West Beckham Old Allotments, Brinton and Bale: Spreading our Volunteers
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
A cloudy day started the morning without the cold wind that we have had over the last few weeks. By the time the morning was getting going, we were treated to warm sunshine, which was great. We waited for our instructions from Val while watching a Kestrel on the telegraph wire and listening to a number of Skylarks singing overhead.
We had a small party of volunteers today to tackle a limited range of tasks but we were kept busy all morning. The whole site was looking splendid in the sunshine and it was so gratifying to see that the saplings planted in so many areas over the last few years were thriving. A few weeks earlier, we removed sections of turf from near the smaller of the two ponds for two reasons. Firstly, in order to expose the bare soil and thus hopefully encourage the wild flower Corn Spurrey to start to grow, as it needs disturbed soil. This was achieved because this morning Val observed evidence of the plant growing. Secondly, we laid sections of the removed turf on the edges of the pond near the bird hide going down to the water’s edge. This was to discourage small mammals from nibbling the pond liner. Due to the almost complete lack of rain for weeks, these turf sections had dried out, so James was busy collecting water from the pond to water them. Peter and Elizabeth worked to improve the path leading to the bird hide, removing thistles and large docks and raking the path to keep it accessible. Val and Alan spent the morning digging out docks, and the rest of us joined them after the break. After many sessions in the past taking the tops off the dock heads and digging them out where we could, it was good to see their number on this site has been reduced. The site around the Turtle Dove feeding area is now cordoned off and all our work kept well away from this area. Also good to hear that the whips planted in our tree nursery are doing well, in spite of the drought. A quiet but productive morning’s work, all of us enjoying the peaceful atmosphere in such a beautiful setting.
In the meantime, Seán, Andrew, Simon G and Nigel headed off to Brinton and Bale to undertake some tidying up and to review the current status of our bird boxes at these two sites. We started in Brinton, where Andrew and Simon cleared around the paths and provided access to the trees so that Seán could check the contents of the next boxes while Nigel recorded the findings. Of the 12 boxes, 5 had chicks while a further 3 had chicks which had fledged....so 8 out of the 12 have been used. Next, on to Bale, where our resident Stinging Nettles had taken over as they usually do at this time of year. Simon and Andrew set to clearing the paths while Seán and Nigel resumed nest box duties. We have 11 boxes at Bale, and 5 had chicks and 2 had already fledged. Overall, a good result, the occupancy rates at both sites equalling previous bests. The findings will now be shared with our bird ringing group who can schedule their next visit, knowing what to find. A good morning’s work on all three sites.
Our next work party will be at WBOA on Thursday June 4th, when we will be preparing the site for the WBOA Bioblitz, which is taking place the evening of Saturday June 6th and all day Sunday June 7th.
Elizabeth Shadbolt and Nigel Smith
May 21st 2026
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