[Adastra] Dirt track green corridor

[Steve]

Hi

Just to clarify, the bee survey results were just from the bramble patch
just opposite our house.

Stephen Savage

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Today's Topics:

   1. Dirt track green corridor (Steve)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:38:42 +0100
From: "Steve" <stevep.savage at ntlworld.com>
To: <adastra at lists.sxbrc.org.uk>
Subject: [Adastra] Dirt track green corridor
Message-ID: <7B0C8B80042447BA8578241DAD9F5350 at towerpc>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi

 

You may have heard me mention before the dirt track that runs past our house
(for back entrances to houses that back onto it), Portslade Old Village

 

It's always full of bird activity, from sparrows and starlings to goldfinch,
robin and more. A large bramble patch is alive with the buzzing of several
bee species, hoverflies and also visited by butterflies. In fact last year I
found a few painted lady butterflies there. The track also has visits from
the occasional hedgehog and slowworms also can be seen from time to time in
hot weather.

 

At night I have been watching bats, which spend about 20 minutes flying up
and down and across the track before moving onto another feeding site. A
handsome fox also uses the track to its shadowy shape can be seen exploring
one bank then another patch of vegetation before eventually reaching our
garden.

 

You can imagine my horror when I returned last Saturday, after being out all
day, to find the vegetation on all sides of the tracks had been decimated.
The bramble, full with more flowers than it has been for many years, almost
ready to start to fruit has gone too. Several people in the neighbourhood
would get our supply of blackberries here, people walking their dog as they
went past would eat the odd blackberry and there would still be some left
for the wildlife.

 

We managed to catch the people involved as they were leaving. It was a group
of youths on community service, with a group leader. The leader said they
had been instructed by the council to do this and when I queried it he said
it had been done FOR the local residents. I don't seem to remember being
asked or receiving notification that it was going to happen.  The team was
even provided porti loos

 

When I queried this they said that the track had been checked for wildlife
and nesting birds - I can't imagine how they missed it all!

 

The track is much quieter now (only the occasional birds and no bees). I had
previously done a survey for Brighton and Hove's Big Nature - Bee Aware.
This is what I recorded in just a 2 minute survey.

 

Three banded white-tailed bumblebees:

Number seen: 9

Pollen Baskets: y

Flowers being visited: Blackberry

 

Brown carder bee:

Number seen: 1

Pollen Baskets: y

Flowers being visited: Blackberry

 

Honeybees:

Number seen: 7

Pollen Baskets: y

Flowers being visited: Blackberry

 

The bats I have only seen twice since, flying straight overhead, no foraging
in the track and the fox looks very confused too. I have seen only a couple
of Honey Bees in my garden since the bramble has been removed.

 

My concern is not just for my lost little haven but for other similar green
tracks that may suffer the same fate.

 

Stephen Savage

 

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