Archived News items 2009
5/2/09 Learn about woodland conservation and how to manage young woodlands
Join us at Lower Smite Farm and get some free training and a working knowledge of woodland management. Learn how to fell trees by hand, become proficient in the use of a variety of hand tools and gain some practical skills. Discover why woodlands are so special and help us to conserve this valuable habitat, while working to improve one of the young woodland plantations on the farm.
Morning session 9.30 am -12.30 pm. Jacket potatoes provided for lunch afterwards. Please book in advance by calling 01905 754919.
5/2/09 Snow!
Tonight's indoor meeting at the Chase School is cancelled.
Large flocks of fieldfares have been seen recently in our area, including over Upper Colwall and in apple orchards at Alfrick Pound, feeding on the ground.
Lots of snow today - make sure that your peanut and seed feeders are well-stocked! Water, seed in trays and apples on the ground are much appreciated by ground feeders. Snow provides a wonderful opportunity to watch the wildlife in your garden from the comfort of your own sitting room. Look out for tracks in the snow - you never know what visitors you may have in your garden!
10/2/09 Ice mystery
Can you solve this "ice mystery"?
This is a challenge to find an explanation for the natural phenomenon described below.
Jim Handley put out this 7" plant saucer filled with water for birds on the night of 10th February 2009, because his pond had frozen over. In the morning the water in the saucer was found to have frozen into the fascinating shape seen in the photos below. The surface of the water had frozen over, and a vertical tube had formed, consisting of ice filled with liquid water up to the brim inside it.
There was no chance of anything dripping into the saucer which had been placed on the ground well away from any buildings. In the morning the saucer was placed on the table in order to photograph it.
There are no prizes for the correct answer. In fact we don't know what the right answer is. One explanation has already been received and we would be interested in any other explanations from our web visitors. The plan is to ‘publish’ all suggestions on the web site (under NEWS) by the end of March.
Even if you haven't got an explanation it would be interesting to know whether anyone else has observed such a phenomenon. Let us know.
The HOME page explains how to contact us.
6/3/09 Wildlife sightings reported at our Indoor Meeting on March 5th
Lots of snowdrops seen around our area - those at Birlingham Churchyard have been spectacular and well worth a visit.
Coltsfoot was seen flowering at Grimley and Alfrick during February.
Butterbur and scarlet elfcap fungus seen at the Knapp and Papermill Reserve, Alfrick Pound
17/3/09 Chiffchaffs and butterflies
Chiffchaffs are returning! Several have been heard around our area - near Colwall Church, Golf course at Malvern Wells, Clevelode, Cowleigh Park Woods, Old Storridge. Also in a lovely small Hereford Nature Trust woodland at Breinton near Hereford -well worth a visit, access is easy, suitable for wheelchairs and there is a hide overlooking bird feeders, as well as a level path around the wood with some nice views.
Brimstone butterflies have also been reported in the Peachfield Road area - any more sightings? - post as a comment on the Forum page.
18/3/09 Bluedbells and Kingfishers at Knapp & Papermill Nature Reserve
Bluebells are flowering on bank on the lane opposite the Knapp House, where both double and single daffodils in full flower have replaced the carpet of snowdrops. Two kingfishers were seen on the reserve along Leigh Brook near the ford between Big Meadow and Papermill Meadow.
30/3/09 First of this year’s swallows seen at Alfrick Pound
A swallow was seen this afternoon flying west over Papermill Meadow at the Knapp & Papermill Reserve, Alfrick Pound. A very early summer visitor!
1/4/09 Solution to the Ice Mystery
Jim Handley has located an excellent web site which explains everything about these ‘Ice Spikes’. Please go to www.physics.utoronto.ca/~smorris/edl/icespikes/icespikes.html . It would appear that they are a reasonably common phenomenon, particularly in countries where there are long winters, although there have been sightings from the freezers in Santa Barbara, California and elsewhere.
So Jim wins the challenge. He has successfully explained the reason for the strange ice shapes that grew in his garden back in February. [Don't look at the date - genuine!]
14/4/09 Cuckoo
A cuckoo has been heard in the vicinity of Smith End Green, near Leigh Sinton. Other reports are coming in of cuckoos in the Malvern area - earlier than usual this year, perhaps due to the warn spring weather! Lots of brimstone and orange-tip butterflies are also being seen.
19/4/09 Walk to see veteran trees in Leigh Parish report by Jim Handley
A group of 20 led by Jim gathered at the Leigh & Bransford village hall on Sunday 22nd March. Jim and colleagues have surveyed about 120 ancient trees in Leigh Parish, as part of a Worcestershire-wide project which has covered over 2400 trees. The walk was to show people about 40 trees, made up of alders, pendunculate oaks, ash, lime, black poplars and a single walnut. The criteria for inclusion depends on the tree species, ranging from 2m for walnut, 3m for alder, ash and lime, 3.50m for poplar and 3.90m for oak.
The trees were mostly on field boundaries, occasionally within fields or coppices, and in two cases in gardens. Many had stories to tell, from being hit by lightening to growing on the mound of a motte and bailey or on the dam wall holding back (an even older) large pond. Often they had been pollarded or coppiced, which serves to extend their life.
But we can only guess how old they are!! That depends on factors like position, aspect and nearby competition. Since many are hollow, you can’t even count the rings if they fall over, as two have done since they were surveyed.
The walk is about 2.5 miles in length and quite easy to follow. If you want directions give Jim a ring on 01886 832802.
26/5/09 Owlet found on lane
While we were at the local pub one evening last week, someone brought in a young tawny owlet that they had just found lying on the road nearby, uninjured but seemingly abandoned. Not so! Luckily one of our number was an owl expert, who asked the person to take it back immediately and leave it at the foot of the tree nearest to where it was found. Owlets are known to be good climbers, so hopefully it would climb up the tree out of the way of predators and would sit on a branch screaming for its parents. So if anyone else finds an apparently abandoned young owl, you know what to do!
1/6/09 Butterfly invasion
Streams of Painted Lady butterflies have been seen travelling north-westish through our area over the last few days. Reports by several local wildlife enthusiasts describe observations of many tens of thousands at Moccas Park, Herefordshire at a rate of 20 per minute over a 20 metre front, one per minute near Hanbury and 21 in 30 minutes locally. Another report gave an estimated speed of 14 km/hour. Apparently they have been tracked from Morocco, according to a Guardian newspaper website. Where are they going to? Has anyone seen them locally?
11/7/09 Pivany Bridge repaired at last
The picturesque Pivany Bridge over Leigh Brook on the Knapp & Papermill Reserve, badly damaged two years ago by debris in the floods, not to mention a floating gas tank landing on it during a previous flood, has been repaired, after much delay. Care has been taken to restore it almost to its former state before the floods (the grass on top will undoubtably reappear in due course), but is presumably now a much safer structure (however, as before, there is no parapet so take care when crossing it). Hopefully it will remain undamaged by future floods.
11/7/09 Spectacular meadow flowers and butterflies at the Knapp & Papermill Reserve
Big Meadow on the Knapp & Papermill Reserve, Alfrick Pound (entrance at SO 751 520) is a wonderful sight at the moment, especially on a sunny day. Wildflowers, seedheads, flowering grasses and several different species of butterfly, including ringlets, are there in abundance. Go and see it before it is mowed later this month or next.
11/7/09 Malvern Group visit to Porton Down, Wiltshire
On 7th June about 20 Malvern Group members enjoyed a wonderful day out to a very special place, unique in southern England, a protected landscape in which modern agriculture has had no impact - the range at Dstl Porton Down. See Wildlife Watching/2009 page for a brief report and a list of species seen.
16/7/09 Lots of Glow-worms at St Wulstan’s Nature Reserve
Margaret Vernon reports on a late-night Malvern Group walk to see Glow-worms at St Wulstan's Nature Reserve, Upper Welland.
Twenty-eight of us met last night for a Glow-worm walk at St Wulstan's Nature Reserve. We didn't meet until 22.30pm! We split into two groups and ours was lucky enough to see about 25 Glow-worms - which was quite magical!! We had a fabulous 90 minutes and learnt a great deal – our two leaders gave us background information prior to and during the walk.
We all felt it was really worth making the effort to stay up and meet so late. The sky was so clear that we could have done some astronomy too.
What an end to our summer programme! I can't wait for our talk about badgers on 3rd September - although now we've got into an out and about late at night habit, it's a pity we won't be badger watching as well!
22/11/09 Help plant a hedgerow at Malvern Community Garden
The Wilderness Regeneration Group is holding a hedgerow planting afternoon on Sunday 22nd November, 2 - 5pm. If you would like to help with this project at the Malvern Community Wilderness Garden, Elgar Avenue, Malvern, send an e-mail to and we will forward it to the group. For more details, see their website (go to Links).
5/12/09 Tree o’clock planting at Ravenshill Woodland Reserve, Alfrick
About 40 volunteers gathered at the Ravenshill Woodland Reserve, Alfrick at 11 am on Saturday 5th December 2009, to take part in the attempt to beat the Guinness world record for the most trees to be planted in multiple locations in one hour. The record to be beaten was 653,143 trees in the hour. Click on the heading for photographs and more details.
The effort was part of the attempt organised jointly by National Tree Week and the BBC Breathing Spaces. This particular event at Ravenshill was organised by the Malvern Community Forest and Ravenshill Nature Rangers, the children's Watch Group that meets at Ravenshill Woodland Reserve. Volunteers of all ages turned out to help to beat the record. Two hundred hazel whips, stakes and protectors donated especially for the event were readied as 11 am approached.
Because of the enthusiasm and energy of the volunteers, the planting was all over in 20 minutes! These trees should be ready for coppicing in 15 to 20 years. Hazel was crucially important in the past as a source of wood and had many uses. Many of these uses relied upon the flexibility of the wood which could be twisted and even knotted. Uses include thatching spars, binders on layed hedges, net stakes, water divining sticks, hurdles, furniture and firewood.