top.

2 What sounds better? “Fancy going for a walk?” or, “Who’s up for a

mission to go back in time and discover dinosaurs and find their eggs?” It’s fun chasing imaginary dinosaurs through the woods. Stones are their eggs! Muddy puddles are footprints!

3 Find objects and make up what they could be. A twig is a walking

stick for a hedgehog. A catkin is a squirrel’s scarf. Children will really get into it and come up with some crazy ideas.

4 Roll down a grass bank and see who can roll the slowest – or who

can get to the bottom first!

5 Ask the children to pretend they’re an ant. They could put a piece of

string on the ground and explore every minute detail along it as if they were very small. What do they see and what do they find? What would it be like to be that creature?

6 Stop, sit and be still in long grass or under a tree. Nature will come to

you! A couple of minutes is all it takes!

7 Watch bees: spot the pollen baskets on their hind legs, and their

long tongues drinking nectar.

8 Use the best binoculars available – a pair of taped-together loo rolls.

This simple bit of kit will focus their attention on the smallest of habitats under a leaf, or features across a landscape. They’re light, durable and you can even stick them on the compost heap when you get home.

9 Even your back garden becomes a jungle of exciting creatures after

dark. Hang up a sheet and shine a torch to attract moths. Or search under stones or logs to spot nocturnal creepy crawlies.

10 Lay a sheet under a tree and shake a branch. You will be amazed at

how much is living up above your heads.

11 In the woods, get the children to leave a trail, marking out arrows

with stones, sticks or pine cones to show the way they’ve gone. Or leave some leaf art for other people to find.

12 As you walk, make up stories about the unusual things you pass. Who

really lives down that hole? Was that tree watching you?

13 Catch grasshoppers in long grass with a net made from light material

and a wire coat hanger. Have a jam jar ready to catch flying insects from the net for a closer look.

14 Building nest boxes is a brilliant activity for children. Ready-sawn

wood and pre-drilled nail holes make it easier for smaller ones to get involved.

15 Make a pond to attract wildlife with an upturned dustbin lid dug into

the ground. Wait a few weeks in spring or summer. Then just lie down on your tummy and watch.

15 great outdoor games

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Your expertsJudy Powell, Suffolk Wildlife Trust; Bryony Carter, Shropshire Wildlife Trust; Lorna Fox, London Wildlife Trust; Jennifer Morpeth, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust; Michelle Crooks and Jim Day, Hants & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust; Katie Fenton, Essex Wildlife Trust; Julie Doherty and Jo Morris, Avon Wildlife Trust; Debs Richardson Bull, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust; Steve Ashton, Tees Valley WT; and Cheryl Marriott, Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Think like thisl Embrace the great outdoors in all its wildness. You and your children are wild at heart. We are meant to be connected to nature.l Children who are engaged and buzzing with excitement take in and store that experience for the future. It also awakens their natural curiosity.l Get out there and enjoy the sunshine, wind and rain. Children will follow your lead and will want to do the same.l Let yourself go: run around, get muddy, make silly shapes and noises. Children will thrive off the energy you give off.l Keep it simple, cheap and local. There’s no need for fancy expensive materials.l If you come across a bug you’re not sure of, think of a funny way to describe it. That way you’ll remember it to look up when you get home, if you want to.l Above all, give them the time and freedom to play, and to explore the outdoors for themselves.

Go wild this autumnFind a wild place near you to explore. See a list of our regular nature clubs. Download activity and spotting sheets. wildlifetrusts.org

Dol Play with your children outside, regularlyl Let them get wet and muddyl Encourage them to explore and discoverl Let them grow plants they can eatl Climb trees, make dens, dip ponds, look for bugsl Go out at night to search for bats or minibeastsl Rear spawn into frogs or caterpillars into butterflies

l Pick and eat wild blackberriesl Use your senses: look, listen, touch, smellDon’tl Worry if you’re not an expert. Just aim to create a sense of wonder – happy memories which will set them up for lifel Stay indoors if it’s raining. Take a change of clothes and see who can make the biggest puddle splash


CONSERVATION ACTION

Dormouse detectivesFor generations, we’ve used dogs’ unrivalled sense of smell to help us out – from seeking out disaster victims to tracking illegal drugs. Now, in an innovative new partnership, the Trust is hoping to use our four-legged friends to help discover rare wildlife too.

It’s an unseasonal summer morning when a team from the Trust

joins Emma Parker and Louise Wilson from Flintshire-based

Conservation Dogs at Natural Resources Wales’ Bontuchel

Woods. Everyone is wrapped up in waterproofs but the star of

the day is braving it in a simple high-visibility harness, her own

fur coat more than enough to keep the early morning chill at bay.

There’s excitement amongst the two-legged members of the

team, but nine-year-old Kim, a German shepherd, is taking it all in

her stride.

The aim of the day is simple. To discover whether Kim has what it

takes to sniff out one of the forest’s rarest and smallest residents,

the dormouse.

After disappearing from the wild in Cheshire at the beginning

of 1900s, the dormouse made a long-awaited comeback during

the mid-1990s, thanks to a team led by the Trust, who helped

reintroduce the charismatic creatures to a secret location in

south Cheshire. Since then, researchers have kept a close eye on

the progress of the dormice through a network of hundreds of

nest boxes along with routine micro-chipping in partnership with

Chester Zoo and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species.

Whilst the dozens of nest boxes are a tried and tested technique, it

still left researchers with an impossible question to answer – what

if the dormice are making a home elsewhere? It was this dilemma

that led the Trust to enlist the help of Kim and her owner, Emma.

Although Kim and her canine colleagues have already been hard at

work detecting wildlife as varied at bats, great crested newts and

pine martens, this is the first time in the UK that dogs have been

employed in a bid to seek out dormice.

Kim is Relaxed and calm, and once her harness is on she knows it’s

time to work and it’s just a short walk into the first training area for

investigation. With owner Emma just a few feet behind, Kim makes

light work of the challenging terrain of logs and scrub beneath

the canopy, running her nose just a few millimetres off the ground.

Far from being a hindrance, the overnight rain and lingering

drizzle is more likely to keep scents near ground level instead of

disappearing on the wind, according to Emma.

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This is the first time dogs have been used to track dormice in the wild

What has been a clear success, is


Once Kim has indicated in an area the team can move in to investigate

Until now, nest boxes have been the only way to monitor breeding dormice

Methodical and complete silent, Kim systematically roves from

side to side, occasionally raising her head into the upper branches

of the scrub, waves of myriad scents passing across her nose, her

ears gently twitching and adjusting.

But there’s one particular tree that has caught Kim’s interes,

with countless small holes at its base. She turns toward Emma

and calmly sits down, providing the indication that she has been

trained to do on all of her jobs. A small orange flag is dropped

into the ground before Kim is off again amongst the bluebells and

on to the next potential location.

Moments later, the team from the Trust can head in and

investigate; searching for signs of nest material, leftover nuts

with their distinctive dormouse chew marks, or anything else

that might give away the rare mammal’s presence where Kim has

shown interest.

In just this short session, there’s already some nest material and

feeding debris that the team can take away to identify further.

Kim’s behaviour and the testing of this innovative technique have

been a clear success, with the team happy that there will

be no impact on either the habitats or wildlife by Kim’s super-

sleuthing nose.

Although the team now know they have Kim as another tool in

their efforts to understand more about our dormice and how to

secure their future, there’s still much to be fine-tuned in this

ground-breaking approach.

You can help safeguard the future for Cheshire’s rare dormice

by adopting one today through our new Nature Gifts scheme.

As either a gift or a treat for yourself, each beautifully presented

adoption comes with a personalised certificate and is packed

with information on the dormouse with lots of stunning images.

Wildlife adoptions start from just £25 and you can find out more

at www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/naturegifts

ADOPT A DORMOUSE IN CHESHIRE

At the heart of Kim’s ongoing training will be honing her skills to

definitively separate dormice scents from other small mammals

such as voles, shrews and mice. Although this is a tough challenge,

the team believe that using captive-bred dormice bedding and

perhaps even the cotton bags used for handling wild dormice

during weighing and measuring on annual survey days could all be

key to adding the dormouse to Kim’s repertoire.

Not only an advantage in discovering when dormice may be

making a home away from where we’ve given them a helping hand,

it’s also hoped that Kim’s nose, and perhaps those of her kennel

mates, may one day be seeking out dormice in completely new

areas, perhaps even saving them from being lost to woodland

removal or development.

However long it takes for Kim to become a true dormouse

detective, those looking after our dormice can be sure that in the

future man’s best friend could be at their side too.

Hi-vis harness on, Kim knows it’s time for work

Find out more about the Conservation Dogs at

www.conservationdogs.com

FIND OUT MORE

What has been a clear success, is

Elder Sambucus nigra

Dog Rose Rosa canina

Bramble Rubus fruticosus


The elder is a vigorous shrub, growing in

hedgerows, woodland edges, and often

found on waste ground. In late spring

it produces large flat masses of creamy

white flowers, which can be eaten or

used to make elderflower cordial and

elderflower champagne, or cooked as

elderflower fritters.

In the autumn these are replaced by the

tiny purple-black berries. The berries can

be collected and made into a rich, red

wine. Bank voles are particularly partial

to both elderberries and the flowers,

with moth caterpillars feeding on elder

foliage including the white-spotted pug,

swallowtail, dot moth and buff ermine.

The wild dog rose is common in our woods

and hedges; its sharp curved thorns can

inflict vicious scratches on the unwary!

The oval, orangey-red autumn fruits are

rose-hips, sometimes known as heps or

itchy-coos, the latter name referring to the

irritating hairs on the seeds, which small

boys sometimes used as itching powder in

generations past.

Rose-hips have a very high vitamin C

content, so in the Second World War they

were collected to make into rose-hip syrup,

as a food supplement. As well as in the

syrup rose-hips can be use as a puree, with

the seeds removed, or as an ingredient in

hedgerow wines.

FORAGING

Seasonal menuAutumn is a time of plenty. As the leaves turn, our hedgerows strain under the weight of berries and forest floors come to life with fungi. Sue Tatman takes us on a gastronomic tour of what to look for this September – before the wildlife grabs a table!

As this copy of The Grebe drops on your doorstep, plants

of all types are producing fruits, nuts and seeds. Fruits are

produced by plants to encourage animals to help in the

distribution of the precious seeds; the seed is packaged

in a nutritious fruit pulp which is valued by many animals,

both to feast on now and as a reserve against the lean

months of the coming winter.

Today, whilst we might not have to rely on this seasonal

bounty for survival in quite the same way, these tasty

autumn treats are still top of the menu. We look at some

of the firm favourites with people, and wildlife, below.

The blackberry, fruit of the bramble, is

our commonest wild fruit, and for many

collecting blackberries is part of an autumn

ritual in the countryside. Yet we shouldn’t

take them for granted; they are a vital food

source for many birds including migrants

like blackcaps and rare barred warblers,

and a range of mammals including wood

mice, dormice and even foxes, will who will

delicately pick off the ripe fruit.

Where brambles hang over rivers and

stream sides, it’s not unknown to find water

voles reaching up to pick off the fruit as a

treat amongst their usual diet of grasses

and nettles. For ourselves, as well as eating

the fruit straight from the bush they can of

course be made into puddings, pies and jams.

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Rowan Sorbus aucuparia

Blackthorn Prunus spinosa

Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna

Hazel Corylus avellana


The rowan, or mountain ash, is a woodland tree, but the tree and its cultivars are often planted ornamentally in towns. It bears clusters of small red berries, which are highly attractive to birds, and may even bring in migrant berry-feeders such as waxwings (above).

The berries are also edible to humans, and can be made into a sharp jelly to serve with roast meats. Why not visit our website and find out about our conservation-grazed beef and lamb, raised on our nature reserves right here in Cheshire?

Blackthorn is another common hedgerow shrub, which produces the earliest blossom in spring, before its leaves appear. The berries, known as sloes, are like tiny plums, with a bluish bloom to the skin. They are highly astringent and sour to the point of being inedible. However, they can be gathered to make sloe gin; made by pricking the sloes, placing in a bottle and covering with gin and a little sugar and leaving to mature for several months. Take care when gathering sloes; blackthorn is armed with ferocious spines over an inch long and very sharp.

The hawthorn, also known as quickthorn, or may, is our commonest hedgerow shrub. Left untrimmed it grows into a small tree. The small fruits, known as haws, are barely edible, although they can be made into a jelly. However, they are a valuable autumn food source for many birds and animals.

The wild hazel has a much smaller nut than cultivated varieties, so you will need to collect plenty. Squirrels use their teeth to crack the nut in half, while mice, voles and dormice all gnaw through the outer nut shell to reach the nutritious kernel within; the dormouse’s distinctive chew marks can be seen above.

RESPONSIBLE FORAGING

When out harvesting wild fruit or nuts don’t pick everything you find; always leave plenty for birds and animals. These foods are vital for their survival into the winter, so don’t deprive them of this vital resource. Luckily for us, most wild fruits are produced in abundance, so there is plenty for all.

Only eat plants if you are sure you have identified them correctly. Some berries look lovely but if eaten can make you very ill. Don’t assume a fruit is safe because you see birds’ eating them: birds digestion is different to ours and they can cope with berries that are toxic to humans.

Fungi – If in doubt, don’tThe mushrooms we see are the fruiting body of a much larger mass of fungal threads growing in the ground or rotting vegetation; picking the mushroom does no harm to the underground mass. However, great care is needed. While some of our native fungi are edible, many more are distasteful, and a few are highly toxic. Unless you are an expert in identifying mushrooms they are better avoided.

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Make sure you have the landowner’s permission before you head out foraging

Don’t eat this one!


The UK’s sea life needs

YOU

l The UK’s seas are home to half our wildlife: whales, dolphins, turtles, birds, fish and thousands of other weird and wonderful animals and plants

l They should be safe, but in fact they are threatened by damaging over-exploitation. Many habitats have already been destroyed, and species pushed towards extinction

l Please join our campaign to persuade the UK Government to set up a network of Marine Protected Areas where wildlife can flourish again

Yes! I’ll help to save the UK’s sea lifeWhat are we trying to achieve?The Wildlife Trusts want the UK Government to set up and defend a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). These are parts of the sea where habitats are protected from damaging activities such as scallop dredging and trawling.

In England, nationally important MPAs are called Marine Conservation Zones. After the 2009 Marine Act, establishing them should be a formality. But only 27 Conservation Zones have been approved so far in England, with a further 33 being considered in Scotland, and more in Northern Ireland. The Wildlife Trusts are campaigning for a joined-up network of protected sites in UK seas. Marine Conservation Zones protect threatened undersea habitats such as eelgrass meadows, rocky reefs and deepwater canyons – and the animals that live in and around them. Only your support will put pressure on the Government to fulfil its commitments and set aside areas of the sea for protection.

I’ll become a Friend of Marine Conservation Zones by going to wildlifetrusts.org/mczfriends. This will give me regular emails from The Wildlife Trusts’ marine campaign team, letting me know how I can help. If I live near the sea, my local Wildlife Trust may also contact me with other ways I can get involved. My details will not be used for any other purpose.

wildlifetrusts.org/mczfriends

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NEW BICKLEY BARN

Sun shines for grand opening of the Bickley BarnLord-Lieutenant of Cheshire cuts ribbon on £120,000 project

New dedicated outdoor learning area for children

First time schools will have all-weather facility at the farm

The £120,000 project, supported by the

Heritage Lottery Fund, has seen a 100 year

old former dairy milking barn - still in daily

use just 8 months ago - transformed into

a purpose-built centre of classrooms and

other facilities for visiting schoolchildren

from across the region.

The opening marks the first time since

we took on Bickley Hall Farm in 2007,

that visiting youngsters will have an

all-weather teaching facility, including

indoor washrooms, disabled access and a

kitchen. The latest technology also means

neighbouring wildlife can be beamed by

wireless cameras directly into the centre

and big-screens can bring microscopic

creatures in the farm’s ponds to life.

The new centre also opens onto a large

dedicated outdoor learning area; with

ponds, an orchard and wildflower meadows

just seconds away from the classroom,

along with native-breed Longhorn cattle

and Hebridean sheep just across the fence.

As well as visiting schoolchildren, it’s hoped

those in surrounding villages and the local

area will also be keen to make use of the

new conference room for community

events and educational courses.

Declaring the new centre open, Lord

Lieutenant of Cheshire David Briggs said

the facility had been a great achievement

for the Trust, and was all the more

important after recent research showed

that just one in five youngsters today get

a meaningful regular experience in the

outdoors. Just a generation ago, the same

interaction was enjoyed by around three

quarters of children.

The Bickley Barn has been supported by

funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Big

Lottery, People’s Postcode Trust, the Meres

& Mosses Landscape Partnership, Urenco,

the Garfield Weston Foundation, The Jean

Jackson Charitable Trust and a number

of private donors including the estates of

Steve & Betty Cheek and Margaret Coates

along with an appeal with the Trust’s

13,000-strong membership.

Enquiries for the centre can be made

by calling 01948 820728 or email

[email protected].

(L–R) Philip Cheek, John Thorneycroft - Jean Jackson Trust, David Briggs MBE, Charlotte Harris - CWT CEO, Tom Hayek - Meres & Mosses Landscape Partnership, Gerald Coates

Youngsters enjoying the hay meadows

Charlotte Harris and David Briggs plant a lime tree to commemorate the opening

The new conference room and the barn before the project began

Dozens of guests joined the Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire, David Briggs MBE as the Trust opened their new Bickley Barn education and learning centre.


NATURE GIFTS

Enjoy a wild

We have a host of gift ideas for the festive season; from the chance to adopt your favourite Cheshire wildlife and lend a hand to nature on your doorstep, to our very own binoculars that will get you closer to the action, and stocking filler favourites like our popular cards and calendars. Still can’t decide? Head to our online shop today to see the full range.

Christmas

With a brand new, contemporary design

for 2014, our beautifully presented Nature

Gifts wildlife adoption packs let you give

a gift that can make a real difference for

nature. From the diminutive dormouse to

the unmistakeable otter and the charismatic

barn owl, there’s something for everyone.

And all presented in an easy to wrap

box too, what could be easier?

Launched earlier this year in partnership with

one of the UK’s leading optical manufacturers,

Opticron, the Wildlife Trusts’ first range of

Oregon WT branded binoculars has a choice

to suit everyone. From a lightweight beginners

option to throw in the backpack, to high-quality

waterproof optics for the determined wildlife-

watcher keen to check out every detail, there’s

price to suit your budget as well.

Don’t miss a moment

Think inside the box£25.00

From

£29.95 to

£129.95

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www.glebecottage.co.uk © Glebe Cottage

for the Future

There are 47 Wildlife Trusts covering the UK � all working for an environment rich in

wildlife for everyone. We work for nature�s recovery on land an d at sea and inspire

people to take action for the environment. Find out how to su pport our work at

Published under licence for The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts by Glebe Cottage Ltd

Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts registered charity number 207238

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'Green woodpecker' © Andy Sands / naturepl.com

THE ECO-FRIENDLY CARD CO.•

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Protect ing Wildl i fe for the Future




wildlifetrusts.org/yourlocaltrust



'Puffin' © Markus Varesvuo / naturepl.com

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'Green woodpecker' © Andy Sands / naturepl.com


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'Puffin' © Markus Varesvuo / naturepl.com

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Nudibranch

© Alex TattersallJANUARY 2016

An eco-frien dly calendar

Published by Glebe Cottage

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

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YADRUTAS

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New Year�s Day

Bank Hol iday (Scotland )

Full Moon

New Moon

There are m any species of nudibranch (sea slug s and sea hares) that call the UK�s seas

home, most of wh ich are delicate, stunningly col ourful and intrica tely shaped. Som e

species protec t themselves from would-be preda tors by putting the stinging cells of

their anemo ne prey to good u se. Read more at wildlifetrusts.org/sp ecies/nudibranch

Nudibranch© Alex Tattersall

JANUARY 2016 An eco-friendly calendarPublished by Glebe Cottage

MONDAY

TUESDAY

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New Year�s Day

Bank Holiday (Scotland)

Full Moon

New Moon

There are many species of nudibranch (sea slugs and sea hares) that call the UK�s seas

home, most of which are delicate, stunningly colourful and intricately shaped. Some

species protect themselves from would-be predators by putting the stinging cells of

their anemone prey to good use. Read more at wildlifetrusts.org/species/nudibranch

2 0 1 5CALE N D A R

WAL91 046 Wild rivers


With four stunning and vibrant designs by artist Mark

Greco, these colourful mugs feature iconic British wildlife

like the hedgehog, short-eared owl, otter and peregrine

falcon. Guaranteed to brighten up any tea break! As well

as your purchase with us, manufacturer Creative Tops will

give a donation to the Wildlife Trusts for every mug sold.

For that slightly special stocking filler for budding young

naturalists you know, our ‘All about…’ kits give you everything

you need to kick start a day out pond dipping, minibeast

hunting and more – all for less than £10!

Spend at least £30 in our shop this autumn

and you can enjoy a FREE copy of our

anniversary book ’50 favourite species’ worth

£7.95, for an extra last minute gift.

To see our full range of wildlife gifts visit

our website, you can also place an order

by calling 01948 820728 (Mon-Fri, 9:30am-

4:30pm) or by completing the form on the

back of the address sheet with this edition

of The Grebe.

A firm favourite every year, our Wildlife Trust

calendars and Christmas cards feature some of the

finest wildlife photographs around, from the tiniest

of details in a dragonfly to the majestic eagle.

All you need is a biscuit…

All about…wildlifeClassic calendars and Christmas cards

£5.99

£9.99

From £2.50

YOUR FREE GIFT FROM US

the grebe magazine summer/autumn 2014

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