Sheila Meades

Sheila Meades writes for the Herald on behalf of the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group.

Have you seen any frogspawn yet? In this area, February is the usual month for it to appear but not until March in cooler parts of the country. The timing is also linked to the weather conditions in that particular year. This year, the earliest Sidmouth sighting I’ve heard about was the fourth of February. The usual place to find frogspawn is just below the surface of a pond but it can also be found on the edge of slow-flowing streams or even in puddles. Ponds that are shady and have plenty of vegetation around them are particularly popular with breeding frogs. Toad spawn is very different from frogspawn. Rather than being jelly-like and in clumps, it is laid in long chains and draped over pondweed and submerged plants. The lifecycle of frogs is fascinating and if you know where there’s some frogspawn you can visit regularly and observe the changes; a process called metamorphosis. It takes three weeks for young tadpoles to emerge and then a further 14 weeks for them to become small frogs. Over those weeks they will gradually develop legs and arms that they use to leave the water and they will also develop lungs to allow them to breathe on the land. Given the amount of frogspawn that we see each year you may wonder why we don’t see many more adult frogs. But it’s a tough life for tadpoles; they have a number of natural predators and are susceptible to various amphibian diseases. They can also be affected by frost which kills off the spawn. According to Devon Wildlife Trust, one clump of frogspawn can contain up to 2,000 eggs but only one in 50 will mature into an adult. The arrival of frogspawn is a key moment in nature’s cycle and marks the change from winter into spring. It also provides a rare opportunity to observe a creature in all stages of its growth. If you have space for even a tiny pond it can provide a home for spawning frogs and toads and give you the opportunity to closely observe one of nature’s miracles. For more information about the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group: www.sidvalleybiodiversity.org.uk

Ponds, whatever their size, are a real magnet for wildlife of all kinds. At this time of year you can’t miss the electric red, blue, gold and green colourings of damselflies and dragonflies, speeding around in search of food and mating partners. Birds are frequent visitors, coming down for a drink, bathe or a feed and you might be lucky enough to see a frog, toad or newt. In the evening, look out for bats, attracted by the many insects flying over the water; the perfect food source for them. Why not spend some time exploring who lives on and under the water? Pond dipping is fun for all ages and reveals all sorts of interesting creatures that live in even the smallest of ponds. It’s a simple, inexpensive activity, ideal for the summer holidays. For the basic kit you’ll need a net and a white-bottomed container such as a clean, empty margarine tub or a small, see-through, bucket. A magnifier and pond creature identification guide will help you to name and learn more about your finds. Always take care around water and ensure children are closely supervised. Start by observing what is living on the surface. Pond skaters are very common and ‘skate’ across the surface hunting for small insects which they detect through vibrations on the water. You are also likely to see some aptly-named whirligig beetles which are small, black and shiny and whizz around in circles on the surface hunting for food. But what can be found lurking beneath the surface? To find out, scoop some pond water into your container or bucket then sweep your net through the water in a figure-of-eight shape, taking in different levels but avoiding churning up mud at the bottom. After a few loops gently lift out the net, place it in the water in your container and turn it inside out, dipping the mesh into the water. Your finds are then ready to be observed. What size and colour is it? How many legs does it have? How does it move through the water? Could it be a water boatman, a dragonfly nymph or a water snail? What can you learn about its lifecycle, the food it eats and its main predators? When you've finished observing the creatures, carefully pour the contents of your container back into the pond close to the surface and in the same area from where you removed them. Give the container a gentle rinse to make sure all the creatures are back in the pond. There’s plenty of pond dipping tips and advice available online including on YouTube and the websites of the RSPB and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. Spending time by ponds is endlessly fascinating. There’s so much activity in and around and such a diversity of wildlife to observe and learn about. Despite all this activity, sitting by a pond is one of the most peaceful and relaxing things you can do. Yet another way that taking time out to connect with nature is good for the soul. We’d love to hear about what you spot in and around ponds this summer. Please email your words and images to - sidvalleybiodiversity@yahoo.com To learn more about our group, check out our website www.sidvalleybiodiversity.org.uk and Instagram account @sidvalleybiodiversity

This week the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group is marking its first birthday and we invite you to join in the celebrations. We set up the group a year ago with the aim of working with the community to celebrate and enhance local biodiversity. The Sid Valley is a beautiful area with a diversity of habitats and wildlife. But, like most parts of the country, it is being affected by climate change and habitat loss, resulting in a reduction of some species. We want to support people to take action to help reverse this decline in biodiversity. We would also like volunteers to work with us on citizen science projects to gather data on various species. These projects allow non-scientists to make an important contribution to scientific research and will help provide evidence for a nature recovery plan. The launch of the group coincided with a time, during the first lockdown, when many people were spending more time outdoors than previously, noticing nature and the changing seasons in more detail and feeling the health benefits of time spent in the natural world. People have told us that they have a new-found interest in nature and are more curious about the names of plants, trees, birds and insects and their life cycles and whether numbers are declining or increasing. We hope you enjoy reading our weekly column in the Sidmouth Herald where we shine a light on different aspects of nature. In this anniversary week, we’d love to hear from you. What do you enjoy about nature in Sid Valley? What wildlife have you spotted that has fascinated you? Where are your favourite outdoor spaces to spend time? Please send us a picture or two and a few words explaining what nature in the Sid Valley means to you. With your permission we will share these images and words on our social media sites. We know we can reach even more people through social media so we have a website and accounts on Facebook and Instagram. We will also share some of them in a future column in the Sidmouth Herald. Please email your images and words, by Friday 9 July, to - sidvalleybiodiversity@yahoo.com We also have a programme of walks and talks and a wildflower treasure hunt during this week where you can learn more about our local natural environment. We hope you will join in with some of these events which, in brief are:Monday, June 28 – 11am guided walk on Mutter’s Moor from Peak Hill car park.Tuesday, June 29 – 2pm guided tour of a woodland garden in Sidmouth.Wednesday, June 30 – 10.30am walk/talk on maritime plants from the main entrance to Connaught Gardens.Thursday, July 1 – 3pm Zoom talk by Westcountry Rivers Trust.Friday, July 2 – 10.30am Sidmouth Arboretum guided tree walk from Sidmouth Museum. £2.50 per person.Saturday, July 3 – 2pm Alma Field wildflower treasure hunt.Sunday, July 4 – 10.30am walk/talk The Knapp Community Nature Reserve. For full details of the programme of events, look out for posters and What’s On guides or visit the group’s website: www.sidvalleybiodiversity.org.uk/events/ For further information about the group or to join the newsletter mailing list, email sidvalleybiodiversity@yahoo.com

Woodlands are wonderful places at any time of year but May is a must-visit month in which to experience nature as it bursts into life. Every May, the Tree Council encourages people to take a walk in the woods and celebrate their local trees at this very special time of year. We spent a May morning exploring the woods on Salcombe Hill. The most instantly noticeable spectacle was the carpet of bluebells on the western slopes. It was a cloudy day but the poor light levels seemed to make the violet colouring even more intense. We were not the only ones snapping away with our cameras; bluebell woods are, understandably, popular with photographers, intent on capturing the glorious display while it lasts. Bluebells have been used for a variety of purposes throughout history. Their sticky sap was once used to bind the pages of books and glue the feathers on arrows. During the Elizabethan period, their bulbs were crushed to make starch for the ruffs of collars and sleeves. Of course nowadays, the native bluebell has legal protection and must be left alone. Though still common throughout Britain, the plant is under threat from habitat destruction, hybridisation with non-native bluebells and the illegal trade of wild-collected bulbs. Continuing up the hill through the woods, the busy spring birds provided a beautiful accompaniment with their song. There was constant background singing and twittering with regular louder bursts from blackcaps, chiffchaffs and chaffinches, defending their territories and calling to their mates. At the top we sat on a bench to listen to the sweet, slightly wistful song of a blackbird perched in the upper branches of a cherry tree. During its pauses we could hear another blackbird, further away, responding in kind. May is a good month for woodland bird watching before the trees are fully in leaf, making them harder to spot. The beech trees were looking beautiful with their fresh green leaves, quite small at the moment but they will soon grow and create a widespread canopy, blocking the light from the woodland floor. In May plenty of sunshine can still get through, making it the moment for woodland flowers, such as greater stitchwort and red campion, to shine. Foxgloves, tucked underneath walls and old hedge banks, are expanding their leaves and firming up their roots. Another month and they will be shooting their flower spires skywards. We left the woodland for a while and enjoyed watching swallows skimming over the glorious buttercup meadow by the coast path. A couple of bumble bees buzzed past, too quickly for us to identify, on the search for nectar. They will also provide a vital pollination service as they move from flower to flower. Back into the woods and we were thrilled to spot some early purple orchids – their exotic colour and looks making them seem a little overdressed for an English woodland in spring. A chaffinch kept us company as we came to the end of our walk, hopping along the path in front of us in search of something. Lining for a nest as it turned out and we watched it fly away carrying moss in its beak. It is wonderful to explore woodlands in May; the sights and sounds of spring are everywhere, reminding us that summer is just around the corner. There is no better time to connect with nature than in spring and visiting local woodlands in the month of May is a magical experience. Find out more at: www.sidvalleybiodiversity.org.uk or email sidvalleybiodiversity@yahoo.com Find us on Facebook and Instagram

Like many people I’ve been doing quite a bit of walking recently, around town and the valley; probably more than I normally would in winter. To add an extra level of interest to my walks I’ve started to work on my winter tree identification skills. Not that I had many to start with! Paying close attention to stark, leafless trees wasn’t something that had occurred to me until I was encouraged to give it a go.

Have you got a corner in your garden that you don’t know what to do with?