BioBlitz on our Western Fringe

Following our tried and tested routine, we started with a bat talk & walk at Hindolveston, and a moth trapping session at Wood Norton on the Friday evening. We were joined by three members of the Hindolveston eco-group. The bats were cooperative at both sites and we had great views of them swooping down across the field.

Moth Trappers

The moth team stayed until 11.30 and were back again at 5.30 in the morning to empty the traps – that’s dedication for you! It was apparently quite chilly at that time in the morning, but by the time I arrived at 8 o’clock it was really quite pleasant. The Felbeck Trust bird ringing group was also there, with three nets set up around the Wood Norton site. John showed me how he carefully extracts the birds from the nets, weighs and measure them, and checks them for age and health, before releasing them again with their new bit of bling – what a skill!

Juvenile Wren

It was lovely to see some of these beautiful creatures so close up, and to be able to see the detail of their feathers. Later in the morning we were joined again by Lindsey from the Hindolveston eco-group and our volunteer Elizabeth who were both interested to see what we had found: some interesting plants and a few fungi, a variety of bird sightings, and lots of moths, but other insects were rather thin on the ground, strangely, given the sunny weather.

More details of the species we found will be included in the next newsletter, which will be published in October.

Val Stubbs

August 9^th 2025