Volunteering Day at RSPB Middleton 26th April 2013

Today both myself and hubby, Tony, went to RSPB Middleton to do our 2nd days volunteering at RSPB Middleton. 

The task that lay ahead was - seeding - Our lovely leaders - Mick and Pauline managed the affair with wit and grace. Well you have to have a sense of humour to put up with us volunteers. Well Tony and I had  this vision of gently walking along a little area of the reserve gently throwing seeds onto the ground. Listening to the birds and walking in the sun. 

Little did we know that this is what lay ahead of us.... gulp.

The barren ground

To start us off Pauline got us to mix the grass seeds with a variety of wild blue cornflowers and poppies. Cornflowers, also known by their botanical name Centaurea cyanus. This flower was most likely introduced to Britain with the arrival of agriculture and was certainly present by the Iron Age. In the past it was quite a common sight, but over time herbicides have made an impact and the number of sightings have dwindled. Lets hope they take off on our little area.

The group mixing seeds, Tony, Steve, Janet and Marion doing a grand job. I was of course supervising the photography !! 

We also included poppies, which is the common name for some members of the Papaveraceae.  A lot of you will know that the use of the poppy is linked to Remembrance day or Armistice day as some like to call it. The use of these splendid flowers was inspired by the World War I poem "Flanders Fields".  Flanders field is in Belgium and the poem refers to the poppies that were the first flowers to grow in the churned-up earth of soldiers' graves after this harrowing and cruel war.  It was thought nothing could grow there due to the dreadful conditions. However, these flowers can lay dormant for years, but due to the ground being disturbed it triggered the germinating process off and the Flanders area became a sea of poppies. 

One can only hope that these flowers will take off and we will have a wonderful sight of red and blue.

**********

This is a continuation of the challenge we faced. "Gasp" I can hear you cry out. Well I have a confession, some of this was completed by another group. Well I can tell you, Tony and I were a little relieved!

The area we tackled was this patch, it may look small but, double it and you will get some idea. Plus despite the blue skies, we had rain, sleet and strong winds! now who ordered that! My original vision of Tony and I  floating along in the sun was quickly gone.

In the background keeping us company was the Black-headed gulls or if you wish the scientific name Chroicocephalus ridibundus.  They make quite a noise when there are together, they are very sociable and are often seen in small groups. But, watch out where there is food about. They will gather into larger parties and can become quarrelsome and just generally noisy birds.  

Click here to listen a recording of the gulls  

This is a picture I took of them the other week

There are very few birds on the north side where we were working. This is due to the activity and noise of the diggers  that are helping to move soil in the area. They do put them off. 

**********

So, back to the seeding. Well with precision planning by Mick and Jacob, who had to measure out 10x10 plots, we where set to task.  There was a lot of ground to cover, so we really did need to have a good system. Thanks to these two guys and Pauline we had our instructions and off we went.  It took us about 3 hours and admittedly it did start  off a little dodgy at first. But, like good volunteers we behaved and got on with the task in hand. We divided into pairs and we strutted our stuff.

Mick and Jacob measuring the areas

By early afternoon we had completed the task at hand, we had done a good job. With smiles and sun tanned faces we walked back towards the lovely new gazebo at the entrance of the reserve.  Although the lovely Pauline noticed that one of the bird hides needed a little TLC.  So the team set about weaving the plants that were growing within the lattice to make it look more tidy.. Well you know what they say, a tidy fence, is a tidy fence.

Weaving away

  

Well, it was a brilliant day and we were rewarded with these following sights on our way back.

Robin ( Erithacus rubecula) took food from someone hands

The sound of a Robin can be heard by clicking to the RSPB site. Click here 








We were then visited by a Comma butterfly Polygonia c-album. It is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae.  Note the irregular wing edges. These are characteristic of the Polygonia genus.
 






A great day was had by all, and the hard work done will not be seen for a while. So I will leave you with this picture of transformation. Since this area was very much like the barren pictures shown above. I for one cannot wait to see how quickly it will change and so I am excited in keeping this blog of my journey with helping RSPB Middleton.

Quote - It is like the seed put in the soil - the more one sows, the greater the harvest.

                                                                                                    Orison Swett Marden

References

British Butterflies (ND)  British Butterflies Spices The Comma  [accessed 26.4.13] http://www.britishbutterflies.co.uk/species-info.asp?vernacular=Comma

RSPB (ND)   Bird Name black headed gull [accessed 26.4.13] http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/b/blackheadedgull/index.aspx

The Columbia Encyclopdia (20120 "cornflower." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2012.  [accessed April 26, 2013] http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-cornflow.html

The Great War (ND) The Story Behind the Remembrance Poppy [accessed April 26, 2013]  http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm

The Cornell Lab (ND) All about Birds - Black-headed Gull. [accessed 26.4.13] http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-headed_gull