Nature Site

COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS

You are still very welcome to visit the Nature Site but only 2 people at a time, please.  Be aware that other people may already be there.  If so, let them know that you are there and stay 2 metres away.  Thanks.

The steps down to the Nature Site lead from the car park outside the shop. There are benches to sit on, and paths to take you round the different habitat areas.  

Watch the new large pond: in summer you’ll see dragonflies, damsel flies, and maybe a frog or a lizard on the warm rock pile. You may see a bat catching flies over the pond on a summer evening.  There’s a small pond too inhabited by frogs.

We have written a list of plants in the pond, with descriptions to help you identify them. Click Plants in Nature Site Pond

 

Look out for the many birds that feed and nest in the brambles. Keep an eye on the larger trees as well  – you will see 3 species of Tits, Robins, Blackbirds, and Goldfinches feeding on the berries and insects.

The Damson scrub is a really good place to see some rarer birds such as Goldcrest and Firecrest. You’ll have to watch carefully – they are tiny birds and flit very fast through the branches, usually up high, catching insects.

Butterflies, bees and many other insects are all attracted to the wildflower banks either side of the main path.  May and June is a good time to see these in full flower and trees blossom too.

Photo from ARKive of the Rose chafer (Cetonia aurata) – http://www.arkive.org/rose-chafer/cetonia-aurata/image-A14048.html

 

The Goat willows by the ‘Nature Site’ sign are a wonderful sight in early spring when they flower and attract hundreds of bees.  You may be lucky enough to see a ‘pollen blizzard’ too.

 

 

Look closely for fungi and lichens on twigs and on dead branches and logs, especially in autumn and winter.

A work group meets monthly to develop and maintain the site. Since 2015 we have gradually added lots more native trees, more wildflowers and created areas of different habitat.  

An annual count of plants, birds and butterflies shows we are increasing the number of different species on the site each year.

Want to join the workgroup?

10.15am till lunch on the First Saturday of each month (weather permitting).

We welcome anybody from the allotment site, also your friends, and you don’t need to commit to coming regularly. Please click on name to email Liz or Dave if you’re interested.

The latest news about the site with photos can be found in our Nature Notes 

• You can read a Review of our Fifth Year (2019-20) Here
• To find out which plants, trees and creatures are on the site, you can view or download
  – an Inventory of plants here
  – a record of birds here
  – a record of butterflies and moths here
  – other insects and reptile sightings here

The Nature Site 125,000 years ago?

What was the land here like over 125,000 years ago?  Which animals and humans inhabited this corner of England, perhaps even this nature site?  To get an idea of the changes up to the present day, click Nature past and present?

 

Here are links to some useful wildlife organisations:

• Sussex Wildlife Trust
•  Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre
• Brighton & Hove Wildlife Forum
• The Wildlife Trusts (national website)
• Guide to British Wild Flowers
• Discover British Trees (Woodland Trust)
• Bumblebee Conservation Trust
• Butterfly Conservation Trust
• Butterfly Conservation Trust Local branch
• What is that insect? A guide by the Royal Entomological Society
• British Dragonfly Society
  British Lichen Society