Sparrow First Aid

My neighbour turned up last night with a bird her cat had caught. It was a poor little female sparrow that she carried round in a plastic box. It didn't look too great although there wasn't much damage and it was moving but curled up and not very receptive.

Not an ideal time to call a vet on a Sunday evening, just for a wild bird, so I did what I could to clean up the wound, gave it a little water and put it in a cardboard box with scrunched up paper and then left it in peace and quiet to see if it would survive the night.

I came down and opened the box to find it standing (a pleasant surprise) and looking much more alert, if a little puzzled. It flapped around when I tried to give it some water, so I decided it was better off outside if it was strong enough to survive rather than put it under more stress by keeping it indoors.

As soon as I opened the box it flew off, so fingers crossed it will survive. I'll be looking out for a sparrow with a damaged cheek in the next few days.

Surveying The E-Piece

Thankfully the rain had cleared up as we headed off up to the E-piece for the annual survey - although looking at the variety of plants maybe we should be surveying it more often - anyone care to join us?

Taking note of the overgrown area at the top of the slope to say nothing of the collapsing kissing gate on the way down. However, it might be best to wait and see what comes out of the recommendations and any new management plan that develops as this might change boundaries, fencing and grazing.

Quadrant 1 was easy to find - part way down the slope but Quadrants 2 and 3 are starting to disappear into the growing scrub at the top of the slope.

Starting with Quadrant 1, which initially looked as if it didn't have much in it but on closer and prolonged inspection we managed to find seven flowering plants - some of them were so small that it took a while to spot the really tiny white flowers of squinancywort (left) and fairy flax.

We then found another tiny plant that wasn't yet in flower and had us completely flummoxed, searching through all the books until I spotted one that was flowering and we finally identified it as a common milkwort.


It doesn't help doing this only once a year, as you've forgotten what it was that you were looking at and managed to identify the year before but it's good fun and amazing how much you can actually find in a 2m square. The top two Quadrants were quicker to do - being mainly regrowth of blackthorn but with lovely patches of eyebright (right) and violets, cowslip and scabious that had flowered earlier in the year.

Perhaps next year we can do the surveys twice a year - to catch the Spring and Summer flowers and the same for the main Tye.

We really could do with someone who knows the difference between one form of thistle and another and can distinguish hawkbit from catsear. Anyone with a bit of botanical knowledge out there?

House Martin Survey

The British Trust for Ornithology are conducting a house martin survey this year. If you have house martins nesting on or near your house, you can report your sightings on their site.

BTO House Martin Survey

There certainly seem to be less around this year and I haven't had any nest on my house for years. I usually see several pairs flying around the area and they nest on houses further up the road but this year I've seen one pair at the most. A few swifts but no swallows this year.

Telscombe Tye Management Report - 2009

The report on 'The historic issues and management of Telscombe Tye' is now available to download and view on the Telscombe Town Council's website.

It's a good weighty tome at 97 pages and includes 62 pages of Appendices, many of which are pictures and maps of the area. It's interesting to read that some of the existing issues have been going on for decades and many of them are nothing new - including fencing, access rights, grazing etc.

The report makes a number of recommendations - 26 in all, although I haven't read all the detail yet. The Friends of Telscombe Tye will be making comments on the report and recommendations, so if you have anything you'd like to add or comments you'd like to make - let me know.

Cheeky Monkey

I found this hanging off my seed feeder when I came down this morning. Now, I had my suspicions as I'd seen sunflower seed husks scattered below the feeder and thought the birds were being rather enthusiastic in taking the seed and the level was going down pretty quick but was surprised to see this cheeky chappy - well, I think it's actually a chapess as her teats were clearly visible as she walked along the top of the pergola.

She wasn't phased when I went out to chase her off and got within a meter or so of her and was quite unperturbed when I sat watching her later in the day, which is when I got the photo. If I got a bit too close, she'd disappear into the nearby shrub and then come out again, tail twitching until she'd settled back on the feeder.

I put out some nuts to try and distract her from the seeds and let the birds have a chance but she wasn't as interested in those, although they'd all gone when I came out later.

She spent a lot of the time hanging upside down reaching down for the nuts rather than venturing down to sit on the tray. Quite impressive hanging on a vertical surface by her feet and dangling in mid air.

Clouds And Cornfields

Hot and humid all day and it's resulted in these wonderful cumulonimbus clouds bubbling up on the horizon towards evening. A sunny day on the coast but heavy showers and thunderstorms further north - especially over Wimbledon!

Springwatch 2009

Our stand at this year's Springwatch in the Downland zone. Very windy up on the Stanmer site this year and a cold wind blowing through all day but otherwise sunny, until it came time to pack up when it started raining. Our display materials are looking even more weather beaten now and need revamping and reorganising for the next event. We had quite a few visitors to the stand and signed up three new members to the group.

The Springwatch Event seems to get bigger and bigger each year with some amazing displays in the marquees, activities for children to get involved with, plants to buy and an intriguing choice of food to sample and keep you going all day. Along with a steady supply of tea and coffee by the local girl guides group (?) who went round to all the stall holders during the day.

Our stand was right next to the Birds of prey display along with the other volunteer groups. There was an entertaining half hour or so, when one of the peregines took shelter in a couple of the surrounding trees, to escape being mobbed by the seagulls and crows as it did it's display flight. It obviously decided it was safer to stay put and took some coaxing and calling before it eventually come back into the ring.