Visit to Garnetts Wood, Barnston 17th April 2010.

The woodland is ancient small leafed lime with some very old coppice stools.




This is Goldilocks the woodland buttercup.


In places there are carpets of Wood Anemones like snow.


Watching a pair of Marsh Tits high overhead.


A lovely carpet of three different spring flowers - what can you name?


We gather around an in situ tree carving of a mediaeval knight at one of the major ride intersections.


Here is our species list for the afternoon.
Birds. Green Woodpecker. Missel Thrush. Blue tit. Great Tit. Chiff Chaff. Marsh Tit. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Blackcap. Robin.
Plants. Wood Anemone. Primrose. Lesser celandine. Wild strawberry. Holly. Honeysuckle. Dog violet. Old man's beard. St John's Wort. Pendulous Sedge. Burdock. Sweet chestnut. Ash. Hornbeam. Sallow. Dogwood. Small leaved elm. Bracken. Male fern? Bugle. Red Campion. Dogs Mercury. Bluebells. Ground ivy. Larch. Goose grass. Hogweed. Wild Rose. Red currant. Crack willow. Woodrush. Pig nut. Field maple. Goldilocks. Duckweed. Filamentous green algae.
Invertebrates. Cased Caddis fly larvae. Cyclops. Holly leaf miner. Brimstone butterfly. Peacock butterfly. Orange underwing moth. Bee fly (very numerous). Five or seven spot ladybird. Small Quaker moth.
Amphibians. Smooth newt. Frogs/toads.
Mammals. Badger. Fox. Muntjac. Grey squirrel (bark stripping on trees).

Wild Daffodils.

Our society is privileged to be allowed access to local woods to see lovely spring sights like these wild daffodils and primroses.

Black Poplar planting.

In March in memory of President John Fielding we planted a Black Poplar on the Sawbridgeworth Marsh Nature Reserve where John was a warden for many years and was one of the main movers in its purchase as a nature reserve in the early 1970s.

'StortWatch' a new environmental group for the Stort Valley.

We are planning to start a new group within the natural history Society to be called ‘StortWatch’. It is intended that this group will carry out some survey work, do some practical tasks, organise meetings and walks all with the aim of educating and informing people about wildlife in our local river. You do not have to be an expert to attend our meetings indeed the whole aim of the exercise is for us and you to find out about what lives in and around the Stort. Please come to our AGM on the 23rd of April, 7:30 p.m. for 8 p.m. at the Hatfield Forest meeting room. There will be a presentation on ‘StortWatch’ and an opportunity for you to find out what it is all about. For details follow the e-mail or telephone contact as given in our summer programme Hope to see you there!

BSNHS Summer Programme 2010

SUMMER PROGRAMME 2010


Saturday 17th of April. Garnetts Wood. 2.30pm. Meet at car park. TL635184
This is an Essex Country Park. It is a classic small-leaved Lime wood with a fine display of Spring flowers.

Friday 23rd April. AGM. Forest Meeting Room.
8.00pm.

Friday 14th May. Birchanger Wood. 7.00pm. TL498227. Meet and park in Oaklands Park. See the management of the wood as described in the winter talk.

Sun 16th May. Big Forest Bird Watch. Meet main car park in Hatfield Forest. 7.30am

Fri 4th June. Spellbrook Lock for river dipping to investigate freshwater life.TL490185. 7.00pm. Meet in Dell Lane and park along the road to the east of the lock.

. Tues 15th June. Pishiobury Park with the Hatfield Regis History Group. 7.00pm. Main car park. TL475139.

For details on any meeting please contact Chairman. If intending to come on any field meeting it would be appreciated if you could let the Chairman know in advance. Tel:01279 600726. coppicereed@hotmail.com

Sat 3rd July. Sawbridgeworth Marsh to survey the freshwater life colonising the newly created pond in the wood. 2.00pm. TL493154

Big Forest Butterfly Watch especially for the Silver Washed Fritillary some time in July. Not possible to fix a date due to weather. If interested leave contact details with Chairman.

Saturday and Sunday 11th and 12th September. Hatfield Forest Wood Fest. We shall be putting on a joint display in our new tent as ‘Forest Nature’. Please volunteer to come and help as this is a valuable opportunity to publicise our group and its activities.

Friday 17th September 6.30pm and Saturday 18th of September 9.30am, Hatfield Forest both at the main entrance. The aim will be to put down small mammal traps on the Friday evening and go back and collect the catch on the Saturday morning.

We shall be putting out Dormouse nest tubes in April and doing some general mammal surveying through the summer to provide records for John Dobson’s new book, the Mammals of Essex. If interested please leave contact details with Chairman.
01279 600726. coppicereed@hotmail.com