The Egg Collector

 [Image from Pixabay]

I spent three hours on Tuesday morning ferreting around in a hedge on a nearby nature reserve collecting eggs. The blackthorn at Chesworth Farm needs to be flailed in a couple of weeks before it blossoms and the nesting season begins. A third of the hedges are treated in this way every year to stop them from growing out of control and destroying other important habitats. For the past few years Warnham Nature Reserve [another council owned green space and one of our favourite haunts] has been trialling a policy of searching the blackthorn for the miniscule single white eggs laid by the Brown Hairstreak butterfly on it before it's cut back. When found the relevant branch is removed and stored for a short while and then after the cutting has finished, the branches are tucked back into the hedge so that the insect can resume its life cycle. The feedback from adopting this method has shown a year on year increase in eggs found and numbers of this endangered species counted, so the warden and his team have decided to try it at the farm this year. It was slow going at first and after an hour I was beginning to feel a little despondent as I had only found a single egg, but after a restorative coffee and biccie we moved onto a new area and the eggs were everywhere. The two rangers and us five volunteers found over 200 in the end and the lady leading it was amazed. She'd had a quick scout round the day before and only located two. At the end of our session she admitted that she'd hoped to find maybe 30 or so, but this has given her not only more information about the biodiversity of the area, but also where the butterflies are favouring. It was so successful that another session was hastily arranged for next week.

As for me, I absolutely loved the experience [a new one for me], but in many ways it has felt like a return to my roots. Just before I finished my degree in 1988 I paid a visit to the college careers office in Winchester. Imagine my surprise that on a table of leaflets I found one about the National Trust Conservation Volunteer groups and listed amongst them was one for Horsham. I knew that I would need to join groups and create a new circle of friends once I returned home and at the beginning of 1989 I did so. Frankly it was one of the best decisions I've ever made [that and joining Mythago] and through it I made many friends with like minded people and had lots of adventures. It also gave me a love of nature which has remained a strong thread over the years. Oh yes and one of the members was called David and the rest is history as they say! With all the commitments you get with working and raising a family I've had no time to do any conservation work for years, but that period is now past and it is a joy to drop back into it. I am looking forwards to becoming more involved once again.

Have a good weekend folks.

꩜Aril꩜